His father didn't come. Only the lady at the bar sat down with him for a while, after Xu Zhengqing left. She bought him an extra plate of Dangos and asked him trivial questions. Nothing of significance, nothing that suggested any mistrust on her part. She was merely curious about where they were headed, and what they had already seen. She always had wanted to go on a trip like that, with a camper, as a teenager. But her parents had run the shop and had neither the time nor the money for such trips. 

Her openness towards him relaxed him. For a moment he was tempted to tell her the truth. Xu Zhengqing wouldn't be able to stop him. But his conscience prevented him from doing so. The watchmaker had been good to him over the past few months, had shown him the world. He didn't have the heart to betray him. Despite the oppressive memories, the nightmares that haunted him, of a life that had been different. 

He looked for signs in the shop, that would give him certainty that he was in an illusion. If this were a kind of VR, wouldn't the surroundings have to be artificial? Surely there would be pixels to be seen somewhere. At the corners and edges of the chairs, the walls or picture frames perhaps. His gaze wandered, prompting the woman to tell him stories about the places that could be seen in the pictures. He only half-listened. 

His mind was in another place. He was too busy scanning his surroundings. He saw nothing. The shop seemed real, like the woman, like the dessert, like the tea. Even the air was filled with a sweet scent. 

Just as he was about to ask the woman some questions, Xu Zhengqing returned. He was accompanied by a boy a little older than himself. The boy's hair was black and tousled. He was wearing worn trousers, a denim jacket, and an upturned baseball cap. His facial features resembled those of Ding Wei, and he had the same grin on his lips. 

“Wenjie!” The boy approached him. What had Xu Zhengqing told him? That he should pretend, they knew each other. “Long time no see.” 

They were seeing each other for the first time. Wait. Wrong. In his other life, they already knew each other. There was a throbbing in his temple. Ding Wei. Where was Ding Wei? White streaks appeared in the air before his eyes. 

“Hey buddy, are you okay?“ 

He felt hands on his shoulders. 

“You're all pale,” the lady's voice interjected. “Oh no. Did you have an adverse reaction? Does he have allergies? I only gave him a second plate of dango.” 

Wenjie saw the woman get up and turn to Xu Zhengqing through a fog.  The fog cleared. His vision was clear again. “I'm fine. It's just a residual effect of the fever I caught.” Quickly followed up with a little lie. Hopefully it didn't sound too far-fetched to the shopkeeper. 

Ding Wei lightly punched him on the shoulder. “Hey, don't scare us like that. You went green in the face for a second.”

Wenjie laughed. “I just had a headache. It's gone now.”

“There's a pharmacy two streets away,” the lady said. 

“I'll get something there as a precaution,“ Xu Zhengqing replied. ‘Thank you for reducing his waiting time. I'd like to get another gift box.’ 

“Can I have some dango, too?” Ding Wei called. 

“Coming up.” 

Xu Zhengqing took his wallet out of his pocket and paid for everything. 

Wenjie felt oddly detached. The headache was just a dull pulling pain that was slowly fading. He kept his hands under the table as Ding Wei accepted his portion of dango. Then he pinched himself secretly, hoping it would make a difference. To no avail. 

He leaned back, resigned. Ding Wei had nothing better to do than share his dango with him. This brought a smile to Wenjie's lips. However, it didn't really make him feel any better. 

Xu Zhengqing left them alone for a few minutes. It wasn't long before he returned with medicine from the pharmacy. The world continued to turn, without any significant events, and Wenjie had no choice but to accept this new reality. 

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years. His father didn't show up. Not at the schools they visited, nor at the places Xu Zhengqing took them to. Abandoned places, full of forgotten secrets, that reminded Wenjie of the tomb raiders chronicles by Kennedy Xu. A book series that Uncle Xu gave him every year for his birthday. The only difference between the adventures of Wu Xie and the excursions that Xu Zhengqing took with him and Xiao Dao was, that Wu Xie's adventures were much more dangerous. 

The more time passed, the more the new reality influenced his thinking, feeling and acting. The deeper the friendship between him and Ding Wei became. Mist settled over his memories, blurring the traces. What was truth, what was dream? Wenjie was no longer able to distinguish. 

There seemed to be no mistakes in the illusion that apparently was not one. Only one thing remained, the certainty that his father was still alive. Xu Zhengqing also made sure, that this belief remained. One day, he said, they would return to Qingcheng. Then, when Ding Shenghuo came out of prison.

“We'll play a game with the police and set out a decoy. If your father is still alive, he'll show himself.” 

Wenjie clung to hope. Although the prospect of seeing his father again made him nervous. Would he be disappointed? Because his son had followed in his footsteps? Because he committed thefts with Xiao Dao for Xu Zhengqing? Or was he the thief, that his classmates from elementary school thought he was? So many questions. No answers. 

The day of his return was approaching. About three years before Ding Shenghuo's release from prison. Xu Zhengqing wanted him to enroll in law at the university. This reactivated the hidden memories. The building and the students triggered a déjà vu. He knew the corridors, the lecture halls. How was that possible? From where, why? Doubts arose, bringing with them headaches. But they did not change anything.

to be continued ...