This short, decisive answer came so quickly that it overlapped with the curious, probing lilt at the end of Yu Bai’s question, leaving him almost too stunned to react.
Just like in every previous loop, the response was an unhesitating agreement.
Perhaps it was all those colorful adventures they had shared side by side, the reckless bravery born from knowing they could always restart, and the day-after-day repetition of the looped time that had gradually blurred Yu Bai’s perception of the non-human.
Subconsciously, he had assumed that Xie Wufang treated all humans with the same indulgence, obedience, and even care.
Only now did Yu Bai belatedly realize that this wasn’t the case at all.
They were entirely different races, living in different worlds—or even dimensions—with distinct cultures and languages. The gulf between them might be wider than that between an ant and a dragon.
He still didn’t know where Xie Wufang came from or what kind of past he had, but he was starting to understand that the other man was merely silently observing and attempting to blend into human society, without ever showing any real attachment to the species.
How could a terrifying existence capable of turning the vast sky into a mirror-like lake with a mere moment’s distraction truly care about every puny, fragile human?
Would a person concern themselves with the direction a mayfly was swimming in the water?
Yu Bai couldn’t help recalling the day he had first encountered Xie Wufang, from his own perspective.
The black-haired, blue-eyed man standing in the corner of the elevator car had completely ignored Master Wang from the hardware store, who had called him a foreigner and struck up a conversation.
When the elevator plummeted and Master Wang fell flat on his butt in panic, Yu Bai remembered that Xie Wufang hadn’t spared him so much as a glance.
From beginning to end, the only things Xie Wufang seemed to care about were Master Wang’s hand blocking the door—which violated the elevator rules—and Yu Bai himself.
Oh, and him.
Yu Bai had accidentally suggested that Xie Wufang might not need to eat, and the other man had looked right at him.
Later, Xie Wufang had even asked him directly if they could take the stairs to the twelfth floor.
To Xie Wufang, he seemed to be special.
Was it because of that scene the previous afternoon, when Yu Bai had been alone in the kitchen, pretending to cook while making a phone call, and it had left a deep impression?
In any case, he hoped it wasn’t because of the way he had cursed his phone for being stupid after failing to search something up, making it unforgettable to the non-human.
He didn’t want to embarrass humanity.
As Yu Bai thought this, before he could figure out how to respond to Xie Wufang—who had just earnestly agreed to his request—another voice full of surprise cut in.
“Little Bai, you want to learn Go?”
Yan Jing, still at a loss for how to explain to his parents that he wasn’t crazy, had decided to seek emergency help from the sidelines. After all, Little Bai was much smarter than he was.
But as soon as he approached, he overheard their conversation.
Yan Jing instantly forgot why he had come over in the first place and asked curiously, “Why do you suddenly want to learn Go?”
“What?” Yu Bai blinked in confusion. “No, that was just—”
Just a hypothetical!
He didn’t get to finish, because Yan Papa and Yan Mama, who had followed their son over, looked shocked as well. “Really? Little Bai, you want to learn Go?”
Suddenly, the couple had no time to worry about their son, who seemed to periodically lose his mind. They chimed in one after another.
Yan Papa said, “Go? That’s great! It’s a fine hobby—good for cultivating the mind and body, and for making new friends. What’s that term? Oh, right, fellow players!”
Yan Mama said, “This is the first time I’ve heard Little Bai talk about picking up a new hobby! By the way, is this a new friend you’ve made? Little Jing, did you just call him over? Do you know him too?”
Yan Jing replied, “Yeah, I do. He’s Brother Xie, who lives next door to Little Bai’s place… er, next door!”
Still a bit wary of Xie Wufang, Yan Jing took a cautious step back toward his parents and continued to ask Yu Bai in bewilderment, “But why do you want to learn Go all of a sudden? I’ve never heard you mention wanting to learn anything before.”
Yu Bai thought that it was probably because he had always been dedicated to being an utterly ordinary person. His one hobby had been persistently revising a will he might need someday; he was currently up to the fourteenth version.
As for why he wanted to learn Go?
He didn’t! It had just been a hypothetical question tailored for the non-human!
The mere thought of math gave him a headache—how could he possibly want to learn something that required constant brainpower like Go?!
“No, I don’t. Not at all—”
As Yu Bai spoke, his gaze inadvertently swept over Xie Wufang beside him.
The man was still quietly watching him, and as Yu Bai reflexively denied it, a faint flicker of confusion seemed to stir in those gray-blue eyes.
That unhesitating “yes” still seemed to echo in the evening breeze.
Forget it.
Yu Bai forced a calm smile and gave up the struggle with practiced ease. “Yeah, I want to learn Go.”
This was all for the sake of humanity!
The Yan family trio exclaimed, “Wow!”
Yu Bai adjusted the useless plain glasses perched on his nose to hide his discomfort and scrambled for an excuse. “Lately, I’ve gotten to know a couple of old men who play Go in the park, and they’ve sparked my interest in it.”
Yan Jing had a sudden realization and blurted out, “Oh! I didn’t realize Uncle Yuan had that effect.”
Yan Papa asked, “Uncle Yuan? Is he a fellow player?”
Yan Mama smiled. “Little Bai’s made so many new friends since moving. That’s wonderful.”
“Oh, right—I almost forgot!” She turned to Xie Wufang with enthusiasm and moved to take his arm. “Come on in and sit down! Little Bai’s like a son to me, so make yourself at home. I’ll get you some slippers.”
