Chapter 86
Would your childhood self look down on your adult self?
The office worker Yun was originally on a field trip with senior Su Mo. The two were already on their way to a new filming location to record news material.
But no one expected that in just over ten minutes on the way there, a series of strange things would happen one after another, leaving the office worker still in a daze.
But work waits for no one.
Su Mo was still waiting for him on the street. The interview was urgent, and he didn't have any extra time to linger in the alley. The pressing work at hand left him with little time to learn more about these things.
He looked up at Yun Yu in front of him.
The boy's face was exactly the same as his own, except that his eyebrows and eyes were clean, and he looked like a simple college student who was easily deceived.
The thought of the other person arriving alone in a strange world made the office worker Yun really worried.
He hesitated for a long time, his fingertips fumbling in his pocket repeatedly, before finally managing to pull out a brand new 1,000 yen bill.
Then, he took out a house key, still warm from his body, from his pocket and handed it to Yun Yu, his eyes sincere yet tinged with apology:
"Take this money first. My work schedule is very full today, and I probably won't finish until tonight. Take this money and go out to get something to eat, so you don't go hungry."
This is my house key. The address is Room 1001, Building 2, Fandou Garden, Fandou Street. If you don't know the way, just ask around and you'll find it eventually.
I'm really sorry, I have to go back to work now, so please bear with me for a while.
Faced with Yun Yu's clumsy yet sincere concern, Yun Yu felt a slight warmth in her heart.
He could see that even though he was already dizzy and disoriented from the sudden strange events in this world, he still subconsciously cared about the well-being of strangers.
Yun Yu didn't hesitate to accept the money and keys, and nodded gently.
"Okay, okay, I know. You can go to work without worrying about me."
Hearing this, the heavy weight on Yun Yu's heart finally lifted. After confirming that Yun Yu looked calm, he turned and walked quickly toward the alley exit.
Just before leaving the alley, he couldn't help but stop and look back at his own reflection, who stood alone in the alley, his eyes filled with unease.
Only after confirming that the other party was safe and sound did he completely put aside his concerns, hurriedly catch up with Su Mo who had been waiting for a long time, and return to his field work.
The quiet alley has returned to complete silence.
Yun Yu looked down at the thousand yen lying quietly in her palm, along with the ordinary house key, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
He wasn't a pretentious person. The fact that the office worker Yun was willing to entrust him with all his cash and his home was the purest form of trust and kindness. If he pretended to be aloof, he would be betraying this most sincere goodwill.
Yunyu took the money and found a small street shop nearby. She bought a bowl of hot fried noodles to fill her stomach, and carefully put the remaining change into her pocket for later use.
After having a simple meal, he set off for the Tourism Division of Yokohama City Hall according to his pre-determined plan.
The key to the Super 8 world lies with Daigo Madoka.
If we can find him, perhaps all our problems can be solved.
He searched around the city hall for a long time, scanning the office area, but still couldn't find Daigo. He went up to ask the receptionist, only to be told that Daigo had already gone home for the day and wouldn't be returning to the city hall.
Yun Yu sighed softly, but didn't feel too disappointed.
He no longer thought about searching for Asuka Shin, Takayama Gamu, and others.
According to the original plot of Super 8, they don't believe what Daigo says, let alone themselves. Instead of wasting energy and hitting walls everywhere, they might as well take a good rest now.
Leaving the city hall, I drove slowly and meandered along the road, the sunlight on the horizon gradually being swallowed by the twilight.
By the time Yun Yu followed the directions and found the Flip-Dump Garden, the entire city was already bathed in the gentle glow of dusk.
As the sun sets, a gentle evening breeze caresses the residential area, creating a peaceful and bustling atmosphere.
He carefully checked and, after confirming that everything was correct, took out the key and turned the doorknob.
With a click, the door opened.
The scene that came into view stunned Yun Yu on the spot.
Inside the small rented room, bulging garbage bags were piled up in the corner, messy and disorganized, looking like they hadn't been cleaned or tidied up for a long time.
Yun Yu didn't know what to say, but after a moment's thought, he instantly understood. He realized that he was just a struggling office worker, constantly being pushed around by life and work, exhausted both physically and mentally, with no extra energy left to manage household chores.
Life is filled with work, and naturally, more and more trivial things accumulate.
Yunyu bent down and gently placed the key to the door on top of the shoe cabinet, showing proper restraint and not touching any personal items inside the house.
