He gave a thumbs up and said, “What I just said about quantum mechanics and all that, just listen and don’t take it too seriously. I don’t really know the real reason either. But I figure, maybe the two of us are from parallel worlds.”

“Why?”

“Over here, there are no human head balloons. I’m in Shencheng, 2021.”

“2021?”

Evelyn was baffled and said, “I’m in Tianhai, 2049.”

Whoa~ what the heck?

It really is a parallel world!

She jumped down the ladder, brought over a low table and two plastic stools, set them at the boundary line, and stretched out her little hand: “Sit!”

“Thank you!”

William Clark plopped down. The stool was low, his legs were long, and he sprawled out like a human-shaped spider.

“What’s it like over there?” Evelyn’s eyes were dark and bright, her face full of curiosity.

“It’s complicated, hard to explain in a short time.”

“So what do you do?”

“I used to work in media, now I run a small shop. What about you?”

“I…”

Evelyn suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. She was wearing a men’s oversized coat, struggled to roll up the sleeves a bit, and fished something out of her pocket—uh, a wallet?

Then, with a flick left and right, the wallet unfolded into a small, tablet-like foldable touchscreen phone. The screen was smooth and flawless, and looked very sturdy.

She tapped a few times, swish!

A holographic projection popped up on the screen—it was a business card, reading: “We buy used goods, old computers, old phones, old home appliances, etc. Honest business, door-to-door service.”

Oh, she collects recyclables!

William Clark didn’t dare say that out loud, and also took out his own phone: “No wonder it’s 2049. We have foldable phones here too, but we still haven’t solved the crease and screen durability issues. Most people use this… kind… of… net! Net!”

He suddenly shouted.

“What net?”

“I have internet, I can connect to my side’s internet! Hey, wait, wait!”

William Clark calmed his excitement and quickly sorted things out: I can’t leave the house, but I can still get online…

Hiss!

He figured it out: So I’m your grandpa, and you’re my master!

Chapter Four: A Wonderful Night

When he realized this, his previously dejected heart started to boil again.

At this moment, the curtain was already hung up, pulled to one side.

It was really just a rag, with extra fabric on the top, left, and right, only able to cover the most important middle part. William Clark was quite dissatisfied—he needed privacy too!

He bent over his desk and quickly wrote down a few words: “Principles of Peaceful Coexistence,” and said, “Since we’re going to be neighbors from now on, let’s set some basic rules. First…”

“Wait, when did I agree to take you in?”

“From the moment you hung up the curtain.”

Tch!

Evelyn’s little face was a bit embarrassed, and the other person’s attitude had changed, as if he suddenly had confidence. She was a bit annoyed and said coldly, “Let me remind you, I can call the police. What will you do when they come?”

“There’s nothing I can do, but you don’t look stupid—you must know this is a huge opportunity. Do you want to give it away to someone else?”

“…”

She fell silent.

“First, my place may be small, but I represent 7.5 billion fellow Earthlings. Diplomacy is no small matter. I demand absolute respect and autonomy, and I’ll respect you in return.”

William Clark continued, “No entering each other’s territory without permission, except for the bathroom. Also, privacy is important—no peeking into each other’s lives.”

“Me, me, me peeking at you?”

Evelyn wanted to hit him.

“I’ve thought of these two points. Do you have anything to add?”

“Hmph! I’m not feeding a freeloader!”

“Then third, you provide me with three meals and basic necessities, and I’ll find a way to help you make money.”

“You, someone from 2021, help me make money?”

“We’ll talk about that later. If you agree, sign here.”

He signed his name first, looking all official, and pushed it over. She was speechless, but signed too. The [Principles of Peaceful Coexistence] were established!

Evelyn was really curious about him and started asking, “With your situation, won’t your family or friends have any trouble?”

“I quit my job and went back to my hometown. My parents are divorced.”

“What about your shop?”

“I told my mom I was going traveling, or maybe just going back to work in Beijing. Let her watch the shop for now. I’ll fool her as long as I can. What about you? No trouble on your end?”

“I only had a grandpa, but he’s already passed away.”

“Oh, my condolences.”

William Clark didn’t know what else to say, so he changed the subject: “That phone of yours is awesome. What kind of tech level is it?”

“This is an old model, not many features. The latest ones are all MR (Mixed Reality).”

“MR?”

“AR (Augmented Reality) plus VR (Virtual Reality).”

He didn’t really get it, but said, “So, do you have 5G, 6G?”

“Yes.”

“Self-driving new energy cars that never have brake failures?”

“Yes.”

“Virtual reality games with 100% realism?”

“Yes, but not quite 100% yet.”

“That’s amazing!”

William Clark slapped his thigh in excitement: “If you can help me, I’ll repay you with my life. Give me a set of photolithography machine R&D data!”

“……”

Evelyn rolled her eyes.

“Silicon wafers are fine too. Or EDA (Electronic Design Automation)? Best would be a full set of 5G application technology!”