"Never heard of the Ko Ko Cat?"
"I...I've never heard of it..."
The shop assistant scratched his head, looking puzzled:
"Sir, are you sure you got the name right? We have a wide variety of dolls here. Maybe you could describe the appearance of the doll, and I'll help you find it!"
"Well..."
Lin Xian thought for a moment:
"The expression of the cat is like this."
Lin Xian squeezed his eyebrows and eyes, mimicking the expression of the Ko Ko Cat.
"Oh~~ Got it!"
The shop assistant instantly brightened up:
"Hahaha, I know, sir! We have it right here!"
He led Lin Xian to the center of the store, to the most prominent and largest shelf:
"Look! They're all here!"
The brightly lit shelf in front of them was several layers high, absolutely magnificent!
"Sir, is this the cat you're looking for?"
The shop assistant introduced with a smile:
"This is the best-selling product in our store! This cat has been popular for hundreds of years and is still very popular! However...you did get the name wrong. The name of this cat is—"
"Well, I see it."
At that moment, Lin Xian felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over him, plunging him into an icy abyss.
On the shelf, hundreds of identical cats stared straight at him...
On the signboard in the middle, there were large letters:
Century Bestseller! Century Hot Seller—
[Laiyin Cat]
...
...
In the middle of the night, the square was deserted.
The surrounding shops had all closed, their lights turned off.
Only tireless insects buzzed against the streetlights, while the melancholy chirping of cicadas added a touch of tranquility to the hot summer night.
Lin Xian sat on a bench, feeling like this world didn't belong to him.
It felt so strange.
So out of place.
He opened his palm...
Inside it was a Laiyin Cat keychain.
His money was only enough to buy this.
Every line, every detail of this cat, was exactly the same as the Ko Ko Cat from his dream.
The only difference was...
Its name had changed from Ko Ko Cat to Laiyin Cat.
"Why did it change?"
Lin Xian felt uncomfortable all over, even feeling a bit nauseous.
He couldn't describe the feeling in his heart.
Fear? Terror?
Not quite.
But there was a sense of inexplicable loss, a sense of powerlessness in no longer controlling the situation.
He had always thought of himself as a god in his dreams, able to do whatever he wanted, with the entire dream world revolving around him.
But now...
He thought of "The Truman Show," feeling like a puppet being manipulated.
Boom!!!!!!!!
Boom!!!!!!!!
Boom!!!!!!!!
At 00:42, the blinding white light engulfed the world, burning everything to ashes.
...
...
Phew...
The night wind blew.
Lin Xian opened his eyes.
He saw the semi-transparent curtains dancing in the air.
"Forgot to close the window again..."
He wrapped the blanket tighter around himself, but couldn't block the chill from rising in his heart.
For a dream world that had remained unchanged...change was the ultimate horror!
Lin Xian picked up his phone from the bedside table.
He dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Gaoyang, something's happened."
"What's wrong?" A lively voice came from the other end.
"My dream...it's changed."
"... ... ... ... ..."
"..."
"Good thing!!" Gaoyang's voice sounded excited:
"It means you're getting better!!"
"I've told you before, right? I said if you watch more sci-fi movies, read more sci-fi novels, the world in your dreams will definitely change! Did you dream of a spaceship with two sails?"
"Oh, that's not the kind of change..."
Lin Xian sat up, realizing that the other end of the phone was very noisy:
"Where are you?"
"In a bar watching the game! The Qatar World Cup, wanna come? It's not far from your place."
Lin Xian looked at the clock.
It was past one in the morning.
But thinking back to the chilling experience in his dream...he had no desire to sleep.
"Alright, wait for me a moment."
...
Lin Xian got out of the taxi.
Before entering the bar, he heard the sounds of cheering and excitement from inside, a chorus of cheers!
Looking at the signboard of the bar...this should be a quiet bar for drinking and chatting, but during this Qatar World Cup, they might have organized a football special event.
"Hey, Lin Xian! Sit here!"
Gaoyang squeezed out of the crowd, pulling Lin Xian to a small table in the corner:
"Let's watch here, I'll get more beer."
"No, I didn't come to watch the game."
"Let's chat while watching!"
With that, Gaoyang returned to the crowd...
Gaoyang.
He was Lin Xian's childhood friend.
The two had grown up together, playing in the same courtyard where their parents worked in the same factory.
Maybe it was fate.
From kindergarten, primary school, middle school, to high school, the two were either neighbors or classmates.
Although Lin Xian studied much better than Gaoyang.
Thanks to his excellent sketching score in the art exam, Lin Xian, who was also decent in his academics, was admitted to East Sea University. Gaoyang went to a vocational school in the north.
After graduation, Gaoyang also came to Donghai City to work. He was currently a car salesman at a 4S store.
Lin Xian trusted Gaoyang very much. Even after dreaming the same dream for over twenty years, Lin Xian had only confided in Gaoyang about this matter.
"I'm here."
"I came."
"Cheers!"
Lin Xian and Gaoyang clinked their glasses, and Gaoyang poured them both a glass of beer:
"Let's have a drink to calm down! So, what's going on, bro? What happened?"
Crack!
The clinking of glasses, the cold beer going down, Lin Xian finally felt a bit of reality.
"Well, it's like this, it's kind of long."
Lin Xian put down his glass, using both hands and mouth, to narrate to Gaoyang...
From encountering the Big Face Cat, seeing the Ko Ko Cat mask, then various incidents in the company, to replicating the Ko Ko Cat from the dream, casually naming it Laiyin Cat, and finally returning to the dream only to find out that overnight, everyone had forgotten the name Ko Ko Cat, leaving no trace, and the name of this cat had suddenly become Laiyin Cat.
"Mm-hmm."
"Mm-hmm."
Gaoyang nodded repeatedly, drinking and looking pensive, with a nervous look.
"I understand."
Gaoyang put down his glass, looking a bit dazed:
"In other words, you drew a cat in reality, and then it appeared in your dream."
"You understand nothing!" Lin Xian pounded the table:
"I've been telling you this seriously for so long! And you just understand this little bit!?"
"Ah-ah-ah-woo-woo-ah-ah!!!! Ah-wa-wa-ah!!!!!!"
Suddenly, Gaoyang shouted loudly, jumping up!
Howls and screams!
He smashed the table like a gorilla!
"Damn, you've revealed your true colors!"
Lin Xian stepped back in shock—
Only then did he realize.
Everyone in the bar was dancing and cheering like Gaoyang:
"Goal!!! Awesome!!! Messi is awesome!!"
"Steady! Argentina is steady!"
"King of Football! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!!!!"
...
Lin Xian turned around.
On the bar's projection screen, they were replaying the goal-scoring scene just now.
"You didn't listen to a word I said!"
"Oh, I listened, I listened! Hahaha, I was listening!"
Gaoyang sat back down, smiling as he poured more beer for Lin Xian:
"We've known each other for over twenty years. You've told me hundreds of times about your dreams, but it's always the same old story!
"The point is, why hasn't this dream changed in over twenty years, and why did it change today?" Lin Xian emphasized.
Thud!
Gaoyang finished his beer in one gulp, put the glass on the table, and pointed at Lin Xian:
"It's actually quite simple. Let me tell you why!"