Write a function from scratch to create a linked list, design a method to remove a specific item, and shift the remaining places efficiently.
Implement remove_item(values, item), where values is a Python list used to construct a singly linked list. Remove only the first node whose value equals item, reconnect the remaining nodes without shifting array elements, and return the resulting values as a Python list. If the item is absent, return the original sequence unchanged.
Signature: def remove_item(values, item):
def remove_item(values, item):