The Person You Called Is Unavailable

Chapter 5 Parallel

The sofa in Terry's house was really too small. Every time he slept on it, his legs either hung over the armrest or he had to curl up tightly just to fit. He turned over uncomfortably, but then found it impossible to sleep. Slowly, he sat up; feeling sleep-deprived, his eyelids felt unusually heavy. The sun had just risen, and soft morning light streamed into the room, casting a warm glow on Terry's bed. He stared at the bed for a moment, then glanced toward the corner where the suitcase belonging to Li Ren was placed. He stood up, dragging his feet to the bathroom, and opened the bathroom door—

Empty...

Terry squinted his slightly swollen eyes, rubbed them with his hands, and then ran his fingers through his hair. After staring blankly at the living room for a while, he quickly walked over to the coffee table, picked up his phone, and opened it to find a message: The key is in the mailbox.

"What's this?"

Terry looked at the phone in disbelief and then dialled Li Ren's number.

—The person you called is unavailable; please try again later—

No matter how many times he called, all he heard was that same message. After trying two or three times, Terry finally gave up. "Was he turning off his phone...? At least say goodbye or something, really..." His disappointment was evident on his face.

Terry's bed was neatly made, with hardly a wrinkle. The clothes he lent to Li Ren were neatly folded and placed on the bed. Without the contrast of the previous day, one wouldn't notice that this clean and tidy little space had a touch of emptiness... "Looks like I haven't met up with friends in too long..." he thought.

He gently placed his phone back on the table and picked up the clothes on the bed to put them back in the wardrobe. "Where could he have gone so early? Is it for work again? At least tell me where he's working... If only there were someone else I could ask..." Terry thought, feeling frustrated, when suddenly he stopped in his tracks. "Wait, I do have someone I can ask!"

Terry picked up his phone again and opened his messaging app to the first person, a colleague's contact Li Ren gave him yesterday. "Morning, Lin An. I wanted to ask if you know what work Li Ren has today? He left without saying goodbye, and I'm quite worried about him. I tried calling him, but his phone is off. If you know anything, please let me know. Thanks!" Terry sent him a voice message, a smile returning to his face.

Just as Terry placed his phone back on the table, he noticed the money he had left for Li Ren yesterday. "Not a penny spent?" He then saw a neatly written note from Li Ren:

Just transfer my salary to my account.

$300

xxxx-xxxx-xxxx

Glory Bank

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The train moved steadily along the tracks, with the blue sky, white clouds, towering mountains, and lush greenery piecing together a picturesque view outside the window. The rhythmic sound of the wheels on the tracks was the best lullaby for Li Ren. The temperature on the train was a bit low, causing the thinly dressed Li Ren to cross his arms over his chest for warmth. He gently leaned against the window on his right and quietly fell asleep, only waking when the train reached its destination, the sounds of people shuffling around rousing him.

He slowly opened his eyes, watching as passengers on the train lined up leisurely to get off. He closed his eyes again for a moment, then stood up, grabbed his belongings, and slowly joined the line.