Chapter 9 Change

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"Haven't you heard of Keke Cat?"

"I... I've never heard of it..."

The salesman scratched his head, looking puzzled:

"Sir, are you sure you've got the right name? Our store has a very complete selection of stuffed toys. Maybe if you describe what the toy looks like, I can help you find it!"

"Well..."

Lin Xian thought for a bit:

"It's just, the cat's expression goes something like this."

Lin Xian contorted his face, mimicking Keke Cat's expression.

"Oh~~ wow!"

The salesman's face lit up with a smile:

"Hahaha, I know what you're talking about, sir! The toy you're looking for is right over here!"

He led Lin Xian toward the most central, conspicuous, and largest shelf in the store:

"Look! They're all here!"

The shelves before them sparkled under the dazzling lights, towering a good dozen layers high! Opulence at its peak!

"Is this the cat you were talking about, sir?"

The salesman said with a smile:

"This is the best-selling product in our store! This cat has been popular for several hundred years and it's still very much in demand! However... you did indeed remember the name wrong, the cat's name is—"

"Yeah, I see it."

At that moment, Lin Xian felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him.

Two huge speakers nearby were playing bewitching music.

On the shelf, hundreds of identical cats stared straight at him...

In the middle of the billboard, in huge letters, it read:

Century's blockbuster! Best-seller of the age—

[Rhein Cat]

...

...

The plaza was deserted in the early hours of the morning.

All the surrounding shops had turned off their lights and closed up.

Only tirelessly buzzing insects hitting the street lights and the mournful cries of cicadas added a touch of tranquility to the sultry summer night.

Lin Xian sat on a bench, feeling that this world did not belong to him.

It was so unfamiliar.

So out of place.

He opened his palm...

In it, he held a Rhein Cat keychain.

The money he had was only enough to buy this.

This cat, every single thread, every adornment, every detail, was exactly the same as the Keke Cat in his dreams.

The only difference was...

Its name had changed from Keke Cat to Rhein Cat.

"Why did it change?"

He couldn't describe the feeling inside him.

Fear? Dread?

That wasn't quite it.

But there was a distinct sense of being lost, a feeling of no longer being in control.

He had always thought of himself as a god in the world of dreams, able to do whatever he wanted, with the entire Dream World revolving around him.

But now...

He recalled the plot of "The Truman Show," feeling like a plaything kept in captivity.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At 00:42, a white light that swallowed the world arrived punctually.

Ablaze with everything.

...

...

Whoo...

The night wind picked up.

Lin Xian opened his eyes.

He saw the semi-transparent curtain dancing wildly in the air.

"Forgot to close the window again..."

He wrapped the blankets tighter around him, but couldn't ward off the chill that rose from his heart.

For a dream that never changed... change was the utmost horror!

Lin Xian picked up the cellphone from his nightstand.

He dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Gao Yang, something's happened."

"What's up?" The person on the other end was alert.

"My dreams... they've changed."

"..."

"..."

"That's great!!"

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On the other end of the phone, Gao Yang was overjoyed:

"This means your condition is improving!!"

"Didn't I tell you before? I said if you watch more sci-fi movies and read sci-fi novels, the world in your dreams would definitely change! Did you dream of a two-dimensional foil spaceship?"

"Ah, it's not that kind of change..."

Lin Xian sat up, hearing the noisy chaos from the other end of the phone:

"Where are you?"

"At the bar watching the game! The Qatar World Cup, wanna come? It's not far from your place."

Lin Xian glanced at the clock.

It was past one in the morning.

But recalling the changes in his dream... he was already devoid of any urge to sleep.

"Alright, wait for me a while."

...

Lin Xian got out of the taxi.

Before even entering the bar, he could hear the uproar inside, a chorus of cheers!

Looking at the bar's sign... This should be a quiet pub meant for drinking and chatting, but with the Qatar World Cup going on, they probably turned it into a football special.

"Here, Lin Xian! Sit over here!"

Gao Yang squeezed through the crowd with his belly in front, pulling Lin Xian to a small table in the corner:

"Let's just watch from here, I'll go grab some more beer."

"No, I didn't come to watch the game."

"We can talk while we watch!"

With that said, Gao Yang's hefty figure twisted back into the crowd...

Gao Yang.

He had been Lin Xian's good friend since childhood.

Both of their parents were coworkers in the same factory and they were born in the same residential compound.

Later on, it might have been fate.

Kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, the two were either in neighboring classes or in the same class as classmates.

It's just that Lin Xian did much better in his studies than Gao Yang.

Thanks to his excellent performance in drawing during the art exams and decent academic grades, Lin Xian got into East Sea University. And Gao Yang went to a college in the north.

After graduation, Gao Yang also came to Donghai City to strive for a living, currently working as a car salesman in a 4S shop.

Lin Xian still trusted Gao Yang a lot; even having had the same recurring dream for over twenty years, Lin Xian had only ever discussed it with Gao Yang.

"Here we go!"

Gao Yang, cradling beers, sidled over and placed them on the table, popping open a few:

"Have a beer to calm your nerves! Spill it, brother! What exactly happened?"

Crack!

Their glasses clinked, and with a swig of the ice-cold beer, Lin Xian felt a touch of reality.

"It's like this, it's a bit of a long story."

Lin Xian put down his beer glass and gestured with his hands as he spoke, telling Gao Yang...

About the random encounter with Big Face Cat, seeing the Keke Cat mask, then all sorts of things at work, copying Keke Cat out of the dream, casually naming it Rhein Cat, and then returning to the dream to find out that overnight, everyone had forgotten the name Keke Cat, as if it never existed, and the name of this cat, just like that, unceremoniously became Rhein Cat.

"Mhm, mhm."

"Mhm, mhm."

Gao Yang kept nodding, drinking, staring blankly as if deep in thought, with a look of concern on his face.

"I got it."

Gao Yang put down his glass, his gaze hazy:

"So, you're saying you drew a cat in real life, and then it appeared in your dream."

"You didn't get a damn thing!"

Lin Xian slammed the table repeatedly:

"I've been seriously telling you this for so long! And that's all you've understood!?"

"Ah, ooh, aah, aahhhhhhhhh!! Ahh, wah, wah, ahhhhhhhh!!!"

Suddenly, Gao Yang leaped up, screaming!

Howling like a banshee!

He pounded the table like a wild gorilla!

"Damn, you've just revealed your true colors!"

Lin Xian recoiled in shock—

That's when he noticed.

Everyone in the bar was just like Gao Yang, gesticulating wildly:

"It's in!! Brilliant!!! Messi, you're the man!!"

"It's set! Argentina, you rock!"

"King of Football! Ahhhh!!!"

...

Lin Xian turned around.

The large screen projecting at the bar was replaying the goal that had just been scored.

"You haven't been listening to a word I said!"

"Oh, I've been listening! Hahaha, listening, really."

Gao Yang sat down again, chuckling as he filled Lin Xian's glass with beer:

"We've known each other for over twenty years. I've heard you talk about your dreams so many times, it's always the same thing, over and over!"

"The point is, why hasn't the dream changed for over twenty years, and then it suddenly changed today?" Lin Xian emphasized.

Thud!

Gao Yang downed his beer in one gulp, setting the empty glass on the table, and pointed at Lin Xian:

"Actually, it's quite simple, I'll tell you why!"