Chapter Twelve Begins

  At 8 o'clock in the morning, it is the time for students and workers to go to school or work.

  In the endless stream of cars, a bus is heading in one direction.

  Lin Fang was sitting in the back seat of this bus at this time, holding a piece of paper in his hand and frowning.

  "This piece of paper has been in my pocket for how long, what's the information on it, and this handwriting looks like it was written by someone in a hurry, and it's from a left-hander." The furrowed eyebrows had already affected the position of his glasses.

  Yesterday, Lin Fang woke up and found this note in his hand, took a bath, thought for a while, and then continued to sleep, but because he drank too much, he slept very soundly.

  "Let's put it online and try." Lin Fang copied the string of English letters onto some forums and BBS, seeking help.

  "There is a cryptogram here, seeking masters to decipher."

  "Head-scratching cryptic message, seeking solution."

  Maybe because it was early in the morning, there weren't many people leaving messages, but they were all just spamming.

  "Hmm." A smiling face flashed through Lin Fang's mind, that was Mr. Li's smile.

  I got drunk directly in the private room yesterday. Lin Fang has already called his classmate to ask, so when did I fall asleep?

  A faint dizziness surged up to his head, and he rubbed his forehead, but didn't think about it again.

  Back at the company, Lin Fang didn't have the heart to think about these things anymore, it was all just a dream anyway.

  After doing an hour of dry work, Ye Man came to find Lin Fang.

  "Yeh jie, it seems like we haven't seen each other for a long time." Lin Fang said to her.

  "Really?" Ye Wan was taken aback by Lin Fang's words.

  "Xiao Fang, we're going out tomorrow, are you ready?" Ye Mei said.

  "There's nothing much to prepare, just take a few clothes and that's it." Lin Fang said indifferently.

  "Okay, I'll go ahead and get busy then." Ye Mei's smile was a little smaller today, unlike her usual self.

  "Hey, Ye Jie, is there anyone in the company who's left-handed?" Lin Fang suddenly thought of something and called out to Ye Wei, who was about to leave.

  "Left-handed? I know of one." Ye Mei tilted her head in thought.

  "Who?" Lin Fang was slightly excited.

  "Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives." Ye Man just thought of saying who, then saw Ning Zhiyuan coming over, pointing to him with her chin.

  "Never mind, I still have something to do." Ye Mei left.

  Is Ning a left-hander? It seems like I've never seen him use a pen before. After knowing him for so long, I really didn't know he was a left-hander.

  When Ning Zhiyuan sat down, Lin Fang took out the note and walked towards him.

  "Brother Ning, are you free?" Lin Fang said.

  "Xiao Fang, what's up?" Ning Zhiyuan put down the things in his hand.

  "Help me see what this is." Hand over the note.

  Ning Zhiyuan looked at the note, his eyes showing a thoughtful expression, without any abnormal expression due to the content on this piece of paper.

  "It's like a cryptogram or something, I don't know if the key can unlock it." Ning Zhìyuǎn returned the note to Lin Fang.

  "Is that so? Nothing else, thank you Ning Ge." Lin Fang had been paying attention to Ning Zhiyuan's expression, as if this note wasn't written by him.

  After finishing his work in the morning, Lin Fang ate lunch and returned to the company, quietly browsing the online forum about paper strips on his computer.

  It seems like time flies when you're thinking deeply, and before I knew it, it was already 5 pm, time to get off work.

  Lin Fang went home from the company and chose to take a bus. On his way to the bus stop, he had to cross several zebra crossings.

  The traffic light in front just turned red, and a few people who were in the middle of the road quickly walked past. The cars started moving, and pedestrians were waiting for the next green light.

  Lin Fang was also waiting at the zebra crossing. He noticed an old woman standing next to him, leaning on a cane and wearing many layers of clothing, which made her look somewhat bloated. It was unclear whether it was due to the clothes or not, but her back was already bent. The reason he noticed her was that she had been there before Lin Fang arrived, and when the green light came on, she hadn't taken a single step forward.

  "Young man, the car in front is going too fast. Can you help me get past?" The old lady suddenly turned around and said to Lin Fang.

  "No, no problem." Lin Fang was startled by the old woman's straight face, which was a face that didn't know how many years had passed, with wrinkles on her face that had already distorted her facial features, even covering her eyes.

  The traffic light flashed and turned into a pedestrian crossing.

  "Come on, old lady," Lin Fang said, supporting the old lady's right hand as they walked towards the opposite road.

  The old woman's pace was slower, and the people around her had already walked halfway when she had only taken a few steps. Soon, the two of them reached the middle of the road.

  I don't know if it was because of the long wait or something else, but the traffic light started flashing.

