Chapter 60: Raging Dream

After dinner, I sat on my bed, looking out at the clear, profound night sky.

A magnificent and serene river of stars flowed across it, and specks of starlight fell into my eyes, hazy and dreamlike.

The rain had stopped.

Residual droplets were slowly, sparsely sliding down the damp windowpane, flowing to an unseen corner below the sill, carrying away the accumulated grime.

Achoo~

After letting out that sudden sneeze, I wiped my nose with a tissue.

My nasal passages felt sore and tingly, and my head grew dizzy and heavy.

I lay down and wrapped myself in the blanket, but the dizzy, sluggish feeling didn’t ease.

The thoughts in my head swayed, unable to find clarity or stability.

‘Don’t tell me… I’ve caught a cold?’

Tomorrow was the weekend.

Catching a cold at this time would be a huge loss.

A hand, warm and smooth as jade, rested on my slightly hot forehead.

Sister Yuan had quietly sat down beside me.

“A little hot.”

“You probably have a fever.”

“But tomorrow’s the weekend,” I said, turning my pitiful gaze to Sister Yuan.

“So what if it’s the weekend?”

“Don’t tell me you’re still thinking of playing, Xiao You?”

“If you have a fever, you should lie down and rest.”

“I’ll go see if we have any cold medicine at home.”

Sister Yuan pulled the blanket up over me, leaving only my head exposed.

After she quietly left, the room fell into a terrifying silence once more.

The light that could illuminate the entire room suddenly felt incredibly fragile to me, as if a gentle touch could cause it to be devoured by the vast, boundless darkness.

But in reality, the light was so resilient, shining so tenaciously.

The feeling of faintness grew stronger.

Like a drowning person with no life-saving straw to grasp, the more I struggled, the more helplessly I sank.

The cold water invaded my nose more wantonly, cutting off my breath, until consciousness faded and life was gone.

All my clear-headed nerves began to twist and tangle, becoming a chaotic mess.

In the confusion of my mind, I closed my eyes.

As if abandoned by the world, I fell into a dark, lightless shadow.

Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled into a fragrant embrace.

Warmth seeped through my skin, melted in my heart, and spread throughout my organs.

“Drink the medicine before you sleep.”

“I’ll have a doctor come take a look at you tomorrow.”

I opened my tired eyes.

Sister Yuan’s forehead was pressed against mine, her delicate face just inches away.

Her clear, light purple eyes were filled with pure concern and heartache.

She helped me sit up.

I took the steaming porcelain bowl from her and took a small sip.

“It’s so bitter.”

“Good medicine tastes bitter.”

“Finish it quickly and lie down.”

“Get a good night’s sleep, and you might be better tomorrow.”

I handed the bowl back, slid weakly back under the covers, and curled my back, hugging my bent legs to myself, trying to retain the last trace of warmth from the medicinal soup.

Sister Yuan left carefully, put the bowl down, and then climbed into the bed with me, wrapping her long, warm, and soft arms around me.

I couldn’t help but crave the warmth and fragrance coming from her.

I tucked my head in and snuggled a little deeper into her embrace.

“Sister Yuan, I’m not going to die, am I?”

“Stupid Xiao You.”

“Has the fever already fried your brain that you’re starting to talk nonsense?”

Though her words said that, she held me even tighter, as if she were afraid I really would die from this annoying cold.

“I said I would protect you, so I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The bone-deep chill was dispelled.

The snow melted, and the warm sun of early spring shone on my body, comfortable and pleasant.

My consciousness gradually began to settle.

A heavy drowsiness closed my fighting eyelids, carrying me into an illusory dreamscape.

The white room was filled with the strong smell of medicine.

Everything before my eyes was tinged with faint, illusory afterimages.

I was groggy and could only make out the general outlines.

A hospital bed?

There seems to be someone on it.

It was a female, looking very thin.

Her facial features were very blurry, hard to see clearly, but she had the pallor unique to the seriously ill.

Cough, cough, cough.

A few weak coughs sounded.

The figure on the bed seemed to turn its head to look at me.

She reached out a hand, as thin as skin and bones, and took mine.

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, forming a curve, as if she were smiling.

‘Who… are you?’

I wanted to ask, but my throat felt as if it were choked, exceptionally dry.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make a sound.

The figure on the bed just kept looking at me quietly, her withered hand clutching mine tightly in her palm.

Sunlight slipped in through the window, climbing onto the clean, blue-and-white striped bedsheet, and shone on her faded-white hospital gown.

There was a pot of spider plant by the window.

It seemed to have been recently watered.

The crystal-clear water droplets on it sparkled in the light, and its leaves were a vibrant green, adding a bit of life to the dull, quiet room.

The curtains danced in the gentle breeze blowing from afar, and the faint, fresh scent from her was also carried by the wind, brushing past my nose.

‘So familiar.’

‘I feel that she’s someone I know, perhaps even the person I was once most familiar with, but I can’t remember.’

I tried with all my might to squeeze words out of my dry vocal cords, to ask her name, her identity, her relationship with me.

But I couldn’t.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t.

Only muffled sounds of “mm, mm, woo, woo” came from my mouth, unable to form clear words, unable to convey my questions.

She just kept looking at me like that, a faint smile on her pale, sickly face, as if she were looking at her dearest, most important person.

‘Who are you, who are you, who are you, who are you, who are you, who are you, who are you?!’

‘You must be my most important person too, someone I absolutely cannot forget, but… but I just can’t remember.’

The bright room suddenly vanished.

I was instantly plunged into a boundless darkness, like a gloomy forest at midnight.

Thorns with poisonous tips clung to my calves.

I couldn’t run; to run meant heart-wrenching, bone-gouging pain.

The air was filled with the foul stench of decay and rot, making my nostrils violently uncomfortable, almost to the point of vomiting.

‘Is there anyone… who can help me?’

All around was dead silent, terrifyingly so.

I couldn’t sense a trace of any living thing, nor could I see the movement of any creature.

I was all alone.

My bare feet were on a patch of sticky, slippery wetland.

I hugged my legs and fell to the ground.

The muddy ground was incredibly cold, and thorns with sharp tips pierced my flesh.

It hurt so much.

‘Am I… going to die?’

My consciousness grew blurry, and my brain stopped functioning.

I felt as if I were about to be completely devoured by this place.

“Xiao You?”

A call woke me from my sleep.

I opened my eyes.

It was the same familiar room, the same familiar bed, and the same familiar face.

“Sister Yuan?”

“What happened to me?”

“You were sweating profusely and muttering something in your sleep.”

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Mhm, a very scary dream.”

I was covered in a cold sweat, and all the strength seemed to have been drained from my body.

For some reason, the dream I just had felt incredibly real.

“It’s okay now, it’s okay.”

“I’ll stay with you.”

“Go back to sleep.”

Sister Yuan wiped away the tears welling at the corners of my eyes, got out of bed, and found a wet towel to place on my forehead.

A comfortable coolness spread from my forehead.

I fell into a deep sleep once more.

Thankfully, I didn’t have that dream again this time.