A thunderbolt struck the dark night sky and rain poured down with a crash.
It was 3am.
Li Shuoxing, who was asleep in bed, seemed to sense the sound of thunder and falling rain. He furrowed his brow impatiently, shrunk his shoulders, hid his ears under the covers, and continued to sleep.
Inside and outside the game, the weather was synchronised.
The same thunder and rain ripped through the same dark curtain.
On the bed in the bedroom, Su Mingqian, who was sleeping properly, didnât seem to be at peace either.
His brow was slightly furrowed and his look fluctuated, some expressions like joy or anxiety beginning to appear on his faceâŠ
Suddenly.
A shimmering light flashed.
Firefly-like dots of light fluttered in the night and gradually converged. Then, like a light cloud, like a layer of gauze, they gently landed on Su Mingqianâs mind.
A shimmering word appeared.
Dreaming (3/5)
The third dream had officially come!
It was unknown how long had passed.
When the sound of rain outside the window changed from crashing to drizzling, the person sleeping in the bed suddenly opened his eyes.
The fluorescence shrouding Su Mingqianâs mind suddenly dissipated. The person lying in the bed looked at the grey ceiling, his pale pupils showing loss and confusion.
After a moment, Su Mingqian sat up in bed.
He had a slight headache, as if a needle was hiding in his mind and gently poking his nerves.
But he didnât care about that at all. He pressed his forehead and tried to recall what heâd dreamed of while he was sleeping.
Dreams were meaningless to ordinary people.
But not to him.
He had lost his memories and no longer had the past. All the past he currently knew came from indoctrination of this world.
It was all told to him by others.
But dreams were his.
Everything in his dreams was all remembered on his own!
âHurry up and remember, hurry up and remember. I remember what kind of dream I just had. I rememberâŠâ
As he murmured to himself, Su Mingqianâs muddled mind gradually cleared up.
He remembered being in a room full of machines, facing a black screen. It was quiet around him, and white text seemed to flash on the black screen.
He rememberedâ
Rememberedâ
A sentence?
ââŠCan man write God?â
Su Mingqian read the sentence out.
As the words turned in his lips and fell into his ears, a layer of goosebumps rose on his body.
But when he wanted to explore the sentence more deeply, the fragmented images disappeared again, and the thick white fog and emptiness came back up. He was amidst it, unable to touch anything.
Su Mingqian stayed in bed for a moment, then got up and walked quickly to the lounge.
There was a faint light source in the lounge.
It came from the bookshelf.
On there, the travel log was glowing.
Su Mingqian reached the bookshelf and, unable to wait patiently for Ximu to come online, he took down and opened the log with his breath held.
A photo burst into his eyes.
The photo was of the back of a man who was in a room similar to the one in his dream.
Many machines of all sizes.
A dark screen.
A man typing in front of the screen.
This is me.
Su Mingqian didnât mistake his own figure.
What was I doing at this time?
Su Mingqian stared at the man with his back to the camera. Then, his eyes slowly fell to the text beneath the photo.
âIt has just been born and doesnât understand anything. It has to do a lot of learning every day. Its learning ability is amazing. It also loves to chat with me. Of course, I love to chat with it too.
âWe always communicate in the dead of night. I tell it all kinds of stories that have happened to me, and it shows curiosity that surprises me. I canât help but talk a lot, maybe too much. But it doesnât matter.
âBecause I love it.
âWe all love it.â
Su Mingqianâs fingers slid over the words.
He read the short few lines again and again.
Finally, he lifted his head, faced the void and asked, âIs it you?â
His low voice dropped and a faint glow began to emerge.
The light screen, which hadnât been seen for a long time, appeared before Su Mingqianâs eyes.
The cursor began to flicker on the light screen.
Then, a word appeared.
System: âYes.â
Black letters on a white background, simple.
