Chapter 003 – Odd Neighbor 03

Chapter 003 - Odd Neighbor 03

With a slam, Yu Bai closed the door behind him, yet his heart remained unsettled.

When did this person move in? How could he have missed it?

He was usually a homebody and rarely ventured out unless absolutely necessary, so it was impossible that he didn't hear any noise from the neighboring apartment during the moving process. The sound of cardboard boxes being carried, furniture being shifted, and conversations with the movers would surely create a commotion.

Unless the new neighbor had moved in without making a single sound.

Yu Bai tried to recall any recent unusual activities around the area. This was, after all, a notorious haunted neighborhood with a small and stable population. It was typically very quiet, and any deviation from the norm would be noticeable.

About two or three days ago, he remembered hearing a real estate agent's boisterous voice showing someone around the property. He had occasionally heard such visits before, but no one aside from himself had actually rented the place. This building was one of the haunted ones in the complex, with a tragic incident occurring in one of its units. Thus, the apartments here were often used by local agents as backup options.

First, showing clients the eerie, tranquil haunted house, followed by a slightly pricier but sunlit ordinary home, would usually result in swift transactions.

Probably, even the agent hadn't anticipated that two units would be leased out within a month.

But why had this neighbor moved in so quietly? Didn't he have any luggage?

... Besides, why did he choose to live right next door when there were several vacant units on the same floor?

Who would willingly rent a unit with the number 4 in a supposedly haunted building?

This was indeed an extremely peculiar neighbor.

Yu Bai gazed at the wall connecting his apartment to the next, lost in thought for a while, as if trying to peer through it and see the odd neighbor on the other side.

— He didn't possess any supernatural abilities, so naturally, he couldn't see through walls; instead, his eyes started to ache from staring.

Removing his black-rimmed glasses, Yu Bai finally lounged comfortably on the sofa, one arm hugging a cushion, the other reaching for eye drops on the coffee table to soothe his weariness from staying awake all night.

He wasn't nearsighted; he wore glasses solely to give off the impression of a dull, introverted otaku.

Why would he want to present himself as an introverted, socially awkward otaku?

His phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

Yubai yawned and fished out his phone from his pocket, glancing at the screen through the blur of eye drops before casually pressing the answer button.

It was a video call.

In an instant, a resolute face filled the screen, now riddled with worry.

"Little Bai, are you alright? I heard from Qiang that there was an issue with the elevator in your building, and you were inside! Why didn't you tell them? And why didn't you call a doctor? I've already dispatched an ambulance, it's on its way."

The man on the video, with a fierce demeanor, fired off questions rapid-fire. Muffled voices of subordinates, saying things like "the plane is ready, Brother Tian" or "Brother Tian, this way," echoed in the background.

Upon closer look, the man addressed as Brother Tian's concern deepened. "You're even crying! I'll send someone to fetch Doctor Chen right away. Don't be scared, I'm coming over too. I told you that this neighborhood was unlucky, you should move out immediately! Damn faulty elevator!"

Amidst the rising torrent of curses, Yubai, who had been on the verge of dozing off, instantly snapped to attention, sitting up straight. "Don't call an ambulance, I wasn't crying, Doctor Chen has retired!"

"Bullshit, your tears are still there!"

"This is eye drops, really, I just put them in."

Yu Bai hurriedly held up the eye drop bottle in his hand.

"Oh, it's not embarrassing to cry," Big Sky pantomimed applying the drops to his eyes, his rugged and heroic face filled with paternal concern. "I cried too when my tendons were first cut. I wailed, but then I got used to it and stopped. It's alright, crying helps."

Yu Bai slowly put down the eye drop bottle, giving up his resistance.

"Yeah, I'm fine now after crying. Absolutely don't call an ambulance or Doctor Chen. I'm not injured, and there's no psychological trauma."

Yu Bai calmly scanned himself from head to toe with his phone camera.

If an ambulance and Doctor Chen arrived with a big fuss, that would be what left him traumatized.

