Xu Yuhang yawned one after another.

No matter that he hadn't finished his homework today, he had to force himself to stay awake, trying hard to fill in the correct answers on the paper.

The phone showed it was 12:33.

A soft knock came from behind.

"Go to bed early, or you'll have trouble getting up tomorrow." Mom said.

"Okay."

Xu Yuhang squinted and found himself back in that Mirror World.

It seemed he still couldn't hold out and fell asleep.

"You're back?"

Hina was there too. She sat on the ground hugging her knees, seeming a bit bored alone.

Xu Yuhang had a lot to say, but facing this Japanese high school girl, he wasn't sure where to start.

He adjusted himself, then spoke of his discovery.

"Are you saying... our dreams are connected?"

Hina slightly pursed her lips: "I heard my grandmother say before that dreams are divine messages. After praying at a shrine, there's an initial dream that can foretell luck. If you dream of an eagle and an eggplant in January, great luck will come."

"In the past, elders said dreams were hints and blessings from the gods."

"Does your country have such sayings?"

Xu Yuhang also wanted to chat about this topic, but after racking his brains, he realized his mind was blank in this regard.

So he could only say, "There's also the story of Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly."

"Oh, I've heard about this in the literature club."

Hina asked, "So, it's about Zhuangzi not knowing if he's Zhuangzi who became a butterfly, or a butterfly that became Zhuangzi, right?"

"Yes."

Xu Yuhang thought to himself, this Japanese girl is quite knowledgeable.

"Xu Yuhang-senpai, have you been here long?"

"Not very long; I guess it was about 10 days ago that I dreamt of coming here."

"I see, then can you tell me about it? I asked that screen, but it doesn't seem to work; it's either broken or not displaying any answers at all."

Xu Yuhang looked at the giant screen in the lead-grey world beyond the dividing line.

It was no longer glowing, seemingly shut down or not activated.

Lumi was turned off?

He briefly explained the situation to Hina.

"I see... Are you a university student, Senpai? I'm in my first year of high school."

Regarding this dream world, Hina didn't seem particularly concerned; she seemed more interested in something about herself.

Being called Senpai made Xu Yuhang blush slightly.

He was actually younger than her.

He just looked mature and tall.

Yet Xu Yuhang nodded slightly: "Yes, I'm a freshman, majoring in game design."

The other party showed an expression that seemed to say "That explains it."

He secretly observed this foreign girl.

Kobayashi Hina was still wearing a Western-style high school uniform today, a deep blue blazer, and an A-line skirt. Her thin ankle had a band-aid on it.

"Can anyone's dreams connect and enter each other?"

Hina looked toward the indistinct boundary outside.

"Perhaps."

Xu Yuhang, however, was thinking of something else: "Have you been to this Mirror World before?"

"Never."

"But you seem to easily accept the things here."

"That's because it's a dream. Anything can happen in a dream. A dream is a dream, waking is waking; they're two different worlds, aren't they?"

The other party said naturally: "It's like traveling to a faraway place, temporarily relaxing there in a different way. Travel has its own lifestyle, and daily life has its own way."

Xu Yuhang couldn't understand her thinking.

He just felt that this dream could either be true or false.

Hina seemed to be enjoying a kind of abnormal state.

She suddenly looked at Xu Yuhang and said, "Hey, have you ever tried doing it in a dream?"

Xu Yuhang was shocked.

Doing, as in that doing?

He felt his breath stop for a moment.

"Honestly, no..."

"Do you want to try?"

"But... we just met."

"Anyway, it's just a dream; a dream is a dream, waking is waking. I'm very timid in real life and inexperienced, but here, I can do some bold things. Because it's a dream, right?"

There was a certain brightness flashing in Hina's eyes.

Xu Yuhang felt his heart racing, slightly exhilarated.

His bachelorhood was ending this way!

But does this even count?

Those things didn't matter.

Just as the young boy and girl were getting closer, awkwardly embracing.

Xu Yuhang noticed something strange, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't take off her clothes. He managed to undo her jacket, and Hina cooperated by taking it off, only to reveal another identical uniform underneath.

He took off one layer after another, from determined at first, to unwilling to give up, until he was exhausted.

"Is it still impossible... let's just forget about it?"

Hina covered her mouth with her hand, seemingly losing interest.

This made Xu Yuhang feel even more dejected and gloomy.

Even if you wanted to blur things out, I could accept it, but in the end, nothing works! What a ridiculous spring dream!

Hina laughed and said, "Looks like I'm a conservative person, even my subconscious in a dream won't allow it."

"..."

Xu Yuhang felt numb.

The most tragic thing in life is having immense hope, only to be doused with a bucket of cold water.

Xu Yuhang thought things might be awkward between them.

But Hina acted as if nothing happened, sitting on the ground hugging her knees: "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

"I have a boyfriend, you know."

Xu Yuhang was shocked: "Yet you still..."

"Because it's a dream, so it doesn't matter."

The other party waved her hand: "Xu-kun, just think of all this as a dream."

"You're not really a university student, are you?"

"Why do you say that."

"Just a hunch."

