Chapter 2

  Every time I meet a familiar face in a strange place, have I forgotten where we met before?

  Lin Fang waited outside the store for a while, and Ye Mei came out.

  "Xiao Fang, sorry about that, but I have something to attend to and won't be able to accompany you back to the company." Ye Mei said as soon as she came out.

  "It's okay, I'll just walk back by myself, quietly." Lin Fang said to Ye Wei.

  "You little brat, speaking ill of me again. I'm busy now, wait till I come back to deal with you." Ye Mei threatened Lin Fangdao with a pretended angry face.

  "Alright, go ahead, Ye Da is busy." Lin Fang waved his hand at Ye Mei with a nonchalant expression, clearly unaffected by the threats.

  "I won't say anything more, I'll go first, see you later." Ye Man said to Lin Fang after stopping a taxi on the side of the road.

  Ye Wei told the driver the address and then waved at Lin Fang before the car headed in a different direction towards another part of the company.

  Lin Fang put down his right hand, which was still swinging, and looked at his watch. It was only 12:45. He wouldn't have anything to do back at the company anyway, since it wasn't even close to work hours yet - basically not until 1:30. Plus, it wasn't very far away, so Lin Fang decided to take a walk around.

  Because the company is located near the city center, the surrounding facilities are also very good. Lin Fang has now walked to a park just near the company, and it only takes 10 minutes to return to the company.

  "Ah!" Lin Fang took a deep breath and lay down on the wooden chair by the side of the road. It was noon, so there were not many people in the park. Lin Fang was enjoying the warm feeling of the sun shining on him. It was early spring, and the sunshine was just warm enough.

  Lin Fang didn't know when he started liking to dream, maybe it was when he learned how to control his dreams. This feeling was like being addicted to drugs.

  Every day I look forward to going to sleep at night, just so that I can try different things.

  "Watch out!" A voice opened Lin Fang's eyes, and then he saw a bicycle heading towards an old man.

  The voice was someone else's shout, and the person on the bicycle was a young man, probably a student. In front of the bicycle, an old man was leaning on his crutches, and his movements seemed unusually slow at this time. The two sides were less than 4 meters apart, and Lin Fang was watching from a nearby wooden chair.

  Just as they were about to collide, Lin Fang was stunned for a moment, the focus in his eyes scattered, and when he came back to consciousness.

  The bicycle had stopped just half a meter away from the old man. Lin Fang saw that the old man hadn't been hit and let out a sigh of relief.

  "Hmph, it's none of my business anyway. What I care about is that even if something really happens, at most I'll just be a witness." Lin Fang self-mocked and glanced at his watch, which already showed 1:15.

  On the way back to the company, Lin Fang still saw that bicycle and a few friends who were classmates riding together. In fact, it's not very safe to ride bicycles in the park. Lin Fang shook his head and walked towards the direction of the company.

  Then he returned to the company, punched in, and Lin Fang sat back in his own seat. If nothing unexpected happened, he would basically sit there for an entire afternoon before punching out and leaving work. Ning Zhiyuan said this about Lin Fang.

  "Alas, these dull days, when will they end?" Lin Fang sighed and said helplessly. Although it wasn't his first day like this, and he had been through almost a year of work, he still felt bored and uninterested.

  Ning Zhiyuan was not in the office either, and it was unknown where he had gone. There were many people in the office, but everyone was busy with their own affairs, plus Lin Fang's indifferent personality, so naturally no one would come to chat with him to alleviate the monotony of work.

  "It's better in dreams, unfortunately I couldn't control it recently." Lin Fang didn't say this out loud, he just thought about it for a moment, but it was already unstoppable.

  "Why can't I control it? It's a recent problem, seems to have started from last week. What's the reason?" Lin Fang liked to think, one of his few good qualities was that he liked to think to the root of the problem, but at this time he couldn't figure out what the reason was.

  Lin Fang didn't care about the computer in front of him, he was just thinking about how to control his dreams as said in the book.

  "Dreams can be controlled, one of the methods is suggestion, suggestions before sleep, through an environment, a piece of music, or an object, to suggest what you want to dream about next." Lin Fang quietly recalled the words from the book.

  "Hey kiddo! What's on your mind? You're so absorbed!" a voice interrupted Lin Fang's thoughts.

  Lin Fang nodded slightly, bringing his consciousness back to reality. Without looking, he knew it was Ning Zhiyuan just by the sound of his voice.

