Birthday

On the day of his second eighteenth birthday, Chen Chong had a dream.

In the dream, the space above, below, and all around him was an endless Starry Vault; he stood amidst a sea of stars, facing a Hexagonal Ancient Well.

He lowered his head to peer inside, and a pair of scarlet eyes suddenly appeared within the well.

The next moment.

The ancient well transformed into a giant maw encompassing the starry sky, and it proceeded to Devour him, the dream, and everything else in its entirety.

Chen Chong snapped his eyes open.

His field of vision was still the ceiling of his cramped bedroom.

There were no giant beasts or starry skies; only the black specks of insects flickering behind the fluorescent light tube.

"A nightmare...?"

Chen Chong frowned.

The dream he had just experienced felt strangely real, unlike anything he had felt before.

Yet, for such an exceptionally vivid nightmare, he did not feel the slightest hint of fright.

It was a bit peculiar.

Lost in thought for a moment, Chen Chong tilted his head to look at the old mechanical alarm clock on the nightstand; the hour hand was already pointing at "12."

"I slept that long?"

He raised an eyebrow, got up to throw on his clothes, and pushed open his bedroom door. The sound of the television in the living room instantly grew louder.

"...Hope Group announced yesterday that its subsidiary, Dawn Biology, has once again broken through the limitations of gene-editing technology. In the next decade, the average life expectancy of residents in Central City is expected to surpass the century mark..."

"...The Lishan City Public Security Bureau reports that several pager fraud cases have occurred recently. Criminal gangs are using pager messages to impersonate law enforcement officers, tricking victims into transferring money at banks or traveling to settlements outside the city for 'investigations' or 'prize redemptions,' only to kidnap and extort them. The Public Security Bureau reminds all citizens to be vigilant and not to trust the rhetoric of criminals. Any activity involving travel to the Wasteland outside the city is a scam. Zzzzz--"

The old television broadcasting the news suddenly turned into a screen of static. His uncle, Shen Jianping, frowned and cursed under his breath. He rose from the deep-red artificial leather sofa, walked over to the television, and slammed his palm twice against the large casing of the old set.

"Bang, bang--"

"Now broadcasting the next news brief..."

The two loud thuds fixed the television, but they also startled his aunt, who was preparing food in the kitchen. She poked her head out and chided:

"I've told you so many times to be gentle; don't break it—Chong'er, you're up? Go wash your face; lunch will be ready in a minute."

Chen Liping smiled warmly. Her cheeks were slightly plump and her skin was fair; though her features were ordinary, she looked very kind. Only the dense fine lines at the corners of her eyes and the few strands of gray hair at her temples betrayed her age.

Chen Chong nodded:

"I don't know how I managed to sleep so late."

"It's fine, it's winter break anyway. Young people should sleep more to help them grow."

After saying this, Chen Liping retreated back into the kitchen, and the sound of stir-frying immediately drifted out.

Barely ten minutes later.

Just as Chen Chong finished washing up, Chen Liping placed the final main dish—a basin of braised carp—in the center of the large round dining table and called the family to eat.

"Old Shen!"

"Coming."

Shen Jianping first picked up the remote to turn up the volume on the television, then left the sofa and walked to the door of a bedroom, pushing it open:

"Shen Dong, why are you closing the door? Come eat—"

Shen Jianping's voice suddenly trailed off, and he silently pulled the door shut again.

From inside the room came the flustered voice of his cousin, Shen Dong:

"Coming, coming right away!"

Shen Jianping stood there for a few seconds with a strange expression before moving to another bedroom. He knocked gently, his voice turning soft:

"Ying'er, dinner is ready. Come out and eat?"

The door clicked open, and his cousin, Shen Ying, walked out expressionlessly, walking to the dining table on her own to take a seat.

Not long after, Shen Dong walked out of his room with a flushed face, muttering:

"How many times do I have to say it, can you knock first? Hey, this looks delicious?"

Shen Jianping did not glare and say, "Is this your house or mine?" as he usually would; he simply wore a complicated expression and remained silent.

Chen Liping stood by the dining table, and seeing that the whole family was seated, she wiped her hands on her apron with satisfaction. She was about to sit down when she let out an "Ah":

"Almost forgot."

She walked quickly to the "Arctic" brand refrigerator they had bought when they got married, pulled the door open, and took out a vegetable cream cake. She lit the colorful candles, placed it in front of Chen Chong, and smiled:

"Chong'er, happy birthday!"

"It's cousin's birthday today? No wonder!"

Shen Dong, who was about to sneak a piece of braised pork, fought back his drool and pulled his chopsticks back:

"Cousin, happy birthday!"

Facing his family's well-wishes, Chen Chong smiled:

"Thank you, Aunt, thank you."

"In the blink of an eye, you're already eighteen... Make a wish."

Chen Liping was full of emotion.

