Yu Bai, finding some bittersweet amusement amid the ordeal, quietly turned his face away and let out a silent sigh.
Yan Jing, who had just been shooed away from the front seat moments ago, twisted his head back around silently. “You guys done chatting?”
There was a distinct vibe in his tone, like an aggrieved spouse dying to call out the double standard but too afraid to actually do it.
“…” Yu Bai felt a pang of guilt for a second. “I’ve rested up. Not tired anymore.”
He paused to think, then answered Yan Jing’s earlier question. “No rush with Uncle Yuan. He should be back to normal right now—probably at the hospital. Once Uncle Zhang gets out of the police station, he’ll head straight over to see him. We should find He Xi first, then get in touch with Uncle Yuan.”
The three of them had sent their consciousnesses into their original bodies in this timespace, so Yuan Yuxing would be his usual elderly self too—not some kid. And as a man who’d weathered sixty-seven years of life’s ups and downs, he ought to pull himself together fast.
He Xi, on the other hand, was just a straightforward little girl. For her to inexplicably get hurled across timespaces? She’d be panicked out of her mind. Finding her came first, if only to explain what the hell was going on.
“Oh, yeah, makes sense.” Yan Jing nodded, half understanding. “But… who’s He Xi?”
Yu Bai blinked, remembering that after breaking out of the time loop, only he knew her—and it was one-sided.
“The little girl who got on the elevator on the eleventh floor this morning.”
“That super timid kid?” Yan Jing frowned in confusion. “How’d you even learn her name?”
“Met her during the loop.” Yu Bai was puzzled too. “You actually remember her? I figured you were too busy sniping at Uncle Yuan.”
“No way. I’m not blind. I even noticed what looked like a bruise on her face, but she was hiding it so hard I didn’t dare stare…”
“That’s from her dad hitting her. She really hates anyone seeing it.”
“Holy shit!” Yan Jing burst out in righteous indignation. “Beats his own kid? Total scum!”
Yu Bai nodded. “Might need you to deal with him later.”
It was a little past six in the evening now. Elementary schoolers had been out for hours, so He Xi should be home.
Figuring out how to get past her scum dad and see her without a hitch? That was going to be tricky.
Xie Wufang couldn’t have cared less about other people, and anyway, he was just a pale, scrawny shut-in. No way he could take on a drunken, raging piece of trash if things went south.
Their best bet was Yan Jing, who looked the most intimidating by far.
A few moments later, the taxi pulled to a stop beneath the gleaming golden letters spelling out “Beautiful Home.”
After two hours away, Yu Bai was back in this neighborhood—the absolute source of all evil.
Just in a different timespace, that was all.
He led Xie Wufang and Yan Jing through the gates, across the deepening dusk, and up to the familiar apartment building.
And then…
In the first-floor lobby—bustling for once with voices—the three of them came to a simultaneous halt.
Up ahead, a handful of unfamiliar residents stood around, exchanging bewildered glances.
A yellow maintenance sign stood outside the elevator on the left. Yu Bai and Xie Wufang hadn’t taken the elevators that afternoon, and sure enough, it was still doomed to be out of commission.
The one on the right had supposedly been back online after a quick inspection shutdown.
But right now, a little boy in oversized hospital scrubs was darting in and out of the car over and over.
He kept mumbling something under his breath. He’d step out of the just-opened doors, only to jab the button right as they started closing and head right back in. Rinse and repeat.
The elevator stayed stuck on the first floor, unable to go anywhere.
One of the residents called out to him. “Hey, kid, quit messing with the elevator. Some of us need to head upstairs.”
“Don’t call me kid!” he shot back in a loud, deadly serious tone. “Whatever you do, don’t ride this elevator!”
“Why not?”
“It’s gonna cause trouble! Big trouble!”
“…”
The utterly baffled residents exchanged glances.
Someone eyed the boy’s hospital clothes and tapped their temple sympathetically. “Probably something wrong up here.”
A few others just shook their heads and trudged off toward the stairwell. “Whatever. Stairs aren’t that bad.”
