At this moment, He Fang felt his breathing quicken slightly, and his heartbeat started to become irregular. Such a subtle little movement might seem insignificant to that person, but what He Fang felt was pure goodwill.
Unconsciously, He Fang tightened his grip on the keys in his pocket. He reached out with his other hand and tugged slightly at his scarf, trying to hide his face behind it as much as possible. Perhaps because the scarf and his hand were acting as a barrier, it gave He Fang a great deal of courage. Finally, he slowly said, “First floor, thank you.”
His voice was very soft, but in the silence of the elevator, it was clearly heard, somewhat muffled, somewhat hoarse.
“Alright,” the person replied in a calm and gentle tone, canceling the button for the basement level.
Yet He Fang remained nervous. The elevator was descending, but He Fang felt deeply uneasy.
What he wanted to say to the other person wasn’t “first floor”, but the “thank you” that came after it. The other person had canceled the basement level, completely overlooking his “thank you”.
Because his attempt to express himself hadn’t been understood, He Fang instantly became flustered. As he watched the floor number drop lower and lower, missing the best chance to say thanks made him feel terribly uncomfortable.
The elevator still arrived at the first floor. He Fang fled from it, but once he reached the doorway, he didn’t run off. Instead, he turned back and tentatively glanced at the person still inside the elevator.
The other person didn’t seem to be in a hurry either. He hadn’t pressed the elevator’s close-door button. Perhaps because He Fang had turned back, the man looked up at him with a trace of confusion in his eyes.
Since the sensor no longer detected anyone inside the elevator doorway, the doors began to close. The man looked at the boy standing outside. Even though he was wrapped up so heavily, he still appeared slender. Beneath his hat and scarf, some unruly strands of hair were sticking out. Clearly, the boy hadn’t noticed this detail. He probably hadn’t even looked in a mirror.
He saw the boy shyly pull his scarf up to cover his nose, nearly covering his eyes as well. His gaze was turned elsewhere, and the corners of his eyes were tinged with a shy flush.
“Thank… you… for helping me press the elevator,” the boy said, then turned around and ran off.
The man inside the elevator was caught off guard. He immediately rushed forward to press the open-door button again, but he pressed it so hard that he accidentally pushed the button inward, and the elevator door still closed as usual.
All the man inside could feel was a heart full of regret. Why hadn’t he told the boy, “You’re welcome”? He should have responded!
Someone that adorable had just thanked him, and he hadn’t even given the slightest reply. He must’ve made the boy really sad!
“What the heck are you doing? Why are you damaging the elevator?” At that moment, a voice came through the elevator’s intercom. It was the security office from the hallway surveillance.
“I just saw the Creator. I rode the elevator with him.” The man leaned against the elevator wall, covering his face with one hand, as if still unable to recover from the shock just now. “He even talked to me, do you understand? He took the initiative to talk to me! And after he got off the elevator, he even said thank you. He thanked me for helping him press the elevator button!”
And so, in a burst of excitement, he accidentally broke the button.
“Damn…” The person in the surveillance room quickly switched the camera feed and saw the figure of the Creator. He cursed again, “Damn, what kind of insane luck is this? You must’ve used up a whole year’s worth in one go.”
The man leaned back inside the elevator, still covering his face. Even the tips of his ears had turned red. “So cute… How can anyone be this cute… The Creator actually spent so long just worrying about how to say thank you for someone pressing a button. He was sincerely trying to say thank you… What do I do? How can he be this cute? I want to be that cute too… like the Creator…”
“Pah—” A cold sneer came from the person in the surveillance room. “You, compared to the Creator? With what?”
“Hah. Better than you, at least. Sitting there spewing profanity. What kind of uncultured trash are you, crawling out of some guttered world?”
The man snorted coldly.
The person in the surveillance room let out a mocking laugh. “Just stay in the elevator. Someone will come to repair it… eventually.”
“You think a tiny elevator can stop me?” the man inside scoffed coldly.
“It can’t stop you, but if you dare damage the elevator, the Creator won’t be able to ride it up tonight. What do you think about that?” The surveillance room voice responded coolly, casually on the surface, but the jealous tone practically flew out from the speakers.
The man inside gave a soft snort. “Fine, I’ll wait then. I still want to savor the wonderful feeling of being in the same space as the Creator. You lot take your time. Don’t interrupt my beautiful moment.”
A sharp grinding of teeth, full of fury, suddenly came from the surveillance room.
And the person in the elevator suddenly understood why the Divine Lord always looked so smug when showing off. It really did feel amazing.
He Fang was walking down the street. Though he was dressed in thick layers, he still felt a bit cold. He stood there alone. No delivery workers were around. Occasionally, someone would pass by in the distance. Music played softly in his headphones, like a gentle hand trying to soothe his emotions.
He Fang tried to stay as close to the edge of the sidewalk as he could while walking. He had no particular destination. He had come out simply because he wanted to. Just wanted to feel the real world a little. But after stepping outside, he realized he truly had no purpose at all.
The weather was already cold, and the night wind made it feel even colder. He Fang felt that bringing a scarf with him had truly been the right choice.
