Puzzle Madness

Chapter 24 Skinny Guy
Doudou waited in the corridor for most of the afternoon. Until the sun went down, the burning heat turned into a humid, damp heat, and the movers completed their mission and left, leaving the door open.
His new neighbors finally arrived at the old apartment.

Even in the evening, the weather in Mong Cai was still uncomfortable: this sultry heat obviously also bothered Doudou's new neighbor.

He was a withered man, frighteningly thin; he reminded Doudou of the demon-possessed character in "The Evil Dead," toyed with beyond all recognition. It was like a skeleton covered in skin, with barely any subcutaneous fat; the texture of his muscles was almost protruding from the surface.

He wore a pale yellow, long-sleeved shirt, the cuffs rolled up to his elbows. Doudou guessed it was from so many washes that they had turned yellow. His cheeks were sunken, giving him the appearance of having large, round eyes, a rather creepy look. His hair was messy and sticky, plastered to his sweaty forehead.

The gaunt man was clutching a cardboard box, each side of which was stapled in rows—with stacks of materials lying upright inside; his armpits and collar were soaked with sweat, the sweat deepening in color, but he still held the box tightly.
-
The skinny man froze when he saw Doudou. His eyes flickered across the door number of Doudou's house, then back to his new home, finally stopping at the cardboard box in his arms.

The skinny man bent down, placed the cardboard box at his feet, and propped it up against the concrete half-wall under the railing with his toes. Then, he wiped his hands on his trousers—first his palms, then the backs of his hands—and reached out to Doudou:
"Hello, hello. I just moved here. Is your family home?"

It was a strange handshake: the skinny man was five or six meters away from Doudou, around the corner of a corridor. Unless their arms could be extended, there was no way they could shake hands.

[Very enthusiastic people will even take the initiative to say hello! ]

With this thought in mind, Doudou took a few steps away from the railing and shook hands with the skinny man. His knuckles were prominent, his palms damp, and he only slightly curled his fingers together in a handshake; but Doudou didn't care: he hadn't even shaken hands.

It wasn't that Doudou was being impolite—it was just that if he'd shaken her hand a little more seriously, her new neighbor would have to rush to the hospital for a broken bone, possibly a comminuted one, before they could even move into their new home. As for the man's question about his family, Doudou naturally passed it over.

According to what he learned from the book, "good neighborliness" should be an important symbol of human beings. No one can figure out how human beings should behave. Doudou seems to have some understanding of this point.

But the reason why he waited so long was just because Doudou wanted to say hello to his new neighbor.

Cough, cough cough——
Doudou cleared his throat seriously:
"Hello, neighbor. Hello, neighbor. Welcome to our community! I hope you enjoy your life here. I can't wait to build a great community with you!"

Doudou looked at his new neighbor who looked like a skeleton and was standing there in a daze, sweating profusely; he seemed to not know how to respond to his enthusiasm; but Doudou didn't care.

Now that the greetings were over, it was time to satisfy his curiosity. As for the other party's previous inquiries about his family, Doudou hadn't heard them at all:
"you are weird."

The skinny man's face was covered in sweat, and his eyeballs were bulging out of their sockets.

".Why?"

Doudou tapped the sides of his eyes with his fingertips:
"Why don't you wear glasses? You're obviously very nearsighted."

There were two indentations on each of the skinny man's temples, both of which were different in color from the surrounding skin; not to mention the dazed look in his eyes - similar to those of Doudou's classmates who were myopic by several hundred degrees and had to take off their glasses for physical education class.

"Because...it's hot? I took it off, but I accidentally lost it when I moved." The skinny man blinked twice, his words clearly a statement, yet his tone was skeptical. "Didn't the radio advertise laser surgery recently? I was thinking of getting one. I wouldn't have to wear this troublesome thing anymore. Haha."

His laughter was as dry as his appearance.

"Oh! I see. It's so pitiful that you lost your glasses right after moving."

Doudou raised his hand again and pointed at the man's home:
"By the way, did you give the movers extra money? I saw them moving furniture up the stairs without swearing or looking grumpy."

