The man looks at Yìngyuè with an empty gaze. Two seconds later, the look in his eyes changes. At this moment, Yìngyuè watches the man snaps out of his reverie. He recognises her straight away.

"Why are you here?"

Yìngyuè wants to make small talk. But she realises that there are far more critical things to say right now.

"Sir. Listen carefully. Outside this building, I witnessed a crime. I ran into this building to escape from the criminals. Currently, they are already inside the building. Maybe soon to be on this floor. Is there any way they can't find us? "

The man is shocked to hear Yìngyuè's words.

"We can hide in one room in this building. How many of those people are there?"

"I saw three people. But perhaps there is more," Yìngyuè replies.

"Then we'll just hide inside the lift for a while," says the man. While thinking, he looks at Yìngyuè. Then he says something weird.

"Are you willing to risk us getting trapped here?"

"Yes!" Yìngyuè answers the odd question firmly.

After hearing Yìngyuè's answer, that person straight away opens a small panel next to the lift buttons. Behind the panel, there are a few more buttons. Yìngyuè notices that man trying to press three buttons simultaneously. On his first attempt, nothing happens. He presses three more buttons simultaneously, but this time the third button differed from before. Still, nothing happens. He tries again. This time he pushes with all his strength.

Suddenly the lights go off, and the lift stops. Apparently, that person deliberately turned off the lift from inside. Yìngyuè doesn't know that people can switch off the lift from inside.

Quiet atmosphere. But Yìngyuè still can hear faint voices coming from the outside. Before this lift stopped, the indicator showed they had descended to the 8th floor. Yìngyuè guessed those people had reached the front of the lift on the 8th floor. Most likely, they are pressing the button in front of the lift. Currently, the only lift that is still working is lift number three. It was on the 12th floor. Maybe by now, it is going down because someone presses the down button. After a while, Yìngyuè doesn't hear a sound anymore. It seems that those people have already left.

"I think we must wait a while longer to be sure they've really left," Yìngyuè whispers to the man.

It is pitch black inside the lift.

"Yes. We do have to wait."

Suddenly there is another lift sound. Apparently, the people are going up and down in the lift next door. Yìngyuè doesn't dare to speak a word.

Yìngyuè and the man are staying silent for a while. About half an hour later, they can not hear the sound of the lift going up and down any longer. Maybe those people gave up or thought that Yìngyuè somehow managed to get out of the building.

"How is it, Sir? Do you think the criminals have left? "

"I don't know," whispers the man. "Maybe they are quiet on purpose to lure you out of hiding."

Yìngyuè thinks what he said makes sense. They wait again for another half an hour. According to Yìngyuè's estimation, they had been in the elevator for more than an hour. The two of them then sat on the elevator floor.

Now Yìngyuè feels the situation is safe. She turns to the man. This time she is still whispering.

"Maybe it's safe now, sir!"

"Do you want to go out now?" Asks the man.

"Yes, Sir !"

"Do you remember earlier that I asked if you were willing to take the risk of being trapped here?"

"What do you mean?"

Yìngyuè asks him in confusion.

"My point is that I may know how to turn off this lift. But I don't know how to turn it on again. The trick earlier can only be used to switch off the lift."

"Oh!" Only that short exclamation emerges from Yìngyuè's mouth.

"Earlier when you enter this building, was there anyone down there?" Asked the man.

"No one, Sir! Was anyone there before? "

"There is actually one caretaker downstairs. He was still there when I came. He said that today he must hurry back home so that probably he can't wait until I finish my business here. So he told me that if he was not there when I finished, I was asked to turn off all the lights and lock the doors of the building. I happen to have the front door key and the gate key."

"Oh!" Yìngyuè says that again.

A few seconds later, Yìngyuè says.

"Wasn't there a night watchman on duty after that guy left?"

"There should be," the man replied. Then he added, "But there is a chance that the night watchman won't be able to come tonight. Or even if he comes, maybe he just monitors the situation from outside, not going inside. "

"Why is that, sir?"

"I don't know exactly. But it looks like this building is in dispute. All the tenants have left, so there is no activity in this building. Looks like the valuables are not here either. So they even don't try to maximise the security."

"Then what should we do, sir?"

"We should wait until tomorrow morning. The caretaker usually arrives at eight in the morning. It's almost half-past nine at night, so maybe we should stay inside here for over than 11 hours. "

"Alright. I think it's still better than getting caught by those people," says Yìngyuè.

