When Lu Ze opened his eyes once again, he found himself in a white expanse. He felt as if he must be somewhere huge, because he could not see the end of the space.
"So, this was the meaning of sleeping to study…" Lu Ze mumbled. He felt like taking a step forward in this white space. As he placed his feet on the ground, he didn't have any dreamy, illusory feeling. The feeling of the ground and the force had no difference compared to reality. However, when his feet touched the ground, a multi-colored ripple originated in the ground, spreading far into distance while giving a strong feeling of science fiction!
At this moment, the system appeared in his line of sight. However, this time, its size was several folds bigger than before. It almost looked like the LED Screen of a huge building.
"Please select a course."
The electronic sound made Lu Ze slightly jump. This was the first time he'd heard the system's sound, and it was nothing sweet like he'd imagined. It almost sounded like a "polyp" voice..
First time choosing a course, he directly entered some facial control course without giving it much thought, hoping to see something interesting. Even as he browsed through the course contents, he felt that this "Old Person's Movement And Expression Emulation" was relatively more interesting. He was dying to know what the hell was an emulation technique.
After confirming his choice, the interface disappeared, leaving behind a loading bar. The loading rapidly reached 100%, and the white space instantly darkened, as if turning off a room's light. Then, a huge red-colored 3 appeared in the space.
"Loading complete, preparing to enter "Old Person's Movement And Expression Emulation" course. 3..2...1…Course initializing."
During the countdown, the space shook every time the numerals popped out, undoubtedly heightening Lu Ze's mental state. Once the countdown reached 1, the space brightened again.
"Welcome to the course. You have twelve hours to spectate. Study earnestly."
Lu Ze didn't know why he would feel dazzled by the sudden brightening of an imaginary space. Once he adapted to the brightness and opened his eyes, he was instantly stupefied...Is this really an imaginary space?
"Wii!"
A car sped past across the road as Lu Ze blankly stood on the pedestrian crossing, watching the scene before him. This…was no different from a real city.
White-collars were moving by rapidly while talking on the phones. A group of children were running around the street while dragging balloons that were flying high in the air. There were also package delivery boys, food delivery boys—the whole place exuded a strong liveliness.
In the next moment, Lu Ze couldn't help but suddenly turn around and see an old man slowly walking on the zebra crossing. This old man immediately gave a sense of familiarity to him. 'Hold on! Doesn't this old man look unusually similar to me? Is this the old version of me?'
The old man was wearing a pair of ordinary sneakers, black-colored gym pants, and a faded gray jacket. Although he was somewhat hunchbacked, he looked quite spirited.
The old man walked increasingly far away from him. Suddenly, Lu Ze discovered himself flying. He floated in the air, following the old man and watching his every movement. The old Lu Ze went to the park and played chess for two hours. Perhaps he was feeling a little unwell due to sitting for too long, so he poked his own lower back a few times.
He took out an old phone and looked at the time: It was already eleven thirty. Soon afterward, he arrived at the market and began purchasing some vegetables. Watching to this point, Lu Ze began to somewhat doubt life itself. 'When I am old, will I really be this much of a miser?'
"How much for half a kilo of tomatoes?"
The vegetable stand's boss knew old Lu Ze. He replied with a chuckle, "Uncle Lu, these are fresh tomatoes delivered today. For you, I'll make it twenty four jiaos. What do you say?"
"So expensive, ha.... don't want it."
"Uncle Lu! Tomatoes' rates have increased! You haven't seen coriander's price, right? They have increased to seventeen! What can you do?"
"Then…then give me two small ones, just enough to make a dish. Also give me agaric for twenty jiaos and eggs for fifty jiaos. How much for chicken eggs?"
"Chicken eggs are currently forty five jiaos, also expensive, eh!"
"I'm looking at these chicken eggs of yours. How are they so expensive? They look stale. Make it cheaper...I'll take them for forty…"
Watching his old self, Lu Ze felt his cheeks contorting as he suddenly recalled a line he'd once seen.
'If I became old like this, please beat me to death.'
Although the old Lu Ze was not that far gone yet, he'd indeed fallen. He'd purchased vegetables worth less than ten yuan and still made the boss put in a spring onion. Seeing the helpless expression of the boss, Lu Ze truly wept without tears.
The old Lu Ze returned to his home while carrying the vegetable bag. His home was on the fourth floor of an old building with no elevator. He was, after all, old; climbing the stairs was too strenuous for him. He pulled his weight up by exerting on the railing. By the time he reached home, his forehead was completely drenched in sweat.
He took off his old jacket, revealing the blue colored sports vest underneath. Switching on the radio and listening to a Pingshu broadcast, he sat on the sofa and fanned himself.
Looking at the black-white photo hanging on the wall, Lu Ze realized that his old self's partner had passed away. When he saw the unfamiliar woman's photo on the wall, Lu Ze was suddenly struck with a frightening feeling. 'Don't tell me that my old life will really turn into this lonely old guy?'
Once the Pingshu broadcast was finished, he switched off the radio and turned on the television, switching to Beijing Opera. He stood up from the sofa, sliced the tomatoes, cracked the eggs open inside them, and added a bit of spring onion, making tomato-scrambled eggs. He added it to cooked rice that seemed to be cooked yesterday instead of today morning. Then, he sat by the small tea table and ate in silence.
After eating, he immediately washed the bowl. Lu Ze chuckled on seeing that, feeling that this old guy was quite diligent.
In the evening, he received calls from his children. It seemed they were quite filial, except for not returning home. The old Lu Ze smilingly talked with them in return and also heard a few words from his grandchildren. In the late evening, he ate dinner and left for a walk. Greeting the old guys and ladies familiar with him, he arrived at the park where elders were playing with spinning tops. Unfortunately, the old Lu Ze didn't have one.
He returned back at seven o clock and conveniently took out three plastic bottles from the trash can. Back home, he washed his face and rinsed his mouth before he switched on the table lamp, reading the already worn out copy of Romance of Three Kingdoms.
Everything was so peaceful and natural, yet so solitary and desolate. This was precisely the life of an ordinary old man in his late years. As Lu Ze watched, he felt uncomfortable from within. Then again, how could he not feel uncomfortable?
Lu Ze understood that this guy was not him: the era clearly didn't match. However, seeing a face that was exactly his except for the age, he couldn't help but feel a peculiar sensation and a strong empathy.
Living such a life, perhaps he could spend one day in leisure or two, but what about a year or two years? He would go mad from the banality.
Before heading to bed, Old Lu Ze burned incense for his late wife and went to sleep. With eyes closed, his mouth hummed an unknown folk tune. Right at this moment, the twelve hour observation concluded, and old Lu Ze's home turned into a dark space again.
"Observation concluded. Current session's evaluation is 82 points, passed."
'This is it? Seems like I've learned nothing except watching an old man go about his day? Apart from watching an old man frolick for a day, what did I learn?' Lu Ze thought, feeling a little contempt toward the system. 'This was completely useless! Can I ask for a refund for this course?'
However, the system's next words made his eyes completely dull.
"Entering phase one simulation. Run time, twelve hours. Get ready, host. 3...2...1…"
The red-colored countdown again popped out, and the space began to shake again as Lu Ze yelled out in panic, "I'm not ready yet! Hold on! Why is it twelve hours long? Hold on! F*ck your grandpa!!!"
"…"