Sunlight poured into the hallway at noon, dust motes dancing in erratic swirls. Beside it, the golden elevator gleamed brightly.
A clear droplet of water fell with a soft plop.
The little girl hurriedly wiped at her tears, but her bright, black-and-white eyes sparkled with a radiant smile.
There was no trace of grievance or pain in her damp tears.
For the first time, they carried the flavor of happiness.
Seeing her cry, the old man’s eyes filled with concern. He immediately started toward her. “What’s wrong, little girl? Don’t cry!”
The middle-aged man beside him frowned tightly and snapped, “He Xi!!”
He Wentao’s voice was loud enough to startle Yuan Yuxing, who had just taken a step forward. He whipped his head around and glared fiercely. “Why are you yelling like that?! You scared the child, you know!”
“I’m disciplining my own daughter—what business is it of yours—”
Before He Wentao could finish his aggressive outburst, Yuan Yuxing suddenly let out an “Ouch!” He clutched his head and feigned dizziness. “Ouch, you scared me too! That nearly did me in. These old bones of mine can’t take a fright like that. Quick, quick, call an ambulance! You bastard aren’t getting away—you’ll have to pay my medical bills. My insurance has been acting up lately, can’t use it…”
The strange old man looked like he might keel over any second, but his mouth kept running nonstop. His hand even reached out as if to grab the man who had triggered his “episode.”
Caught off guard, He Wentao shoved the old man away. His head buzzed from this bizarre antics.
His foot twitched, his instinct urging him to drag his daughter inside for a scolding—and to escape this clearly troublesome rogue of an old man. But his gaze locked straight onto the two young men standing beside He Xi. They looked dangerous at first glance.
…Even more trouble.
Damn it, what kind of crap was happening today?
The blustering but inwardly cowardly middle-aged man hesitated in his steps. He muttered some filthy curse under his breath, then simply turned and stormed back home. He slammed the door shut with a thunderous bang, abandoning his daughter entirely.
The door rattled on its hinges.
The frail old man, who had seemed on the verge of death moments ago, instantly sprang back to full vigor.
No more heaving gasps, no more flushed face. He even pressed the attack, slapping the door of Room 1104 a few times and threatening in a hooligan’s wail, “You bastard, don’t run! Medical fees!”
Another slamming door echoed from inside.
He Wentao had probably barricaded himself in the bedroom. He didn’t even want to linger in the living room, which was a bit closer to the hallway.
He wanted nothing more to do with any sounds from outside.
This cruel, heartless scum of a father—too vile for the law to bother with—had just encountered a terrifying existence that might very well stand above the law itself.
A completely unreasonable old rogue who was a master actor to boot.
The little girl, who had been rushing over in worry after seeing Grandpa Yuan on the verge of collapse, froze for a moment. Then, amid her tear-streaked face, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Grandpa Yuan, I really thought you’d been scared sick,” He Xi said, sniffling as she marveled in a quiet voice. “Your face even turned red. That was amazing.”
Yu Bai walked over from behind, his tone brimming with astonishment. “Uncle Yuan, that face-changing trick of yours is really…”
He had nearly called emergency services on his phone earlier.
Xie Wufang said nothing, but surprise and bewilderment flickered in his eyes.
His gray-blue gaze then quietly drifted over the people chatting around him.
Like some thoughtful observation of humanity.
“What’s that? Just a little trick,” Yuan Yuxing said smugly, waving it off. He bent down, his gaze warm as he ruffled the little girl’s hair. “Didn’t scare you, did it?”
He Xi shook her head vigorously. “No, no! Grandpa Yuan, are we going to be neighbors now?”
“That’s right. From now on, we’ll be next-door neighbors, just like Little Bai and the others. What do you think? Happy about it?”
“Super happy! Really, really super happy!”
Two floors side by side, two rooms right next to each other.
Room 1104 and Room 1105.
Room 1204 and Room 1205.
With the arrival of this special new neighbor, everyone’s lives unknowingly turned to a fresh new page.
Amid his chuckle, Yu Bai looked a touch emotional. “Uncle Yuan, I didn’t expect you to move in here.”