Just then, a fallen leaf drifted past in front of him, and a memory suddenly surfaced in He Fang’s mind: Zhu Yan helping him remove a fallen leaf from his hair. Zhu Yan was a gentle man, quite different from his cool and distant appearance. If this were the real world… would someone like that exist?
He Fang walked step by step down the street, always heading where there were fewer people. He had stepped outside, and yet, in his mind, scenes of the NPCs in “Ruins Without Restart” kept replaying. He Fang realized that his most vivid memories were nearly all of the NPCs.
In the world of “Ruins Without Restart”, he had experienced an unprecedented sense of being valued. He liked that world. A world where, as a player, he was treated with special care. After all, who wouldn’t want to feel like they were special?
The real world…
He Fang’s steps paused. A faint glimmer of light flashed in his vision. Following the light, he saw a small hair clip—a girl’s hair clip, sparkly and pretty. Not far ahead, a young girl was tidying her wind-blown hair.
He Fang lowered his head and looked at the hair clip on the ground. He wanted to walk around it.
There was a time he had picked up some money. Someone ahead of him had dropped it. He returned the money, thinking that maybe this could be the start of a friendship. But his luck was never that good.
That so-called “friend” began to bully him, pushing him from behind, tugging at his clothes, even spitting at him. Back then, he was still in elementary school. Even now, He Fang still didn’t understand why he had been treated that way.
He stopped walking and stared at the hair clip. All of a sudden, he felt that maybe the purpose of coming out tonight had already been fulfilled.
Reality is always reality. Reality doesn’t follow logic. The people one meets in real life are not like the NPCs in “Ruins Without Restart”. They don’t offer that kind of warm kindness.
In the real world, there might be subtle kindness, but that kindness doesn’t truly belong to him. It’s just a reflection of someone’s manners, something they might offer to anyone.
Time to go back.
He Fang suddenly felt the urge to retreat again, back into the little nest he had built for himself. A small thing had brought back bad memories. From this single moment, his thoughts had spiraled into the past, into his former life. And now, He Fang hesitated to take even one step forward.
“Eh?” Just as He Fang was about to turn and leave, the girl ahead let out a puzzled sound. She touched her hair, as if noticing her hair clip was missing, and looked around anxiously.
He Fang saw the worried expression on her face. He blinked, then lowered his eyes again to look at the pretty hair clip lying in the corner.
He Fang bent down and picked up the hair clip.
As the girl’s freshly tidied hair was once again tousled by the wind, someone appeared in front of her.
She looked up. A young man, bundled up from head to toe, stood silently before her. All she could see, faintly, were his eyes. But just those eyes alone struck her like a bolt of lightning. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She immediately pinched the skin at her lower back hard, trying to calm her expression and act normal.
The young man said nothing. He simply reached out his hand. Pinched between his fingertips was the corner of the pretty hair clip she had lost. A clear gesture of returning it.
The girl, stunned and flattered, quickly held out both hands in a cupping gesture beneath the clip. The young man released his fingers, and the hair clip dropped gently into her palms.
The girl looked up, only to see that the young man had already turned and was walking away. From beginning to end, he hadn’t said a single word.
“Wait, wait a moment…” The girl immediately quickened her pace and chased after him. She watched as the young man stiffened all over from her approach and voice, averting his gaze in clear refusal, even tugging at his scarf.
She was shorter than him, so even when he lowered his head, she could still see the faint fear in his eyes. The girl immediately stopped in her tracks and stepped aside, then bowed to him respectfully. “Thank you, truly. Thank you for helping me find this hair clip. It was a gift from my best friend on my birthday. I was so scared when I lost it just now.”
The young man looked at her. The girl did her best to suppress the excitement and joy in her heart, but she still couldn’t hide the sparkle in her eyes. Then, she heard him slowly say, “You’re welcome.”
As he spoke, he turned and was about to leave again. The girl grew anxious and hurried to catch up to him. “Wait. Please, just a moment.”
She knew he didn’t want her getting too close, so she kept her distance. From her backpack, she carefully dug out an unopened chocolate bar she had kept to replenish her energy. Holding it by one corner, she looked at him hopefully. “Thank you. This is a token of gratitude.”
The other person clearly didn’t seem to want it, yet she still earnestly held it out to him. “I really, truly thank you.”
He Fang lowered his head and looked at the chocolate. He couldn’t quite believe that just picking something up for someone could earn him a chocolate bar. But the hope brimming in the girl’s eyes as she looked at him, hoping he would accept it, was something He Fang couldn’t resist.
He reached out and took the chocolate. The moment his fingers pinched the wrapper, the girl immediately let go, not making any contact that might make He Fang uncomfortable. It was as if she instinctively knew he disliked being touched. Then she bowed again, sincerely thanking him before turning and running off. Her hair, messy from the wind, bounced wildly as she moved. But somehow, it was oddly cute.
He Fang looked at the chocolate in his hand, suddenly feeling a strange sensation. He had received kindness again.
Even if it was just gratitude…
But hadn’t he just been thinking that the real world wouldn’t be this kind? So what was this, then?
He Fang held the chocolate tightly. Strange thoughts swirled through his entire being, and his mind went completely blank.
