He just broke up with his girlfriend and is already living with the devilish rich girl.

This convenience store is open 24 hours a day, but the rules Luo Yao told him were completely different.

"After 1 a.m., lock the front door, but don't turn off the lights."

She was sitting on the sofa painting her nails, speaking casually as if she were talking about the weather.

"Don't open the door no matter who knocks, understand?"

Bai Ziheng asked why.

"The hermit has his own ingenious uses~"

Luo Yao winked at him and smiled very cutely.

"What if someone comes in through the back door?"

"Just take it out."

She screwed the cap back on the nail polish, admired her freshly painted fingers under the light, and added a comment without looking up.

"No exceptions?"

"Hmm~"

The more Bai Ziheng thought about it, the more he felt that this explanation was not quite right.

They lock the door but leave the lights on in the middle of the night, refuse to open the front door no matter what, and throw things out as soon as someone comes in through the back door.

This sounds exactly like those strange online tales about rules.

He had a comrade-in-arms who loved watching this kind of stuff when he was in the army.

What "Thirteen Rules for Night Shift Security Guards"?

"Notice to Midnight Convenience Store Employees"

Behind every rule lies a deadly secret.

Now look what's happened; he's become an NPC within the rules himself.

He didn't bother asking what Luo Yao's shop was used for at night, since she wouldn't give him a proper answer anyway.

Today is his turn to work the night shift, so it's a good opportunity to verify how effective these rules really are.

Just after one o'clock, he decisively locked the front door.

I dragged a folding chair from the warehouse to the back door, sat down by the door, and lit a cigarette.

I had only smoked half of my cigarette when I heard a commotion inside the shop.

The sound of plastic bags rubbing together, the clanging of bottles and jars being pried open, followed by a muffled thud.

He stood up, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and stretched his wrist, which wasn't in a sling.

Okay, rule number one: anyone who comes in through the back door gets kicked out.

When he entered the store, he saw a figure standing on tiptoe to reach the large package of potato chips on the top shelf.

The basket was placed at my feet, and it was already stuffed full of snacks.

Packaging bags for puffed snacks peeked out from the edge of the basket, with a row of yogurt and a box of strawberry cake lying horizontally on top.

Luo Yao turned around, holding the potato chips in her arms. She was taken aback when she saw him, then waved at him with a smile.

"Hey buddy, working the night shift, yeah, that must be tough~ I saw you were smoking so I didn't bother you, don't worry about me, go ahead and smoke—"

Before he could finish speaking, he was grabbed by the back of his collar.

"Huh? Huh? What are you doing?!"

Bai Ziheng lifted her away from the shelf with one hand, carried her all the way to the back door, and threw her outside.

The movements were fluid and seamless, executed in one go.

Luo Yao plopped down on the steps by the back door, still clutching the potato chips in her arms.

She looked down at her dusty skirt, then looked up at the man with a cigarette in his mouth at the door, her face full of disbelief.

Bai Ziheng dragged the folding chair he had just used to the back door.

He sat down with an air of authority, one leg across the threshold, blocking the entire door frame.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke into the night wind.

"I'm sorry, but the boss instructed that anything that comes in through the back door after 1 a.m. must be taken out."

"Me! I'm the boss!"

"oh."

Bai Ziheng remained unmoved.

"The boss didn't say that it didn't include her."

Luo Yao climbed up the steps, dusted off her skirt, and gave him a thumbs up.

"Fine, you're making a mountain out of a molehill, aren't you! Aren't you afraid I'll... Hey! What are you doing!"

Bai Ziheng reached out and took the potato chips from her arms.

Luo Yao looked down at her empty hands, then looked up at him, her face full of shock.

"What are you doing! That's mine!"

"You didn't pay for the things in the store."

Bai Ziheng spoke with righteous indignation and stern words.

"presumptuous!"

Luo Yao jumped up from the ground and pointed at his nose.

"This supermarket was originally mine! Mine! It's all mine! And you're mine too!"

Just as Bai Ziheng was about to retort, another commotion suddenly came from inside the shop.

The sound was quieter this time than when Luo Yao was rummaging through the snacks earlier.

Both of them looked into the store at the same time.

Bai Ziheng turned around and pushed the door open to go inside.

