Chapter 43
Jiang Lan said she was going to take a nap, and after lunch she went back to her room.
Lying in bed, I took out my phone, which had been vibrating incessantly while I was eating, and opened it. The mercenary group chat showed 99+ in the upper right corner.
Jiang Lan opened the chat box, and at the top was a notification: Everyone stop investigating the Dream Maker's true identity. From today onwards, no one is allowed to investigate the Dream Maker's identity information!
Scroll up to find the official investigation report of the accident from a few days ago:
It has been confirmed that all three deceased were mercenaries from the same Dream Cube, and all three died simultaneously from sudden heart attacks. The cause of the accident is highly suspected to be an uncontrollable rule-based erasure within the Cube, leading to the simultaneous death of their physical bodies in the real world.
It is reported that in the months before their deaths, the three frequently met across regions to exchange information about the dream makers of their respective Rubik's Cubes. One of them was a senior professional in the field of information intelligence in the real world.
The group integrated information and investigated it one by one in the real world. During the investigation, they may have alerted the Dream Maker, arousing the Dream Maker's suspicion and defense. Ultimately, they were eliminated by the rules in the Dream Cube.
A mercenary asked in the group chat, "Does the Dream Weaver actually know about their own special abilities?"
Someone replied, "They might know, they might not. The dream maker sensed a threat, but what that threat was, and where it came from, are all unclear, yet the Rubik's Cube intervened. Throughout the entire process, the dream maker's autonomy was completely invisible; only the Rubik's Cube's urgent need to protect the dream maker was apparent. Therefore, it's impossible to determine whether the dream maker was aware of their special nature."
Jiang Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief after a morning of worry. The authorities had explicitly prohibited it, and the risk of death was enormous. The risk of the dream maker being exposed was close to zero. Regardless of whether Xiao Ming was a dream maker or not, this was a good thing.
The worries and fears disappeared from Jiang Lan's heart, and shock and disbelief slowly filled her mind.
My wife is a dream weaver?!
Jiang Lan, who was rolling around in bed, heard a knock on the door. She calmed herself down, tidied her hair, and went to open the door.
Before the door was even opened, Xiaoming pushed hard and squeezed in, then slammed the door shut behind him.
Xiao Ming looked at Jiang Lan's face: "You seemed distracted while eating. Is something wrong?"
Jiang Lan's fluctuating emotions finally calmed down. She pulled Xiao Ming to sit on the edge of the bed and carefully examined her, as if she were only getting to know her today.
"Nothing's wrong, I just think my wife is really beautiful."
Xiao Ming was puzzled by the stares and touched his face: "Unsolicited kindness is either a sign of ulterior motives or theft, huh?"
Jiang Lan had something to ask Xiao Ming, but she swallowed the words back. She decided not to ask and to pretend she didn't know.
Xiao Ming had a feeling that Jiang Lan was hiding something from him, but since he didn't say anything, she didn't ask any further. Everyone has their own secrets, and she had things she was hiding from him too, didn't she?
Seeing that it was almost time, those who were still at home changed their clothes and prepared to go out, while Zhou's parents had already gone to the hotel.
The older sister-in-law even did some light makeup for Xiaoming. Xiaoming's hair was tied up in a bun, and she wore a red dress. The older sister-in-law pulled her around and looked her over: "She's beautiful and has a great figure!"
She then called her son over: "Come on, take a picture of Mom and Auntie."
Zhou Zaiming urged from outside, "Hurry up and come out. Stop taking pictures. We've hired people from the town's photo studio to take your pictures. You'll have yours taken later."
Xiao Ming came out of the bedroom and saw Jiang Lan dressed in a black suit and white shirt. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Handsome!"
Then he asked Yuan Yuan and her sister-in-law, "Right?"
Yuan Yuan and her sister-in-law nodded in agreement. Yuan Yuan then said to Xiao Ming with a serious expression, "You have to keep an eye on your uncle, and make sure he doesn't cheat on you with someone else."
Zhou Zaiming scolded his son, "Your aunt and uncle are having a banquet today, what nonsense are you spouting!"
Jiang Lan smiled and came over to pat Yuan Yuan's head: "Don't worry, your uncle will spend his whole life with your aunt, he won't cheat on you."
Yuan Yuan nodded: "That's good. A man's word is his bond." Then she turned to Xiao Ming: "Then you can't cheat on your husband, Aunt. You have to live a good life with Uncle."
Xiao Ming smiled and agreed.
His sister-in-law, both amused and exasperated, said to him, "Good son, no wonder your aunt takes care of you every winter and summer vacation."
Zhou Zaiming drove the family to the hotel. Jiang Lan got out of the car and realized that the tallest building she had seen in the morning was the only hotel in town.
Xiaoming and Jiang Lan stood at the entrance of the hall, greeting the relatives who were arriving one after another.
Uncle and Aunt's family also arrived. When Aunt saw Xiaoming at the door, she looked at Jiang Lan next to her, came over, took Xiaoming's hand, and smiled, "I was urging you to find someone last year during the Spring Festival. I didn't expect you to find someone so quickly. Your son-in-law is also very handsome. Xiaoming, you have good taste."
Xiao Ming smiled and said, "I know my uncle and aunt are worried about me, so I have to work hard myself."
They then introduced Jiang Lan to their relatives, and Jiang Lan greeted them one by one.
After answering their relatives' questions about their age and hometown, the relatives finally let them sit down slowly.
Because it wasn't a statutory holiday, many relatives who work away from home didn't come back, so only six tables were set up.