Since she was staying here, Yunyu patiently bent down and collected the scattered trash one by one, sorting it and neatly putting it into trash bags. She didn't touch any personal belongings except for the trash, only cleaning up the messy clutter.
Just as he was collecting the last bag of trash, a crumpled sticky note slipped out from the bottom of the bag.
The paper was yellowed, but the handwriting was neat and strong. Even though Yun Yu had no interest in these things, her gaze remained clearly fixed on them.
A short line of text, each word clear and distinct—
The goal is to report an exclusive news story that will go viral nationwide!
It seems that the person in this world is like Su Mo, having become a reporter, and Su Mo seems to be the person's senior in this world.
Yun Yu quietly looked at the words on the sticky note that contained her dreams.
But ironically, this sticky note, which carried dreams, was crumpled up and thrown away, ending up in the trash.
Yunyu didn't delve into it. After thinking for a while, she reached out and gently smoothed out the wrinkles on the sticky note, placing it neatly and flat in the center of the clean table in the living room.
After doing all this, he picked up several bags full of cleaned trash, turned around and walked out of the rented room, went downstairs and threw all the trash out.
After a long day of field interviews, the office worker Yun, exhausted, slowly walked back to Fandou Garden, as usual, with a body feeling like it was filled with lead.
The endless overtime work had already worn down most of his energy. Every day when he returned home, all that remained was exhaustion and numbness. But just as he took out his key to open the door, he realized he didn't have a key. Only then did he remember that his key was for another version of himself in another world.
Yun Yu, who was inside the room, seemed to have noticed the commotion and immediately reached out to open the door.
Someone opened the door for him, and the room was lit with warm lights, making the office worker feel a little uncomfortable.
"You're back?" Yun Yu stepped aside to let him into the house, her tone natural and friendly. "I saw you were busy with work and probably didn't have time to eat, so I bought you a bento box on the way. You can just heat it up in the microwave and eat it."
The unexpected thoughtfulness left the office worker stunned.
He never expected that this version of himself from a parallel world would actually remember to bring him dinner.
A warm feeling welled up in his heart. He scratched his head awkwardly and thanked him softly.
"Ah... Arigato."
When the office worker Yun entered the room, he found that all the garbage he had piled up was gone, and the whole room was much cleaner and tidier. Apart from the garbage, nothing else had been touched, which made the office worker Yun feel a little more at ease.
Office worker Yun took her lunchbox into the kitchen, heated it up, and brought it to the table, then silently ate her rice.
Halfway through his meal, his gaze inadvertently swept across the center of the table and he noticed that the sticky note he had crumpled and discarded was now carefully smoothed out and lying neatly on the table.
The office worker, Yun, paused slightly in his chopsticks, his movements frozen in place.
My heart was filled with mixed feelings. I wanted to say something, but when I opened my mouth, I had no idea how to start.
Just as he was hesitating in silence, Yun Yu, who was standing to the side, seemed to see through his thoughts and explained in a casual tone, "I found that when I was cleaning up the trash. I thought it was something important to you, so I took it out and put it in order without permission. I didn't touch any of your other things."
The frank and honest words instantly pierced through the last vestige of concealment in the heart of the overworked office worker, Yun. He remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly, sat down in his chair, and spoke with a tone full of exhaustion and relief.
"Actually, it's nothing important. It was just something I wrote in a moment of youthful arrogance when I first joined the company."
He lowered his eyes slightly, a self-deprecating bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: "I no longer have such unrealistic fantasies."
I'm just an ordinary office worker, nothing special, with average abilities. I'm content with just going to work and living a stable life. What right do I have to dream of exclusive news that goes viral across the country? That kind of dream is too unrealistic.
His voice was low and somber, filled with the helplessness of life having worn down his edges.
But Yunyu seemed completely oblivious to his self-doubt, even selectively ignoring it. He turned to look at the photographs hanging on the wall and said sincerely:
"These photos are really beautiful, how did you take them?"
The sudden shift in topic left Yun, a corporate slave immersed in a low mood, completely bewildered.
The rhythm was too fast, and he couldn't keep up for a moment.
After a few seconds of hesitation, he casually replied, "It was just a quick shot, very ordinary, not particularly good-looking."
"Isn't this good enough?" Yun Yu's eyes held a hint of mischief as she reached out and took one of the photos, handing it to the office worker Yun: "Take a good look at this photo yourself, it's clearly outstanding."
