Seizing Dreams

Edited by: Amelea, FistFullOfDollars and Juurensha

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Zhou Sheng stared blankly at Fu Liqun, who was embarrassed and had stuck his tongue out at him like a dog.

Yu Hao was sorely tempted to look at it, but he resisted the urge. After he flipped over the wall, he returned the phone to Zhou Sheng, with his own heart almost flipping up into the sky. He initiated communication with his contact.

It was morning on their side. The liaison quickly gave him a huge volume of Chinese materials and asked him to start by translating all of them into English. Yu Hao looked through it. It included parts of news publications from the United States from the years 1993-2015; they were scanned into electronic files in the form of clippings, and were related to WHO, mental health, and other related content. These documents needed to be translated into Chinese for citations in literature in the future.

In the meantime, Chen Yekai sent him a message to ask about his progress on the translations. Yu Hao then asked how the materials would be used, and Chen Yekai answered:【When writing a paper, the data cited in the reference database should be as accurate as possible; requirements for the sentences themselves aren’t as stringent.】

Yu Hao researched as he translated. Zhou Sheng reached out and snapped his fingers.

“Look at the time, you’re still not going to sleep?”

Yu Hao raised his head. Zhou Sheng leaned his head forward with some weariness while looking at Yu Hao. The two of them looked at each other for awhile, then Yu Hao said, “Go and sleep ba, I still want to work on this for a little longer.”

“Hungry?” Zhou Sheng asked, “I’ll cook some noodles for you?”

Yu Hao, “......”

Zhou Sheng laughed and turned over to get up. Yu Hao quickly said, “Don’t, it’s too troublesome. I’ll sleep now.”

“How brazen!” Fu Liqun hadn’t fallen asleep yet either, and called out from the bed on the other side, “He’s cooking noodles for you, and you dare refuse them?! That......if he won’t eat it then I will. Cook up a pot ba, young master, I’m so hungry.”

Zhou Sheng, “......”

Starting from May, the dormitory would no longer get its electricity cut off. Electric fans needed to remain functional due to concern that the students would suffer from a heatstroke. Fu Liqun became spirited when Zhou Sheng turned on the light. Zhou Sheng went to the balcony to wash his hands, then cooked a pot of instant noodles and also fried nine eggs — three eggs per person. Once they had finished eating, Fu Liqun washed the pot. They finally fell asleep after whiling away the time until 4am.

“You’re cooking again in your dorm? What are you frying in the middle of the night? Are you trying to kill us?!”

People from the opposite dormitory came over to knock on their door again. Fu Liqun said, “We finished it a long time ago! Please come earlier next time ba everyone!”

Yu Hao was really sleepy, and while he was in a muddle-headed state, he suddenly felt Zhou Sheng reach over with his hand and pat the side of his face twice.

Yu Hao, “???”

He dreamt again. This time, Zhou Sheng built a roller coaster in his dream. When he woke up, Yu Hao could only remember the roller coaster, and had completely forgotten everything else.

“What did you do in my dream?” Yu Hao asked Zhou Sheng, who was in the middle of brushing his teeth. Zhou Sheng looked at him with foam all around his mouth and evaded his question.

Yu Hao asked, “Why don’t I remember the things I’ve dreamt anymore?”

Zhou Sheng gargled, “What do you want for breakfast? I’ll go buy it.”

Yu Hao was so sleepy he was about to die; he had slept for less than five hours last night. He said, “Why do I feel like I can’t ever remember my dreams anymore......okay then.”

Zhou Sheng put his phone into his pocket and went out. Before leaving, he said, “Isn’t that normal?”

Yu Hao, “???”

Including the dream with the roller coaster last night, Yu Hao already had three dreams that he couldn’t recall in a row — including the fireworks they watched on New Year’s Eve, last month’s parkour practice under the Great Wall, and last night’s dream. Are dreams easy to forget if he doesn’t enter other people’s dreams? That can’t be right. When Zhou Sheng entered his dream to talk to him about Lin Xun, Yu Hao remembered it clearly.