Could it be… he was still inside the game? That he only thought he had come out, but hadn’t actually? The moment that thought crossed his mind, a chill ran through his whole body. But after thinking for a moment, he denied the possibility. He had left the house. He even remembered how, in his nervousness before leaving, he had forgotten to take out the trash from his room.
He Fang felt like he might be beyond saving. He was really starting to lose the ability to tell the difference between the game world and the real world.
He Fang wanted to go home. Maybe play some other game. It felt too dangerous to keep staying in reality any longer.
Just then, up ahead, a shadow riding a small yellow electric scooter appeared in He Fang’s line of sight. Beneath the deliveryman’s safety helmet was a head of strikingly beautiful golden hair, braided into a rope-like plait.
He Fang slowly widened his eyes as he looked at the deliveryman with the golden hair. The other person seemed to notice him too and turned back to glance at him. But that one glance spelled disaster. The scooter slammed right into the back of a parked car on the roadside, flipping both rider and vehicle over in one go.
He Fang gasped sharply, his mind going blank. He tore off his headphones and rushed forward immediately.
The deliveryman, dressed in a yellow uniform, was now lying on the ground. By the time He Fang reached his side, it took a good while before the rider came to.
“Are—are you okay? Did you hit anywhere? Does anything hurt?” He Fang hadn’t expected something like this to suddenly happen. The deliveryman had actually flipped over just because he looked at him. He was wracked with guilt.
“Customer?” The deliveryman’s already pale face was now completely bloodless. He shot He Fang a panicked look. “Is my delivery… still okay?”
He Fang’s heart sank with a thud as he looked at the deliveryman who had only just managed to sit up. He immediately went to check the delivery bag. To his surprise, it was still in fairly good shape, just a little crushed and deformed from the impact.
“Looks okay,” He Fang said as he propped up the small electric scooter and set it upright. He looked down anxiously and asked, “Are you hurting anywhere?”
“Mm… my leg got pinned a little,” the deliveryman replied.
He Fang’s heart dropped again. He immediately went to check the man’s leg, but the clothing was too thick. He couldn’t see a thing.
“Anyway… anyway, let’s just go to the hospital first,” He Fang said, helping him up and settling him on the scooter’s rear seat, then got on to drive it himself.
“But, customer… the delivery…” The deliveryman was still clearly worrying about the order.
He Fang felt a surge of anger. Something he hadn’t felt burn this fiercely in a long time. “Your body is what matters most! Is that delivery more important than your leg?!”
Startled by the sudden sharp scolding, the deliveryman instantly fell silent.
Still fuming, He Fang continued, “See if you can transfer the order to someone else. If you can’t, call the customer and tell them to wait a bit. I’ll take you to the hospital, and then… then I’ll deliver it for you.”
He Fang clenched his teeth. But it was only after he spoke that he realized just how impossible a promise he had just made.
“Okay then,” the deliveryman said, wrapping his arms around He Fang’s waist. By now, He Fang had gradually gotten used to the man’s touch and didn’t find it strange anymore. But then he heard the deliveryman’s slightly choked voice leaning against his back: “Hubby, it hurts.”
He Fang’s heart gave another jolt. A mix of worry and helpless amusement welled up in him. “You still have the energy to joke around at a time like this?”
He Fang really was starting to feel worried. The crash had sounded quite loud when the man flipped over. Thankfully, the scooter hadn’t suffered much damage. He Fang followed the route he remembered to head toward the nearest, and also the largest, hospital in the city. Meanwhile, the deliveryman sat behind him, making phone calls and talking to people.
He Fang was a bit anxious that they might run into unreasonable, troublesome customers. But from what he overheard, everyone seemed pretty understanding. They said things like “it’s fine if it’s late”, and so on. He Fang finally felt a bit relieved.
They eventually made it to the hospital. The deliveryman remained seated on the scooter. He Fang said, “Wait here a sec. I’ll go get a wheelchair.”
As He Fang turned and walked away, in the deliveryman’s eyes, that departing figure was the very definition of cool. But when he looked up at the hospital in front of him, he suddenly raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t noticed before, but this place…
Inside the hospital, at the front desk, the two receptionist nurses looked up. The moment they saw someone approaching, their minds instantly blanked.
The young man did his best to speak: “Um… I need to… borrow a wheelchair… a wheelchair, my friend… he…”
The young man stammered as he tried to explain clearly, his eyes filled with urgency. But the more anxious he became, the worse he spoke.
The young nurse immediately stood up. She instantly understood what the boy was trying to say. “Come with me.”
The other nurse, upon seeing her colleague leading the young man away, instantly turned pale and hurriedly dialed a number. “Hello? Hello? The director’s office? Director Bai, is this Director Bai? The Creator has arrived. Just now, the Creator was at the front desk! Director, do you want to hide somewhere? Should we go take down all your photos? Right now, immediately?!”
Moonlit: Ooohhhh. Will they finally be caught? (๑>◡<๑)
![After I Transmigrated as a Mermaid, I Transmigrated Back [GL]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/mermaidtransmigrate2.jpg "After I Transmigrated as a Mermaid, I Transmigrated Back [GL]")
