Chapter 091: Beauty 11

Chapter 091: Beauty 11

In the noon light that flooded the corridor, dust danced up and down, while the golden elevator beside it gleamed brightly.

Transparent droplets pattered down.

The little girl hastily reached out to wipe her tears, but within the clear black and white, there was a brilliant smile.

There was no scent of injustice or pain in her wet tears.

But for the first time, they had the taste of happiness.

Seeing her cry, the old man's eyes showed concern, and he immediately moved to go over. "What's wrong, little girl? Don't cry!"

The middle-aged man beside him frowned tightly and urged, "He Xi!"

He Wentao's voice was very loud, startling Yuan Yuhang who was about to take a step forward. He immediately turned around and glared fiercely, his decibels even louder. "Why are you being so fierce! Do you know you scared the child!"

"I'll damn well discipline my daughter, what's it got to do with you—"

Before He Wentao could finish his arrogant words, he saw Yuan Yuhang suddenly exclaim, holding his head as if dizzy. "Ouch, you scared me too. It's killing me, these old bones can't take such scares. Quickly, quickly, call an ambulance. You bastard, don't you dare run, you have to pay for my medical expenses. There's been a problem with my health insurance recently, I can't use it..."

The strange old man looked like he was about to faint at any moment, but his words didn't stop, and he made a move to grab the person who caused his illness.

Caught off guard, He Wentao hurriedly pushed the old man away, his head buzzing from this unexpected commotion.

His feet moved slightly, instinctively wanting to drag his daughter into the house to scold her, and at the same time avoid this obviously unmanageable rascal of an old man. But his gaze met straight on with the two young men beside He Xi who clearly looked dangerous.

...They seemed even less manageable.

Damn it, what kind of nonsense is happening today!

The outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, muttering something dirty under his breath, then simply turned around and went home, slamming the door shut without even caring about his daughter.

With a bang, the door shook violently.

The seemingly weak old man who looked like he was going to die on the spot instantly revived.

He stopped panting heavily, his face no longer flushed red, and he even took advantage of the situation to knock on room 1104's door a few times, demanding like a hooligan, "Bastard, don't you dare run, medical fees!"

Inside, another door closing sound echoed.

He Wentao probably hid in the room, not even wanting to stay in the living room closer to the corridor.

He didn't want to hear any more sounds coming from outside.

A cruel and heartless father, who wasn't quite worthy of legal punishment, from this moment on, encountered a terrifying existence that might, in some sense, transcend the law.

—An unreasonable yet very skilled acting rogue of an old man.

The little girl, who had seen Grandpa Yuan looking like he was about to faint and was rushing over anxiously, paused, then after realizing what happened, couldn't help laughing through her tears.

"Grandpa Yuan, I thought you really got sick from the scare." He Xi sniffled, marveling in a low voice. "Your face turned red just now, you're amazing."

Yu Bai also followed over, his tone filled with surprise. "Uncle Yuan, your face-changing skills are truly..."

Just now, he almost wanted to call 120.

Xie Wufang didn't say anything, but his eyes flashed with surprise and bewilderment.

Then, his gray-blue gaze quietly wandered around the people talking nearby.

As if observing humanity with some contemplation.

"What's the big deal, it's nothing."

Yuan Yuhang waved his hand smugly, then bent down, his gaze warm as he rubbed the little girl's head. "Did I scare you?"

He Xi immediately shook her head. "No, no, Grandpa Yuan, are we going to be neighbors?"

"Yes, from now on, we'll be neighbors just like Xiao Bai and them. What do you think, are you happy?"

"Happy! Super duper happy!"

Two floors right next to each other, two rooms right next to each other.

Room 1104, Room 1105.

Room 1204, Room 1205.

With the arrival of a special neighbor, their lives had unknowingly turned a new page.

Yu Bai laughed, his expression tinged with a touch of emotion. "Uncle Yuan, I didn't expect you to move over here."

"I didn't expect you guys to come back from the North Pole so soon either," said Yuan Yuhang. "I originally wanted to wait until everything was completely moved in before giving you a surprise."