When the office worker Yun looked down, his cheeks instantly flushed, because the photo in the frame was actually a picture of Su Mo that he had secretly taken.
Su Mo, a senior colleague, was focused and attentive at work, with sharp and decisive features, which was quietly captured in the camera's lens.
Her secret thoughts were exposed on the spot, and the office worker Yun's ears instantly turned red. She hurriedly reached out and snatched the photo back.
"Who, who gave you permission to look at my things!"
Seeing that he had finally perked up a bit, stopped wallowing in self-doubt, and seemed to be able to listen to what was being said, Yun Yu stopped teasing him, put away his joking expression, and looked seriously into the eyes of the corporate slave Yun.
"I'm serious, have you been watching too many TV dramas? Do you always feel that your adult self will disappoint your childhood self?"
The sudden question left the office worker Yun completely stunned. The topic had jumped around so absurdly that he had no idea how to respond.
Before he could react, Yun Yu continued earnestly, "But actually it's not like that at all."
Think about it from another perspective: when you were a child, you saw yourself as an adult, with a stable job, able to support yourself, and firmly established in a huge city. You wouldn't be disappointed; you'd be too busy admiring your future self.
For example, I was surprised to see how beautiful your photos were; I'm starting to admire you a little.
These heartfelt words struck the heart of the overworked office worker Yun, leaving him completely stunned. His mind went blank for a moment, and he stood there dumbfounded, a thousand thoughts churning within him, wanting to speak up and defend himself.
But just as he was about to speak, Yun Yu spoke first again.
"And also, could you please teach me how to take photos?"
"what?"
The office worker Yun was completely dumbfounded, her thoughts completely drawn into Yun Yu's trap. She instinctively retorted, "Aren't you Ultraman? What are you learning photography for?"
"I plan to take some real photos of monsters on-site in the future, exclusive footage, and sell it all to Sister Su Mo."
"Sister Su Mo?"
"It's the parallel universe counterpart of the senior you secretly admired and secretly photographed."
"I...I don't have a crush on her! Don't talk nonsense!"
[Haha, the author really thinks it's amazing to be able to support himself, so he accidentally wrote 3,500 words. Consider it compensation for not updating yesterday.]
Love you all~
But no one expected that in just over ten minutes on the way there, a series of strange things would happen one after another, leaving the office worker still in a daze.
But work waits for no one.
Su Mo was still waiting for him on the street. The interview was urgent, and he didn't have any extra time to linger in the alley. The pressing work at hand left him with little time to learn more about these things.
He looked up at Yun Yu in front of him.
The boy's face was exactly the same as his own, except that his eyebrows and eyes were clean, and he looked like a simple college student who was easily deceived.
The thought of the other person arriving alone in a strange world made the office worker Yun really worried.
He hesitated for a long time, his fingertips fumbling in his pocket repeatedly, before finally managing to pull out a brand new 1,000 yen bill.
Then, he took out a house key, still warm from his body, from his pocket and handed it to Yun Yu, his eyes sincere yet tinged with apology:
"Take this money first. My work schedule is very full today, and I probably won't finish until tonight. Take this money and go out to get something to eat, so you don't go hungry."
This is my house key. The address is Room 1001, Building 2, Fandou Garden, Fandou Street. If you don't know the way, just ask around and you'll find it eventually.
I'm really sorry, I have to go back to work now, so please bear with me for a while.
Faced with Yun Yu's clumsy yet sincere concern, Yun Yu felt a slight warmth in her heart.
He could see that even though he was already dizzy and disoriented from the sudden strange events in this world, he still subconsciously cared about the well-being of strangers.
Yun Yu didn't hesitate to accept the money and keys, and nodded gently.
"Okay, okay, I know. You can go to work without worrying about me."
Hearing this, the heavy weight on Yun Yu's heart finally lifted. After confirming that Yun Yu looked calm, he turned and walked quickly toward the alley exit.
Just before leaving the alley, he couldn't help but stop and look back at his own reflection, who stood alone in the alley, his eyes filled with unease.
Only after confirming that the other party was safe and sound did he completely put aside his concerns, hurriedly catch up with Su Mo who had been waiting for a long time, and return to his field work.
The quiet alley has returned to complete silence.