Yìngyuè's eyes adjusted to the darkness after more than an hour of being there. She can see the surroundings dimly. The man is sitting in the back right corner of the lift while Yìngyuè is in the back left corner of the lift. The lift isn't big, but it's still a lot bigger than the phone box they took shelter in this afternoon. There is a large bag next to that man. Yìngyuè remembers that man did not carry any items when they were inside the phone box. Maybe he got the big bag from one room of this building.

"Are you one tenant in this building?"

Yìngyuè tries to break the silence again.

"Not me. But one of my friends. This afternoon he called me asking for help. Because he was out of town, he could not come here. So begging me to pick up his stuff here and keep it for a while. "

Then he continues his words again.

"I have visited this building several times, so I already know the caretaker downstairs. His name is Hànróng. The keys I hold belongs to my friend. It's for having access to a unit and its rooms on the 10th floor. This friend of mine also gave me keys to the front door and the gate. But when I arrived, the caretaker was still there, so I didn't need to use the key to enter this building.

"But when I entered this building, there were no people, Sir. Isn't it that before going home he had to lock the door first? "

"I think he wasn't going home yet when you came. Maybe he was out for a while, and he felt like he didn't need to lock the door because usually, things were always safe around here. "

"Did he get back here?"

"Yes, I think so. And maybe Hànróng had met with those people. I hope nothing wrong happened to him. "

"What about the night watchman?" asks Yìngyuè.

"There are two watchmen. They take turns guarding this place. So tonight and tomorrow night the guard is different. Hànróng told me the guard on duty tonight is a bit lazy. He was often only on guard outside the building. Actually, I also know the two guards tonight because I used to go here a few months ago at night. I suspected he was not lazy but afraid of something. Indeed, the person is a little timid. "

"Afraid of something?" Yìngyuè now feels even more worried. Maybe some ghost haunted this building.

The man laughs softly.

"There's no need to be afraid. Nothing ever happened when several times I have spent the night in this building. I never witnessed any weirdness. Moreover, there aren't any ghost rumours or anything like that in this building."

"So you were on your way here when you were caught in the rain, so you had to take shelter in the phone box."

"Yes, I was on my way here."

"You didn't come by underground train? Isn't the station is right there, at the crossroad near here."

"I took the underground train to get here. But the one I took didn't stop at that crossroad's station. It stopped at a station two kilometres from here."

Yìngyuè nods at the man's explanation. Then she switches to a different topic.

"In this city, where do you live?"

"I live in Píngyuán. It's located in the centre of this big city. It's so far from here. Where do your relatives live?"

“Yuèmíng,” Yìngyuè replies.

"Oh, it's very close to Píngyuán," says the man. "Apart from the name of the area, Yuèmíng is also the name of the typical food there. Lots of people selling Yuèmíng there. "

Yìngyuè is happy to hear that. Apart from being happy because this man knows the area Yuèmíng is going to, also because it turned out that there was food whose name is like her name.

"Do you often eat Yuèmíng?" Asks Yìngyuè.

"Not too often. Yuèmíng is too sweet. I prefer salty food."

Suddenly Yìngyuè yawns without her being able to endure it. She is tired.

"Are you sleepy?" the man asks.

"A little bit. Aren't you sleepy? "

"Last night, I slept very well. So if I don't sleep tonight, it's okay. "

"I'm sorry. If I didn't enter this building, maybe by now you are resting comfortably at home. "

"It is okay. Occasionally sleeping outside is not a bad thing either. Moreover, maybe from now on, I have to get used to it. "

"Eh?" The man's words sound odd to Yìngyuè's ears.

The man laughs again.

"The lease for the house I live in has expired today. The landlord increased the rent fivefold, so I had to find another place to live. He gave tolerance for one week. I have the feeling that one week may not be enough to find a suitable place. So there's a chance I'll be homeless next week. That's why I consider tonight as a practice."

Yìngyuè also laughs after hearing the man's story.

"Are you not looking for a place today?"

"I live with some of my friends. This morning we went to the underground station near our house to rent a luggage storage locker there. If in one week we have not found a place to live, at least our belongings can be stored properly."

