Big Brother / Da Ge / The Unknown

Chapter 1

Crying in laughter, living alongside death-Yu Hua's "To Live".

He dreamed he was still very young, about five or six years old, sitting at the head of the bed, with a warm radiator on one side and leaning against a woman on the other.

The woman was heavily pregnant, so he didn't dare lean in too closely, merely resting his tilted head lightly against her arm, creating a semblance of affection.

That woman was truly beautiful, comparable to the big stars on TV, with a fair oval face and well-defined features.

She held an old, tattered book in her hand, carefully reading the story it contained.

The woman wasn't highly educated, with very limited reading ability. Even the simplest fairy tales caused her to stutter, often leading to confusing breaks in the narrative, yet she appeared enjoy herself. With one hand holding the book and the other resting on her belly, her voice was sweet and clear, her expression serene and content.

"...The children walked together to the other side of the mountain, where they found a stream joyfully flowing from east to west, babbling, 'Foolish children, here lies fragrant pastries, glistening roast chickens, countless candies, hanging in vibrant arrays on the trees like stars in the sky, inexhaustible. Here also lurk man-eating monsters, waiting to fatten you up into plump little lambs before gobbling you up in one bite.'"

"At first, the children were petrified, not daring to step forward. They lived on this side of the stream, subsisting on wild mushrooms and strawberries, bland and sour. Until one day, the eldest boy said to himself, 'I can't take it anymore. How wonderful it would be to feast on the pastries and roast chicken across the stream, not to mention the endless candies.'"

"He was the first to leap across the stream, indulging in a feast in the beautiful woods, then returned by nightfall to reassure everyone that there were no man-eating monsters. The next day, the eldest girl also thought, 'How wonderful it would be to feast on the pastries and roast chicken across the stream, not to mention the endless candies.' She followed the first boy across the stream, enjoyed a feast in the beautiful woods, and both returned by night claiming they encountered no man-eating monsters."

"One by one, the boys and girls crossed the stream to partake in the feast on the other side. A day passed, no monsters appeared; a month went by, still no sign of the monsters. They laughed at the rushing stream, settling on its banks, freely roaming the beautiful woods, indulging in exquisite food and endless candies. Only the youngest boy stayed behind, no matter how his increasingly plump companions shouted from across the stream, he steadfastly refused to come closer."

"Every day, the children who crossed the stream would shout to their friend, 'Hey, come on over, the stream is lying, there are no man-eating monsters here, life is like heaven!' But the youngest boy remained unmoved, surviving on mushrooms and wild strawberries. He remembered his grandmother's warning before he left home: there's no such thing as a free lunch, unexplained ease is the most dangerous trap in the jungle."

"Suddenly, one night, the youngest boy was awakened by a sharp roar. Opening his eyes, he saw the stream swollen, splitting the earth in two, turning into a vast ocean."

"The ocean sang, 'Little lambs, plump and round, gulp you down in one bite, not one shall escape!' The youngest boy rubbed his eyes, seeing his companions being chased by a monster as big as a mountain. But they were too fat to run fast, and before they could reach the water's edge, they were caught and devoured one by one. They all fell into the most perilous trap, only the youngest boy survived to pass down this tale."

The yellowed pages were turned, the story with neither head nor tail concluded, and the woman, as if she had finished a grand project, sighed, casually saying to Wei Qian, who was leaning against her, "That's why, living too comfortably isn't good. When you're fat and happy, eating your fill and idling away your days, you're not far from kicking the bucket..."