That night, Tang Yuanyuan did not sleep well. Her dreams were all over the place; one minute, she would be dreaming of An Qian’s sarcastic words and laughter; another, she would be thinking of Zhong Chufeng’s comforting words. As her dream progressed, even the forum commenters made an appearance.
At the very end of the dream was Yuchi Yishu. He stood motionless, looking at her with a warm, welcoming gaze and open arms. “Yuanyuan,” he called out.
Tang Yuanyuan ran toward him in desperation, but before she could throw herself into his arms, the image before her changed yet again.
Her brother had disappeared and turned into several unfamiliar faces of men and women, all staring at her with spurned expressions.
“Look at this fat girl! She’s such an ugly duckling, yet she yearns to become a beautiful swan. She actually thinks that she stands a chance with the dreamy Yuchi Yishu.”
“Good heavens, will she crush him, given her weight? I can’t believe she has the courage to go after him.”
“Fat people these days really have too much confidence. Does she even look at herself in the mirror?”
Word after word pierced Tang Yuanyuan’s heart like sharp arrows.
Tang Yuanyuan felt horrible. She shook her head and cried out, “No, I didn’t, I didn’t…”
She was still in the nightmare, and had no idea that Yuchi Yishu was next to the bed looking at her. He frowned as he saw her tears.
He originally came over to wake her up, but after calling out to her for a long time with no response, Yuchi Yishu grew worried. He had no choice but to push open the door, only to find Tang Yuanyuan crying out loud.
As soon as he walked over and sat down next to her, Tang Yuanyuan began to cry. Her cries were heartbreaking and full of sadness.
Is she having a nightmare?
Yuchi Yishu gently placed the back of his palm on her forehead and found that her temperature was rather high. So, he patted her cheeks lightly and called out her name, “Yuanyuan.”
“No, I didn’t…” Tang Yuanyuan was still crying.
Yuchi Yishu could only continue calling out her name as he tried to coax her. ” Yuanyuan, don’t cry. I’m right here with you. Don’t cry, okay?”
Suddenly, Tang Yuanyuan subconsciously hugged Yuchi Yishu’s arm, as if finally at peace. After a while, she rubbed his hand and called out softly, “Yishu.”
Hearing her call out for him, Yuchi Yishu’s heart melted.
Will this girl ever grow up? How is she still like the child from years ago? When in reality, she will be an adult in a year’s time. She has yet to learn the ways of this cruel world—still so innocent and naïve. Even Little Sprout is more grown up than her.
Yuchi Yishu tucked the blanket around her properly, and slowly withdrew his hand. At that moment, Tang Yuanyuan suddenly jerked, almost as if she was frightened.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Yuchi Yishu’s face.
“Yishu?” exclaimed Tang Yuanyuan in surprise. She thought she was imagining things. How could he be in her room?
“You’re finally awake, huh?” Yuchi Yishu reached out and flicked her forehead.
Yuchi Yishu couldn’t help but notice that there were tear streaks on her face, and her eyes had a gloomy look in them. He wiped her tears and asked her in a low voice, “Did you have a nightmare?”
Only then did Tang Yuanyuan realize that she was crying. She sat up nervously, touching her face to find that they were actually wet.
“Ah, I actually cried.”
“Are you so confused that you don’t even realize you were crying?”
Tang Yuanyuan shook her head. “This has happened before. Even I am not sure as to why I was crying. I’m sorry, Yishu. To be honest, I’m not even upset about anything.”
“I’m not blaming you at all, so why are you apologizing?”
Yuchi Yishu grew up with her, and he knew her personality well. Tang Yuanyuan had always been easy to talk to. With her soft spoken character, she rarely said things that would upset others or would require an apology. So there was little need for her to apologize.
Now she wakes up in tears and apologizes to me? What for?
Yuchi Yishu frowned as he asked, “What happened?”
Tang Yuanyuan couldn’t help but hang her head, her eyes flashing with panic and guilt. “Nothing happened, really. There really is nothing, even though I did actually cry…”
“So you’re apologizing to me?” Yuchi Yishu held her chin and raised her face till their eyes met, thereupon he saw a flash of panic and guilt in her eyes. “What are you hiding from me?”
“Yishu, I…”
“Tell me the truth.”
Tang Yuanyuan was definitely not going to tell him what happened the night before. If she did, she felt that she would reveal her thoughts, but if she kept quiet, she knew Yuchi Yishu would continue to pester her, and be worried for her.
Tang Yuanyuan looked around the room and suddenly cried in a low voice, “Actually, I was dreaming of you.”
“And?” Yuchi Yishu narrowed his eyes slightly. “What did you dream about me?”
“I dreamt that you had left me. You thought I was too troublesome and that I ate too much, so you decided to abandon me. That is why I felt a little sad.”
“I left you? Because I felt that you were troublesome?”
“Well, in the dream, I kept asking you for food and that made you feel that I was troublesome.”
Tang Yuanyuan’s eyes became red as she said that. She then hugged his arm and asked, “Yishu, do you feel that way deep down?”
Yuchi Yishu was stunned by Tang Yuanyuan’s hold on his arm, and had to take a moment to recompose himself. He then muttered hoarsely, “Of course not. How could I leave you? Dreams are the exact opposite of reality. They will not come true. ”
“Then you have to promise to never leave me, alright?”
“Alright.”
It was only then did Tang Yuanyuan realize she was holding a grown man’s arm. She let go immediately, her cheeks blushing from the realization.
“You finally feel shy now?” asked Yuchi Yishu as he lightly tapped the tip of her nose. “You can’t do this in the future, Yuanyuan. Now that you are all grown up, there are certain boundaries between a man and a woman. Regardless if it is your brother or any other guy, you must pay attention to keep your distance.”
“Yes, Yishu. I will.”
Tang Yuanyuan got up to put on her sweater. She went to clean up and go about her skincare routine before heading downstairs to have breakfast with Yuchi Yishu. Heading out of her room, she ran into Zhong Chufeng and An Qian.
“You better be on your best behavior today. You hear me? If you step on anyone’s toes again, I will have you sent home myself. I will also put in a word to her brother on some of your “good qualities”. I’m sure you wouldn’t want anything like that to impact your chances of being his friend.”
“Understood,” said An Qian. She was rather frustrated, but had no choice except to agree.
They did not expect to bump into Tang Yuanyuan right after their conversation.
“Yuanyuan, did you sleep well?” An Qian asked as she greeted her with a smile. Her sudden enthusiasm surprised Tang Yuanyuan. Looking at Zhong Chufeng, something crossed Tang Yuanyuan’s mind and she smiled back to An Qian. “Yes, I did.”
“I’m very sorry about yesterday. My friends and I can get a little noisy; they always insist on chatting with me via video call. I was afraid that we would bother you, so I didn’t stay with you as we agreed on. I hope you don’t mind?
This must be something Zhong Chufeng and An Qian came up with to bury the hatchet. Tang Yuanyuan took into account the fact that An Qian took the initiative to say that she was embarrassed. With that, she decided to forgive her, and she replied, “It’s okay, An Qian. I don’t mind.”
