Su Xiangli fell asleep on an unfamiliar bed; this was her first day in her new identity.
She drifted off to sleep unconsciously.
A dream slowly emerged from the darkness before her eyes, a series of hazy, fragmented images. Su Xiangli couldn't see them clearly, but they seemed to be content from an online class. She still had some conscious awareness, and she laughed, thinking she must be obsessed.
When the virtual, slideshow-like images vanished, Su Xiangli saw a hazy, silver-gray glass sea before her. The undulating waves crushed countless jumbled memories into tiny stories. Looking up, the sky was purple, and on the horizon, there was a pyramid-like structure. Was that a mountain?
Su Xiangli stood on the surface of the sea when a familiar, clear voice came from behind her, "Su Su, you're here."
She turned around to see a little boy smiling at her—it was Simon from kindergarten.
"Oh, Xiao Lu, how did you get so small?" Su Xiangli joyfully picked up the boy. The child looked serious and said, "Don't call me Xiao Lu, I'm your boyfriend!"
"Pfft! Yes, yes, everything you say is right."
The little boy struggled a bit, "Su Su, it's not me saying this, but you should eat more. Your development is quite concerning."
Before he finished speaking, he was thrown far into the sea with a powerful toss.
Su Xiangli stomped her foot in anger, and the glass sea beneath her rippled widely. Dark, giant whales vaguely glided in the dim light. She bent down, wanting to touch the liquid, glazed-like seawater, when Xiao Lu ran up to her again, chattering away.
"Don't be angry, Su Su. Right now, your soul is in my body."
"Then what's your situation?"
"Uh, you can think of me as the potential personality of that person."
"Multiple personalities? Wow, Simon, do you have a mental illness?"
The little boy's face darkened, and Su Xiangli showed her mischievous smile, pleased with her teasing. Xiao Lu also grinned; he loved her laugh the most, as joyful as if she had encountered a brand new surprise, so sincere that it felt precious.
"Ahem," Xiao Lu coughed twice as a matter of routine. Su Xiangli squatted down to meet his gaze, quietly preparing to listen, "Using my body is very restricted, first because of my existence, and second because of a lack of knowledge. So, many of my strengths you can't directly perceive."
"Hmm, I see."
"You don't need to worry, I'll always help you. In my body, you can be yourself with confidence. Just leave any problems you encounter to me."
"Aren't you a potential personality? How can you help me?"
"Just call me when you think of me."
"Simon?"
"No, Simon is me, but I am not Simon. I am just a part of him. For you, you can think of me as the operating system of a body."
"Then what should I call you, little robot?"
"You need a trigger phrase that breaks the boundary between spirit and matter. I'll tell you once, remember it well. From now on, in this body, when you encounter a problem, silently chant—Lu Yuan Bodhisattva!"
Om!
A thunder-like chant echoed in the distance, and the sea surged backward. Su Xiangli saw countless eyes faintly appearing in the sky. The next moment, she lost consciousness.
...
Simon awoke from his dream, and his first action was to reach for his nether region.
Ah, this mysterious, real sensation.
I'm back!
Simon jumped out of bed, laughing heartily. He pulled out his phone to call Su Xiangli.
On the other side, Su Xiangli was jolted awake by the familiar ringtone.
"The Fisher King still wants to be the Fisher King, but the harbor is gone..."
She tried to lift her arm but only felt aches all over. What was going on? Wasn't that guy's body as strong as an ox?
Su Xiangli lazily rubbed her legs.
Huh.
Huh, huh, huh?!
That sore, squeezed feeling was gone, an emptiness remained.
Su Xiangli was too tired to open her eyes, but she still tried hard to feel herself all over. Yes, this flat expanse... Bah, no, this feeling of surging waves, this is my own body!
Student Su Su did a carp jump, springing up from the bed so suddenly that she flew right off the edge, completely unexpected.
Su Xiangli felt an incredible surge of strength in her body. She watched as the bed frame slowly moved away from her, and the solid ground rapidly approached.
She was going to fall.
Su Xiangli's mind was blank, completely devoid of thought, but her body naturally executed an aerial roll, landing on both feet, knees slightly bent, arms spread, like a gymnast's perfect finish.
Her body was still very sore, but her movements were clear and precise. Moving a finger an inch was exactly an inch. Tiptoeing, standing on her feet—in that instant, it was like a long cone from her skull to her toes, a feeling of support. The unbearable squeezing pain was gone; Su Xiangli only felt comfortable. Could standing on her feet be so easy and relaxed?
The phone continued to ring. The happily dazed Su Xiangli came to her senses, quickly grabbed her phone, and answered the call.
Simon's clear voice came through, "Xiangli, why did you take so long to answer?"
"None of your business! Hmph, did you give anything away yesterday?"
"You can trust me to handle things," Simon's tone was mysterious.
The young man and woman playfully teased each other for a while. The girl, unable to contain her affection, said she wanted to see the boy again in the afternoon. Student Xiao Lu, of course, immediately agreed. They set a time, and Su Xiangli was about to say more when Baiyang Yangzhen came to knock on the door.
"Student Xiangli, your mother wants you to go to the kitchen."
"Got it, I'll be right there!" Su Xiangli replied, then cupped the phone's microphone and whispered, "Did Mom give you any tasks yesterday?"
"Yeah, to make Su-style boat-shaped pastries. Simple, simple, absolutely guaranteed to make our mom praise them nonstop."
"What nonsense are you talking about, 'our mom,' gross, D-zone."
"Heh, woman, one o'clock this afternoon, old spot, the street-side cold drink shop. I'll be waiting for you." He hung up.
Su Xiangli went into the bathroom to wash up. Baiyang Yangzhen came to urge her again, and she rubbed her face in annoyance.
She seemed to have forgotten something very important, but she couldn't recall what it was.
She stared blankly in front of the mirror when the bedroom door was pushed open by Yang Chun.
Her mother entered, carrying a plate of beautifully shaped animal pastries, and asked, "Xiangli, did you make these boat-shaped pastries yourself?"
Su Xiangli said with a cold face, "Yeah, what, are they bad? If they're bad, don't eat them."
Yang Chun didn't give her usual cold smile. She just happily hugged her daughter, "Your craftsmanship is amazing! It's even better than mine!"
Su Xiangli:???
...
At a street-side resting area, under a large sun umbrella, where the dream began, Su Xiangli ran over with two cups of watermelon slushies and handed one to Simon.
"What was going on with those boat-shaped pastries this morning?"
"What else could be going on? My craftsmanship is good, right? Didn't I move our mom to tears?"
Su Xiangli lightly hit the lazy boy, "Seriously, teach me."
"You want to learn, huh? Hey, call me Handsome Simon and let me hear it."
"Forget it then, I can't go against my conscience."
Simon: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
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