The apartment fell quiet after Violet finished talking.
She brushed the chip crumbs from the front of her black-and-cream cardigan, looked once toward the gold plaque resting on the low table, then back at Yè Yī.
A small smile tugged at one corner of her mouth.
"I've been talking so much.., I sound like some ancient prophetess. Don't I?"
She clicked her tongue at herself, amused.
"That's probably my cue to leave."
She bent down, grabbed the trash bag beside the door and slung it over one shoulder.
"I'll take this out."
She pulled the door open before glancing back.
"Think about everything I said."
The door closed behind her with a soft click.
Silence settled over the apartment again.
Yè Yī remained where he was.
The room suddenly felt larger.
His gaze drifted from the closed door to the trash bin she'd emptied.
The bag she'd carried away hadn't even been half full.
A few crumpled chip packets.
Two takeout boxes.
Empty drink cans.
Nothing that couldn't have waited until morning.
He stared at the empty bin for several seconds.
Then, without warning, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Not quite a smile.
More like the memory of one.
The feeling disappeared before it could become anything else.
He looked away.
The gold plaque still rested quietly on the table, its surface catching the apartment light in thin streaks.
Across the hallway, on the same floor, another apartment door opened.
Qiū Huà Bǐ stepped into the corridor, shoulders slightly slumped after several hours at the arcade.
One earbud hung loose around his neck while the other still played rock music loudly enough to leak into the quiet hallway.
He yawned.
"So much for relaxing."
The corridor smelled faintly of detergent and old concrete.
The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed softly, giving everything the familiar yellow tint common in older apartment buildings.
As he reached his door, something beside the stairwell caught his eye.
Several trash bags had already been piled there by his neighbours.
He looked at the small bag inside his apartment.
"...Might as well."
If he left it until tomorrow, someone else would probably stack another five on top of it.
He tied the bag shut, slipped his earbuds back in, and headed downstairs toward the communal dumpster behind the building.
The metal lid screeched before he even reached it.
A black trash bag sailed cleanly over his head.
It described a perfect arc beneath the streetlamp.
Thunk.
Straight into the dumpster.
Qiū Huà Bǐ stopped walking.
Slowly... very slowly... he turned around.
A girl stood several metres away with one fist raised triumphantly.
"Yes, she scores!"
She gave a tiny nod to herself.
"Still got it."
Only then did she notice him watching.
"...Oh."
Instead of looking embarrassed, she smiled.
Qiū Huà Bǐ looked from her... to the dumpster... then back again.
"...Seriously?"
"Come on."
She pointed toward the bin.
"That was a pretty good throw."
"It's trash."
"It still went in."
She sounded completely convinced that this was a meaningful achievement.
Qiū Huà Bǐ considered responding.
Then decided it wasn't worth the effort.
He walked to the dumpster and dropped his own bag inside.
Violet dusted her palms together.
"I was aiming for the middle."
"You hit the middle."
"I know."
She looked strangely pleased with herself.
Qiū Huà Bǐ gave her another glance.
"...Congratulations."
"Thank you."
The reply came so naturally that he wasn't sure whether she'd missed the sarcasm or simply ignored it.
Probably the second.
She tilted her head slightly.
"You look exhausted."
"Arcade."
"...That bad?"
"The games are relaxing."
"The people aren't."
She laughed, just enough for the sound to escape before she caught herself.
"Fair."
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
The city carried on around them.
A motorcycle passed somewhere beyond the apartment gates.
A stray dog barked twice before losing interest.
The breeze shifted through the narrow alley between the buildings.
"You live here?" Violet asked.
Qiū Huà Bǐ looked at her.
"...You don't?"
She half-smirked.
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Or maybe I sneak into random apartment buildings just to throw away other people's trash."
He nodded once.
"...Wouldn't even make my top ten weirdest encounters."
She blinked.
"...You've had a strange life."
"No."
He adjusted the strap of his bag.
"I've had neighbours."
That earned another laugh.
It was short and real, but it faded as quickly as it came.
Violet gave a casual wave.
"Well... see you around."
She turned and started walking back toward the entrance.
Her sneakers squeaked softly against the polished concrete.
Qiū Huà Bǐ watched her go.
Then— everything went quiet.
Not the apartments....
His.. head?
The constant murmur that had accompanied him for as long as he could remember... had suddenly vanished.
No drifting emotions.
No scattered thoughts.
No distant fragments from strangers passing outside.
Nothing.
His breathing caught.
He looked at Violet again.
She was still walking away, looking completely ordinary.
Yet around her... there was only silence.
Violet stopped and glanced back over one shoulder.
She noticed his stare.
"What? Do I have something on my face?"
He blinked, forcing his calm expression back into place.
"…No. You just... Never mind."
Qiū Huà Bǐ hadn't realised he'd been staring.
"...Nothing."
"You sure?"
"...Yeah."
She shrugged.
"Okay."
With another small wave, she disappeared around the corner.
The moment she was gone... the noise returned.
Thoughts flooded back all at once.
Fragments from neighbours.
Someone wondering if they had forgotten to switch off the stove.
Someone worrying about tomorrow's meeting.
Someone silently cursing slow internet.
The familiar chaos settled back into place.
Qiū Huà Bǐ stood motionless.
"...Who..."
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"...are you?"
No one answered.
He slipped both earbuds back on.
The music rushed in.
For the first time in years... it wasn't loud enough to drown out the question that had quietly lodged itself in the back of his mind.