When evil gods hold a meeting in my head

The wooden bed stood against the mahogany desk, on which sat that familiar candle. Only now, the candle was unlit; the curtains were half-drawn, letting in the slanting morning sunlight, which fell on the cardboard boxes at the foot of the bed. The room was exactly as Richard remembered it…

Juliet hurried to the wardrobe, her back to him as she rummaged through the clothes: "Go wash up, the bathroom's right there! I'll go find you something to wear..."

Richard tried to refuse: "I can refuse..."

"No!" Juliet immediately interrupted Richard's attempt to refuse!

Ok……

I'll wash!

Richard headed towards the restroom. On the way, his gaze swept over the desk in the room, on which lay several sheets of paper, like some kind of report, with familiar lettering printed on the edges.

"Xixi Creek Beauty Shop!"

Richard suddenly remembered the joint course between the beauty store and Tehran... If only Juliet could introduce him to it...

He looked away and followed Juliet's directions to the bathroom, then pushed open the door and went inside. The bathroom was small, containing only a rusty tin bathtub and a wooden shelf hanging on the wall. On the shelf next to it were half a bar of soap and a yellowed towel.

He took off his coat, quickly washed up, and in the meantime, tried to close his eyes and feel the magic within his body.

I still couldn't clearly feel that ring...

Seeing that his efforts were fruitless, Richard began to reflect on his situation:

Why am I seeing Alice? And she's just repeating the same old dialogue scenes like in a video. But this is clearly reality! This blend of illusion and reality feels so unreal…

Forget it...

He dried himself off and put the coat back on.

Back beside Juliet, she was already sitting at her desk, holding a stack of papers and frowning as she looked at something. Hearing footsteps, she said without looking up, "Your clothes are on the bed. Change into them first."

Richard looked at the bed.

There lay a neatly folded set of clothes... a gray linen shirt and dark trousers...

It didn't look like women's clothing, but rather a standard set of men's clothing, most likely Luke's... Richard put on the clothes without ceremony.

Juliet glanced at Richard out of the corner of her eye and saw that he hadn't refused. She nodded with satisfaction, gave a soft "hmm," and continued to stare at the paper in her hand.

Richard changed his clothes and sat down on the edge of the bed. The room was quiet for a few seconds, broken only by the rustling of Juliet turning the pages.

"What are you looking at?" Richard asked.

Juliet looked up at him, then quickly looked away—probably because she remembered what had happened in the alley earlier, and a blush rose on her face.

"The store's daily report," she said, waving the paper in her hand. "I work at Xixi Creek Beauty Store, and I have to look at these things every day. Sales figures, inventory, customer feedback... It's so annoying."

Richard nodded without saying a word.

Juliet put the newspaper aside and turned to look at him. This time she didn't blush; her eyes held a hint of curiosity: "What do you do for a living?"

Richard was taken aback for a moment.

What does he do for a living?

The answer to this question would have been easy in his original identity—a student at the University of Tehran, and a probationary assistant in Naan Sanho's team. But in this body, he had no name, no past, nothing at all.

He thought for a long time before finally managing to say, "I... I do a little bit of everything. I do odd jobs, run errands, I take whatever work is available."

"So he's an unemployed bum," Juliet said, without any malice in her tone, simply stating a fact.

Richard nodded: "More or less."

Juliet said "Oh," and then asked, "So what's your educational background? Did you attend university?"

This body doesn't even have parents or a name, how could it possibly have an education?

Richard shook his head decisively: "No."

Juliet sighed, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him. "If only you had gone to university! Even just knowing a little tailoring would be helpful... We're short-staffed at our shop, and the manager keeps saying he needs to hire someone."

tailor?

Richard knew he didn't know how, but he could learn, and his original identity also fit the requirements of Xixi Beauty Store... Richard said, "I know a friend who is very interested in Xixi."

Juliet looked up: "Hmm?"

Richard carefully chose his words: "He's a student at the University of Tehran. And he's currently struggling with his final assignment and is looking for a practical course that can earn him credits."

Juliet blinked: "Tehran University? High achievers..."

"Yes." Richard nodded. "And I heard that your Xixi Beauty Shop has a joint course with Tehran? What's it called... Fashion Aesthetics?"

Juliet paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up: "How did you know?"

Richard mumbled, "He mentioned it to me."

Juliet stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "So, is your friend... reliable?"

"It's alright... at least it won't cause you any trouble."

Juliet pondered for a moment, then rested her chin on her hand and said, "The store manager did mention wanting to hire a student with an art background to help design new products... Shouldn't all students in Tehran have studied drawing?"

Richard recalled the original owner's class schedule...

The Faith and Theology Department does offer a course on the history of religious art, but that's completely different from designing new products.

However, this shows some basic art skills... Richard said, "Of course he does."

Juliet continued, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, "If you could get him to give the job a try, I could talk to the manager. We're short-staffed lately, so having another person interviewed won't hurt... What if he really is capable?"

Richard nodded: "Then I'll talk to him. However, I heard that joint programs at beauty stores require advance payment of internship wages..."

In other words, you pay to work...

"A skilled worker recommended by the shop assistant certainly doesn't need these things... provided you're truly capable of the job..." Juliet said. "By the way, what's your name?"

Richard was stunned.

This question is harder to answer than "What do you do for a living?"... He can't use the identity of "Richard," because the real Richard might be sleeping in the gallery's lounge...

I could only make one up: "My name is Lauland."

Juliet blinked and remembered the very common name.

Juliet waved her hand and sat back down at her desk: "Alright, then remember to tell your friend to come visit the shop when he has time!"

"No problem," Richard replied.

When Juliet wanted Richard to go home, something suddenly occurred to her. She asked worriedly, "Should we call the police and catch that scoundrel who stole your clothes?"

What?

I think it's better not to...