When Ke Xun and Wei Dong arrived in J City, an officially organized technology product exhibition was underway.
Colorful banners lined both sides of the main street, and advertisements and related merchandise were everywhere.
Even when they sat down to eat at a dumpling restaurant opposite the Square Box Art Museum, they were handed two flyers for the exhibition.
Ke Xun and Wei Dong had developed a habit of eating well before entering the museum. It was lunchtime, and entry usually ended at 6 PM, so they weren't in a hurry. They sat by the window facing the street and ate slowly.
The Square Box Art Museum across the street also had a somewhat futuristic design. From the outside, it appeared to be made up of stacked black and white square boxes. The piano-lacquered exterior paint shimmered in the sunlight, adding to its cool, minimalist feel.
The two ate while each staring at their phones.
Wei Dong: "That girl in our advertising department, she uses beauty filters on her selfies, almost blurring her nose out. She looks like Lady Voldemort, all that's visible on her pale face."
Ke Xun: "Are you stalking all the girls in your company's WeChat Moments again?"
Wei Dong: "Am I that shallow? I already did, now I'm stalking Weibo."
Ke Xun: "...You beast, you even found out their Weibo accounts?"
Wei Dong: "Damn, it's company behavior, don't involve the employees. You know how shameless our boss is, he forces all employees to post company product ads on their own WeChat Moments and group chats three times a day, and that's not all, he also forces everyone to apply for Weibo accounts and forward all kinds of promotions and ads from the company's official Weibo account every day." "I'm getting my pay cut, and I can't even spare my family and friends. They all have to help me share this. It's almost noon now, and I'm finishing my task—hey, could you follow me? I just registered. Also, follow our company's official Weibo account, and then share my latest Weibo post."
Ke Xun: "What's your ID?"
Wei Dong: "Wei Feng_Mang."
Ke Xun: "...How much do you like this name?"
Wei Dong: "You're so uncultured! 'Wei Feng' sounds elegant, and 'Mang' sounds roguish, so my name literally translates to 'elegant rogue,' pretty cool, right!"
Ke Xun: "...No problem. Shared. Hao Wen'er messaged me on WeChat...he's here too."
As he spoke, he peeked outside and saw Zhu Hao Wen standing in front of the Fangzihe Art Museum, seemingly looking for someone, and waved at him.
Zhu Haowen entered the shop and sat down at a table. Ke Xun ordered another serving of dumplings: "What would you like to drink, alcohol or a soft drink?"
Zhu Haowen didn't stand on ceremony: "A soft drink." "
Okay," Ke Xun called out, "Boss lady, a bowl of dumpling soup, please!"
Zhu Haowen: "..."
Wei Dong quickly asked Zhu Haowen to follow him on Weibo and retweet his post.
Zhu Haowen looked at him and Ke Xun speechlessly.
"Life has to go on, right?" Ke Xun shrugged. "What else can a single dog like Dongzi do besides work?"
"That's heartbreaking." Wei Dong clutched his chest. "Can we stop the pot calling the kettle black? We're all just dogs now, who's superior to whom?"
"Sorry, even dogs have experience levels and newbies," Ke Xun said. "Tell me your experience points."
Wei Dong: "I'm sorry, bro, I'm a newbie, please take me along."
Zhu Haowen looked at Ke Xun: "Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
Ke Xun: "Yes, I have. It's abnormal for someone as handsome as me not to have one."
Zhu Haowen: "Why did you break up?"
Wei Dong answered for him: "That guy couldn't handle the pressure. Ke'er was the school heartthrob back then, with thousands of eyes watching him every time he walked around the school. Even with all the precautions, there were times when people found out he and that guy were a couple. As a result, that guy chickened out and wanted to break up with Ke'er, so he found another girlfriend to cover for himself." "Rumor. I just laugh. He's clearly gay, yet he goes around deceiving women's feelings and stealing our straight men's love. Doesn't he have any shame?"
