Red Envelope Rain

Old Wang, a retired teacher in his fifties, had recently become obsessed with grabbing red envelopes. Not the kind of small change in WeChat groups, but a newly popular "immersive red envelope rain" in the city.

This red envelope rain requires wearing special AR glasses in a designated area to experience. When you put on the glasses, you see gold ingots and red envelopes flying all over the sky. Reach out and you can "grab" money, which is directly deposited into your electronic account. For this, Old Wang specially bought a new pair of AR glasses and also enrolled in a "digital life" training class for the elderly.

In the training class, Old Wang found everyone was very competitive. They lined up early to occupy the best spots, and whoever grabbed the most would boast on their social media. Old Wang started to feel uncomfortable, thinking it was absurd for someone his age to compete for things like the young people. But looking at the tens of yuan that entered his account every day, he felt that life was becoming more interesting.

Gradually, Old Wang discovered that this "red envelope rain" seemed a bit off. To increase the excitement, the frequency and amount of red envelopes were unstable, sometimes pouring down like a storm, other times not yielding a single cent. To grab more red envelopes, people began to go crazy. Some pushed and fell over trying to grab a "big red envelope," others got into fights over advantageous positions. The "red envelope rain" area in the city park became a stage for daily farces.

Old Wang also joined this "battle." He would wake up early every day, carrying his old canvas bag, and rush to the park. He felt like he had returned to his youth, when he had to queue and compete to buy scarce goods. But this time, he was not competing for necessities, but for some virtual, ephemeral numbers. He sometimes felt lost, as if he was a puppet, being led by the nose by the numbers on his mobile phone screen.

He found that many elderly people of his age were even more frantic than the young. They even simulated grabbing red envelopes at home, reaching out into the air. Some people, in order to grab more, began to study the rules of the "red envelope rain," and even spent money to hire "experts" to analyze it. These "experts" used complex algorithms and charts to peddle so-called "red envelope grabbing secrets" to the elderly.

One day, Old Wang met an old friend in the park. The old friend shook his head and said, "Old Wang, this red envelope rain, I think it's like a big play, and we're all just clowns in it." Old Wang listened and remained silent. He looked down at the AR glasses in his hand, wondering, is that really true?

That night, Old Wang had a dream. He dreamt that he was standing inside a giant transparent sphere, with countless red envelopes floating outside the sphere. He reached out to grab them, but the envelopes shattered and turned into cold, hard numbers. He desperately grabbed and snatched, but always felt empty. He suddenly realized that he was trapped inside the sphere and could no longer get out.

When he woke up, Old Wang was covered in sweat. He looked out the window and found that there was no "red envelope rain" today. He picked up the AR glasses, thought for a moment, and put them back in the box. He went downstairs, bought two buns, and strolled leisurely along the familiar streets. He found that the flowers by the roadside were blooming, the sun was warm, and life was actually quite good.

In the afternoon, Old Wang received a call from the teacher of the "digital life" training class. The teacher excitedly said, "Old Wang, do you know? Our red envelope rain has been upgraded today! The red envelopes you grab can now be directly exchanged for real cash! Come and experience it!"

Old Wang calmly said, "Thank you, I'll pass."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a sigh, "Oh, you're really outdated!"

Old Wang hung up the phone and smiled. At this moment, he noticed a child on the side of the road drawing on the ground with a picked-up branch. He was drawing a big red envelope, with a few crooked words beside it: Happy New Year.

He smiled, and then walked over to the child. He also picked up a branch and drew a round sun beside the red envelope. Under the sun, were a few happy flying birds.