C1 I Dreamt Thirty Years Back

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

The intense barking jolted Fong Chao's heart. He glanced down in alarm to find a robust dog, standing about a meter tall and resembling a calf, snapping and snarling at him.

The dog's gaze was menacing, its sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight.

Each leap brought it nearly a meter into the air, its gaping maw coming within a foot of Fong Chao.

He could even catch the foul stench emanating from the dog's mouth.

Drool was trickling from its jaws.

It was about to bite him!

Terrified, he quickly curled up as much as he could.

He wondered, where am I? Something about my surroundings seems off!

He realized he was sprawled atop a wall approximately two and a half meters high, beyond which lay a house with red bricks and blue tiles. The yard's ground was paved with cement.

Flowers and plants adorned a corner of the yard.

Clearly, this was the home of a meticulous farming family.

The night air was perfumed with the scent of blossoms and the sweet fragrance of earth.

Looking around, he saw numerous small homes and rundown courtyards.

Everything felt so familiar.

Yet, it all seemed so foreign.

A surge of panic: Could this be the village of his childhood? It didn't resemble the modern village he knew but rather the desolate, impoverished village of thirty years past.

Was he dreaming?

Had he slipped back into the bygone days in his sleep? Back then, he was a young and naive country boy.

He pinched his thigh hard.

"Hiss—"

A sharp pain coursed through him, tensing his body.

No, this wasn't a dream!

It all felt too vivid.

What in the world was happening?

Fong Chao remembered clearly that he had spent the evening with some high school friends, drinking until he was slightly inebriated, before catching a cab home.

Drunk, he had dozed off in the taxi.

And now, he found himself on this wall from many years ago, under siege by a ferocious dog.

"Creak!"

The door of the house swung open, and a girl in pajamas, looking groggy, stepped out while yawning.

She stood just over 1.5 meters tall, with a curvy figure. Though slightly plump, she was charmingly so. Fong Chao thought girls looked better with a bit of softness to them.

This was the discerning look of an adult.

Yet, the girl's refined features retained a touch of youthful innocence.

One could easily deduce she was no more than seventeen or eighteen years old.

The girl looked up to find Fong Chao perched on the wall and began to berate him, "Really, Fong Chao? You scoundrel, what are you up to on my wall?"

Her accent was deeply familiar.

Could this be Lee Qingxiang? Fong Chao suddenly remembered...

He also recalled an incident from many years prior. During that autumn break, he had lost a bet with some mischievous village kids and had to scale the wall into Lee Qingxiang's yard under the cover of night to steal clothes she had hung out to dry. That was the bet.

Had he somehow traveled back in time?

"Stupid dog, get out of here! Stop barking!" Lee Qingxiang's voice rang out as she scolded their dog.

Obedient to its owner's command, the mutt tucked its tail and retreated to its kennel, falling silent.

"Fong Chao, have you gone mute? Scared stiff? What are you up to? Do you think I'm pretty, and that's why you're entertaining some wicked idea?" Lee Qingxiang's voice softened as she addressed Fong Chao once more, a smile playing on her lips.

"Oh, no, not at all. I just couldn't sleep, so I went for a stroll. When I got to your gate, I noticed the jujubes on your tree were ripe and red. I thought I'd climb the wall and pick a few to taste," Fong Chao hastily explained, dismissing any ulterior motives toward Lee Qingxiang.

"Pfft!"

Lee Qingxiang giggled, giving Fong Chao a coquettish glance. "Humph! You're not being truthful! I've noticed you looking at me differently for a while now. Be honest with me, do you have feelings for me? And what's with hanging on the wall? Come down already!"

As she spoke, Lee Qingxiang moved to the base of the wall and stood a ladder up against it.

Fong Chao's heart raced.

He knew exactly what was about to unfold.

That memory from his youth was etched into Fong Chao's mind.

Following the inertia of the story, Fong Chao climbed the ladder and found himself in Lee Qingxiang's yard. She led him inside the house, and once they were in, she embraced him eagerly, confessing her long-standing interest in him.

Back then, Fong Chao's understanding of romance was rather hazy.

But in the privacy of Lee Qingxiang's bedroom, her fiery passion taught him everything he needed to know. It all happened so suddenly that Fong Chao was taken aback. If he could turn back time, he wasn't sure he could withstand her fervent advances.

Lee Qingxiang was roughly Fong Chao's age, yet she appeared much more mature.

At the time, the night they spent together didn't seem significant. However, in the years that followed, each recollection brought a wave of profound emotion.

His heart began to race at the mere thought.

Gazing down at the girl's radiant face below, Fong Chao felt torn.

Should he climb down?

That was the question.

Moreover, his mind was a whirlwind of confusion. He needed to sort out his life and seriously consider the path ahead.

Despite the allure of the expectant girl below, Fong Chao turned and leapt over the wall. He couldn't afford to be as impulsive as he once was. He had to think it through: given a second chance by fate, he was determined to make the most of this life.

From behind the wall came Lee Qingxiang's soft curse, "Coward! You infuriate me! Fong Chao, I never want to see you again!"

Clearly, her heart was heavy with disappointment.

Fong Chao shook his head. It was for the best not to stir things up with her.

He realized that nothing lasting would come between him and Lee Qingxiang, only a poignant ending.

Wandering through the village at night, Fong Chao reflected on the classic nature of his encounter with Lee Qingxiang. He knew exactly what day it was.

September 23, 1990.

The day after the Asian Games had opened in Beijing.

It must be past ten o'clock at night by now, right? Fong Family Platform Village lay silent and deserted. Apart from the sporadic barking of dogs and the persistent chirping of autumn insects, human voices were a rarity.

After all, it was the height of the harvest season, and the farmers, having toiled all day, had turned in early for the night.

Everything around Fong Chao felt both vivid and surreal, stirring in him a sense of life's absurdity.

He was finally back at his own home.

Fong Chao's home consisted of three rooms to the north and three auxiliary rooms to the west, all low, old-fashioned structures. The houses were barely two meters eighty centimeters tall, almost creating the illusion that one could touch the roof by simply reaching up.

Sparse, yellowing grass fluttered in the evening breeze from the crevices in the roof.

The place was in a state of disrepair, lacking even a gate.

As Fong Chao entered the yard, he suddenly sensed an anomaly in his mind.

A gentle and beautiful female voice echoed in his thoughts: "The Supermarket is now open. Host, please come and have a look."