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785words
I drifted in and out of sleep. When I opened my eyes at dawn, exhaustion still clung to me.
I had just arrived in this city and barely knew anyone. I had recently quit from my job because someone exposed the truth — that my father was a murderer.
I wanted to take a break for a while before looking for a job.I really couldn't find anyone to talk to about these things.
I didn't expect such a thing to happen,and I wanted to take an even longer break.
As the sky got brighter,my sense of security increased,and I even convinced myself that everything from last night was just a dream.
But the WeChat message sent by Officer King clearly told me that it wasn't a dream.
I check the surveillance footage with him. But the man in the cap and mask didn't appear was nowhere to be seen near Gate No.2.
I knew that even if that person was actually in the surveillance,I wouldn't be able to find him because that person had no obvious features in the video I watched last night.
After seeing Officer King off,I suddenly thought of the neighbor from last night.
For the first time, the thought of moving crossed my mind. But I still had six months left on ease.
For me,who didn't have a job now,breaking the contract would cost a lot of money.
I hesitated for a moment,but still started looking at houses on my phone.
I got on the elevator.Just as the elevator door was about to close,a hand suddenly shot through the gap and stopped them. Startled, I screamed without thinking.
I stared at the elevator door tensely,and then the elevator door opened again.
A man came in.He was tall and in his twenties.
Maybe because of my scream,he realized that he had scared me.He thanked me and apologized repeatedly.
"Sorry,sorry.I saw that the door were still open. The other elevator’s been stuck and doesn’t look like it’s moving anytime soon."
He gave an awkward smile. He looked very sincere. With his thick eyebrows and clear eyes, he looked decent and sincere. He didn't seem threatening, and I slowly began to let my guard down.
I shook my head, murmured it was fine, then stepped into the corner, silently waiting for him to press the elevator button.
He let out a surprised “oh?” sound:"You also live on the eighth floor too? We're neighbors!"
I chill ran through me as the image of that eye from last night, flashed in my mind. I kept silent.
He was holding two big supermarket bags — in his hands. One stuffed with snacks, and the other with meat and vegetables.
Facing the elevator door, he suddenly turned his head toward me: "You look familiar."
"Did we... run into each other last night?"
His voice was low and echoed in the tight space of the elevator. It filled my ears, buzzing in my head, oddly unsettling. My hand stayed clenched around the phone in my coat pocket, tightly gripping my phone. I remembered— five taps on the button would trigger an emergency call.
If he made even the slightest move, I was ready to call for help.
"Ding —" The elevator reached the eighth floor, and doors finally slid opened.
He walked out first and headed to the right. Before disappearing around the corner, he glanced at me, a bit confused—as if wondering why I was frozen there.
My phone still had no signal in the elevator. His casual departure softened my suspicion a little.
Without fully realizing why, I found myself stepping out after him.
He stopped at 802.H So he was the one living next door—the one from last night.
My hands were trembling— I always keyed in the wrong password when nervous. So I fumbled myself for my physical key instead.Just as I inserted the key into the lock, the beeping sound of him entering the password... suddenly stopped.
Every door locks in the building required a six-digit password. But he had only pressed three keys.
I suddenly turned the key,trying to get into the house quickly,almost breaking the key.
"So it's you."
He suddenly turned around and said, “So it’s you.”
The corridor fell into a sudden, dead silence. I held my breath, not daring to make a sound.
He quietly set the other bag down by his door.
From the corner of my eye,I saw him slowly stepping towards me.
The slippers scraped softly against the floor with a faint rustling.