Yun Yu looked down at the thousand yen lying quietly in her palm, along with the ordinary house key, and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
He wasn't a pretentious person. The fact that the office worker Yun was willing to entrust him with all his cash and his home was the purest form of trust and kindness. If he pretended to be aloof, he would be betraying this most sincere goodwill.
Yunyu took the money and found a small street shop nearby. She bought a bowl of hot fried noodles to fill her stomach, and carefully put the remaining change into her pocket for later use.
After having a simple meal, he set off for the Tourism Division of Yokohama City Hall according to his pre-determined plan.
The key to the Super 8 world lies with Daigo Madoka.
If we can find him, perhaps all our problems can be solved.
He searched around the city hall for a long time, scanning the office area, but still couldn't find Daigo. He went up to ask the receptionist, only to be told that Daigo had already gone home for the day and wouldn't be returning to the city hall.
Yun Yu sighed softly, but didn't feel too disappointed.
He no longer thought about searching for Asuka Shin, Takayama Gamu, and others.
According to the original plot of Super 8, they don't believe what Daigo says, let alone themselves. Instead of wasting energy and hitting walls everywhere, they might as well take a good rest now.
Leaving the city hall, I drove slowly and meandered along the road, the sunlight on the horizon gradually being swallowed by the twilight.
By the time Yun Yu followed the directions and found the Flip-Dump Garden, the entire city was already bathed in the gentle glow of dusk.
As the sun sets, a gentle evening breeze caresses the residential area, creating a peaceful and bustling atmosphere.
He carefully checked and, after confirming that everything was correct, took out the key and turned the doorknob.
With a click, the door opened.
The scene that came into view stunned Yun Yu on the spot.
Inside the small rented room, bulging garbage bags were piled up in the corner, messy and disorganized, looking like they hadn't been cleaned or tidied up for a long time.
Yun Yu didn't know what to say, but after a moment's thought, he instantly understood. He realized that he was just a struggling office worker, constantly being pushed around by life and work, exhausted both physically and mentally, with no extra energy left to manage household chores.
Life is filled with work, and naturally, more and more trivial things accumulate.
Yunyu bent down and gently placed the key to the door on top of the shoe cabinet, showing proper restraint and not touching any personal items inside the house.
Since she was staying here, Yunyu patiently bent down and collected the scattered trash one by one, sorting it and neatly putting it into trash bags. She didn't touch any personal belongings except for the trash, only cleaning up the messy clutter.
Just as he was collecting the last bag of trash, a crumpled sticky note slipped out from the bottom of the bag.
The paper was yellowed, but the handwriting was neat and strong. Even though Yun Yu had no interest in these things, her gaze remained clearly fixed on them.
A short line of text, each word clear and distinct—
The goal is to report an exclusive news story that will go viral nationwide!
It seems that the person in this world is like Su Mo, having become a reporter, and Su Mo seems to be the person's senior in this world.
Yun Yu quietly looked at the words on the sticky note that contained her dreams.
But ironically, this sticky note, which carried dreams, was crumpled up and thrown away, ending up in the trash.
Yunyu didn't delve into it. After thinking for a while, she reached out and gently smoothed out the wrinkles on the sticky note, placing it neatly and flat in the center of the clean table in the living room.
After doing all this, he picked up several bags full of cleaned trash, turned around and walked out of the rented room, went downstairs and threw all the trash out.
After a long day of field interviews, the office worker Yun, exhausted, slowly walked back to Fandou Garden, as usual, with a body feeling like it was filled with lead.
The endless overtime work had already worn down most of his energy. Every day when he returned home, all that remained was exhaustion and numbness. But just as he took out his key to open the door, he realized he didn't have a key. Only then did he remember that his key was for another version of himself in another world.
Yun Yu, who was inside the room, seemed to have noticed the commotion and immediately reached out to open the door.
Someone opened the door for him, and the room was lit with warm lights, making the office worker feel a little uncomfortable.
"You're back?" Yun Yu stepped aside to let him into the house, her tone natural and friendly. "I saw you were busy with work and probably didn't have time to eat, so I bought you a bento box on the way. You can just heat it up in the microwave and eat it."
The unexpected thoughtfulness left the office worker stunned.
He never expected that this version of himself from a parallel world would actually remember to bring him dinner.
A warm feeling welled up in his heart. He scratched his head awkwardly and thanked him softly.
"Ah... Arigato."
