On Christmas Eve, my parents half-jokingly announced: “Whoever gets home first between you and your brother gets the house.” I rushed into the elevator first and headed up to the 20th floor. But when the elevator doors opened again, the home I’d been longing for wasn’t there. Instead, I was somehow back on the first floor! The door stood wide open, just as it had been when I first arrived. Confused, I pressed 20 again. The sensation of ascending was clear, and the floor numbers climbed steadily from But when the doors opened, I was back on the first floor again! Cold sweat broke out all over my body. I switched to the stairs instead, counting each floor as I climbed all twenty levels. But when I pushed through the fire door at the top, I was somehow on the first floor once more! That night, no matter what I tried, I could never reach the 20th floor. Meanwhile, my brother had already posted a video in the family group chat showing him celebrating with Mom and Dad. Eventually, exhausted and dizzy, I tumbled down the stairs and died. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on Christmas Eve. 1 I was back downstairs again. This time, instead of rushing home, I pulled out my phone and video-called my parents. They answered quickly, and Mom’s voice came through with a laugh: “Olivia, your dad and I have the property deed ready and everything! We’re just waiting to see who gets home first—you or your brother!” “Your brother’s still over an hour away. Where are you?” In my previous life, I’d also arrived downstairs before my brother, but I never even made it past the threshold. I gripped my phone tightly and spoke quickly: “Mom, I’m downstairs right now.” “But for some reason I can’t get up there. Can you and Dad come down and meet me?” The moment I finished speaking, Mom’s video feed suddenly froze, then disconnected. I tried calling her back, but couldn’t get through. Yesterday Mom had complained to me about the poor signal in their new place, but I hadn’t expected it to be this bad. I sighed and dragged my suitcase toward the elevator myself. But this time I was more cautious. I didn’t go straight home. Instead, I pressed the button for the 19th floor. In my previous life, no matter what I did, I always ended up back on the first floor when the doors opened. So right after being reborn, I’d strongly suspected that maybe the building’s renovation was unusual, making every floor look identical to the first. The elevator started moving smoothly and soon came to a gentle stop. Ding! The moment the doors opened, my eyes went wide! “Impossible… how can this be?” Instead of the empty first-floor lobby, I saw rows of apartment doors! They even had unit numbers on them. 1901, 1902… I walked to the stairwell and looked down through the window. It was high up—about fifty or sixty meters above ground. This really was the nineteenth floor! “So my theory was wrong…” “But if it’s not that, why can I never reach the 20th floor?” Cold sweat covered my body. I returned to the elevator and pressed 20. The sensation of ascending came again. The elevator was definitely going up. I stared unblinkingly at the constantly changing floor numbers, terrified that if I looked away for even a second, I’d end up back on the first floor. But fortunately, that didn’t happen. The number jumped from 19 to 20. Ding! We’d arrived. My heart leapt into my throat. But the next second, everything went black! When the elevator doors opened, I was back on the first floor again! Empty, silent, with no residents—completely different from the 19th floor’s layout and decoration. “What’s going on…” 2 I couldn’t believe it. I closed my eyes tight. When I opened them again, the scene before me hadn’t changed. This really was the first-floor lobby! Cold wind kept blowing in against my face. Exactly the same as what I’d seen when I first arrived! I reached out and pressed every button from 1 to 20 on the elevator panel. All the lights came on. The buttons were fine, and the elevator wasn’t malfunctioning. But it had clearly displayed the 20th floor just now. How did I end up back on the first floor in the blink of an eye? I refused to accept this. I walked outside and looked around the area. Outside was the road leading to the street, with exercise equipment nearby. This was definitely what the outside of the first floor looked like. My heart sank bit by bit. Could I have encountered something supernatural? Would I automatically return to the first floor whenever I tried to go to the 20th? Suddenly my phone rang. It was my brother calling. His tone was concerned: “Olivia, Mom and Dad said you’re already downstairs. Why haven’t you come up?” “They couldn’t reach you on your phone and got worried, so they asked me to check on you.” My best friend, who’d been dating my brother for five years, also spoke up with a laugh: “Olivia, you don’t need to hold back for us.” “Even though your brother and I are getting married soon, we can afford our own place.” “If you should get the house, take it. Don’t worry about us.” I smiled bitterly. Actually, I really hadn’t been planning to hold back for them. After all, Mom and Dad had given them plenty of support over the years. But now I couldn’t even reach the 20th floor. How was I supposed to claim anything? I told her about the strange phenomena in the elevator. My friend on the other end burst out laughing: “Olivia, I remember you’ve been working for a week straight.” “Are you maybe too exhausted and a bit mentally foggy?” “We’ll be home in half an hour. Wait for us and we’ll go up together.” After the call ended, I looked at the street somewhat dejectedly. On Christmas Eve, there were very few cars on the road—just a few delivery drivers still making their rounds. Suddenly my eyes lit up. I knew what to do! I pulled out my phone and ordered food for delivery, entering my parents’ address directly. Soon the delivery guy arrived downstairs. I stopped him with a smile: “Hi, are you delivering to unit 2001?” “I ordered the food, but I’m not familiar with this place and can’t find exactly where it is. Could you please help me get there?” Even if I really was having hallucinations from working too many hours straight, the delivery guy wouldn’t be hallucinating too, right? If I went up with him, wouldn’t I find out what was really going on? “No problem!” The guy nodded readily and led me into the elevator. When the number stopped at 20, the elevator doors slowly opened. The delivery guy looked at me helpfully: “Miss, does this look like your place?” “If not, I can help you look around other areas.” Thump thump thump! My heart started pounding. I immediately recognized the security door of our new home directly across from the elevator. Mom and Dad had shown it to me over video calls before. I couldn’t be mistaken. I’d actually made it to the twentieth floor! Seeing how excited I looked, the delivery guy smiled happily too. He handed me the food, helped me with my suitcase, then took the elevator back down. Looking at the door so close at hand, I was incredibly excited. But just as I turned to knock on the door, my pupils suddenly contracted! I was back on the first floor again! 3 I’d clearly just turned around to take something from the delivery guy. How did the security door right before my eyes suddenly disappear? Not only that, but all the miscellaneous items piled in the hallway had vanished in an instant too. This place had changed back to look like the first-floor lobby! “How can this be…” My head buzzed. I rushed over to examine it carefully. Where the door had been was now completely empty—just a wall painted snow white. I knocked on it hard. The wall made a muffled thud. From the sound, I could tell this was a solid wall. A chill shot up my spine. How was this possible? I panicked instantly, but still refused to give up. I knocked on different spots across the wall surface. All of it was solid. By the time I’d knocked until my hand hurt, I still hadn’t found anything unusual. I sat down against the wall, feeling utterly absurd. This had just been the twentieth floor a moment ago. I’d been one step away from getting home. How did everything change in the blink of an eye? “Impossible… this just can’t be done…” I stood up and rushed into the stairwell. “The stairs can still prove it! If this is the 20th floor, then the stairs should go down.” “I’ll know by checking the stairs!” In my previous life, I’d climbed up from the first floor. I remembered clearly that there was no basement here—the first floor absolutely had no stairs going down. But the next second, I froze in place. There were no stairs going down. Only stairs winding upward. This really was the first floor. “How can this be…” I’d clearly just been on the 20th floor—I’d even seen the door to our home. How did everything disappear in the blink of an eye? “Mom! Dad! Where are you!” “Come out!” “Why has everything here disappeared? Why can’t I get home?” I shouted in desperation. Only the hollow echo of my voice in the corridor answered me. Bang! Suddenly a door upstairs opened, and an elderly woman with white hair came down impatiently, glaring at me. “Are you trying to die? What are you wailing