Cloud Performance Certificate
After retiring, Lao Li's favorite thing every day was to open his tablet after dinner and browse Taobao. He wasn't looking to buy anything; he just felt that the whole world seemed to be contained in that small screen, with new things happening every day, which was quite lively.
Before the Spring Festival this year, an advertisement popped up on the Taobao homepage: "Get your Spring Festival Gala Cloud Performance Certificate and become part of the hundreds of millions of viewers!" Lao Li's eyes lit up. The Spring Festival Gala was the taste of the New Year from his youth. He tremblingly clicked on it, and a cartoon character appeared on the page, wearing a festive red mandarin jacket and holding a golden certificate that read "2025 Spring Festival Gala Cloud Performance Certificate."
"This thing is novel," Lao Li muttered to himself, sliding his finger across the screen. Following the prompts, he filled in his name and ID number and uploaded a photo of himself from his youth. He clicked "Receive," and an electronic version of the "Cloud Performance Certificate" was instantly sent to his account, along with a number, which Lao Li thought was very official.
In the following days, Lao Li told everyone he met that he had "cloud-performed" in the Spring Festival Gala. The old folks in his neighborhood laughed at him: "Lao Li, you're retired, why are you getting caught up in the young people's trends?" Lao Li wasn't angry; he just chuckled and said, "This is called keeping up with the times. I'm also participating, in a way!"
On New Year's Eve, Lao Li sat in front of the TV early, waiting to watch the Spring Festival Gala. The screen was full of singing and dancing, but he felt a bit bored. Suddenly, he remembered his "Cloud Performance Certificate" and quickly opened his tablet to find the electronic certificate. It showed his photo and number, with a line of small print next to it: "Thank you for contributing to the Spring Festival Gala's cloud performance!"
"Oh, so I've performed, too," Lao Li laughed self-deprecatingly, but felt like something was a bit off.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the neighborhood started handing out red envelopes, and Lao Li joined in the fun to get one. The envelope had the words "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Wishing you wealth) printed on it, along with a QR code. Curious, Lao Li scanned it, and a page popped up on his phone, displaying the "2025 Spring Festival Gala Cloud Performance Certificate Official Verification Platform." Lao Li paused for a moment and continued to scroll. The platform was holding a "Cloud Performance Certificate Lucky Draw," with the first prize being a "cloud red envelope" worth 500 yuan.
Lao Li hesitated for a moment but still clicked "Participate in the Lucky Draw." Soon, a message appeared on the screen: "Congratulations! You have won a participation prize, a cloud red envelope worth 0.01 yuan!" Looking at the "0.01" on his phone screen, Lao Li suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
The next day, Lao Li went for a walk in the neighborhood and found that everyone was talking about the "Cloud Performance Certificate." Some said you could exchange a certain number of them for physical items, while others said you could show them off. Watching them all excitedly, Lao Li suddenly felt that he had also become part of this trend.
A few days later, Lao Li opened Taobao again and found that the "Cloud Performance Certificate" advertisement was gone from the homepage, replaced by various "cloud experiences," "cloud offices," and "cloud travels." Lao Li suddenly felt a little lost, as if he had also become a wisp of smoke in this "cloud," fading away.
Lao Li turned off his tablet, walked to the window, and looked at the gray sky outside. He suddenly remembered when he was young, and during the Spring Festival, the whole family would gather together to make dumplings. That was the real taste of the New Year. Now, the taste of the New Year seemed to be contained in that small screen, cold and distant.
After the New Year, Lao Li felt like something was off; he began to lose interest in the real world. When eating, he liked to hold his chopsticks up to the air, pretending he was eating in a "cloud restaurant"; when walking, he liked to close his eyes, pretending he was on a "cloud tour"; he would even add a line to his conversations with his wife: "This matter, I've already handled it in the cloud."
His wife felt that something was wrong with him and insisted on taking him to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor examined him for a long time but couldn't find anything wrong, only saying that he might be under a bit of mental stress. Lao Li felt that he wasn't sick; he was just adapting to this "cloud" world.
One day, Lao Li suddenly saw a news report: "Several internet companies jointly launched a 'Cloud Life' plan, aiming to create an all-encompassing, immersive cloud living experience for users." Lao Li looked at the images in the news and suddenly felt that his life was about to become entirely "cloud."
He opened his tablet and saw that his "Cloud Performance Certificate" was still there, with the picture of himself still young and vibrant. He looked at that picture and suddenly remembered his younger self, the one who struggled and worked hard in the real world.
With a trembling hand, Lao Li clicked the "Cancel" button for his "Cloud Performance Certificate." A line of text appeared on the screen: "After cancellation, your cloud identity will be permanently deleted. Confirm cancellation?"
Lao Li looked at the text, hesitated for a moment, and then heavily clicked "Confirm."
At that moment, he felt like he had fallen from the cloud back to the ground, and everything around him became real again. He sighed, walked to the window, and opened it. A gust of cold wind blew in, and Lao Li shivered. He quickly closed the window, picked up the tablet on the table, and continued browsing Taobao. Today, Taobao's homepage had launched a new promotion: a "Metaverse Spring Festival Gala Cloud Performance Certificate," available for purchase for only 99 yuan.