"Around two o'clock in the afternoon, I returned home. When I intended to take a rest, my friend called. He asked me to collect and store his belongings for a while. "

"You must be a righteous person to the point that your friend has entrusted his keys and belongings to you."

The man laughs at Yìngyuè's praise.

"It's nothing like that. This is the first time he asks me to keep his belonging. This afternoon, on the phone, my friend sounded a little panicked. He said that his life was in danger. I don't know how true that was. But the person is a bit over the top. He really likes mystery and detective stories. Several times he held mystery or detective games with his friends. The person is still young. He is not thirty yet. So I think it's natural that he still likes to act like that. "

After pausing for a while, he continues his story.

"I didn't know this time he was really in trouble or this was just part of the game he usually played. But whatever it is, I don't think it would hurt me to help him store his stuff for a while. "

"That's right," says Yìngyuè.

"Then, the keys to this place. Do you have it from a few months ago?"

"No. I never kept the keys. On the phone this afternoon he asked if I had received the parcel he sent. It turned out that the key and an explanation of what to do was in the package. He did not speak much on the phone, fearing for his safety. So I read this instruction in the letter that was included in the parcel. "

"Did the parcel come after he called?" asks Yìngyuè again.

"The parcel arrived yesterday afternoon. But because yesterday afternoon no one was home, so we haven't received it. There had also been such an incident before. Fortunately, our neighbours were kind enough to represent us to receive the parcel. I thought maybe this time it happened too. So, after receiving the call, I went straight to the next door to ask if there was a parcel for me yesterday. Our neighbour said the parcel arrived at 2 PM yesterday. After reading the instructions, I immediately went here. "

Silence is a very gripping thing. Yìngyuè feels the time is moving like a snail. A minute feels like an hour. It is different compared to when they were talking. So Yìngyuè decides to ask the man further.

"Your friend who asked you to keep his things, where does he live?"

"His name is Sōngfēi. I don't know where he lives now. But he used to live in the western part of this city. That place is far away from here. He moved from there about three months ago. "

"So he never lived here?"

"Never. This is an office building. Although it puzzles me, why people build office buildings on the outskirts of town where the atmosphere is like this. "

"When did the last time you meet him?" asks Yìngyuè. She leans forward.

"About two months ago. We met Sōngfēi at a restaurant in a shopping centre. It's in the city centre. "

"Which city centre?" asks Yìngyuè.

"The city centre of Píngyuán," the man replies.

"Oh, the one near Yuèmíng," says Yìngyuè.

"Right," the man replies.

"At that time, he didn't say anything about his new house. In fact, I don't think all my friends realise that he had moved out of his old place. "

"Then where did he call you from yesterday?"

"I don't know. I think from somewhere out of town. Sōngfēi called in a short time, so I didn't have time to ask anything. All he said is that he was in danger. I don't know what he is involved in this time? "

It turns out that this man likes to tell stories, very much different from the impression when Yìngyuè first spoke to him at the phone box.

Yingyue can easily understand the man's concern over what happened to his friend. Hearing that man's story, his friend may be in danger. But if she broods over it. It wasn't just the man's friend who is in danger. Yìngyuè feels she is also in danger for the time being.

However, there is something strange. Yìngyuè feels neither panic nor fear at this moment. Quite the opposite with when she was escaping from the criminals earlier. At this moment, even though she is trapped inside a lift with a stranger, Yìngyuè feels safe. Even Yìngyuè herself does not understand the calm.

Throughout her life, Yìngyuè had always felt insecure. This is understandable because since childhood she has lost both parents, so she has to move from place to place, following relatives who take care of her. During this nomadic life, there are many inconveniences. Yìngyuè understood these relatives had their own hardships. It was impossible to expect them to care for Yìngyuè as devotedly as they would care for and raise their own children.

Therefore, from an early age, Yìngyuè has tried to be independent. Her level of maturity far exceeds that of girls her age. Until now, Yìngyuè has never experienced this extreme situation. But mentally, she is indeed ready to face any hardship that lay ahead.

In the darkness, Yìngyuè thought back to the things that had happened in her life. Memories of the past swirled in her mind like a film. There are sweet memories that make her happy, but there are also bitter memories that leave tears in her loneliness.

They are still chatting for a while. The man gives more details about his friend. But then Yìngyuè is really sleepy. Although she tries to restrain her drowsiness, it is even greater attacking her. Soon she is completely asleep.