Cat 322: The Collapse of the Instance

Chapter 322: The Collapse of the Instance

“Did you see that? Did you? That thing on Brother Feng’s head isn’t a black cat at all—it’s a sprawling, green prairie!”

“Hahahaha, ever since we found out he was keeping a cat, the whole vibe took a weird turn. He stopped being cool and detached.”

“My dear Brother Feng, when will my ruthless, efficient dungeon-grinding machine return?”

“Actually, switching from a power fantasy to a sweet pet story is pretty entertaining too.”

“Before Brother Feng fell in love, I thought I couldn’t accept him dating anyone. But then he became a cat owner, and it turns out the cat became his love interest. Who would’ve thought Brother Feng would date like this—I’m dying of laughter!”

“Who could have guessed? Brother Feng has someone to love, and it’s the last person you’d expect.”

“If his love interest were just some woman or even a regular man, I’d have unfollowed already. But it turns out it’s a cat, and now I don’t know how to feel—I just want to keep watching.”

At that moment, Yan Jiyun was still discussing his relationship with Zhao Miao and Zhao Xin.

Zhao Miao was never much of a talker; he’d been silent for several minutes now. Yan Jiyun found him a bit dull. Performing a one-man show was only so interesting, so he decided to stop bothering him.

Feigning a sudden revelation, Yan Jiyun pointed out Zhao Xin’s abnormality: “You’re not Zhao Xin, you’re Zhao Miao.”

Zhao Miao hadn’t expected to be recognized so quickly, and his silence vanished instantly. “I never said I was Zhao Xin. You’re the one who assumed.”

Yan Jiyun nodded. Admittedly, Zhao Miao hadn’t spoken much, never giving himself away, but that hardly mattered now. Since the truth was out, it was time to deal with the aftermath.

He purposely showed concern for Zhao Xin. “Where’s your brother? Aren’t you always working at the barbecue place together? Why are you living in a guesthouse now? Where is he?”

Zhao Miao’s expression darkened. “That’s none of your business. You should leave here right away.”

Yan Jiyun replied, “He’s my classmate. Why can’t I be worried? The police station is nearby—did you two get into trouble?”

Zhao Miao frowned slightly, glanced both ways out the door, and, seeing no one else, pulled Yan Jiyun inside.

Yan Jiyun pretended to protest, “Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? Two guys alone here—this isn’t appropriate!”

Zhao Miao’s impatience flared. “Shut up. I have no interest in you, or I’d beat you up myself.”

Yan Jiyun covered his face with both hands. “You’re too much! I’m your bona fide sister-in-law, you know.”

Zhao Miao’s face darkened further. “I’m Zhao Xin now. Don’t tell anyone I’m Zhao Miao. Got it? Or I’ll make you regret it.”

Yan Jiyun snapped back, “What are you threatening me for? I won’t talk, all right? What kind of game are you brothers playing?”

Of course Zhao Miao wouldn’t actually hit Yan Jiyun. He slumped into a chair and fell silent.

In truth, Zhao Miao was more panicked than anyone. The more anxious he became, the more he tried to hide it; the more he hid, the less he spoke.

Yan Jiyun started considering how to draw out Zhao Miao’s true self through conversation.

But he remembered—Zhao Miao wasn’t supposed to have a twin. Why was there suddenly a brother in this instance? Had he always had one?

Yan Jiyun pressed on, rapid-fire, “Did something big happen at home? Why is there blood on your clothes?”

He pointed to the bloodstained hem on Zhao Miao’s shirt—a shirt clearly belonging to Zhao Xin.

Zhao Miao hadn’t noticed the blood before. His attempt at composure began to crack.

Yan Jiyun continued, “Is this your brother’s blood? Did you two fight?”

“The police station is right next door. You came here alone, and it’s not even far from your house. Why are you here by yourself? Did something happen to your brother?”

“Zhao Miao, say something!”

“What happened to your brother?!”

Unlike Zhao Xin, Zhao Miao’s defenses were fragile, and Yan Jiyun’s deliberately raised voice shook his composure.

“Enough! It’s none of your business! After a while, you leave this place and pretend you never saw me! One more time—I’m Zhao Xin now, not Zhao Miao.”

Naturally, Yan Jiyun played up his concern for Zhao Xin and refused to let up. “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, how can I keep your secret? If you won’t say, I’ll spread the word!”

Zhao Miao hadn’t anticipated the tables being turned. Driven to anger, he reached out to grab Yan Jiyun by the throat. “Why are you so shameless? Say a word and I’ll choke you to death right here.”

Yan Jiyun purposely let him grab his neck. “Who’s shameless? If I hadn’t run into you, I wouldn’t care, but you are—after all—my future little brother-in-law.”

Zhao Miao was nearly driven mad by his logic; he was truly impossible to reason with.

Letting go, Zhao Miao threw himself onto the creaking bed, refusing to speak.

Yan Jiyun conjured a phone and pretended to scroll through messages. After three minutes of silence, he read out an address.

“Is this your house?”

Zhao Miao replied, “Yeah, so?”

Yan Jiyun exclaimed, “There’s news about your family—they interviewed your neighbors, can you believe it?” He purposely took two steps back. “It says you and your brother killed your own father! How could your brother—he’s so kind, there’s no way he’d do that. Did he take the fall for you?!”

Before Zhao Miao could protest, Yan Jiyun kept barreling ahead, “Your brother wouldn’t hurt a chicken—how could he possibly kill your dad? He’s at the police station now, isn’t he? He’s helping you, isn’t he? Zhao Miao, was it you who did it? Zhao Xin’s a good student—kind to his classmates, praised by teachers all the time. He was even about to get a guaranteed placement for university. Why would he throw it all away? Is he taking the blame for you or not? Answer me!”

