Chapter 073: Anomalous Time 39

Chapter 073: Anomalous Time 39

...Huh?

Yubai, whose mind had momentarily blanked, almost instinctively handed over the phone. Just as he was about to pass it to Xie Wufang, a vague sense of something being off crept up on him.

"Hold on, weren't you really against others—"

His finger, hovering in mid-air, started to retract but soon failed. The metal box, warmed by his body heat, was forcefully taken over by another hand.

Xie Wufang grabbed the phone and reminded him, "Go sit over there."

Yubai looked down at his empty palm, somewhat bewildered, but lacked the clarity to think further. Instead, following the rich aroma of hot chocolate, he turned to look at the pot beside him, bubbling with tiny bubbles, quickly diverting his attention.

The drunkard offered enthusiastically, "You make the call, I'll watch the pot."

The pot was at a high temperature, the thick chocolate sauce and spoon were scalding hot, and the knives were neatly stored nearby.

So Xie Wufang frowned.

"No need," the man tersely said, "just sit properly."

"..." Confused, Yubai responded softly, "Oh."

He reluctantly took a step back and obediently returned to the chair he had been sitting on before.

Perhaps because he rarely saw Xie Wufang like this, out of curiosity and compliance, he listened exceptionally well.

But just as he sat down for no more than two seconds, he suddenly stood up again, causing Xie Wufang, who was about to answer the phone, to pause and look over at the drunkard with unclear intentions.

Yubai met his slightly puzzled gaze and said, somewhat embarrassed, "...I'm going to wash my face."

He had drunk cola mixed with alcohol and now needed to use the restroom.

And.

Just thinking about Xie Wufang talking to Uncle Li on the phone in front of him made him feel strange, awkward no matter how he thought about it.

...It felt like the barrier between dimensions was breaking?

But Yubai didn't quite dare to snatch the phone back from tonight's Xie Wufang.

After much deliberation, he could only escape.

As long as they didn't talk on the phone in front of him, the barrier between dimensions wouldn't break!

Convinced by his own logic, the drunkard hurriedly fled into the bathroom.

The bathroom was at least safer than the kitchen.

So Xie Wufang did not stop him, merely saying, "Call me if anything happens."

A clear voice accompanied the closing of the door, "…What could happen!"

Carrying a hint of lively dissatisfaction and complaint, it drifted over from afar.

On the other end of the line, Li Nanshao patiently waited, listening to their entire conversation until this moment before speaking, "I originally wanted to trouble you to take care of Xiao Bai, but it seems you're already taking care of him."

After Yubai left, the magnetic voice that had been relatively gentle in the receiver suddenly turned cold.

"No trouble." The man with the peculiar ID card spoke coldly, "I don't need you to tell me."

Even without facing each other or seeing each other's expressions, the oppressive aura was still clearly and distinctly transmitted through the airwaves.

After his words fell, there was a brief silence in the receiver.

A moment later, Li Nanshao laughed, "Do you know who I am?"

The young man named Xie Wufang said, "Your surname is Li."

"Yes, my name is Li Nanshao, the 'Nan' means south, and the 'Shao' means brave, I'm the captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Qixing City Public Security Bureau."

After introducing himself, he asked calmly, "The identity you registered in the system is fake, isn't it?"

Although it was a question, it was spoken with certainty.

But the young man on the other end of the phone did not respond.

Given the other party's clearly antagonistic attitude towards him, Li Nanshao found this silence understandable as an acknowledgment.

If he wanted to refute or deny it, he would have spoken up by now.

Li Nanshao was not surprised by this attitude that others might consider completely rude.

Because when they were at the police station yesterday afternoon, he had seen the other person's character.

That black-haired, blue-eyed young man treated Yubai uniquely.

Now alone in his office, the middle-aged policeman continued, "Yesterday, Xiao Bai said that he suddenly pulled you out of the police station because he saw an anomaly in the sky outside the window, which coincidentally resembled his dream last night, leading him to mistakenly believe that the end of the world had arrived."

"But before he got up and ran away, I remember he didn't look out the window. And even if he had looked toward the window from where he was sitting, he would have barely been able to see the sky."

"As for the part about describing dreams and novel inspirations…" Speaking of this, the middle-aged man sighed with a smile, "It was complete nonsense."

"The incident of him pulling you out of the police station happened almost simultaneously with the anomaly in the sky, which disappeared after he let go of your hand."

"At that time, the color of the sky was very similar to the color of your eyes."