  "Ah, Ning Ge, it's you. I didn't think much of it, just a small matter. Is there something going on?" Lin Fang looked a bit dazed, possibly because his consciousness hadn't fully returned to reality yet.

  "Oh? No, your minister just asked me to give you a document in a hurry. Here, take it." Ning Zhiyuan looked at Lin Fang with confusion, the puzzlement in his eyes was not understanding why Lin Fang would also have a thoughtful expression, in his memory, Lin Fang had always been nonchalant for the past year, this time it made him a little surprised.

  Ning Zhiyuan put down the file folder in his hand and didn't continue asking questions. He was busy with his own affairs.

  Lin Fang looked at the file folder on the table, let out a sigh, feeling extremely bored. Just as he was thinking of quickly getting rid of the files on his computer and shifting his gaze to the screen, he discovered something different.

  The file was just an ordinary archive backup file. The difference was that there was an extra line of words at the bottom, a line of words he had never seen before.

  "Has your dream become uncontrollable?" It's a sentence like this that doesn't match the file at all.

  Lin furrowed his brow and seriously stared at the sentence for 1 minute. At first, he thought about whether it was typed by himself, but there was no memory of finger movement. Then, he wondered if the computer was infected with a virus, but this sentence would not make sense unless it was done intentionally.

  Lin Fang's eyebrows were getting tighter and tighter, but he let out a breath and deleted the sentence, forcing himself not to think about it anymore. Since he couldn't figure it out, he might as well not think about it at all. A carefree attitude was revealed.

  Slowly shifting his attention back to work, although it was dull, he got used to it, and every day was spent like this. Lin Fang soon found himself busy until the end of the working hours.

  "See you later, Xiao Qing. See you tomorrow." This was said by a female colleague to another female colleague. The area where Lin Fang works is shared by two small groups, and the female colleague who just spoke is a member of his group, but Lin Fang didn't say much.

  "Lin Fang, see you later." A colleague passed by Lin Fang and greeted him casually.

  "Goodbye." Lin Fang also waved his hand in response.

  After everyone had left, Lin shut down his computer, packed up his things and stood up to punch out.

  Arriving at the punch-in place, I found that there was still one person. Lin Fang looked at his watch and it was already 5:20. It was surprising that someone hadn't left yet.

  Before leaving, he took a look and found that it was a middle-aged man with an average build, short hair, wearing a suit that made him look very neat. It turned out to be the leader of his group, Wang Zhuo.

  "Brother Wang, why haven't you left yet?" Lin Fang still greeted him proactively as the team leader. He was considered to be at a mid-to-lower level in this small group, and it was already good of Wang Zhuo not to replace him.

  Wang Zhuo turned his head and revealed a very mature face. Seeing that it was Lin Fang, he said to him.

  "Hey Xiao Fang, why haven't you left yet? I just finished being busy and was about to drink a glass of water before leaving." He even raised the cup in his hand as he spoke.

  "I'm always coming back this late, you're not unaware of it." Lin Fang would always use honorifics when speaking to Wang Zhuo, his elder.

  "Xiao Fang, this won't do, you should communicate more with your colleagues in daily life. Although you've just entered society, these are things you should pay attention to every day. The more friends you have, the more paths you'll have. Especially now that competition is so fierce." Wang Zhuo said to Lin Fang with a tone of deep concern.

  "Yes, I'll pay more attention in the future, thank you for your concern, Brother Wang." Lin Fang also said he knew, but whether or not he listened was only known to himself.

  "Alright, let's go. Our group meeting is tomorrow, remember to come early." Wang Zhuo wasn't the first time he said this to Lin Fang, but every time Lin Fang had an indifferent attitude, making it impossible for the conversation to continue.

  Lin Fangdao bid farewell to Wang Zhuo, swiped his card and walked out of the company, taking the elevator to head home.

  "Ding ding ding." Lin Fang's phone rang, he picked it up and saw that it was a call from Ye Man. Oh no, he had forgotten that they were supposed to go shopping at the supermarket together.

  "Hello, Ye Jie." Lin Fang took a look at the caller ID and it was indeed a call from Ye Man.

  "Xiao Fang, where are you now? You promised me to go shopping at the supermarket together." Ye Mei said immediately after Lin Fang answered the phone.

  "I'm now in the first floor hall, how about you?" Lin Fang said.

  "Alright, wait for me a moment, I'll be right there." Yemeng said after finishing this sentence and hung up the phone.

  Lin Fang put down his phone and thought Ye Wei would come out from the elevator entrance, so he stood in a more conspicuous place, looking at the elevator entrance.

