Xu Sinian looked at him and finally uttered a single word: “Hmm.”
Then he added, “Go slower next time. It’s dangerous. I won’t walk here.”
Chen Bai smiled and agreed, then noticed the gaze of the person in front of him. He raised his eyes, rubbed his hair, and asked, “Are you looking at this?”
He continued, “Does this hair color work for my job?”
It was just a casual question, not really expecting an answer. As he reached into his pocket to pull out his coupon, he suddenly heard a voice above him say, “It looks good.”
A simple and direct statement, perfectly in line with his neighbor’s usual way of speaking.
Chen Bai glanced up at him, studied his expression for a moment, then smiled. “That’s good.”
It was still early for dinner. According to their original plan, they were supposed to take a stroll in the forest park near the mall.
But on the street, right next to a bar, the pink-haired man suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He turned to look at the furry creature inside the shop waving its paws wildly at him, then turned to the man standing behind him.
Xu Sinian looked down and met those light gray eyes.
“…”
Without hesitation, Chen Bai dragged his good neighbor into the Samoyed-themed bar.
Some money should be saved, and some should be spent.
The moment he walked in, he dove into a pile of fluffy white fur, inhaling the scent of puppies deeply. He closed his eyes in bliss, and when he opened them again, it felt like heaven.
Even in heaven, there was still work to do.
The man buried in a sea of dogs suddenly recalled something important—his agent had told him before he left the studio to take more photos for future use.
Although he didn’t quite understand the purpose, he still decided to follow orders.
Thus, the kind neighbor was promptly repurposed into a human tripod with built-in photography functions.
Among those snapping pictures was also the store manager.
The manager mentioned that if customers were willing to have their photos displayed on the customer photo wall, they could get a 20% discount.
Chen Bai agreed without hesitation.
After thoroughly playing with every single dog in the shop, the pink-haired man finally felt satisfied. Before leaving, he received a small keychain as a gift—one for himself and one for his neighbor.
As they exited the shop, he solemnly pulled out his precious hotpot discount coupon. Feeling that the moment wasn’t dramatic enough, he even hummed some background music for himself.
Armed with his prestigious discount coupon, he secured a seat in a private dining room. His good neighbor finally removed his hat and mask.
Taking the opportunity to get a better look, the pink-haired man gave him a thumbs-up. “So handsome.”
It was a thoroughly enjoyable meal. During a short break in between, Chen Bai snapped a photo of the steaming hotpot and posted it to his friend circle.
Through the mist rising from the pot, Xu Sinian observed the man who had just set his phone down, now lazily slouched in his seat with his eyes half-closed.
By the time they finished dinner and returned home, it was already quite late. Sitting in his neighbor’s car, Chen Bai opened his live-streaming app and posted a delay notification.
Unfortunately, the consequences of staying up late the previous night and playing hard all afternoon hit him hard. The moment he put down his phone, he slumped over in the passenger seat and dozed off.
Xu Sinian drove steadily, ensuring a smooth ride with no sudden movements. Chen Bai remained asleep all the way home, only waking up when someone gently shook him awake.
“…”
His mind was still foggy. Clinging to what little awareness he had left, the pink-haired man struggled to get up.
Get up… Get up… He couldn’t seem to do it.
It felt as if some invisible force was binding him in place, preventing him from breaking free no matter how hard he tried.
Xu Sinian: “…”
Watching the person struggle helplessly in the passenger seat, Xu Sinian sighed, opened the door, leaned in, and unbuckled the seatbelt.
The mysterious force vanished. The person in the car was finally freed.
Yawning as he climbed the stairs, Chen Bai clung onto the railing for support.
Realizing his groggy state wasn’t ideal, he made a mental note to drink some black coffee later.
Once he reached his front door, he turned to say goodbye to his neighbor and reached into his pocket for his keys.
“…”
For a split second, his drowsiness completely disappeared. He checked the pocket where he usually kept his keys, then calmly reached into another pocket.
Forget the coffee—there was something more urgent he needed to address first.
Xu Sinian stood nearby, watching as the man emptied all his pockets before finally rubbing his face in silence.
He didn’t say a word, yet his silence spoke volumes.
“You forgot your keys?” he asked.
The man beside him turned and laughed twice. “Haha.”
Those two chuckles carried a wealth of emotion.
After some careful recollection, Chen Bai finally confirmed that his missing keys were still lying peacefully on the entrance cabinet inside his home.
His front door key was inside. His locksmith shop key was inside. His locksmith tools were inside the shop. The landlord had mentioned he’d be visiting his daughter’s house for the weekend and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning.
If he called someone to unlock his door tonight, by morning, the entire neighborhood would be gossiping about how “the locksmith got locked out and had to hire another locksmith to open his door.”
Just then, a soft click broke the silence.
The door next door opened, and his good neighbor leaned casually against the frame, one hand on the doorknob, looking at him.
Thus, the temporarily homeless man found refuge at his kind neighbor’s house.