Did Zhou Sheng use some sort of method to make him forget? Yu Hao brushed his teeth and washed his face in a befuddled state. Zhou Sheng bought breakfast and asked upon his return, “Have you finished translating?”

Yu Hao thought that Zhou Sheng must be hiding something from him, and was trying to divert his attention. But he tactfully didn’t probe into it and answered, “I need to translate for a month.”

Zhou Sheng said, “I’ll buy you a laptop ba.”

Yu Hao immediately refused. Zhou Sheng continued, “I’ve wanted to buy one for ages, to watch shows.”

“Study!” Yu Hao said, “Watching shows...you do nothing but watch shows all day long.”

“Me Oldec.”

“Here!” Yu Hao was incredibly nervous as he waited for roll call. Of course, there would be roll call as soon as he didn’t show up, and the one who was called just had to be Fu Liqun.

The hall immediately hooted with laughter, and Yu Hao roared angrily in his heart, Fu Liqun! You never said that Laoshi recognised you okay?!

“Yeah.” Zhou Sheng immediately raised his head, “There’s no other Fu Liqun! Why, is there a problem?”

Another peal of laughter rang out. The teacher scrutinised him doubtfully, then a huge guy from Zhou Sheng’s class immediately shifted over and blocked Yu Hao from sight, “We all admire Fu Liqun a lot; he has great technique!”

“He’s the three-pointer god.” Another person added.

The teacher didn’t say anything further, and called out the next person’s name.

Yu Hao was utterly speechless.

“You’re going to do more work?” After their class ended, Zhou Sheng spun a basketball on a finger in their dormitory and said to Yu Hao, “Let’s go play ball ah.”

“Not going.” Yu Hao said, “I need to translate part-time, there’s too much and I can’t finish it all!”

Today, after the client finished looking through Yu Hao’s translation, they were quite satisfied with his work. They then promptly sent him all the content that he was supposed to work through, and Yu Hao blew up the moment he saw it. Yesterday, it had taken him six hours to translate four reports, and after he clicked on the dropbox link to view the remaining content, there were 1,145 reports in it. Even if he didn’t eat or drink, he would still need to translate for a full half a year before he could finish.

Yu Hao concentrated as he read the English report. First, he read through the whole report, then translated it word-for-word. He also had to check the names of many places. When he turned around, he saw Zhou Sheng dressed in a full set of basketball clothes. But he wasn’t going to play basketball anymore and instead sat at one side and watched.

“Go ah.” Yu Hao said, “Don’t mind me.”

Zhou Sheng said, “Not going. I need to study hard and mature well, that’s what Yu Laoshi taught me bei. What does that phrase mean?”

“It’s the name of a place, translated from Italian. Don’t be mischievous!” Yu Hao said, “Just go and play your basketball.”

Zhou Sheng stayed beside him and didn’t leave. Yu Hao turned around and assessed him for awhile, and suddenly thought that Zhou Sheng looked quite cool in his set of red basketball clothes. No, he looked very cool, and he always felt that Zhou Sheng seemed taller now.

“What’re you looking at?” Zhou Sheng said, “You’re looking at me ‘cause you don’t know? I’m not a dictionary, I don’t know anything either.”

Yu Hao laughed, and felt that Zhou Sheng seemed a bit unusual today. For nearly a month, neither of them have been cracking silly jokes at one another.

“Did you grow taller?” Yu Hao asked doubtfully.

Zhou Sheng got up and removed his basketball shoes, put on his socks, then stood next to the ruler by the window, “Did I grow taller? Didn’t notice.”

Yu Hao stood up to look. He pressed a book against Zhou Sheng’s head, “185! You grew 5cm!”

Zhou Sheng, “I was originally 185 anyway, what about you? Wanna measure?”

Yu Hao wanted to ignore him as he was busy translating, but he couldn’t get Zhou Sheng to change his mind so he had to stand upright. Zhou Sheng looked as he held the book at a slightly crooked angle, “Still 176. See, who asked you to not eat my cooking? Now you can’t grow taller anymore ba?”

