9:00 PM.
Just after finishing work, Gao Yang arrived at Lin Xian's house and flopped down directly onto the sofa.
"Alright, Lin Xian, spill the beans. What's the deal?"
Lin Xian sat opposite the coffee table and began to recount everything from his infiltration of Big Face Cat in the dream, to learning about the true cause of Big Face Cat's daughter's death, to discovering the mysterious organization that killed Cat Dad called the Genius Club, to Big Face Cat robbing a bank to get an invitation from the Genius Club, and then later seeing the invitation to the Genius Club at the front desk when he was at work.
"Mm-hmm."
"Mm-hmm."
Gao Yang nodded incessantly, drinking water, looking pensive, with a tense expression.
"I got it."
"You got it again?"
Thud.
Gao Yang put down his glass of water, looking serious as he stared at Lin Xian.
"Simply put, it's all about the subconscious."
"The subconscious is the scapegoat, isn't it?"
Lin Xian couldn't help but quip, "When in doubt, quantum mechanics? Can't explain it, parallel dimensions? After I've explained everything to you seriously for so long, you still use the term 'subconscious' to brush me off?"
"It's not the same thing!"
Gao Yang interrupted Lin Xian, explaining, "Last time at the bar, I was in a hurry to watch the World Cup, so I didn't explain it clearly to you. But actually, the subconscious is much more complex than you imagine!"
"Please keep it simple."
"Many times, you see things, hear things, then forget about them. But did you really forget? Not really! Your subconscious remembers for you. That's why you often have a feeling of déjà vu, a sense of familiarity in life."
Lin Xian got up and waved his hand, "You're talking nonsense. Go write novels, I don't want to hear it."
"This isn't mysticism!"
Gao Yang pulled Lin Xian back to the sofa and held out his index finger, "Let me give you an example!"
"Go ahead."
"Have you ever heard a song, a melody, and felt it was very familiar, like you've heard it before, but you just can't remember when?"
"That does happen."
"Have you ever seen a stranger and felt like you've seen them somewhere before? Have you ever looked at a strange scene and felt a sense of déjà vu?"
"Well...sometimes."
"Every day on the subway to work, you encounter many people, and you've had many classmates since childhood. You've clearly seen their faces, but can you accurately recall the appearance of each person now? Not long ago, can you remember the passengers on the subway this morning?"
"No, of course not. Who would remember?"
Smack!
Gao Yang slapped his thigh! Pointing his index finger at Lin Xian's forehead.
"That's it!"
"Human memory is actually very unreliable. The farther the memory, the more unreal it becomes. But the subconscious is different!"
"Many things, you forget, but the subconscious doesn't! Including people you've seen, music you've heard, places you've been. So, you often have a strange sense of familiarity, feeling like you've seen, heard, or been there before."
"So, let me sum it up—"
"You must have heard the name Genius Club somewhere before! Whether it's whispered gossip in the elevator or an advertisement flashed by on the subway...you've definitely heard it, so you dreamt about it."
Lin Xian looked at Gao Yang puzzledly, "Where did you learn all this? What subconscious déjà vu...you're making it all sound so professional."
"Hahaha, about that."
Gao Yang rubbed his stubbled chin, "I learned it from that psychologist friend's social media. Remember? I showed you her social media last time."
Lin Xian didn't dwell on this point anymore, "But your explanation doesn't even answer my core question...I'm not bothered by dreaming about the Genius Club, but rather, why do things from my dreams appear in reality?"
"I've only dreamt about the Genius Club last night, only heard about the invitation from Big Face Cat, and it was right in front of me this morning! Do you think that's reasonable?"
"Very reasonable."
Gao Yang took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, and exhaled a puff of smoke, "Many people have had precognitive dreams, but it's mostly just a coincidence."
Lin Xian couldn't help but smirk, "Is there such a thing as a coincidence that's this coincidental? In my dream, I've already set up the background story of the Genius Club!"
"And the calculus textbook in my dream, I've seen it too. The formulas inside are exactly the same as the calculus textbook in reality. You know I've never studied calculus in college. You can't say my dream is more powerful than Gauss, can you?"
"So what?" Gao Yang shrugged, unimpressed, "Do you think your dream can accurately predict the future? Or do you think your dream is the real world of 600 years in the future?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I did wonder."
Both looked at each other, neither speaking.
"Fine."
Gao Yang lit a cigarette with a lighter, then reached into his pocket.
"You said your dream can predict the future, right?"
"I just said it's possible."
Snap!
A small red and white piece of paper was slapped onto the coffee table by Gao Yang.
"What's this?"
"A football lottery ticket," Gao Yang exhaled a puff of smoke, "Tonight at 3 AM, the semifinal of the Qatar World Cup, Argentina vs. Croatia."
"Go and dream now, find out the result of this match in your dream. When you wake up at 00:42, tell me who won!"
Gao Yang tapped his ashtray and smirked, looking at Lin Xian.
"You said your dream is the 'real world of 600 years in the future,' right? So give it a try!"
Lin Xian picked up the lottery ticket.
It said: "At 3:00 AM, Argentina vs. Croatia. This 100 yuan ticket bets on Argentina winning, with odds of 2.3. If Argentina really wins, this ticket can be redeemed for 230 yuan."
Indeed.
If he wanted to test whether his dream could accurately predict the future...a lottery ticket was the best evidence, more convincing than anything else.
"Okay, I'll give it a try."
Lin Xian turned to the bathroom to do some quick grooming:
"Keep the noise down in the living room so you don't disturb me while I sleep."
"Be careful!"
Gao Yang shouted from the living room, "Take note of the score! If we directly bet on the score, the odds are higher, and we'll earn more!"
"...Don't get your hopes up too high about finding out in your dream."
"You can check online on a computer in the dream! This kind of thing can be found online in one second."
"I've tried it before. What do you think I've been doing for over 20 years?"
Lin Xian rinsed his mouth, spat out the toothpaste foam:
"Since I first learned about lottery tickets in junior high, I've been dreaming of finding a computer in my dream to search for the Double Color Ball numbers from back then."
"What was the result?"
"I couldn't find anything!" Lin Xian said as he applied face wash, "Not just for the Double Color Ball, but any current affairs news or stocks from our era... I couldn't find anything. The internet in my dream is useless. I couldn't find any useful information."
"I see..."
Gao Yang tore open a snack packet, turned down the volume on the TV:
"In theory, information on the internet can be permanently stored, so there shouldn't be no trace at all. But...thinking about it, your dream is ultimately a fictional world, so it makes sense."
"I don't think my dreams are that simple. There's too much beyond my cognition in them."
"Facts speak louder than words! Go and dream now!"
After finishing his grooming, Lin Xian entered the bedroom.
He turned off the lights, got into bed, and wrapped himself in the blanket:
"Here we go."
Whoosh!
A familiar summer breeze blew by as Lin Xian opened his eyes.
Still the familiar square, the familiar hustle and bustle, the familiar cicada chirping.
Lin Xian looked at the familiar crowd in the square, the electronic display showing the time:
[August 28, 2624]
[21:54]
"Mm..."
Lin Xian scratched his head:
"The results of the 2022 Qatar World Cup...where should I look?"