I Was Once a Legend

In the third month after confirming the relationship, Cui Zuojing moved to Dong Zheng's residence.

His rented house is a bit far away from the company. With Dong Zheng, the two of them can commute to and from work together every day without paying the monthly rent of [-]. The living conditions have improved exponentially. Although they are already in a relationship, Cui Zuojing I am also ashamed to eat other people's houses and live in other people's houses, so I have to bear the water, electricity and property costs.

Of course, the property fee in the community where Dong Zheng lives is not cheap, but compared with the rent, I don’t know how much cheaper it is.

Time just passed by day by day.

Working, eating, sleeping, holding hands, hugging, kissing... For most people, there will not be too many thrilling and O. Henry-style twists and turns in life, but it is this ordinary warmth that makes the two of them feel happy. I feel very happy.

At 11:30 in the evening, after Dong Zheng finished washing, Cui Zuojing was leaning on the bed and reading a book waiting for him. He was not used to wearing pajamas, and the warm yellow light from the reading lamp shone on his shoulders and flowed down along the lines of his body. , and finally covered up in the quilt.

Dong Zheng lifted the quilt and went to bed. He glanced at the title of the book, which was the first in Dan Simmons' Hyperion series.

"Is it good?" Although Dong Zheng has heard of it for a long time, he has never read it.

Cui Zuojing didn't look up: "It's good-looking, especially the first and second volumes, which are masterpieces. I've already read them four times."

Dong Zheng hummed, and kissed the corner of Cui Zuojing's lips. The young man turned his head, and the two exchanged a kiss.

Lip parted, Dong Zheng didn't bother him anymore, took his tablet, and dealt with work emails.

Cui Zuojing has completely memorized the content of the book, but every time he rereads it, the poetic and beautiful language and the dreamy and cold style of writing always bring him new surprises and feelings——

"You have been chosen to return to Hyperion as one of the Shrike's pilgrims," ​​the voice continued.

【Hey】

"If the Ousters take Hyperion, then we must eliminate their spies. Seal the Time Tombs no matter what the cost. The fate of the Overlord rests."

[Can you see this sentence? 】

Cui Zuojing was stunned, he turned around to make sure that it wasn't his own eyesight, gray words indeed appeared between the paragraphs!

That strong sense of unreality struck again, he unconsciously exerted force on the pages of the book, and quickly browsed down——

In that moment, the Consul suddenly realized that he was the only sentient being on the unnamed planet.

【You have been in a dream for a long time】

The Consul thought of the haunting thrill of the hunt, and the equally poignant comfort of being alone: ​​solitude.That was the loneliness he got after enduring countless pains and nightmares in Hyperion.

【Please wake up quickly】

The mysterious Shrike Church allows pilgrims from the outside world to set off by cruise ship to the weather-beaten and barren land around the Time Tomb at the northern foot of the mountains.No one came back from anywhere.

【There is almost no time】

It defies all laws of physics and communicates only by carnage.Although the hut was warm, the consul couldn't help shivering.

The night and the storm passed.Dawn was about to break, but sooner than dawn was the harbinger of another storm.

【Please, wake up quickly】

Cui Zuojing touched the words that shouldn't appear with his fingers in disbelief, he grabbed Dong Zheng's arm and said, "Come and see this!"

"What?" Dong Zheng was slightly startled by him, he leaned over to look where Cui Zuojing was pointing, and saw those few lines of prayer-like words.

"what is this?"

"I don't know. I bought this book when I was in college. I've never seen it before. How could there be such a weird thing?"

Dong Zheng turned to the first few pages and read all the text since the phrase "Hey" appeared. He didn't understand what was going on. Was it someone deliberately playing a prank?But since Cui Zuojing moved in to live with him, no one should have touched the book.

Dong Zheng couldn't explain it either, he frowned and could only say: "Don't think about it, it might be someone's prank."

"Is it your prank? That really surprised me." Cui Zuojing didn't want to continue reading. He closed the book and put it on the bedside table with a heavy heart, and lay back, recalling those words, softly Said: "It's so strange, I often have a feeling that everything around me seems like it shouldn't really exist."

Dong Zheng also became serious, because the situation Cui Zuojing mentioned also happened to him: "When did it start?"

"16 years old, I feel quite serious."

Both of them were silent, and after a while, Cui Zuojing said: "You said...does the brain in a vat really exist?"

Brain in a vat is an interesting hypothesis: add that you have been operated on by an evil scientist, the brain is soaked in a petri dish, plugged in electrodes, relying on computer programs to generate various senses and thoughts, you can even be coded, 'feeling 'To the fact that I am reading an interesting and absurd text here.

So how should a person ensure that he is not in such a predicament?No one has yet come up with a convincing answer.

"Or... Inception, maybe I'm being invaded by dreamers and lost in my dreams?"

Dong Zheng: "It may also be the world of Truman, but I don't think there is an answer to this question, just like you are reading a book, how can you know if the people in the book are actually reading the stories of those people in the book?" And you?"

