The skylight in the alley outside was getting brighter and warmer, and white spots lit up on the tiles on the floor. Lin Sanjiu turned away from the light, opened the door, and stepped into the dim barber shop - trapped in a room
The cool air in the shape, containing a heavy chill, trembled like jelly a few times after being stirred by her, and gradually swallowed her up.
The store is not big, and there is a curtain hanging in the depth. Through the gap in the curtain, you can still vaguely see the outline of the shampoo station. The window glass facing the street is covered with all kinds of outdated pictures of models with hairstyles, so not much light can come in;
Four black fake leather chairs are lined up in a row in the store, each facing a cold and indifferent mirror.
Lin Sanjiu found the light switch and pressed it a few times. The store was still dim, as if it was unwilling to set foot in this barber shop regardless of sunlight or light.
She thought for a while, grabbed a thick hair magazine from the cashier by the window, and used it to prop the open door against the wall.
"I really don't understand this road at all," Lin Sanjiu whispered to himself, "Why on earth do you want me to come in? There is nothing in the store."
As she spoke, she looked out of the window facing the street - originally just to see if there was any movement outside, but unexpectedly, she suddenly discovered that there was something floating in the shadow behind the door of the small grocery store opposite.
Zhang looked straight at her face.
In the sudden rush of panic, Lin Sanjiu recognized it immediately. "Pan Cui!" She called out and waved her hand vigorously, "So you are there!"
The face in the shadow immediately took two steps forward and waved towards her - turning into a clear Pan Cui.
"It seems we can't go out," she shouted from the door. "Have you seen Pina?"
"No," Lin Sanjiu asked, "Do you know what you want us to do?"
"I'm not sure," Pan Cui shook her head and said, "But no matter what you do, it seems like it hasn't started yet."
Indeed, the room was empty, Lin Sanjiu turned around and looked around the store, thinking to herself. Apart from the hair dryers, combs and spray bottles scattered outside, there was only a layer of dust accumulated over time——
And the mime standing in the shadows in the corner.
Lin Sanjiu's heart beat so suddenly that she almost thought she was going to lose it; she couldn't help but exclaimed and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Of course the mime would not answer her.
The same smile was deep on his snow-white face with high cheekbones. He silently walked out of the corner and came to the third leather chair, making an inviting gesture with his hands.
"You want me to come over?" Lin Sanjiu was stunned, then looked back and found that Pan Cui had disappeared from the door of the grocery store, and the door of the grocery store had also been closed.
The mime gestured to her a few more times, no doubt asking her to go over and sit down.
Lin Sanjiu reluctantly sat in the chair.
As if to express his gratitude, the mime made an exaggerated bow to her in the mirror, and then snapped his fingers - it was said that he snapped his fingers, but he made no sound - at this moment, he hung it under the corner of the ceiling in the store.
The TV set came on with a "pop" sound.
Lin Sanjiu's eyes quickly moved to the TV, but he saw the mime actor on the blue screen background: he still kept a smile, standing in front of the camera, arranging his hair from time to time, and pulling on the straps of his overalls;
Next to it is a number as big as your head, 1:00.
What's the meaning?
As soon as Lin Sanjiu turned around, she found that she was the only one left in the mirror. The mime actor had disappeared at some point. At the same time that she hurriedly turned around to look for him, the door of the barber shop was slammed shut with a "dong" sound.
, another piece of skylight was cut off from the store, and a deeper darkness poured out from the corner.
No, wait a minute, Lin Sanjiu was suddenly startled, and then pressed his heel against the ground, pushing it hard a few times, and a layer of hot sweat suddenly broke out on his back.
No matter how hard her muscles contracted or how hard her hands pushed the armrests of the chair, her body seemed to be trapped in an invisible sleeve - "I can't stand up anymore," she said hurriedly to Teacher Yi, "
Why can’t I get up from the chair?”
"Look," Teacher Yi said, "the TV in the corner!"
The 1:00 just now jumped to 0:59 when Lin Sanjiu raised her eyes.
This is... the "beginning"?
There is no doubt that the TV screen is counting down for her; think about it, almost exactly one minute has passed since it appeared. But there are 24 hours for people to walk on each road, why should it be counted down for her alone?
How about one hour?
Also, what is she going to do during this hour? Why can't she stand up?
"Wait a minute, isn't the situation in front of you similar to when you covered your eyes just now?" Teacher Yi came up with an idea and said: "At that time, you covered your eyes like a mime, and then you were like
I'm trapped in the action of 'covering my eyes' and can't do any other actions... It feels the same now, right?"
"But he's not here now -" Lin Sanjiu started to say, and suddenly realized. "On the other hand, only the actions that a mime actor has done can only be done by me..."
"That string of performances just now!" Teacher Yi completed her sentence.
"Quick, help me recall what actions he did just now," Lin Sanjiu urged desperately as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.
In the mirror, she was sitting motionless in a chair, with no trace of anxiety on her expression - probably because mime performers have never shown any expressions of panic or anxiety, so she couldn't make it - look.
Stand up like a calm customer waiting for your hairdresser.
"He walked, ran, and jumped," Teacher Yi counted one by one, "and he still stood there, twisting his head and looking around... These are four movements..."
A pair of hands were placed on Lin Sanjiu's shoulders in the mirror.
At that moment, Lin Sanjiu felt like she was about to jump out of the chair - almost as if her soul had been frightened and suddenly jumped out of her body - only when she regained consciousness did she realize that she was still trapped.
In the action of "sitting", all that comes out is layers of sweat on the body.
Her eyes slowly moved up from the hands in the mirror, and saw a pair of thin arms, a black T-shirt, a pair of shoulders... and a huge head.
In the dim barber shop with no lights, the huge head floated on Lin Sanjiu's head like a balloon rising slowly from the ground. It was almost as wide as her shoulders, taking up a full space.
The upper half of the mirror.
Black hair sprouts from the head in a mess, strangely sparse and thick at the same time - it looks thick because every hair is very thick, not one by one, but one by one, as if the head is full of black and shiny hair.
The rice noodles are hanging lifelessly on the face; they are sparse because they are scattered and grow as they please, with strips of hair sprouting not only on the scalp, but also on the skin of the forehead.
On that face, two eyeballs the size of oranges rolled downwards and met Lin Sanjiu's eyes in the mirror.
"Is this your first time with us?"
The mouth opened from left to right, as if an invisible zipper had been opened. The upper and lower lips undulated, and a sweet male voice came out: "What kind of haircut do you want today?"
Lin Sanjiu was almost overwhelmed by waves of fear and doubt like turbulent sea waves - maybe because of the appearance of the "barber", maybe because she finally met a talking replica creature, maybe because of Teacher Yi
At this moment, I was shouting desperately in my mind: "No! I pulled up and watched all the scenes just now, and the mime actor never sat down!"
He has never sat down... so naturally he has never performed the action of "standing up from the chair".
The countdown on the TV screen jumped to 0:58.
The creature behind him who claimed to be a barber smiled broadly at Lin Sanjiu in the mirror. "Oh? What did you say?" He - or it? - put a thin, withered hand against the huge
On his face, he seemed to be very shy and said: "Do you like my hairstyle? Do you think it looks good?"
No! She never said that!
"Hey, thank you. Then I'll give you the same one."