Have You Seen Aliens with Your Own Eyes?

Jing Fengqin asked incredulously, "Have you seen aliens with your own eyes?"

Wang Qiang said, "I never saw aliens, but Zhang Shuai was taken away while he was playing with me. We were both twelve that year, fresh out of elementary school. During summer vacation, Zhang Shuai and I went to play on Huilong Mountain in our hometown. All of a sudden, a silvery-white spacecraft stopped in midair above the mountaintop. Zhang Shuai and I were both curious, pointing at the silvery-white spacecraft in the sky and discussing whether it might be aliens..."

When he got to this point, Wang Qiang paused for a moment. Seeing his wife's eyes filled with disbelief, he said with a sigh, "The truth of this world may well be different from what we were taught growing up. There are some things the rulers will never reveal to ordinary people."

Jing Fengqin suddenly understood. "Honey, I get it now. No wonder you usually love watching news and videos about aliens. Whenever I scroll through Douyin on your phone, I always come across sci-fi videos about aliens and the like. Looks like you pay special attention to this stuff. Go on—what exactly happened that year? Was Zhang Shuai really taken away by aliens?"

Wang Qiang said, "It's true. Zhang Shuai and I were still standing on the mountaintop, craning our necks to look at the silver spacecraft in the sky. It did not look very big, and it resembled a dragon boat, except it was flying through the air. It was probably only a few hundred meters away from us, clear as day to the naked eye. Just as we were marveling at it, a gust of wind suddenly blew in, and Zhang Shuai flew straight up into the sky. I was scared stupid at the time. I watched helplessly as Zhang Shuai flew onto the spacecraft overhead, and in the blink of an eye, the spacecraft vanished."

"What happened after that? Since the aliens took him, why did they let him go?"

"I was terrified and hurried back to the village to tell Zhang Shuai's parents. Neither of them believed me, but their son had gone missing, so of course they were anxious. They went with me to search the mountaintop. When we reached the top of Huilong Mountain, we actually found Zhang Shuai lying unconscious on the grass. I said the aliens had brought Zhang Shuai back, but his parents did not believe me. They carried him home on their backs."

Jing Fengqin said, "If I did not know what kind of person you are, and know that you never lie, I would not believe you either."

Wang Qiang said, "Do you know? Zhang Shuai used to be an excellent student in elementary school, always first in his grade. But after the aliens took him and brought him back, Zhang Shuai lost his memory. He could not remember anything from before he was twelve. Other than me, he did not recognize anyone—not even his own parents. His memories stopped at the moment we saw the alien spacecraft."

Jing Fengqin had watched science-fiction films too. Hearing this, she could not help guessing, "Could the aliens have taken him away for research and extracted his memories?"

Wang Qiang said, "I don't know about that. Anyway, from that day on, I was the only friend he knew in this world. After Zhang Shuai lost his memory, he could not even recognize words or speak clearly. He should have gone to middle school, but how could he have attended school in that condition? So Zhang Shuai took a leave from school. Everyone in the village said he had become a fool. His parents argued all day long and eventually divorced. Not long after that, both of them left to work elsewhere, and later they each started new families. Maybe his parents had already given up on him. So Zhang Shuai kept living in the village with his grandfather."

Jing Fengqin sighed. "He's so pitiful!"

Wang Qiang said, "I had to go to school then. The middle school was in town, a little far from our village, and I boarded there, so I could only visit him during breaks. Every time I went to see him was Zhang Shuai's happiest time. He would cling to me and ask me to teach him how to read and do math. It was not until I graduated from middle school that Zhang Shuai finally taught himself through the elementary-school curriculum again. He was already fifteen by then. He wanted to go to school, but his father and grandfather both thought that, at fifteen, it was inappropriate for him to start middle school. They would not let him attend. Zhang Shuai cried and made a scene, but after his father gave him a vicious beating, he never mentioned school again. He stayed in the countryside, helping his grandfather with farm work."

Women were all emotional, and Jing Fengqin was no exception. When she heard of Zhang Shuai's tragic experiences, sympathy welled up in her heart of its own accord.

"Then doesn't Zhang Shuai only have an elementary-school education? He never even attended middle school?"

Wang Qiang said, "That's right. But he should have taught himself the middle-school curriculum. I gave him all my middle-school textbooks. Unfortunately, I went on to high school afterward, and my family moved from the village to the county town, so I had less and less contact with Zhang Shuai. I only knew that he helped his grandfather with farm work at home. I heard from the villagers that Zhang Shuai had severe depression. He did not speak to anyone in the village. Even when his parents occasionally came back to see him, he would not speak to them. The only person he said a few words to was his grandfather."

"If he had depression, then how did he come to Qingshui to work as an electrician with you?"

"His depression got better later. Zhang Shuai told me that he met a girl. Under that girl's care and encouragement, Zhang Shuai gradually became more cheerful, and his depression completely recovered. His grandfather fell ill and died this year. After he finished arranging his grandfather's funeral, he came to Qingshui City to find me. He wanted to start a new life. As his only friend in this world, how could I not help him?"

Jing Fengqin said, "You never told me his story before. If I had known he had gone through something so tragic, I definitely would have understood you."

"That's why I pulled some strings to get him an electrician's certificate and took him to work with me. Once he saves up some money in a few years, he can settle down and build a life in Qingshui City."

"What about the girl who cured his depression? Zhang Shuai must have liked her a lot, right?"

"What use was liking her? With his circumstances—no car, no house, no savings—how could he give her happiness? I only heard Zhang Shuai mention it once after he had been drinking. That girl got married. She married a man from the county town whose family circumstances were fairly good."

Wang Qiang did not say much more, but Jing Fengqin understood perfectly. The girl could not be blamed for this either. In today's realistic society, love without bread could never last.

After the couple finished dinner, Wang Qiang lay on the sofa and started playing games. Suddenly, a message in the game caught his attention. It was a message from Zhang Shuai. Wang Qiang stared at it in silence for a long time, then showed it to his wife, Jing Fengqin.

Jing Fengqin asked strangely, "Zhang Shuai got electrocuted yesterday?"

"Mm. He was accidentally electrocuted while working yesterday. Luckily, he was sent to the hospital and was saved. The shop owner paid five thousand yuan in compensation for lost wages. He paid me back four thousand and kept one thousand for living expenses."

"So he was worried that something might happen to him again, so he bought accident insurance for himself, and you're the beneficiary?"

"Mm. In his heart, I'm his only family in this world. I'll pick him up from the hospital tomorrow. Buy some extra groceries. I'll invite him over for dinner."

Jing Fengqin nodded. "Don't worry. I'll make a table full of good dishes and help him nourish himself properly. From now on, let him come to our house for meals often. When I have time, I'll talk him through things more as well."

Jing Fengqin had never known that her ordinary husband had gone through something so bizarre.

(Note: This is the Dragon Kingdom in a parallel world, where many rules differ from reality, so please do not dwell on it. For example, the beneficiary of accident insurance is not necessarily limited to immediate family. If there are no immediate family members, a close friend can be named.)