Night had fallen thick and heavy. They passed through a corridor adorned with intricate carvings, proceeding forward amid the enthusiastic voice of Zhang Yunjiang.
“This area has the guest rooms. Pick any one you like—stay wherever you want. If you need food or anything else, just find Uncle Ah. Oh, right—the Go room is over here.”
The old man was now entirely preoccupied with his desire to play Go against Xie Wufang. After a brief introduction, he unconsciously veered toward the Go room, his face alight with anticipation as he gazed at the young man with black hair and blue eyes.
The Uncle Ah he mentioned was an even older man, likely the butler. He had come out earlier with some surprise to greet them and was now beaming at this group of unfamiliar guests.
“It’s quite lively tonight, Yunjiang. You’ve found another strong Go player, have you?”
The white-haired Uncle Ah spoke with a cheerful grin, clearly very familiar with him. “You go ahead to the Go room. I’ll take care of these young folks.”
Suddenly being called a young folk caught Yu Bai off guard, but he still politely greeted the man. “Hello, Uncle Ah.”
This Uncle Ah looked to be in his seventies or eighties. In front of him, they really were just young folks.
Of course, Xie Wufang—who wasn’t bound by Earth’s timeline—was the exception.
“Hello, hello!” Seeing Zhang Yunjiang so full of vigor, Uncle Ah laughed heartily too, warmly suggesting, “Why don’t you all sit down for some hot tea first? Or would you rather look around? Whatever you like.”
Walking alongside the big brothers, He Xi was already wide-eyed with awe. Amid the old man’s kindly words, she couldn’t help whispering, “This place is so beautiful. It’s like the gardens we visited on that spring outing.”
Yan Jing, his face full of shock, took a moment to find his voice before murmuring, “Holy crap, I don’t even dare speak loudly here. Feels like I should buy a ticket.”
He Xi’s voice dropped even lower as she chimed in repeatedly. “Me too, me too.”
Amused, Yu Bai said with a grin, “Do you two want to wander around with Uncle Ah, then?”
Perhaps because he’d encountered so many strange things lately, Yu Bai quickly got over his initial surprise and accepted the understated luxury of the scenery and courtyards before him.
More than strolling through gardens, he wanted to watch Xie Wufang and Zhang Yunjiang play Go right now.
…Even though he’d have to learn Go himself tomorrow.
Just thinking about it gave him a preemptive headache.
But tomorrow’s problems could wait until tomorrow.
Humans were masters at procrastination, after all.
Uncle Ah readily agreed to Yu Bai’s suggestion. “Sure thing! You can browse as long as you want. Just tell me when you’re tired!”
Though advanced in years, the old man was sturdy and spry, his steps steady. He immediately prepared to lead the guests on a proper tour of the sprawling estate.
Before turning, Uncle Ah remembered something and called out to Zhang Yunjiang, who was about to take Xie Wufang to the Go room. “By the way, Yunjiang—is Fugui really okay? Did you see him?”
“I didn’t see him, but he’s fine,” Zhang Yunjiang called back. “He said he’s having an epiphany. Who knows where he’s holed up pondering Go right now.”
“Oh!” Uncle Ah paused, surprised. “It’s been years since Fugui got like this.”
“Yeah,” Zhang Yunjiang’s voice drifted back from afar, laced with amusement. “Even said he’d rout me completely!”
Uncle Ah chuckled and shook his head with a sigh. “That’s good, that’s good.”
He turned his attention back, finally setting his mind at ease to focus on entertaining tonight’s visitors.
To his surprise, though, he noticed the two young men in front of him were both smiling.
Yu Bai—who hadn’t initially realized who Fugui was—was struggling to keep a straight face. “Fugui…”
Yan Jing failed entirely and burst out laughing, blurting, “What a great name! Sounds loaded!”
Who knew Uncle Yuan had such a cute nickname.
But honestly, compared to the stuffy-sounding Yuxing, Yuan Fugui fit that hot-tempered, rough old grouch much better.
As the two laughed, the short little girl looked baffled, while the even shorter little boy wore an expression of utter mortification.
Uncle Ah blinked, then reflexively explained to his guests, “Fugui’s an old friend of Yunjiang’s. I watched both of them grow up. He was said to have gone missing earlier—scared me half to death. Good thing he’s alright…”
As he spoke, he suddenly squinted, peering closely at the little boy. “You know, you look a bit like Fugui!”
Clueless about the truth, the old man marveled at the coincidence. The boy, suddenly singled out, promptly ducked his head and scurried sideways, calling out in an unusually high-pitched voice that sounded forced. “Come on, let’s go! I want to tour the gardens! Wow, this is the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen in my life!”
“Alright, alright—take your time looking,” Uncle Ah hurried after him, adding regretfully, “Young man, that hunchback of yours is pretty bad. You walk just like a little old man!”
At those words, the boy’s hunched figure nearly tripped over itself right there.
Then he picked up the pace, practically flying along.
Uncle Ah called after him worriedly. “Slow down, young man! It’s dark at night—don’t fall. I’m a real old codger; I can’t keep up that fast!”
