MASG chapter 123

 

In this real yet fake world, Mo An keenly sensed Xia Yu’s differences, as well as his happiness. He was happy even when riding a bike—he would hum songs, laugh loudly in the cool wind, and occasionally let go of the handlebars to show Mo An his biking skills.

He no longer wore combat gear or boots. Instead, he wore a school uniform and white sneakers. Every morning, Mo An could wrap his arms around Xia Yu’s waist and experience a peace unlike anything he had ever known, despite the bumps of the bicycle ride.

Another half month passed. Time had gone beyond September and entered October. Mo An dyed his hair two more times and discovered that time in the virtual world would not reset—it truly moved forward. He thought that once September ended, it would still be September; that everyone’s memories would be erased; that the household chores would reset at midnight; and that Xia Li and Zhang Mingqiao wouldn’t need to do anything.

Wrong. Completely wrong. Everything was real.

Every day, when Mo An got up and looked in the mirror, he doubted what kind of data supported such a reality. He had to remember Nuwa, the artificial intelligence, so he wouldn’t get lost in the data world. He really wanted to figure out the flow rate of time outside. He and Lao Gui had been in there for a very long time. How many days had passed in Yukun City?

Had Silver Fang’s weapons been used up? What about Talos’s cat mutant army? Was Midou’s “Xiang Xing Re-cultivation Project” a success or a failure?

He had no way of knowing any of this or how to start. The boundary between real and fake blurred right before his eyes. Sometimes, Mo An would touch the mirror’s surface and doubt whether the self inside was real.

Or was the outside also real?

The people here didn’t look like data at all. They had independent lives and consciousness. His homeroom teacher, Chen Ailu, suggested he take the national English exam and encouraged him to sign up. Chen Minghao taught him breathing techniques. Even though his leg injury was self-inflicted, he encouraged himself to compete in his place. Du Meng still didn’t study properly, but he brought himself snacks every day and tirelessly invited himself over to eat and play games.

Xia Li cleaned the house until late every day to keep the home clean. Her hard work made Mo An unwilling to mess up any corner.

Zhang Mingqiao scheduled psychological counseling sessions for himself, afraid that his made-up stress disorder would affect the college entrance exam in June. To improve their father-son relationship, he even arranged a trip out to sea.

Were all these things real? Mo An often felt dazed.

“Hey! What are you thinking about?” Lao Gui’s voice interrupted Mo An. “Why are you still standing here? Not going to prepare?”

“I’m already prepared.” Mo An walked toward him.

“This is your most important swimming competition. Why are you spacing out now?” Lao Gui snapped his fingers in front of Mo An. “Wake up!”

Mo An smiled and brushed aside his hand. He looked at his holey clogs. “Why are you still wearing those?”

“Because they’re comfortable, and they’re not afraid of getting wet. I clean the fish ponds every day. It’s hard work. If I wore sneakers like yours, I’d have to wash and change my shoes every day. That would kill me.” Lao Gui shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Why have you been spacing out so much lately?”

Mo An took a deep breath as if shivering from head to toe. “What do you think of this place?”

As he spoke, he pressed his palm against his neck as if hoping gills would grow to prove his identity and the meaning of his existence here. Lao Gui naturally noticed his tremor. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a natural tone, “I can tell the difference, of course.”

Of course he understood Mo An’s fear, because Mo An was close to losing clarity. He had entered without a real anchor. In order to approach Xia Yu, he had to blend in, but he blended in too deeply. Truthfully, they didn’t belong here. When confusion struck, emotions surged.

“How can you tell the difference?” Mo An was excited for a moment, then dejected again. “Tell me.”

“Well, it’s my own secret method. I can’t tell you, and you can’t copy it either. But you must learn to believe in yourself and remember your identity! Look, you kept your secret even in front of the psychologist. When he put you under deep hypnosis, you couldn’t say anything. So why are you wavering now?” Lao Gui weakly smacked him. “You brat, you have to hold on! Xia Yu’s anchor point is waiting for you to awaken it. You can’t lose yourself with him.”

“All right, I’ll hold on.” Mo An said as if talking to himself.

“Talk about the good side.” Lao Gui sensed the young man’s underlying emotions, like dark currents in the sea capable of tearing Mo An’s mind apart at any moment. “How are things between you and Xia Yu?”

“It’s still the same. He treats me very well. I can feel that he’s still willing to get close to me and doesn’t reject me. I’m still the most important person in his life. I don’t care; I just am.” This comforted Mo An the most. “I went to find him at night several times. He opened the window for me and let me sleep in his room. I secretly held his hand while he was asleep. Before, we couldn’t touch each other. Now we can.”

“Cough, cough! You’d better be careful!” Lao Gui was always startled by how fierce high schoolers could be. “You two are brothers now! He’s your older brother!”

“We’re not even related by blood, so how is he my older brother?” Mo An asked, confused.

“This… if Xia Li and Zhang Mingqiao catch you, how will you explain? Don’t you dare… cough, cough, start some forbidden romance. You’re his younger brother!” Lao Gui said with a fierce glare.

Strange—originally, Mo An hadn’t thought in that direction. But after Lao Gui said that, he suddenly wanted to be taboo for once. If the parents didn’t agree, he would take Xia Yu and elope, run off to the ends of the earth.