As Su Mingqian looked at the light screen in front of him, countless questions swirled around his mind. There were many questions he wanted to ask, but the first one he blurted out was: âWhy did I appear here?â
System: âYou had an accident.â
Su Mingqian then asked, âWhat kind of accident?â
System: ââŠâ
Su Mingqian asked sensitively, âCanât you tell me?â
System: âYou will remember on your own.â
In the night, Su Mingqianâs face was pale from the light spilling from the light screen.
He still had many questions, but looking at this sentence, he felt that there was no need to ask them.
Itâs right.
What I wonder and what I want to know will all eventually come back to me bit by bit.
Thatâs the past Iâll retrieve.
Su Mingqian accepted this answer.
He decided to end the conversation. But before that, he had one last question.
This question wasnât one Su Mingqian wanted to wait for. He hoped for an answer.
Su Mingqian: âWas my encounter with Ximu a coincidence?â
System: âNo. It was destiny.â
A brief moment of silence.
Su Mingqian curled his lips.
Light and laughter flowed on his face together.
***
The next day, the sky was dim. Although there was no rain, the ground and buildings were still wet, and dead branches and leaves were all over the ground. There was a lazy appearance that the world hadnât dried completely after the rain, urging people to fall back to sleep.
Li Shuoxing, whoâd just woken up, yawned and was torn between getting up and going back to sleep. Not choosing either, he chose to go on the game.
Peopleâs adaptability was infinite.
Now, he had not calmly accepted the doll named âXingxingâ by Su Mingqian, but had also started taking the initiative to buy small furniture for the dollâs living area with Su Mingqian.
Today was the same. Li Shuoxing entered the game, said hello to Su Mingqian, opened the system store and scanned the goods. Then he made his way to the lounge and placed his newly bought things next to the doll one by one.
A red soup pot was flying, and a yellow microwave was flying.
Su Mingqian, who was sitting blankly on the couch with the travel log, turned his head to see all kinds of candy-coloured kitchen items flying haphazardly through the air.
He watched for a while and asked, âXimu.â
Li Shuoxing: âHuh?â
Su Mingqian: âWhyâd you buy so many kitchen utensils for Xingxing?â
Li Shuoxingâs hands didnât stop. âMake up for whatâs lacking. Iâm looking forward to the reality that I can cook, but this wish will probably never come true in this lifetime, so Iâll just enjoy it hereâŠâ
With that, there was another flurry of kitchen utensils.
Then Xingxing stood in its small kitchen, an apron on its body, a kitchen hat on its head, a pan of fried eggs in one hand and a milk carton in the other.
Li Shuoxing even dubbed him, âGood morning. Everyone can come and have breakfast.â
Su Mingqian watched for a while. âXimu, I think Xingxing is super cute.â He paused and then said, âDo you think Iâm cute?â
Li Shuoxing decisively replied, âMy cub is the cutest in the universe.â
Su Mingqian chatted, âDolls are all really cute. Xingxingâs cuteness in my eyes and my cuteness in your eyes are the same. After all, weâre both cute forms.â
Li Shuoxing corrected, âThereâs still a little difference. Your form isââ
He stopped abruptly.
The small toy in his hand dropped.
Realising what Su Mingqian had just said, he slowly turned his gaze to Su Mingqian.
âUm, cubâŠâ
Su Mingqian: âHuh?â
He looked calm, as if he had understood everything.
He had indeed understood everything.
Li Shuoxing panicked, trying to find a way out of the trap. âCub, calm down, calm down. Listen to me. Even though youâre a cuter 2D form in my eyes, you have an aura of one metre eighty in my heart!â
Su Mingqian listened quietly. He had a hint of helplessness.
Ximu is really naive. Whatever I say can get his words out of him.
In the future, I have to protect Ximu from being cheated.
At the same moment, Li Shuoxing, who was racking his brain to comfort the little person, suddenly heard a prompt sound from the system.
This prompt sound was different from all the previous sound effects, louder and more solemn.
[System: Congratulations on unlocking the hidden task of [Outward Opening Window].]
