After returning home, Lu Mingze stared at the mirrored phone case in his hand in a daze. His face was reflected in the phone case. It was unclear whether he was staring at his own face or at the person who gave him the phone case.
The experiences of the past four months were probably the most eventful period in his otherwise ordinary life.
He suddenly fell into a coma, and domestic and foreign experts could not find the cause of his illness. He was eventually diagnosed as a vegetative state and could only be awakened by a miracle.
Then, after two or three months of coma, the functions of various organs in the body began to recover on their own, starting from the digestive organs and all the way to the muscles. There was no special or extraordinary treatment, and it was all due to self-recovery.
Half a month ago, late at night, Lu Mingze woke up as if he had just woken up. His parents were so excited that they sent him abroad that night and found the world's most authoritative brain expert for treatment. After more than ten days of hard work, the conclusion was that he had recovered as before, without any sequelae. Even his body muscles had recovered on their own. It was a miracle among miracles.
The foreign doctors insisted on keeping him in the research institute, which frightened Lu's parents so much that they quickly arranged for a private plane to send him back.
These days, Lu Mingze has been cooperating with the treatment obediently. When the doctor and his parents are not around, he silently turns his head to look out the window, acting like a quiet handsome man, bewitching the nurses.
For Lu Mingze in the past, looking toward the window meant observing his own reflection and sighing, "I'm so beautiful." But this time, Lu Mingze wasn't looking at himself, and his silence wasn't fake. Instead, he stared aimlessly into the distance.
Ever since he woke up, he felt a void in his heart.
Whenever it's late at night and everyone is asleep, I feel inexplicably lonely and my heart is empty.
Lu Mingze reached out and touched the edge of the bed. He was the only one on the big bed. He opened his eyes in the dark and said a few words unconsciously, but got no response because he was the only one in the room.
Lu Mingze didn't have this habit in the past, but after waking up, he always felt that there was someone by his side, inseparable.
But, no.
The missing four months seemed to have brought him many habits that he had never had before, but he had been in a coma the whole time, so how could he have developed these habits?
On the plane, Lu Mingze looked at the clouds outside the window and finally confirmed one thing: he had lost something very important.
It's a feeling of wanting to cry but not being able to say why you want to cry. It's very uncomfortable.
Lu Mingze thought that if this condition did not improve after returning to China, he would arrange for psychological counseling. It was probably the sequelae of being in a coma for too long.
After getting off the plane, Lu Mingze thought that the airport was far away from home, so he went to the bathroom.
A tall man was standing in front of the bathroom sink. He had his back to Lu Mingze, but when he saw Lu Mingze's reflection in the mirror, he turned around with a look of surprise and restraint, took off his phone case, and put it in Lu Mingze's hand.
He said his name was Xing Ye.
Lu Mingze was stunned. He had received many gifts in his life, but never something so shabby as this: a used phone case!
But why did he accept the phone case for no apparent reason?
Was it because his face in the phone case was so pretty? Or was it because the person who gave it to him was not ugly? Or was it because of the deep eyes that seemed to contain so many words?
Another possibility is the name Xing Ye.
During his treatment abroad, Lu Mingze occasionally heard his mother mention Xing Ye's name. She said leaving overnight was too hasty and she didn't know what Xing Ye was thinking. His father also fell silent when he heard the name, as if he was struggling with something. In the end, he just said, "Tell Xing Ye when you'll return, and then don't stop the two children from dating."
Lu Mingze remembered Xing Ye, the big brother who had held him in his arms nine years ago, protecting him from the kidnappers. When he had accompanied his father to the hospital to visit Xing Ye, he had seen the big brother's face, disfigured by the beatings he had endured. He had cried helplessly, deeply worried about his disfigurement.
So, did Xing Ye come to visit him again when he was in a coma?
Xing Ye, a name that sounds very safe.
Lu Mingze accepted the phone case and heard Xing Ye say to him, "This time it's too hasty. I will visit you tomorrow."
Then Xing Ye waited for him to come out of the bathroom, and followed Lu Mingze to meet Lu's father and mother. He greeted his parents very politely, agreed on a time to visit the next day, looked at Lu Mingze deeply again, and left with restraint.
He was very imposing, but Lu Mingze was not afraid of him. Instead, he instinctively felt that Xing Ye could bring a sense of security to people.
On the way home, his mother looked at Lu Mingze with a troubled expression. After holding back for a while, she asked, "Do you still remember Xing Ye?"
"I remember." Lu Mingze answered seriously, holding the mirrored phone case in his hand.
Then the mother sighed quietly and whispered to herself, "Let nature take its course."
Lu Mingze didn't know what to say. His mind was a mess. He really disliked the phone case. It was so old, but he couldn't bear to throw it away.
He knew in his heart that the moment he took the phone case, the void in his heart was filled.
Eyes, ears, and even memory can deceive, but feelings never do. The moment he saw Xing Ye and received the phone case, Lu Mingze knew he was happy. That heartfelt joy compelled him to accept this most inexplicable gift ever, clutching it the entire time, reluctant to let it go.