At that moment, the whole family had gathered at the doorway and started calling to him.

“Mo An! Are you ready?” Xia Yu wore a baseball cap and carried a backpack full of sports drinks. He sprayed sunscreen on Xia Xiaoxiao.

“Ready, ready!” Mo An ran toward his family, but the word “taboo” was on his mind.

Amidst laughter and cheerful voices, Zhang Mingqiao started the car, and the family drove towards the island’s sports arena. Mo An sat next to Xia Yu. He occasionally looked out the window. Penghu Island really was a summer island. It was almost November, yet it was still this hot.

They said there would be a Goldfish Festival[mfn]A Goldfish Festival is a cultural or community festival centered around goldfish, celebrating them as symbols of good luck, prosperity, and joy, especially in East Asian cultures. It often features activities such as goldfish viewing or exhibitions, goldfish scooping games, parades, decorations, and local food stalls.[/mfn] next week and fireworks at the end of the year. What would those be like?

Outside the arena, it was bustling and already packed with people. After Mo An got out of the car following Xia Yu, the first person he saw was Du Meng.

“Boss! Boss!” Du Meng was the tallest and was still holding several cheering sticks. “Over here!”

Seeing this, Zhang Mingqiao and Xia Li let the kids go in first to line up while they parked the car. Xia Yu led his younger siblings over and took a cheering stick from Du Meng. “You came really early. Have you seen Chen Minghao?”

“Him? He went in and sat down to wait. I gave him the best seat.” Du Meng patted his chest loudly. “Let’s go! Our homeroom teacher is already here!”

“Teacher Chen is here, too?” Mo An really hadn’t expected that. He was originally just substituting for Chen Minghao in a competition, but now it had become a big deal. When Mo An walked into the swimming hall, Chen Ailu came over first, smiling with special pride and brightness. “Oh my! I really didn’t expect our class’s little English genius to know how to swim, too!”

“Teacher Chen, are you teasing me?” Mo An joked.

“Of course not. I’m encouraging you,” Chen Ailu said seriously. “Listen—Chen Minghao is competing on behalf of the school…”

“I know. I’ll definitely do my best and bring honor to the school!” Mo An patted his chest, having also learned Du Meng’s silly move.

Unexpectedly, Chen Ailu slapped Mo An on the head. “Silly kid! Who wants you to bring honor to the school this way? Chen Minghao is the school’s top swimmer. He’s been training since he was a child. Everyone competing with him today is from a professional team—there aren’t any amateurs. So don’t fight for this kind of honor. Even if someone who just learned to swim gives it their all, they can’t possibly win the championship.”

“Then what you mean is…” Mo An asked.

“At the start of next semester, you must participate in the English competition,” said Chen Ailu, thinking of him the whole time. “This competition can earn you points, and it will be helpful for your college entrance exam. Of course, I also hope you can represent the school and bring honor to it.”

“Alright, I’ll go.” Mo An agreed almost without hesitation. “Don’t worry.”

After finishing his conversation with Teacher Chen about the English competition, it was time for him to start preparing for his swimming competition. Everyone else took their seats in the stands. Xia Yu sat in the front row, closest to Mo An. As the time passed, his gaze remained fixed on the entrance to the competition, making him anxious.

“Don’t worry, ge.” Xia Xiaoxiao blew bubble gum and took out her phone, preparing to record Mo An’s big moment. “He will definitely swim in last place.”

“Don’t say it like that. It’s kind of hurtful,” said Xia Yu, even though he knew the outcome, too.

However, Xia Xiaoxiao took it very lightly. “Haha, don’t worry. Mo An isn’t that fragile. When he was practicing swimming yesterday, he was still joking with me. He said that if he couldn’t finish 1,500 meters, could someone throw him a swim ring?”

“That’s true. What if he runs out of strength and faints in the water?” Xia Yu turned his head back. “Mom and Dad, did you see the lifeguards?”

“Over there.” Xia Li, who was sitting in the row in front of Xia Yu, pointed to them. “Don’t worry. If the lifeguards see that Mo An can’t continue, they’ll save him immediately.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Xia Yu looked over there a few more times. Only after confirming that the lifeguards were all at their posts did he relax. The swimming pool in front of him sparkled with blue ripples, like floating mint-colored ice cubes. The water patterns were reflected on their faces and the glass as if an extra paintbrush were under the sea, painting the scene.

But suddenly, the ripples in front of Xia Yu turned into large patches of deep blue.

They floated up and down, brightening and dimming like countless sky lanterns flying into the sky at once. He immediately rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, the deep blue had disappeared, leaving only transparent pool water.

Strange—what had he just seen? Xia Yu took a deep breath. When he looked toward the competition entrance again, Mo An had just walked out. He was wearing professional swim trunks, a swim cap, and goggles, and he waved at Xia Yu.

Wait… Xia Yu suddenly had a headache, as if his temples had been punched. The pool water in front of his eyes swayed, turning into an uncontrollable vortex that sucked everyone into a terrifying deep sea.

However, when he came to again, Mo An was already standing on the starting block. His strong body arched up, forming a perfect dive-start posture. His side profile was clearly visible to everyone. Xia Yu stared without blinking. His breathing became more and more difficult, and his heart began fluttering.

Because it seemed like he saw something different from before.

He seemed to see on Mo An’s neck… cracks, like fish gills.