Chapter 15: Witch Costume

July 15th, 2023

“An interview notice!” Lin Xuan exclaimed softly.

“An interview notice? Let’s take a look quickly,” Song Ranran also became excited. She knew better than anyone else how much effort Lin Xuan had put into finding a job in the past few months.

“Hmm,” Lin Xuan eagerly opened the email.

Dear Ms. Lin Xuan,

We would like to invite you for an interview for the position of an accountant at our company next Monday at 10 a.m. The main responsibilities include calculating employee salaries, with a monthly salary of 20,000 RMB. The job is easy, and the compensation is generous. The company’s address is 106 Chunfeng Road, Guanghua District, Jincheng.

Jincheng Special Affairs Office Limited, Sixth Branch (State-owned Enterprise).

Date: XX Month XX Year.

Attached herewith are some of the benefits we offer for your reference:

Two days off per week, flexible working hours, no attendance monitoring (you don’t have to come if there’s nothing to do).Social insurance, housing fund, supplementary commercial insurance, additional medical insurance (the company will reimburse your medical expenses if you’re sick).Housing allowance, transportation allowance, meal allowance… (there’s no subsidy the company can’t provide).Year-end bonus, birthday gift, wedding gift… (the company gives a gift for every joyous occasion).Sixteen-month salary at the end of the year (excluding additional bonuses).At least one overseas trip per year (you can go more times if you like).

After reading the email, both of them fell into silence.

After a while, Song Ranran spoke up, “Are the benefits of state-owned enterprises this good nowadays?”

“An accountant with a monthly salary of 20,000 RMB, and they only have to calculate employee salaries? What kind of company pays you like that?” Lin Xuan asked.

“My brother?” Song Ranran suggested.

“…I made a mistake, I forgot that you have a brother,” Lin Xuan admitted defeat.

Song Ranran raised an eyebrow triumphantly.

“Your brother might pay you like that, but this company isn’t your brother’s. Also, look at these benefits listed here, and those remarks in parentheses. Does it seem like something a reputable company would write?” Lin Xuan asked.

Song Ranran shook her head. Although she had never gone for an interview herself, her family owned a company. She understood from a young age that the investment made by capitalists must be less than the return. If these generous conditions were all true, then this company must have big plans in mind.

“I read news online before about human traffickers setting up fake companies to deceive employees and sell them overseas. Could this be one of those?” Song Ranran suddenly had a bold idea.

Lin Xuan thought it made sense and decisively said, “We have to report it. We must.”

If only they had evidence, she would have even considered calling the police.

So on Monday, a certain assistant made the rare effort to tidy up, even wearing a new suit and arriving at the office half an hour early.

However, no one came for the interview.

The assistant pushed up their glasses in confusion, wondering, “Wasn’t the company’s benefits written well enough?”

Lin Xuan had just come out of the “coffin” and was removing her makeup when her phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Bao Ya, the makeup artist in the secret room. Lin Xuan pressed the speakerphone button and continued removing her makeup, saying, “Sister Ya.”

“Are there any teams that can clear the game in the afternoon?” Bao Ya asked.

“No, the boss said that the teams coming in the afternoon are average in strength and won’t be able to clear the game within an hour,” Lin Xuan thought for a moment and asked, “Sister Ya, do you need something from me?”

“Smart guess. Could you do me a favor and bring something to the anime convention?” Bao Ya was a seasoned cosplay enthusiast, and there was a grand anime convention happening in the city today. After finishing NPC makeup early in the morning, Bao Ya went to participate in the convention. “It’s just a box that I left on the table in the dressing room.”

There were only two tables in the dressing room, and Lin Xuan turned her head and saw it immediately. “Is it the unopened package?”

“Yes, it contains the headdress I bought for this anime convention. I forgot to bring it with me when I left. Could you bring it to me?”

This headdress was specially purchased by Bao Ya for this anime convention, an authentic original item directly shipped from Country R. The shipping cost alone was several hundred yuan. Bao Ya had mentioned it to Lin Xuan before, and it left an impression.

“Sure, I’ll change my clothes and come over.” Lin Xuan washed her face first before taking the package and leaving.

The anime convention was held at the city’s sports stadium. After leaving the factory area and taking a bus and then the subway, she arrived at her destination in about half an hour. Following Bao Ya’s instructions, Lin Xuan went to the side entrance of the stadium. There, Bao Ya, dressed as a character from a certain anime in Country R, was already waiting at the door.

Bao Ya had silver hair and a silver-white totem on one side of her cheek. She looked somewhat familiar at first glance, but Lin Xuan couldn’t recall which anime character it was.

