Chapter 26: Irene’s Talent
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation.
Irene had a peculiar talent—she could enter other people’s dreams. Not only could she slip into them, but she also had some control over what happened in them. She could, for instance, summon a dump truck just by ringing the end-of-exam bell within a dream. It was an impressive skill, at least on paper, and if used well, it could allow for powerful things like psychological suggestions, mental infiltration, or even altering memories.
But Yu Sheng was not entirely convinced. So far, Irene had proven disappointingly useless. Even in dreams, she stumbled about awkwardly. The girl couldn’t even manage something as simple as hiding behind a bush at the right moment. To make matters worse, she was stuck inside that same old oil painting—even here, in these shifting landscapes of slumber.
Just now, within Yu Sheng’s dream, that oil painting drifted gently before him. Inside the frame, Irene looked more than a bit embarrassed. He couldn’t help feeling awkward too. There she was, just floating in mid-air as though she belonged on a museum wall, not bobbing around in a dream.
“So, you can’t step out of that painting even when you’re dreaming?” Yu Sheng asked, raising one eyebrow. “I thought that, at the very least, you’d be able to get out for a quick stretch in here.”
“That’s what a curse does,” Irene answered, her voice colored with helplessness. “I’m trapped inside this frame in the real world, and it’s no different here. It doesn’t matter where I go—without a proper vessel, I’m stuck. No freedom, not even in a dream.”
“That’s… really unfortunate,” Yu Sheng said, sounding sincerely sorry.
Irene didn’t seem to like his sympathetic tone. “But dreams aren’t exactly like reality!” she insisted, her voice rising as if defending herself. “Here, I have a bit more freedom! I mean, I can float around… Don’t laugh at me! And… there’s more!”
Yu Sheng tilted his head, curious. “Oh? There’s more, you say?”
Irene nodded firmly. Then, inside the painting, she struck a pose that reminded Yu Sheng of a video game character summoning secret powers. She focused hard, face scrunched in concentration. Yu Sheng watched, intrigued despite himself. A soft glow shimmered across the painting’s surface. Suddenly, with a quiet “poof!” the oil painting’s style changed. Now it looked like a faded, cheesy movie poster straight out of the 1980s.
Irene’s appearance had shifted along with it—retro-themed, as if she’d just stepped off the set of some old film.
“I can change art styles,” she announced, chest puffed out proudly.
For a moment, Yu Sheng said nothing.
“You laughed! I know you did!” Irene cried, sounding wounded.
“I didn’t laugh,” Yu Sheng protested, though he struggled to keep a straight face.
“Your inner voice did!” she huffed, narrowing her crimson eyes.
Yu Sheng decided it was wiser not to argue. There were more pressing matters anyway. He glanced over at the enormous white fox lying on the nearby grass. He still couldn’t understand why this fox was here in his dream.
Feeling snubbed, Irene drifted sideways, muttering quietly, “I can turn into other things too—woodcuts, scrolls… I’m trying to learn how to become a relief sculpture. Maybe then I’d have some depth, and no one would say my character is flat…”
That was too much for Yu Sheng. He turned back to her, shaking his head. “First, I never said your character was flat. Second, turning into marble won’t give you personality. That’s not what ‘flat character’ means.”
Irene opened her mouth, ready to argue, but then, as if her time were up, she vanished from the old poster look. With a gentle “poof,” she reverted to her original oil painting style. Her transformation hadn’t even lasted three minutes.
Yu Sheng sighed deeply. All that, and still not much help. Even in dreams, Irene’s usefulness was questionable. Still, she didn’t seem as upset this time. Her eyes had just landed on the white fox snoozing peacefully on the grass. Something about the fox had caught her attention.
“By the way,” Irene asked, tapping the inside of her frame, “what’s the story with this fox? She looks… different from the rest of the dream.”
Yu Sheng gave Irene a puzzled glance. She explained, “In most dreams, everything shares a certain look. The colors, the textures—they all fit together, even if the dreamer never notices. Your dream, for example, has this sort of grayish tone. The sky, the grass, everything is tinted with it. But this fox… she looks like she’s from a completely different scene. Like she wandered in from another movie set.”
