Old Wang's life after retirement was as bland as water. His only enjoyment was playing a few chess matches at the park entrance's chess stall every afternoon. Recently, Old Wang had something new to talk about: Apple phones, after national subsidies, had fallen below 3000, as cheap as street stall goods. Old Wang's five-year-old flip phone was long overdue for replacement, so he joined the buying frenzy.

That day, Old Wang got up early and squeezed into the crowded shopping mall. After much effort, he managed to grab a nationally subsidized iPhone 16. The phone was brand new, and the box had a strange QR code that prompted, "Scan to activate for first use and sign the User Experience Agreement." Old Wang didn't think much of it. He scanned, signed, and completed the process.

Old Wang woke up from a coma, his mind feeling like freshly mixed cement, a complete mush. He remembered he was a firefighter, had rushed into a fire to save a child, and then, he couldn't remember anything else. The doctor said he suffered a concussion, his intellect had regressed to elementary school level. Fortunately, through rehabilitation, he had now recovered to high school level.

Old Li didn't manage to get a "Dedication Fu" this year. It wasn't that he didn't try hard enough, nor was it that his luck was too bad, but he discovered that this year, collecting Fu wasn't about "grabbing" anymore.

The courier station at the entrance of the residential area had become a temporary trading center for "Fu" characters. All kinds of "Fu" characters were printed out, bound into booklets, and openly priced. From "Harmony Fu" to "Patriotism Fu", there were even "knock-off" versions of "Dedication Fu". Old Li initially found it absurd, but later discovered that if he wanted to collect a complete set, this was the only way.

Xiaofang has been working at a nail salon for five years. She is most familiar with the colorful nail polishes and the nail lamp that emits a ghostly blue glow. Every day, she repeats the process of filing, coloring, and drying, her finger movements as precise as a machine.

The shop is a chain, and business is booming. There is a constant stream of customers, most of them young and beautiful, with a persistent pursuit of color changes on their fingertips. Xiaofang likes to see their satisfied smiles and hear their chattering about dreams, love, and fashion. Those fragmented sounds, like background music, accompany her through long workdays.

Old Wang pushed open the glass door of the office, and a strong smell of perfume, along with the drowsiness of the afternoon, rushed towards him. He sniffed, trying to identify which colleague had changed their perfume, but eventually gave up. Since the company started implementing "personalized office" practices, everyone's workstation has been arranged like a small personal exhibition, varied and flamboyant. Old Wang felt like a zookeeper who had wandered into a zoo, observing these "exhibits" every day and trying to figure out the logic behind them.

His gaze finally landed on Xiao Li's workstation. It was a small corner piled with red persimmons, but upon closer inspection, those "persimmons" turned out to be combs. Xiao Li was the young man who sold 50,000 combs shaped like persimmons and was hailed as a "model of innovation" by the company. Old Wang remembered that half a year ago, Xiao Li was just an intern who didn't even dare to speak loudly in meetings, but now he has become a role model for the whole company to learn from.

title: Washing Sins slug: 2025-01-20-xidi-zui keywords: [University Student, Hotel, Laundry, Absurd, Irony] description: A university student actually booked a room just to do laundry at a hotel. What kind of social truths are hidden behind this seemingly absurd act? authors: [yangshun] meta: University student criticized for “wool-pulling“ by booking a hotel room just to do laundry date: 2025-01-20 tags: [Society, Satire, Micro-fiction]

Old Wang, an ordinary programmer, looked forward to going home for the Spring Festival more than anything else all year. Knowing how difficult it was to snag a ticket, he opened a well-known third-party ticket booking platform early. The page was full of flashy colors, with various "Speed ​​Ticket Snatching," "Exclusive Channels," and "VIP Acceleration Packs" dazzling his eyes.

"Here we go again with this," Old Wang muttered to himself, but his hand still obediently clicked on "Normal Booking." The page refreshed, showing that there were plenty of tickets available, but the price was fifty yuan more expensive than on the official 12306 website.

The elevator doors opened, revealing a row of straight legs, all wearing black suit pants, reflecting the bright office lights. I, Li Ming, at 172 centimeters, barely squeezed into this forest where the average height was 180 centimeters.

This wasn't a modeling agency, but our company's routine morning meeting. Since the company introduced the "Project Excellent Height," all new male employees were required to undergo "height-increasing surgery." I hesitated at the time; after all, "breaking bones" sounded chilling. But HR's smile was gentle yet firm, "Mr. Li, this is not only for your career but also for the overall image of the company. We are pursuing the perfect height."

Old man Li was carrying a bucket of freshly fried fritters, walking slowly through the alley. On both sides of the alley, lanterns were hung, and the red glow illuminated the smiling faces of every household. Today was Lunar New Year's Eve, and the air was filled with the scent of the New Year.

But this year's festive atmosphere seemed a little different.

At six-thirty in the morning, before the alarm clock went off, Anqi was already awake. To be precise, it was her subconscious "short video alarm clock" that woke her up. She didn't even need to open her eyes to feel the vibration of the phone beside her pillow, a vibration like some invisible command, making her immediately reach out and light up the screen.

The familiar interface popped up, the brightly colored icons jumping on the screen like a group of excited little sprites. She opened TikTok, which had become almost the first thing she did every day, more important than brushing her teeth or washing her face. The first video pushed to her today was "2025's Trendiest Makeup," and Anqi skillfully followed the steps in the video, applying various colors of cosmetics to her face.