WATCS Chapter 4: Illusions
“We’re here. Get out,” Bo Si said.
After parking the car, the two of them walked into the coffin shop together.
The shop was quite large—like several storefronts had been combined into one. Inside, coffins and various funeral supplies filled the space. The coffins came in all sizes, from large to small. Farther inside were numerous delicate urns for ashes.
It was Gu Yi’s first time encountering these things. While surprised, he also found them strangely fascinating. The coffins were exquisitely crafted, and their materials gave each a distinct texture. Even the carvings on every coffin were unique: some featured emerald-green pine trees, others soaring clouds, and some were adorned with dragons in flight. Gu Yi was so mesmerized, he couldn’t take his eyes off them.
Although these were items meant for the deceased, simply looking at them didn’t evoke a sense of death. On the contrary, they felt like works of art, like pieces on display in a museum.
The entrance to the shop was made of clear glass. That meant whether it was day or night, someone standing at the door could see everything inside.
Gu Yi had already noticed when they drove into this street that it was rather remote. But then again, it made sense—a coffin shop wouldn’t exactly belong in a bustling downtown area.
The shop sat at the very end of the street. Its neighbor was an elderly lady selling noodles. Business was sparse, but the old woman looked kind and gentle. Her hair was snowy white, and she didn’t have many teeth left. She smiled often, her eyes narrowing into cheerful slits, giving off a warm and approachable vibe.
Before stepping into the shop, Bo Si warmly greeted her, “Granny Shou, still up early as always.”
Granny Shou chuckled. “Not early, not early. It’s you, Boss Bo, who’s late. Oh? You brought a little boy with you today. Who is he?”
Bo Si pushed Gu Yi forward and introduced him. “His name’s Gu Yi. I hired him as an employee.”
Gu Yi thought to himself, That wasn’t hiring. That was clearly a threat.
But on his face, he wore a polite smile. “Hello, Granny.”
“What a good child,” Granny Shou beamed. “All these years, it’s the first time I’ve seen Boss Bo hire an employee. Not bad, not bad. This young man looks like a hardworking one. How old are you this year, and do you have a girlfriend?”
Gu Yi replied a bit shyly, “Granny, I’m eighteen this year. I’m still in high school and… I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Well, now that you’re here, you’re not a high schooler anymore. You can have a girlfriend now,” Granny Shou chuckled. “Little Eighteen, you’ve got such a clean, handsome look. You’ll definitely find a girlfriend soon. Boss Bo, you better keep an eye out for him!”
“Don’t worry, Granny Shou,” Bo Si replied, “This kid’s everything is under my management from now on.”
Then he turned to Gu Yi. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”
Once inside the shop, Gu Yi asked, “Granny Shou runs that noodle stand all by herself?”
“Yes,” Bo Si replied.
“But she’s an elderly lady. She doesn’t have any help at all? No children?”
Bo Si shot him a glare. “You’re new here, and already so nosy? You can’t even handle your own business, and you want to worry about someone else’s?”
Bo Si sat down inside the store and made himself a cup of tea, sipping it leisurely.
Gu Yi noticed how much tea he put in and kindly reminded him, “Drinking strong tea first thing in the morning isn’t good for your stomach.”
Bo Si chuckled. “Kid, you’re really something. Got an opinion about everything.”
Gu Yi scratched his head, embarrassed. “Well, you are my boss. I’m just looking out for you.”
“Looking out for me?”
Those words seemed to intrigue Bo Si. His smile deepened, and he said, “This is the first time I’ve heard of an employee caring about their boss.”
“Granny Shou said I’m the first employee you’ve ever hired. So before this, you ran this whole coffin shop alone?”
Maybe Bo Si was in a good mood, because this time, instead of getting annoyed at the question, he actually answered with some patience: “Yeah, always been just me.”
“Then why me? You seem to know a lot about me… Did you know me before?”
Bo Si looked at him for a moment, then answered after a pause, “No. But you were about to jump. Figured it’d be a waste if you died. Might as well stay alive and help me out. Besides, with your personality, you’re not finding a girlfriend anytime soon, so I’m not worried you’ll fall in love and run off.”
“…”
Gu Yi quickly changed the subject. “Boss, why’s our store called Zhong Xiang Wu?”
“Doesn’t sound good?”
“It’s not that… Just kind of sounds like a Hong Kong-style tea house,” Gu Yi grinned. “Is it supposed to mean something like ‘finally finding peace’?”
Bo Si’s gaze grew darker. He lit a cigarette and said, “No idea. The name was given by someone else—I just kept it.”
“Someone else?”
“You don’t know them. Don’t ask.”
Seeing that Bo Si had started smoking—and knowing he couldn’t stand the smell—Gu Yi kept quiet and wandered around the store.
He stopped in front of a beautiful large coffin. Beside it was a smaller one, with a flashy pop-up sign that read:
Summer Promo: Buy One, Get One Free.
“…”
Gu Yi’s mouth twitched.
“Boss, can I ask one more question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do we… get customers often?”
Bo Si smoked calmly and replied unhurriedly, “The right people will come when it’s their time. In this business, we’ve got to stay zen.”