about here?” “If you can’t get home, then leave. You’re giving everyone bad luck.” “Whose kid are you? Which unit do you live in? How can you have such poor manners?” The woman stared at me angrily, but I had no mind to deal with her. Instead, I stared blankly at the smooth first-floor ground beneath her feet. It had been worn shiny from long-term use—it absolutely couldn’t have been temporarily installed. In other words, I really had gone from the 20th floor back to the first floor in an instant. Could it really be like my friend said—that I was mentally foggy from being too tired? But I was still holding the food the delivery guy had just given me. The address on it was still 2001. This proved I’d definitely reached the 20th floor! “Ma’am, I’m from unit 2001, but I just had a fight with my parents and got kicked out.” “Could you please be kind enough to take me back home and help me make peace with them?” I steadied my thoughts and looked at the woman pleadingly. Seeing the suitcase by my feet, the woman seemed to believe my story. Her expression softened a bit. “You’re the daughter from 2001? Your mom and I get along pretty well.” “Don’t worry, I’ll help smooth things over for you in a bit.” She took my hand and dragged my suitcase as we entered the elevator together. Watching the elevator numbers slowly climb from 1 again. Ding! The elevator doors opened. 4 Looking up, we were back on the 20th floor. The familiar security door of our home came into view! I gripped the woman’s hand tightly, not daring to let go for even a second, afraid that if I did, everything would disappear again. “Ma’am, please come knock on the door with me. I’m afraid to go home alone in case they scold me.” The woman patted the back of my hand understandingly. She pulled me to the door. The woman knocked on the security door, and soon Mom’s voice came from inside: “Coming!” The door opened. Mom looked at me with surprise and delight. “Olivia, you’re home!” “Your brother just said you were waiting for him downstairs. It’s so cold down there!” “Mom tried calling to tell you to come up first, but somehow couldn’t get through.” Dad poked his head out from the kitchen, white flour dusting his hair. “Olivia’s home? Come on in.” “You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Dad made your favorite dessert.” Seeing Mom and Dad with my own eyes, hearing their voices with my own ears, all the strangeness from the evening instantly evaporated. I threw myself into Mom’s arms, choking up. She laughed and patted my back: “Come inside.” I nodded, let go of Mom, and grabbed my suitcase, about to enter the house. BOOM! A thunderclap exploded in my mind. I suddenly realized something. I quickly turned around to look. Mom and the neighbor woman, who’d just been standing behind me chatting and laughing, had disappeared. I turned back to look at the door—it had vanished too! Just like last time, only that wall remained! I was back in the cold, windy first-floor lobby. My head was buzzing. “What on earth is going on…” “Could this really be my hallucination?” Gurgle gurgle. My stomach growled. Having just smelled the aroma of food from inside the house, I was suddenly hungry. If this really was a hallucination from being too tired, how could I explain that aroma? I took a deep breath. My phone rang. Mom’s anxious voice came through: “Olivia, where did you go?” “I just walked someone to the elevator, and when I turned around you were gone!” “You even took your luggage with you. Where are you going?” I didn’t know how to explain. My voice was bitter as I spoke: “Mom, I’m downstairs.” “I probably can’t get home today.” There was a pause on the other end, then her voice became even more anxious. “Silly child, what are you talking about? How can you not get home?” “Just sit tight downstairs. Mom’s coming down to get you right now.” Just as the call was about to end, a burst of noise came from the other side. Then came my brother’s cheerful laughter and my friend’s sweet greeting. I sniffled. So in this life too, they got home first. My brother took the phone from Mom, his tone concerned. “Olivia, when Luna and I got back, we specifically looked around downstairs but didn’t find you.” “We thought you’d already come home, so we came up.” “Where are you now? Luna and I will come get you.” Hearing their concern, I felt no warmth at all. In a flash of insight, a thought suddenly appeared in my mind. So that’s it! I laughed coldly. “Stop pretending. Everyone come out.” “I know why I can never reach the 20th floor!”
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