"Mr. Monkey, you're the first monkey I've ever met who can talk and give massages," Jiang Ye grunted as he lay on the massage mat. "I'm really curious, are you a species of monkey that's born with the ability to speak?"
"Not born with it, no. We gain the ability after taking medicine," the monkey said in a hoarse voice while working on Jiang Ye's thigh. "Many of us monkeys are kept in a breeding facility. We're all just young monkeys, barely out of infancy. My childhood facility must have housed tens of thousands of monkeys."
"If we grew up like wild monkeys, eating milk and wild fruits, we'd turn into wild monkeys – unable to speak, unable to learn massage. We'd just groom each other and scratch for fleas on the mountain every day."
"But, the feed given to us young monkeys in the facility had a certain medicine added. I've forgotten the exact name, but it was a white powder, similar to flour. The purpose of this medicine was to promote changes in our brains."
"Most monkeys, even after taking a lot of the medicine, their brains don't become smarter. They grow up to be like wild monkeys."
"However, a few individual monkeys, after taking enough of the medicine, experience a mutation in their brains. Their cranial capacity increases, their brains develop more folds, and their neural connections become more efficient. I was one of them. One day, after eating, I felt a chill run down my spine."
"Whoa!" Jiang Ye exclaimed. "And then you could speak?"
"Not right away, no. It happened gradually. The keepers would walk to the edge of the monkey enclosure every day with food buckets and shout, 'Who wants a peach?' Most monkeys would just jump around and screech, not listening to what the keeper was saying. But I started paying attention to his pronunciation. In private, I'd practice, saying 'Who wants a peach? Who wants a peach?' over and over until my pronunciation was accurate."
"One day, the keeper came again. Before he could even speak, I shouted, 'Who wants a peach?'"
Jiang Ye thought to himself, this monkey was truly evolving into something extraordinary. The movie 'Planet of the Apes' really was prescient.
"After that, you were taken out of the facility and went to school, right?" Jiang Ye asked.
"That's right. The keeper was very surprised and carried me out of the monkey enclosure, then sent me to a special monkey school. It took about two years, and I learned to read and write," the monkey said calmly. "Compared to human infants, we monkey infants learn to speak and write faster because human infants like to play and be lazy, while we monkey infants are more focused and can sit in front of textbooks all day."
"And then you entered human society?" Jiang Ye asked.
"You could say that. After graduating from school, all the monkeys in my class were sold by the facility at a high price. Most became massage monkeys, but some took on other professions. One of my classmates, who was the most accomplished, apparently went on to write novels. Because the novels were written by a monkey, many humans found it novel and subscribed in droves."
"Please turn over," the monkey said, stopping its explanation.
Jiang Ye rolled over, feeling like a battered fish, his whole body numb and tingling.
The monkey began massaging Jiang Ye's waist and abdomen, continuing to talk as it worked. It seemed to be quite talkative, its floodgates completely opened:
"Actually, I've thought about returning to live with the monkey troop. When I first started giving massages, my technique wasn't good, and I'd shed hair, often angering customers, who would hit and kick me. The worst was an old lady who actually splashed boiling water on me, scalding off a large patch of fur on my back. Whenever I suffered such grievances, I'd think, it wouldn't be so bad to be a wild monkey on the mountain."
"One year during the holidays, I actually went to the monkey mountain. But I couldn't integrate with them. I couldn't understand the language of the wild monkeys on the mountain. I spoke human language, and they couldn't understand me. They'd look at me with strange eyes and wouldn't come near me. Most importantly, the female monkeys I was interested in weren't interested in me. If I stayed in the wild, I definitely wouldn't have a mate. Moreover, I like listening to rock music and smoking, neither of which is available in the deep mountains. After staying for a few days, I saw through it all and returned with my suitcase."
"Have you found a wife now?" Jiang Ye asked.
"We have a one-year-old child. My wife is also a massage monkey. She only serves female customers; she's a proper monkey," the monkey said, pressing hard on Jiang Ye's thigh. "My wife was also a classmate when I was in school. We met during a blind date, and I thought she looked familiar. When I asked, we discovered we knew each other before, and we both felt it was fate. She likes listening to classical music and doesn't smoke, but she loves sweets. After giving birth, her craving for sweets intensified, and now she's gotten very fat. We're planning for a second child."
Jiang Ye felt like he was dreaming again.
Monkeys have blind dates? And listen to classical music?
After a session of vigorous kneading, the monkey let out a long sigh.
"My service for today is finished. Please turn over, and I'll put away the massage mat," the monkey said.
Jiang Ye, feeling completely relaxed and comfortable, shifted. The monkey nimbly folded the massage mat and placed it into a small basket.
"Do I need to tip here?" Jiang Ye asked as he turned his head.
"Tips are always appreciated, of course," the monkey said with a slightly embarrassed smile, pulling out his phone and displaying a payment QR code.
Jiang Ye took out his phone and scanned the code.
He transferred 100,000 yuan.
The monkey looked at his phone screen, his monkey eyes widening.
This tip was equivalent to half a month's income!
"Thank you so much!" the monkey bowed. "I'll come back tomorrow to serve you again and will use all my best skills."
"Good night," Jiang Ye said, his eyes half-closed. "Your massage has made me sleepy. I'm going to sleep now. Please close the door when you leave."
"Certainly, have a good night," the monkey said, pulling the small basket and carefully closing the door as he left.
The next evening, Jiang Ye called for the monkey's massage service again. This time, the monkey used all its might, thoroughly massaging every part of Jiang Ye's body several times. It was no exaggeration to say that it felt like achieving enlightenment and ascending to immortality.
When the monkey left, Jiang Ye paid another tip, this time 200,000 yuan.
The monkey was on the verge of tears. In all his years of service, he had never encountered such a generous customer.
Jiang Ye remained in his room but kept a close eye on the spaceship's status.
The first day passed, and the spaceship hadn't moved, remaining in its original position.
During the day on the second day, the spaceship still hadn't moved.
After the monkey massage that evening, Jiang Ye looked at the spaceship's location on the wall display, and it was still stationary.
He suspected that something might have gone wrong, causing a delay in the itinerary.
There was nothing he could do but wait.
Just as he lay down in bed to sleep, a deafening announcement blared:
"Our docking time at this station has expired. We will soon jump to the next station!"
"All passengers, please pull out the bed boards and lie down in your designated positions!"
"The jump will commence precisely in 3 minutes!"
Jiang Ye tried pulling the mattress outward, and the entire bed moved easily.
A glass capsule, similar to a life support pod, was embedded beneath the bed board, with an indentation large enough for a person to lie in. Small text nearby read: "Jump Pod. Please lie flat inside during the jump."