"...""..."
Neither of them spoke. The silence hung awkwardly in the air.
"…Actually—"
The woman broke the silence first:
"From the moment I saw you in the plaza pretending to be me and getting into the van with Bigface Cat… I figured you were out of your mind."
"So the misunderstanding's cleared up now?"
"No, now I'm even more sure of it."
Lin Xian shrugged helplessly.
"So, bottom line—you still don't believe me, right?But if you came here to steal Lin Xian's safety deposit box, you must've looked into him, no?Don't you know what he looks like?"
He pointed to his face.
"Take a good look—compare it to the photos you dug up. Isn't it an exact match?"
The woman shook her head.
"I never investigated the owner of the box. I don't know what Lin Xian looks like."
Lin Xian was speechless.
He had never imagined it would be so hard… to prove he was himself.
"But honestly, I don't care who you are,"
she continued.
"If you can open the safe, I'll tell you what you want to know."
She crossed her arms and stared at the mechanical lock in front of her, clearly stumped.
"If it were a digital lock, I'd crack it in a few minutes.But this one—it's a mechanical lock, eight digits long.Brute-force or sound-based methods won't work fast enough."
She turned to Lin Xian.
"So I don't care who you are. You could be anyone.If you can open this safe—you're my partner."
"Deal."
Lin Xian offered his hand.
He'd hoped to pry the truth out of her first.But with no way to prove his identity, he had no leverage left—so he compromised.
"What do I call you?"
"CC."
She reached out and slapped his palm with hers.
"Just call me CC."
Lin Xian noticed something strange—no one in his dreams ever had a normal name.
"What's your plan?" CC asked.
"Let's try dates from my adult life. Significant ones. We'll go through them one by one."
…
…
Lin Xian racked his brain, listing every important date he could remember.CC entered them one at a time.
But no matter how hard he thought, the safe remained locked.
"My mom's birthday… that one didn't work either?"
CC shook her head.
"Wanna try your grandma's next?"
"I don't even know my grandma's birthday."
"You didn't catch that I was being sarcastic?"
She glared at him.
"You just tried your aunt, your cousin, even your damn dog's birthday.Can't you think outside the box for once?"
"Why does it have to be a date?It's just an eight-digit code—there are other possibilities."
Lin Xian waved dismissively.
"No, it's definitely a date. Trust me.Just from the structure—I can tell.It's how I've always set my passwords."
"You're thinking as if you were Lin Xian?"
"Let me say this again—" Lin Xian sighed.
"I'm not pretending to be Lin Xian.I AM Lin Xian!Can you stop distracting me while I'm trying to think?"
"Well aren't you just fully in character."
CC scoffed.
"And all the dates you've been trying?They're all from hundreds of years ago.If I weren't out of options, I'd never waste my time here.What is your family—immortal or something?"
Lin Xian closed his eyes…
Hands tugging at his hair.
Think.
Think harder.
What was it?
What date had he forgotten?
His brain felt like it was overheating—on the verge of melting down.
He had tried every date that mattered to him…
Nothing worked.
And now even he wasn't sure anymore.
Was this really his safety deposit box?
But this was his dream.
In his own dream—could a stranger's safety deposit box exist?
He recalled what his friend had once said:
"You'll never dream of something beyond your knowledge."
So—
This 8-digit code…
It had to be buried somewhere in his memory.What had he overlooked?
What had he forgotten?
What had he hidden away?
Click!
A sharp buzz echoed—the power had been restored.
WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!The alarm screamed around them.
"F*ck!"
Lin Xian panicked and kicked the safe.
"Hurry up and remember!!" CC shouted.
The blaring sirens felt like a ticking bomb.Stress surged in his chest.
"I'M TRYING!!"
Lin Xian clawed at his scalp.
"I can't think of it!!"
His head throbbed.His brain felt like it was cracking open.
The world spun around him—as if he'd been thrown into a spinning Rubik's Cube.Images flashed past like flickering TV channels.
"Cops will be here any second!I shouldn't have trusted you!" CC screamed.
He forced his eyes toward his watch:
[00:41:27]
It wasn't just the police…
There were 33 seconds left before the dream ended.
"Are you useless or what?!" CC shouted.
"What happened to all that confidence?!"
"SHUT UP!"
WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!Sirens. Screaming. Ringing ears.
Lin Xian felt his mind shatter.
The Rubik's Cube spun faster.
Buried memories exploded like a dam bursting.
Scenes flashed before his eyes.
His heart pounded.Then—the deepest part of his mind cracked open.
"…I once liked a girl," Lin Xian muttered, gripping his forehead.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!Now's not the time for romance stories!" CC roared.
"She was my desk mate…"
"I! DON'T! CARE!"
"I didn't want to say it either!But I'm saying this FOR YOU!"
Lin Xian shouted back, pointing at the safe.
"19990707!Her birthday!"
He felt like a clown.
The most private secret of his heart—now stripped bare, exposed for all to see.
"Hurry!"
Click, click, click.
CC quickly rotated the dials.Slammed her fist on the latch.
Nothing.
"The code's wrong!"
WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO![00:41:47]
"20150609!" Lin Xian screamed, covering his ears.
"What's that—your confession day?!"CC screamed through the chaos.
"JUST SHUT UP AND ENTER IT!"
"It's in!"
[00:41:56]
CC gritted her teeth—
Slammed the lock with everything she had.
BAM!
…
Still locked.
Lin Xian's knees buckled.His vision blurred.
One last glance at CC—
She turned her head.Eyes filled with venom.
"Liar."
[00:42:00]
BOOM!!!BOOM!!!BOOM!!!
A blinding white light exploded—swallowing everything…
…
…
Midwinter.Early morning.
A tidy bedroom bathed in soft light.
Lin Xian opened his eyes.
(End of Chapter)