  About three minutes later, Lin Fang's left shoulder was tapped from behind. He naturally turned his head to look back, but didn't find anyone. At this time, Ye Wei came out from the right side, smiling at Lin Fang.

  "Yeh, how old are you now, still playing this kind of game." Lin Fang said helplessly as he saw Ye Wei's smiling face.

  "Hehe, never mind, as long as it's fun, let's go, we're going to Hui Li supermarket." Yemeng said, and then walked out of the hall first.

  "Right, Ye Jie, you just came back from outside?" Lin Fang said to Ye Man beside him.

  "Yes, I didn't return to the company for an entire afternoon, and then I received a call from a client and got busy." Ye Mei gently stroked her hair with her hand, letting her long locks relax naturally.

  "No wonder I couldn't see you just now. By the way, our group is having a meeting tomorrow, do you know?" Lin Fang's first sentence was whispered, and the latter was said to Ye Wei.

  "I know, Uncle Wang called me to inform me." Ye Man's address to Wang Zhuo might be more intimate than Lin Fang's.

  The two of them chatted casually and soon arrived at Hui Lei Supermarket, which was not far from their company. It took less than 10 minutes to get there.

  "Xiao Fang, you go ahead and take a look around, I'll go buy some feminine products." Ye Mei said, pushing a shopping cart towards the daily necessities section.

  Lin Fang thought that there was not much food at home, wanted to supplement some food. Because Lin Fang is not very interested in meat, especially likes to eat vegetables and fruits, so he is tall but does not exercise much and is a bit thin.

  "Potatoes, cabbage, and some fruit." Lin Fang didn't push the shopping cart, but simply picked up the selected food and packed it in a fresh-keeping bag.

  "Huh? This tomato is rotten, what a pity, it's so big." Lin Fang looked at the tomato in his hand, pinching it, where one part had already become soft and mushy, even oozing out some juice.

  Look around, Lin Fang knew that there would be a broken food recycling bin here. The supermarket staff checked the freshness of vegetables and fruits every day, and those that were damaged would be thrown away. As for what to do with them, Lin Fang didn't know, but he happened to see an employee throw away a rotten apple.

  Lin Fang walked towards the location in his memory, and indeed there was a basket in a corner. Inside were all rotten food, because it was afternoon, the time was relatively long, and half of its capacity had already been filled. Being close by, it emitted a pungent stench that pierced one's nostrils.

  He held his breath and threw the tomato into the recycling bin. It was unclear whether the tomato couldn't withstand the impact or if there were some hard objects inside, but the tomato burst open, releasing a lot of juice that slowly seeped out. In less than 10 seconds, it had overflowed from the bin, covering the floor with a mixture of red and other colored liquids. But before long, the entire floor was covered in a deep red liquid, like blood.

  Lin Fangzheng wanted to look ahead more clearly. At this time, Ye Mei had just finished shopping and was pushing a cart, shouting at Lin Fang.

  "Xiao Fang, have you bought everything? If so, let's get ready to leave." Ye Mei seemed a bit anxious and eager to leave at this time.

  "Oh, okay." Lin Fang responded, his footsteps forward also stopped, turned around and walked towards Ye Huan's direction, occasionally turning back to look at the parachute that was still slowly getting bigger with a red color.

  "There should be staff coming to clean up, right." Lin Fang thought so and didn't look back again.

  The two of them settled the bill at the checkout counter and walked out of the supermarket. As expected, Ye Wei and Lin Fang said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

  "Ah." Lin Fang held two bags in his hand, stretched out a comfortable waist, and wanted to exhale the boredom of the whole day with that one breath.

  It's unclear whether it was really effective, but Lin Fang felt a bit more emotionally relieved.

  "It's time to go home and dream." Lin Fang thought to himself at this moment, feeling a bit of anticipation. After all, every dream was different, making one look forward to it.

  After nearly an hour, Lin Fang returned home at 7:30, hastily putting down his briefcase, changing clothes, and casually making tonight's dinner.

  "This time's greens are pretty good, quite fresh." Lin Fang munched on the greens in his mouth.

  After dinner, Lin Fang picked up an apple and prepared to peel it for eating. The apple was very red and had been picked at the most mature time. Lin Fang looked at the apple and thought of that rotten tomato again, wondering if anyone had cleaned it up, guessing that whoever saw it would go clean it up immediately.

  Lin Fang tidied up the household chores, took out that book, and today prepared to redo the preparations thoroughly.