“Sister Ya,” Lin Xuan handed the box to Bao Ya, “Is this it?”

“Yes, that’s it. Thank you. Sorry for making you go out of your way. I’ll treat you to a meal when we get back.” Bao Ya expressed her gratitude.

“No problem. I’ll head back now. Enjoy yourself.” Lin Xuan said as she was about to leave.

“Wait, since you’re here, do you want to go in and have some fun?” Bao Ya invited, “There are interesting things inside.”

“Can I go in?”

“Normally, you wouldn’t be able to, but I’ve already become friendly with the security guard. We can sneak in for a bit.” Bao Ya grabbed Lin Xuan’s arm. “Come on, I’ll take you in.”

With Bao Ya’s help, Lin Xuan smoothly entered the sports stadium. Inside, there were cosplayers dressed in elaborate costumes, even the staff maintaining order at the venue were wearing clothing from ancient imperial guards. In comparison, Lin Xuan, a “normal person,” stood out conspicuously amidst the crowd.

Bao Ya also noticed this and directly brought Lin Xuan to a merchandise booth. Facing the beautiful owner of the booth, who was cosplaying as Nine-Tailed Fox, Bao Ya said, “Darling, can we borrow the dressing room?”

“Please go ahead.” Nine-Tailed Fox’s eyes were mesmerizing as she glanced coquettishly at Lin Xuan.

The eye makeup looks amazing.

Before Lin Xuan had a chance to appreciate the eye makeup drawn on the owner’s face with red and white greasepaint, Bao Ya pulled her into the dressing room.

“Change into this.” Bao Ya handed her a box.

“What’s this?” Lin Xuan looked down at the box, and inside was a black outfit.

“It’s a witch costume.” Bao Ya explained as she opened the delivery box Lin Xuan had brought. “The Secret Room has recently become famous because of curses, right? Tang Mingxu was thinking of adding some new elements and asked me to buy a witch costume online. This outfit and my headdress were delivered together. I was in a hurry this morning and grabbed the wrong boxes. It’s perfect timing. Just try it on. I bought it based on your measurements.”

She even bought a witch costume. Is Tang the boss planning to go all-in on the curse theme?

“Why don’t you go and change?” Bao Ya urged when she saw Lin Xuan not moving.

“Oh, okay.” Lin Xuan took the clothes and went inside to change. When she came out after changing, Bao Ya had already put on the headdress. It was a hair accessory resembling a crown, with light blue bead chains hanging in her hair, adding a touch of elegance and grace to Bao Ya’s appearance, making her look much more beautiful.

Bao Ya saw Lin Xuan in the changed clothes and showed a satisfied expression on her face. She had personally selected the outfit, and it didn’t disappoint. Traditional witches usually wore a plain black robe, which made them look like they draped a bedsheet over themselves. Bao Ya disliked things that lacked aesthetics, so she chose a black dress with a European medieval style. The dress had dark red patterns on the skirt and lace trim on the cuffs, exuding a sense of grandeur amidst its simplicity, with a subtle touch of luxury.

A fair complexion, a pitch-black long gown, it only lacked a touch of scarlet embellishment.

“Come here, let me adjust it for you.” Bao Ya pulled Lin Xuan to sit in a chair and first applied lipstick on her. Then, she quickly braided her long hair into two plaits that hung in front of her chest. “The biggest highlight of this outfit is the head veil. It only exudes a mysterious feeling when you put on the veil.”

Bao Ya took the head veil that Lin Xuan hadn’t worn and fixed it on her head with hairpins, carefully adjusting it to cover almost half of Lin Xuan’s face. As Bao Ya said, as soon as the veil was draped over her, the air of mystery immediately became prominent.

“Alright, we’ll have to make do with this for now. I’ll help you fine-tune it when we get back to the Secret Room. I have another performance to attend to shortly, so I have to go. Feel free to explore on your own.”

Lin Xuan wanted to say that she could accompany Bao Ya to watch the performance, but Bao Ya seemed too eager. Before Lin Xuan could finish speaking, Bao Ya had already disappeared, leaving Lin Xuan alone.

“Hey, witch.”

Lin Xuan turned around.

The owner of the Nine-Tailed Fox booth waved a glass bottle in her hand. “Are you still in need of a bottle of poison?”

Lin Xuan waved her hand. “I don’t play with poison. I’m a fortune-telling witch.”

“A seer?”

“…Fox sister, I’m not cosplaying Werewolf.”

“It’s alright. I also have a crystal ball.” The Nine-Tailed Fox owner performed a magic trick and pulled out a crystal ball from under the counter, leaving Lin Xuan stunned. “Want to buy it? Only 299.”