  "Come on, old lady, let's hurry up, the red light is about to appear," Lin Fang said with some urgency.

  "Alright, alright." The old lady seemed to have noticed it too.

  The traffic light has stopped flashing and turned into a steady red light indicating drivers to stop.

  Lin Fang looked at the car on the right with some concern, fearing that they would ignore them and drive away.

  The driver closest to them didn't know if he was distracted or lost his concentration, but he didn't see the two people in the middle of the road and started the car, ready to move.

  "Stop it, XX, can't you see there's someone?" Lin Fang hastily shouted at the driver in a loud voice, and in his anxiety, he cursed.

  The driver seemed oblivious and drove straight towards the two of them.

  Lin Fang was stunned, and the old woman also noticed the driver, equally stunned.

  Watching the passing cars, Lin Fang felt his thoughts speeding up, or was it the surroundings slowing down? Now there were two options in front of him.

  Either abandon the old woman and run away by yourself. Or, speed up together to get across, it's impossible to retreat now, already close to the road on the other side, retreating would be even more dangerous.

  Lin Fang thought of this, and hastily pulled his wife's arm, wanting to drag her forward. As Lin Fang moved, the world seemed to speed up again, and in an instant, the car was about to crash into the two of them.

  A massive force was transmitted to Lin Fang's body, it wasn't the force of impact, nor was it a push, but rather a pull.

  A figure quickly rushed up from behind the two, first with both hands on the old woman's shoulders, then the whole person rushed forward, pulling Lin Fang onto the road ahead.

  The sound of the crutch falling to the ground was so heavy, and by the time Lin Fang came back to his senses, he found himself already standing at the side of the road. He turned around to look at the two of them, but the old woman seemed fine, just a bit short of breath, as if she had been frightened.

  Another person was Lin Fang's acquaintance, Ning Zhìyuǎn.

  "Thanks a lot, Ning Ge. Otherwise, it would have been really dangerous." Lin Fang said with some lingering concern.

  "It's okay, just be more careful next time. Nowadays, drivers don't even know what they're doing, and they don't pay attention while driving." Ning Zhiyuan said coldly with his eyebrows furrowed, and there was something in his eyes that made Lin Fang feel like he had seen it before.

  Watching the car that almost hurt them drive away, Lin Fang heard the old woman muttering to herself, "Bodhisattva bless us." "Amitabha."

  "Thank you, young people." The old lady came back to her senses and said to the two of them.

  In their "no-nonsense" exchange, the old woman nodded and turned to leave.

  Just as Lin Fang was about to speak to Ning Zhiyuan, the traffic light turned green again, and Ning Zhiyuan walked into the road, picked up the crutch, and walked towards the old woman.

  "Brother Ning is really calm and unhurried." Looking at Ning Zhiyuan walking back, Lin Fang had already forgotten about the crutch.

  "Just stay calm and that's it. I won't say any more, I'm in a hurry, I'll go first." Ning Zhiyuan took out his phone from the left pocket of his pants, glanced at the time, and left.

  After the brief interlude was over, Lin Fang continued walking towards the bus station.

  The peak hour after work, there are a lot of people, especially tomorrow is Saturday, on the eve of the weekend.

  Lin Fang is currently in a crowded area, although it's not too crowded, but when walking, he can't go fast, and if he's not careful, he'll bump into others.

  Just after he finished speaking, Lin Fang bumped into someone else.

  The newcomer was dressed in a relaxed manner, which was Lin Fang's first impression. The second impression was that handsome face, but it wore a slightly outdated black-framed glasses.

  "Sorry, sorry." Lin Fang hurriedly apologized, although it was understandable to bump into someone at this time.

  "It's nothing." The newcomer didn't mind either.

  Lin Fang raised his head and they stared at each other, discovering that he had seen this person before.

  "Hello, haven't we met before?" Lin Fang looked at the man in front of him with a bit of wariness. The face was that of Mr. Li from his dreams, but without that eerie smile.

  "Sorry, it seems like there isn't." Mr. Li furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before shaking his head at Lin Fang.

  "This is disturbing." Lin Fang also felt a bit unbelievable, except for the smile, it was really identical.

  "Wait a minute, may I ask where you've seen me before?" Mr. Li looked at Lin Fang who was about to leave and suddenly asked.

  "In his dreams." Lin Fang turned back and smiled helplessly.

  "In a dream?" The man heard Lin Fang's answer and didn't know what to do. Lin Fang could sense that he was stunned for an instant, but soon he spoke up.

  "I don't know what's wrong, I'm inviting you to have a drink, to be honest, at first I didn't think we had met before, but when you mentioned 'dream', I suddenly felt like I knew you, it really feels like I've seen you somewhere." This person invited Lin Fang in front of him, but seeing that Lin Fang was about to refuse, he immediately said the words behind.