“But boss, your promotional signs are anything but zen…”
Gu Yi rubbed his throbbing temple and looked back toward the shop entrance, where Bo Si had used red ink to write a bold “WELCOME” on the glass door. The ink hadn’t even dried properly, and it was starting to drip down—looking more like a horror movie prop than a friendly greeting.
This isn’t a coffin shop—it’s a haunted house!
Gu Yi couldn’t hold it in anymore. He walked up and said, “Boss, I think—”
“I think you need a uniform,” Bo Si interrupted him, pointing toward a small room in the shop. “The clothes are in there. Go change. What you’re wearing now doesn’t meet the standard of our coffin shop.”
“But boss… Your coffins are so beautiful. Shouldn’t the shop’s decor be a little… sunnier?”
At least don’t use red ink for scary writing at the door…
Bo Si gave him a sideways look.
Then he smiled—a smile that was oddly captivating. “The coffins and the shop are all illusions. No matter how bright or beautiful, it’s all for the living to see. The dead don’t need any of it. They just need a way home, and a chance to fulfill their final wish. That’s enough.”
Gu Yi was momentarily stunned.
Before he could fully process those words, Bo Si said, “Go change. Keep stalling and I’ll deduct more from your pay.”
Gu Yi walked into the small room Bo Si had pointed out.
Sure enough, there was a set of clothes neatly folded inside, along with a small, shiny name badge.
He unfolded the uniform—it was black, the style hard to describe. Kind of like an old-fashioned Zhongshan suit, but longer, the hem reaching down to his knees. Gu Yi carefully put it on, clipped the name badge to his chest, and tucked his jade pendant securely inside the outfit. When he stood in front of the mirror, he barely recognized the person looking back at him.
The face was familiar yet strange. Without the birthmark, it didn’t feel like his own.
Granny Shou had said he looked clean and handsome—but before today, he’d always been the target of ridicule, a freak to everyone else.
It all felt like a dream.
When Gu Yi came back out, Bo Si was still sitting at the table, smoking. Seeing him, he tapped the table lightly. “Come here.”
Gu Yi walked over and sat across from him.
A small box was sitting on the table. Bo Si said, “This is for you. But the cost’s coming out of your salary.”
"What is this?"
Gu Yi curiously opened the box and found an old-school flip phone lying inside.
"I’ve already inserted the SIM card, topped up the balance, and saved my number in it," Bo Si said. "If anything happens, just use this to call me."
"Um, Boss..." Gu Yi swallowed and said hesitantly, "Since it’s coming out of my salary anyway… why not get me a smartphone?"
"Forget it," Bo Si waved it off. "With that tiny salary of yours, the phone would be your whole paycheck. Besides, smartphones are for flirting and chatting people up. I’m afraid if you had one, you’d be too distracted to work. For you, as long as you can reach me, that’s all you need."
"Then… Boss, can I ask—how much is my salary, exactly?"
Bo Si chuckled. "That depends on how many coffins you can sell."
"B-but…"
"Alright, I’ve got a date today, so I’m not staying in the shop. If anything comes up, give me a call. The prices are labeled on the coffins. Just stay here and keep an eye on the place."
Just like that, on his very first day of work, Gu Yi was left behind by his boss.
He wasn’t sure what exactly he was supposed to do, so he tidied up the shop, reorganized some scattered products, and then just sat there, waiting for customers.
As he expected, not a single customer came in until 6 p.m.
He sat at the table, staring blankly at the ashtray where Bo Si had stubbed his cigarette. That’s when he realized—he forgot to ask what time he was supposed to get off work.
He called Bo Si using the flip phone. Deafening music blared in the background, and Bo Si lazily said that normal hours were 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., but since Gu Yi had slept in and showed up three hours late, if he didn’t want his pay docked, he’d have to make those three hours up.
Gu Yi sighed, realizing that with no sales today, he’d earn no commission. If his base pay got deducted too, how was he going to survive? Resigned, he decided to stay and make up the time.
The coffin shop was in a remote part of town, and by 8 p.m., the streets outside were practically deserted. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow by, kicking up dust from the ground.
Gu Yi figured he’d stayed long enough and wanted to ask Bo Si when he’d return so he could close up. Just then, a countryside-looking couple walked slowly up to the shop, supporting each other.
"Young man, young man!"
The woman called out, waving at him.
Gu Yi noticed and walked over.
"Auntie, is something wrong?"
The middle-aged couple looked plain and a bit shabby. The woman spoke with a noticeable rural accent, and both of them were covered in dirt—especially their pant legs, as if they had just come back from working the fields. The woman asked,
"Young man, do you know how to get to XXX Road?"
"Just go straight ahead, then turn left. Keep walking and you’ll get there," Gu Yi said, pointing in the direction.
The woman nodded gratefully, wiped her dirty hands on her clothes, then pulled out a small item wrapped in a white handkerchief from her pocket. She handed it to Gu Yi with a smile.
"Young man, thank you. This is a local specialty from our hometown—try it! It’s really tasty!"
T/N: Please give support on my kofi page, thank you🥑🥑🥑
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