Yu Sheng turned his gaze to the sleeping white fox, considering Irene’s observation. “Her name is Foxy,” he said slowly.
“Well, obviously she’s a fox,” Irene replied, rolling her eyes.
“No, that’s actually her name,” Yu Sheng explained. “Foxy. Remember when I told you about being trapped in that ‘Otherworld’? I ran into a fox there—white fur, red eyes, multiple tails…”
Irene blinked in shock. She stared at the fox, her eyes going wide. Her mouth opened, closed, then opened again in disbelief. “Wait, WHAT?! How did you bring her into your dream? And how can you possibly ‘trap’ someone here?”
“I didn’t bring her here,” Yu Sheng said, shaking his head. “And I don’t think she’s trapped. I’m guessing this is just a shadow of her, or some kind of projection. Ever since I fell asleep, she’s been here in my dream, and I can’t wake her up no matter what I try.”
Irene flicked her gaze back and forth between Yu Sheng and the fox, her eyes full of burning questions. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” she murmured. Then, fixing Yu Sheng with a sharp look, she asked, “Are you really human?”
Yu Sheng frowned. “What kind of question is that? If I’m not human, then what are you?”
But Irene wouldn’t drop it. Her crimson eyes shone with suspicion. “Let’s sum it up: a normal person wouldn’t live unknowingly in some Otherworld for ages. Then, wander into another strange Otherworld and meet a dangerous creature, survive that encounter, somehow bring back a ‘souvenir,’ and even cook and eat it without any trouble. Now, you’re carrying another consciousness inside your dream—this fox, who’s asleep somewhere else. And you still want me to believe you’re just an ordinary human?”
Yu Sheng looked away, feeling uneasy. He knew she didn’t even know the biggest secret of all: that he had died once, and returned. Compared to that, the rest was almost boring.
“Look,” he said quietly, “I’m as confused as you are. A lot of strange things have happened. And you’re one of those strange things too, Irene. Don’t give me that look. I wish I understood it all. If I could wake Foxy up, maybe we’d find some answers.”
Irene studied him a moment longer. Then, finally, she let out a sigh and turned her attention back to the fox. Her expression softened, as if she were lost in her own thoughts.
After a while, Irene spoke up again. “I have an idea.”
Yu Sheng’s ears perked up. “You do? What is it?”
“I can try to enter this fox’s dream,” Irene said, pointing at the sleeping creature. “If the fox is locked up mentally, a dream might be the easiest way in. Dreams are always the soft spot, the easiest place to slip through. If she’s dreaming, I might be able to see something—or even wake her up. That might give us the answers we need.”
Yu Sheng felt a flicker of genuine surprise. A moment ago, Irene seemed almost useless. Now she was suggesting something bold and clever. “You can really do that?” he asked.
Irene nodded, determination shining in her eyes. “It’s not too hard, as long as she’s actually dreaming. Even if she isn’t, our minds are connected here, so I might be able to force my way in. But it’s risky, and I’ll need you to help keep the link stable.”
Yu Sheng’s face grew serious. “Tell me what to do.”
Irene paused, choosing her words carefully. “Think of it like deep-sea diving in dangerous waters. If the connection between us snaps, I could get stuck on the other side. You’ll come with me, like a lifeline rope. If something goes wrong, I’ll have to yank you awake. Waking you up will pull me out too, so we both return to the real world.”
Yu Sheng considered this, then asked, “How exactly will you wake me up if things go wrong?”
Irene smirked mischievously. “Imagine you’re taking the most important test of your life. You’re about to hand in your paper when the end-of-exam bell rings. But then, suddenly, a dump truck smashes through the wall and flattens you—and maybe your high school crush—into paper-thin cutouts. That’s the sort of ‘pleasant’ wake-up call I have in mind.”
Yu Sheng blinked in confusion at her odd example. Still, being rudely awakened sounded better than being stuck forever. He was determined to learn what was going on with Foxy.
“All right,” he said resolutely. “Let’s do it. What’s the first step?”
Irene gave him a small smile. “Go lie down next to the fox—right near her tail. Then, hold onto my frame, close your eyes, and get ready. We’ll dive into her dream together.”