Shrouded Seascape

The bus stop became livelier and livelier as more and more day students joined the waiting crowd. When the bus for Route 13 pulled in, the students charged forward, scrambling for the empty seats.

There were more people than seats, so others had to stand on the bus.

"Old Gao, let me have the seat, all right? I pulled an all-nighter last night. I'm feeling weak and dizzy. Cough, cough, cough!"

"Want to sit? Call me Daddy, then. Hehehe. Ah, shit, you actually dare to sit on my lap, you punk!"

While the two were busy fighting each other for a seat, the bus slowly came to a halt. The bus doors opened, and a few more students got on the bus. One of the students was a young woman with long, straight, black hair, and she had a face that caught Anna by surprise. The young woman looked exactly like Anna.

Pushing his best friend off his lap, Gao Zhiming shot up his seat and offered, "Jiajia, come sit here."

Upon sensing everyone's gaze on her, the young woman looked down shyly and proceeded to sit in Gao Zhiming's seat.

The bespectacled young man next to Gao Zhiming raised his thumb and made a throat-slitting gesture at Gao Zhiming, but the latter ignored him.

Just like that, the bus went on its way again. Gao Zhiming held onto one of the bus' grab handles, and he was like a knight protecting a princess as he quietly shielded the young woman next to him, ensuring that others wouldn't bump into her.

Zhao Jiajia tucked her hair behind her ears, and then she took out white in-ear headphones from her bag. She put one of the speakers in her own ear and tapped the other on the back of Gao Zhiming's hand.

Anna revealed an aunt-like smile at the heartwarming scene and remarked, "Oh, this young couple's such a nice sight. I have to say—it's a wonderful memory, even though I fabricated it myself."

The bus eventually stopped at the school gates, and the students rushed out like a deluge. Their goal was to arrive in their classroom before the school bell rang.

It seemed that the dreamland couldn't process a large chunk of Charles' memories, as the dream immediately cut to the next scene, which was at the end of the class.

The sight made Anna mutter to herself, "This guy doesn't seem to have any single pleasant memories about studying. I guess he isn't the studious type of person."

Gao Zhiming and his classmates walked shoulder to shoulder toward the bus stop outside the school. A chubby young man with a face covered in acne looked up at the starry sky between the towering buildings. "Ah, it really is exhausting to be a high school student. I wish I could go back to elementary school."

"Exhausting, my ass! The teachers have already given up on you. How are you even exhausted?"

The chubby young man glared at the bespectacled young man in dissatisfaction. "Do you really think I'm having fun spending so much time every day in a spot where it's difficult to even turn around? That place is worse than jail!"

"I don't want to go back to elementary school," Gao Zhiming chimed in. There was a look of longing in his eyes as he added, "I want to grow up quickly, get through high school, go to college, and live in a place where my family can't reach me."

"Have you seen those reels about the lives of college students online? They're living such colorful lives! Damn it, I feel like our lives are worse than the lives of slaves in ancient times."

The four students proceeded to envision their own futures using the topic that Gao Zhiming had brought up.

The freckled-face chubby young man clenched his fists tightly and said with determination, "My dad said that he'll give me a laptop once I'm a college student. I'm going to learn programming and become a hacker."

"I want to start dating! I want to lose my virginity!"

"I don't have such unrealistic dreams. I don't want to do anything. I just want to be able to sleep eight hours every day! I want to sleep!"

Upon hearing his classmates' thoughts, Gao Zhiming fell into deep contemplation before finally saying, "I don't know what I want to do in the future, but I feel like I can do many things. I guess I want to do whatever I want. I like that feeling of freedom."

"I know what you want to do," the bespectacled young man next to him revealed a lewd smile and remarked, "I'm not sure about anything else, but I know one thing for sure—you definitely want to get a room in a love motel with Zhao Jiajia."

"Fuck off," Gao Zhiming retorted. His face was a bit flushed as he kicked the bespectacled young man's leg.

The group fooled around until they reached a supermarket. The four of them went into the supermarket and opened the refrigerator, taking out their own beverages to drink.

The others chose Coke, Sprite, and Wong Lo Kat, but the chubby young man with a face covered in acne picked up a can of beer.

"Great choice, Fatty. Trying to act cool by drinking alcohol now?"

The chubby young man pulled the tab and took a big gulp of the beer, frowning slightly before quickly swallowing it down. "Ah, I'm with a bunch of little brats who don't even know how to drink."

"It's just beer, so what's the big deal? You're already acting all high and mighty just because you drank beer? I'll have you know that I could already play drinking games with my dad when I was just six years old!" the bespectacled young man exclaimed. He snatched the can of beer and forced himself to take a big swig of it.

The beer was passed around, and it eventually reached Gao Zhiming's hands. He tilted his head back and took a big swig as well, and his face instantly scrunched up like a steamed bun.

The others pointed at him and laughed out loud upon seeing his wrinkled face.

"What are you guys laughing at? What's so good about this stuff? It's bitter and astringent. I wouldn't drink this even if you paid me to drink it," Gao Zhiming remarked.

The chubby young man snatched it back and took another big swig. Then, he put on a profound air as he remarked, "It's all because you haven't grown up yet, you brat. You'll understand it once you've grown older."

Charles was stunned at the chubby young man's words. He seemed to have recalled something as everything around him collapsed. The streets, the vehicles, and even his classmates began to peel away.

A table with a bottle of hard liquor appeared in front of Charles.

The table was familiar, and Charles realized that he was inside the Captain's Quarters of the Narwhale.

The noises unique to the modern era had vanished and had been replaced by the crashing of ocean waves against the ship's hull, and the bright street lights had contracted rapidly until they transformed into a swaying oil lamp.

The young Gao Zhiming aged rapidly, and scar after scar manifested across his face. Amorphous organs sprouted all over him, and the cursed whisperings of the gods began to echo from the outside world.

Charles was about to wake up.

However, Anna sitting next to him didn't want him to wake up just like this.

If Charles were to wake up now, he'd wake up from a nightmare.

Anna waved her hand, and the surroundings peeled away. Charles found himself inside his former home once again, and he enjoyed the tranquility of his past and the warmth of his family.

Anna stood quietly on the side and watched as Charles went to an internet cafe with his family, fought his sister over random things, and celebrated the New Year with his family.

In the end, Charles finally opened his eyes and emerged from his dreamland. He looked down and saw Anna quietly nestled in his arms with her fair cheek pressing against his chest.

Recalling the beautiful dream just now, Charles lowered his head and kissed her lips. "Thank you. I was about to forget what those moments felt like."

Anna opened her eyes and looked at Charles in surprise. "You knew I was controlling your dreams? How did you know? Were there any flaws?"

"My dreams have only been nightmares since I found myself in the Subterranean Sea, and this dream was just wonderful—too wonderful to be a real dream."

Anna stared deeply at Charles and said, "Do you miss your family on the surface world? Do you want to go back to the surface world? Let's use that wish to become gods, and then the two of us will find a way to go back there.

"I'll go with you to the surface."