The strangers gradually dispersed, leaving just Yu Bai and his two companions.
Yan Jing stared in shock. “That’s Uncle Yuan!”
Yu Bai looked baffled. “Why’s he still a little boy?”
Xie Wufang stayed quiet for a beat before murmuring, “Not this elevator.”
Yu Bai could hardly bear to look at the absurd scene unfolding before them. He whispered in agreement, “Yeah…”
Even if Uncle Yuan figured the way back to their original timespace was riding the elevator he’d been on during the traversal…
It sure as hell wasn’t supposed to be this one.
Nine days ago, the elevator on the left hadn’t been replaced with that ridiculously fancy gold one yet. It was still the good old plain silver model—and it was offline anyway, thanks to the crash fault.
Long story short, what the hell did this poor, hardworking right elevator ever do to deserve this?
It was innocent!
The little boy, still relentlessly tormenting the blameless elevator, suddenly whipped his head around at the sound of familiar voices.
The moment he spotted the three of them standing there with complicated expressions, he lit up and let out an excited yell.
“You’re here too!” he cried, overjoyed. “I thought I was the only one who’d come back!”
The boy immediately abandoned the elevator and bolted toward them.
Yan Jing, standing right up front, saw him on the verge of tears from sheer joy and instinctively dropped into a squat for a better look. “Whoa, Uncle Yuan, you aren’t gonna cry, are you? Weren’t you the one talking about staying calm—”
The charging boy slammed right into him full-force—like a bear hug from long-lost buddies.
The boy yelped loudly while clutching his forehead. “I woke up right in the hospital! Today scared the living hell out of I, your father! …You big dummy, how’s your head that hard? Made of stone or what?”
“…” Yan Jing apologized sincerely, giving his back a comforting pat that carried just a hint of pride. “Sorry, Uncle Yuan. I train pretty hard, y’know.”
“What the—? You train your head?”
“Eh, it works the muscle groups around it a little, at least.”
In the background, the beleaguered elevator finally managed to close its doors and head upstairs.
What a heartwarming scene.
If you ignored how utterly absurd it was.
Yu Bai, watching from the sidelines, laughed until he was on the verge of falling apart.
Xie Wufang caught the grin on his face, glanced at the pair locked in their bizarre pose, and asked thoughtfully, “What are they doing?”
“Hm?” Yu Bai followed his gaze and couldn’t help chuckling. “It’s… sorta like a hug.”
“Like the one you did before?”
Right—like that time he’d accidentally hugged Yan Mama.
…This guy really loved bringing up the exact thing he shouldn’t.
Yu Bai mumbled something vague in response, trying to pivot the awkward memory into a earnest lesson.
“Hugging’s this human thing for showing emotions. You guys don’t do it where you’re from, huh?”
“No.”
“Then it’s special to here.” Yu Bai grinned. “In our country, it’s usually just for people who are really close.”
“Close?”
“Yeah—like friends or family. People who matter a lot to you.”
He said it offhand, his gaze on his two bickering companions. He didn’t notice how intently the man beside him was listening.
Listening with the same focus he brought to studying Go.
The diligent silver elevator made a quick trip upstairs and returned with a few upstairs residents who’d been stubbornly waiting on it.
“Why was this thing stuck on the first floor for so long today?”
“No clue. Probably glitched out again. Sigh—the one next to it just crapped out this afternoon!”
“These elevators keep breaking one after another. Property management’s useless. You think somebody’s messing with them on purpose?”
The puzzled residents grumbled back and forth as they filed out of the car.
The brown-haired young man with the perfectly nonchalant expression, the blue-eyed mixed-race guy lost in thought, the muscle-bound dude silently cracking up, and the hunched little boy fake-coughing his way along—they brushed past the group and slipped into the elevator without a word.
The car arrived on the eleventh floor. The four of them headed together for Room 1104.
As they walked, Yan Jing somehow ended up trailing just behind Yu Bai.
