Chapter 056: Anomaly 22

Chapter 056: Anomaly 22

Yu Bai almost thought he was seeing things.

But the room was so small, and no matter how many times he blinked, the scene in the window remained unchanged.

The unusually neat bed, starkly white and empty.

There was no familiar figure, no trace of that most distinctive blue.

For a moment, his heart felt lost and uncertain.

Yu Bai stood there, dumbstruck outside the window, until a curious voice sounded from behind him.

"Little Bai, why are you standing here in a daze?"

Instinctively, he replied, "I'm not daydreaming."

"Oh, then what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for Xiao Xie—"

As Yu Bai spoke, he belatedly turned to look at the person who had spoken.

Yan Jing had somehow appeared out of nowhere and was now peering curiously inside alongside him.

"…" Yu Bai nearly jumped, instinctively landing a punch on him. "What are you doing sneaking around like that!"

"What do you mean sneaking? I came out of the dining hall and just happened to see you, so I decided to help you look for Xiao—cough, Brother Xie!"

Yan Jing, who had been eating since he woke up, rubbed the spot where he had been hit, looking at the building before him with confusion. "Isn’t this the suite you slept in last night? Why are you looking for Brother Xie here? You two had separate rooms, didn’t you?"

Yu Bai nodded. "This is his room."

"…Huh." Yan Jing glanced over the room again, grumbling under his breath in dissatisfaction. "This should have been my room. The one I stayed in last night didn’t have a gaming console."

But then, he suddenly realized something.

"Hold on, if you’re looking for Brother Xie, why don’t you just go into the room? This was your room, after all. Why are you looking for him through the window?"

Yu Bai’s expression froze, and he immediately turned to head for the main door, muttering in defense, "I was just passing by, about to go in."

Yan Jing suddenly understood, quickly following him while letting out a meaningful laugh.

"No wonder you were standing motionless outside the window! You were trying to peek at Brother Xie! You’re the real sneak!"

"…Shut up!!"

A minute later, Yu Bai had circled the entire suite but still hadn’t found the familiar figure.

Xie Wufang wasn’t in his bedroom or anywhere else in the house.

When he abruptly pulled back the thick curtains gathered by the window, the observing Yan Jing could no longer hold back his shock. "Why are you flipping the curtains? There’s no way Brother Xie would be hiding here!"

"…Just in case."

Yu Bai muttered softly, releasing the curtain behind him, which was empty. After a few seconds of contemplation, his gaze shifted to the tightly closed wardrobe in the room.

Yan Jing was almost in disbelief. "Don’t tell me you’re going to search the wardrobe for Brother Xie…"

"I’m not," Yu Bai denied as he walked over. "I’m just checking what’s inside."

Inside were brand new bathrobes and bedding.

In short, there was no Xie Wufang.

Yu Bai shut the wardrobe door in disappointment.

Now, he had truly searched every nook and cranny, yet he hadn’t seen the figure that had said he was returning to his room.

Yan Jing, who had witnessed his actions from start to finish, saw his current dejected expression and couldn’t quite understand. "Brother Xie might have gone out. It’s not strange for him not to be in his room."

Yu Bai immediately responded, "But he said he was going back to sleep."

"To sleep?" Yan Jing instantly laughed. "That just means he didn’t want to chat anymore. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s not because he actually went to sleep."

He added, accusingly, "I’ve caught you several times saying you were going to sleep, only to log in alone and grind games, trying to secretly beat my records. You use sleeping as an excuse all the time!"

"…" Yu Bai thought for a moment, then calmly countered, "I remember you also said you were going to sleep. If you hadn’t logged in secretly, how would you have known I was online?"

Yan Jing was momentarily speechless. "Ah, well…that…"

They stared at each other, the air tinged with the scent of human lies.

Yu Bai decided to be magnanimous and take a step back. "Forget it. Let’s talk about Xiao Xie."