  "Everyone has a subconscious mind, which is shaped by experiences, environment, growth, knowledge, and differs from person to person. The biggest difference lies in one's mindset. The subconscious mind influences many things, but the author believes that it has the greatest impact on each person's life, shaping their differences. However, few people realize this because they think they are using their conscious mind to choose their life path.

  At times, when you go to a shopping mall and want to buy fruit, you're faced with choices like apples and bananas. You may not fully understand the differences between them, but your subconscious will make a choice for you, and you'll end up buying one of them. This choice is influenced by your subconscious, which has been shaped by things like advertisements, words, or someone eating fruit in front of you and making it look delicious.

  Of course, you may not consciously remember these events, but your subconscious mind will recall every detail and influence your judgment without you even realizing it."

  Lin Fang looked at the book in his hand, initially only attracted by the title of this book, and then saw this sentence in the preface, which sparked his interest to buy it. Lin Fang adjusted his breathing and slowly turned to the page where he had made a note.

  "Dreams are a game of the subconscious, but they are not unconscious. Some people dream to release the pressure in life, and all the troubles that cannot be released in real life are released in dreams. This is a protective consciousness of the subconscious. Some people do things in their dreams that they want to do in their daily lives but can't, or they dream about what they will be like in the future because they currently don't have the ability to achieve it, which is why there's the term 'dream'."

  The sentence ended here, Lin Fang turned the book to the next page, and what followed was what Lin Fang wanted to see.

  "Nothing remains unchanged, including intangible things like beliefs, goals and attitudes. The subconscious is no exception and can be changed. Originally, the subconscious was meant to change one's environment, attitude, and mindset, leading to various choices. We can reverse this process by changing our environment, attitude, and emotions to alter our subconscious. Here are some simple methods for making changes."

  Lin Fang's spirit began to concentrate, and even his eyes seemed to have a hint of brilliance.

  1: Environment, choose a relatively quiet environment, with some monotonous sounds nearby, repetitive sounds that help you enter the subconscious to the greatest extent, without knowing that this is the subconscious.

  2: Body, choose a most comfortable posture lying down, clothes on body should not be too much, no feeling of weight.

  3: Mindfulness, don't think about how to control the body, think that the body starts from the feet, to the waist, arms, and finally relaxes the brain, every time you are aware of where, that position will be relaxed.

  4: Breathe, with intervals between deep breaths not too short. After each exhalation, feel the flow of air leaving, then pause. After a few seconds, inhale again, feeling the sensation of air flowing into the lungs, then continue to pause. Repeat continuously.

  5: Mood, before doing these preparations, do some proper exercise, listen to some happy music, or take a bath, sweat out, make your mood more pleasant, most importantly, the balance of emotions, cannot be tilted towards negativity.

  6: Suggest, doing, or before, there must be a suggestion to go back to the you at that time, and use the current you to see clearly the you at that time, how it was controlled and influenced by the subconscious, suggesting to yourself that you are awake, and bring the main consciousness back to take a look at the hidden subconscious.

  Lin Fang took a deep breath, this book was originally about the subconscious, but after Lin Fang tried it once, he did these preparations before going to sleep and found that when he dreamed halfway through, he actually knew he was dreaming, although he woke up soon after. This made Lin Fang feel very strange, as the number of times he dreamed increased, Lin Fang felt that he could control the direction of his dreams.

  Like last night's nightmare, it was also said in the last sentence of the book that when you can't face the choices made by your subconscious mind, you have to tell him to stop.

  This became Lin Fang's mantra to wake himself up from his dreams.

  Lin Fang finished washing up, wearing only a short-sleeved pajama and sleep pants, put his phone on the bedside table, which was playing a piece of music that was very light, soft, and quiet, and could only be heard if one listened carefully. Every now and then, there would be a slightly louder sound.

  Lying lightly on the bed, as it was March, the temperature was warm and cozy. Lin Fang didn't cover himself with a quilt, his hands placed on his belly, breathing slowly. The sound coming from beside his ear was soft and gentle, with a slight emphasis in between, "Hmmm" this syllable seemed to have a magical power, slowly stabilizing Lin Fang's consciousness, relaxing, gradually falling asleep.

  In the Huilei supermarket, Lin Fang and Ye Wei were at the checkout counter when an employee went to handle the rotten vegetables in the recycling basket in the vegetable and fruit section. However, he didn't clean up the red liquid on the floor. When the employee returned, the puddle of red liquid was gone, as if it had never existed before. The employee hadn't seen it either and went off to attend to other matters.

  Dreams are a game of the subconscious mind.