"You've never heard of Coco Cat?"
"Ne…never heard of it…"
The store clerk scratched his head, looking genuinely confused.
"Sir, are you sure you got the name right? We've got a huge selection of plushies here. Why don't you describe what it looks like, and I'll help you find it?"
"Uh…"
Lin Xian thought for a moment.
"The cat had this kind of expression."
He squinted and exaggerated his facial features, mimicking Coco Cat's goofy face.
"Ohhh~~ Oh!"
The clerk's eyes lit up instantly.
"Hahaha, I know what you mean, sir! We have it! Right this way!"
He led Lin Xian toward the very center of the store—to the largest and most eye-catching display.
"Here it is! All of them!"
In front of them stood a magnificent, brightly lit shelf—easily over ten layers high, shimmering and extravagant.
"This is the cat you're talking about, right?"
The clerk beamed with pride.
"This one's our best-selling item! It's been popular for centuries and still going strong! But… you definitely got the name wrong. This cat's name is—"
"Yeah. I see it."
Lin Xian felt like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over his head.
Two massive speakers nearby were blasting obnoxious pop music.
On the shelf, hundreds of identical cats stared straight at him…
And right in the center of it all, a bold, oversized sign read:
Century Bestseller! Timeless Hit —
RHEIN CAT
…
…
The plaza, now well past midnight, was utterly deserted.
All the nearby shops had long shut down.
Only a few restless bugs kept buzzing around the streetlights. Even the droning of cicadas seemed to bring a rare sense of calm to the stifling summer night.
Lin Xian sat on a bench, feeling like this world… wasn't his anymore.
It felt foreign.
Out of sync.
He opened his palm—
Inside was a small Rhein Cat keychain.
He could only afford this with the cash he had on him.
Every line, every detail, every touch of decoration on the cat…
Exactly the same as Coco Cat from the dream.
The only difference…
Was the name.
It had changed—from Coco Cat to Rhein Cat.
"Why did it change?"
He couldn't describe what he was feeling.
Fear? Dread?
Not exactly.
But there was a deep sense of disorientation.
A helplessness that came from losing control.
He had always believed himself to be the god of this dream.
He could do anything he wanted.
The entire dream world revolved around him.
But now…
He thought of The Truman Show—and felt like a caged puppet.
BOOM!!!!!
BOOM!!!!!
BOOM!!!!!
At exactly 00:42, the world-devouring white light arrived on schedule—
Scorching everything to dust.
…
…
Whoosh…
The night wind rose.
Lin Xian opened his eyes.
Thin curtains fluttered wildly in the breeze.
"Forgot to close the window again…"
He curled tighter under the blanket, but couldn't shake off the chill that came from within.
For a world that never changes…
Change is the ultimate terror.
Lin Xian picked up his phone from the bedside table.
He dialed a number.
"Hello?"
"Gaoyang, something's wrong."
"What's up?" The voice on the other end suddenly sobered up.
"My dream… it changed."
"…"
"…"
"That's great news!!"
On the other end, Gaoyang sounded thrilled.
"It means your condition's improving!"
"I told you, didn't I? If you watch more sci-fi movies, read more sci-fi novels, your dream world would change eventually! What happened—did you dream about spaceships and two-dimensional annihilation?"
"Sigh… not that kind of change."
Lin Xian sat up, noticing the background noise on the other end was loud and chaotic.
"Where are you right now?"
"Watching the World Cup at a bar! Qatar 2022. Want to come? It's not far from your place."
Lin Xian glanced at the clock.
It was already past 1 a.m.
But after everything that happened in the dream, there was no way he could sleep.
"Fine. Wait for me."
…
Lin Xian stepped out of the taxi.
He could hear the roaring crowd even before entering the bar.
From the signage, it looked like a quiet café-style bar—but clearly, the World Cup had turned it into a sports frenzy.
"Over here, Lin Xian! This way!"
Gaoyang squeezed through the crowd, belly first, and pulled Lin Xian toward a corner table.
"Sit here—I'll grab more beers."
"Wait, I didn't come here to watch football."
"Drink and talk! Easy."
And with that, Gaoyang's round body disappeared back into the crowd…
Gaoyang.
Lin Xian's childhood best friend.
Their parents worked in the same factory.
They were born in the same housing complex.
Some would say it was fate—or maybe a curse.
Kindergarten, elementary, middle, high school—they were always in the same class or at least next door.
The only difference was: Lin Xian had much better grades.
Thanks to strong sketching scores during the art entrance exams and decent academic results, Lin Xian got into Donghai University.
Gaoyang went to a junior college in the north.
After graduation, Gaoyang moved to Donghai as well, working as a car salesman at a 4S dealership.
Lin Xian trusted him deeply.
Even this two-decade-long recurring dream—he had only ever told Gaoyang.
"Here we go!"
Gaoyang shuffled back, arms full of beer, popping open a few bottles.
"Here, have a drink and calm down! Now tell me, what happened?"
Clink!
They toasted. The cold beer went down smooth, helping Lin Xian finally feel a little grounded.
"Okay, so… it's kind of a long story."
Lin Xian set his glass down and began telling the tale.
From the encounter with Bigface Cat, to seeing the Coco Cat mask…
Then everything that happened at work—how he recreated Coco Cat from his dreams, renamed it Rhein Cat on a whim, and returned to the dream only to find…
That the name Coco Cat had vanished completely.
Everyone had forgotten it.
It left no trace.
And the cat's name… had changed to Rhein Cat without warning.
"Mhm. Mhm."
Gaoyang nodded furiously, drinking and squinting into the air, deep in thought.
He looked tense.
"I got it."
He put down his beer, eyes unfocused.
"So basically… you drew a cat in real life, and it showed up in your dream."
"You got NOTHING!"
Lin Xian slammed the table.
"I've been seriously explaining this whole time, and that's what you took from it?!"
"AaAaAaAAaHHHhhhh!!"
Suddenly, Gaoyang howled, jumped up, and pounded the table like a mad gorilla!
"What the hell—you're turning into a beast?!"
Startled, Lin Xian pulled back—
Only to realize…
Everyone in the bar was doing the same thing!
"GOAAAAAL!!!! LEGENDARY!!! MESSI IS A GOD!!!"
"YESSSS!!! ARGENTINA RULES!!"
"MAGIC MESSI! AHHHHHH!!!"
…
Lin Xian turned around.
The bar's projector screen was replaying the recent goal.
"You weren't listening at all!"
"I was! I was!"
Gaoyang grinned, topping off Lin Xian's glass.
"I was listening!"
"We've known each other over twenty years. You've told me about your dreams hundreds of times.
Isn't it always more or less the same story?"
"The point is—why did the dream stay the same for twenty years, and then suddenly change tonight?" Lin Xian pressed.
Thump!
Gaoyang drained his beer in one go, slammed the glass on the table, and pointed at Lin Xian.
"That part's easy. I'll tell you why!"
（未完待續）