Chapter 10: Odd Neighbor 08

Chapter 10: Odd Neighbor 08

The elevator lobby was eerily silent at this moment, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

The fury in the brown-haired boy's eyes was palpable, like sharp blades piercing the man before him. Even Wang Jianbin, standing by the side, couldn't help but feel a subconscious fear.

When his wife gave him such a look, he would immediately choose to kneel and admit his mistake on the spot.

What would this blue-eyed foreigner do?

Wang Jianbin subtly shifted his angle and gaze, only to see that the man's heterochromatic eyes held no trace of panic or guilt, but were instead filled with inexplicable confusion.

Wow, so brave.

Seeing that the man remained silent, the brown-haired boy frowned and demanded fiercely, "Speak!"

It was then that the blue-eyed man spoke. His voice was magnetic, not sounding entirely foreign. Although his tone carried an odd sense of unfamiliarity, there was no strange accent.

He looked at the boy who had stopped him and asked uncertainly, "Are you... angry?"

The innocent retort echoed in the space for a long while.

Wang Jianbin couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

Damn, this was too bold.

"Otherwise?!" The brown-haired boy was almost amused by his anger. "Do I look happy?"

Upon hearing this, the man unexpectedly gave him another earnest gaze. "…Not at all."

For a moment, Wang Jianbin felt like covering his eyes.

He was afraid of witnessing some bloody tragedy unfold before him.

Fortunately, before the brown-haired boy could become even more enraged, the blue-eyed man added something else.

"I'm sorry." He awkwardly tried to soothe, "Please don't be angry."

As he spoke, his gray-blue eyes gazed intently at the person before him, revealing sincere and clear concern.

Seeing this, Wang Jianbin finally let out a sigh of relief.

There was still hope.

However, the brown-haired boy seemed to have sensed something, and his expression gradually froze.

He asked urgently, "Do you have any idea what I was just telling you?"

The man shook his head honestly. "I don't."

"You don't remember me?!"

"I do," the blue-eyed man replied. "You're my neighbor, I've seen you once."

A glimmer of hope sparked in the brown-haired boy's eyes when he heard that he was remembered, only to be extinguished by the next sentence.

"Just once? ...When was that?"

"Yesterday," he pondered, then added, "But you probably didn't see me."

At this point, Wang Jianbin suddenly felt that he should no longer be eavesdropping.

Despite his desire to continue listening.

The gossip had taken a perplexingly convoluted turn.

It was unclear whether the subject was a heartless playboy or a pitiful amnesiac.

Better to step away, he decided.

With a solemn expression, Wang Jianbin stared straight ahead, pretending to be deaf as he nonchalantly moved aside, preparing to press the elevator button.

Surprisingly, the distraught brown-haired boy also reached out to stop him, though he didn't speak.

Then, Wang Jianbin watched in disbelief as the elevator began to ascend steadily, indicating that someone upstairs had summoned it.

In the strangely tense atmosphere, he didn't dare to protest boldly and could only voice his request meekly, "Um, I want to go home..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the floor numbers on the display, which had been rising steadily, began to plummet at an alarming rate.

The glaring red digits shifted shockingly, accompanied by an unusual cacophony from the elevator shaft – a piercing screech of metal on metal.

Wang Jianbin's eyes widened in instant terror.

As the fluctuating numbers abruptly froze and the elevator's freefall ceased, he slumped to the ground, exhausted.

"Damn, lucky I didn't step in…"

Though still dazed, Wang Jianbin instinctively turned to express his gratitude. "Thank you, thank you! I owe it to you for stopping me just now."

Yu Bai, expressionless, pointed to the adjacent elevator and casually said, "Take that one next time."

"Okay, okay! I'll listen to you!" Wang Jianbin muttered, his back drenched in sweat. "My legs are like jelly, I can barely stand. I can't even imagine what would've happened if I'd entered the elevator. What if it hadn't stopped…?"

The aroma of the steaming food in his plastic bag grew stronger, permeating the surroundings.

His spicy noodles had spilled again.

Yu Bai thought to himself, this elevator indeed halts abruptly multiple times during its descent.

Though unlike their first encounter a week ago, they weren't in an elevator this time, the situation still bore striking similarities.

Wang Jianbin sat on the floor, scrolling through his phone to call the property management for assistance. Amidst this, his stomach let out a faint growl, causing him to scratch his head embarrassedly before retrieving the fried chicken he had packed in a plastic bag.

Originally, he intended to invite the man sitting beside him, his savior, to share the meal. However, considering that the man was preoccupied questioning the other individual, Wang Jianbin decided against disturbing them.

Yu Bai observed his odd, black-haired and blue-eyed neighbor. Just like that day, there wasn't a hint of surprise or unease on his face; he seemed like a ghost that didn't belong.

Suddenly, Yu Bai understood the reason and asked, "Did you not know that elevators can malfunction?"

The man was taken aback, a touch of confusion surfacing on his composed features. He responded instinctively, "Elevators can break too?"

...

It was unclear why Yu Bai found it amusing, but he did laugh softly.

He lowered his voice to ensure that Master Wang, engrossed in his fried chicken, wouldn't overhear.

"Glimpsing at the frailty of human creations," Yu Bai looked at him, whispering, "With so much you don't understand, how did you dare enter this world?"

As expected, those unique eyes instantly revealed a mix of panic and confusion upon hearing Yu Bai's words, as if their secret had been exposed.

Just like how he'd dashed out that afternoon to confront the neighbor about their humanity.

This time, faced with Yu Bai's unwavering statement, his inhuman neighbor abandoned his feeble denial.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again, his slightly curly black hair above his forehead fluttering gently. "I'm trying to learn."

Yu Bai asked, "You didn't know why I was angry just now, so why did you apologize?"

It was clear that, like everyone else in this world, his non-human neighbor had no memories of the future.

Only he had returned to the past.

Even if this bizarre situation must have been caused by this guy, it wasn't related to the present him; one should blame the future version of himself.

"The you from the future is angry," the blue-eyed man said honestly. "You should be comforted."

...Where on earth had he learned such logic?

Apologizing to console someone, saying "you're welcome" in response to gratitude—these are human courtesies that non-humans have attempted to learn, albeit rather haphazardly.

Yu Bai fell silent for a few seconds.

During the pause, the man studied his expression, then asked hesitantly, "Did I do something wrong?"

"If saying sorry is wrong, then how should I console you?"

As Yu Bai listened to him, his anger gradually dissipated.

This non-human neighbor didn't seem quite as strange as he'd initially thought.

Moreover, if this entity had the power to send him back in time, it surely had the means to return him to his normal timeline.

With this in mind, Yu Bai made a decision.

"There's one thing you can do to comfort me."

He took a step forward, his tone calm, but his fingertips once again firmly seized the collar of the person in front of him.

"I've been trapped here by the future you." Yu Bai leaned in close to the man's ear and whispered, "That day, I was talking to you just like this."

"Let me go back." His fingertips brushed against the man's cold skin, almost like touching an icy winter, "Back to one week later."

"I won't be angry with you anymore."

In Yu Bai's final vision, familiar ripples appeared on that grayish-blue lake, along with a touch of fresh astonishment.

The next moment, darkness descended.