Brain Reversion

Old Wang is back in society. No, to be precise, he's back in high school.

He used to be an excellent firefighter, rushing into burning buildings to save lives was routine for him. But after that one big fire, Old Wang’s "brain was fried," and his intellectual level regressed to childhood. After a long recovery, doctors were delighted to announce that Old Wang had recovered to the level of a high school student.

Old Wang felt quite good. He relearned trigonometry and the periodic table, and became fascinated by "One Hundred Years of Solitude," although he often pronounced "Aureliano" as "Oreo." He found his current life peaceful and orderly: he would get up at seven every morning, eat a loving breakfast made by his mother, and then leisurely stroll to a nearby high school to audit classes.

On the high school playground, seventeen and eighteen-year-olds were sweating, discussing the latest games and idols. Old Wang felt out of place, yet he enjoyed it. He chatted with them using "Hemingway"-esque short sentences, occasionally throwing in some classical quotes, such as "The essence of man is the sum total of his social relations."

The school teachers began to think Old Wang was a bit strange. An adult who came to audit classes every day, with the air of an old scholar. They talked to Old Wang, hoping he could get back on his own life track.

"My life track?" Old Wang retorted, "Isn't my track right here?" He pointed at the physics formula on the blackboard, looking serious, "This is the truth of the universe, much more important than your boring meetings and reports."

The teachers looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.

Old Wang didn't think there was anything wrong with himself. He found the world too noisy and too complicated. People were racking their brains over KPIs and using any means necessary to get promoted. He couldn’t understand their desires, nor did he understand their anxieties. He felt he was the only sober person among this crowd.

He started writing a diary. He wrote it in fluent modern Chinese, occasionally mixing in some classical Chinese. His diary was full of his observations and thoughts on social phenomena.

"People talk about 'involution' all the time, yet they rush to join in. They are afraid of being eliminated, but they don't know what they want. They are like a group of domesticated animals, endlessly running in circles in a cage."

"They say, 'I'm too tired, I want to lie down.' But in a blink of an eye, they start scrambling for the next job, the next offer. It's truly contradictory."

Old Wang posted his diary online, under the pseudonym "The Regressed Firefighter". Unexpectedly, it went viral. Netizens reposted it, saying Old Wang's writing was profound, sharp, and full of philosophy.

"The Regressed Firefighter" became an internet sensation, his diary was regarded as a "guide to being clear-headed." Publishers asked him to publish a book, media wanted to interview him, and some even wanted to package him as an internet celebrity and have him endorse products.

Old Wang refused everything. He felt these were all meaningless things. He preferred to read books in the library, or chat about philosophy with high school kids.

Until one day, he received a phone call, a call from the fire department.

"Comrade Wang," the person on the other end said, "Higher-level leaders highly value you and have decided to arrange a new job for you."

Old Wang was stunned, "What else can I do?"

"Of course, you can! You are now the representative of 'being clear-headed,' we need you to speak up for fire safety work, you need to be responsible for posting fire safety awareness content on short-video platforms."

Old Wang was silent. He thought of his former comrades, the lives sacrificed in fires, and his original intention of saving people at all costs. He felt his brain was starting to "burn" again.

He went to the fire department and signed a labor contract. He began to learn how to edit videos, how to write short video scripts, and how to "gain followers." He added background music and various special effects to his diary entries and posted them online.

The short videos were indeed very popular. Netizens liked and forwarded them, praising his videos for being "profound and interesting." His fan base quickly surpassed one million.

Old Wang, looking at the constantly increasing number of fans on his screen, showed a faint smile. He felt he had "returned" to society again.

He wrote his latest diary entry:

"They say, I’ve become an internet celebrity. They say, I've returned to society. They say, I’m finally 'normal.' But am I really 'normal'?"

"No, I've just learned how to live more absurdly in this absurd world."

He didn't post the last sentence online. He carefully hid that sentence on the last page of his diary.