A sly look flashed in Hina's eyes: "I get the feeling you're like a younger brother, like my brother Ryota. That feeling is very distinct; men of different ages are easy to tell apart."

"..."

Xu Yuhang's mood suddenly turned sour.

Hina suddenly leaned in, giving him a light peck on the lips, the touch was faint and slightly cool.

"Don't be disappointed, let this be compensation."

For a moment, Xu Yuhang was stunned.

Then it hit him, he just had his first kiss!

His mood brightened.

Since Hina was indeed a very pretty high school girl, this kiss became quite memorable.

But Xu Yuhang couldn't help but wonder.

Was Hina really the timid and inexperienced girl she claimed to be?

He couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't being truthful.

She didn't seem like a typical high school girl, maybe she wasn't even a student at all.

However, he had also lied, so it balanced out.

Just as the two were getting familiar with each other, the screen suddenly lit up.

[What year is it for each of you, where you are right now?]

"July 5, 2017."

"April 7, 2025."

Hina and Xu Yuhang gave completely different dates.

Xu Yuhang was a bit shocked: "You're from 2017?"

Hina looked puzzled: "You're from 2025? Wouldn't you be quite young at my time then?"

Why was it like this?

Xu Yuhang felt a bit confused.

He instinctively looked at the large screen outside.

[Can you talk about what's happening in your respective years?]

Hina said: "Typhoon, and a major rainstorm in Kyushu."

Xu Yuhang said: "Nothing special seems to be happening... this year seems quite peaceful, haven't heard of any issues."

The screen displayed.

[Xu Yuhang, is the trade war still ongoing in 2025?]

"Trade war... there's no such thing, is there?"

Xu Yuhang was taken aback.

[Then how is the progress of AI development?]

"I don't know about that... but it should be okay?"

[What about the employment situation? You should be aware of the difficulties in enrollment and employment, right?]

Xu Yuhang was a bit puzzled: "Haven't heard my parents talk about it, the news did mention it, but it seemed okay... haven't heard of any difficulties."

[You said you like to play games, so any major releases this year?]

Talking about this, Xu Yuhang suddenly wasn't sleepy anymore: "Yes, 'Monster Hunter: World', 'Cyberpunk 2077', 'Elden Ring', 'Black Myth: Wukong', and recently 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'."

Next to him, Hina couldn't help but say: "Although I don't play much, Breath of the Wild should have been released in my year, my brother Ryota is playing it, how did it become a 2025 release?"

Xu Yuhang insisted: "No, it clearly was released in 2025."

The screen displayed.

[All of the above were released in 2025? Are you sure you didn't remember incorrectly?]

"Didn't remember incorrectly."

Xu Yuhang affirmed: "My classmates and I are all playing, it was released this year. These were all released this year."

The counterpart responded.

['The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' was released in 2017, 'Cyberpunk 2077' in 2020, 'Elden Ring' in 2022, 'Black Myth: Wukong' in 2024.]

Xu Yuhang instinctively wanted to refute.

Clearly, these games were released this year, this year had a big explosion of games, how could they be old works from the past?

[Think about it, is there anything unusual around you, or something that seems normal but feels a bit strange when you think about it, for example... easily encountering good things.]

Xu Yuhang thought carefully.

Indeed, there was something.

In a daze, Xu Yuhang found himself waking up on a desk, next to him, Eggy patted him.

"Old Xu, time to go home, stop sleeping."

It was the end of evening self-study again.

While waiting for the bus home, Xu Yuhang couldn't help but ask Eggy: "Was Breath of the Wild released in 2017?"

"Did you sleep too much? It was a major release this year."

Eggy rolled his eyes.

Xu Yuhang continued: "Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Black Myth, Monster Hunter were all released this year?"

"Yes."

"But it's only April this year, with so many major releases, isn't it a bit too concentrated?"

"It's a godly clash year, it's normal."

Xu Yuhang couldn't help but think of the words on the screen.

Things that seem normal but are quite strange upon careful thought.

The clustering of major releases within a few months is indeed somewhat baffling. Normally, they should be staggered to avoid conflict and diversion.

Another thing is,

Reviewing this year, despite his poor grades, life has been surprisingly smooth.

His parents hardly said anything about him, his friend Eggy was always there like a shadow, and he wasn't targeted or isolated by anyone, nor teased for his tall figure, no matter how distracted or sleepy, he could always get off and leave school on time without being scolded by teachers...

Is life really so easy?

But he remembers it wasn't like this before.

Bamboo pole weirdo Xu Yuhang.

Dumb tall guy, dumb tall guy!

Don't join our group matches, your level should stay in Bronze, or else everyone will get heated.

Why are you so stupid!

Failed again? Are you worthy of your dad and me?

Xu Yuhang, I've had enough of you, call your parents here!

Old Xu, I'm transferring schools, farewell in the quagmire.

I could never like you, Xu Yuhang.

A series of piercing voices echoed in his mind.

Xu Yuhang only felt a splitting headache.

When he came to, he found himself in a dream world again.

At this time, Xu Yuhang turned pale.

"What on earth is going on?"

The screen displayed.

[Want to know?]

[Then I'll tell you.]

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