Cui Zuojing fell into deep thought, Dong Zheng rubbed his hair with a smile, and said: "Stop thinking about it, no matter whether it is true or not, as long as I live happily and live up to my life, that's fine."

"Indeed." Cui Zuojing sighed, "I'm already very happy now, but I still care a little bit."

Dong Zheng put down the tablet, turned off the reading light, and the bedroom was plunged into darkness. He was holding Cui Zuojing's hand under the quilt, and whispered: "It's okay, no matter what, I will be with you."

"Participate in the art exhibition? No." Hearing this extra arrangement, Dong Linhai subconsciously refused.

Dong Yi raised his eyes to look at him, "The charity art exhibition requires you to bring your family. If your brother wants to work, he can only bring you."

"What's the point of me going to the art exhibition? I don't have any artistic skills, and I can't understand anything." Dong Linhai curled his lips, but he was not the kind of kid who knew how to mess around because he was so disobedient, and said, "Okay."

So that day, one month after the college entrance examination, Dong Linhai followed his parents to the charity art exhibition. This charity dinner was as boring as the ones he had experienced before, and he sneaked away after the opening.

Dong Linhai walked all the way along the gallery, and soon the voices in the banquet hall gradually faded away. His father might spend a lot of money to buy a painting that he couldn't understand at all, but who cares, what does he want with his money? Spend whatever you want, anyway, it’s for charity.

Dong Linhai stopped in his tracks. He didn't know where he was now. There were large and small picture frames hanging on the walls of the long corridor. They were different from the delicate, abstract and post-modern paintings in the exhibition hall. The color contrast is very strong and the visual effect is very strong.

The little bear hugging the girl and weeping tightly in the dark bedroom; the twin towers far away in the vast snowfield, with a huge cocoon hanging from the center, like a miracle left in ancient times; the cruise ship entangled by countless tentacles and broken from the middle; from the ground The demon god who climbed out and stretched out his wings full of bony spurs to cover the sky; the circus performing freak shows; the red and black trains are driving out on the platform built from the branches and leaves of giant trees... These are never in reality. The possible scenes, magnificent scenes full of fantasy, are presented in front of Dong Linhai.

Dong Linhai was deeply attracted, he looked carefully at those paintings, everything on them was so familiar to him, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

But he was sure that this was the first time he had seen these paintings.

"Sorry sir, these are not for sale. The exhibition hall is on the other side." The girl's voice came from the other side of the corridor, and Dong Linhai turned his head to look. A doll wearing a painting apron, with stains of unwashed paint on her fingers.

"Did you draw these?" Dong Linhai asked, and then glanced at the train leaving the platform on the tree. The strong sense of familiarity struck again, and there was also a subtle sense of unreality.

Wang Que smiled embarrassedly: "Yes, the painting is not very good."

"No, I like it very much." Dong Linhai stepped back a little further to appreciate it, and suddenly, he saw a painting in the farthest corner.

The painting, hidden in shadows where the light does not reach, is a blue room, empty and empty.

The moment Dong Linhai saw the painting, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest. He hissed lightly and raised his hand to cover his chest, as if a knife had been stabbed in it, and every time he thought about it, he felt a dull pain.

He forcibly looked away, looked at Wang Que again, and asked, "Can I ask how you came up with the idea to draw these?"

Wang Que said: "Every time I pick up the brush, blurred pictures often appear in my mind, so I just draw them."

"Is it really not for sale?" Dong Linhai asked again unwillingly, "The price is negotiable."

Wang Que hesitated for a moment. As a prospective college student with an average family background and spent a lot of money on art studies, she didn't want to be troubled by money. Although she likes every one of these paintings, if they can be handed over to someone who also likes them, She will also be very happy: "Which one do you want?"

Dong Linhai thought for a while, pointed to the train map, and said, "Is this okay?"

Wang Que nodded: "Yes."

Dong Linhai didn't know how much a normal painting should be priced, but he thought of the abstract works in the lobby that cost tens of thousands of 10,000+, so he decided to try his mouth at a tenth of the price: "How about eight thousand?"

Wang Que was taken aback by the number, and quickly waved her hands: "No, no, it's too high."

"Although I don't know much about art, in my heart, it's worth the money." Dong Linhai was sure that he didn't underestimate the price, so he was relieved, and immediately took out his mobile phone to transfer money to Wang Que, "By the way, I still want to transfer money to Wang Que." I don't know your name."

"My name is Wang Que, the sparrow of a bird." Wang Que never thought that she would meet a local rich young master, seeing that the other party had made up his mind to pay so much. I am more excited than happy that someone can really appreciate my work.

Wang Que carefully removed the picture frame from the wall and handed it to Dong Linhai. Dong Linhai held it in his hand and looked at it carefully again.

A black and red train departs from the platform at the top of the giant tree, headed for an unknown destination.Who will be sitting in this car, and what kind of story will it have?