Yu Hao glanced at him through the corner of his eye, “Take a picture and show me? You’re lying, I must’ve grown taller too.”

“Okay okay, I’ll continue earning money from you.” Zhou Sheng said, “What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll buy groceries. Fu Liqun’s not around, so just order whatever you want ba.”

Yu Hao wanted to tell him not to go through the trouble, but he was afraid that Zhou Sheng would misunderstand again, so he said, “I want to eat mushroom and winter bamboo shoots with chicken claypot rice.”

“What month do you think it is? Where would I find winter bamboo shoots?” Zhou Sheng said, “We’ll just eat whatever I can buy ba.” He shut the door as he spoke and left.

Yu Hao translated until his head spun. The weather had been dark and cloudy recently; he felt sticky all over, and it was stifling hot, which always caused him to develop migraines. When Zhou Sheng returned in the evening, he had managed to get a can of winter bamboo shoots from somewhere and started cooking for Yu Hao.

Zhou Sheng, “Still translating?”

Yu Hao sat down to translate after he finished washing the dishes. He uttered an “un” in response. Zhou Sheng said something, but Yu Hao couldn’t make it out at first. He looked up at him, but Zhou Sheng said, “Nothing, continue with your work ba.”

Yu Hao remembered that Zhou Sheng mentioned “discussing” something with him today, so he asked, “What did you want to discuss with me? I’m not as busy anymore.”

The last time Zhou Sheng mentioned “discuss” in a serious tone, it was to ask Yu Hao to change dormitories. Yu Hao felt that the matter this time should also be about something significant.

“Forget it.” Zhou Sheng looked at his phone, “I haven’t thought it through yet. I’m sleeping, keep your voice down.”

Yu Hao dimmed his screen and typed a little lighter with a heart full of uncertainty. He went to bed late last night, and the two of them didn’t sleep during class today either, so Yu Hao quickly became sleepy too. He looked up at Zhou Sheng, who was already asleep.

“Zhou Sheng?” Yu Hao said softly.

Zhou Sheng was silent and breathing evenly. Yu Hao really couldn’t endure his exhaustion any longer, but the translation wasn’t done! So he had to brace himself and make a cup of coffee, then sit down and continue working. He did this until 4am, at which he reached his limit and felt like throwing up. So he closed the laptop and breathed a sigh of relief.

The dormitory plunged into darkness. Yu Hao felt about in the dark to stand up and went to brush his teeth. When he closed the balcony door, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he suddenly noticed an almost imperceptible light in the room.

Yu Hao, “?”

Yu Hao looked around him. It wasn’t the red light emitted from a charger, but a warm yellow light. He climbed up the ladder and saw Zhou Sheng’s wrist hanging in front of the railing. His slender and strong fingers were curled up slightly, and the Golden Crow Wheel on his wrist was shining with a very dim light!

The Golden Crow Wheel is shining? Yu Hao had never noticed that before. Is Zhou Sheng in a dream? In whose dream? Would the Golden Crow Wheel shine every time he enters a dream?

The light of the Golden Crow Wheel slowly dimmed until it vanished completely, before lighting up again. It seemed to alternate between lighting up and dimming at regular intervals. Yu Hao didn’t dare wake Zhou Sheng up, and after he observed him for a moment, he kept feeling that it seemed slightly strange.

So this is what it’s like when Zhou Sheng enters a dream......Yu Hao stood on the ladder and reached out to hold Zhou Sheng’s hand to push it back onto the bed. However, the moment he touched the Golden Crow Wheel, there was a sudden loud “bang” in his mind!

Yu Hao instantly felt like there was something summoning him. The moment he moved his hand away, that sensation suddenly vanished without a trace.

Yu Hao placed his hand back on it again, and this time the feeling was very obvious — the Golden Crow Wheel was summoning him! Especially when the brightness of its light reached its peak!

“Zhou Sheng?” Yu Hao shook Zhou Sheng, “What are you doing?”