Chen Chong looked at the flickering candlelight before him, his gaze drifting.

What wish should he make?

For a moment, he truly didn't know.

Return to his original world? It had never come true despite so many attempts.

In the end, he closed his eyes and pressed his palms together, silently praying for his family's health before blowing out the candles.

"Great! Time for cake!"

Seeing the thin wisps of smoke rise from the candles, Shen Dong clapped his hands, his face full of anticipation.

Chen Chong personally cut the cake into several pieces, placed them on small plates, and handed them to his family, and then the family began to enjoy this rare, sumptuous lunch.

Braised chicken, roasted pork, braised carp, and cake... Although Shen Jianping was a workshop director at the factory and Chen Liping ran a fairly successful breakfast stall downstairs, it was still very difficult to support three children in this era of economic depression. The family only ate such dishes during holidays and festivals.

The whole family ate to their heart's content. Not to mention eleven-year-old Shen Dong, even Shen Ying, who was in the midst of her rebellious phase, stopped talking about dieting and even added an extra bowl of rice.

Chen Chong let out a satisfied breath; only at times like this could he truly let his guard down and feast to his heart's content.

Suddenly, a flash of red crossed his vision, followed by a number:

"1%."

Chen Chong raised his eyelids.

"Chen Chong, Teacher Yue called this morning to say that your academic proficiency test results are out."

Shen Jianping picked his teeth with a toothpick and spoke suddenly.

He paused for a moment before continuing:

"You're still in first place, a perfect score. You've successfully graduated from No. 1 High School now; it doesn't matter if you go next semester or not."

Shen Dong cast a look of admiration; after all, he couldn't even pass his primary school exams, yet his cousin was the top student year after year at the best school in Lichuan City, No. 1 High School.

According to the teachers at school, his cousin was the only student in this grade with the potential to get into Central City based on his academic scores alone.

Central City...

Shen Dong couldn't help but turn his head toward the window.

The weather was still bad today; thick, heavy clouds pressed down on the sky over Lichuan City like a pot lid.

But on the few sunny days of the year, looking west from here, one could see the silver "snow mountain" in Central City from dozens of kilometers away—

That was the headquarters building of Hope Group. Like a real snow mountain, it could be seen from so far away; it was a piece of sci-fi architecture that the people of the Satellite City could hardly imagine.

"Teacher Yue asked about your plans."

Shen Jianping continued, his tone calm:

"I already replied for you; you won't be going to Central City."

The air at the dining table went quiet for a moment.

Shen Dong whipped his head back around, his dark, round eyes darting as he gauged the expressions of his father and cousin.

Chen Chong narrowed his eyes, seeing the number in front of him jump and change to:

"2%."

He turned his head and found his uncle still staring at him, and this number was imprinted on Shen Jianping's face.

Chen Chong took a sip of orange juice to suppress his surprise and nodded calmly:

"I understand, Uncle."

He wasn't surprised by this.

Rather than saying he wasn't going, it was more accurate to say he couldn't go.

Even if his grades were excellent.

The higher learning institutions in Central City were not places that ordinary students from the Satellite City could enter just by having good grades.

Although the academics in this life were much simpler than in his previous one, as a former 985 graduate student, he could easily achieve a perfect score.

But without a recommendation letter, people from the Satellite City could not enter Central City. Teacher Yue's words were merely an encouragement, or perhaps a probe.

And as a factory workshop director, Shen Jianping did not have the qualifications to obtain a recommendation letter; Chen Chong had anticipated this long ago.

However, this issue wasn't important right now. What was this number?

Chen Chong frowned slightly and continued to stare at the number in his field of vision—there was no doubt that his family couldn't see it; it existed only in his own sight.

Chen Liping, who had been full of gratification upon hearing the results, now looked at the somewhat dazed Chen Chong, her expression gradually becoming uneasy.

However, the couple had already discussed this. She wiped her hands on her apron and pursed her lips:

"Chong'er, a bachelor's degree in Central City is hard to come by, but Lichuan Technical College certainly won't be a problem for you. Once you graduate from there and work in a company for a few years, with your intelligence, you'll definitely have a chance to transfer to the headquarters in Central City..."

"I've already told Teacher Yue, I'm not applying to Lichuan Technical College."

Shen Jianping interrupted her.

Chen Liping was startled:

"What? Old Shen, what do you mean by that?"

Shen Jianping didn't speak; he pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, extracted one, and lit it.

Smoke swirled over the dining table, obscuring the faces of the family members from one another.

"Speak up! Didn't we already agree on this?"

Chen Liping widened her eyes and raised her voice.

Shen Dong shrank his neck, sensing that the atmosphere at the dinner table had turned sour.

He suddenly felt his chair get kicked.

Turning his head in surprise, Shen Dong saw his sister had already stood up, walked back to her room on her own, and shut the door.

