The violin sounded elegant and sweet, its notes drifting lazily through the air as though telling a very long story, tinged with the faintest melancholy.
The music lent a sadness even to Pearl's dancing. Dressed in a vivid red dress, she danced beautifully, as lovely as a camellia in full bloom.
She danced for as long as the music played. She really was a character in a movie-not a trace of exhaustion showed.
Even Xie De felt his hand aching from playing.
At last, the sound of a car came from the distance. The music stopped abruptly, and the dance ended.
Still caught up in the music's sadness, Pearl wiped away her tears and asked, "You play so well. Who taught you?"
39 looked at her, then at the violin, his gaze complicated and his voice tinged with loss. "My mother."
In reality, Xie De had taught himself the violin. There had been a period when he was deeply interested in music, and all the flashy show-off scenes he saw while scrolling through videos had drawn him in even further. Brimming with confidence, he had taken up the violin and even imagined himself becoming a musician.
In the end, though, he had faltered over the choice between the moon and sixpence. Unable to pluck the moon from the sky, he could only bend down and pick up the sixpence. That was life, and his violin had been left to gather dust.
To think he would play again under circumstances like these. He couldn't help feeling a little wistful.
His wistfulness made Pearl even sadder. She felt his pain, and she tried to comfort him, at a loss for what to do. "I understand. I know. My mother destroyed my dreams too. My mother was always like that. She rejected me, tore me down, made me suffer. She wanted me to follow the same path, to become a farm girl and stay here forever. I didn't mean to kill her."
Pearl stepped forward and took Xie De's hand, her eyes brimming with tears. "Please don't be sad anymore. You're breaking my heart."
Uh... you're reading too much into this. But that works. It buys me a little more time.
Xie De had already spotted a man in the distance walking toward them.
Pearl smiled. "I know how to cheer you up. Let's kill her together! I'll help you chop her into little pieces, and then you can feed her flesh to the crocodile."
Pearl hurried over and picked up the pitchfork, incurable madness in her eyes.
"Your name is Pearl, right?" the man suddenly asked.
"Yes, that's right." Pearl turned back happily, but a second later, her smile froze on her face forever. A bullet struck her squarely in the forehead. With a bang, blood splattered everywhere, a few drops even landing on Xie De's face.
His dark green eyes remained perfectly calm. The crimson blood beneath the corner of his eye stood out against his cool, pale skin. His cigarette had long since fallen to the ground. 39 looked up, a contemptuous sneer on his lips.
"How much longer are you going to watch from over there?"
Qiu Shanyi forced herself to stand. "Y-you have a gun? Why didn't you kill her right at the start?"
Because the plot had still been unfolding at the start. If he rashly killed the story's main boss, he might end up trapped in the movie, unable to leave. As for now, the man in the distance was running toward them frantically, but his wife had already fallen into eternal sleep.
The story of Pearl ended. The wind around them grew fiercer, making it hard to keep their eyes open.
Xie De offered Qiu Shanyi no explanation. Instead, he asked, "Where's Zhang Qiuyue?"
"I don't know. As soon as I woke up, that woman dragged me onto the farm. I was so scared. I don't know anything. I think Zhang Qiuyue might already be dead." Qiu Shanyi sniffled, her voice anguished.
Expressionless, Xie De was about to light another cigarette when a familiar voice sounded behind him.
"Sir, would you like me to light your cigarette?"
What the hell!
Qiu Shanyi screamed again and fell to the ground.
Xie De thrust his gun backward against Pearl's head and fired again, killing her a second time.
"455! Are you kidding me? What's going on?"
But the moment he asked, he realized 455's voice wasn't coming from beside his ear. It was coming from the sky.
The voice was anxious. "Host! Wake up! Your first movie is over. You've fallen into an M-rated movie!"
The M-rated movie, Inception.
Xie De jolted awake.
He found himself leaning against the movie theater wall. Qiu Shanyi had vanished again. Once more, he was alone, with no one anywhere around him.
455 was right. Maybe the movie he had just been in was the easiest one, and this was the hardest!
Was this some kind of joke?
He was supposed to take on Inception?
Wait, wasn't the protagonist here too? Just then, a faint noise came from up ahead.
Wei Yanchi held a bouquet of bright red roses. Surrounded by towering buildings, he sat on a garden bench, basking in the sun. Soon, someone approached from the distance, his long, silky silver hair exquisitely beautiful.
39 sat down beside him. "What are you doing?"
A delighted smile filled Wei Yanchi's eyes. "Basking in the sun. And waiting."
"For what?"
"For you to appear."
That really was a lovely declaration of affection. 39 chuckled, his resonant voice vibrating in his chest. "Why are you waiting for me?"
"Why, to..." Wei Yanchi paused briefly before continuing, "kill you, of course."
At some point, a fruit knife had appeared in Wei Yanchi's hand. He plunged it viciously into 39's abdomen, and blood instantly covered his hand.
Wei Yanchi gently brushed his hand over 39's disbelieving eyes. "You're nothing like him."
He pulled out the fruit knife and swiftly, decisively severed the artery in the man's neck. This time, blood sprayed all over Wei Yanchi. The 39 in his dream clutched his neck and collapsed to the ground in agony. Really, nothing like him at all.
He hated this color, so he opened his eyes and returned to the movie theater once again. A faint noise came from ahead, and he looked up.
The same features again. The same silver hair.
Honestly, couldn't these dreams come up with something new? Sure, he liked 39, but didn't they realize how unconvincing their performances were?
Impatience flickered across Wei Yanchi's face. With the fruit knife in his hand and blood all over him, he looked like a murderous maniac-even more so than the girl in the previous movie.
Xie De froze, beginning to wonder whether the Wei Yanchi before him was real or part of a dream.
Wei Yanchi walked straight up and pinned him against the wall, pressing close. The scent of cedar tobacco enveloped him. His smile held a wicked edge, and he discreetly tucked the fruit knife against his wrist, pressing it to 39's abdomen.
"Sir, what would you like to ask me this time?"
Ask what?
"...What the hell is wrong with you?"
This one seemed a little real.
Wei Yanchi tilted his head, looking a little like some small animal. "Mr. 39?"
Xie De stiffened as he felt the knife pressed against his abdomen.
"455, is this real, or a dream?"
"...Real. But he probably thinks you're fake."
Good, as long as he's real. Good, my ass!
Xie De pressed his gun to Wei Yanchi's head. "Get off me."
All right, it seemed this one really was real. Wei Yanchi felt a little crazy right now, perhaps not quite in his right mind. Without changing position, he dropped the fruit knife to the ground and lifted a lock of 39's silver hair. A reckless, crazed smile shone in his eyes as he softly kissed the silver strands, intimate and yearning.
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