The Awakening of the "Sleepy Fish"

Old Wang has been a keeper at the scenic area for twenty years. Old Zhang, the “sleepy fish” he raised, has recently made the news. Not because Old Zhang was sleeping even more soundly, but because it died.

Old Zhang was originally an unremarkable fish in the scenic area, but it became popular due to its “sleepy” nature, which was different from ordinary fish. It did almost nothing but eat every day, staying motionless at the bottom of the water, like a piece of submerged wood. Tourists came from far and wide just to catch a glimpse of it, then exclaim, "Wow, it can really sleep!" Old Wang also benefited from this, with his salary doubling, and he was even named "Model Keeper."

After Old Zhang died, the scenic area asked Old Wang to find the "cause of death." Old Wang flipped through textbooks on fish, gave Old Zhang a full "physical examination," and even brought in experts, but still couldn't find the cause of Old Zhang's death. The experts concluded: "It might have slept for too long and died of sleep." This answer seemed absurd to Old Wang, yet he couldn't find a reason to refute it.

To appease the tourists, the scenic area decided to hold a "grand" funeral for Old Zhang. They placed Old Zhang in a specially made transparent coffin and decorated the fish tank with exquisite wreaths. On the day of the funeral, the place was packed with people, all taking photos with their phones. A young girl even bowed in front of the coffin, then said to Old Zhang’s “remains,” “Rest in peace, Sleeping Beauty.”

Old Wang stood behind the crowd, watching it all, feeling like his brain wasn't working properly. Old Zhang was just an ordinary fish, how did it become a "Sleeping Beauty"? It was just sleeping, how did it become "rest in peace"? He suddenly felt that both people and fish were just fish in the big fish tank of society. The only difference was probably that people and fish had different understandings of "sleeping."

After the funeral, the scenic area launched a "Old Zhang-style sleep experience" project to compensate for the "emotional loss" of the tourists. They decorated the rooms in the scenic area to look like fish tanks, with each room equipped with "sleep-aid spray," allowing tourists to experience Old Zhang-style "deep sleep." Tourists flocked to it, eagerly booking rooms. Old Wang watched all of this, feeling like he was the one who was truly "asleep."

Until one day, he discovered that another fish he raised, Old Li, was also beginning to become lethargic. Old Wang was terrified, thinking that Old Li would follow in Old Zhang's footsteps. He stared at Old Li, fearing that it too would "sleep to death." But Old Li didn't. It suddenly opened its eyes and said to Old Wang, "I don't want to sleep anymore, I want to go out and see the world."

Old Wang was completely dumbfounded. He thought he had misheard. He looked around, confirming that he and Old Li were the only ones in the fish tank. Old Li said it again: "I don't want to be consumed as a commodity like Old Zhang." Old Wang was completely stunned; he began to wonder if he should also wake up.

He turned to look at the surface of the water, which reflected the face of a somewhat lost middle-aged man. Old Wang felt like he had been asleep for a very, very long time.