Night's Nomenclature

Qing Chen had calmed down a lot this time, compared to the terror he had the last time he transmigrated.

He waited, as if in a dream, for the world to be ripped apart and reconstructed.

In the cramped bedroom, Qing Chen was still seated on the side of the bed in the posture he was in before he transmigrated. Outside, it was still dark, and he was still holding the boning knife in his hand…

Nothing seemed to have happened in a long time.

Qing Chen grimaced and reached into his pocket for his phone. He took a look at the time.

September 28, 2022, 12:00:01.

One second after midnight.

He distinctly remembered that he got transmigrated September 28, and the exact time was 12:00:00.

To put it another way, he spent two days in that world, but only one second on Earth.

So, logically it would also be the same when he went back to the other world?

In some way, it had to be consistent.

Qing Chen felt happy that he wouldn't have to explain what had occurred to him during the two days he had been missing.

This was a very strange feeling of isolation as if the world in which he was in now was no longer real.

Qing Chen lowered his head and glanced at his arm. The blue-purple mark was still there.

The white timer on his other arm had altered as well. The time is 47:59:45.

The time is 47:59:44.

Another 48 hours, or two days, have passed. As a conclusion, there must exist a pattern.

Only this subtle difference could prove to him that what had happened was real.

He visited a mechanical civilization, met Li Shutong, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Lu Guangyi. He got tested by a nightmare and found a loyal dog that would lick his feet.

A calm-tempered Ye Wan and a strange large cat were present.

While Qing Chen was thinking about it, his cell phone rang. It was an unknown caller.

"Hello," said Qing Chen.

"Hello, I am here at Wang City Road Police Station. Your father has been detained for gambling. Please come over," said a female voice across the phone.

Qing Chen was shocked. Thinking back, it should only have been a couple of hours since his father was caught, but he didn't think that the police station would contact him.

"Uh, why do I have to be there?" asked Qing Chen.

"According to the Penalties for Administration of Public Security, he will be detained and fined. You must come and file some paperwork," said the lady on duty at the police station.

"Sorry, I can’t make it, but please give him the maximum penalty. According to the Penalties for Administration of Public Security, severe violations shall be punished by detention for more than 10 days but no more than 15 days, and a fine of more than 500 yuan1About 78 USD but no more than 3,000 yuan2About 466 USD. He deserves this." said Qing Chen while shaking his head.

The lady on the other end of the phone was surprised, "Are you not his son?"

Qing Chen replied, "I reported the case, and I am not his son. I am Mr. Qing, an honest and caring citizen."

The lady on duty: "???"

Without waiting for a reply, Qing Chen hung up the phone. His dad, no, the illegal gambler would be detained for at least 10 days, which meant that he didn't need to see his dad before the next time he transmigrated.

For some reason, Qing Chen felt a little happy and relieved

For a normal teenager, his father being detained and yelled at was not a pleasing experience.

Most teenagers would see their father as a role model. Once they found their father to be not a hero-like figure as they thought, a fragile wall in their hearts would collapse.

Qing Chen took a deep breath and slowly lay down on the bed. He turned on the phone to review his call records and WeChat but did not see any from his mother.

For a moment, he wanted to go back to the prison.

Even if it was an unknown and dangerous world.

It was already one o'clock in the morning, and Qing Chen still had felt no urge to sleep.

In his dark room, his phone screen illuminated his face as his only light source.

On the screen was the score of Canon in D that he just found, and he was memorizing every little detail that he could see.

This piece of music was Li Shutong's life wish, but for Qing Chen, it was a no-brainer.

Maybe this was the beauty of the difference between the two worlds. There were things there that Qing Chen desperately wanted.

But, how should he go about giving this to Li Shutong?

If he did end up giving the score to him, how could he explain where he got it from?

It was risky. Although Qing Chen wasn't afraid of taking risks, he didn't want to take pointless ones.

Qing Chen must determine whether it would be worth it or not before giving him the score.

In the end, he still didn't receive any message from his mom.

…

The first day after the countdown, 7:30 AM.

Qing Chen put on a blue and white school uniform and went outside, eating instant noodles while walking.

The Luo City Foreign Language School has divided into three campuses a few years ago, and the high school campus was only five minutes walk from his home. All he needed to do was to cross a small alley to arrive at his school.

On his commute to school, Qing Chen could smell the scent of egg wraps wafting out from a breakfast stand. People along the walkway were eating tofu soup or spicy noodles.

The freshly fried dough sticks were golden and crisp, and the tea eggs were smooth and shiny.

To his dismay, Qing Chen remembered that he was broke. He spent his life savings to purchase the supplies in preparation for the countdown.

Just thinking about this made his tooth hurt, but he didn't regret doing so. Better safe than sorry.

In the classroom of second-year Class 3, there was a classmate cleaning the classroom, and the room was filled with the moldy smell of mop, the kind that hinted to you that the mop hadn’t been washed in a long time.

Just as Qing Chen sat down in the back row, he saw his classmate Nan Gengchen hurry into the classroom with a nervous expression on his face.

"Ms. Du saw me skipping class yesterday. Did she say anything about it afterward?" asked Qing Chen in a low voice.

However, Nan Gengchen was not paying attention to what he was asking, "Huh? What?"

"Uh, nothing," Qing Chen shook his head, "Why are you so agitated?"

"Agitated?" Nan Gengchen seemed to be confused, "I don't think so."

Qing Chen saw through this obvious lie; it was clear his deskmate was hiding something from him. But if Nan Gengchen did not want to talk about it, he wouldn’t force it upon him.

After quietly sitting next to each other for a while, Nan Gengchen suddenly asked in a very low voice, “Qing Chen, how would you react if one day you encountered something extremely weird?”

"Weird?" Qing Chen froze there for a moment, then looked at Nan Gengchen. He hesitated and asked, "What exactly do you mean by weird?"

"I don't know what it is. It's just weird." Nan Gengchen said.

"I would probably call the police?" Qing Chen's eyes were locked on Nan Gengchen.

Nan Gengchen's eyes lit up, "Yes, the police! Qing Chen, do you know anyone that I can talk to in the police station?"

"Yeah, I do," said Qing Chen after thinking about it for a while, "I reported my dad gambling last night and got him arrested. He's in the police station right now."

Nan Gengchen: "???"

• 1About 78 USD
• 2About 466 USD