Security guards at a shopping mall in Shanghai, China recently discovered a young man who had allegedly been living comfortably under a staircase for over six months.

Shopping malls are busy places, so keeping an eye on every suspicious-looking individual can be challenging even for the most attentive security guards, but failing to notice someone living in a shopping mall continuously for about half a year is a little suspicious in itself. And yet, that seems to have happened at a busy mall in Shanghai, where a young man managed to remain undiscovered for more than six months while living quite comfortably. According to a White Deer video that went viral, the unnamed young man had installed a sleeping tent under a secluded staircase in the building, along with a small desk and an office chair. He charged his laptop and mobile phone from the shopping mall electric outlets and managed to keep a very low profile.

The man apparently moved into the shopping mall over six months ago but was quickly noticed by a security guard who initially wanted to kick him out. However, after telling the guard that he was only living under the staircase there because he needed a quiet and secluded place to study for a college entrance exam, the young man was allowed to stay. He promised to leave right after the oh-so-important exam.

It’s not clear what happened to the security guard who originally discovered his clandestine living quarters, but one thing is for sure – the young man continued to live in the shopping mall until October 30, when a different guard managed to discover his surprisingly clean and organized home away from home. In a video that has been doing the round on Chinese social media, the unnamed man can be seen chilling in his chair, browsing his phone, next to a sleeping tent.

 

The young man has been arrested, and security camera footage confirmed that he had been living inside the shopping mall for several months. His story got mixed reactions from social media users, with some people claiming that he was nothing more than a ‘parasite’ that could have caused damage to the companies operating in the mall or even attacked someone, and others praising his ability to remain unnoticed and save money on rent.