Chapter 9: Whose Dream?

Was it just a case of seeing her all day and dreaming of her at night?

After all, he hadn’t exactly been shy about admiring her these past two days. He’d ogled her so much, it was like using her face to rinse out a brush.

But the next moment—

Standing in the courtyard, Qin Li lifted her head and looked up at Li Zhuiyuan on the balcony.

For the first time, their eyes met.

Li Zhuiyuan understood then: she wasn’t a figment of his dream. She had entered his dream. Dreams were reflections of reality, and his mind had frozen her image so clearly that even in a dream, she shouldn’t be moving on her own.

Wait a second…

Li Zhuiyuan frowned slightly.

This time—

Was this really his own dream?

Could it be possible that, just like Qin Li down below, he was only a participant?

Or maybe he just didn’t dream often enough to detect any patterns. He’d only recently started reading up on this stuff, and it was still beginner-level popular science books.

It was like having a math problem in front of you without even understanding what it was asking.

Maybe—

Maybe Qin Li knew something?

She’d already looked up at him—was there a chance she might even speak?

But downstairs was bustling and noisy. If he took the stairs down, he’d have to cross right through the crowd—not ideal. The second-floor balcony wasn’t too high, but with his scrawny frame, jumping was out of the question.

If this wasn’t his dream, he didn’t have the freedom to mess up or take risks.

Li Zhuiyuan crouched down and waved at Qin Li, signaling her to come closer so they could maybe whisper without drawing attention.

But before she could react, he heard footsteps behind him at the stairwell.

He turned and saw four older women walking his way. They wore vividly colored clothes, their faces caked in heavy powder and bright blush.

They’d clearly seen Li Zhuiyuan—and more than that, they were coming straight for him.

“Little one, what are you doing here? The feast’s about to start!”

“Come on, hurry up! You’ve got to sit with the first batch. The second group’ll be waiting forever!”

“Yes, yes, finish the first batch and head home to sleep. You don’t want to be late for school tomorrow.”

When red-and-white events had too many guests and not enough seating, they served in shifts. Once the first group finished, the tables would be cleared and reset for the second wave.

“I don’t—”

He hadn’t even finished refusing when one of the old ladies grabbed his hand.

In that instant, Li Zhuiyuan’s clothes vanished. He now wore a long blue robe, old-fashioned in style but oddly new in color.

The old woman’s grip was strong, dragging him down the stairs with stumbling steps. He tried to pry her hand off, but—

Her hand was deathly pale, with no visible lines or texture.

She must have sensed his resistance, because she suddenly stopped and slowly turned her head.

“Little one, you’re not behaving. You don’t want to go?”

Her voice grew slow and chilling. The stairwell dimmed as if the light were being drained away, and what remained illuminated only her face.

Li Zhuiyuan took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face.

“I’ll go. I want to eat. I want to eat at the feast.”

“Good boy.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the light returned in an instant.

She resumed pulling him down the stairs, all the way to the first floor.

This floor of Great-Grandpa’s house had always been a storage room. The walls were bare cement, never even painted.

But now it was festooned with decorations, brightly lit and full of cheer.

Tables were set up, each one covered in red plastic sheeting, with plates and cold dishes arranged on top.

There were people everywhere—men, women, young, old—all dressed in absurdly colorful new clothes. Their faces were thick with powder and obvious blush.

Li Zhuiyuan had a pretty good idea what they were.

Because while the tables, chairs, and dishes were all in place, there wasn’t a single one of those paper effigies.

Once the old woman let go of his hand, she busied herself elsewhere. Li Zhuiyuan turned—and the staircase he’d just descended was gone.

He didn’t just stand there, though. He headed for the door. Great-Grandpa’s place had wide doors for easy cargo movement, and now all the panels had been removed.

So the first floor and the courtyard outside were nearly open to one another.

As he reached the entrance, he saw two young women leading a little girl inside.

It was Qin Li.

Unlike him, her clothes hadn’t changed. Probably because what she was wearing already fit this place just fine.

Right now, her lashes began to flutter, and her body started trembling slightly.

Li Zhuiyuan guessed she was about to lash out and bite someone.

The two young women holding her hands seemed to notice something was off too. They lowered their heads to look at her.

At the same time, the light around them began to dim—and the darkness started spreading.

Everyone within that growing shadow fell silent, turning to stare at the three of them.

Now Li Zhuiyuan was sure—this wasn’t his dream.

And it wasn’t Qin Li’s either.

No one gets punished by the dream itself for misbehaving in their own dream.

This was someone else’s dream. Whoever it belonged to, they were immersed in it—and any actions that didn’t fit the logic of the dream could disturb them and wake them up.

And if that happened… they might wake up cranky. Or worse, kill the two intruders who had no business being there—then drift back to sleep.

Either way, it would be very bad for him.

So he stepped forward and stood in front of Qin Li, smiling.

“Little sister, there you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. You had me so worried.”

Then he turned to the two women holding Qin Li’s hands.

“Thanks for finding my little sister. She tends to run off. She’s a little… not all there, you know?”

As he spoke, he tapped his own forehead.

“Oh, I see!”

“She’s your sister.”

The women’s faces lit up with realization.

The creeping shadow stopped spreading—but it didn’t retreat either.

Those outside the shadow resumed their festivities, but everyone within kept their eyes locked on them.

Not enough!

Li Zhuiyuan pressed his lips together, then reached out to grab Qin Li’s hand. With his other hand, he gently patted her head.

“Don’t be scared, little sister. I’m here. I’ll take care of you.”

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