“You’re always late or just leaving early, constantly fighting. Your brother studies so hard yet has to clean up your messes. Can’t you think about him for once?!”

Perhaps Zhao Miao didn’t realize it himself, but as Yan Jiyun’s words came faster and struck closer to home, his face grew more expressive, increasingly irritable.

“Shut the hell up!” Zhao Miao ground out through clenched teeth. “My brother is my brother, I’m me, we are not the same! And he’s not as good as you think, you idiot!”

In a moment of anger, the truth slipped out.

Zhao Miao knew better than anyone that Zhao Xin wasn’t as kind as he appeared, yet he still agreed to his brother’s plan.

Sensing he was close to his goal, Yan Jiyun adopted the role of the deceived fool, unleashing a cutting retort: “How can you slander Zhao Xin like that? Even if he’s not perfect, he’s a hundred times better than you, who’s always fighting and causing trouble. You have the same face—how can you be so different? How could he have a brother like you, you murderer!”

Yan Jiyun heaped praise on Zhao Xin while trampling on Zhao Miao, and now Zhao Miao was nearly driven to madness.

“I’m not a murderer! I didn’t kill my dad!” Zhao Miao shouted, enraged.

Yan Jiyun’s heated voice turned cold. “So Zhao Xin did it, then? He’s pretending to be you at the police station and admitting to the killing so that when the police find out, you’ll swap places and begin exchanging identities. He’ll live as Zhao Miao and you as Zhao Xin.”

Zhao Miao was dumbstruck, then suddenly realized, “You were laying a trap for me!”

Yan Jiyun burst out laughing. “I wasn’t. You volunteered the truth yourself.”

Zhao Miao became wary. “You’re not my brother’s classmate!”

Just then, Qi Feng, who’d been waiting outside, knocked on the door.

Startled, Zhao Miao tensed up, clutching a pillow to his chest subconsciously.

Yan Jiyun went to open the door. Qi Feng stood outside. He’d taken the opportunity to change clothes and fix his hair. Compared to the tattered, desperate high school student about to be framed by his own brother, Qi Feng was the very image of a mature, successful man.

Yan Jiyun cocked his head appraisingly. “Wearing cologne? Anyone would think you were here to go on a date with Zhao Miao.”

Qi Feng cleared his throat. “Why would I date him?”

Yan Jiyun smoothed his shirt collar—thankfully there was no tie. “Good, that means you’re here for a date with me.”

Zhao Miao, wound tight with nerves, suddenly felt less anxious at the sight of Qi Feng. He pointed at them, realization dawning. “You two are in this together?”

Yan Jiyun turned his head. “We are. We’re here to help you come to your senses.”

Zhao Miao protested, “Why? I don’t get it.”

Yan Jiyun approached him, dropping his previous carelessness. “Because you don’t belong in this world. If you let yourself sink into it, you’ll never get back to the world you want. Zhao Xin isn’t really your brother—you don’t have to go to prison for him.”

Zhao Miao scoffed, “What, you think I’m a three-year-old? My brother and I grew up together. We even have a centennial family portrait. How could we not be real brothers?”

Qi Feng spoke quietly, “If he truly were your brother, why would he let you take the fall?”

Zhao Miao was stumped. “He said, when I get out, he’ll take care of me…”

Qi Feng pressed on, “You’d be looking at years in prison. By the time you’re released, you’ll have nothing but a middle school diploma. No real prospects. Meanwhile, your brother could be married with a family of his own. Why would he still look after you? For him, his birth family is a wound he’d rather be rid of.”

Zhao Miao muttered, “He’s not like that…”

Qi Feng continued, “Whenever he did something wrong, didn’t he always blame you? To everyone else, he’s the obedient, perfect child. You’re always the troublemaker. When your mother left, didn’t she want to take him with her, leaving you behind with your drunk of a father?”

Every sentence struck home.

“But my brother came back for me—he’s always been here…”

“Because he realized your mom couldn’t send him to a good school. She moved back to a poor little town. So he came back. Every time you needed help, he pushed you out front instead. Why are you still willing to go to jail for him?”

Yan Jiyun added, clicking his tongue, “Tsk tsk, you really are a fool.”

Zhao Miao fell silent.

Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng understood he needed time to think.

They waited in the next room.

When full daylight came, the police arrived and knocked on the door.

They handcuffed Zhao Miao and took him away.

Fingerprint analysis on the liquor bottle matched “Zhao Xin.” But the one in custody was “Zhao Miao.”

As Zhao Miao left the guesthouse, he saw two men across the street.

They looked, to his eyes, like the judges of the dead—black and white impermanence.

Just before entering the police station, Zhao Miao unexpectedly confessed to the officer escorting him, “Sir, I’m not Zhao Xin. I’m Zhao Miao.”

Suddenly, a flood of memories surged through Zhao Miao’s mind.

At the same time, Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng began to use their powers of consciousness to unravel the fabric of the instance.

In an instant, the world within the instance was tossed and torn.

The system blared a shrill warning:

[Warning! Warning! Warn—]

With a zap, Yan Jiyun silenced the alarm. “That thing is so noisy.”

[Wannabe Human] livestream chat:

“What the hell just happened? Why is the screen black?!”

“Did we just lose connection?”

“Did the story just jump forward? Can a live stream even skip? Am I seeing things?”

“Did it look to anyone else like the whole building turned to stardust? The game must have a bug, right?”