Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 2: Meeting Again

The closed hallway nearly crumbled from his shout, leaving the locksmith with ringing ears. Just then, an old lady hurried down from upstairs towards the “scene” while wearing a red armband*.

*People who wear these are seen kind of like enforcers at the grassroots level. Think neighborhood watch (but like more extreme).

Any remaining doubts were suppressed by the undeniable aura of righteousness. After Auntie Li repeatedly confirmed that Xu Wang indeed lived there and was a promising young man, the locksmith used a thin strip of metal to open the lock with a quick “click” that was so fast, Xu Wang wondered if he had even locked the door.

He rushed into the apartment, closed the door swiftly behind him, quickly put on a T-shirt, then opened the door again more calmly to pay the locksmith.

Finally sitting back down on the living room sofa, the day had already well begun.

Xu Wang first called in sick at work, then went to the hospital with his phone, wallet, and insurance card to have his injuries checked. Even when the doctor asked how he was injured, he was still bewildered.

He didn’t remember what he told the doctor, but it certainly wasn’t anything as provocative as “a promising young man in the capital’s third ring* was greeted by a bear’s paw.”

*In Beijing, there are multiple ring roads with the most prominent being 1^st-7^th.

Returning from the hospital around noon, Xu Wang sat back down on his sofa in his rented apartment, finally able to somewhat process everything that had happened.

He had come home from work, gone to bed at the usual time, then had a dream about a snowfield, his high school crush—unrequited love—and a belated confession ten years late. He achieved a moment of closeness, only to be tackled by a black bear, waking up at a street intersection.

If it weren’t for the injury on his shoulder, he might have explained his waking location as sleepwalking. But if everything that happened was real, where did Wu Sheng and the bear go? And although it was his first time being hit by a bear, common sense told him a bear swipe should be more than just a flesh wound; shouldn’t there be fractures or breaks?

Xu Wang spent the entire afternoon on the living room sofa, continuously pondering the bizarre events of the previous night, but as darkness fell and the living room sank into unlit quiet, he was no closer to making sense of it all.

Forget it. Let’s not think about it anymore.

Xu Wang shook his head and suddenly stood up. Because the movement was too quick, it agitated his shoulder wound. He paused, then carefully made his way to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, hoping the cold water would clear his mind and refresh him.

This was a harmonious society working towards prosperity under a clear, bright sky. If it was sleepwalking, he would seek treatment; if there were wrongdoers involved, he would report it to the police. He was a strong, democratic, patriotic, and dedicated person. What did he have to fear!

20:00

21:00

22:00

23:00

23:30…

But he couldn’t sleep.

The shoulder still hurt, and the mysteries were unresolved. How could he sleep with so much on his mind!

He turned on the flashlight on his phone and looked around the bedroom—nothing unusual; checked his clothing—down jacket, thermal pants, sneakers, all good; felt his pockets for keys and wallet—everything in place.

Whether it was sleepwalking or not, he didn’t want to go through another ordeal of freezing and then borrowing Mrs. Li’s phone to call the locksmith.

[Hoot hoot—]

Again, the sound seemed to come from inside his ear!

Xu Wang tensed up, and vague memories started flooding back. Just before he had fallen into the snowfield and met Wu Sheng the night before, he had heard this sound!

At that time, he thought it was a figment of his dream, but now, awake and more alert than ever, he was sure it was some kind of bird call, fitting perfectly with the night, carried by the wind into the ears of those afraid, with amplified menace.

The resurfacing memories included more than just the call.

Xu Wang hurriedly got out of bed, disregarding any pain from his wound, determined to find out what was happening.

He ran to the living room and heard the sound again.

[Hoot hoot—]

Then, rustling noises came from the bedroom.

Standing two meters away from the bedroom door, Xu Wang peered in to see that the bed, which was against the wall, had turned into a rectangular pit of quicksand, glowing with a halo. There was no longer any sign of the mattress or sheets—just the endless sinking sand.

Fortunately, the bird call had prompted him to remember fragments of the previous night, or he would have been drawn into that eerie place again. While meeting Wu Sheng might have been pleasant, it was all a fantasy. Wu Sheng had moved abroad with his parents hundreds of years ago. The pain from the bear swipe, however, was very real.

Huh?

Huh??

Xu Wang was feeling lucky to have escaped a disaster when suddenly he felt a force pulling him towards the bedroom! In the blink of an eye, he was dragged to the bedroom door!

Using all his might, Xu Wang clung to the door frame, refusing to let go, but the force kept growing stronger until he was lifted off the ground, flapping like a flag in a fierce wind!

Realizing that continuing to resist would tear him in half, Xu Wang gave up and let go in despair.

As he was sucked into the quicksand pit, two thoughts crossed Xu Wang’s mind: First, this situation was too damn surreal, and he must call the police, even if they think he’s crazy; and second, if Wu Sheng was still there, they should find a place without bears to embrace again.

Last time, he fell into that bizarre place in a deep sleep, completely bewildered, until he saw Wu Sheng, which slowly brought clarity to his mind. He couldn’t remember how he got there or how long he wandered around the snowfield.