“I didn’t expect you to get back from the North Pole so fast either,” Yuan Yuxing replied. “I was planning to finish settling in completely and surprise you all.”
“That’s the North Pole! Such a rare chance. Round trip by plane takes at least a day or two—why not stay and play a bit longer?”
Yu Bai said, “I wanted to, but there really wasn’t time this trip. There are way more important things to handle here.”
“The North Pole’s beautiful. Next time, let’s go for a proper trip, Uncle Yuan. You come with us too.”
The young man with the bright, sparkling eyes smiled as he finished, then quickly brought up the matter weighing on his mind. “By the way… how’s it going with Uncle Zhang?”
At that, the old man who had been clowning around until now paused slightly. A soft emotion flickered in his aged eyes. Smiling, he reached out and patted Yu Bai’s shoulder.
“Come on, let’s talk about it back home.”
The apartment Yuan Yuxing had rented—no, bought—was directly below Yu Bai’s place. Same unit number ending, identical layout.
Stepping into this familiar space, now cluttered with furniture and moving boxes, left Yu Bai a little dazed.
Yuan Yuxing’s belongings were far more than what Yu Bai had brought when he moved in. It was like he’d hauled his entire home over.
Yu Bai couldn’t help but sigh. “Uncle Yuan, you’ve got a ton of stuff.”
Yuan Yuxing was carefully guiding He Xi through the mess toward the study. “Of course. This is where I’ll spend my retirement—gotta bring everything.”
Yu Bai caught the implication. “But isn’t this place rented?”
“Nope, bought it!” Yuan Yuxing grinned. “Great name for the complex, quiet environment, everything perfect. Way comfier than my old place, and the price was a steal. So I just bought it!”
Skystar City wasn’t some bustling metropolis to begin with, so housing prices were reasonable. Thanks to the ghost rumors, this otherwise ideal neighborhood was even cheaper.
An ordinary old man who’d toiled his whole life could certainly afford it.
And this had all happened in just two days…
No surprise coming from the famously impatient Old Man Yuan.
Yu Bai said sincerely, “You got the paperwork done fast.”
“Yeah, the landlord had been trying to sell forever. When he heard someone wanted to buy outright in cash, he thought he’d hit the jackpot with a sucker. Couldn’t move fast enough to close the deal before anyone changed their mind!”
Yuan Yuxing chuckled merrily. “Anyway, I’m thrilled with the purchase. Now I can do whatever I want with the place. Just watch me mess with the bastard next door!”
Yu Bai blinked, then laughed in spite of himself. He couldn’t resist giving the old man a thumbs-up.
At the same time, he read between the lines. “You’re not worried he’ll snap one day and move out with He Xi?”
Yuan Yuxing and He Xi shook their heads almost in unison.
“No way, Dad doesn’t have that kind of money.”
“He’s a lazy, good-for-nothing drunk who owes through the nose. All he’s got left is this house—no spare cash to move. If compulsory education weren’t free, that bastard probably wouldn’t even let He Xi go to school. Plus, he can’t sell the place anyway. It’s mortgaged to hell and back!”
“So yeah, like it or not, he’s stuck putting up with me. Otherwise, he can sleep on the street!”
Yuan Yuxing laid it all out logically. He’d clearly done his homework before buying. Even He Xi’s eyes went wide. “Grandpa Yuan, how do you know all that?”
“Impressive, right?” The old man grinned proudly. “I heard it from another grandpa.”
“He’s the guy in the neighborhood who knows everything.”
Downstairs, the movers had finished unloading. Once everything was cleared out, the Gatekeeper Grandpa—who’d supervised the whole process diligently—finally relaxed. He waved them off. “Take care on the road!”
Then he returned to his booth, sat down, and lifted his steaming thermos for a sip of tea.
“Whoa, this tea’s fragrant!” The Gatekeeper Grandpa bobbed his head happily, muttering to himself. “Where’d Old Yuan get this? I’ll ask him when my shift ends…”
Of course, the most well-informed person in the whole complex was the gatekeeper.
Back in the sunlit room, Yu Bai thought of the Gatekeeper Grandpa he’d seen on the way in and suddenly understood.
The day Yu Bai had moved in, the old man had just opened the door for him—like he did for any resident.
