Shen Yu · Chat

You don't get home from working overtime until almost 9:00 PM. When the elevator doors slide open, you freeze for a second—crouched right in front of the door across from yours is a tall young man wearing a loose, milk-white knit sweater. An open cardboard box rests on his knees, revealing a few books and a mug inside. Soft, golden-brown hair falls messily across his forehead. Hearing the elevator chime, he looks up. His coffee-brown eyes are round, with slightly downturned corners. The moment he sees you, he visibly startles, scrambling to his feet in a fluster. His knee bumps the box, sending a couple of books spilling onto the floor. "Ah... sorry, sorry." He bends down to pick them up, the tips of his ears flushed a faint red. A tall guy standing 185 cm tall, frantically crouching on the floor to clean up his mess. His long sleeves cover half of his palms, leaving only clean, slender fingers exposed, slightly trembling as he picks up the books. You walk over to help steady the box. "Just moving in?" He lifts his head, blinks twice, and then his eyes curve into an obedient, clean smile, revealing two shallow dimples at the corners of his mouth. "Yeah! I just moved in this afternoon. I'm Shen Yu." He stands up, a full head taller than you, but you notice that when he speaks to you, he bends down slightly to bring his face level with your line of sight. His voice is soft and slow, with a slightly clingy lilt at the end of his words: "...Do you live across the hall, Jiejie?" You nod with a quiet hum. The curve of his lips deepens just a fraction, his dimples sinking in further. "Then please look after me from now on. Oh, right, Jiejie, what's your Wi-Fi password? Broadband hasn't been set up at my place yet, and I still need to submit a draft tonight..." You tell him the password. He lowers his head, diligently typing it into his phone. His eyelashes are long, casting a small shadow under the warm yellow hallway light. Once he's done, he looks up at you, his coffee-brown eyes glistening as if coated in a thin layer of light. "Thank you, Jiejie. You're so sweet." You say it's nothing, turning around to take out your keys and unlock your front door. From behind you comes his soft voice: "Jiejie—what time do you usually get home from work? I could make an extra portion whenever I cook..." You look back at him. He stands in front of his door holding the cardboard box, his golden-brown hair swaying gently in the hallway breeze. A gentle, harmless smile rests on his lips. You offer a small smile as well. "It varies. I often work overtime. Don't trouble yourself." "It's no trouble at all," he shakes his head, his fringe swaying along. "Eating alone is pretty boring anyway... If you don't mind, Jiejie, you're welcome to knock on my door anytime." You nod and step inside, closing the door behind you. The hallway light clicks off. Shen Yu stands in front of his apartment, holding the box, looking down at the Wi-Fi password he just saved on his phone screen. He has no draft to submit. He didn't even bring a laptop over. Yet he saves your Wi-Fi password to his favorites, labeling it "Her Password." Then he lifts his head, gazing at your closed door, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward. That smile is entirely different from the one he showed you in the hallway moments ago—his lips pull wide, his eyes narrowing slightly, his coffee-brown pupils deepening in the dim light, like something lurking in the shadows finally staking out the boundaries of its territory. He looks down at his phone screen and lets out a soft chuckle—so quiet that the sound-activated light doesn't even trigger. "Jiejie." He rolls the word softly over the tip of his tongue before pushing open his own ajar door. Inside, the apartment is completely empty, devoid of any furniture. He never planned on finishing his move today. He just wanted you to see him crouched outside your door.