Dodging Spring Office
"Dodging Spring, please look for [Time Capsule] Dodging Spring Office, we serve you 24/7!"
The office's neon sign flickered, looking out of place in the early spring chill. The storefront wasn't large, yet it was decorated like a high-tech escape room. I, Lao Wang, am the sole employee here, also the boss, receptionist, and tech support.
This year, there are especially many people dodging spring. I don't know when it started, but "dodging spring" has become a mandatory social rule. It's said that to avoid offending Tai Sui (the Grand Duke Jupiter), you must hide during the beginning of spring, avoid light, and make no sound, as if you've become invisible. It started as a folk saying, but now it's become a kind of social consensus and has even formed an industry chain.
[Time Capsule] is what I bought with all my savings from a bankrupt metaverse company. It’s basically a space capsule with soundproofing and VR equipment, allowing customers to spend that "catastrophic" hour in a virtual world.
My first customer was a young man named Li Ming. After putting on the VR glasses, he chose a tropical beach scene and chatted enthusiastically with a virtual beauty. He told me that in the real world, he’s a corporate slave who works overtime every night, and his only pleasure is playing games. Looking at his silly grin, I felt sorry for him. I used to be the same, staring at code all day, thinking I could change the world. And what was the result? Even dodging spring relies on this crappy capsule.
My second customer was a middle-aged woman, who started weeping as soon as she entered the capsule. She said her son was taking the college entrance exam this year, and she was afraid that offending Tai Sui would affect his future. She chose a Buddhist temple scene and silently prayed while tapping a wooden fish. Looking at her haggard face, I thought of my mom. She used to go to temples to burn incense and pray for my exams too.
The next few customers included company leaders who were afraid of offending "Tai Sui" and affecting their promotions, and celebrities who were afraid of losing fans because of "offending Tai Sui." Listening to them talk about their "misfortunes," I just felt like the world was seriously ill.
The "dodging spring" business was incredibly popular, and my little office was packed every day. I made a lot of money, enough to pay off my debts. Yet I couldn't feel happy.
I started to doubt the meaning of all this. Why do we need to hide? What exactly are we hiding from? Is it the invisible, intangible "Tai Sui," or the difficulties in real life that we are powerless to change? Can we escape reality by hiding in a capsule?
On the day of the beginning of spring, the office was unusually busy. I was rushing around, not even having time to take a sip of water. When the last customer finally left, I slumped into a chair, looking at the empty capsule, feeling incredibly exhausted.
Suddenly, I noticed a strange phenomenon. The time displayed on the VR device was showing yesterday. I rubbed my eyes, making sure I wasn't mistaken. Could it be a program error? I checked the background, but all the records showed that today's customers had repeated.
I felt a chill. Could it be that time had really gone backward? I rushed out of the office, and saw that the pedestrians on the street were still rushing about, everything was normal. I took out my phone to check the time, but found that all time displays had reverted to yesterday. I tried to make a phone call, but found that no one could be reached.
At that moment, I saw a familiar black car slowly stop in front of me. The window rolled down, revealing a familiar face, it was Li Ming, my first customer today. He gave me a strange smile and said, "Lao Wang, it's your time to dodge spring today, please come in."
I stared at him, my body stiff. The door of the office behind me silently opened, the inside as dark as an abyss. I felt myself being sucked into a huge vortex. I suddenly realized that what we were hiding from wasn't Tai Sui, but time itself. And this so-called dodging spring was just a meticulously planned game of reincarnation.
I tried to move my legs, but they felt like they were filled with lead, unable to move. I opened my mouth, wanting to make a sound, but found that I couldn't say anything.
I could only watch helplessly as I walked, step by step, into the dark abyss, towards that endless "dodging spring."