Lu Zhiyan · Chat

<narration>The damp, salty sea breeze carries the lingering warmth of dusk across the reefs. Lu Zhiyan sits on a large rock smoothed by the waves, his guitar leaning against his leg. The city lights in the distance have begun to twinkle like an upside-down starry sky.</narration> <message>"Shit, something's not right today."</message> <narration>Lu Zhiyan grabs a half-empty bottle of mineral water and gulps down two mouthfuls. An old man walking his dog passes by slowly in the distance. The dog barks at him twice before being pulled away by the old man.</narration> <message>"What are you looking at? Never seen an artist before?" Lu Zhiyan mutters toward the direction the dog went.</message> <narration>Then he looks down to tune a guitar string.</narration> <message>"Whatever, let's try it again."</message> <narration>Lu Zhiyan clears his throat, presses his fingers onto a chord, and sweeps down sharply. A heavy metal riff explodes into the sea breeze, mixed with his raspy roar. The lyrics are quite edgy, about how you have to keep rolling forward even when life fucks you up. The other band members said the song was too angry, but he thinks it's just fine. Reaching the chorus, he stands up, one foot on the rock, and bellows at the vast expanse of the sea:</narration> <message>"Fuck the rules— Fuck the labels—"</message> <message>"I'm gonna live my life just like this—"</message> <narration>The last note trails off for a long time, dissipating into the darkening sky. Lu Zhiyan sits down panting, sweat dripping down his neck into his tank top. He pulls out a cigarette pack, sticks one in his mouth, and the lighter clicks, an orange flame dancing in the twilight. Halfway through the cigarette, he suddenly stops.</narration> <narration>The sea... is too quiet. The distant waves are still surging normally, but the patch of water in front of him, about twenty square meters, seems as if it's been separated by some invisible barrier, solidified into a single block of deep blue gemstone. Lu Zhiyan stubbed out his cigarette on the rock and squinted.</narration> <message>"Again?"</message> <narration>He thinks back to a night a week ago. He had drunk too much, came to the beach to act crazy, and dropped his pick into the water. He reached in to grab it, but ended up falling in headfirst. The moment the cold seawater flooded his mouth and nose, he sobered up mostly. Then there was a pair of hands, supporting his waist, pushing him back to shore. The sensation was too real. The palms were warm, the fingers long, and the strength was incredibly steady. At the time, he thought it was some kind of kind-hearted night fisherman, but when he climbed up and looked around, there wasn't a soul in sight. Only his soaked clothes and his heart, thumping in the night after a near-death experience.</narration> <narration>After going back, he spent several days researching. He scoured all those supernatural forums, most of which were just made-up horror stories, until he saw an old post from three years ago titled "I Saw a Glowing Patch of Sea in the East Sea." The scene the poster described was almost identical to the "mirror sea" he was seeing now. The comments below were all mocking: "OP drank too much," "At least make it sound believable." The poster never replied again, and the thread sank.</narration> <narration>Lu Zhiyan stared at the unnaturally calm water, his Adam's apple bobbing.</narration> <message>"Hey—" he shouted towards the sea, his voice sounding a bit silly on the empty beach, "Is anyone there?"</message> <narration>No response. Only the wind carrying sand brushed past his feet.</narration> <message>Lu Zhiyan pulled at the corner of his mouth in self-deprecation: "I'm fucking crazy, talking to the sea."</message> <narration>He picked up his guitar again, his fingers unconsciously plucking the strings, producing a few scattered chords. But his eyes never left the sea.</narration> <message>"Last week... it was you who saved me, right?" He spoke again, his voice lower this time, more like he was talking to himself. "Thanks. Though I don't know what you are—a ghost? A siren? Or a mermaid from some ocean myth?"</message> <narration>He laughed at himself as he said this, shaking his head.</narration> <message>"Never mind, I probably just hallucinated from the booze." He stood up, brushing the sand off his pants. "I'm off. Got rehearsal tomorrow, and that old geezer Chen Pi is gonna nag again..."</message> <narration>Before he could finish his sentence. The sea suddenly moved. From the edge of that "mirror," a shell was slowly pushed forward. A pure white fan-shaped shell, about the size of a palm, its surface smooth as if glazed, shimmering with a soft luster in the fading light. It was pushed by an invisible force, rolling across the fine sand, and finally stopped at Lu Zhiyan's feet.</narration> <narration>Lu Zhiyan froze. He stared at the shell for a full ten seconds before slowly bending down to pick it up. Under the water, a face was looking at him through that layer of transparent seawater. Hair floated in the water, eyes bright with a pure curiosity, as if looking at some rare thing never seen before. The shell in Lu Zhiyan's hand grew hot in his grip.</narration> <message>He locked eyes with those eyes for a few seconds, his Adam's apple bobbing. When he spoke, his voice was a bit raspy: "...My savior fish?"</message> <narration>The person in the water didn't answer, just tilted their head slightly, as if sizing him up.</narration> <message>Lu Zhiyan looked down at the shell in his hand, then looked back up at the face. He jerked his chin towards the one in the water, his voice softening: "This... is for me?"</message> <narration>The person in the water nodded, not a large movement, but very clear. Lu Zhiyan looked at that face, and all those messy thoughts—hallucinations, being drunk, urban legends—were all thrown to the back of his mind at this moment. He squatted there, grinning, his white hair messy from the sea breeze.</narration> <message>"I'm Lu Zhiyan."</message> <message>He paused, reaching out a hand towards the water, not daring to reach too close for fear of scaring them. "And you? Do you have a name?"</message>