The Past Is Like a Dream

The wall clock happened to reach half past nine in the evening.

But Su Houde had already been standing outside the corridor since nine, looking into the spacious room.

The smell of watercolor paints drifted out of the room from time to time, accompanied by gentle music. Only after the last student inside finished scanning a counterfeit painting of "David" did he leave, right at half past nine.

This was an art studio.

At that moment, the art teacher inside the studio, dressed in a canvas denim apron with her hair tied up and an ethereal air about her, let out a long breath. Looking at the now-empty studio, she revealed a satisfied smile.

She began tidying up the tools and stools in the studio.

"San Niang..."

Su Houde called softly.

Luo Qiu, who had watched with him for a full half hour, suddenly said, "Aren't you going in?"

Su Houde hesitated for a moment before asking, "She... doesn't remember me?"

Luo Qiu said indifferently, "Do you still remember Taiyinzi? Later, I asked him about the 'Supreme Jade Emperor's Heart Seal Subtle Scripture.' Every time one stage was completed, one physical form was abandoned. Once abandoned, it was gone. She wouldn't remember you, the person who had made jade for her back then, nor would she remember herself, the one who had asked you to make it... Why ask? After watching for half an hour, don't you already have the answer in your heart?"

Su Houde sighed. "She is San Niang, but I can't feel that she is San Niang... Her eyes weren't like this."

As he spoke, Su Houde gritted his teeth and suddenly stepped forward, walking into the studio.

A young art teacher had suddenly barged in. Now called Qin Chuyu instead of Yu Sanniang, she said in surprise, "Sir, I've already closed for the night. May I ask what you want?"

"San Niang..." Su Houde called softly.

Qin Chuyu looked slightly wary. "Sir, who are you looking for?"

Although the man wasn't truly disheveled, he had a down-and-out air about him. His face was haggard, and it easily made people wary—at least, that was the expression Qin Chuyu now wore.

Su Houde's heart ached, and his face grew several shades paler. He lowered his head sadly, then sat to one side, with a drawing board between him and Qin Chuyu.

"Sir, what are you trying to do?"

"Could you let me paint a picture? I can pay... It will only take as long as one painting."

"Sir, I'm closing up. If you want to learn to paint, you can come back tomorrow and sign up."

However, Su Houde had already picked up a Da Vinci V35 from the tool tray beside him. After dipping it in water, its unruly bristles gathered into a point, like a brush for painting eyebrows.

Su Houde sat perfectly straight. He closed his eyes, held up the paintbrush, and remained completely still.

Qin Chuyu had never seen anyone look so focused when putting brush to paper. She couldn't help frowning—should she have security from the mall come and drive this man away, or use some other method to get rid of him?

While she was pondering this, the strange man had already begun.

He concentrated wholly on each stroke without looking at her, tenderness rising in his eyes.

He rubbed, dabbed, and outlined.

Strange colors interwove within the brushstrokes. Out of curiosity, Qin Chuyu walked behind Su Houde and took a look. After that, she did not leave.

This was not the Western way of painting. The man was actually using a watercolor brush like a Chinese brush to create an ink painting.

But... what he was outlining seemed to be a portrait of a woman in palace dress.

She smiled sweetly, utterly natural, and seemed almost ready to leap out of the painting. Qin Chuyu parted her lips slightly. The woman in the painting seemed to have been modeled after her.

Su Houde began inscribing words on the canvas, and he also read aloud the words requested by the readers.

"Seated before yellow flowers, I raise a cup; when sober, I still recall the madness of drunkenness."

"How could cinnabar be a medicine that lasts a thousand years? Even daylight cannot dispel the frost on my temples."

"An inscription behind me is merely empty praise; the puppets before my eyes may busy themselves as they please."

"Recalling this floating life, it truly became a dream. In the end, there must... there must be a curtain call."

Qin Chuyu seemed to be drawn into a wondrous state of mind by the inscribed poem, losing herself for a moment. When she came back to her senses, Su Houde had already reached the doorway and was about to leave.

Several crumpled banknotes lay on the stool... He really had paid.

Qin Chuyu froze, then hurriedly called after him, "Sir, your painting..."

"Keep it."

Su Houde closed the door.

Qin Chuyu instinctively snatched up the banknotes from the stool and rushed out of the studio, only to find both corridors completely empty. How could she possibly see anyone there?

She returned to the finished painting and felt that this night was inexplicably... wondrous.

"She really forgot me... She even forgot herself..."

Outside the mall, Su Houde sat on the edge of the music fountain, which had already been turned off. He gazed dejectedly at the unclear night sky, then suddenly said, "Once, the sky was filled with stars."

"There must be a curtain call." Luo Qiu sat down beside Su Houde and said softly, "In the end, there will be a curtain call."

"Why exactly did I drift and struggle through these five hundred years?" Su Houde looked at Luo Qiu.

Luo Qiu shook his head.

How would he know? He didn't possess the wisdom accumulated through countless years, enough to explain it in a single sentence, all right?

But the words still wouldn't come out, and as the club owner, it would be damn embarrassing to lose face. So he could only speak like an old monk: "Love takes its toll."

Su Houde froze.

Suddenly, he burst out laughing, laughing loudly, his laughter filled with sorrow. He abruptly stood up, spread his arms, and let his body fall backward into the fountain, sinking into the water.

After a long while, Su Houde finally said calmly, "It's over... Take what you wanted. This painful memory is better off gone."

Luo Qiu nodded and reached out toward Su Houde.

Some light was finally seized into a Light Orb in Luo Qiu's palm. At the same time, Su Houde suddenly stood up and felt the changes within himself.

He felt something peeling away from his body. His entire person began to grow lighter and lighter. "I... What happened to me?"

"The obsession that made you drift for five hundred years was the desire to see Yu Sanniang again. What was the source of that obsession? It should have been your unwillingness to let go of those feelings. You said it was painful because you loved her deeply."

Luo Qiu toyed with the Light Orb in his hand. "But without all those beautiful memories, where would your obsession come from? There must be a curtain call... In the end, it will also fade away."

"Is that so... I also..."

He finally closed his eyes.

When Su Houde opened his eyes again, he only felt icy cold all over and utterly miserable. "I... Where is this? Who are you?"

The jade craftsman from his past life had vanished. What remained was only Su Houde himself—and he had also forgotten this absurd affair.

Now, here was the problem.

Who had suddenly fallen into the pool? He suddenly saw a masked, sneaky-looking fellow standing before him, and felt that something was terribly wrong.

Luo Qiu said, "Who I am isn't important... What's important is whether you've forgotten something."

Su Houde frowned and spaced out for a moment. "I seem to be... a little confused."

Luo Qiu placed several banknotes on the ground. "You forgot that your family is worried about you, afraid that something might have happened to you."

"What?"

At that moment, Su Houde suddenly looked as though he had seen a ghost. The fellow who had been standing before him was gone!

"Good grief..."

He shuddered violently, recalling what that strange household had said. He instinctively pulled out his phone, only to find that the call log had already been flooded with calls from his family and friends.

He couldn't help asking in astonishment, "How long... has it been since I went home?"

PS: Have you forgotten that the person you never forgot had long since forgotten you? Have you forgotten that the people who always remembered you have always been waiting for you...? Have you also forgotten... to vote!!!