He hadn’t hovered and pitched in like it was his own move.
“You kids have your things to do,” Yuan Yuxing said, handing a tissue to He Xi, whose face still bore tear tracks. His gaze was kind. “And us old folks have ours.”
With that, the old man’s palm settled on the study doorknob. He turned it gently, still speaking to the little girl.
“—Oh, right, I meant letting him sleep on the street. Don’t worry about yourself having to sleep on the street. Although you came back before I finished tidying up the place, I still have a surprise for you.”
“Huh?”
The apartment door slowly swung open, revealing the simple furnishings inside.
“So, the landlord left behind a bunch of stuff. I had most of it thrown out. I wasn’t happy with this desk either—it’s too tall. Later, I’ll take you to the mall to pick out a better one. After school, you can come here to do your homework. If you get bored, we can play Go…”
In the midst of the old man’s cheerful chatter, a small sound suddenly echoed through this quiet haven that was about to be filled with endless colors.
At the same time, a fluffy brown figure darted toward the doorway.
It flew straight into the old man’s arms.
An all-too-familiar scene.
It had always pounced into the arms of the person it was closest to in the world just like this.
He Xi, who had frozen in place, called out to it on instinct. “It’s Zhang Wei!”
The short-legged corgi nestled in Yuan Yuxing’s arms contentedly groomed its fur and let out a “woof.”
“Right, from now on Zhang Wei can keep us company while we play chess.” Yuan Yuxing smiled and asked, “How about that? Surprise enough for you?”
It was more than a surprise.
He Xi felt like crying again.
Seeing her expression as he held the corgi, Yuan Yuxing seemed to remember something. His eyes instantly reddened. He quickly ushered the little girl into the study.
“Alright, alright, don’t make me cry too. Go sneak off to your room and cry it out. Get to know Zhang Wei while you’re at it.”
He bent down and set the corgi inside the room as well, then gently closed the door. He took several deep breaths to steady his emotions before turning around. Pretending to be casual, he said, “Bet you didn’t expect to see Zhang Wei again.”
Yu Bai tactfully averted his gaze from the old man’s face.
“Yeah, it’s a huge surprise.” He paused, then asked, “Did you ask Uncle Zhang’s family for Zhang Wei? Or was it from Uncle Zhang himself…?”
Aside from Yuan Yuxing, who had later taken the will to the police station, no one else knew what Zhang Yunjiang’s will had said.
“I did think about asking them for it, but those turtle bastards weren’t about to hand it over. They even used Zhang Wei as a prop in their act before, trying to prove how close they were to the dog—and to Old Zhang—yet they didn’t even bring it to the funeral!”
Yuan Yuxing grumbled indignantly, but his tone gradually softened. “…But I never expected Old Zhang to specify Zhang Wei’s custody in his will. He left it to me and made it clear I was to handle all the funeral arrangements. Everyone had to listen to me.”
“You know, that paper was only so big, and he had so much to say. But he used more than half of it on these little unimportant things. When those turtle bastards saw it, they were stunned. They rubbed their eyes, scouring every line for mentions of money.”
The will had mentioned many people who weren’t blood-related to Zhang Yunjiang.
Not just the company successor he had high hopes for, or Yuan Yuxing and Zhang Wei—it also included Yu Bai and Xie Wufang, though the latter two were lumped together under the term “benefactors.”
In any case, Zhang Yunjiang had written on the paper: “…For all the details, ask Yuan Yuxing. Believe every word he says.”
He was a man who valued loyalty in both his personal life and his work—rigorous and meticulous.
Yuan Yuxing certainly wouldn’t reveal those two names to anyone who shouldn’t know them, to avoid causing them any trouble.
Though he figured that if trouble came, it definitely wouldn’t be Yu Bai or Xie Wufang who ended up in hot water.
He didn’t plan to share these details with them right now, though.
He’d save it as another surprise.
As he listened to the old man, Yu Bai smiled faintly at his vivid description. With a touch of teasing, he asked, “Not calling them turtle bastards anymore?”
He wasn’t concerned about the specifics of the will. Seeing Yuan Yuxing in this state, he could guess that the Zhang family matters had mostly been settled. Old Zhang would get a proper burial now.