Just before her hand could touch Xie Wufang’s icy skin, Yu Bai—his internal alarms blaring—intercepted her in time. “No need, Auntie. We have something to do—we’re heading out right now!”
Yan Mama, suddenly enveloped in a full hug, looked stunned. “What? …Huh!”
Only after his body had reacted on instinct did Yu Bai realize what he had done.
Brushing off Yan Mama’s hand abruptly would have been rude, but grabbing it first would have been weird.
In his panic, he had gone straight for a hug.
…
It was probably because he had hugged Doctor Chen so freely and recklessly in the loops so many times that it had become a habit.
After all, they both felt so much like a mom.
Under the perfectly aligned, astonished gazes of the Yan family trio, Yu Bai despaired as he realized he would have to explain himself again.
“Um…” He slowly released her, looking down at Yan Mama—who was much shorter than him—and explained carefully, “Earlier this afternoon, the sky got all weird, right? I really thought it was the end of the world.”
“So I suddenly felt really glad to see you again.”
Yu Bai finished in a rush, too embarrassed to look at Yan Mama’s expression. He hurriedly signaled Yan Jing with his eyes to leave, while towing Xie Wufang along. “…Alright, we really have to go. See you later, Uncle, Auntie!”
“Go on, go on!” Yan Mama responded reflexively from where she stood frozen. “But where are you headed?”
The backs of the hastily departing pair paused slightly, and a clear voice tinged with shy annoyance drifted back on the wind. “To learn Go!”
Yan Mama burst out laughing.
She thought for a moment, then said to her husband with irrepressible delight, “Little Bai hugged me of his own accord for the first time!”
“Yeah, I was surprised too.”
“He thought of me during what he thought was the end of the world.” Yan Mama beamed. “But he didn’t hug you—he only said he was glad to see me. Heh heh.”
“…” Yan Papa fell silent for a beat before changing the subject. “Speaking of which, these two kids are acting a bit stra—”
Yan Mama shot him a glare right away. “If you’re about to say ‘strange,’ I’ll have none of it. I think it’s a miracle!”
“No, no! I meant,” Yan Papa backpedaled quickly, thinking on his feet, “extraordinary.”
“It’s like they’ve had some kind of extraordinary adventure.”
The evening breeze roared as the sinking dusk drenched the summer day in night.
The taxi sped along the road, the driver staring intently ahead, eyes fixed straight forward.
Probably because the muscular guy in the passenger seat looked pretty intimidating.
The muscular guy twisted around to look at the back seat. “Little Bai, where are we going now? To find Uncle Yuan?”
The brown-haired young man on the left side of the back seat wore a utterly fed-up expression. He slumped against the seatback with a sigh. “I’m so tired. I’ll tell you later.”
It had only been two hours since entering this timespace, yet his life had been a whirlwind of excitement and ups and downs.
And somehow, all the pits he had fallen into were ones he had unwittingly dug for himself.
Yan Jing obediently turned his head back. “Oh.”
At the same time, the man beside him—who had been gazing down at his phone screen—looked up at Yu Bai and asked, “Are you very tired?”
Hearing this, Yu Bai instinctively sat up a little straighter. “No, just mentally exhausted… Never mind, don’t worry about it.”
The non-human surely couldn’t understand what “mentally exhausted” meant.
Noticing that Xie Wufang was looking at his phone, Yu Bai casually asked, “What are you looking at?”
With a slight movement of his wrist, Xie Wufang shifted the phone in his palm toward him.
The screen was filled with dense lines of text, interspersed with obscure jargon that made his eyes ache.
It was a high-level Go tutorial.
…
Ah, he suddenly felt even more exhausted.
He had truly dug this pit for himself.
Yu Bai, who had only just managed to sit up a little straighter, slumped back down in dejection.
Oblivious to his inner turmoil, Xie Wufang said earnestly, “I’ve already grasped the rules. Just a few practice games, and I should master Go.”
No need for a few. One would be more than enough.
He had already witnessed the astonishing learning ability of non-humans.
Yu Bai praised him in a faint, threadbare voice. “Mm, you’re amazing.”
“Then I can teach you.” Xie Wufang went on, sharply picking up on the odd note in his tone. “…Are you unhappy?”
“No, this is just tears of joy.” Yu Bai’s words rang utterly false. “I’m over the moon, because I really want to learn Go.”
As if.
He simply didn’t want to renege on his promise in front of a non-human, letting the other think human words were nothing but hot air.
It was all for the sake of humanity!
However…
Yu Bai’s gaze drifted over the slender knuckles gripping the edge of the phone beside him, and he couldn’t help recalling that summer afternoon forever frozen in the time loop.
Beneath the dappled, dancing shade of the trees, under the breathless stares of the gathered crowd, glossy black Go stones hovered at lean, capable fingertips, poised to drop.
Truth be told, he found Xie Wufang mesmerizing when he played Go—especially in that fleeting moment when he placed a stone, the pitch-black Go stone pinned by a pale, powerful fingertip to the perfect position.
That was why Yu Bai, who barely understood the game, had watched the entire intricate match with rapt attention.
Amid the throng of onlookers, he alone knew that this man’s fingertips were even colder than the cool stones themselves.
And now, he would likely see this sight again and again.
On the bright side, it was easy on the eyes.
…Not a bad way to make the best of a bad situation.