Why is this happening? Lu Mingze lay on the bed, staring at the mirrored phone case, curious about his own heart.
I always feel that after he fell into a coma, his heart no longer completely belongs to me.
Lu Mingze looked around but couldn't see anything special about the phone case. He compared it and found that the case was the same size as his phone, so he simply put it on his phone.
The moment it was put on, the phone case lit up, and the mirror image that originally reflected Lu Mingze changed, revealing a QR code.
What kind of technology is this?
Lu Mingze was stunned.
Xing Ye, who had met him once nine years ago, gave him a QR code through a black-tech mirror phone case?
During college, Lu Mingze had a classmate confess his love for him using a QR code. Scanning the code would display the words "I love you." Could Xing Ye be confessing her love to him? Thinking about it this way, the older mirror surface didn't seem to be a problem. After all, the QR code was applied using advanced technology, and it was quite thoughtful.
Lu Mingze became inexplicably excited. He took out another mobile phone and scanned the QR code on the phone case.
A prompt pops up on the phone: Player x8205 invites you to join the additional level of "Challenge Destiny Game", do you accept?
Huh? They even designed a mobile game for it? It's pretty fun.
Lu Mingze clicked "Yes" and then he felt dizzy. He found himself rapidly decomposing the data. Before he could call for help, it was reassembled in a white space. In front of him was a pure white Rubik's Cube with two small white wings.
Like a little angel...
Lu Mingze was not afraid. Instead, he felt that this scene was somewhat familiar, as if he had experienced it countless times in the past.
He stretched out his finger and tapped the white Rubik's Cube. The Rubik's Cube said "ouch". Why is it itchy again?
The phone has turned milky white, and five thin white bracelets appear on the wrist. The first bracelet has five black horizontal lines, the second bracelet has three, and the rest have only one horizontal line.
There is a name on each bracelet. The first one is Xing Ye, the second one is Cao Qian & Linlin, followed by Guan Ling, Yan Hebi, and Qian Jinlai.
These... all sound like names? Xing Ye is also here? Lu Mingze poked Xing Ye's name, wondering where did you get this game from, and why did you invite me in?
White Cube said, "Player Lu Mingze, please select your player camp on your phone."
Are there still factions?
Lu Mingze opened his phone and saw two options:
a. People who are favored by fate
b. People who fight against fate
Of course, the choice is "the one favored by fate". Lu Mingze clicked option a without thinking. However, the moment his finger touched the screen, option a turned gray and he was not allowed to select it!
Lu Mingze asked in confusion, "What's going on? Is the only option B?"
The White Cube said mechanically, "Players, please choose your camp."
Lu Mingze: "...That's not right. Are you still forcing a sale? If you don't want to choose, then don't give this option."
White Cube: "Players, please choose your camp."
Lu Mingze: "…"
At this moment, he felt a burning sensation on his wrist. He looked down and saw that the five horizontal lines on the bracelet engraved with "Xing Ye" had turned into four.
A horizontal line disappeared...
Lu Mingze looked at his phone again. The moment option a disappeared, the horizontal line on Xing Ye's bracelet disappeared.
He was stunned for a moment, and an idea popped into his mind: Was it Xing Ye who helped me eliminate the wrong options?
I inexplicably felt like I was being protected.
Lu Mingze obediently clicked "b", and a dialog box popped up on his phone: Player Lu Mingze has selected a camp and is now generating a number. The player number is x8888. Congratulations to player Lu Mingze for winning an account with a one in ten thousand probability, and his luck value is +99%.
Lu Mingze: "?"
What was the original luck value?
He opened the "Challenge Fate" app that suddenly appeared on his phone, and saw that the basic rules on it stated that players with favorable fate had a luck value of 99%, players with unfavorable fate had a luck value of 1%, and player x8888 had a luck value of 100%.
"I'm a player who defies fate, but my luck is higher than those who follow fate?" Lu Mingze asked the Black and White Cube in confusion, "Am I cheating?"
Lu Mingze should have been afraid of this strange space, but he wasn't. Whenever he felt a little scared, he would touch the bracelet and he wouldn't feel scared anymore.
This time he looked at the bracelet again and asked doubtfully, "Is this a cheat you guys gave me?"
The bracelet is not responding.
White Cube said: "Please choose the game mode."
A dialog box appears on the phone——
Welcome to the additional level "Journey to Find Memory". Please choose the game mode:
a. Only retrieve your own memory
b. Recover your own and your teammates' memories
Note: Option b is 5 times more difficult than option a.
Lu Mingze asked, "It's so difficult, will I die? Your game looks very dangerous."
White Cube said, "There is only one additional level. During the game, the real world time remains unchanged. If you fail or win the game, you will return to the real world. There is no danger to your life. The reward for winning the game is a memory. If you fail the game, you will forget the memory of this game."
"So did I really lose a memory?"
Lu Mingze recalled the feeling of a missing piece in his heart over the past half month. He stretched out his finger and clicked option B to regain his memories of himself and his teammates.