In the deep of the night, sitting before his computer, Bai Tan stared blankly at the screen.
He suddenly understood very clearly why the female protagonist in his writing would become so frenzied that she birthed a logic completely contrary to that of ordinary people after losing everything.
At the moment he was rejected by his father, a wicked impulse to take revenge on society also sprouted within him.
Evil stems from audacity; human beings are driven to desperation step by step in this manner.
However, he could not bring himself to do it.
His parents were unwilling to be responsible for him, but he had to be responsible for his own life; a rotten peach cannot simply be cast away like a worn-out shoe and left to continue its decay.
Bai Tan heaved a sigh, pulled himself together, and continued tapping away at the keyboard.
“Ding-dong ” A WeChat small window popped up as someone messaged him.
It was a message from Teacher Mei:
I saw that you’ve become Huo Yang’s official assistant, congratulations, congratulations~ Bring me an autograph.
Bai Tan smiled and replied:
I’ll help you get one, but I didn’t know you liked Huo Yang so much before.
Teacher Mei:
It was only after you mentioned him that I was monitored by big data. It started frantically pushing Huo Yang’s videos to me, and as I clicked and watched, I became hopelessly obsessed. [Laughing-Crying Emoji]
As Teacher Mei spoke, she sent over several photos:
I even went to Xianyu Idle Fish to collect many of Huo Yang’s photocards! Good heavens, his photocards are sold at such high prices; even second-hand ones cost several hundred yuan.
Bai Tan glanced at the Huo Yang photocards on his own bookshelf.
Before becoming his assistant, he had also collected two from Xianyu; they were the cheapest ones, yet one still cost over eighty yuan.
He promised Teacher Mei that he would help her get an autograph in the next few days and mail it to her.
Before going to sleep, Bai Tan casually opened Xianyu, wanting to hunt for a more ergonomic keyboard. Just as Teacher Mei had said, big data was truly terrifying; he didn’t see any keyboards, but his homepage was densely packed with Huo Yang’s merchandise.
Suddenly, a piece of Huo Yang merchandise priced at 10,000 yuan compelled him to click in and investigate.
With a price comparable to gold, could it be that this merchandise was also made of gold?
As it turned out, it was just a type of merchandise called a “Liquid Quicksand” photocard. This involved adding a layer of film to the outside of the photocard, then encasing it in a gorgeous transparent shell injected with a certain liquid. The liquid was filled with sparkling glitter and tiny star and heart fragments.
When the photocard was turned upside down, the golden shimmering liquid would slowly drift down. It was indeed beautiful…
But at a price of ten thousand yuan, it was surely a trap to play with a little fool’s money.
In the item description, the seller clearly stated that this card was the 5th Anniversary Debut Commemorative Edition for Huo Yang, with only ten existing globally; she had also spent a great deal of money to snatch it brand new.
Huo Yang, as depicted on the card, was seated in an old palace of medieval style. His fingers were full of a relaxed elegance as he held a dark green pocket watch. His gaze was directed out the window, and under the intense contrast of light and shadow, his features appeared even more three-dimensional and distinct.
There was a breathtaking sense of beauty.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
Bai Tan pressed his hand against his chest, wondering if something was wrong with his heart, as it kept racing.
Although this photoshoot was rare, ten thousand yuan…
He did not want to be a fool.
He closed Xianyu and closed his eyes to sleep.
He tossed and turned like a pancake on a griddle until after two in the morning. Finally, he opened his phone and, as if possessed, clicked back into Xianyu.
He clicked “I want it.”
Hello, may I ask if this liquid quicksand photocard can be any cheaper? Expectant Emoji]
The seller, who was awake in the middle of the night, seemed to be waiting exactly for someone with more money than sense.
No bargaining.
Bai Tan checked his bank card balance.
Sixteen thousand yuan.
Twelve thousand of that was his salary from his internship period.
Do not ask him why he hadn’t saved any money despite writing books for so many years; the answer was that his works were flops, and he loved to shop.
In a fit of passion, he listed all the jewelry his mother had designed, which he had bought previously, on Xianyu.
He didn’t realize until he looked that even selling them second-hand could recoup one or two hundred thousand yuan.
So that was where all his money had gone.
Only…
Looking at the item information he had meticulously edited, Bai Tan felt a sourness in his heart.
He knew what he ought to do, and he understood that this impractical affection should have been let go of long ago.
But even a stone would grow warm after being held for so long, and he could not bear to sell them let alone these pieces of jewelry that he meticulously wiped clean every day.
In the end, he took down all the listings. Gritting his teeth, he purchased that liquid quicksand photocard for ten thousand yuan.
A few days later.
Bai Tan ran all the way to the courier station.
Before even reaching home, he tore open the package halfway.
The photocard, which had a significant weight to it, shimmered brilliantly under the sunlight.
The outer crystal shell was also extremely well-made, looking like a naturally formed semi-transparent stalactite, carrying the weight and sturdiness of nature. The deep blue color complemented the medieval style background in the card perfectly.
Bai Tan couldn’t put it down; he touched it and kissed it.
Finally, he asked the owner of a watch repair shop to help him drill a hole in the top of the shell, as he wanted to hang it on his keys.
“Boss, be careful!”
As soon as the boss moved the needle, Bai Tan immediately cupped his hands underneath, letting out a cry of alarm.
The boss gave him a sidelong glance, showed absolutely no mercy, remained fully concentrated, and the drilling needle pierced through it fiercely!
Bai Tan’s heart was bleeding, and his mouth slumped into a wavy line.
It was unclear whether he was distressed over the ten thousand yuan or the fact that the outer shell of the photocard now had a flaw.
He picked out a particularly beautiful pocket watch chain, and thus, the liquid quicksand photocard was hung onto his keys.
He brought it with him when eating, brought it when coding, and even hung it on the mirror to admire while showering.
If one were to say he was enshrining it, that wouldn’t be inaccurate.
He even sentimentally used mermaid-sheen mesh to make a little sleeping nest for the photocard, carefully placing it by his pillow.
He sank deeply into a dream.
Bai Tan, who usually had excellent sleep quality and a night free of dreams, had a very strange dream today.
He dreamed of a scene that looked like a riverbank or a wetland. Water was everywhere, with only a very narrow path along the shore for him to walk on.
He walked along the damp, muddy ground of the riverbank for a long time, but he could never seem to walk away from this river, as if he were constantly turning in circles.
Until his foot slipped and he fell into the river.
In the dream, he was surprised to find that he could actually breathe underwater.
Floating at the bottom of the water, countless koi carp swayed their tail fins as they passed by him.
Suddenly, a giant-sized koi carp swam toward him; it was about the same size as a human. It made a gurgling sound and then opened its bloody maw toward him.
Bai Tan was very afraid and wanted to run away.
However, he found that the koi carp had no intention of harming him; instead, it spat something out of its mouth.
It was round and bright, bobbing up and down in the water.
Bai Tan reached out and caught the object to observe it closely.
He originally thought it was some kind of rare treasure, but after seeing it clearly, he found it was just a grape.
The koi continued to swallow and spit, and countless grapes emerged from its mouth, densely pressing Bai Tan into the bottom of the river.
The koi’s mouth continued to open and close incessantly. Following the current, Bai Tan heard a shrill voice:
“Giving them to you, giving them all to you.”
Bai Tan woke up with a start.
His back was drenched in sweat.
As he first woke from the dream, his consciousness had not yet returned. In a daze, he wondered:
Can koi carp speak?