When the office worker Yun entered the room, he found that all the garbage he had piled up was gone, and the whole room was much cleaner and tidier. Apart from the garbage, nothing else had been touched, which made the office worker Yun feel a little more at ease.
Office worker Yun took her lunchbox into the kitchen, heated it up, and brought it to the table, then silently ate her rice.
Halfway through his meal, his gaze inadvertently swept across the center of the table and he noticed that the sticky note he had crumpled and discarded was now carefully smoothed out and lying neatly on the table.
The office worker, Yun, paused slightly in his chopsticks, his movements frozen in place.
My heart was filled with mixed feelings. I wanted to say something, but when I opened my mouth, I had no idea how to start.
Just as he was hesitating in silence, Yun Yu, who was standing to the side, seemed to see through his thoughts and explained in a casual tone, "I found that when I was cleaning up the trash. I thought it was something important to you, so I took it out and put it in order without permission. I didn't touch any of your other things."
The frank and honest words instantly pierced through the last vestige of concealment in the heart of the overworked office worker, Yun. He remained silent for a long time, then sighed softly, sat down in his chair, and spoke with a tone full of exhaustion and relief.
"Actually, it's nothing important. It was just something I wrote in a moment of youthful arrogance when I first joined the company."
He lowered his eyes slightly, a self-deprecating bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: "I no longer have such unrealistic fantasies."
I'm just an ordinary office worker, nothing special, with average abilities. I'm content with just going to work and living a stable life. What right do I have to dream of exclusive news that goes viral across the country? That kind of dream is too unrealistic.
His voice was low and somber, filled with the helplessness of life having worn down his edges.
But Yunyu seemed completely oblivious to his self-doubt, even selectively ignoring it. He turned to look at the photographs hanging on the wall and said sincerely:
"These photos are really beautiful, how did you take them?"
The sudden shift in topic left Yun, a corporate slave immersed in a low mood, completely bewildered.
The rhythm was too fast, and he couldn't keep up for a moment.
After a few seconds of hesitation, he casually replied, "It was just a quick shot, very ordinary, not particularly good-looking."
"Isn't this good enough?" Yun Yu's eyes held a hint of mischief as she reached out and took one of the photos, handing it to the office worker Yun: "Take a good look at this photo yourself, it's clearly outstanding."
When the office worker Yun looked down, his cheeks instantly flushed, because the photo in the frame was actually a picture of Su Mo that he had secretly taken.
Su Mo, a senior colleague, was focused and attentive at work, with sharp and decisive features, which was quietly captured in the camera's lens.
Her secret thoughts were exposed on the spot, and the office worker Yun's ears instantly turned red. She hurriedly reached out and snatched the photo back.
"Who, who gave you permission to look at my things!"
Seeing that he had finally perked up a bit, stopped wallowing in self-doubt, and seemed to be able to listen to what was being said, Yun Yu stopped teasing him, put away his joking expression, and looked seriously into the eyes of the corporate slave Yun.
"I'm serious, have you been watching too many TV dramas? Do you always feel that your adult self will disappoint your childhood self?"
The sudden question left the office worker Yun completely stunned. The topic had jumped around so absurdly that he had no idea how to respond.
Before he could react, Yun Yu continued earnestly, "But actually it's not like that at all."
Think about it from another perspective: when you were a child, you saw yourself as an adult, with a stable job, able to support yourself, and firmly established in a huge city. You wouldn't be disappointed; you'd be too busy admiring your future self.
For example, I was surprised to see how beautiful your photos were; I'm starting to admire you a little.
These heartfelt words struck the heart of the overworked office worker Yun, leaving him completely stunned. His mind went blank for a moment, and he stood there dumbfounded, a thousand thoughts churning within him, wanting to speak up and defend himself.
But just as he was about to speak, Yun Yu spoke first again.
"And also, could you please teach me how to take photos?"
"what?"
The office worker Yun was completely dumbfounded, her thoughts completely drawn into Yun Yu's trap. She instinctively retorted, "Aren't you Ultraman? What are you learning photography for?"
"I plan to take some real photos of monsters on-site in the future, exclusive footage, and sell it all to Sister Su Mo."
"Sister Su Mo?"
"It's the parallel universe counterpart of the senior you secretly admired and secretly photographed."
"I...I don't have a crush on her! Don't talk nonsense!"
[Haha, the author really thinks it's amazing to be able to support himself, so he accidentally wrote 3,500 words. Consider it compensation for not updating yesterday.]
Love you all~