The skinny man didn't turn around to follow Doudou's finger:

"Oh! That. Well, it's not easy for everyone. And it's summer, so I have extra money to treat them to soda."

Doudou pursed his lips and nodded seriously:
"Yeah, I think it's great that you did that!"

The man's eyes were hazy, as if out of focus. When he looked at Doudou, his line of sight seemed to intersect behind Doudou—and Doudou became increasingly certain that the man must be severely nearsighted.
"The adults in your family—"

Doudou didn't even listen to him:

"Why didn't you watch the workers moving the furniture? Aren't you afraid something might get broken?"

Once again interrupted, the skinny man began to wring his hands together:
"They're not worth much. I bought them secondhand at a flea market."

Doudou raised his hand and pointed at the cardboard box at the skinny man's feet:
"What about all these books and materials? How are you going to carry them by yourself? You're as thin as a skeleton. But I also like reading."

The cardboard box at the skinny man's feet was pressed tightly against his sneakers, and it was deformed and dented inward.

He turned slightly to the side, using his calf to block DouDou's view of the cardboard box: "These books and materials are relatively light, I can carry them myself, there's no need to trouble others."

Doudou suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at him from side to side:
"Hmm-hmm. I'm not saying you have an ordinary face, but I always feel that you look a little familiar. Are you a celebrity? Are you experiencing life here or something?"

"Hey? I have a very good memory. I never forget anything I see. But why can't I remember who you are?"

Having a good memory is deceptive - but Doudou likes to brag about his memory.

The skinny man raised his hands and wiped his face:
"Hahaha, a celebrity? How is that possible? I just look ordinary."

Doudou tilted his head and thought for a while—suddenly shrugged:

"Well, I don't know. So, how about this for now? I'm going back to play games."

"Don't smoke in the elevator, okay? And don't litter."

He waved to his new neighbor. Without turning around, he continued to stare at the skinny man's withered face, backing away into the shadows woven by the setting sun and the apartment building.
"If you need any help, you can come to me."

With two clicks, Doudou closed both the screen door and the safety door.
-
How could someone walk back home like this? Young people these days are really getting weirder and weirder.

The skinny man bent down, picked up the cardboard box, and stood there in a daze. The air was filled with the smell of boiling peanut oil and dried chili powder. In a kitchen across the street from the community, someone was cooking fried fish.

But what caught the skinny man's attention was not the spicy aroma: the shining light on the metal handrail diagonally opposite him - it caught his sight directly.

He looked around, making especially careful efforts to make sure that no eyes were watching him from the corner; cautiously, he approached the flashing piece.

"what."

The skinny man coughed subconsciously and exclaimed:

It's not that the metal railings have been used for too long and have developed holes and deformation.
A complete handprint was left on the railing—not the trace of five fingers drawn by sweat and heat, but a clearly discernible indentation that was sunken inward, like a clay mold to be used for a plaster statue.

The mark at the perfect angle reflected a sharp and dazzling light from the twilight.

The skinny man stretched out his fingertips and poked the railing: it was hard, rough and scratchy due to rust, and warm from the remaining sunlight - naturally, this time it did not leave any marks.

He tucked the cardboard box under his armpit and covered the handprint with his palm: the skinny man's hand, which was not very broad and could even be called bony, was able to completely cover up the clear indentations of the fingers.

It was caught by the young neighbor I just met.

The skinny man turned around, ran down the hallway, and bumped into his own apartment, which hadn't closed.

Boom!
He pushed the security door hard, locked it, and then propped it up with his back.

After taking a deep breath, the skinny man opened the cardboard box and found a Walkman covered with scratches, fingerprints and signs of use.

He grabbed his Walkman, plugged in his tangled earphones, pressed play, and put it to his ear. A single, muffled whisper accompanied by a cacophony of noises played:

“The most dangerous place is the safest place.”

After that, there was only a crackling noise.

The skinny man sighed deeply, as if to squeeze out all the remaining air in his lungs. He stood on tiptoe and used his index finger to hook down the window slats of the blinds. Through the gap between them, he could see the dim light from the window pane of the next room.

“The most dangerous place is the safest place.”

He muttered and repeated it again.

(End of this chapter)