Zhu Haowen: "...Ke Xun, do your family members know about your sexual orientation?"
Ke Xun: "Whether they know or not, the old folks can't control me now. Luckily, the old man doesn't have an obsession with carrying on the family line. Even if they find out, they'll just give me a good scolding in my dreams. Otherwise, what can they do? They can't be angry enough to come back to life and return their son."
Zhu Haowen: "I'm sorry, I didn't know you..."
Ke Xun: "It's okay, don't take it to heart."
Zhu Haowen stopped talking and quietly ate his dumplings.
Ke Xun and Wei Dong had finished their portions and were leaning back in their chairs scrolling through their phones.
"Live online post: The poster encountered a very handsome guy and is preparing to muster up the courage to flirt with him." Wei Dong read the post on his phone. "'Hope the poster has good luck, please wait for my follow-up!' -- Damn, these girls are getting more and more superficial. Don't they know what inner beauty is? Being handsome doesn't necessarily mean being kind and gentle. Graphic designers like us, with good tempers, meticulous hearts, good hands, and patience, are your best choice, okay?"
Zhu Haowen: "..."
Ke Xun: "Who are you spying on now?"
Wei Dong: "I just randomly searched for someone in the same city, and the girl's profile picture looked pretty, so I clicked in to take a look. But I once again felt the malice of this world towards single people."
"Hello, hello, can I take a picture with you?" Just then, a pretty girl came into the store and walked over directly, holding her phone with a slightly flushed face, and asked Ke Xun.
Wei Dong: "..."
"Sure." Ke Xun stood up obligingly. "Where to take the picture?"
The pretty girl concealed her inner elation and pointed outside: "Can we go outside? The lighting in the shop is too dim."
Zhu Haowen had just finished his meal, wiped his mouth, and followed Ke Xun out with Wei Dong.
Two girls, seemingly the pretty girl's best friends, were standing under a tree outside, also holding phones and watching Ke Xun, covering their mouths and giggling.
The three girls spent a while taking pictures, but considering that taking pictures in front of the dumpling restaurant was beneath their class, and seeing Ke Xun's friendly attitude, they finally decided to take pictures in front of the art museum across the street.
While crossing the street, Ke Xun saw Qin Ci and Mu Yiran walking towards them from afar and waving.
After finding a good spot outside the art museum, Ke Xun stood next to the pretty girl.
The pretty girl wasn't exactly short to begin with, but standing next to Ke Xun still created a striking height difference, causing her two girlfriends to squeal with delight and frantically snap photos.
Wei Dong whispered to Zhu Haowen, "Damn it, the enemy of all single people."
Zhu Haowen remained expressionless.
"Hey handsome, can we add each other on WeChat?" the pretty girl asked Ke Xun expectantly after taking the photos.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Ke Xun said, "I'm afraid my boyfriend will get jealous."
The pretty girl was stunned: "You… oh my god!"
Wei Dong: "See, you scolded him."
The pretty girl: "Awesome! Only a man deserves such a handsome guy! Ahhhhh!"
Wei Dong: "...WTF?"
Zhu Haowen: "..."
Qin Ci, who walked closer: "...I don't really understand young girls these days..."
Mu Yiran: "."
Watching the pretty girl run to her girlfriends, after a few whispers, the three of them screamed excitedly. The men decided to hurry up and enter the art museum.
Before entering the museum, Ke Xun turned to the three girls and said: "Don't go into this art museum. It was just renovated. It's full of formaldehyde and dust, which is carcinogenic and corrosive to the skin."
Although the square box exhibition hall hadn't actually been renovated, it had indeed been closed recently. Today was the first day it was open, so the group didn't rush into the designated exhibition hall. Instead, they looked around the other exhibition halls first, hoping to find some useful clues.
However, the results were not optimistic.