"Alright, alright." Yan Jing hurriedly followed suit, changing the subject. "So, what I’m saying is, even if Brother Xie said he was going back to sleep, it wouldn’t be strange for him to do something else alone."

But Yu Bai said, "No, it’s very strange. He’s different from us. He doesn’t use things as excuses casually."

He was a god who never lied.

Even when he had occasionally lied about crucial matters, it was always obvious, clumsy, and unpracticed.

Yu Bai recalled every word and expression of Xie Wufang’s before they parted ways in the chess room, certain there was no hint of deceit.

But as he pondered, he simultaneously realized something was off.

Although Xie Wufang hadn’t lied, he seemed to be hiding something, something he hadn’t revealed.

Or perhaps it wasn't so much hiding as it was not mentioning.

Just like how the consequence of two futures coexisting would lead to Earth's destruction. Before Yu Bai asked, Xie Wufang hadn't brought it up on his own accord.

Perhaps it was because an apathetic deity didn't care about the fate of this planet, and thus wouldn't specifically mention it, not giving it any thought at all.

But at this moment, Yu Bai vaguely felt that what Xie Wufang hadn't mentioned was something important even to him.

For this reason, he didn't bother to clean up the white chess pieces he had used, leaving them scattered on the board as he left the chess room.

Xie Wufang had only said he was going back to his room; sleeping was Yu Bai's assumption, which he didn't deny, simply saying "maybe."

As Yu Bai thought about it, he felt more and more that something was off.

…What did "maybe" mean?

Xie Wufang had indeed returned to his room, for the bedroom window that had been open was now closed, clearly following Yu Bai's advice to close the window when sleeping.

But where was he now?

The atmosphere in the room became tense. Yan Jing looked at his friend's unusually serious expression and stopped joking around.

Even though he still didn't understand why Yu Bai cared so much about this small matter, he cautiously comforted him: "Even if Brother Xie really came to sleep, something might have happened halfway through, so he went out."

"For example, on his way back, he saw that the flowers in the courtyard were very beautiful and decided to take a walk in the garden temporarily. Or maybe he got hungry halfway through sleeping and got up to eat something in the dining room… Right, you two haven't had lunch yet, have you?"

Yan Jing concluded: "Moreover, Brother Xie is not like us ordinary people. He's so powerful, nothing will happen to him. Don't worry, what if he was just summoned back by his fellow kind? Ah, it sounds so fantastical."

…This sounded even more worrying!

Upon hearing this, Yu Bai glared at Yan Jing, who was lost in reverie: "Impossible!"

He didn't know why Xie Wufang had come to Earth or how long he planned to stay, but given his polite nature, if he really intended to leave, he would definitely tell him.

At the very least, he would say goodbye, right?

…Wouldn't he?!

Thus, Yan Jing gradually realized that under his enthusiastic consolation, his friend's expression had actually become even more serious.

Ah, did he say something wrong?

"Okay, okay." He subconsciously agreed with Yu Bai, "Impossible, absolutely impossible."

Yan Jing was racking his brain, trying to find more comforting words, when suddenly he was enveloped by a strange dizziness.

It was dizziness, but only for an extremely brief moment. It wasn't really dizzying, more like a fleeting trance, akin to someone who had been daydreaming suddenly coming back to their senses and looking at the world before them again.

What was happening!

Was it because he was wracking his brains to find reasons to comfort Xiao Bai, exhausting himself so much that he was getting dizzy?!

Yan Jing looked blankly at the person beside him.

Almost simultaneously, Yu Bai blinked, as if also a little dazed, murmuring, "I haven't had lunch, but I did have breakfast this morning… Am I getting dizzy from hunger?"

Yan Jing immediately forgot what he was going to say and asked with concern, "Didn't you go to learn Go earlier? Learning can be tiring, consuming a lot of energy, making you get hungry quickly. Come on, I'll accompany you to the dining room to eat."

