Chapter 14 Return to the Real World
Lin Qiushi continued forward, the light growing increasingly intense, blinding him. Fortunately, the path beneath his feet was flat enough that it wasn't too difficult for him to walk.
Just as Lin Qiushi was contemplating how much longer he had to walk, he suddenly felt dizzy. He reflexively closed his eyes and tried to hold onto the wall beside him, but unexpectedly, he actually touched an icy wall. The stinging coldness made Lin Qiushi open his eyes and take in the scenery before him.
An ordinary corridor, ordinary residents, pale white light projected from the small lampshade above his head, everything around him was so familiar - he was actually back in the corridor of his own home.
He's back? Lin Qiushi was momentarily bewildered, unsure what to do next. After pondering for a moment, he pulled out his phone from his pocket.
On Friday, July 17th, at 8 o'clock in the evening, he returned to the point where he left this world.
Lin Qiushi remembered it clearly. On the evening of the 17th, he and his friends had a midnight snack together. When he was about to go out, he saw an indescribable scene after pushing the door open.
The corridor, where ordinary residents once stood, was now filled with twelve black iron doors. Lin Qiushi was horrified by the sight. He stood in the corridor for a long time, even thinking he was hallucinating. But the cold touch of the iron doors told him it wasn't an illusion. Lin Qiushi surveyed his surroundings and discovered that all other possible exits from the corridor had vanished, even his own home.
There was no end in sight in the dark corridor, and the silence was like a worm, gnawing at one's soul.
Lin Qiushi began to try to open the iron door. However, the door in front of him was completely sealed, and he couldn't budge even a little bit. Lin Qiushi tried one door after another until he reached the last one.
The door was opened easily.
The moment he opened the door, Lin Qiushi felt as if his body was being pulled hard by some force, and then he fell into the door. The next moment, he appeared in that terrifying little mountain village.
And now, Lin Qiushi was back, once again in his own hallway. He stood there for a long time, even wondering if he had just had a strange dream. Suddenly, he remembered something and reached out to touch his earlobe and pocket... There indeed appeared a small earring and a white slip of paper.
At this moment, Lin Qiushi finally realized clearly that he was not dreaming, but had experienced a story even more terrifying than a nightmare.
The cell phone suddenly rang. Lin Qiushi picked it up and saw that it was a call from a friend.
"Hey, Lin Qiushi, what are you doing?" The friend's name was Wu Qi, Lin Qiushi's colleague. "Why haven't you come downstairs yet?"
Lin Qiushi was dazed for a moment before realizing that Wu Qi was waiting for him downstairs so they could go eat together. He checked their chat history and realized that only a quarter of an hour had passed. If calculated in real time, he had only been in the village for fifteen minutes.
"Lin Qiushi?" Wu Qi was a little puzzled. "Why aren't you talking?"
"Oh, it's okay," Lin Qiushi said. "Something delayed me just now. I'll be right down."
Wu Qi said okay and hung up the phone.
Lin Qiushi hurried downstairs. It was the height of July, the temperature scorching. Although it was already eight o'clock, the sun had not yet set, its fiery glow tinting the horizon a beautiful crimson. Pedestrians strolled leisurely by, fanning themselves. Everything was vibrant with life.
Lin Qiushi's tense body gradually relaxed. Wu Qi was standing at the gate of the community. Seeing him coming, he quickly waved at him and said, "You're too late today. If you don't know, you might think you've put on makeup."
Lin Qiushi smiled but didn't respond.
The two men talked as they walked, their destination being a barbecue restaurant near the community.
Wu Qi complained that there were too many mosquitoes in Lin Qiushi's residential complex. He was bitten terribly after standing for half an hour, and even exposed his calves for Lin Qiushi to see.
Lin Qiushi took a quick look and said, "There's too much hair to see."
Wu Qi: "Fuck, you think I'm too hairy? If it weren't for this little bit of hair, I wouldn't have been able to wait for you for so long."
Lin Qiushi: "...Thanks for your hard work, okay? I'll treat you tonight."
Wu Qi: "Okay, okay."
The barbecue restaurant was doing a booming business. The two ordered some skewers and a case of beer, then started eating and chatting.
Wu Qi asked Lin Qiushi, "Are you really planning to resign and return home?"
Lin Qiushi: "Ah?"
Wu Qi was puzzled: "What happened to you tonight? You're not in the right state? Didn't you call me out just to talk about this?"
Lin Qiushi took a sip of cold beer and said vaguely, "It's okay, I just had a nightmare this afternoon and I haven't recovered yet." He was still thinking about what happened inside the door, and he had a vague premonition that this matter was not over yet.
"Oh." Wu Qi said, "You've been feeling really bad recently. Have you been to the hospital for a checkup?"
Lin Qiushi said, "We've checked it, but the report isn't out yet."
