125. Mom, I'm in Love

Xu Duzhong, a sophomore at the School of Automation at Jiangcheng University, is enjoying his Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

He wasn't from Jiangcheng, but lived in Jiang Province. His hometown was Lingcheng, a city next to Jiangcheng. Although Lingcheng was a subordinate city of Jiangcheng in terms of administrative divisions, Xu Duzhong always told others that he was from Lingcheng, not Jiangcheng.

There are often jokes online that even a street away in Jiang Province is considered a different place, which shows how fragmented it is.

Because he lives close to home, he still goes home even during the short one-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

For Xu Duzhong, being at home wasn't actually that comfortable. He was woken up by his mother at eight in the morning, had lunch at his maternal grandmother's house, and then went to his paternal grandfather's house in the evening.

After dinner, he could finally slack off.

After losing four games in a row while playing with his classmates, Xu Duzhong shut down the game.

"This stupid game, I'm uninstalling it!"

He clicked delete, removing the game's desktop icon.

As for why it's about deleting the icon instead of uninstalling the game, Xu Duzhong can only say that those who know, know.

Reinstalling the game is such a hassle.

"You should play fewer games and spend more time studying. Look at the boy next door, he went straight into a state-owned enterprise after graduating from university and is getting married soon. By the way, you need to find a girlfriend in university, otherwise, no one will even look at our family after graduation."

The mother came in, nagging as she carried in the peeled apples and mooncakes.

"Knew."

Xu Duzhong responded and opened a video website, hoping to find a movie to watch.

He took a bite of the apple with his left hand and saw a post from a content creator he was following.

"[Motionless] has been updated? A movie?"

He became curious.

After being badly burned by Lu Ban's interactive video, Xu Duzhong recommended the video to his other roommates.

Then, the whole dorm got scammed.

Xu Duzhong was very satisfied.

"I didn't expect it to be a short film this time. The length is touching."

He took another bite of his apple and started watching a movie.

Right at the beginning, before the video even appeared, a bunch of comments popped up.

[A deeply moving film, you must watch it to the end!]

[It's not scary at all, the content creator has successfully transitioned!]

This is a heartwarming and touching movie, full of positive energy!

[Warning: High alert! Non-combatants, please evacuate!]

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!

In addition, there were a bunch of people reporting the date. Xu Duzhong immediately blocked the numbers, turned the bullet screen density to the minimum, and started watching the movie.

After seeing the simple logo of the manufacturer, Xu Duzhong saw a vast, clear blue sea.

Just like on a small island in the south, this overhead shot shows schools of fish and a small boat beneath the sea, which is very magnificent.

"The visuals are great."

Xu Duzhong took another bite of the apple.

Then he saw Lu Ban, and after a brief conversation with the boatman, Xu Duzhong realized something was wrong.

"What's underwater?"

Many comments were also pointing out that just as he was looking closely, Xu Duzhong discovered something in the water.

It was a gigantic monster, larger than any creature he had ever seen before.

The monster was swimming beneath Lu Ban's small boat, its enormous body appearing even more terrifying in the clear water.

The small boat capsized, and the camera fell into the water. Beneath the turbulent surface, however, lay a tranquil scene, as still as night.

Lu Ban fell into the water, and the sunlight shone through the waves, making his face Pale as if he were dead.

Xu Duzhong stopped eating the apple.

He felt a suffocating sensation, as if he were being submerged in water, and he was at a loss.

Feeling breathless and as if water had gotten into his eyes, Xu Duzhong felt an itch and realized that it wasn't Lu Ban who had fallen into the water, but himself.

Then he saw the enormous monster on the seabed, covered in eyeballs and tentacles.

The incomprehensible monster triggered Xu Duzhong's megalophobia. His eyes widened, and he felt his chest becoming increasingly suffocated, as if he were sinking into the sea.

The number of comments on the screen suddenly decreased, as if everyone was so captivated by the scene that they were suffocating.

I'm dying from claustrophobia.

The special effects are so powerful, they feel just like the real thing.

Am I the only one who feels like I can't breathe?

[Everyone, six minutes are almost up. See you later!]

[WTF, my closet has been moved!]

A buzzing sound of pressure changes filled his ears. Xu Duzhong stared blankly at the monster, seeing countless enormous tentacles reaching towards the camera.

He could even feel the slippery tentacles brushing against his arm.

No, that's not an illusion.

Xu Duzhong felt something brush past his ankle. He looked down and saw a tentacle emerging from the shadows, slowly wrapping around his legs.

"!!!"

Xu Duzhong was taken aback and quickly withdrew his leg.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was the wiring of the network cable and the power strip.

"You scared me to death!"

Xu Duzhong kept telling himself that these were all movies, all fake, and then looked at the screen.

The enormous monster was being burned by flames, and the Pale fire from the seabed sent a chill down Xu Duzhong's spine even through the screen.

He saw Lu Ban being rescued, the ship heading towards an island, the camera zoomed out, and the movie title appeared between the sea and the sky.

"Hyakunin Isshu"

"Is it a story about Japanese style?"

Xu Duzhong felt much easier to breathe, and the suffocating feeling he had just experienced seemed like an illusion.

Many domestic films nowadays like to film abroad to let audiences experience exotic customs, and he doesn't mind.

"This island is quite nice. I wonder which island it is from."

Xu Duzhong then remembered that he still had an apple in his hand. He took two more bites and followed the plot forward.

"So it's a suspense drama. Are they looking for someone? Who's the actress playing Momiji? She's quite pretty."

As a teenage boy, Xu Duzhong was bound to be interested in pretty girls. He thought the female lead in this movie was quite good. She didn't look like those internet celebrities with their uniformly thin, snake-like faces, nor did she have that world-weary, weathered look. She was pure, cute, and a little aloof.

Holy crap, that was awesome!

I need all her information within three minutes!

[Who is this celebrity? I don't think I've ever seen them before.]

[They're probably newcomers, maybe students from some film academy, but their acting is quite good.]

My heart has been stolen by the Momiji; from now on, I may experience neither joy nor sorrow.

Mom, I'm in love.

I feel that so far in this movie, the lead actor's performance is the worst; everyone else is quite good, even the boatman's acting is better than the lead's!

Did you guys feel suffocated just now? Holy crap, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

[Yes, yes, my heart stopped when I saw Miss Momiji!]

Xu Duzhong scoffed at the barrage of comments filled with lust.

"They're all shallow guys who can't move when they see a pretty girl!"

I then paused the video, opened my browser, and searched for keywords such as "Hyakunin Isshu" (Hyakunin Isshu), "Momiji" (Red Leaves), and "Actors".

Five minutes later, Xu Duzhong returned home disappointed.

"There's no information! What the hell?!"

He picked up a mooncake and continued watching the movie.