Chapter 10: Strange Neighbor 10

The elevator lobby was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The anger blazing in the brown-haired young man’s eyes was overwhelmingly intense, stabbing toward the man in front of him like a sharp blade. Even Wang Jianbin, standing off to the side, shrank back instinctively.

Whenever his wife shot him a look like that, he’d drop to his knees on the spot and beg forgiveness without a second thought.

What would this blue-eyed foreigner do?

Wang Jianbin subtly shifted his position and stole a glance. To his surprise, there wasn’t a trace of panic or guilt in those heterochromatic eyes—only utter, bewildered confusion.

Whoa, he’s got some nerve.

Seeing the man stay silent, the brown-haired young man frowned and snapped aggressively, “Say something!”

Only then did the blue-eyed man speak. His voice carried a magnetic quality, and though he didn’t sound like a pure foreigner—his delivery felt a touch unpracticed, without any odd accent—he gazed at the young man who had stopped him and asked uncertainly, “Are you… angry?”

The innocent counter-question lingered in the air.

Wang Jianbin couldn’t help sucking in a sharp breath.

Holy shit, that’s bold.

“Or what?!” The brown-haired young man nearly laughed from sheer fury. “Do I look happy to you?”

In response, the man peered at him seriously once more. “…No.”

In that instant, Wang Jianbin wanted to cover his eyes.

He dreaded witnessing a murder.

Fortunately, before the brown-haired young man could explode further, the blue-eyed man added something else.

“Sorry.” He made a clumsy attempt to soothe him. “Please don’t be angry.”

As he spoke, those gray-blue eyes fixed intently on the young man before him, brimming with clear, sincere concern.

At the sight, Wang Jianbin finally let out a breath of relief.

There might still be hope.

But the brown-haired young man’s expression gradually froze, as if he had realized something.

His voice urgent, he demanded, “Do you even know what I just said to you?”

The man shook his head honestly. “No.”

“You don’t remember me?!”

“I do.” The blue-eyed man replied, “You’re my neighbor. I’ve seen you once.”

A spark of light flared in the brown-haired young man’s eyes at the word “remember,” only to snuff out with the next sentence.

“Just once? …When?”

“Yesterday.” He paused to think, then added, “But you probably didn’t see me.”

At that point, Wang Jianbin suddenly felt he shouldn’t be eavesdropping anymore.

Even though he desperately wanted to keep listening.

But the gossip had taken a turn too convoluted to follow.

It was impossible to tell if this was a playboy scumbag or a pitiful amnesiac.

Whatever. Better to make himself scarce.

Wang Jianbin stared straight ahead with a solemn expression, pretending to be deaf as he casually stepped aside toward the elevator button.

But the brown-haired young man—who looked like his mind was in turmoil—reached out to stop him without a word.

Right then, Wang Jianbin watched the elevator slowly ascend. Someone upstairs must have called it.

In the strangely stagnant atmosphere, he didn’t dare protest boldly. He just said weakly, “Um, I want to go home…”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the steadily climbing floor numbers on the display suddenly plunged at a terrifying speed.

The glaring red digits shifted shockingly, accompanied by unnatural roars from the shaft—sharp, ear-piercing screeches of metal on metal.

Wang Jianbin’s eyes flew wide in horror.

When the flickering numbers froze and the plummeting elevator halted midway, he collapsed to the floor in sheer exhaustion.

“Holy shit, good thing I didn’t get on…”

Though his mind was still reeling without understanding why, Wang Jianbin instinctively turned to give thanks. “Thank you, thank you! You saved me back there.”

Yu Bai pointed expressionlessly at the elevator next door and said offhandedly, “Use that one from now on.”

“Sure, sure! Whatever you say!” Drenched in cold sweat, Wang Jianbin muttered to himself, “My legs are like jelly; I can’t even stand. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if I’d gotten on… What if it hadn’t stopped?”

The steaming plastic bag in his hand gave off an increasingly rich food aroma, wafting through the air.

The sour spicy noodles had spilled again, Yu Bai thought. This elevator’s nosedive would indeed halt midway, over and over.

Unlike the first time a week ago, the three of them weren’t inside it this time—but everything else felt eerily similar.

Wang Jianbin sat on the ground, fished out his phone to call building maintenance, when his stomach let out a faint growl. Embarrassed, he scratched his head and pulled the takeout fried chicken from the bag.

He’d wanted to invite his lifesaver to share, but seeing him occupied with grilling the man beside him, he didn’t dare interrupt.

Yu Bai eyed the black-haired, blue-eyed strange neighbor at his side. Just like that day, there was no surprise or unease on his face—like an out-of-place ghost.

Yu Bai suddenly understood and asked, “Did you not know the elevator was broken?”

The man paused, a flicker of confusion crossing his calm features. Without thinking, he replied, “Do elevators break too?”

…

Yu Bai didn’t know what came over him to make him laugh out loud, but laugh he did.

He lowered his voice to ensure Master Wang, intently devouring his fried chicken nearby, wouldn’t overhear.

“Human things are fragile,” Yu Bai said softly, meeting his gaze. “You don’t understand so much—how dare you come to this world?”

As expected, those unique eyes immediately filled with the panic and disorientation of a exposed secret.

Just like that noon when he’d burst out the door to demand if the next-door neighbor was human.

This time, faced with Yu Bai’s certainty, his non-human neighbor abandoned his feeble denial.

“Sorry.” He apologized again, the slight curls of his black forelocks trembling faintly. “I’m trying to learn.”

Yu Bai said, “Earlier, you had no idea why I was angry, but you apologized anyway?”

Evidently, the non-human neighbor before him—like everyone else in this world—retained no memory of the future.

He alone had been sent back in time.

Even if this bizarre situation was undoubtedly this guy’s doing, it had nothing to do with his present self. If anyone was to blame, it was his future self.

“You’re angry,” the blue-eyed man said honestly. “So I should comfort you.”

…What kind of logic was that?

Apologizing to comfort someone. Saying “you’re welcome” to thanks.

The non-human had picked up human politeness, but all in a jumbled mess.

Yu Bai fell silent for a few seconds.

In the quiet gap, the man studied his expression and asked uncertainly, “Did I do something wrong?”

“If apologizing is wrong, then what should I do to comfort you?”

Listening to him, Yu Bai’s lingering anger faded even more.

This non-human neighbor didn’t seem so strange, after all.

And if he had the power to send him to the past, he must have the power to return him to normal time.

With that realization, Yu Bai steeled his resolve.

“You just need to do one thing to comfort me.”

He stepped closer, his tone even, though his fingertips seized the man’s collar without ceremony once more.

“The future you trapped me here,” Yu Bai whispered into the man’s ear. “That day, I was talking to you just like this.”

“Send me back.” His fingertips brushed the man’s icy skin, like touching a bone-chilling winter. “Back to a week from now.”

“Then I won’t be mad at you anymore.”

In Yu Bai’s final glimpse, familiar ripples stirred across that gray-blue lake, mingled with fresh astonishment.

The next second, darkness swallowed everything.