Today marks the twelfth year since Gao Yang crossed over.

Before crossing over, Gao Yang was an orphan who had just celebrated his 6th birthday at the orphanage. That night, he ate a cupcake given to him by the dormitory supervisor, feeling content before drifting off to sleep. Before falling asleep, he made a wish, hoping to find his parents. Then he drowsily entered a dream.

When he woke up, Gao Yang found himself sitting at a dining table, with a steaming bowl of noodles in front of him. He had a mouthful of noodles, half still dangling from his lips.

In the hall of an old house, the morning light was soft. Across the table sat a middle-aged couple he didn't recognize. In the seat backing the door was a kind-looking old lady, and next to him sat a big-eyed little girl, around four or five years old.

"Don't just sit there, hurry up and eat, or you'll be late for school," the woman urged. She was in her thirties, simply dressed in pajamas with no makeup, yet still very pretty.

"Son, do you need Dad to give you a ride?" The man, holding a toothpick in his mouth, smiled as he asked. He was tall and sturdy, with a slight paunch and a receding hairline, but you could still see traces of his youthful handsomeness.

"No! Daddy has to take me to kindergarten!" The little girl shouted angrily, poking at a bowl of millet porridge in front of her.

"Haha, what if Daddy takes your brother first, and then you, okay?" The old lady said it lovingly, caressing the little girl on the head.

Gao Yang's mouth hung open, and the noodle within dropped to the table with a plop.

At six years old, he didn't understand what "crossing over" meant, nor did he know about "parallel world."

He felt he was still dreaming, but little did he realize it would endure twelve years.

....

Gao Yang had long ago blended completely with his host, learning to live in this new reality. Gao Yang, who was eighteen years old and a senior in high school, lived in a cozy and loving family of five, which included a kind-hearted grandma, a loving but often argumentative parents, and a funny younger sister.

He led a good life, just like most of his peers, burying his head in books in preparation for the college entrance exams. Sometimes, he would daydream about which university he would attend, what job he would get, whom he would marry, and how many children he would have....

In short, Gao Yang's wish at six years old had come true. He had "found" his parents and even gained a grandmother and a younger sister.

He was content and had no other desires.

Until his 18th birthday, when everything changed.

After evening study sessions, Gao Yang was riding his bike home. As he passed through a dark alley, a shadow suddenly darted out from the corner, knocking Gao Yang and his bike to the ground.

He took a fall but was not seriously hurt. As he stood up with a grimace, he saw who had collided with him. Under the dim streetlight stood a small, gaunt middle-aged man with a ghostly pale face and a terrified expression, wearing a tattered hospital gown and covered in bloodstains.

"Uncle, are you okay?"

"Run!" The man grabbed Gao Yang's shoulders with an unnaturally strong grip. "Monsters! They're everywhere! Run! Get out of here!"

There was a desperate, bloody smell in the man's voice. "Don't trust anyone...."

Bang!

The man attempted to speak, but a bullet penetrated his temple, traveling through his head and out the other side, transforming into a crimson rose.

"Sss—" The thick mist of blood combined with the strong odor of iron assailed Gao Yang's senses.

The man's hands, which had been clutching Gao Yang's shoulders, gradually relaxed. His horrified visage remained in place indefinitely, his enormously bulging eyes engraved with anguish, uncertainty, and refusal.

Two seconds later, the corpse landed heavily on the ground.

Gao Yang was astonished.

He stood there, his feet fast immersed in the expanding pool of blood, experiencing only a sticky, damp sensation. The faint ringing in his ears caused by the bullet's passage through the man's skull was gradually drowned out by the sound of his heart thumping in his chest: thud, thump, thump, thump...

"Kid, are you hurt?"

"Don't be afraid, you're safe now!"

"Close your eyes, don't look down...."

Several police officers hurried forward, one of them pulled Gao Yang into a hug while concealing his eyes.

....

The next day, Gao Yang made the local news headlines: "Severely Mentally Ill Patient Kills Two Nurses, Escapes at Night, Then Takes High School Student Hostage and Is Shot Dead on the Spot."

Gao Yang took a day off to rest at home. He was indeed a bit shaken, having witnessed someone being brutally shot at close range. Any ordinary person would be disturbed by that. Moreover, the incident with the mentally ill patient had many suspicious points that made him feel uneasy, though he wasn't sure precisely what was wrong.

Gao Yang took a sleeping medication that evening.

He went to sleep and dreamt.

The time-traveling Gao Yang had long since consumed the memories prior to the age of six, yet certain hazy recollections still appeared to have been lost.

In the dream, Gao Yang returned to a summer night when he was four years old.

He had eaten too much watermelon, his bladder was swollen, and he got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. As he passed by his grandparents' room, he heard a rustling sound.Gao Yang was a bit curious. He perked up his ears and pressed against the cold door. The sound became clearer and more unfamiliar.

He had never heard such a sound before. It was like the whimpering of a wild beast, yet also like the mournful cries of a deep-sea whale. It sounded painful, mixed with a twisted excitement. Upon closer discernment, there was also a rough and muffled gnawing sound hidden beneath it.

Gao Yang felt a shiver go down his spine.

He had just completed listening to the kindergarten teacher tell the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood". He worried whether a huge terrible wolf had crept into his house and eaten his grandparents.

Gao Yang's pulse was beating, but he summoned enough confidence to gently open the door.What did he see through the crack in the door!

He was so afraid that he turned around and hurried back to his room, covering his head with the comforter and forgetting to address his physiological issues.

The next morning, Gao Yang wet the bed and assumed it was all a dream. At this point, the mother pulled open the door and hugged Gao Yang tearfully. She wailed and said, "Gao Yang, your grandfather has passed away."

When Gao Yang accompanied his mother out of the room, the hospital workers brought the grandfather's body away on a stretcher and covered it with a white cloth. When the funeral was performed, the grandfather had transformed into an urn.

From start to finish, Gao Yang and his sister were unable to meet their grandfather for the last time.

Gao Yang is now full of doubts.

Grandpa adored Gao Yang and his sister when he was alive. They were close relatives, so why couldn't they visit Grandpa for the final time?

If my recollection serves me well, the upper torso of the grandfather draped in white fabric at the time had a weird form, as if one of his hands was missing.

Didn't Grandpa die from a heart attack? Why was one hand missing?

In the dream, Gao Yang looked at the corpse on the white stretcher, puzzled.

Suddenly, the corpse on the white stretcher sat up!

Under the white cloth, it turned out to be the psychopathic man. His eyes were hollowed out, leaving only two deep blood holes, and sticky black blood spurted out from his seven orifices. He stretched out his bloody hands and pinched Gao Yang's shoulders.

Monster! Monsters are everywhere! Run! Get out of here!

Don't trust anyone!

.....

"Ah!"

Gao Yang woke up from his dream.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the sun was shining, the April breeze blew the curtains, and outside the window was the hustle and bustle of the city.

"Brother, are you having a nightmare?" The sister sat at the head of Gao Yang's bed, tilted her head and looked at him, blinking her big eyes.

Gao Yang was stunned: "Why are you in my room?

His sister glared at him with contempt: "The sun is shining on your buttocks, and mom has asked me to wake you up!"

"Okay, I got it."

The sister stepped out of the room.

Gao Yang was still a bit disoriented when he turned over, got out of bed, and gulped a large mouthful of water.

When the phone rang, Gao Yang casually accessed WeChat.

"Puff--" He sprayed a mouthful of water.