“You’re not seriously counting on me for this, right? What’s her dad even look like?” he whispered, gesturing at his own arm. “Please tell me he’s not some big dude covered in tattoos…”
Yu Bai actually had called in a guy like that once to handle the scum.
Truth was, the man looked like a totally ordinary schlub you could find anywhere. But when it came to his daughter? Not a shred of parental love or even basic human empathy.
Yu Bai shook his head. “Nah. One punch from you should drop him.”
Yuan Yuxing shot Yan Jing a disdainful glare. “You were just bragging about your training. What, no guts now?”
“Oh, yeah? Then you handle it, Uncle Yuan…”
Yu Bai tuned out the whispering behind him. He stopped in front of the door to Room 1104, took a deep breath, and rapped firmly on it.
A perfectly normal voice came from the other side. “Who is it?”
Footsteps drew nearer until the door swung open, revealing a middle-aged man in slippers. He had a plain, unremarkable face.
Under the man’s puzzled gaze, Yu Bai spoke first, striving to sound at least somewhat polite. “Are you He Xi’s father?”
“That’s me. And you are?”
“I’m her teacher. I need to speak with her about something.”
It was a half-hearted excuse, but Yu Bai knew this irresponsible father wouldn’t give it a second thought.
“Teacher?” The man blinked in surprise. “Hang on a sec.”
With utter indifference, he bellowed into the house. “He Xi! Get out here! Your teacher’s waiting!”
Yu Bai caught the faint stench of alcohol wafting from the man. He looked reasonably sober at the moment, but the sour odor seemed baked into the very walls of the apartment.
As He Xi’s father waited for his daughter to appear, his eyes flicked over Yu Bai’s face. In a casual tone, he remarked, “Teachers can dye their hair these days? Your school’s pretty lax, huh.”
Yu Bai said nothing. His gaze slid right over the man’s head as he scanned the cluttered apartment for any sign of the little girl.
For one thing, his hair color was natural.
For another, he had zero interest in engaging with this scum.
He Xi’s father noticed the three people standing behind Yu Bai. His eyes darted around as he said, “Oh, more than one teacher, huh? And you’ve brought a kid along. Tutoring session?”
No one bothered to reply.
The blue-eyed teacher remained expressionless. The burly teacher stayed utterly silent. The short little boy glared at him with open wariness.
No sound came from inside the apartment, either.
In the ensuing awkward silence, the middle-aged man glanced back over his shoulder and sighed. “No idea what she’s up to in her room.”
Then he flashed Yu Bai a smile. “Teacher, let me go fetch her.”
With that, he turned and shuffled deeper into the apartment. His footsteps dragged lazily across the tiles, scraping out dull rasps with every step.
“He Xi! Hurry up and come out. Your teacher’s waiting!”
Yan Jing poked his head out from behind Yu Bai. Unable to hold back, he whispered, “What’s his deal? He actually looks kinda nor—”
The word “normal” never made it out. A sudden, jarring thud erupted from inside the apartment, startling him into silence.
It was followed by a burst of shrill cursing.
“What the hell are you hiding in there for?”
It was as if the man had brought some outside grievance home with him. He pounded furiously on his daughter’s bedroom door. “Get your ass out here right now! Don’t make me say it twice!”
A frightened, childish voice filtered faintly through the door. “…Sorry, Dad! I’ll come out right away!”
But her father wasn’t appeased. His eyes, brimming with violence, scanned the cluttered furnishings around him.
In the next instant, he snatched up a clothes-drying pole with practiced ease and rapped it against the door.
He stood in the doorway and chuckled again. “Come on, hurry it up. Your teacher’s gonna get impatient.”
Caught off guard by the abrupt turn of events, Yu Bai and the others froze for a moment.
The little girl’s door handle began to turn slowly, signaling it was about to open. Her father, waiting right there, gradually raised the pole clutched in his hand.
He hefted the sturdy length of wood lightly in his rough palm and tapped it against the door panel, producing a faint, crisp clack—as if it might come crashing down on someone at any second.
Yuan Yuxing was the first to snap out of it.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the little boy bolted forward. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he shouted fiercely.