Zhou Sheng had fallen into a deep slumber and didn’t respond at all.

“Zhou Sheng!” Yu Hao sensed that something was amiss, so he immediately said, “Wake up! Can you wake up?”

Yu Hao quickly got onto Zhou Sheng’s bed. He placed one hand behind his head and tried to get him to sit up as he spoke in a low and anxious voice, “Zhou Sheng! Zhou Sheng! Wake up!”

Zhou Sheng’s head drooped sideways, and Yu Hao thought, crap, what’s going on?

He pressed down on the Golden Crow Wheel with his hand. A streak of lightning flashed through his mind; the Golden Crow Wheel was talking to him! It was summoning him! Just like the first time he saw the Golden Crow Wheel, they were communicating purely through his consciousness. He needed to enter the dreamscape by touching the Golden Crow Wheel; Zhou Sheng had run into some kind of trouble.

Yu Hao immediately laid down on his bed and held Zhou Sheng’s wrist. But with this arrangement, Zhou Sheng would have to raise his hand onto the railing while he was fast asleep, and it didn’t seem right no matter how Yu Hao tried to shift it, so he had to return to Zhou Sheng’s bed and lie to his left while resting his head on Zhou Sheng’s shoulder.

The bed in their dormitory was very small, so he couldn’t avoid squeezing tightly together with Zhou Sheng in the cramped space. Yu Hao thought, I can’t help it, I’ll just take advantage of you a little ba. You probably wouldn’t mind it anyway......

Yu Hao pulled up his hand that was wearing the Golden Crow Wheel and placed it on Zhou Sheng’s chest, then he raised his left hand and placed it over Zhou Sheng’s wrist before closing his eyes.

The last thought Yu Hao had before closing his eyes was about Zhou Sheng’s side profile under the faint illumination of the Golden Crow Wheel. He wanted to kiss him a little, but as soon as he closed his eyes, a loud blare immediately sounded and he was dragged straight into the dream!

The light of the Golden Crow Wheel withdrew, and Yu Hao started flying in his dream. He turned around to look at the mountains and the earth, flapped his wings, then looked up and flew towards the Golden Crow Wheel in the sky.

The first time he crossed through the Golden Crow Wheel, Yu Hao entered Zhou Sheng’s dreamscape.

Zhou Sheng’s dragon mount sat on the edge of the huge square that floated in the sky. When it saw Yu Hao appear, it immediately let out a great dragon cry.

“This doesn’t seem right?” Yu Hao said, “Where’s your master? Is Zhou Sheng still in his dream?”

Yu Hao flew to the edge of the square since he suspected that Zhou Sheng had crossed the sea of clouds. He was about to descend to look around when the black dragon let out another cry and flew past Yu Hao. Yu Hao turned around and saw the black dragon fly towards the center of the square. There was a huge Golden Crow Wheel on top of the sacrificial altar, and it had rushed straight into it.

“Where is he?” Yu Hao wondered. He spread his wings out and flew towards the Golden Crow Wheel in Zhou Sheng’s conscious world. Through the scene inside the Golden Crow Wheel, he saw Chen Yekai’s Chichén Itzá world again — but only the boundless rainforest remained, the pyramid was gone!

Yu Hao, “???”

Yu Hao wanted to exit the dream and call Chen Yekai when he suddenly realised an even more dire problem —— Zhou Sheng had always been the one who forcefully woke him up in the past; he doesn’t know how to wake up by himself!

“Crap.” Yu Hao muttered to himself, “Let’s figure out what happened first.”

He fluttered his wings again, following the black dragon, and flew into Chen Yekai’s Chichén Itzá world.

The appearance of the Chichén Itzá world also implied that Chen Yekai had fallen asleep. When Yu Hao crossed through Zhou Sheng’s Golden Crow Wheel, he suddenly flew out of the sun that was at the top of the pyramid.

Yu Hao, “???”

