It was an exceptionally ordinary day, so unremarkable that Fang Chen couldn’t even recall what he had for breakfast that morning.
Like every other day, he hastily took a mouthful of food, left for work, and coincidentally ran into his neighbour opening the door. They exchanged pleasantries and rode the elevator together.
“So early?” the neighbour asked.
Fang Chen replied, “Mm, off to work. Can’t afford to be late; I’d lose my perfect attendance bonus.” This bonus held significant importance for him.
They chatted for a bit more, and soon the elevator reached the first floor. To the left on the first floor, a middle-aged couple, appearing to be in their fifties, habitually sat outside on folding stools, engaging in morning conversations with the other neighbours.
Noticing Fang Chen, the woman seated on a folding stool greeted warmly, “Heading to work?”
Fang Chen nodded, addressing her as “Auntie Wu,’ and asked, “Where’s Uncle?”
Mrs. Wu sighed, her demeanor doing a complete 180 as she rolled her eyes, remarking, “Off gambling with others again in the early morning. He didn’t even have breakfast… Say, isn’t he afraid of keeling over at the table!?”
Fang Chen chuckled, turned the corner, and continued his walk. En route, he crossed paths with Fan Yingying, who was returning with a breakfast takeout and greeted her.
Fan Yingying nodded slightly in response, lowered her head, and hurriedly walked into the corridor, turning right and disappearing into her own apartment.
She was a reserved young lady and always looked at people with a timid gaze. Mrs. Wu often spoke ill of her to others, saying that the girl residing across from them exuded an air of gloominess, as if she carried something impure. She would always walk with her head down, appearing oddly eerie.
As people aged, they often became more prone to gossiping, and their words might not sound pleasant, but everyone just listened and laughed it off. Fang Chen guessed that this girl must have heard quite a few rumours about herself but chose not to confront the elderly people about it.
At noon, Fang Chen returned home for lunch. While standing in the corridor and waiting for the elevator to arrive, another person walked in. Dressing in a pristine white shirt, suit pants, polished leather shoes, and wearing glasses with hair neatly styled, it seemed the other party had just returned from work too.
Fang Chen didn’t know his name, only that he lived on the second floor. He had the last name Xu and rarely interacted with neighbours. He was used to being alone and had several pets at home. Mrs. Wu had long been dissatisfied with his pets, often complaining about them. She claimed that the cats and dogs were always creating a ruckus in the dead of night. Fang Chen hadn’t heard such disturbances before; perhaps he slept too soundly, or perhaps Mrs. Wu was intentionally finding fault. In this building, residents had all become accustomed to Mrs. Wu’s constant nitpicking.
Seeing the figure heading upstairs, Fang Chen subconsciously greeted, “Good afternoon.”
The person had already reached the turn, but still turned around and politely responded, “Good afternoon, going home for lunch?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Mm.”
The elevator opened precisely at that moment; Fang Chen stepped inside, and upon turning around again, the person had already gone upstairs.
Fang Chen lived on the fourth floor, below him was a couple—the woman was young, and the man was wealthy. Their energetic and audacious activities echoed in broad daylight; the constant “hmm… ngh…” sounds emanated through the window and into Fang Chen’s ears.
He silently endured the noise with pursed lips and took a few bites of his sandwich, but couldn’t continue eating anymore. In the hottest month of August, he couldn’t close the window to avoid suffocating himself. Feeling a sense of discomfort, his mouth corners drooped, and tiny beads of sweat formed densely on his neck. A moment of cool breeze swept by, dispelling the heat on his forehead. Then, another sharp female voice rang out, and gradually, the noise downstairs faded away.
The residential community where Fang Chen lived wasn’t new; the building he was in underwent renovations a few years ago. While it looked decent from the outside, the living conditions inside were a different story. The elevator frequently malfunctioned, and the water supply was often cut off. Despite several complaints to the property management, the issues persisted. Those on lower floors had gotten used to taking the stairs.
Fang Chen heard someone calling his name. It was a familiar yet unidentifiable voice. Unable to pinpoint who it was, he followed the sound down the stairs. By the time he neared the first floor, the voice had ceased.