Wu Qi sighed, "In our line of work, things are prone to accidents. Did you know that the director resigned a few months ago? It seemed like it was because he almost died suddenly."
Lin Qiushi said, "Hmm..."
The two were chatting when suddenly there was a loud noise nearby, like a car accident. The barbecue restaurant was located on the street, with the main road outside. When the diners heard the noise, some stood up, while others tilted their heads to look outside. Wu Qi's seat was by the window. He glanced out the window and said in surprise, "There's been a car accident."
Lin Qiushi stood up and followed the crowd to the door, where he could clearly see the source of the loud noise.
It turned out to be a private car that crashed into a tree. No one knew how fast the car was going, but the entire front of the car was smashed to pieces.
It looks like the people in the driver's cab are in great danger.
Someone nearby called 120 for help, and the police car and ambulance arrived soon.
Wu Qi was a carefree guy. He ate roasted pig heart while watching the fun. He said with gusto, "This guy must have been speeding. To have a car crash like this, he must have been going at least 100 mph."
Lin Qiushi disagreed: "This is a downtown area, how can you drive at a hundred miles per hour?" Besides, it was Friday evening rush hour, and there were cars everywhere, so it was unlikely that they could drive at that speed.
"I don't know." Wu Qi said, "Stop looking. Come back. The grilled fish you ordered is here."
Lin Qiushi nodded. Before turning around, he glanced toward the scene of the accident. This glance almost made him think he was seeing things. The man in the accident was being carried out of the driver's seat by the police. He was a bloody mess, but his clothing looked familiar to Lin Qiushi.
He thought carefully for a moment, finally remembering where he had seen this outfit before. When they first entered the mountain village, before anyone else had changed into winter clothing, someone in their group seemed to be wearing this outfit. Lin Qiushi remembered that person's name...it seemed to be Zhang Zishuang.
Lin Qiushi suddenly felt cold all over. He didn't dare to continue watching and turned back to the barbecue restaurant, but he had no intention of continuing to eat.
Wu Qi: "What's wrong with you? You've been daydreaming all night."
Lin Qiushi shook his head.
Wu Qi: "And when did you get your earrings?" He reached out to touch them, but Lin Qiushi instinctively dodged. "Wow, you've changed. You used to let me touch them."
Lin Qiushi: "Fuck, what did I ask you to touch?"
Wu Qi: "You forgot that night..."
Lin Qiushi knew that Wu Qi was about to start talking nonsense again, so he quickly interrupted him and said that the earrings were newly pierced and a little painful, and he was afraid that they would get infected if touched with dirty hands.
Wu Qi gave up at this point, but he was still a little bothered and asked her why she wanted to wear earrings. Was she planning to fall in love?
Lin Qiushi: "Who should I choose to date in a room full of grown men? You?"
Wu Qi said shyly, "Don't be so direct like this, let me think about it, okay?"
Lin Qiushi said mercilessly, "Get lost."
The two of them joked around as darkness approached. On any other day, Lin Qiushi wouldn't have been bothered by the darkness, but today, having just returned from that place, he felt a bit uneasy at the sight of darkness. Furthermore, he was still reading the words on the note, so he said he wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home early.
Wu Qi did not stop him and told Lin Qiushi to have a good rest, saying that he looked really bad recently.
The two said goodbye to each other at the gate of the community, and Lin Qiushi hurried back home.
Taking out the key and opening the door, Lin Qiushi breathed a sigh of relief after entering the house. He turned on the light in the living room and saw his cat, Li Zi, sitting obediently at the entrance, meowing at him.
“Li Zi!!” Lin Qiushi rushed over and wanted to hug it, but Li Zi turned around, showing a disgusted expression, and walked away with its chubby butt twisted.
Lin Qiushi: "Li Zi... let daddy hug you."
Li Zi: "Meow~" It jumped lightly onto the cat climbing frame that Lin Qiushi made for it, looking down at its owner.
Not letting him hug her again, Lin Qiushi sighed.
Li Zi is a two-year-old lion cat. Although he looks quite majestic, he has a very good personality. He is usually well-behaved and clingy, and is very good at whining and acting coquettish. He is Lin Qiushi's favorite little baby.
But recently, for some reason, Li Zi started to dislike Lin Qiushi. Not only did she not let him hug her, she also started to prick up her ears and even breathed at him. If Lin Qiushi tried to hug her by force, he would definitely get hurt.
Lin Qiushi couldn't understand why. Li Zi's attitude had at least improved today; he stopped trying to get at Lin Qiushi. With another sigh, Lin Qiushi looked at his ancestor and decided to take a bath before deciding what to do.
The author has something to say: Others: When I return to the present world, I must enjoy life to the fullest. Lin Qiushi, what is your biggest dream?
Lin Qiushi: Just... pet the cat again?
Ruan Baijie excitedly pulled down the zipper of his pants: If you can't pet the cat, you can pet me!
Lin Qiushi: ???
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