At this point, the head of the criminal investigation team asked him in a tone that required no answer, "Was yesterday afternoon's change in the sky related to the two of you?"

As he expected, the mysterious "person" on the other end of the line did not answer yes or no.

The young man standing alone in the kitchen asked, "Did you know he was lying when you were at the police station?"

"Yes," Li Nanxiao said. "I can always tell when he lies."

"Why didn't you expose him then?"

A faint trace of confusion tinged the cold voice.

Indeed, why?

It was such a significant matter.

And he was a police officer with duties and responsibilities.

After some thought, Li Nanxiao answered somewhat wistfully, "Because Xiao Bai hadn't told this kind of lie for a long time."

Not the kind of lie that said, "I didn't have time to cook today, so I ordered takeout," pretending everything was fine.

But the kind of lie where, after a cigarette inexplicably went missing from his pocket pack, the boy with lingering traces of smoke on him would grin foolishly and say he'd buy him a cola, trying hard to cover up his mischief.

"Xiao Bai was very happy and free... I haven't seen him like this in a long time."

Li Nanxiao spoke softly, then corrected himself, "Perhaps, I've never seen him like this before."

This was the first time he had seen Yu Bai like this.

So, it was also the first time he had become an unprofessional police officer.

In the gentle static of the phone line, the young man's voice sounded again, seemingly pondering, "You wanted him to be happy, so you lied too."

The chill in his voice had faded slightly.

Li Nanxiao felt a bit ashamed. "Yes, Xiao Bai lied, but so did I."

But Xie Wufang asked, "When you said you wouldn't pursue the ID issue, was that also a lie?"

At these words, the middle-aged police officer at his desk chuckled helplessly.

He didn't know who this young man was, where he came from, or what he intended to do.

But he didn't intend to ask.

For despite being enigmatic and intimidating, there was something strangely innocent and pure about him, completely different from ordinary people.

An innocence and purity that Yu Bai struggled to protect and that allowed him to be very free.

"This wasn't a lie. I really won't pursue it," Li Nanxiao said honestly. "...I probably couldn't even if I wanted to. I don't think anyone has that ability."

The ability to fight against the terrifying force that could change the color of the sky.

"Besides, Xiao Bai took the initiative to stand in front of you; he's trying to protect you." Li Nanxiao said. "He hasn't done that in a long time. You're the second friend he's done that for."

The first was Yan Jing, his childhood playmate.

The young man on the phone didn't speak, only his breathing grew slightly heavier.

The detective captain keenly sensed that the other party seemed to be in a worse mood.

So he changed the subject, asking a question he hadn't planned to ask, "Would you hurt Xiao Bai?"

This time, the answer came quickly. "No."

Li Nanxiao could actually see this, but getting such an unwavering confirmation still gave him greater peace of mind.

He asked again, "Will the world really end?"

The answer was the same.

"No."

Li Nanxiao stopped asking then.

He wouldn't ask questions that might completely reshape his worldview and life philosophy.

That way, he could continue to be a materialist conforming to institutional requirements.

After all, even if the end of the world truly approached, he would have to remain steadfast in his post to fulfill his mission.

The middle-aged man fell silent, but the young man on the other end suddenly spoke, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

It was another definitive question.

"Not exactly afraid," Li Nanxiao replied, coming back to his senses. "My profession doesn't allow me to be afraid, besides, fear is useless."

Being a police officer meant leaving home every day prepared for the possibility of never returning.

Xie Wufang said, "He is the same."

"Are you talking about Xiao Bai?" Li Nanxiao was taken aback and blurted out, "I knew it, he wouldn't be afraid of you."

"How did you know?"

He asked directly and candidly, causing Li Nanxiao on the phone to be lost in thought for a long while before murmuring, "Because Xiao Bai is very brave."

The middle-aged man with wrinkles at the corners of his eyes suddenly recalled the past, remembering his younger days.

He had been temporarily detained at the bureau due to an urgent matter and couldn't pick Yu Bai up for dinner on time. He could only apologize and ask him to wait a little longer at home, eat some snacks to tide him over, and promised to come over later.

The child on the phone agreed, but an hour later, a small figure appeared at the police station gate, quietly waiting with two full crates of plastic lunch boxes emitting a sweet and sour aroma.

He had brought packed sweet and sour pork for Li Nanxiao and other familiar police uncles, eating boxed meals alongside them without a fuss as they suddenly had to work overtime, saying that this counted as going out for dinner.

That restaurant was hidden in a deep, dilapidated alleyway, almost pitch black at night, making even adults feel uneasy when passing through. It was usually Li Nanxiao or another colleague leading people there.