Gripping the handrail, he felt the floor undulating beneath him; the space seemed distorted. He heard someone calling him again. The voice was very close, as if speaking intimately into his ear, carrying an inexplicable love and tenderness as it recited his name with an overly gentle tone.
“Fang Chen.”
The person was behind him.
Just as Fang Chen was about to turn around, the alarm went off, and when he opened his eyes, he found his back was covered with sweat.
Lunch breaks were short, and having such strange dreams made his mind even more disoriented.
Fang Chen didn’t take the elevator when leaving and chose to take the stairs to clear his head a bit more. As luck would have it, he ran into that couple on the third floor. They were leaning against the door frame, engaging in a passionate kiss.
Fang Chen wanted to leave quickly; the man released the woman first, saying, “Baby, I’ll be heading off first.” He then took big strides down, patting Fang Chen on the shoulder. “Going to work?”
Fang Chen wasn’t startled, just averted his gaze and faintly responded with a “Mm.” He didn’t have a favourable impression of this couple, but couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
Upon reaching the first floor and before exiting the corridor, Fang Chen saw Fan Yingying again. He was unsure whether to greet her, but she took the initiative, nodding hesitantly. “Hello.”
Fang Chen nodded lightly in response. “Hello.”
Sitting in the cool shade near the entrance was Mrs. Wu’s spouse, fanning himself and muttering about his bad luck and losing money again today.
Today’s heat was intense, to the extent that when Fang Chen awoke just now, he found his hair was damp, and his eyelashes also seemed to carry a hint of moisture.
Standing momentarily at the entrance of the corridor, he felt a tap on his back. Turning around, he saw another neighbour from the third floor, Gao Cheng. He wasn’t tall, a bit chubby, and had a silly smile.
Gao Cheng said, “It’s hot today, huh?”
Fang Chen looked up at the sky. “…Yeah, it’s quite hot.”
Around six in the evening, Fang Chen finished work and, on his way home, ran into Fan Yingying again near the entrance of the building. She appeared to have applied some light makeup, with a faint red tint on her lips, making her complexion look much better.
As they exchanged glances, Fang Chen was about to greet her when Mrs. Wu called out to him loudly. Mrs. Wu had a strong voice; she called his name from afar, grabbed and pulled his arm, and brought him to the front of another group of people, saying, “Hey, I was talking about him. Isn’t he good-looking? Does he match with your daughter?”
Fang Chen was momentarily baffled as he was directly pulled to the front of a group of elderly people.
Despite residing in the same community, it appeared as though they were seeing him for the first time. Some stood, craning their necks for a closer look, while others seated on folding stools even displayed mild surprise by slightly parting their lips.
Fang Chen took a step back, but he was pulled back by Mrs. Wu with a look. “What are you hiding from? You’re already this old, and you’re not happy about being introduced to a potential partner? Their family’s daughter has good qualities and attributes, you know.”
The sky changed; it turned gloomy and dark, as if it would be nightfall soon.
The group of people was still staring at Fang Chen, guessing his age, chatting incessantly as if evaluating an object, weighing its merits and flaws, and discussing what price it could fetch.
“He looks too young. Just graduated, right?”
Mrs. Wu was very enthusiastic. “How could it be? Such a youthful and smooth complexion; this kid is in his twenties…” She turned to Fang Chen and continued, “Ay, look at my memory. You’re twenty-what this year again?”
Fang Chen felt a sudden hesitation and instinctively didn’t want to stay any longer. He pulled his hand away, mentioning that he had something to do, and left without concern for appearing rude. Walking into the corridor, he left behind the noisy voices. Fortunately, no one followed.
The corridor was enveloped in darkness; Fan Yingying had returned to her own home at an unspecified time and was leaning against the door, surprising the unaware Fang Chen. She smiled at him with a friendly yet somewhat shy expression hanging on her face. However, he only noticed that she had applied some lipstick, a very subtle shade of red. When the elevator door opened, he even forgot to greet her and entered without saying a word.
