“Meow.”
Fang Chen opened his eyes to find himself lying in a vast sea of white flowers. He turned his head and saw a small kitten with grey-black patterns and copper-yellow eyes. The kitten tilted its head and playfully ran towards him with short, bouncy steps.
As Fang Chen sat up, milky-white petals fell to the ground. He saw his younger self directly ahead of him.
The surrounding white gradually faded, giving way to rain falling from the sky. The air became filled with the earthly scent of damp soil and a faint floral fragrance.
His younger self crouched on the side, suddenly lifting his head as if looking at someone.
The once lively and playful kitten now lay lifelessly on the ground with its eyes closed.
Despite the intensifying rain, Little Fang Chen remained untouched by the downpour. Carefully, he picked up the cat and approached Fang Chen.
Little Fang Chen came to a halt in front of him, and Fang Chen belatedly realized—someone was holding an umbrella for him.
The child handed the cat to him, and Fang Chen instinctively reached out. Suddenly, the cat opened its eyes and let out a piercing meow.
The umbrella fell to the ground, creating a splash of water. The child’s cries echoed, as a pair of hands gently caressed his head…
Fang Chen was awakened by the heat, wiping a handful of sweat from his neck. Even with closed eyes, the image of those copper-yellow cat eyes lingered.
He raised his arm to cover his eyes; everything here felt off. Memory loss plagued him, and he couldn’t escape elsewhere like Fan Yingying. In the depths of the unknown, something seemed to be holding him captive, rendering him trapped in a relentless cycle.
At an unknown time, the downstairs couple had started another sonata of love again. Fang Chen got up and drank half a glass of water. Still feeling thirsty, he licked his lips and rummaged through the refrigerator for a yogurt drink.
With the serenade nearing its end, the man let out a pompous growl. Fang Chen was caught off guard and accidentally choked. Coughing, he closed the windows.
Glancing at the full-length mirror while changing his shoes in the entryway, he realized that despite having experienced a series of panic, he could still laugh at such a trivial matter. Was this considered a natural talent, or did he just become too nonchalant about everything?
He opened the door. At the same time, the opposite door opened as well.
Fang Chen glanced up to see a face that was both unfamiliar yet strangely familiar.
The man maintained his cold demeanour. At such close proximity, one could see how deep his pupils were, so much so that they appeared almost pitch-black.
Fang Chen had seen him in the stairwell before, alongside Xie Ying. They were talking about something on the stairs, and Fang Chen initially thought they were a couple having an argument.
How come he’s here?
The man shut the door, his eyes lightly sweeping over Fang Chen. “Good afternoon.”
His magnetic and deep voice was unexpectedly pleasing to the ear.
However, Fang Chen felt inexplicably terrified and took a step back, pressing his back against the door. “…Good afternoon.”
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.
Fang Chen thought that after this exchange, there would be a mutual silence, yet the man surprised him with a blunt question. “Why are you avoiding me?”
Fang Chen was momentarily at a loss for words, stammering for a while before saying, “…I’m not.”
The elevator doors opened, but Fang Chen wanted to take the stairs instead. After hesitating for a few seconds, he reluctantly followed the man into the elevator.
While Fang Chen wasn’t of short stature, the man standing beside him was taller by more than half a head, with broader shoulders, giving off a subtle sense of oppression.
They stood side by side, and Fang Chen’s mind was a blank slate. He even forgot to entertain the natural curiosity of why the man would come out from across his house.
Fang Chen kept his head down, and within a few fleeting seconds, sweat started forming on his back. He knew the man was looking at him with a calm yet focused gaze. This was way too odd.
Throughout the entire afternoon, Fang Chen’s mind was filled with the image of the man’s figure. It persistently lingered around at the back of his head, unable to shake it off.
In the evening, when he returned home, he circled the neighbourhood flowerbeds twice before spotting Xie Ying entering the complex. He jogged a few steps to catch up and blurted out, “I saw your boyfriend at noon, coming out from the opposite apartment of mine. I was startled because of that.” He urgently sought an answer, waiting for Xie Ying to explain why the man would appear across from his home.
To his surprise, Xie Ying looked puzzled instead. “Boyfriend? Who are you talking about?”
“The man you were speaking with on the stairs a few days ago… isn’t he your boyfriend?”
“No, he’s not.” Xie Ying sized him up. “Moreover, Nie Shi has always lived opposite you. What’s wrong?”
Nie Shi.
It’s Nie Shi again.
Everyone said Nie Shi was his neighbour, but he couldn’t recall anything about him at all.
Fang Chen had spoken to his neighbour before, but he didn’t remember him being as tall or possessing such a deep voice. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Gradually, the figures of the man and his neighbour overlapped in Fang Chen’s mind. He felt somewhat dazed, vaguely sensing that he might’ve misremembered, and Nie Shi might really be the one residing across from him.
“Fang Chen… Fang Chen?” Xie Ying nudged him. “What’s going on with you lately? Going to the hospital, asking me who Nie Shi is… Are you okay?”
Fang Chen snapped back to reality, rubbing his forehead with a slight headache. “I’m fine.” He felt like he was losing his mind.
Xie Ying eyed him doubtfully. “Really? If you’re unwell, don’t delay treatment. The earlier you receive it, the better.”