Luo Yao was about to squeeze in when the back door slammed right in front of her, almost hitting her nose.

"Bai Ziheng! You just wait!"

Bai Ziheng ignored her.

He walked through the aisle between the shelves to the cashier and stopped.

A woman who looked to be in her twenties was standing next to the cashier.

She wore a light-colored knitted sweater on top and a long skirt that trailed down to her ankles.

The subtle patterns on the fabric flow like moonlight woven into the fibers.

A few strands of hair fell beside her ears, and her features were so exquisite that she seemed otherworldly.

Her almond-shaped eyes were slightly upturned, with a natural touch of pale red at the corners. She was biting a slender pipe.

A few wisps of pale blue smoke drifted from the muzzle of the gun.

Hearing footsteps, the woman turned her head slightly, her almond-shaped eyes sweeping over Bai Ziheng.

A meaningful smile curved at the corners of his mouth.

"That was a real surprise."

"Why the change of personnel? Luo Yao actually hired a human to work the night shift here?"

Bai Ziheng walked towards her expressionlessly.

Seeing his reaction, a hint of interest flashed in the woman's eyes.

She took the pipe out of her mouth, tapped the ash lightly on the counter, and was about to speak.

"My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Qingyao, and I am—"

He hadn't finished speaking.

Bai Ziheng went around behind her, grabbed the back of her collar, and lifted her up.

The action was exactly the same as when he lifted Luo Yao earlier.

The woman still held the pipe in her hand, suspended in mid-air. She blinked her almond-shaped eyes, her expression changing from calm to bewildered.

"Huh?"

Bai Ziheng carried her to the back door, opened the door, threw her outside, and closed the door.

The woman plopped down on the steps by the back door, nearly dropping her pipe.

She remained motionless in that position, the confident smile on her face still lingering.

It felt like this operation completely shut me down.

Luo Yao was sitting next to her, holding a bag of potato chips and crunching away.

Seeing the woman beside her, Luo Yao burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha—oh my, isn't this the vixen? What brings you to my humble little shop?"

She dragged out the last syllable, displaying her full power of sarcastic and unsettling tone.

"Why don't you come in and sit down? Oh right, I just got thrown out, hahaha."

Qingyao slowly turned her head to look at Luoyao, the slender pipe between her lips trembling slightly.

It took him a long time to finally squeeze out a sentence.

"What...is this all about?"

Just as Bai Ziheng closed the back door, the phone rang again inside the shop.

He turned around expressionlessly and walked across the aisle.

A tall, slender man stood in front of the cashier, wearing a long, dark gray coat.

He wore a clown mask with black, white, and red colors on his face.

The man opened his arms and spoke in a dramatic, theatrical tone.

"Oh my goodness—there's a complete stranger here! And a human at that! Handsome sir, may I ask your name? I am—"

Bai Ziheng walked around him, stood behind him, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and lifted him up.

A short "Huh?" came from beneath the clown mask.

Open the door, toss it out, and close the door.

Another person sat on the ground, looking bewildered, by the back door.

Then came a boy with dog ears.

"I've arrived, what are you waiting for...?"

Pick it up, open the door, toss it out, and close the door.

I just turned around and saw another one.

This one isn't as flashy as the previous ones.

He wore a well-fitting dark suit, was in his early fifties, and had his hair neatly combed.

His brows carried an air of authority befitting someone who had long held a high position.

"Young man, I just got off the plane and came over immediately. My name is Zheng Ningyuan, from the Special Administration Bureau headquarters—"

Bai Ziheng didn't listen to what he was about to say.

Pick it up, open the door, toss it out, and close the door.

When Zheng Ningyuan sat on the steps, he was still carrying a briefcase.

He looked down at his briefcase, then turned to look at the four people sitting next to him.

He paused for a moment, adjusted his tie, and slowly began to speak.

"...This young man is quite principled in his actions."

Luo Yao handed over a potato chip: "Want some?"

"...Thank you."

Bai Ziheng leaned against the wall inside the back door and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his good hand.

This supermarket's night shift is like a logistics and transportation operation.

There are enough people from the back door to make a whole mahjong table.

He pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket, shook out one, put it in his mouth, lit it with a lighter, and took a deep drag.

I really put myself through a lot of hardship.