"That's the North Pole, how rare! The round trip by plane alone takes one or two days, why didn't you take the opportunity to play for a few more days?"

Yu Bai said, "I did want to play for a few more days, but this time I really didn't have the time. There are many more important things here."

"The North Pole is beautiful, let's go there for a proper visit next time, Uncle Yuan, you should come along then."

The young man with dreamy eyes smiled and finished speaking, then quickly asked about the matter weighing on his mind. "By the way, how's things with Uncle Zhang...going smoothly?"

Hearing this, the previously unserious old man was slightly taken aback, and a soft emotion flashed through his aged eyes as he smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Let's talk about it inside the house."

The house that Yuan Yuhang rented was right below Yu Bai's family's place, the tail number of the house number was the same, and the layout was exactly the same.

Stepping suddenly into this familiar room, now cluttered with furniture and moving boxes, Yu Bai felt a bit dazed.

Still, Yuan Yuhang had brought far more luggage than when he moved in, as if he'd transported his entire home over.

Yu Bai couldn't help but exclaim, "Uncle Yuan, you sure have a lot of stuff."

Yuan Yuhang was carefully leading He Xi through the mess on the floor, heading toward the study: "Of course, I'm spending the rest of my life here, so I might as well bring everything I need."

Yu Bai picked up on the undertone: "Isn't this house rented?"

"No, bought!" Yuan Yuhang chuckled, "The name of this neighborhood sounds nice, it's peaceful, everything about it is good. It's much more comfortable than where I used to live, and the price is cheap, so I just went ahead and bought it!"

Stellar City wasn't exactly a bustling metropolis, and its housing prices were reasonable. Due to rumors of hauntings, the prices for this otherwise perfect neighborhood were even lower.

An ordinary old man who had worked hard all his life could certainly afford that amount.

It had only been two days since then...

Truly worthy of the hot-tempered Old Yuan.

Yu Bai sincerely said, "You got the paperwork done pretty quickly."

"Yes, the landlord had listed it for a long time. When he heard someone wanted to buy it and could pay in full, he thought he'd hit the jackpot. Afraid something might go wrong, he practically wanted to transfer ownership in the blink of an eye!"

Yuan Yuhang said cheerfully, "Anyway, I'm extremely satisfied with the purchase. From now on, I can do whatever I want with this house. Just watch me drive that bastard next door crazy!"

Yu Bai was taken aback, laughing helplessly, unable to resist giving the old man a thumbs up.

At the same time, he read between the lines of Yuan Yuhang's words: "Aren't you afraid that when he can't take it anymore, he'll move away with He Xi?"

Before Yu Bai finished speaking, Yuan Yuhang and He Xi shook their heads almost simultaneously.

"He doesn't have that much money."

"He's a lazy drunkard with debts piled up to his neck. All he has left is this house, how could he afford to move? If not for free compulsory education, the bastard probably wouldn't even let He Xi go to school. Besides, he can't sell the house anyway; it's already mortgaged!"

"So, whether he wants to tolerate it or not, he has to put up with it for me, or else sleep on the streets!"

Yuan Yuhang spoke with reason, clearly having done his homework before buying the house. Even He Xi listened with wide eyes, "Grandpa Yuan, how did you know all this?"

"Pretty impressive, right?" The old man smiled smugly, "I found out from another grandpa."

"He's the one who knows the most about your neighborhood."

The movers downstairs had unloaded everything and carried all the items down. The security guard, who had supervised the whole process diligently, finally relaxed, waving goodbye to them, "Take care, be safe on the road!"

Then, he returned to his booth, picked up his steaming thermos cup, and took a sip of tea.

"Ho, what fragrant tea!" The security guard shook his head happily, talking to himself, "Where did Old Yuan get this? I should ask him after my shift ends..."

The person best informed in the entire neighborhood was, of course, the security guard.

In the brightly lit room at that moment, Yu Bai recalled the security guard he saw when he entered earlier, suddenly understanding.

On the day he moved in, the guard had simply opened the gate for him, treating him like any other ordinary resident.