“What about you?” Fang Chen asked. “Why did you visit the hospital?” Though he started to regret probing as it was a matter of privacy. He shouldn’t have asked.
But, Xie Ying didn’t mind and answered directly, “Had a little trouble falling asleep, so I went to the hospital to see if the doctor could prescribe some medication for me.”
The service at that hospital was terrible, cold and unfriendly. Fang Chen didn’t think much about it when he went, but the more he thought about it, the more something didn’t seem quite right.
The two entered the corridor, and the instant coolness allowed Fang Chen to finally take a breather. Instinctively, he glanced at the door on the right, just in case he received another sudden attack from Fan Yingying.
This time, Fan Yingying wasn’t present. Xie Ying turned and asked, “Have you heard any strange noises these days?”
“What do you mean by ‘strange noises’?”
“Hard to put into words.” Xie Ying’s expression soured. “It sounded like a child crying; I’ve been hearing it lately, disturbing my sleep. Honestly, it’s a bit frightening.”
Fang Chen didn’t give a direct answer; instead, he diverted the topic, “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Auntie Wu coming out for a chat these past few days.”
Xie Ying naturally followed up, “Yeah, we used to see her every day.”
She also remembered the couple.
Fang Chen took a deep breath, feeling relieved that he wasn’t alone.
These weird occurrences weren’t confined to just him.
He didn’t mention the death of the couple to Xie Ying. Recalling Fan Yingying’s tearful face, Fang Chen felt it was better left unsaid.
The elevator reached the fourth floor, and the doors opened to reveal a man outside.
Fang Chen stepped out of the elevator, and it closed, continuing its way to the fifth floor.
“…Are you heading downstairs?” Fang Chen took out his keys, hesitated for a moment, and decided to strike up a conversation with the man.
“Mm,” Nie Shi responded.
Whether intentionally or otherwise, Fang Chen made a leading remark covertly, “I haven’t seen much of you these past few days.”
“Mm.”
“……”
Fang Chen couldn’t help turning to look at the man and found the other party also looking back.
“Do you wish to see me?” Nie Shi suddenly asked.
Fang Chen couldn’t keep up with his train of thought, blinking his eyes.
The elevator had already come back down, and Nie Shi walked in, saying, “See you tomorrow.”
Fang Chen stood foolishly in place for a few seconds, then opened the door and entered his apartment in a state of confusion.
Nie Shi was his neighbour.
Rencountering the man, Fang Chen felt a surge of familiarity—indeed, Nie Shi lived right across from him.
But why couldn’t he recognize Nie Shi the last time they met? Did his memory fail him, or… did someone else force Nie Shi into their memories, making them believe that there was really such a person called ‘Nie Shi’?
Fang Chen forced himself not to dwell on it, as there seemed to be no resolution no matter how much he thought about it.
He stuffed the last bite of bread into his mouth, and one side of his cheeks puffed up as he chewed slowly, looking like a hamster hoarding food.
Let’s just go with the flow. There was no other choice.
Strange noises recurred again at night—the peculiar “ahh ahh” sounds.
Despite his efforts, Fang Chen still found fear creeping in, sensing a shiver running down his spine. Then, the voice stopped. However, not long after, a faint, soft whimper echoed through the corridor once more, slipping into Fang Chen’s ears through the gap in the door.
When he came to his senses, he found himself already standing in the entryway, clutching the door handle. Fang Chen, startled by his own action, broke into a cold sweat. A layer of chill enveloped his arms, and it was precisely this chill that halted him from opening the door.
Fang Chen didn’t feel fortunate; his legs were so weak that he almost collapsed to his knees.
Someone was pulling his wrist!
His whole body stiffened, shaking uncontrollably.
“Don’t be scared.” It was that chaotically muddled voice again.
Fang Chen no longer had the strength to think about anything else as the cold surrounded him, pierced his spine, and penetrated his internal organs before spreading throughout his body.
The person behind him retreated, and Fang Chen didn’t catch how he ended up sitting on a chair. With a slight turn of his head, he realized he was already seated, separated from the other party by only a table.
“Don’t be scared.” The other party reiterated, “I’m here with you.”
Fang Chen struggled to breathe. His tears fell steadily onto the table with each drop.
The person across reached out, as if trying to wipe his tears. But, Fang Chen jerked back abruptly, causing the chair to emit an ear-piercing “crrrk” sound.
That hand froze and retracted.
“Fang Chen…”
“Please…” Fang Chen’s throat was dry and hoarse. “Don’t talk to me.” He didn’t know where the courage came from, crying and speaking, as if he might lose his breath the next second.
“……”
Sure enough, there was no more sound from the other side.
Silence embraced the surroundings. Only Fang Chen’s occasional choked sobs could be heard.
After a while, a pack of tissues appeared in front of Fang Chen.
Trembling with sobs, Fang Chen actually did pull out two tissues, wiping his tears carelessly.
“Don’t be afraid,” that person spoke again.
Tears welled up in Fang Chen’s eyes once more. He desperately wished for that mass of rotting meat to shut up.
Poor guy
This roommate is good, really kind, can I have one?
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
lmao sry Just telling rotting meat/ zombie to shut up is kind of hilarious