But this time he was awake and experienced the sensation of falling from a great height, like being on a drop tower ride, endlessly descending at a rapid speed, which made him feel as if his entire body was shattering.

After an unknown amount of time, his cheek suddenly felt extremely cold—first icy, then slowly damp.

It took Xu Wang a while to realize he had landed face down in the snow.

He sighed in relief, his suspended organs finally settling back into place. At this point, whether he looked graceful or not, it didn’t matter anymore. At least he was alive and once again felt the comforting pull of Earth’s gravity.

With the snow as thick as his skin, he got up, dusting himself off, once again looking like a respectable young man. Surveying his surroundings, the snowfield, the sea of forest, the vast sky, and the distant mountains were all unmistakably the same place as yesterday.

Is this a “dream”? 

Even if Xu Wang stubbornly wanted to believe so, his ten red fingers disagreed—clinging to the door frame had strained them too much, and they were still throbbing painfully.

It was extremely cold standing still in the icy wilderness. Soon, Xu Wang’s feet began to numb. He quickly started walking, directionless and unsure of where to go, just moving forward to keep his body warm.

After an unknown period, a short, crisp “ding—” sound unexpectedly rang out.

Xu Wang’s heart tightened at the sound.

At first, it sounded like the bell used in restaurant kitchens to signal that dishes were ready, but soon he realized something was off. Unlike the eerie sounds that seemed to originate from deep within his eardrum, that “ding” seemed to come from his… left arm?

Xu Wang immediately stopped and rolled up his sleeve, but after much effort, he couldn’t lift the tight-down jacket. He patted his arm through the clothing and felt nothing unusual. Still uneasy, he decided to remove half of his jacket, leaving only his thermal sweater, and finally pulled it up to his elbow, exposing his entire forearm.

In the next moment, Xu Wang’s eyes widened, stunned in the chilly wind.

There appeared a diamond-shaped pattern on his forearm, looking like a light-colored tattoo. At the center was the face of an owl, with a character “鸮*” below it, resembling the logo of a mobile app.

*It means owl.

As a real estate consultant who had long battled in the sales office of off-plan properties*, a refined young man who only needed to show owners the model and mark maps for the boss, almost completely shielded from the wind and sun, Xu Wang swore that before being dragged into the quicksand, his arm was as pale as a lotus root. Even more peculiarly, there was now a tiny “1” hanging above the right side of the owl’s face.

*These are properties from which developers are still in the process of developing them. Buyers can sign pre-sale contracts and purchase real estate during this time. Basically, they buy the properties before they are fully constructed.

No young person in the era of smartphones could resist tapping on it.

Absolutely none.

His fingers, both fearful and irresistibly curious, finally touched the owl’s face. The diamond-shaped pattern instantly disappeared, replaced by four options: [Roster], [Stationery Box], [Cheat Sheet], [Report Card (1)].

His forearm was now a horizontal phone screen. The icons were apps, and the options were system menus. The interface was so familiar that Xu Wang seamlessly accessed it, naturally clicking on the source of the new message, [Report Card].

The interface switched, displaying a top message scrolling from left to right: [Su Mingzhan, Tao Anan, Wei Tianhang, Yue Shuai, 3/23 Paper Submission.]

Clearly, that “ding” sound was the notification for this message.

But what is 3/23? And what does “turn in papers” mean?

Below the continually scrolling message were two lists: [Total Score] and [Paper Submission Speed].

Xu Wang wanted to explore more but suddenly felt a breeze at the back of his head!

He wasn’t the type to fall into the same trap twice, so he immediately plunged forward into the snow, motionless as if dead!

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds…

“You only need to play dead with a bear attack, not with me.” A voice holding back laughter came from above him. “Last night was the first time all of us came here, and everyone had varying degrees of panic. Your reaction was certainly the most bizarre among those panics, but there’s no need to feel too embarrassed to face me.”

It was Wu Sheng.

Without looking, just by hearing, Xu Wang could identify that guy’s voice down to the last detail.

Everything was real. The eerie realm, Wu Sheng ten years later, and his confession as if his brain was squashed by a door. Now, Xu Wang’s only wish was for the sky to fall and the ground to crack open so he could crawl into the ground.

Of course, such dejected thoughts lasted only a moment.

In Xu Wang’s dictionary, there was no dead end, only a desperate counterattack. No matter how disadvantaged, he would dance to his own beat and bring everyone into his rhythm to sway together—

“Wu Sheng?!” Accompanied by this genuine shout, Xu Wang sprang up, excitedly grabbing his old friend’s hands, his face full of the surprise of a long-awaited reunion. “Is it really you?!”

The smile froze in Wu Sheng’s eyes, then slowly turned into a look of indescribable complexity. “Are you sure this is what you should be saying today instead of yesterday?”

Xu Wang pretended to ignore it, maintaining his emotional momentum, continuing his “Best Actor journey”. “Aren’t you abroad?”

“Returned to China to start a business.”

“In Beijing?”

“In Beijing.”

Xu Wang paused for a few seconds. The joy that had just bubbled up in his eyes at the news of “Wu Sheng returning to China” was gradually replaced by massive confusion. His voice was devoid of jokes, and only a bewildered concern remained. “Then where… is this?”

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