The autumn wind rustled through the French plane trees along Huaihai Road, carrying with it the faint scent of decay and renewal. Lin Mei stood before the antique shop’s dusty display window, her reflection fragmenting across the cracked glass like scattered memories.

“Such an exquisite tablet,” the shopkeeper’s voice crackled behind her, ancient as the artifacts he peddled. His wrinkled face curved into a knowing smile. “Not your ordinary device, mind you. They say it grants wishes… for a price.”

Lin Mei’s manicured fingers traced the tablet’s golden edges. Despite its vintage appearance, the screen gleamed with an otherworldly sheen. “How much?”

“For you? A memory. Your most precious one.”

She scoffed, red lips curling with derision. “Memories are worthless in Shanghai nowadays. Everyone’s too busy chasing tomorrow to remember yesterday.”

“Is that what Chen Xu taught you?” The old man’s words cut through her practiced indifference.

Lin Mei’s perfectly composed facade cracked slightly. “How do you—”

“The tablet shows me many things, child. Including how you left him for that rich businessman.” He gestured at her Hermès bag and Louboutin heels. “Material comforts make poor substitutes for love.”

“Love doesn’t pay the bills,” she snapped, but her fingers still caressed the tablet’s surface longingly. “Besides, Chen Xu is better off without me.”

The shopkeeper shrugged. “Perhaps. The tablet is yours if you want it. But remember - it gives you what you wish for, not what you need.”

That night, in her luxury apartment overlooking the Bund, Lin Mei activated the tablet. Its screen shimmered like liquid moonlight, displaying her social media feeds transformed into something magical. Every “like” she gave manifested as actual approval in people’s lives. Each comment materialized as whispered words in their ears.

Power. Influence. Control. Everything she’d craved.

Within weeks, she’d amassed a digital empire. Celebrities begged for her endorsements. Companies offered fortunes for single posts. Yet each interaction drained something vital from her - not memories, but the ability to feel them. The joy of her first kiss, the warmth of her mother’s embrace, the flutter of falling in love - all faded to gray data.

One rainy evening, she saw Chen Xu on the street below. He was sharing an umbrella with a woman who wore no designer labels but laughed with unrestrained delight. The sight stirred something in Lin Mei’s increasingly hollow chest.

She reached for the tablet, fingers trembling. One post could ruin their happiness. One comment could tear them apart.

Instead, she whispered: “I wish I could feel again.”

The tablet’s screen flared blindingly bright. When her vision cleared, she found herself standing in the antique shop, the bell above the door still chiming from her entrance.

“Ah, the prodigal customer returns,” the shopkeeper smiled. “Ready to choose differently?”

Through the window, she saw Chen Xu walking past, five years younger, still in love with her. Still hopeful.

“Yes,” Lin Mei breathed, leaving the tablet behind as she rushed outside. “Yes, I am.”

Behind her, the tablet’s screen dimmed to black, its purpose fulfilled - not giving her what she wished for, but what she needed all along.