The paintings exhibited in this art museum covered various themes and styles. It was a bit like a nouveau riche displaying gold, silver, jade, and diamond rings all on one hand, making it impossible for the group to deduce which theme or style of painting would be exhibited in the designated exhibition hall.
The group finally entered the designated exhibition hall, almost reflexively scanning their surroundings, trying to see as many paintings as possible.
When the lights went out and the only source of light came back on, they saw a painting with a faded, grayish tone.
At the center of the painting was a low, dilapidated building, its exterior walls covered with thick ivy, the ground piled high with years of fallen leaves. Beside the large iron gate of the building's courtyard, a wooden plaque with white lettering in black lay on the ground. Before they could even read the words on the plaque, the painting, illuminated by the light, began to distort and float, the half-open iron gate seeming to widen further, welcoming those who entered.
Just before entering the painting, Ke Xun seemed to see a pale, terrified face in one of the dark windows of the dilapidated building, its gray lips wide open, as if screaming: "Don't come in."
Oak Mountain Research Institute.
The wooden plaque beside the iron gate was riddled with holes from insects, proving that the building had been abandoned for many years.
The group stood before the large iron gate, craning their necks to survey the eerie, abandoned research institute they were about to enter.
"I don't like places like this," Wei Dong muttered, swallowing hard.
"Who doesn't?" Qin Ci said calmly.
The group of five wasn't the first to enter. A flurry of footsteps approached from the side, and two men ran up to them. Upon seeing the five, they cried out in a series of questions: "What's going on?! Where is this?! Who are you?!"
While Qin Ci explained the situation to the two men, the other four
looked around. The buildings were sparse; only one or two low-rise buildings could be vaguely seen in the distance, separated by lifeless trees and two dilapidated brick walls, forming a dirty and desolate little street. Further on, the buildings and trees were shrouded in a hazy, gray mist.
This was clearly a restricted painting. Restricted painting means that the viewer's activity area is limited to a specific zone. Outside this zone, other areas, or objects within the painting, are rendered as blurry, low-resolution images. This indicates that the painting requires the viewer to remain within the research institute's area. After hearing
Qin Ci's explanation of the painting, the two men clearly considered him mentally unstable. One of them, a man in his thirties with a street-smart demeanor, shoved Qin Ci, saying, "Tell me, is this some kind of technological gimmick you and the relevant departments pulled together? Did you get our permission?! I'm telling you, this is copyright infringement! I'll file a complaint, you hear me?! Take us back right now! Otherwise, your art museum can forget about operating! I have connections in the city; one document from you and you'll be out of business, understand?! Take us back right now!"
Qin Ci shook his head, deciding to remain silent. He knew that reality would soon show him that even connections in the city couldn't solve the problems he faced.
The street-smart man angrily abandoned Qin Ci and, along with the other person, rushed to the other side of the alley
. Clearly, before the others entered the painting, these two had already been running around the street looking for a way out. The others watched the two disappear into the gray mist at the end of the alley, then turned to look at the other side. Sure enough, a short while later, the two returned, panting.
Those within the confined area of the painting couldn't escape; once they reached the end of the area, they would circle back from the other side.
Before the two astonished figures could even reach them, a man and a woman emerged from the depths of the gray mist, bewildered. What followed was the usual confusion, anger, shock, questioning, and doubt. The five people in the painting were numb and simply stayed aside, ignoring them.
About ten minutes later, a woman appeared. Half an hour later, the last three people emerged from the depths of the gray mist.
Ke Xun glanced over and couldn't help but sigh.
Author's Note:
Welcome to the sixth chapter~
Ke Xun: Happy Valentine's Day to all the lovely ladies reading this~
Wei Dong: A single dog is standing in the corner, staring at you sadly.
Ke Xun: You look so pitiful, mwah. Unlucky in love, lucky at dinner. Come on, let's go eat something good!
Wei Dong: Okay, okay, what are you going to treat me to?
Ke Xun: Dog food~
Wei Dong: ...You're so mean.