“Daring to hit a kid right in front of us—”
He Xi’s father whipped his head around on instinct. The pole he’d raised didn’t have a chance to fall before he spotted the short boy charging toward him in a fury.
The door swung open at that exact moment. He Xi, who had only just returned from inside the wall, stared in wide-eyed shock at the scene unfolding before her. She even forgot to blink.
A strange little boy in a striped hospital gown was hurtling toward her father—who was gripping the clothes-drying pole—like a human cannonball.
Then he slammed straight into her father’s leg. The impact sent the boy staggering backward. With a thud, he landed hard on his backside and let out a yelp of pain. “Ow!”
…
The air hung in bizarre stillness for several seconds.
The little boy, who clearly hadn’t budged the adult an inch, clutched his throbbing forehead. He stared at the terrifying pole now inches from his face and yelled toward the others. “Help! Little Bai! Comrade Xie!!”
Comrade Xie, who had been called upon, stared blankly at Little Bai. He couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening.
Little Bai, his expression a complicated mix of emotions, covered his face with one hand. He started forward, ready to figure out some way to bail the two kids out of this mess.
But someone else moved even faster.
He Xi’s father had staggered back a few steps from Yuan Yuxing’s charge. Once he’d steadied himself, he eyed the bizarre strangers with suspicion. “You—”
He never finished. A fierce, powerful fist swung in and smashed right into his face.
The impact was brutal. His eyes rolled back, the pole slipped from his grasp, and he crashed heavily to the floor—nearly knocked out cold.
Yan Jing, all muscle, watched him crumple. He blew on his fist with effortless cool and couldn’t resist mimicking the punchy sound effect from an arcade game. “KO!”
The little boy on the floor gaped at him in shock, trembling as he stammered, “Y-you… not bad, ya big dummy!”
“Of course I’m not bad,” Yan Jing shot back. “I do Sanda, y’know. Took second place in the province!”
A touch of dissatisfaction crept into his voice. “Uncle Yuan, why didn’t you call for me, of all people?”
Yuan Yuxing stared at him in disbelief. “Who looks like a total wimp? I figured you were scared stiff, just hiding behind Little Bai!”
“I am scared!” Yan Jing replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “But this scum was about to hit a kid. Even I couldn’t let that slide!”
“You’re right, but that punch came outta nowhere. I wasn’t ready at all—argh, you scared the hell outta me! Where’s my medicine—”
Yu Bai silently gave Yan Jing a thumbs-up. Calmly ignoring the two bickering men, he walked over to He Xi’s side.
He squatted down in front of the little girl, who still had her eyes wide open, and met her gaze at eye level. In a soft voice, he asked, “Are you okay?”
Her big, clear black-and-white eyes stared back at him in a daze.
That morning in the elevator, she’d been terrified of him. Now, though, she didn’t flinch away.
Timidly, she murmured, “I-I’m fine.”
So Yu Bai summoned the gentlest tone he’d ever mustered in his life, hoping to explain the bizarre events of the day. “Do you remember? We met this morning in the elevator—the golden one…”
But the little girl spoke up first. “I remember. I… I know time has gone back nine days.”
Yu Bai paused, momentarily stunned into silence.
Her voice was soft and timid, but utterly certain. “I know I’ve gone back in time because I can hide in the wall again.”
She glanced back at the wall in her room. Her gaze quietly swept over the all-too-familiar apartment.
The clothes-drying pole lying discarded on the floor. Her father sprawled nearby, unable to hit her anymore. And the four strangers who had suddenly appeared in her home.
Plus the time that had inexplicably reversed itself after stepping out of that golden elevator.
The little girl’s clear, bright eyes reflected it all like a dreamscape.
“I know none of this was supposed to happen.”
She looked up at the gentle brown-haired young man before her and finally ventured to blink.
When her eyes fluttered open again, the scene remained unchanged. It wasn’t a dream or illusion.
“Who are you?”
Her eyes grew misty as she asked, ever so cautiously, “…Are you gods?”