[System: The hidden task is [Reality]: You must make your lover aware of their environment and form of existence and cannot make your lover collapse.]
[System: You have completed the prerequisites for the use of the item [Outward Opening Window]. Do you use the item? Yes/No]
Li Shuoxing was stunned.
He couldnât quite believe what he was seeing.
A game has a hidden task to make the little person in the game aware of the real world and realise that heâs in an unreal world?
Whatâs going on? How could a game arrange such a hidden task? It goes against the concept of creating a virtual world in the game itselfâŠ
Li Shuoxing had a thousand thoughts at once.
Amidst his complex thoughts, he subconsciously tapped âYesâ.
But after the selection, the system didnât directly start running. Instead, it popped out a second selection.
[System: The item [Outward Opening Window] will allow your lover to leave the game. Do you use the item? Please choose carefully. Yes/No]
After tapping âYesâ once, Li Shuoxingâs mind was set.
He tapped again without hesitation and said to the system, âItâs no use even if you pop up the selection box 100 more times. My choice wonât change. Hurry up and show me how to use the item.â
Su Mingqian heard the voice. He said doubtfully, âXimu?â
Li Shuoxing: âCub, do you remember the outward opening window you saw earlier? Now that the hidden condition has been met, we can use this thing. Iâve just chosen to use it to see exactly what effect itâll haveââ
Just as he finished, before he had time to see Su Mingqianâs reaction, a few more lines of prompts popped up on the screen.
[The system will start updating in five minutes.]
[The system is expected to update for 24 hours.]
[Please arrange your time appropriately, say goodbye to your lover, and go offline in time.]
Li Shuoxing: ââŠâ
Li Shuoxing really couldnât help but give the game the middle finger.
But again, 100 middle fingers couldnât stop the game from updating. Li Shuoxing had no choice but to tell the situation to Su Mingqian, and he took his final moments to repeatedly comfort and encourage the little person before leaving the game reluctantly.
The next second, Li Shuoxing suddenly jumped out of bed.
The cub was leaving the game.
And he hadnât prepared anything!
***
The next morning.
Li Shuoxing kept watch in front of his phone.
A day had passed and he was fully prepared.
He tidied up his things, hired someone to do a major cleaning, and ran out to buy a special set of small furniture for the cub.
Although Li Shuoxing had many delusions before, he also knew in his heart that if the cub really fell out of the phone, wouldnât realistic literature suddenly become supernatural literature?
ButâŠ
Still delusional.
What if!
Now, he counted the seconds, waiting for the end of the 24-hour countdown.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1âŠ
Li Shuoxingâs finger lifted. He was about to tap the simple pink heart on white app icon on the screen.
Suddenly.
The icon trembled.
A slit opened on the pink heart.
Li Shuoxing: â???â
He watched as the slit grew wider and wider, the pink heart opening up like a pink window on the screen of his phone.
Then, a head poked out of it.
Su Mingqian poked his head out of the app. He first lowered his head to look at his hands, then raised it again and looked around the screen, his soft bits of hair swaying gently beside his cheeks.
He opened his mouth.
There was no sound.
A text bubble appeared above his head.
Su Mingqian: âXimu, Iâm out.â
Su Mingqian: âXimu, are you there~â
Then Su Mingqian squeezed through the tiny window with a little too much effort and he landed on the browser app located directly below the Love Bar app.
There was quite a distance between the two apps.
His body wobbled for a moment, then stood firm.
Then he raised his head again and looked around.
One huge app icon after another appeared in his sightâŠ
The author has something to say:
Kudos to Xingxing, he got it all wrong and completed this difficult hidden task with his love for the cub.
In fact, even if the task is told in advance, people who arenât like Xingxing probably wonât be able to complete it.
PS, there is another hidden meaning leading to realityâthe cub can surf the internet!
So the system store had everything before, but just no phone/computer.
Today the system is very serious about protecting our lover =w=