Over two thousand years ago, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, an ancient sage told a philosophical story.

He was Zhuangzi—the tale of Zhuangzi dreaming he was a butterfly is surely known to all.

Now, the three fell silent, pondering an unanswerable question Zhuangzi once raised.

Namely...

Was the dream they shared truly a dream?

Or was this so-called reality actually the dream?

Jin Jiahui pinched his arm hard first.

He grimaced slightly, then let out a sigh of relief.

The pain felt sharp and clear.

At least this proved their current world was real.

The tension eased gradually.

"Perhaps that dream was once reality..." Feng Yulan suggested the parallel worlds theory. "Countless similar universes exist. Some spacetime glitch might have given us memories from another version of ourselves?"

"Oh? That’s plausible, but... uh..." Autumn Ease hesitated, not sharing what he knew.

The app had told him parallel worlds didn’t exist—only twisted historical nodes.

When certain conditions were met, distorted spacetime could bleed into reality. Maybe they’d been affected by that.

Honestly, Autumn Ease hoped those twisted nodes would become real...

Then that girl might truly appear.

Not like now, where she only turned into a girl at midnight.

Autumn Ease yawned widely. Suddenly, he couldn’t hear Jin Jiahui and Feng Yulan clearly. Outside, traffic noise faded in.

The whole world rippled like water.

Too tired?

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. Everything snapped back to normal.

No—

Autumn Ease stared out the window. This wasn’t a new street; it was a bustling marketplace. Cars and pedestrians filled the roads. The KFC’s second floor was packed.

In the kids’ zone, children shouted and wailed.

He looked back—and froze.

Feng Yulan’s short hair was now long, tied in a neat braid. Her lips gleamed with glossy color.

And she wore a dress. Feng Yulan, who fiercely rejected cross-dressing despite her beauty, had never worn women’s clothes before. Not even androgynous styles. Yet here she was, in a French noble-style gown, smiling as she chatted.

Beside her, Jin Jiahui had fairer skin—not tanned—and calm confidence in his eyes.

"Autumn Ease, chicken nugget for you. I only ate half; can’t finish it." A clear, girlish voice came from beside him. Weirdly, it felt like his own voice speaking.

He turned. A familiar face stared back.

Yes—the girl from his dream.

Leaf Grace!

"What are you gawking at like a fool?" Leaf Grace tapped his head. "Here, take it. Don’t tell me you’re reluctant ’cause I bit it?"

"Uh, no, not at all..." Autumn Ease stammered, mind still spinning.

How had the world changed in a blink?

He pinched his thigh secretly. The pain confirmed this wasn’t a dream.

Impossible.

Not a dream?

That phrase surged back: twisted historical nodes.

If history twisted into something this beautiful... maybe it wasn’t so bad.

This time was different. Autumn Ease wasn’t in mortal danger.

He’d happily stay here forever.

If this world was happier, why return to the original one?

Autumn Ease grinned foolishly, taking the nugget and biting in.

It still carried Leaf Grace’s faint scent...

Then chaos struck.

A man identical to Autumn Ease approached slowly.

His gaze locked onto Autumn Ease—cold, merciless.

Killing intent radiated from him, making Autumn Ease’s hair stand on end.

Others felt it less; the threat targeted him alone.

"Who is he?" Leaf Grace looked between them, confused.

"I don’t know, I just know he’s going to—" Autumn Ease’s words cut off as the man lunged.

A familiar knife flashed toward his heart.

Everyone froze.

In peaceful China, no one expected sudden attacks.

Even Autumn Ease, who’d survived this before, felt locked in place by an unseen force.

Just as the blade neared his chest—

He was shoved aside.

Jin Jiahui reacted fastest. He kicked the impostor’s stomach, sending him flying.

The man scrambled up to fight but was no match for Jin Jiahui. Disarmed and pinned down, he glared up at Autumn Ease.

"Who are you?!" Jin Jiahui roared.

The man didn’t answer. He just smirked cruelly—and vanished.

The world rippled like water again.

Autumn Ease shook his head, exhaling shakily.

He was back.

Across from him sat short-haired, masculine Feng Yulan and tanned Jin Jiahui.

"Autumn Ease, what’s wrong? We called you—you were totally spaced out," Feng Yulan asked.

"Uh..." Autumn Ease hesitated. After a long pause, he stayed silent.

Maybe he couldn’t explain it. Or maybe he didn’t want them knowing another him wanted him dead...

Was it a dream? Or another twisted node?

Why were there so many twisted nodes?

Were they looping endlessly?

Or just different moments of the same Anomaly Point?

He really should contact the app’s creators. A national research institute must know something.

If this kept happening, he’d go insane—unable to tell twisted nodes from real life.

With no appetite, this shut-in barely ate. Normally, KFC was his ultimate luxury when he had cash.

Luckily, the three finished the Family Bucket. Jin Jiahui, a construction worker with a huge appetite, devoured half of it.

"Done? Want to walk around?" Feng Yulan asked.

"Not much to see here," Jin Jiahui chuckled. "Let’s just sit."

True—this new district had no shopping streets or scenery. Just construction sites. A small hill was half-excavated; trees transplanted elsewhere left bare yellow earth. Nothing worth viewing.

"Uh... Jiahui, with those other memories, do you feel more skilled in fights now?" Autumn Ease teased.

"Haven’t tested it."

Autumn Ease recalled Jin’s agile moves in that other world—nothing like the guy who always ran from trouble.

Sadly, Hangzhou’s safety meant no thugs to test him.

They compared notes, confirming they’d all dreamed the same world.

"By the way... do you remember how I... turned into a girl in the dream?" Feng Yulan asked carefully.

"I don’t recall. Weren’t you always a girl there?" Autumn Ease scratched his head.

"Can’t remember clearly either," Jin Jiahui shook his head.

Feng Yulan seemed relieved.

"What, do you want to become a girl? Heh, finally came around?" Autumn Ease grinned.

"Get lost," Feng Yulan shot him a disdainful look. "Just curious."

"Don’t worry—maybe you will one day."

Autumn Ease wasn’t joking. It was happening to him nightly. Who knew if Feng Yulan might change permanently?

"After this job’s wages settle, I’ll quit the site," Jin Jiahui said. "Might crash at your place, Autumn Ease."

"No way—my room’s tiny. Go to Brother Lei’s."

"Tsk, so stingy? Jin Jiahui, stay at my place if needed. I share a house with my sister; you can bunk with me."

"Whoa! Men and women shouldn’t be too close!" Autumn Ease cried dramatically.

"Hey! We’re both guys!"