He never imagined that a child around ten years old would cross half the city alone, then walk through the dark alley to meet him, showing no fear on his face.

At over thirty years old and not yet having experienced the loss of a loved one, Li Nanxiao was particularly surprised, unable to resist asking, "Aren't you afraid of the dark?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Ho, such courage!" A colleague teased with a smile. "Not even afraid of ghosts?"

"No," the young child replied, smiling softly. "In fact, I'm hoping to meet a ghost."

"Eh?" The police uncles were surprised, pausing their chopsticks to look at him. "Why?"

The brown-haired little boy hesitated, saying softly and somewhat embarrassedly, "If ghosts really exist in this world... maybe I could see my dad again."

His words were shy, filled with innocent longing and a yearning that he didn't yet know how to hide.

Li Nanxiao remembered that the sweet and sour pork that night tasted especially sour, so much so that all the adults at the table had their eyes reddened by the pungency, discreetly wiping away tears.

But it wasn't until he grew older and helplessly lost his elderly, ailing mother that he truly understood the feelings of that young child that year.

It was different from the bravery and resilience that came with his profession.

After a heart-wrenching loss, one truly became unafraid of ghosts and gods, and even death.

Instead, they longed for that distant reunion and reunion.

And some people would relearn the taste of fear.

Because life was so long, they gradually developed other attachments: blood ties, true loves of their lives... or ideals they vowed to realize.

Others had nothing, just waiting day and night.

So, Li Nanxiao thought, Yu Bai wouldn't be afraid of that mysterious and powerful young man, whoever he was, ghost or god.

He answered Xie Wufang on the phone with a wistful tone. "Yu Bai is very brave... he's not afraid of anything, so I know he won't be afraid of you."

The cold young man fell silent for a moment before asking, "How did you know he was drinking?"

Li Nanxiao was slightly taken aback, then laughed.

He must have heard his conversation with Yu Bai earlier.

Quite perceptive.

He still didn't know Xie Wufang's background or intentions, but his intuition told him that this curiosity was a good thing.

Especially the curiosity surrounding Yu Bai.

So Li Nanxiao patiently continued answering him. "I've seen Yu Bai drunk once before, and his state of speech was similar to just now, so I guessed right away."

"...?" The young man's voice turned less pleased and somewhat curious. "Before?"

"It was many years ago, during the summer after he graduated from elementary school and was about to start middle school."

"My colleagues were celebrating my birthday, but actually using my name as an excuse to celebrate Yu Bai's birthday," Li Nanxiao said. "I don't really celebrate birthdays, but he liked them even less, despite being just a kid... our birthdays happened to be close together, so everyone took the opportunity to secretly celebrate his birthday."

"That night, everyone was talking about him starting middle school, chatting and drinking, the atmosphere was particularly lively, and he gradually became very happy too. He came over and quietly asked me if he could also try the taste of alcohol, since after this summer, he'd be considered a little adult."

Recalling that day, Li Nanxiao's tone was full of laughter. "You should have seen him, Yu Bai wearing the birthday hat someone insisted on putting on him, rarely making such a request, his voice was soft, but his eyes were bright. How could I refuse?"

"Then, he got drunk right away." Li Nanxiao shook his head with a laugh. "He drank less than half a glass and was completely drunk."

"After getting drunk, his eyes shone even brighter, and he started pestering people to talk. That night, everyone was... if I had to find a phrase to describe it, it was flattered and surprised. No one had ever seen him talk so much or be so outgoing."

"After finishing the birthday cake, I sent him home, and he kept talking nonstop along the way."

On a summer night many years ago, under dim streetlights, two shadows of different heights intertwined, a tall middle-aged man leading a drunk elementary school graduate home, their path filled with light-hearted chatter.

The adult's palm was rough and warm, momentarily resembling a father.

The little boy's heart was filled with joy, tightly holding the adult's hand, and when he looked up, he caught a glimpse of the distant, beautiful night sky.

"For some reason, he suddenly asked me for stars," Li Nanxiao said. "I asked him what kind of stars, and he said, the ones swimming in the sky."

"In truth, I didn't understand, but he kept looking at me with sparkling eyes, sometimes at me, sometimes at the night sky, persistently asking me for stars in the sky."

At this point, Li Nanxiao's voice dimmed slightly, tinged with a gentle sigh.

"I really wanted to promise him," he said. "But I just couldn't."

How he wished he could pluck the stars from the sky for that child.

Unfortunately, he couldn't.