"..."
"..."
Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere at the scene was somewhat awkward.
"Actually..."
The woman was the first to break the silence:
"Ever since I saw you impersonating me in the square and following Big Face Cat into the car, I thought you were crazy."
"Is the misunderstanding cleared up now?"
"Now I'm even more certain!"
Lin Xian spread his hands helplessly:
"So in other words, you still don't believe me, right? But since you came to steal Lin Xian's safe, you must have investigated him, right? Don't you know what he looks like?"
Lin Xian pointed to his own face:
"Take a good look at my face and compare it with the photos from your investigations. See if they're the same."
The woman shook her head:
"I've never investigated the owner of this safe, and I don't know what Lin Xian looks like."
Lin Xian was speechless.
He had never imagined… proving himself to be himself would turn out to be such a difficult task.
"However, it doesn't really matter who you are."
The woman spoke again:
"If you can really help me open the safe, I might as well tell you the answer."
She crossed her arms, looking at the combination lock without any clue:
"If it were an electronic lock… I could crack it in a few minutes."
"But unfortunately, what we have here are mechanical locks with 8-digit codes. Neither brute-force attacks nor sound-based methods can break it in a short time."
She turned her head to look at Lin Xian:
"So I don't care who you are; you could be anyone. But as long as you can open this safe, you're my partner."
"Deal."
Lin Xian extended his right hand in friendly agreement.
Although he wanted to coax the answer out of her first.
But now there was no way to prove that he was Lin Xian… Having nothing of value to bargain with, he had to compromise.
"What should I call you?"
"CC."
The woman reached out and gave Lin Xian a high five:
"Just call me CC."
Lin Xian found that the characters from his dreams never seemed to have normal names.
"What's your plan?" CC looked at Lin Xian.
"Let's start with the dates of my adult life. We can try each significant date one by one."
...
...
Lin Xian racked his brains, coming up with dates after dates related to himself.
CC tried each one.
But no matter how hard Lin Xian thought, he couldn't figure out the correct password.
"Was my mom's birthday just now... still wrong?"
CC shook her head:
"Why not try your grandma's birthday?"
"I really don't know my grandmother's birthday."
"Can't you hear that I'm being sarcastic? You've just tried the birthdays of all your aunts, and even your dog's! Can't you think in a different way?"
CC looked at Lin Xian, baffled:
"Why does it have to be a date? With an 8-digit code, isn't there any other possibility?"
Lin Xian waved his hand:
"It must be a date, trust me. Just by looking at the structure, I can tell it's a date. It's a habit I've always had for setting passwords."
"Are you assuming that you're thinking as Lin Xian?"
"I'll reiterate once again," Lin Xian said, exasperated:
"I'm not assuming I'm Lin Xian; I am Lin Xian! Can't you keep quiet and not interrupt my thinking?"
"Heh, you sure have a strong sense of identity!"
CC snorted with laughter:
"Those dates you mentioned just now are all from hundreds of years ago. If I truly had no other choice… I wouldn't be here listening to your nonsense! Are all your relatives hundreds of years old demons?"
Lin Xian closed his eyes…
His hands continuously rubbed his hair.
Think.
Think harder.
What could it be…
What dates have I not yet considered?
Lin Xian felt his brain was overheating, even running on overdrive.
But all the dates he could think of, all related to him, he had tried…
And none had opened it!
This made Lin Xian doubt himself.
Was this really his safe?
But this was his dream!
In his own dream, could there really be someone else's safe?
Lin Xian remembered what his good friend had told him.
"[Nothing that you haven't perceived can appear in your dreams.]"
So.
This 8-digit password!
It must be in my memory!
What haven't I thought of?
What have I forgotten?
What else is hidden?
Click!
With a crisp sound of an electrical circuit connecting—
Woo ah! Woo ah! Woo ah! Woo ah!
Piercing alarm sounds erupted all around!
The main circuit's been restored! It's an automatic alarm!
"Fuck!"
Lin Xian's heart raced! He kicked the safe furiously.
"Think faster!!"
CC shouted.
The blaring woo ah woo ah of the alarm! It was as nerve-wracking and irritating as the countdown of a bomb!
"I am thinking!"
Lin Xian scratched his scalp relentlessly:
"I can't think of anything!"
His head felt like it was about to split open!
Brain overload!
Lin Xian felt the whole world spinning!
It was like being thrown into a constantly rotating Rubik's cube, with memories flashing by like the flickering channels of a television set.
"If you can't figure it out, the police will be here! I really shouldn't have trusted you!"
Lin Xian squinted to check his watch:
[00:41:27]
It wasn't just the police to worry about now... Only 33 seconds left in the dream.
"Are you capable or not!" CC screamed:
"Where are all the fine words you said earlier!"
"Stop yelling!"
Woo ah! Woo ah! Woo ah! Woo ah!
Noise! Alarm sounds! Ringing in the ears!
Lin Xian's head was about to explode!
The cube of memories spun faster!
Countless sealed memories burst forth like flood beasts!
The scenes in front of him blurred as if he were looking at a rapidly changing view!
Lin Xian felt dizzy and disoriented!
The deepest buried secret in his heart was abruptly uncovered!
"I used to like a girl..." Lin Xian held his forehead, gritting his teeth as he spoke.
"What's wrong with you! I don't have time for your love stories!" CC roared amidst the alarms!
"She was my deskmate…"
"I! Don't! Want! To! Listen!"
"I freaking don't want to say it either! Isn't this all for your sake?!" Lin Xian yelled back, pointing at the safe:
"19990707! Her birthday!"
Lin Xian felt like a clown.
His most secretive secrets, his final layer of privacy, had been ripped away!
"Hurry up!"
Click, click, click.
CC swiftly dialed the combination. She punched the lock hard!
It didn't open.
"The password is wrong!"
Woo ah! Woo ah! Woo ah! Woo ah!
[00:41:47]
"20150609!" Lin Xian shouted, covering his ears!
"What's that date?! Don't tell me it's the day you confessed!" CC's voice was hoarse with effort amidst the noisy alarm!
"Damn it, stop guessing! Just enter the password!"
"Done!"
[00:41:56]
CC gritted her teeth!
She put all her strength into it, striking the lock fiercely!
Bang!
...
It didn't open.
Lin Xian's body went limp all of a sudden, dizzy and vision blurry.
The last thing he saw was CC in front of the safe.
Through the blurred vision…
CC turned her head.
Her resentful gaze pierced straight to the soul—
"Liar."
[00:42:00]
Boom!!!!
Boom!!!!
Boom!!!!
A scorching white light suddenly flashed, consuming everything…
...
...
Twelfth lunar month.
Early winter, in the wee hours.
In the clean and tidy bedroom.
Lin Xian opened his eyes…