Upon reaching home, Fang Chen glanced at the wall clock in the living room and was surprised to see it was only a little past six. He turned his head to look out the window and noticed that the sky had become overcast at some point. Dark, oppressive clouds loomed over the sky without a hint of wind, and the air, combined with perspiration, seemed to create a stifling and heavy atmosphere, thickening the air and making it difficult to breathe.
Fang Chen prepared to cook noodles, lit the stove, and waited for the water to boil. In the process, he felt that he should add some seasoning, perhaps carrots or spinach. However, upon picking up the knife and cutting board, he remembered there were no vegetables at home, but he wasn’t fond of such things anyway. Setting the knife aside, a blank expression crossed his face. As the water began to bubble and simmer, he hastily added the noodles without further consideration.
Before retiring for the night, Fang Chen took a quick shower to freshen up. Out of habit, he skipped blow-drying his hair and lay down directly. However, he got up slowly after a while, plugged in the hairdryer, and dried his hair. He felt strange, but couldn’t tell what was odd. It was as if there was a lack of proper sequence in many matters; they shouldn’t be like this… But if not like this, then what other way should it be like?
He couldn’t figure it out.
Fang Chen heard someone calling him again, each word slow and deliberate, whispered close to his ear. A gentle warm breath hinted at someone’s presence by his bedside, their fingertips delicately tracing along his earlobe.
The elevator had been making a continuous “beep” warning sound, a sound to indicate its prolonged pause on a floor. The noise roused Fang Chen from his slumber, and he checked his phone—it was precisely 2:00 AM.
He couldn’t fathom who would be moving house in the middle of the night, dragging things into the elevator, making it unable to close. As he approached the entryway, he began to hear some strange ‘gurgling’ sounds, coupled with the unsettling “drip” sound.
Gripping the doorknob, Fang Chen acted on instinct without much consideration. Something in his subconscious compelled him to open the door. The creaking sound accompanied the door’s movement, revealing an open elevator that bathed the tranquil night in its stark white light from within.
At first, Fang Chen saw two people—one lying down, the other crouching by the former’s side. Their silhouettes blended with the shadows, making their figures indistinct. The light elongated their shadows, and Fang Chen even saw his own being cast over them and reflected on the opposite door. Then, there was blood flowing on the white ceramic tiles—a slick, pervasive stream that seemed to have reached the side of his foot.
The crouching figure halted. It was extraordinarily thin, with skin clinging tightly to its bones. Fang Chen couldn’t even discern its gender. But none of that mattered. He saw a pool of blood, almost covering the entire corridor.
Can a normal human really bleed this much?
He found himself in a state of confusion. The intense brightness of the elevator light caused a sharp pain in his eyes, and he could only see half of the person lying down, with the other half being obscured within the elevator.
The frail figure raised its hand, stuffed something into its mouth, and chewed. Its eyes sparkled with a hint of eagerness, yet it also seemed to be afraid, hesitant to pounce directly.
With a resounding “bang,” Fang Chen shut the door. From the actions of opening to closing the door, he took less than ten seconds. He took a fleeting glimpse, catching sight of the two people and the surrounding blood… and seeing one of them grasping a dark red mass in their hand.
He just witnessed a person eating another person.
Fang Chen crouched down in a daze and felt weak-kneed. His hand was still clasping the doorknob, and he could feel his heart pounding vigorously. At the entryway, there was a full-length mirror. He leaned against it but dared not turn to see his own face.
The surroundings plunged into a silence. The coolness of the mirror offered a modicum of solace, helping Fang Chen regain composure. Yet, his thoughts remained entangled in turmoil.
A gentle breeze wafted through; the living room window stood ajar, and Fang Chen’s breath quickened. He tightly held onto the doorknob but lacked the courage to open it again.
There was someone in the apartment.
starting this novel today, cant wait to see what’s going on! thanks for translating!! <33
Wow, so much suspense!!! So intense from the 1st chapter
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
Thank you for reading and commenting!! (੭ˊᵕˋ)੭*ଘ
its all a simulation??? dream hes in a coma with high technology im guessing