  "You too? Alright, anyway we're not in a hurry, where shall we go?" Lin Fang heard this person's words and became very excited, feeling as if he had met a friend with common interests.

  "Let's go to that Ruby Cafe."

  The Ruby Coffee House was a place that Lin Fang had never been to before, located on the other side of the company in an area that was usually quiet and not worth visiting.

  The coffee shop's space isn't very big, with around 10 tables or so. Now some people are holding books, or chatting quietly with friends over a couple of drinks.

  "What would you like to drink?" the man asked.

  "You go ahead, I don't care, by the way, what should I call you?" Lin Fang didn't mind drinking.

  "My name is Li Lin, you can call me Li." This person even has a name that's similar to the one in my dreams. "Trouble bringing two cups of White Russian," he said to the approaching waiter, even what he drinks is the same.

  "Haha, it's really you, no mistake, it's you!" Lin shouted excitedly, his hands raised in agitation, and even his eyes shone with intense radiance.

  "Calm down, don't be in a hurry." Li Lin saw that the people around him were looking over because of Lin Fang's shout, and he quickly let Lin Fang calm down.

  "You know, I had a dream last night that we met at a song and dance hall, then I got drunk and went to the bar for a drink. You also ordered a White Russian and asked me to call you Li." Lin Fang slightly restrained his excitement but was still very excited as he spoke, with the sparkle in his eyes growing brighter as he continued.

  "So magical? Dreamed on the first day and dreamed again on the second day?" Li Lin listened to Lin Fang's words, also very excited.

  "Yes, that's right. At first, I thought it was just a boring dream, but unexpectedly it came true. However, there are still some discrepancies. For example, we met in a song and dance hall, but in reality, it was on the street. And you ordered two cups, but at that time, you didn't say your full name." Lin Fang slowly suppressed his excited emotions and clarified some details.

  "Well, it seems not all of them have been achieved." Li Lin nodded, feeling a complete trust in what Lin Fang said.

  "Then listen to what I have to say, it's not a dream I had recently, so I didn't react immediately." Li Lin said.

  "I remember it was about a year ago, I think. It was at night, and in my dream, I was still a primary school student. After school, I walked home, and when I got halfway, I saw some kids of the same age playing beside me. I stood there watching for a while, then those kids also saw me, so they pulled me to play together. One kid played particularly well, we played there for a long time until all the other kids left, before we said goodbye and went home." Li Lin said slowly, organizing his words and thoughts.

  "Who is that child?" Lin Fang's eyes held a certain expectation.

  "That's right, just like you, and he was wearing glasses at that time." Li Lin looked straight at Lin Fang.

  "But how can you remember it so clearly?" Lin Fang asked with a mix of delight and curiosity.

  "Haha, I have a habit, I like to record everything that happens in my dreams. As soon as I wake up, I immediately write it down in my notebook." Li Lin explained with a smile, his expression very bright and cheerful.

  "We really have a lot in common, I also like to record the content of my dreams." Lin Fang had a feeling of regret for not meeting Li Lin earlier.

  "Hello, here are the things you ordered." At this time, the waiter came up, put down the two cups of coffee on the tray, and walked away.

  "By the way, I haven't asked your name yet." Li Lin picked up his coffee cup and said to Lin Fang.

  "Two trees forest, square circle's square, forest square." Lin Fang said.

  Time flies, and the two of them chatted for a long time in the Ruby Coffee House. The position where they sat allowed them to see the sun outside the window preparing to set.

  "It's getting late, let's talk again next time." Li Lin glanced at his watch.

  "Yes, it's late, I should go too." Lin Fang also noticed the time on the wall, the pointer had already pointed to 6:25, and that clock was a digital and pointer dual-use one.

  "Let's talk again next time, be careful on the road." Li Lin stood up.

  "It was great chatting with you, hope to see you again soon." Lin Fang said as he walked with Li Lin to the coffee shop entrance.

  Li Lin watched as Lin Fang walked towards the bus station, then returned to the coffee shop and sat down, pulling out a cigarette from somewhere, lighting it slowly, his mouth curling up into that familiar, sinister smile he had in his dreams.

  "How interesting, really interesting." Li Lin blew out a puff of smoke, the smoke passing over the clock on the wall which showed 3:00.

  When Lin Fang got on the bus, he didn't expect there were still so many people squeezing onto the public transportation. He was accidentally squeezed and luckily grabbed the handrail beside him quickly. In his heart, he thought that finally, he had found someone with a common interest.

  The sun can also be seen from inside the car, slowly falling down, and the surrounding car lights are also turned on one after another.

  P.S: The second digit has also appeared.