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It was a normal time to leave work, with the usual flow of vehicles, the familiar convenience store, and even the everyday chicken cutlet bento unchanged. Yet, why had the money in his wallet changed?

Su Ming stood silently at the checkout counter, clutching his shopping basket as he stared at the bills in his wallet. The cashier, having already scanned all the items and waiting to ring up the purchase, looked at the tall young man with a mixture of confusion and concern.

“Um, excuse me, is there a problem?” the cashier whispered, glancing nervously back at the line forming behind Su Ming.

“No, it’s nothing,” Su Ming replied, handing over his bank card instead of cash.

The cashier relaxed slightly, offering a practiced professional smile as she swiped the card and completed the transaction. Taking the packed bag, Su Ming walked out of the convenience store with a calm and composed expression, revealing nothing of the storm raging inside him.

A prank? Impossible. His wallet was always kept inside his bag; no one could have gotten to it. Besides, who would play such a joke? His colleagues, who were constantly grumbling like ghosts and on the verge of burnout? Don’t be ridiculous. If anything, it would be more realistic for them to slip laxatives into the team leader’s coffee.

So what on earth was going on?

Lost in thought, Su Ming almost ran a red light, only to be pulled back just in time by a boy holding a bag of bread.

“Be careful, sir,” the boy said nervously, looking at Su Ming. As Su Ming came to his senses, he noticed the boy’s messy short silver hair and those strange eyes, shimmering with hues of violet and gold.

“Ah… thank you.” Were there really human eyes like that?

Though questions crowded his mind, Su Ming politely averted his gaze. The boy didn’t seem to notice anything unusual and quietly waited for the light to change, clutching his paper bag obediently.

The rest of the way home was just like any other day after work, blending into the crowd of commuters with a bento in hand. Everything seemed different, yet nothing had changed.

It wasn’t until he used his key to open the door that he saw the familiar decor and even the exact same placement of his slippers.

Removing his glasses, Su Ming rubbed his aching brow and sank wearily onto the sofa.

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He wasn’t a fool, nor oblivious to the changes around him. Having had a complete childhood and a normal upbringing, Su Ming had never indulged in adolescent fantasies of suddenly being reborn into another world like a manga hero, meeting gods, and bearing the burden of saving the world.

But such fantasies were just that—fantasies. Manga would never turn real, just as fiery protagonists eventually settled into quiet lives of marriage and children.

He had been lucky—no accidents, a smooth journey into adulthood, landing a decent job. Apart from his unreliable parents, his life had been relatively smooth sailing.

Yet, why did fate choose this moment to throw him such a “surprise”? Though he couldn’t explain it, Su Ming was certain he had crossed into another world, even if it felt as though he hadn’t at all.

Looking at the three unfamiliar faces on the bills and listening to similar yet distinctly different news reports on TV, Su Ming buried his face in his hands in frustration. When his call finally connected, he was momentarily stunned.

“Hello?”

“Ah Ming, what’s up? Looking for Mom?” came a familiar voice, warm and cheerful, accompanied by noisy cheers in the background—it was his unreliable mother.

The sense of wild, desperate panic that had filled Su Ming’s heart instantly melted away. “Nothing much, just calling to see where you guys are.”

Walking over to the window, Su Ming gazed outside, his mother’s happy, sweet voice filling his ears. It seemed not so bad after all. Although he had crossed worlds, it didn’t seem to affect his life much.

“We’re in Australia. Dad wants to study kangaroos. Ah Ming, you wanna come? They even make wallets out of kangaroo testicles here. Dad and I both bought some; we’ll send one to you.”

“No thanks. Have fun,” Su Ming replied. He had long since grown used to his whirlwind parents. His youthful composure and maturity were largely thanks to their unreliability.

When he was little, he had to take care of them as much as they took care of him. When he grew up and went to college, they left the country for years without a glance back.

Su Ming suspected he was just an accident to them.

After hanging up, Su Ming was completely calm. Even if he had crossed worlds, what could he do? Tomorrow he still had to work. Might as well go out today and see if any new good eateries had popped up nearby.

Having made up his mind, he put the bento in the fridge, dressed, and stepped out.

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If there was one striking difference in this Yokohama from before, it was those five glaringly black skyscrapers. Gazing at the distant buildings, Su Ming pushed up his glasses; it was because of them that he was sure he had crossed worlds.

Yokohama had never had such distinctive architecture before.

Entering a restaurant he’d never seen, Su Ming found a vacant seat and sat down, picking up the menu to ponder what to eat for dinner.

There were plenty of choices, but he didn’t know how they tasted. Maybe tonight he’d have udon—he hadn’t eaten it in a long time.

Suddenly, the chair opposite him was pulled out, and a boy sat down. He rested his head on one hand, fingers lazily sliding over the menu.

“I want to eat eel rice. Just eel rice,” the boy said abruptly, as if speaking to someone. But there was only Su Ming, and he didn’t know the boy.

Su Ming looked up in curiosity. The boy was strikingly handsome and delicate, propping his cheek with one hand and staring intently at him. Beneath those beautiful, deep eyes seemed to lurk something terrifying.

Su Ming was silent for a moment. “Are you talking to me?”

The boy tilted his head. “Is there anyone else here? Sir, you’re funny—I’m sitting right in front of you.” The boy laughed, and his exquisite features became even more captivating.

Their unusual encounter had drawn attention. Several people were already looking their way, eyes fixed on the boy with admiration, even… infatuation.

“I don’t know you. You can order whatever you want,” Su Ming said, lowering his gaze and returning to his menu, seemingly unmoved by the beautiful youth sitting across from him.