The pyramid was still here! It’s just that when Yu Hao looked out from inside Zhou Sheng’s Golden Crow Wheel, the sun in the Chichén Itzá world happened to be above the pyramid, so it was as if Yu Hao was looking out from a window, only seeing the rainforest!

At the top of the pyramid, there was a square with a white Feathered Serpent god on the left, and Zhou Sheng’s black dragon on the right. A strange light had engulfed the vicinity, and the world seemed pitch dark, yet also filled with a pale, omnipresent light. Yu Hao turned around and looked at the Golden Crow Wheel in the center of the square.

An eclipse!

A black inferno raged in the centre of the Golden Crow Wheel. It covered the heart of the Golden Crow Wheel, and only the rim of the wheel still radiated a fierce, golden flame!

What’s going on? Yu Hao approached the Golden Crow Wheel. The interior of the wheel was submerged in complete darkness.

“Zhou Sheng? Chen Laoshi?” Yu Hao turned his head, “Where are you guys?”

A completely dark space had appeared within the wheel. Did Zhou Sheng and Chen Yekai get sucked into it together? Yu Hao didn’t dare to rush in hastily. He was afraid that if the two of them were still around, he might cause trouble if he were to run around carelessly and would even end up implicating them.

Yu Hao approached the Golden Crow Wheel, and suddenly, the Golden Crow Wheel emitted a strong flare that completely engulfed Yu Hao.

They’re inside! Through the exchange in his consciousness, Yu Hao understood that the Golden Crow Wheel wanted to convey that Zhou Sheng and Chen Yekai had entered it. At the same time, he sensed a strange oscillation, and it felt exactly like what he had felt in reality. Zhou Sheng was summoning him incessantly right now, like an electronic transmitter sounding an alarm.

“Looks like I have to break in by myself.” Yu Hao turned his head and looked at the black dragon and the Feathered Serpent god, “Wish me luck ba, bye-bye.”

After he spoke, Yu Hao picked up his pace and rushed to the front of the Golden Crow Wheel. He hit the barrier side-on and was instantly plunged into darkness!

The world was pitch black, and he couldn’t see his own fingers when he stretched out his hand in front of him. As soon as Yu Hao entered, he was hit by some unknown object, so he immediately cried out.

But why is it that when he shouted, he couldn’t even hear his own voice!

Yu Hao turned around and shouted, “Zhou Sheng?! Where are you?”

When he shouted those words out, he couldn’t hear himself. Something smashed into Yu Hao again, so he instantly turned around to try and avoid it. He swung his hands out and from the void, he pulled out a——

Laundry fork!

I can use my weapon! Yu Hao unconsciously used his weapon to defend, yet the surrounding objects that were attacking him had already disappeared.

His magic staff shone with a dim, silver-white light which illuminated a small area around it.

“This is great! There’s light!” Yu Hao said, but he suddenly noticed a strange detail, “Eh? Why is it that I can hear again?”

“Where is this place?” Yu Hao turned around and illuminated the darkness with his magic staff, “What is that? Why can’t I think anymore? Weird, why is it that whatever I think, I blurt out uncontrollably like this?”

Yu Hao could now clearly see what was flying around in the darkness — they were fragmented squares, diamonds and circles that looked like the broken shards of a mirror. They reflected the silver-white light that was cast from the magic staff in Yu Hao’s hand.

“Where the fuck is this weird place? Ah, why am I swearing again......”

“Isn’t it 2D? How did it turn 3D? Eh why does it seem 2D again from here? Wait no that’s not what I should be concerned with right now, Zhou Sheng! Where are you!”

Yu Hao turned around and flew away. This space was filled with mirror debris that flew around everywhere — they looked 2D when seen from afar, but when seen from up close at a different angle as they swept past Yu Hao, they turned into hard, marble-like minerals that reflected a silver-white light. Yu Hao dismantled his staff into daggers, spread his wings, and held the light up to search within this zero-gravity space. The illumination from the light on his body didn’t seem to disappear wherever he flew past, and instead left a gorgeous trail behind him that looked like the Milky Way.

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