The Buttered Cat Paradox

Segmented blurb #1 A young night wanderer goes digging in the middle of the night and "finds" a living person with no breath or heartbeat. Most people would call the police, right? Hey! Why are you taking him home?! #2 Things can only go from bad to worse. Happy endings only exist in TV dramas with picture-perfect finales. White fog obscured the school grounds, forcing Sima Nan back to the rooftop with nowhere left to run. She stood at the edge of the roof and slowly looked down... The fog distorted her sense of depth, making the ground seem so close... #3 Life started changing that day. Sima Nan went to her tutoring class, where the new male teaching assistant turned out to be a college student from the neighboring city, back for summer vacation. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Sima Nan naturally denied it outright. That guy wasn't even human. He might be a zombie, for all she knew. "If you don't want him, give him to me." --Without even a word of thanks, the guy she'd dug out of the ground and the teaching assistant both disappeared. And she'd been the one who'd painstakingly dug him out of the ground, cleaned him up, taught him how to fit into society, and even bought him new clothes. Just you wait! Did you think it was that easy to take advantage of a little rich girl? #4 Sima Nan felt as if she'd fallen into a swamp. Black muck clung to her, refusing to let her go, as her body grew heavy and sank, sank... A hand suddenly reached down from above and pressed against Sima Nan's head, speeding up their descent. "Hey!" Sima Nan protested. "Shh, we'll be there soon. Everything you want to know is down there... Now it's your turn to feel right at home..." Theme: Life is like the sea. Only those with strong wills can reach the other shore