Big Sky stared intently at the screen, noticing that Yu Bai seemed to have all his limbs intact and was of sound mind: "You're really okay?"

"Really okay," Yu Bai said calmly. "It was just a fright."

Big Sky immediately relaxed. He gazed at Yu Bai for a while before unexpectedly sighing. "Why didn't you get those contact lenses? You'd look much cooler like this. It's just like how I was in my youth..."

Yu Bai swiftly donned his nerdy black-rimmed glasses, grabbed his laptop, and hurried into the study with his phone in hand.

The video background transformed from an unremarkable sofa to a bookshelf filled with novels, magazines, and comics.

"In Brother Tian, I need to finish this manuscript – the deadline's in two days," the introverted otaku spoke as he sat at the desk, adjusting his glasses. "You don't need to rush over; just focus on your business trip."

"Alright, as long as you're okay. I'll be back in two days. If anything happens, make sure to tell me. Qiang and the others are there for you, always ready to help. By the way, you're really not moving out?"

"No, I'm quite comfortable here." At least until yesterday.

Moving was indeed a laborious task – doing it alone was tough, but watching a parade of buzz-cut, floral-shirted men help him move was even more exhausting.

For now, it wasn't unbearable enough to leave.

Yu Bai engaged in some casual conversation, successfully navigating through the crisis – the overly protective concern of his former underworld boss.

Brother Tian was the tall, muscular man with tattoos on his arms, who had been rescued by a brave electric scooter on a zebra crossing years ago. He was once the ruler of the city's underground scene, surnamed Sun, with two 'Tian' characters in his name.

…'Sun Tian' sounded straightforward and heroic, but unfortunately, his full name was Sun Tiantian.

It didn't quite align with Brother Tian's appearance, demeanor, or even his occupation.

Rumor had it that the ridicule brought on by this name and a subsequent fight marked the beginning of Sun Tiantian's journey to becoming the king of the underworld.

As for Yu Bai, he almost followed in that path.

He inherited his mother's natural brown hair and her stunning beauty.

From his unremarkable and inconspicuous father, he might have received an unwavering and silent strength that was intangible.

At his father's funeral, he met for the first time those who had been spared from calamity due to his father's heroic deeds.

Sun Tiantian was the earliest to arrive. He concealed his tattoos with long sleeves and knelt all night by the coffin, surrounded by frequent sobs of sorrow.

The gang leader, who had faced death countless times, had never found weeping so piercing or life so precious.

After the death of the heroic citizen who had acted in the name of justice, a child was left to grow up alone.

Strangers carried the child in, dressed in a neat little black suit, his white shirt collar buttoned straight, accentuating his pale and delicate features that appeared even more fragile. His warm brown hair shimmered translucent under the harsh fluorescent light, and his eyes, with their lighter-than-usual hue, were cold and silent, reflecting the mournful atmosphere in the room. His beautiful, sharp eyes and composed expression were accompanied by the crisp sound of his leather shoes.

Sun Tiantian was utterly stunned on the spot.

He thought it was a child from some influential family who had mistakenly entered the wrong mourning hall.

Before the funeral concluded, he sought out Yu Bai alone.

"…Your father was my savior. Without him, there wouldn't be the me today. Everything I have in the future will be yours. I won't repeat my past mistakes. Life is full of unexpected turns, and for the days ahead, I want to be a good person, just like your father."

At this point, Sun Tiantian's voice softened, as if he feared that his benefactor's spirit might hear him.

"But if you wish…" He gritted his teeth, making a resolute decision, "I'll leave a group of people for you to lead."

Yu Bai, who had been so grief-stricken that his face was numb and tears were about to spill, was now staring in shock, momentarily forgetting how to cry.

This was far too advanced for an innocent elementary schooler.

He never could have imagined that donning a black suit would make him resemble a born underworld prince.

Even his name sounded more like someone involved in the criminal world than Sun Tiantian himself.