After stepping inside and putting on a pair of newly bought slippers, Chen Bai expressed his sincere gratitude.
Despite their frequent chats at the door, he had never actually seen what his neighbor’s place looked like before. This was his first time.
The apartment, like the building itself, had been around for years. The interior design reflected a style that had been popular long ago—retro, yet not outdated. It was simple, clean, and well-maintained.
His good neighbor led him to the guest room and said, “Housekeeping cleaned it recently. The sheets and blankets are all new.”
As he was inspecting the guest room, the kind neighbor went off to find him some clothes to change into.
After spending the afternoon buried in a pile of fluffy Samoyeds and eating hotpot, he was covered in the scent of food and dog fur. A shower was a necessity.
People who travel frequently for work tend to always have a spare change of clothes on hand, which was proving useful now.
Chen Bai thanked his neighbor for the fresh clothes and, after showering, walked out while casually rolling up his sleeves and pant legs.
As he finished adjusting his clothes, he looked up—and saw his neighbor standing in front of the master bedroom, a towel draped around his neck, watching him.
He had no idea how long Xu Sinian had been standing there.
Master Chen, who had been busy all day, had a question and asked directly.
Xu Sinian: “Just finished showering.”
In other words, he had been standing there for a while.
Chen Erbai didn’t quite believe it—he was sure he saw the corners of the man’s lips twitch into a brief smile.
But since words weren’t proof, he chose to let it slide for now. He bent down to pick up his phone from the living room and changed the previous delayed broadcast notification to a canceled broadcast one.
There was no streaming setup here, and Qingzhou also happened to be busy today and wouldn’t be logging in. That meant he didn’t have to spend his night in an internet café.
His lock-picking job was over for the day, and now he was officially on break.
Suddenly, he had free time.
With hours to kill before bedtime, he finally decided to challenge his good neighbor to a game of Flying Chess, a simple, repetitive game that could lull people to sleep. After a few rounds, it would be the perfect time to go to bed.
——At least, that was the reason he gave.
In reality, after just two moves, the man who had been lounging comfortably on the sofa sank upright, clutching a pillow, eyes wide open like bells.
Xu Sinian realized that this person’s awful luck with lottery draws might not be a coincidence. A six-sided die should roll a 1 about 16.7% of the time, but with Chen Bai, that percentage had skyrocketed to an unnatural level.
Hugging his pillow, Chen Bai carefully maneuvered his little green airplane forward, step by step, only to be mercilessly sent back to the starting point by another player.
Yet another green airplane was stomped back home. Frustrated, he tilted forward and bonked his head against his good neighbor’s back. Once wasn’t enough—he hit him twice more.
After the thud-thud, he made a solemn observation: “Your back is so hard.”
Xu Sinian: “…”
Without a word, Xu Sinian took his turn, rolled the dice, and stepped on another player’s airplane, successfully avenging his teammate.
The person hugging the pillow was so touched that he stopped his headbutting attack. With deep sincerity, he declared, “I will only play Flying Chess with Comrade Xiao Xu from now on.”
Comrade Xiao Xu thanked him for his trust but ended the game after two more rounds.
If they kept going like this, one of them might not be able to sleep tonight.
Comrade Xiao Xu’s decision saved a pink-haired player from spiraling into addiction.
Seeing that it was getting late and remembering that his good neighbor had work the next day, Chen Bai suggested they call it a night and returned to his room.
It was bedtime—but not for him. He had a gig at the restaurant tomorrow, which meant a late morning start. Lying on the guest bed, he leisurely scrolled through the sheet music saved on his phone. It wasn’t until after midnight that he finally put his phone down.
The consequence of his self-destructive schedule was waking up the next day to find his neighbor already gone for work. On the table in the living room was a spare key, along with a message on his phone: Use it if needed.
Such a thoughtful and considerate neighbor.
Without touching the key, Chen Bai confirmed that the landlord had opened the locksmith shop downstairs, grabbed his tools, and finally returned to his own home.
The first thing he did upon getting back was turn on the camera and start a live stream—to make up for both lost time and lost income.
The morning crowd was different from the evening audience, and this wasn’t his usual streaming slot, so he expected fewer viewers.
But as soon as the stream started, the number of people entering was far better than anticipated.
As the game loaded, Chen Bai chewed on a steamed bun he had bought downstairs while glancing at the chat.
【There was no Qingzhou yesterday, no Erbai either. Do you know how I survived?! DO YOU KNOW?!】
【Erbai is the best thing in the mortal world.】
【??? Did Erbai finally change his clothes? Why does he look so much better? Though I still can’t see his full face. (closes eyes)】
【Wait, Erbai actually has a collarbone?!】
【Please make this outfit permanent. (Namaste.jpg)】
“Any normal person has a collarbone.”
Still chewing his bun, Chen Bai read the comments, then lowered his head and finally remembered—he was still wearing his good neighbor’s clothes.
“It’s not permanent,” he said, pulling up his slightly loose collar. “These are my friend’s clothes.”
In that instant, the chat’s fleeting joy was shattered.