That was enough.
“Nah, it kinda sounds like I’m cursing him in a roundabout way.”
Yuan Yuxing chuckled too. “Old Zhang was usually good-tempered, but he could be pretty scary when he got mad. What if he runs into me down the line and gives me grief about it!”
In the bright midday light, the air grew still for a moment amid their faint smiles.
“Did Uncle Zhang recognize you when he wrote the will? Did he have a rough idea of where we came from?”
“Yeah, he probably couldn’t guess the exact details, but he definitely knew we were from the future. I never imagined someone his age would have such a sharp mind. He’d been that smart since he was a kid…”
Amid the old man’s murmurings, Yu Bai fell silent for a while before asking his final question.
It was a question phrased with certainty.
“Uncle Yuan, in that instant when you returned to the real world, did you choose to revert to your original form on your own?”
Yuan Yuxing froze. After a long moment, he asked, “Huh? How did you know? Could you choose too?”
Yu Bai replied, “No, it’s because when we saw you back to normal—dressed in the suit from the funeral—we were all shocked. But you were too busy checking the will in your hand. You didn’t seem surprised by your own state at all.”
Even if he’d mentally prepared for reverting, he should have instinctively glanced at his clothes.
After all, when he’d turned young before, his clothes hadn’t changed with him. They’d only managed to keep the ill-fitting outfit on the little boy thanks to Yan Jing donating a belt.
Yuan Yuxing couldn’t stop laughing as he listened. “You’re pretty sharp yourself. No wonder Old Zhang got along so well with you…”
In his smile, deep traces of emotion welled up in the wrinkles at the corners of the old man’s eyes.
“I’ll never forget that moment of returning. It was such a wondrous feeling—like all four seasons appeared before my eyes at once. No one spoke to me, there were no sounds, but somehow I knew I had a choice. I knew I could stay as a kid or turn back into an old man.”
As he passed through that faintly perceptible door separating different times and spaces…
What would a wistful traveler see?
He Xi had said she saw countless stars.
Yan Jing had described darkness with drifting snow and a paper airplane flying high and far.
And Yuan Yuxing had seen the four seasons—and a mystical choice tied to the passage of years.
It was almost like getting to relive one’s life.
Yu Bai asked softly, “Wouldn’t it be good to start over?”
“Of course it would.” Yuan Yuxing spoke matter-of-factly. “Being a kid again was great. Those days, I was spry as could be—crying when I wanted, throwing tantrums when I felt like it, with a whole future ahead of me.”
“But…”
In that flurry of passing seasons, no one was around him. There were no voices.
The world stretched endlessly, and he walked through it alone.
Yuan Yuxing stared off into space for a long while, his voice gradually warming with fond reminiscence.
He resembled that old man who had once stood by the study window, smiling as he watched the snow.
“My life hasn’t been all that remarkable or successful, but it’s been precious enough.”
“Fifty years is too long. I don’t want to go through it again.”
The quick-tempered old man finally said with a smile.
“Because I’m looking forward to telling him the whole story—every last bit of it!”
As his words faded, the dust motes swirling in the sunlight hung perfectly still.
When Yu Bai left the 11th floor and climbed the stairs back to the long-missed 12th floor, his mind was in a daze for a long time.
He didn’t speak for ages, his thoughts swirling with complex emotions. Habitually, he reached into his pocket for his keys.
The jingle of the keys shattered the silence.
It also made Yu Bai suddenly realize something.
Xie Wufang hadn’t spoken in a long time either.
Curious, he turned to look.
His companion’s unique gray-blue eyes were slightly downcast, half-hidden by stray locks of hair and lashes, their expression unclear.
He seemed immersed in some deep reverie as well.
What was Xie Wufang thinking?
Would he be moved by Yuan Yuxing’s choice?
In that instant, the eternal god glimpsed the humans rising and falling in their fleeting years.
Yu Bai didn’t hesitate long before voicing his curiosity frankly.
“Little Xie.”
“Mm.”
The man walking beside him stopped and turned his gaze, meeting a pair of clear, bright eyes.
“What are you thinking about?”