Yan Jing, doubled over with laughter and holding He Xi’s hand, trailed behind the old man and the boy. In a deliberately flat tone, he mimicked, “This is the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen in my life! Wow!”
Yu Bai laughed until his stomach hurt. He parted ways with them first. “I’m heading to the Go room to watch the game. You guys enjoy the tour.”
Under the flowing moonlight, the courtyards lay serene. The man who had been well ahead seemed to catch the distant voices and paused to wait.
Zhang Yunjiang, hurrying along in excitement, noticed the sudden emptiness beside him and stopped too, looking back in surprise. “What’s up?”
Following Xie Wufang’s gaze, Zhang Yunjiang spotted the young man approaching from afar. Realization dawned. “Oh, right—I forgot. Little Doctor Yu’s interested in Go too. He’ll want to watch, and you’re teaching him tomorrow anyway. Let’s wait for him, then head to the Go room together.”
Xie Wufang gave a soft hum. “Mm.”
During the wait, Zhang Yunjiang glanced at the young man beside him, then at the approaching figure ahead. He couldn’t help sighing, “You two are good friends, aren’t you?”
Earlier, this prodigiously talented young man had bluntly said he didn’t want to teach him. Yet the next moment, he’d volunteered to teach someone else.
Having witnessed the clear favoritism firsthand, Zhang Yunjiang felt no anger—only admiration for such rare candor and sincerity.
He even felt a measure of understanding.
People naturally distinguished between close and distant relations, treating them differently. It was only natural.
Few were as direct and unmasked about it as this young man.
Now, upon hearing the words, the young man with those rare gray-blue eyes stirred slightly. In a soft voice, he echoed, “Good friends?”
As if questioning him.
For a moment, Zhang Yunjiang wasn’t sure what that meant—was he dissatisfied with the description, or just asking?
He thought it over and figured it was the former, so he corrected himself earnestly. “No, not just good—best friends, right!”
Though they’d only known each other half a day, Zhang Yunjiang could tell from countless subtle signs that their bond was exceptionally close, far beyond ordinary friendship—like the rare soulmates one encountered in life.
But he hadn’t expected the young man beside him to murmur, “Not mine.”
…Huh?
Zhang Yunjiang was momentarily stunned.
Before he could say anything to smooth it over, he heard the other man calmly ask, “What does ‘friend’ mean to you?”
Who did the “you” in that question refer to?
Puzzled, Zhang Yunjiang took it as directed at him and Little Doctor Yu.
Perhaps it was the stillness of the night. Amid this unusual question, his mind wandered unbidden to the note still tucked in his shirt pocket, to Butler Uncle Ah—who had no blood ties but had raised him, to his long-departed parents and wife, and to this vast, perpetually empty mansion.
Friends.
He was old, while Little Doctor Yu was young—looking like a college student, probably unmarried and childless, not yet at the age of deepest attachment or longing for parents.
Their lives stood at opposite ends: twilight versus dawn.
Coincidentally, though, for them at this moment, the meaning of friendship might be strikingly similar.
Thus, after some thought, Zhang Yunjiang answered Xie Wufang’s question with gravity.
“A friend means having a companion on life’s road,” the old man said with a sigh. “It makes the loneliness bearable.”
“Everyone starts and ends alone. The people we meet are all just passersby. We can’t keep aging parents forever, nor protect young children always. In the end, only friends of similar age can walk the longest stretch with you.”
If one was lucky enough to find an intimate, devoted partner through life and death, they would surely be one’s best friend too.
The evening breeze whispered through, shadows dancing on the trees. The old man’s words carried a tinge of melancholy and gratitude, as if countless years were surging through the night, stirring the heart to quiet sorrow.
The young man beside him seemed utterly unaffected. He simply listened quietly to his answer and then said, “So, friends are very important.”
Another clear voice suddenly rang out. “What’s very important?”
Yu Bai had just reached the two men, his mind full of Fugui. A broad smile still lingered on his fair face. He hadn’t noticed that Xie Wufang and Zhang Yunjiang had stopped ahead to chat.
He caught only half the sentence. After blurting out his casual question, the man before him quickly replied, “Friends.”
They were actually talking about this.
Yu Bai felt a bit surprised. Then he noticed the faint probing in the other’s eyes. He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, friends are very important.”
If it weren’t for Yuan Fugui—no, Yuan Yuxing—making a scene at the funeral parlor because he couldn’t stomach those turtle bastards’ family members, he wouldn’t have discovered that the deceased old man was Zhang Yunjiang. Perhaps, later on, the two of them wouldn’t have crossed paths again in this alternate timespace.
If it weren’t for Yu Bai gradually coming to understand that mysterious non-human neighbor during the time loop—deciding to let down his guard, becoming his first human friend, learning his name, and taking him on adventures across the world—perhaps none of what came later would have happened. There would have been no vibrant, lively encounters, only day after day of pale, empty silence.
Yu Bai spoke with utter conviction. The man beside him caught that certainty in his words and asked, “Are friends that important to you?”
His voice was soft and low, the moonlight drenching the tips of his hair, dark as the deepest night.
“Very important.”
Yu Bai gazed into those gray-blue eyes, telling him with utmost seriousness.
“To me, he’s the most important person.”