He hadn't been busy running around personally handling things, as if it were his own move.

"You kids have your jobs," Yuan Yuhang handed a tissue to He Xi, whose face still bore tear stains, his gaze gentle, "And us old men have ours."

As he spoke, the old man's hand landed on the study's doorknob, turning it gently. His words were still directed at the little girl.

"—By the way, I said I'd make him sleep on the streets, but don't worry that you'll have to sleep on the streets. Although we came back before the house was fully cleaned, I have one more surprise for you."

"Eh?"

The door slowly opened, revealing the simple furnishings inside.

"The previous landlord left a lot of things behind. I had most of them thrown out. This desk didn't satisfy me either; it's too high. Later, I'll take you to the mall to pick out a suitable one. After school, come here to do your homework. If you get bored, we can play Go..."

Amidst the old man's chatter filled with smiles, a small sound suddenly echoed in this tranquil haven that was about to be painted with infinite colors.

At the same time, a furry brown figure darted towards the door.

Accurately leaping into the old man's arms.

An eerily familiar scene.

It used to always leap into the arms of the closest elder in the world.

He Xi, who had been frozen, subconsciously called out to it, "It's Zhang Wei!"

The short-legged Corgi nestled in Yuan Yuhang's arms contentedly groomed its fur, barking once.

"Right, from now on, Zhang Wei will accompany us while we play chess." Yuan Yuhang asked with a smile, "How about that, is it a pleasant surprise?"

More than just a surprise.

He Xi wanted to cry again.

Seeing her expression, Yuan Yuhang, who was holding the Corgi, seemed to recall something, his eyes instantly reddening. He hurriedly pushed the little girl into the study.

"Alright, alright, don't make me cry. Go into the room and cry secretly. Meanwhile, build some rapport with this Zhang Wei."

He bent down and placed the Corgi in the room as well, closing the door gently. He took several deep breaths to calm himself before daring to turn around, feigning nonchalance, "Didn't expect to see Zhang Wei again, did you?"

Yu Bai tactfully avoided looking at his face.

"Mm, it's a pleasant surprise." He paused, asking, "Did you ask Uncle Zhang's family for Zhang Wei? Or was it Uncle Zhang's..."

Apart from Yuan Yuhang, who had taken the will to the police station, none of them knew what Zhang Yunjiang's will contained.

"I did think about asking them for it, but how could those bastards possibly give it to me? They used Zhang Wei as a prop in their play before, trying hard to prove how close they were to dogs, and thus, how close they were to Old Zhang. Yet, they didn't even bring him to the funeral!"

Yuan Yuhang spoke with indignation, his tone gradually softening. "But I didn't expect that Old Zhang would specifically write in his will where Zhang Wei should go, entrusting him to my care. He also clearly stated that I was to handle his funeral arrangements, and everyone had to listen to me."

"You see, on that piece of paper, there was so little space, yet he used more than half of it to write trivial matters. When those bastards saw it, they were stunned, rubbing their eyes as they searched between the lines for any mention of money."

The will mentioned many people who had no blood relation to Zhang Yunjiang.

Not only the company successor he had high hopes for, not only Yuan Yuhang and Zhang Wei, but also Yu Bai and Xie Wufang, albeit under the collective term of "benefactors."

In any case, Zhang Yunjiang wrote on the paper: "...for all the details, ask Yuan Yuhang, and believe every word he says."

He was a man of deep emotion and righteousness, meticulous and thorough in his actions.

Yuan Yuhang would never reveal these two names to anyone who shouldn't know, to avoid causing them any trouble.

Although he guessed that the ones who would ultimately suffer in any trouble would definitely not be Yu Bai and Xie Wufang.

And these details, Yuan Yuhang did not intend to tell them now.

It would be another surprise.

As Yu Bai listened to the old man's vivid description, a hint of a smile appeared on his face, and he asked teasingly, "No more calling them bastard sons?"

He wasn't concerned about the specific contents of the will; seeing Yuan Yuhang's current state, he could guess that the Zhang family affairs had been settled, and wouldn't prevent the old man from being buried properly.