He also wanted to eat something to replenish his exhausted brain cells.

Yu Bai was gradually convinced by him and felt that he was indeed hungry. Before leaving, he couldn't help but take another look at the empty room: "But…"

Yan Jing said casually, "Maybe you'll meet Brother Xie in the dining room. He hasn't had lunch either."

He had already bumped into someone surnamed Xie twice in the dining room today.

It wasn't impossible for it to happen again.

Although he actually didn't want to meet him, sigh.

For Xiao Bai, he could endure.

Yu Bai thought about it and found some sense in it, so he followed Yan Jing to the dining room.

Along the way, he instinctively paid attention to the scenery around him.

But apart from the lush trees, the rustic and elegant buildings, and the occasional passing unfamiliar servants, he didn't see the person he was looking for.

Oh, he did see the two children chasing after the Corgi again.

The panting little boy couldn't keep up anymore, slowing down and waving his hand. "Ah, I can't do it, I can't do it. What's wrong with Zhang Wei today!"

In the morning, this little dog had been trembling inexplicably, not daring to move or bark. Only after basking in the sun for a while did it seem to recover, barking loudly for a good while, as if trying to make up for the quiet time before, making the young girl laugh.

But not long after returning to normal, starting from the moment the little boy was somewhat dazed, the Corgi suddenly ran away as if frightened, sprinting until it reached a dead end with no path.

He Xi, full of energy and running fast, finally caught up with the puppy, only to see the brown-haired Corgi trembling and turning around sharply, pouncing fiercely into his arms.

"…Huh!"

The little girl hurriedly caught the terrified puppy, standing still and soothingly stroking the Corgi's head as it tried to burrow into her arms. She said in surprise, "It's shaking, is it scared?"

"I don't know. Humans and dogs are different; I can't understand Zhang Wei's thoughts."

Yuan Yuhang, who slowly caught up, was equally confused, rubbing his arm. "Maybe it's cold? Why am I feeling a bit chilly all of a sudden? Did the temperature suddenly drop? He Xi, are you cold?"

Yu Bai, who passed by them, was unaware of the strange behavior of the puppy.

He entered the dining room and suddenly felt a chill.

Yan Jing, standing close by, shivered. "Goodness, it's so cold! The air conditioning was comfortable just now. Who turned it down so low?!"

He hurried to adjust the freestanding air conditioner in the dining room. Upon approaching and seeing the temperature display, he was puzzled. "The temperature hasn't been adjusted. How did the cooling effect suddenly become so good?"

Yu Bai's first instinct was to look for someone.

His gaze scanned the dining room but still couldn't find Xie Wufang.

Where on earth did that guy go?

Disappointed, Yu Bai also felt the increasing chill.

The servants who were originally tidying up the dining room felt the same way. Some sneezed, while others checked the air conditioner like Yan Jing.

"What's going on? It suddenly got so cold! Is the air conditioner broken?"

Yan Jing, standing in front of the air conditioner, turned it off. The vents that had been gently blowing cold air slowly closed, yet the chill didn't dissipate; instead, it became even more pronounced.

"It's not because of the air conditioner. It seems like cold air is coming from outside!"

Seeing this, everyone in the room looked at each other with baffled expressions, shivering and shrugging their shoulders.

"Should we turn on the heating?"

"Hurry up and turn it on! Otherwise, we'll catch a cold!"

Yan Jing specifically ran out of the dining room to check. He found that it was even colder outside.

The distant sky still held the sun, and the early summer scenery remained unchanged. Everything seemed normal, yet the temperature plummeted as if an invisible, silent, and terrifying cold wave was surging towards them.

Startled by the outdoor temperature, Yan Jing quickly ran back into the dining room, returning to Yu Bai's side. Shivering, he exclaimed, "Damn! How could this happen? Even if a cold wave passed through, it wouldn't be this fast. I'm freezing!"

