Recap
Suddenly the actor jolted awake, terrified by the stranger in his home. He tried desperately to shrink deeper into the doll, but his head still protruded out like a sore thumb.
In a frenzy, he clutched his own throat, as if only by removing the extra head could he be safe.
He strangles himself mercilessly, nearly to death. But at the last moment, he lost all memory again, reverting to the simple-minded fool.
The fool resurfaced in the actor’s body, grinning vacantly at Shen Ji.
The actor was trapped inside, only occasionally able to show himself.
The fool had forgotten everything. The actor remembered it all. All the unbearable pain. The actor appears only to find ways to kill himself.
Shen Ji took out the candy and let the actor choose for himself.
The actor looked at the candy in Shen Ji’s palm, then at Shen Ji. After a long pause, he clumsily crawled out of the rabbit doll and rushed toward the cabinet where the candies were hidden.
When Shen Ji left the actor’s home, he already had two candies.
They lay neatly in his hand, like twin siblings — identical in color, identical in size.
In the empty stairwell, Shen Ji stared at them for a long time. After making sure no one was behind him, he picked up one, gently unwrapped it, and placed it in his mouth.
The candy had already begun to melt. Shen Ji frowned — it was too sweet, so sweet that he felt as if a heavy downpour began to fall within his heart.
He sat in the stairwell until noon, waiting until the couple upstairs left their home. Then he entered their bedroom and placed the remaining candy in the young man’s hand.
The youth’s eyes were tightly shut, still trapped in his nightmare. This time, Shen Ji noticed many bottles and jars at the bedside. He didn’t know their effects, but he recognized the obscure words on the labels.
Alice… Dream Syndrome…
He memorized the name, then left the room and climbed to the sixth floor. He stopped, staring at the empty stairwell.
The boy hadn’t appeared today.
The safety door on the sixth floor opened a crack. Caught off guard, Shen Ji’s arm was seized. A woman in a blue dress stood on the other side. Her towering figure loomed over him like a rabbit caught in a doorway. She lowered her head and said solemnly, “You’re finally here.”
Without another word, she dragged Shen Ji down the corridor.
Pain shot through his arm as her grip tightened. She was as tall as the man on the fifth floor, and Shen Ji had no strength to resist. He had to half-run to avoid being pulled to the ground.
She brought him into her home, shut the door, then lifted him high into the air. Her face lit with an innocent smile as she spun around, laughing: “Alice, you’ve finally come back. Mommy missed you so much.”
Shen Ji was helpless, shouting, “Stop! Stop! I’m not Alice!”
The woman froze, still holding him aloft, staring into his eyes. “If you’re not Alice, then who is Alice? The landlord promised me he would bring Alice back. You’re not the landlord, so you must be Alice!”
Shen Ji lied: “The landlord sent me to find you. I’m not Alice, but I can help you find Alice.”
“Where is the landlord? Why didn’t he come himself? He promised me!”
“He’s dead.”
The woman dropped Shen Ji to the floor without hesitation. “Fine. Then what are you?”
Shen Ji scrambled up, unhurt and unangered. “I’m the landlord’s neighbor.”
“Alright, landlord’s neighbor. How will you help me find Alice?”
Her towering body was like a mountain, her presence crushing. Yet Shen Ji felt no fear. He asked the simplest question: “Alice — is Alice a boy or a girl?”
The woman grew agitated. “What nonsense are you saying? Alice is a boy… no, Alice is a girl… no, that’s wrong! Alice… my Alice… oh God, how could I forget something so important…”
Her face twisted in pain. She sank to her knees, lost in memories.
Perhaps the child Alice had once truly wandered Wonderland. But the grown Alice had lost the right to enter.
Her tall body could no longer fit through the rabbit hole. Her weary soul trudged on, abandoned not only by fantasy but reality had left her behind too.
The girl grew into a woman, became a wife. Daily chores drained her last strength. A child’s arrival might have been a surprise — but when surprise turned to horror, and the child was stillborn, how could her monotonous life continue?
The grown Alice was barred from Wonderland. Yet the child Alice had escaped it. Her past self had never abandoned her.
So the grown Alice returned to Wonderland, donned her dress again, and held the child Alice’s hand. Together they fled reality, continuing their endless adventure.
The child Alice was sometimes the stillborn child, sometimes her younger self. That was why the woman could not tell if Alice was a boy or girl.
The landlord gave her the entire sixth floor as Wonderland. She willingly gave up returning to reality. Even losing herself, she never opened that door.
Shen Ji picked up a fairy tale book from the floor, placed it before her, and asked: “Tell me — has Alice ever killed anyone?”
His voice pulled her back. She stared at the open book. “Landlord’s neighbor, tell me — is Alice a boy or a girl?”
Shen Ji said, “Whether Alice is a boy or a girl, I’ll help you find them. But you haven’t answered me — has Alice killed anyone?”
The woman said, “Whether boy or girl, Alice has never killed anyone.”
“And you?”
“I cut off the dragon’s head. My sin is unforgivable.”
“The sword cut off the dragon’s head.”
“And me?”
“You are innocent.”
When Shen Ji left, Innocent Alice gave him a gift — a book titled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Shen Ji had many questions for the boy, but the boy was gone all day. At sunset, it was the neighbor who appeared at the door.
Claiming to be Shen Ji’s boyfriend, he came to check on the wound in Shen Ji’s palm, bringing a homemade cake.
The wound had mostly healed, and Shen Ji had no reason to refuse. He let him in. Once, the entry pass was medicine; now, it was cake.
The neighbor handed him a spoon, inviting him to taste. Shen Ji ate one bite, then stopped.
“Not good? Why did you stop?” The neighbor leaned his forehead on his hand, smiling faintly, his expression gentle — yet more frightening than a madman’s rage.
Shen Ji set down the spoon. “Too sweet.”
“Is that so? My apologies.” The neighbor picked up the cake, scooped a piece, and held it to Shen Ji’s lips, smiling. “Next time I’ll be more careful.”
Shen Ji frowned, refusing. “Take it away. I don’t want it.”
The neighbor’s smile vanished. His eyes turned cold. “You must eat it. I made this for you. You must eat it today, or you won’t be leaving this room.”
“This is my home. You’re the one who should leave.” Shen Ji clenched his fists, struggling against the urge to smash his face.
“Don’t be rash, teacher.” The neighbor sighed softly, unwilling to anger his beloved. He yielded reluctantly. “My attitude was too harsh. Forgive my rudeness. How about this? Shall I tie you up and feed you, or will you eat it yourself? This time, I’ll let you choose.”
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T/N: um…
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