That was enough.

"No more," Yuan Yuhang laughed. "It does seem like a roundabout way of cursing him."

"Old Zhang usually had a good temper, but when he got angry, he was quite scary. What if I meet him again in the afterlife and he causes me trouble!"

In the bright midday light, the air was silent for a moment amidst their faint smiles.

"When Uncle Zhang wrote his will, did he already recognize you and roughly guess our origins?"

"Yes, he probably couldn't guess the specifics, but he definitely knew we came from the future. I never thought that at his age, his mind was still so sharp...he was always this smart since he was young..."

In the old man's murmurs, Yu Bai fell silent for a while before asking the last question.

It was an assertive question.

"Uncle Yuan, when you returned to the real world, did you choose to return to your original appearance?"

Yuan Yuhang was taken aback, and after a moment, he asked, "Hey, how did you know? Can you choose too?"

Yu Bai said, "No, it's because when we saw you return to normal and wearing the clothes for the funeral, we were all shocked, but you were only focused on checking the will in your hand, looking as if you weren't surprised by your own condition at all."

Even with the mental preparation that things would return to normal, one should subconsciously check their clothes.

After all, when he had become young again, his clothes hadn't changed. At that time, it was fortunate that Yan Jing contributed a belt, barely helping the little boy hold up clothes that were completely out of size.

Yuan Yuhang couldn't help laughing as he listened. "You're smart enough, no wonder Old Zhang got along so well with you..."

Amidst his smile, the wrinkles at the corners of the old man's eyes overflowed with a deep sense of nostalgia.

"I've never forgotten that moment when I returned. It was such a wondrous feeling. The four seasons seemed to appear before my eyes all at once. No one spoke to me, and there was no sound, but somehow, I knew I could choose. I knew I could continue being a child or return to the appearance of an old man."

When walking through that vaguely present door separating different times and spaces...

What would the lost traveler see?

He Xi said he saw countless stars.

Yan Jing said he saw snow drifting in the darkness and a paper airplane flying high and far away.

And Yuan Yuhang saw the four seasons and a mysterious choice related to the passage of time.

It was almost equivalent to living life over again.

Yu Bai asked softly, "Wouldn't it be good to start over?"

"Of course it would be good," Yuan Yuhang said matter-of-factly. "Becoming a child was great. My legs were nimble during that time, I could cry when I wanted to, make a fuss when I wanted to, and I had a vast future ahead of me."

"But..."

In that fleeting cycle of the four seasons, there was no one around him, no sounds.

The world was boundless, and he walked alone.

Yuan Yuhang was lost in thought for a long time, his voice gradually filled with a gentle nostalgia.

He was just like the old man who had stood by the window in the study, smiling as he watched the snow.

"My life hasn't been spectacular or particularly successful, but it has been precious enough."

"Fifty years is too long, I don't want to live it again."

The hot-tempered old man finally said with a smile.

"Because I'm looking forward to telling him the whole story, intact!"

As his words faded, the dust swirling in the sunlight was so still.

Yu Bai left the eleventh floor, returning to the twelfth floor via the stairs after a long absence. His mind was in a daze for a long time.

He remained silent for a long while, his head swirling with complex emotions, habitually reaching into his pocket for the key.

The jingling of keys shattered the silence.

It also suddenly dawned on Yu Bai something.

Xie Wufang had also been silent for a long time.

So he turned his head over with some curiosity to look at him.

The unique gray-blue eyes of the person beside him were slightly lowered, partly obscured by strands of hair and eyelashes, making them indiscernible.

It seemed as though he was also immersed in some lingering thoughts.

What was Xie Wufang thinking about?

Would he have any feelings about Yuan Yuhang's choice?

In that instant, the immortal deity who possessed eternity caught a glimpse of humans who drifted through their fleeting years.

Yu Bai didn't hesitate for too long, candidly voicing out his curiosity.

"Little Xie."

"Mm."

The man walking side by side with him stopped, turning his gaze to meet a pair of clear, bright eyes.

"What are you thinking about?"