"It's clearly summer. How could it feel like winter all of a sudden?" Yan Jing said with a look of horror. "Is the end of the world really happening?!"

As he trembled and spoke, he suddenly saw his friend quickly leaving the dining room. He hastily shouted to stop him.

"Xiao Bai, where are you going? Don't go outside! It's even colder there, at least we can turn on the heating inside!"

But Yu Bai not only didn't stop, he quickened his pace.

Under the slightly grayish-blue sky, he almost broke into a run, crossing the increasingly cold air and heading towards the room he had just left.

It was clearly summer, yet it felt like winter in an instant.

In truth, Yu Bai, like all ordinary people, didn't know what was happening or what to do.

But he couldn't help but recall the moment when he first carefully observed Xie Wufang.

It was the day he saw the exploded kitchen restored and received the small ball as a return gift at the door, leading him to knock on his neighbor's door and question whether he was human.

After speaking, he scrutinized the man with black hair and blue eyes in front of him, noticing how those lake-like eyes welled up with vivid unease due to his question.

At that moment, Yu Bai couldn't help but think: Those should have been very cold eyes, too beautiful and clear to belong to a human, but rather to a long, empty winter.

Just like the winter that suddenly enveloped the warm summer.

The weather anomaly was definitely related to Xie Wufang, whose whereabouts were currently unknown.

But he didn't know why.

Nor did he know what it meant.

Amidst the hurried footsteps, Yu Bai's mind was in chaos, with many past scenes and sounds intertwining like surging deep blue tides.

When he first arrived in this time-space, he asked if he could immediately return. Xie Wufang replied: No, there would be aftereffects.

Not long ago, in the chess room, the teacher sitting opposite him asked earnestly: What would make you happy?

After he laughed and spoke, the man lowered his eyes and softly responded: Don't worry, you will return to that world.

On the chessboard between them, white pieces lay scattered, unattended, like stars blooming in the depths of the night.

The cool black cloud pieces were picked up by warm fingertips, falling crisply into the chess jar one by one, finding a proper place.

Looking through the transparent window glass, the beautifully neat bedroom was empty.

Countless voices and images crisscrossed and jumbled together, along with Yan Jing's comfort: ...unlike us ordinary people, he's so powerful, nothing will happen to him, don't worry.

Yu Bai was a thorough ordinary person, and indeed, the seemingly omnipotent deity didn't need him to worry.

But he couldn't help it.

Stumbling through the vast courtyard, Yu Bai was filled with anxiety and panic, completely oblivious to the continuously spreading cold air around him, despite his tightly clenched fingers turning icy.

He was genuinely worried.

And he really didn't want to lose someone unexpectedly again.

When Yu Bai returned to the familiar suite door, his light brown hair was already tousled by the wind. Just as he was about to push the door open and rush to the bedroom through the living room, his frantic steps paused for a moment.

What if the room was still empty?

He was almost afraid to face it. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally mustered the courage and used his nearly numb fingers to turn the doorknob.

Almost the moment the door opened, Yu Bai sensed something amiss.

The room was much warmer than the cold outdoors.

He hurried through the living room with its large TV and comfortable sofa, intentionally keeping his steps light. He cautiously peered in that direction.

It wasn't until Yu Bai's gaze drifted beyond the open bedroom door and caught sight of the bed—no longer pristine and flat—that he suddenly relaxed.

In the center of the room, the large bed sagged softly, the duvet like a cloud, puffed up and creased, casting deep and shallow shadows from the sunlight streaming in through the window.

In the silent play of light and shadow, the man on the bed lay turned toward the inside, his face obscured, revealing only slightly curled black hair spread across the white pillow and the chiseled lines of his profile.

The hurried footsteps that had rushed to the doorway froze at this sight, the owner of those steps reclaiming their breath that they had nearly forgotten to take.

Yu Bai thought to himself, stunned, how fortunate it was that Xie Wufang hadn't lied to him.

He really had returned to his room to sleep.