Shen Dong looked left and right, muttered a quiet "I'm done eating," then hopped off his chair and scurried back to his room, locking the door behind him.

Seeing that the children had all left, Chen Liping's fine brows furrowed even tighter:

"Old Shen, what exactly is going on?"

Shen Jianping took a drag of his cigarette and finally spoke:

"Chen Chong, your aunt and I have raised you for fourteen years, and we've never let you go hungry. Whatever Ying'er ate, you ate; whatever Dongzi wore, you wore—no, wait, he actually wore your hand-me-downs. Tell me, has your uncle treated you fairly?"

Chen Chong nodded:

"Very well."

"Look, your younger sister is about to take her high school entrance exams, and she wants to go to No. 1 High School. You know as well as I do that the fees at your school aren't low.

"As for Dongzi, he might not even be able to get into high school, and I still have to save money for him to get married. After all, before his grandfather passed away, he kept nagging that we had to rely on this boy to carry on the Shen family line."

Shen Jianping brought the cigarette to his lips again, only to find it was nothing but a stub, so he had to crush it into the ashtray.

Another wisp of blue smoke rose.

Chen Liping frowned:

"Old Shen, didn't we calculate this before? As long as Chong'er can get a scholarship at Lichuan Technical College, it shouldn't be a big problem, right? Is that really so hard for Chong'er?"

"Chen Chong, it's not that your uncle doesn't believe in you, but everyone who gets into Lichuan Technical College has some skills of their own. Can we really be sure about this?"

Shen Jianping cut her off again, saying slowly:

"If you don't get it, the pressure on this family will be immense."

"With Chong'er's grades, how could he not get it? He'd be more than qualified even if he went to Central City for a bachelor's degree!"

"What if?"

"There is no 'what if'!"

"That's not how things work..."

Shen Jianping looked helpless and finally sighed:

"There's another problem. The factory isn't doing well, and being on the edge of the Wasteland, we're constantly being raided by gangs and drifters. Word from the head office is that this might be the factory's final year."

"What? Old Shen, this..."

Chen Liping was shocked, then followed up with worry:

"Then what about your job?"

"It's just a rumor for now, nothing is certain. Besides, they're talking about relocation, not a shutdown."

Shen Jianping immediately comforted his wife:

"I've worked at the factory for so many years; even if the factory moves, I won't be unemployed. It's just... it's better to be safe than sorry.

"If Chen Chong goes to Lichuan Technical College and doesn't get a scholarship, the family will be stretched thin; if the factory disappears, the family will fall apart completely. Look at Old Zhang downstairs. Back then, the couple gritted their teeth to put their child through university, but once they lost their jobs, they couldn't pay the student loans or the mortgage. The whole family ended up in debt, and now they've moved to a settlement. City folk going to the Wasteland... who knows if they're even still alive.

"Chen Chong, this era is not a good one for ordinary people. You still have a younger brother and sister. I've raised you to adulthood, and I don't ask for anything in return, as long as you can find a way to feed yourself. That's not asking too much, is it?"

Seeing Chen Chong sitting with his head down in silence, Shen Jianping frowned and pulled another cigarette from the pack to light it:

"I started working in the factory at fourteen. You're eighteen; even in the old days, you'd be considered an adult. If you have nowhere else to go, I'll find you a job at the factory next door. Of course, once you're in the factory, you're a worker. Don't complain about the hardship, don't complain about the fatigue, and don't bring your student attitude with you."

Chen Liping watched her nephew, who kept his head bowed and remained silent, her expression shifting uncertainly.

Whenever she thought about how this was the only son her late second brother had entrusted to her, she wanted to ask her husband to grit his teeth and find another way;

But when she turned her head and saw her husband—who had spent nearly thirty years in the factory and was now only in his early forties, yet looked as weathered and lined as an old man—and then thought of her own two children, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

After a long while, Chen Liping sighed powerlessly and whispered:

"Chong'er, the factory is hard work. If you don't want to go, just come help out at the shop. It just so happens that I'm too busy to keep up. At home, you won't have to suffer any grievances, and there will always be a meal for you."

Shen Jianping frowned as he listened, but ultimately said nothing more. Watching Chen Chong continue to sit in silent, head-bowed contemplation, he finally couldn't help but slap the table and shout:

"Chen Chong, after today you'll be an adult, so give us an answer! Be a man, don't just stand there with your head hung low and a face like a mistreated wife. Your aunt and I have never done you wrong!"

"Old Shen!"

Chen Chong finally raised his head.

He glanced at Chen Liping, whose face was full of worry, then looked at Shen Jianping, who was standing there with his neck stiffened in defiance.

He saw the "5%" reflected on their faces.

Revealing a faint smile, Chen Chong said:

"Uncle, Aunt, everything you said makes sense.

"However, I think I have another path."