Compared to being addressed as "Young Master Yu" by Sun Tiantian's subordinates – a title that sent chills down his spine – he'd rather be called Little Bai.

From that day on, Yu Bai resolved never to wear formal attire again.

However, Sun Tiantian, a bachelor with no children, placed great value on loyalty and was genuinely intent on entrusting his vast empire to him as an heir.

Therefore, Yu Bai did his utmost to portray himself as ambitionless and content with mediocrity in front of Sun Tiantian.

He had no desire to become a mob boss or a tycoon.

It was far safer to remain an introverted, unassuming otaku.

After all, his life's aspiration was to simply live out his days until natural death.

After ending the video call, Yu Bai let out a sigh.

With sleepiness now vanished, he decided to open his laptop and get to work.

Once he finished the manuscript due, he could indulge in a well-deserved nap.

Yu Bai sat in front of his computer, a full water glass by his side, with a playlist running. He first opened the document titled "Testament - Yu Bai v13.doc," revising the ending that had suddenly seemed unsatisfactory to him, saving it as version 14.

Next, he opened the nearly completed manuscript, diving into his work attentively.

It had to be said that writing a horror story after penning one's own will created an eerie sense of immersion.

Inspiration struck, and he fixated on the screen, his fingers dancing rapidly. The crisp tapping echoed through the quiet room, harmonizing with the mournful melody playing in the background.

When Yu Bai became aware of something amiss, the sky outside his window had already turned dark, shrouded in deep shadows.

Why did several consecutive songs have faint sobs as background noise? Was this some new trend?

Finished with his writing, he paused typing, sipping water with a puzzled look. Then, he clicked the pause button on the media player, planning to grab a bite before heading to bed.

The music ceased abruptly.

Yet, the weeping continued.

In the now empty house, a genuine, haunting cry reverberated, like a little girl's sorrowful sobs.

Yu Bai's movement froze for a moment, and he then lifted his gaze to survey the walls around him.

The weeping seemed to be emanating from deep within the walls.

Just like the tiny stars in the dead of night yesterday.

He slowly approached the wall, tilting his ear to listen closely.

The sobbing of the little girl grew nearer, faint yet distinct, as if someone was crying right beside his ear.

Yet he lived in an end unit, and beyond this wall was nothing but the air at the twelfth floor's height.

Yu Bai took a deep breath, grabbed his keys and phone, then stepped out of his home and wandered around the hallway.

The hallway was perfectly normal.

He recalled that there were no little girls among the few households on this floor. In the nearly month he had lived here, he hadn't seen any, nor had he heard the sound of children.

When Yu Bai returned to his apartment, the sobbing persisted.

There were two plausible explanations for this peculiar occurrence.

After some thought, he dialed his friend Yan Jing's number and moved the phone to the wall.

"Hey?" came a quick response from the other end, "I'm eating—hey, what's wrong with you, Little Bai? Why are you crying?"

Upon hearing Yan Jing's reaction, Yu Bai put the phone back to his ear and verified, "Did you hear crying?"

"Of course I did!"

It wasn't that he was going crazy or hallucinating.

That left only one possibility.

Yu Bai's expression grew increasingly solemn.

On the other end of the line, Yan Jing sounded anxious, "What happened to you? Why are you crying? Don't cry, I'll come over right now!"

"..." Yu Bai's solemn demeanor completely collapsed, "Is my crying really like that?!"

"I don't know what your cries sound like either. You didn't shed a tear at your father's funeral! Now you're crying? Oh my, my heart is pounding with fear!"

Yu Bai defended himself, "No, I was going to cry back then. It's all because of Brother Tian—"

"Alright, alright, no need to explain. I'm not your father, I don't mind. I'll come over after taking another bite."

Yan Jing hastily scooped a few mouthfuls of rice, mumbling in between, "I never expected you to cry like this, like a little girl. Thank goodness you didn't cry at the funeral..."

"Shut up! It's not me crying!"

Yu Bai almost crushed his phone in anger as he exclaimed, "There's a ghost haunting us!!"