So, it was a sales pitch!

“No, thanks.” She wasn’t a cosplay enthusiast, so she wouldn’t spend money on something unnecessary.

“Then…199?” the Nine-Tailed Fox suggested again.

“…”. Can they casually lower the price like this? Lin Xuan was even less inclined to buy now.

“It seems you’re not an enthusiast. How about renting it to you for ten bucks? Can’t go any lower.” The Nine-Tailed Fox, who set up a booth at the anime festival, selling various figurines and merchandise, had seen many cosplayers who spent a fortune on their beloved characters, but Lin Xuan’s frugality was a first for her.

Lin Xuan had never encountered such a persuasive salesperson before. Unable to refuse, the two eventually reached a deal, with Lin Xuan paying a ten yuan rental fee.

But surprisingly, holding the crystal ball in her arms, Lin Xuan suddenly felt like she fit the part. It was her first time participating in this kind of event, and everything seemed novel to her. Here, there were not only characters from R-country anime but also characters from domestic animation, ancient-style characters, and even some iconic TV and movie characters. In any case, it was a diverse and eclectic mix of everything.

Lin Xuan was engrossed in her observations when suddenly the system notification sound chimed. “Pa!” A divination stick fell from the divination tube.

【Ye Ping, male, 16 years old. He dropped his ID card in the restroom and missed the high-speed train home.】

Lin Xuan’s eyes lit up as she looked around and quickly locked onto three tall boys who had just passed by her. They were all dressed in outfits from One Piece, with one cosplaying as Zoro, carrying three swords, another as Sanji with curly-drawn eyebrows, and the third as Luffy wearing a straw hat.

Holding the crystal ball, Lin Xuan caught up with them and stood in front of them. “Hey, pirates, would you like to have your fortunes told before setting sail?”

The three boys looked at the witch who suddenly blocked their path. At first, they were taken aback, but then one of the boys, playing the role of Luffy, smiled. “Sure, go ahead and tell our fortunes.”

The three boys thought this cosplaying witch was just getting really into character. They didn’t mind this behavior because they, too, would shout “ONE PIECE” towards the sea.

“Ten yuan per reading.” Yes, Lin Xuan was asking for money. That was why her eyes had sparkled just moments ago. She finally found a legitimate opportunity to charge for her fortune-telling services.

“If your predictions are accurate, we’ll give it to you,” the boy with the straw hat continued to play along with Lin Xuan’s act.

“What’s your name?” Lin Xuan asked the boy.

“Ye Ping,” the boy with the straw hat replied.

What a coincidence?!

Suppressing her inner joy, Lin Xuan handed the crystal ball over with an air of seriousness. “Please place your hand on top of it and keep it there for three seconds.”

The boys smiled and cooperated.

Lin Xuan closed her eyes and chanted softly. After about two to three seconds, she opened her eyes and looked at the boy, speaking in a deliberately subdued tone. “Young man, you have lost something. Without that something, you won’t be able to go home today. Hurry and find it.”

“Lost something that prevents me from going home? What is it?” Ye Ping was puzzled.

“Is it your ID card?” Zoro, the boy beside him, asked. They had taken the high-speed train, which required ID cards for security checks. If there was something that would prevent them from going home, it could only be the ID card.

Ye Ping paused, raised his hand, touched his pocket, and then sighed in frustration.

“Really gone?” Sanji exclaimed.

Lin Xuan took out her phone and displayed her payment QR code. “Ten yuan, thank you for your patronage.”

Ten yuan wasn’t much, and the boys didn’t make a fuss. They directly scanned the code and paid, then asked, “Where did I lose my ID card?”

Naturally, the boy didn’t believe that Lin Xuan had figured it out through divination. He speculated that she must have coincidentally seen it when he dropped his ID card.

“Try looking in the restroom. You might find something there,” Lin Xuan suggested.

“Thank you.” The boy and his friends left to search for the lost ID card.

“Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the divination task and earning 1 merit point. By helping Ye Ping avoid bad luck, you have earned an additional 9 merit points. You have earned 10 yuan for divination.”

Lin Xuan held her phone and looked at the deposited ten yuan, feeling delighted. “Finally, I’ve earned some divination money. I’ll spend it later. What can I buy with ten yuan? Maybe a cup of milk tea.”

As Lin Xuan was planning to go out and buy milk tea, the divination tube inside the system panel suddenly started shaking wildly, and the divination sticks clattered and scattered all over the floor.

The system notifications kept popping up, filling the entire screen.