Today is Saturday, August 27, 2089, and the summer in Jiangnan is still hot and humid.
At six in the morning, the sky was clear and beautiful; although it was cloudy, it wasn't dark, but rather had a milky, soft texture.
After breakfast, Simon was pulled by his mother, Sun Hui, to the door frame of his own bedroom. He took off his shoes and stood tall. His mother took out an engraving knife, measured her son's height, and carved a mark into the door frame's groove. Simon turned around and could see six marks, each one higher than the last. His younger brother walked over and said, "Student Simon, your current height is one meter and sixty-nine centimeters. Compared to the national standard adolescent height chart's average for 12-year-old males, you are taller than ninety percent of your peers."
Simon gently stroked the marks on the door frame. Many things suddenly popped into his head. Ever since his brain burst, he would occasionally zone out. He felt the straight marks on the wooden door frame. His mother didn't have much strength and her grip on the knife was unsteady, so the front of the mark was deep and the back was shallow, like the brushstrokes of calligraphy. The edges of the marks had some wood shavings and solidified lacquer powder. The wood color inside the cuts was still very young and clean; it would slowly darken in a few days. Was this also a kind of healing?
Are there any hidden connections between the marks and the tree's own annual rings? These knife marks prove Simon's growth, and the annual rings prove the tree's own growth. If the traces left in the present prove the reality of the past, then when these traces disappear in the future, does the past also disappear with them?
Is growth ultimately a process of continuous gaining, or a process of continuous losing, or both? It's like that swimming pool that's simultaneously filling and draining. The funny thing is, Simon can't find proof of his past existence, yet he can still see this boring math problem on a test paper.
Can trees perceive the troubles of the world? Do they know their existence in human definition? They are silent both before and after death, so is there really a difference between death and life?
Simon felt moist water vapor blowing over his face. That was the memory of the trees. No, he was an observer. He saw water flowing from the roots hidden underground of the tall trees to the branches and leaves of the canopy. Water vapor emanated from the surface of the leaves, hitting Simon's face, rising to the sky to form raindrops that fell to the ground, and were absorbed by the roots again.
But dead trees no longer have such an exquisite water cycle.
So trees connect the sky and the earth. What a shocking divinity.
Simon knows that he needs water to live, or some non-water existence that he continuously extracts and dissipates, so that he is alive. After death, he is the pale bones after the incinerator, with no water, and no non-water.
"What is Kang Kang thinking about?"
"Nothing. Just some boring thoughts. Are Sun Sheng and Sun Ying still not up?"
"You go wake them up. They're getting lazier and lazier."
"No, Mom, I have to go." Simon checked the time. It was time to take Su Xiangli to dance practice.
"Are you in such a hurry for your little girlfriend?"
"Just a good friend." Simon scratched his head. How could little kids have love? Even the most intimate childhood sweethearts could become cold strangers after a period of not seeing each other.
"You still say 'good friends' now. In two more years, will you be calling her your girlfriend?" Sun Hui squatted down and pinched her eldest son's nose.
Simon mumbled in response, "Who can say for sure what will happen in the future? Oh, right, I saw in the news that the virtual world simulation cabin has been successfully developed! I wonder when we'll be able to use it."
Upon hearing this, Sun Hui suddenly felt a pang of sadness in her heart, thinking to herself: If this simulation cabin really comes out, the price will definitely not be cheap. If we can't afford it then, and other kids are playing with it while my son can't, won't he be excluded?
She had already made up her mind to find a stable job and settle down, regardless of the salary.
Though in her thirties, she could still be considered young, but time waits for no one, and neither does the era. Only after leaving school did she realize the value of knowledge and diplomas. Now, finding a job requires personal ability. There's so much new knowledge, updated daily, and the new recruits in companies are more impressive each year. A job seeker like her could be said to be outdated. Choosing to be a full-time housewife at the time was actually risking lifelong unemployment.
Simon vaguely sensed his mother's carefully concealed dejection. Just as it's hard for children to lie in front of their parents, it's also hard for parents to hide their pain in front of their children.
"Mom, is the family out of money? I have some."
As soon as he said this, his mother was shocked, "How do you have money?"
"Painting and modeling. I have forty thousand on hand now, and another sixty thousand I used to buy stocks."
"What! What stocks?"
"It's the company that's about to release the simulation cabin, Huashi Future Technology."
"Oh, state-backed, then it shouldn't lose money." Sun Hui felt relieved. "You really are my son, you know so much. Why don't you give that money to Mom? I'll save it for you, and give it back when you get married later."
Simon opened his phone with a look of disdain and operated it. Sun Hui's phone chimed, "Your account has received forty thousand yuan."
Sun Hui covered her face. Is this the happiness of getting rich overnight?!
...
Simon complained miserably to Su Xiangli, "My secret stash was confiscated by Mom!"
The young girl stood on her tiptoes, her toes touching the ground, lightly spinning in circles, her posture as precise as a compass. Her eyes were narrowed, and her thoughtful expression was like someone basking in comfortable warm sunlight. She truly resembled an arrogant white swan.
Simon: "Hey, are you even listening to me?"
Su Xiangli just danced over and over again. The background music in the room was a relaxing, unknown, pure piano piece, giving a sense of ease like a gentle breeze blowing across a willow-lined lake.
Simon sat on the floor, watching all of Su Xiangli's beauty. The young girl was already one meter sixty-four centimeters tall; she was growing so fast! She was no longer that tender and plump little girl, but already had a tall and slender posture.
Simon continued to babble, or rather, it was more like he was muttering in a daze. He was already quite intoxicated by the gentle world before him.
"The simulation cabin is coming out soon. I need to earn some money to buy one for myself. When do you think we'll be able to play realistic games? Sigh, I really want to play games, but I have to wait two more years, until I'm fourteen, to access those big titles. It's such a pity. Holographic simulation must be really interesting, like personally participating in the game world. If I calculate the time, it should be about right, September 15th, two weeks after school starts, but that day is a Thursday, and if the dorm isn't big enough, I won't be able to fit the simulation cabin..."
Su Xiangli stopped dancing and walked over to poke Simon's ribs with her toe, but Simon grabbed it in his hand. The ballet slipper was thin and smooth, allowing him to feel the little girl's toes. Simon let go and shouted, "Wow, I'm going to get athlete's foot!"
Su Xiangli angrily tackled student Xiao Lu to the ground, "Die! Simon, you're so annoying!"
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"