Lu Yuwen encountered three strange things.

The first strange thing: he had a dream.

——In the dream there was a city divided like a chessboard, bizarre and unusual tools, and all manner of people…

Men, women, the elderly, children… faces of every description, none of them distinct, all crammed into his head at once until it felt like it was about to burst!

The second strange thing: after waking up, he inexplicably had the urge to go to Shanghai.

——Not an impromptu travel whim, but a strong, precise compulsion: May 6th, 11:30 PM. SH City! XH District! Wanping Road!

……

Lu Yuwen sat up in bed, pressing a hand to his forehead with his eyes closed, motionless for a long time.

This was bizarre, wasn’t it?

Even if you suddenly felt like visiting somewhere, the impulse wouldn’t be this specific, this detailed.

Lu Yuwen’s first thought was that he might need to visit a psychiatry clinic and have his head examined.

But after he encountered the third strange thing, he immediately abandoned the idea of going to the hospital.

The third strange thing——

As he climbed out of bed to put on his shoes and head to the bathroom, he discovered his lame foot was healed.

Lu Yuwen’s right foot had been congenitally deformed. While it didn’t prevent him from walking, the uneven length made his gait uneven—a slight limp.

Now, his two feet stood on the wooden floor—balanced, steady, his toes spread comfortably. In shape and outline they appeared no different from a healthy pair of feet. He tried taking a step. Not a single abnormality.

Lu Yuwen stood beside his bed for a long time.

He had clearly encountered a situation… a situation that could not be explained by science.

Twenty-eight years of a lame foot—resistant to all manner of medicines and surgeries—and overnight, it had miraculously… healed?

Was he still dreaming?

Lu Yuwen slowly drew in a breath, then—puzzled and cautious—made a tentative circuit of the small area by his bed.

The floor was smooth and cool beneath his feet.

He picked up the pace, walking faster and faster, even deliberately stomping hard so the floor rang out with solid thumps!

The impact traveled from the soles of his feet up through his knees, making them tingle faintly—a sensation so real.

Not a dream.

Lu Yuwen sat down, his body carrying a faint warmth from that brief burst of rapid movement.

He looked down at his feet again.

They really had healed.

These were unambiguously a healthy person’s feet.

He didn’t know how long he sat there. Finally, the corners of his mouth slowly curved upward, a smile rising that he couldn’t hold back.

Perhaps there really were divine beings in this world.

With that thought drifting through his mind, he stood up and walked—step by step—to the wide floor-to-ceiling window, and threw the curtain open in one swift pull!

Golden sunlight flooded in at once, scattering across the room like crushed gold. He narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at the vast expanse of blue sky, and in that instant felt a sudden, liberating clarity bloom in his chest.

As if a breath of turbid air that had accumulated for years was finally, completely, released!

His spine, without him even realizing it, straightened further—upright and dignified.

The streets below were clamorous with traffic, bustling and noisy. Today looked the same as yesterday—yet somehow, it also seemed… not quite the same anymore.

His phone suddenly rang—a string of melodious English lyrics—

Lu Yuwen walked to the bed, picked up the phone, and answered it without a second thought.

“Hello~ Yuwen, it’s me. I just got back to the country. I’d like to come by your place and pack up my things. Are you free today?”

The woman’s voice was soft and even, carrying the politely distanced tone of someone keeping things cordial.

Lu Yuwen looked at the view outside the window and replied with a faint smile: “Sure, of course.”

The person on the other end paused for two seconds, as if slightly puzzled: “What’s gotten into you?”

“Hmm?”

“You seem… in a very good mood?”

Lu Yuwen let out a quiet laugh. Although the person on the other end wasn’t quite the right one to share this with, right now he genuinely couldn’t suppress the joy surging through him.

“Mm.” He smiled and said: “I really am in a pretty good mood right now.”

“……”

The woman went quiet. She had apparently never heard him speak in such a light, buoyant tone before, and for a moment was caught off guard.

Lu Yuwen thought for a moment, then smiled and said: “Sorry, Zixin—I just remembered, I need to go to Shanghai today. Would you be able to come another time?”

—