After Jiang Lan and Xiao Ming finished toasting at each table, they went to the main table to eat. The subsequent socializing was left to Zhou's parents, and the two of them just ate and drank.
After the banquet ended and the guests left, Zhou Ma asked Xiaoming and his sister-in-law to clean up the remaining wine, fruit, melon seeds, and peanuts.
Zhou's father had drunk a bit too much, so Jiang Lan took him home. Zhou Zaiming drove relatives who didn't have transportation home.
It was already past eight o'clock when they got home. Zhou's mother told Jiang Lan and Xiaoming to wash up and go to their rooms early. Xiaoming's room had been newly decorated, covered with red double happiness symbols, and the bedding was a brand new bright red four-piece set.
Xiao Ming remained calm when urged to return to his room, while Jiang Lan seemed a little embarrassed.
Although Jiang Lan had been at Xiao Ming's house for a night, she had not yet entered Xiao Ming's room.
Xiao Ming's house is a single-story house, so privacy isn't very strong. Jiang Lan only saw Xiao Ming's room from the outside. He felt embarrassed to go into Xiao Ming's room because he knew his elders might see him at any time.
After washing up, I went into Xiaoming's room and found it decorated in bright red, which was very festive.
Xiaoming's room is very ordinary, with a wardrobe, a bed, a desk with a bookshelf, and a dressing table.
The bed must be new; it still smells of wood mixed with paint.
Jiang Lan looked at the photo album on her desk, then picked up a yellowed book from the bookshelf and started reading.
When Xiaoming entered the room, he saw Jiang Lan sitting on the bed reading a book, seemingly engrossed in it. He didn't disturb her, but instead lay down on the bed and looked at the messages on his phone.
Jiang Lan put down her book, still somewhat engrossed, and leaned on Xiao Ming's shoulder, who was scrolling through his phone next to her: "Wife, what time is it?"
"A little past ten o'clock. Finished watching?"
"Hmm. I checked the publication date, it's from the 1970s. How come you have such an old book?"
“These are my grandfather’s books. He loved reading all his life. After he passed away, my grandmother kept them for him, and then she passed away, leaving them all to me. Many of his books survived turbulent times, so not many have survived. Are you interested in this kind of thing?” Xiaoming pointed to the book in Jiang Lan’s hand.
"Very interesting. It's a first-person narrative, and it seems like all these bizarre and fantastical stories are based on the author's personal experiences."
"That's right, the stories here are based on the author's personal experiences."
How did you know?
“My grandfather said it, my grandfather and my grandmother said it, and then my grandmother told me.”
Seeing Jiang Lan looking at him with surprise, Xiao Ming smiled and said, "The world is a big place, full of wonders. There are always some strange people and events in places you don't know about."
"Was your grandfather also an extraordinary person?"
"I don't know, maybe so, after all, I've never met my grandfather."
"Have you heard anything about how your grandfather was different from ordinary people?"
"No, he was just an ordinary person. He was in poor health and not even sixty years old. He was framed and died of grief."
"ah?"
"Yes. He was quite accurate at fortune telling, warning others to avoid disaster, but they repaid kindness with enmity. He was essentially killed by his own kindness."
Jiang Lan thought to herself, "So Xiaoming comes from a family with a strong academic background."
"Do any other members of your family have your grandfather's fortune-telling skills?"
"No, this isn't inherited; it's an innate talent. If it's destined to be yours, then it is."
"Why didn't your grandfather keep this skill a secret?"
"Keep it a secret? Back then, that was a skill that could make a living. The more people knew, the better, because a good reputation led to business. But now it has to be kept secret. With today's advanced technology, if you really have something extraordinary about you, you might be asked to cooperate with an investigation."
"Yes, that's right. We should be careful to protect ourselves if we encounter people with bad intentions."
Xiao Ming, upon hearing Jiang Lan's seemingly pointed words, seemed to realize something and squeezed Jiang Lan's hand.
"Go to sleep. We need to get up early tomorrow to visit our hometown and pay respects at the ancestral graves."
Jiang Lan didn't know where she was. Everything was gray and hazy, and even the trees and grass in sight were gray-green.
I stood alone on the bank of a stream, surrounded by complete silence.
He couldn't help but look down at the water, but before he could see anything, he heard someone call his name: "Jiang Lan".
Jiang Lan turned her head to look behind her: "Xiao Ming."
He was a little puzzled. How did he seem to know all along that Xiaoming was behind him?
Xiao Ming walked over, took his hand, and said to him, "Hold on tight."
As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out and grabbed a branch to help him float up to the top of the tree. When he reached the canopy, Xiaoming stopped and looked around as if trying to find his way. Then he chose a low, rocky hill and floated away.
Jiang Lan wondered if this was what wingsuit flying felt like, because Xiao Ming floated to the top of the mountain and then started gliding down the mountainside from another direction, skimming along the vegetation.
Xiao Ming pulled him to a stop on a hillside with two small houses. Below them was a valley with several tall, old-looking sycamore trees.
Where is this?
"My childhood paradise."
"But this place is so overgrown with vegetation, do you have many friends to play with here?"
"I'm playing here all by myself, without any companions. There are many wildflowers and grasses in the valley below that you can't find anywhere else. They bloom in clusters during the Qingming Festival, and they're very beautiful."
There's a kind of purplish-blue wildflower with blossoms shaped like butterflies. When the wind blows, it looks like a cluster of butterflies fluttering in the air. I like to pick the flowers and stick them on broken bamboo branches. My grandmother doesn't let me bring these flowers home, saying they only bloom in shady places.
"Shall we go down and take a look?"
"good."
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