Chapter 1: I Had a Dream

July 21, 2045, 40°C.

Meng Ran carried her groceries out of the supermarket and lifted the heavy cloth curtain. A wave of heat rushed toward her, the street’s scorching air seeming to twist the scene before her like a mirage.

This was undoubtedly the hottest day yet.

She quickened her pace toward her car, her face tight with discomfort.

Ahead, she saw an old man in a filthy short-sleeved shirt, holding a chipped ceramic bowl, begging from passersby.

In such sweltering heat, most people simply avoided him, murmuring complaints without offering any help.

Meng Ran noticed large beads of sweat sliding down his forehead, his face flushed from the heat. Unable to bear it, she reached into her purse and found a fifty-yuan bill left over from paying her child’s school fees.

“Here,” she said, placing the money into the bowl. “Buy some cold water and bread, and find somewhere cool to rest.”

The old man clutched the bowl, thanking her repeatedly. He bent down, drew a simple silver ring from his pocket, and handed it to her.

“Thank you.”

Although his clothes were dirty, his hands were surprisingly clean.

“May good fortune follow you,” he said, bowing deeply.

The plain silver ring was placed gently into Meng Ran’s palm. She hesitated for a moment.

The old man bowed again, repeating, “May good fortune follow you,” twice more.

Though puzzled, Meng Ran accepted the ring.

Once in her car, she switched on the air conditioning. The cool air cleared her mind somewhat. She took an alcohol wipe and cleaned the ring. Just the sight of it seemed to hold an inexplicable allure.

Unable to resist, Meng Ran slipped it onto her index finger. It fit perfectly.

But when she tried to remove it, the ring wouldn’t budge. She frowned, feeling a twinge of frustration.

Checking the time, she decided to deal with it later and pressed the accelerator, hurrying back to her apartment complex.

Inside, the living room was empty, so she headed to the bedroom.

Nian Nian lay asleep on the bed. Meng Ran touched her forehead—it wasn’t hot.

“Nian Nian, wake up.”

At Meng Ran’s voice, the little girl slowly opened her eyes, still groggy.

“Mom, is it snowing?”

“Snowing?”

Meng Ran looked out at the persistent heat outside—past six in the evening, summer in full swing. Snow was impossible.

“You must be dreaming. It’s summer; how could it snow?”

Nian Nian blinked, trying to focus. “Isn’t today the 29th?”

Meng Ran found it strange for her five-year-old daughter to be confused.

“Today is the 21st.”

She urged Nian Nian to get up, preparing to cook.

“Mom, I had a dream.”

Meng Ran washed vegetables and asked, “What kind of dream?”

“I dreamed it snowed heavily on the 29th. Really! Our neighborhood was all covered in white. The snow kept falling and falling. We ran out of food, the air conditioning broke, the house got so cold I fainted. Then I don’t remember anything else.”

Meng Ran’s heart skipped a beat for reasons she couldn’t explain.

“It’s just a dream,” she said softly, unsure if she was comforting her daughter or herself.

“But I really felt so cold.”

Nian Nian rubbed her arms as if to warm herself, convinced she had truly experienced it.

Meng Ran took an ice cream from the fridge. “Stop thinking about it. Let’s go watch TV in the living room.”

Children forget quickly; the frown vanished, and Nian Nian ran off smiling with her ice cream.

Her phone dinged. Meng Ran wiped her hands and checked the message—it was from her close friend Xiang Yajing, who lived in Jingguang City.

Xiang Yajing: “Meng Ran, do you have any cold medicine? Can you buy some and send it to me? I’ll transfer the money.”

Worried, Meng Ran called her friend. The line connected quickly, and Xiang Yajing’s thick nasal voice came through.

“Meng Ran.”

“What’s wrong?”

Sighing, Xiang Yajing said, “Don’t mention it. It’s been so hot, and now there’s a flu outbreak here. My whole family caught it. The medicine is outrageously expensive, so I thought I’d ask someone from another province to help me buy some. The prices over there haven’t gone up, right?”

“No, they haven’t. I’ll buy extra tomorrow and send it to you.”

Xiang Yajing thanked her quickly, then ended the call due to feeling unwell.

The conversation only deepened Meng Ran’s unease.

She recalled the severe flu epidemic years ago, when the neighborhood was locked down.

At first, no one took it seriously. But as cases rose, travel was banned, and they had to rely on property managers delivering vegetables and meat every few days for a whole month.

That memory lingered sharply.

Hearing laughter from the living room, her mind returned to Nian Nian’s strange dream.

Her finger accidentally brushed the ring, and the scene before her shifted instantly.

Meng Ran found herself in an unfamiliar place—a small courtyard with a tiled roof house, a well, and several trees.

Inside the house, the furnishings were simple and old-fashioned, as if from a bygone era.

There were three bedrooms, a walk-in closet, a small kitchen, and a bathing room with a single-person wooden tub, spotless and dust-free.

Stunned, Meng Ran stared at the scene. After the initial shock, Nian Nian’s words echoed like a spell in her mind.

Anxious to escape, she concentrated—and suddenly she was back in her kitchen.

In the living room, Nian Nian laughed happily watching cartoons. Meng Ran touched the ring again—the gift from the beggar.

She hadn’t thought much of it before, but now everything felt like a sign.

She approached the living room with a faint smile. “Nian Nian, tell me again about that dream, will you?”

Nian Nian eagerly described the heavy snow on the 29th, exaggerating her expressions in an attempt to convince her mother.

“I’ve never seen so much snow. Our windows even cracked from the cold.”

Listening, Meng Ran checked the fifteen-day weather forecast on her phone—clear skies every day, temperatures fluctuating between 39 and 40 degrees Celsius.

She closed the phone. No matter what, it was better to prepare in advance.

Tomorrow was the weekend—perfect for shopping.

“How long did the snow last?” Meng Ran asked, wondering if Nian Nian still remembered.

The little girl hesitated, recalling.

“I don’t remember exactly, but Mom said it was almost November. It was freezing cold outside, and the snow blocked the lower floors. Then I fainted from the cold.”

Meng Ran’s lips tightened. The situation sounded worse than she had imagined.

“What’s wrong, Mom?”

Perhaps sensing her mother’s unease, Nian Nian reached out and held Meng Ran’s cold hands gently.

“Your hands are so cold.”

Meng Ran squeezed them back. “I want to show you something.”

She touched the ring, wondering if it could take Nian Nian into that other place with her.