Chapter 615 - 612: Dream

Chapter 615: Chapter 612: Dream

Blinding neon lights replaced the warm bonfire. Cold glass and steel skyscrapers stood tall, and the cacophony of traffic and voices filled her ears.

She stood dazedly at a busy intersection, turning to look around. There was no one beside her.

Her Beast Husbands, her dozens of lively and adorable cubs, had all vanished without a trace, like clouds scattered by the wind.

An icy panic instantly gripped her heart, nearly suffocating her.

’Am I back in the modern world?’

’If I’m here, then where are Chou Rong, Zhu Xiu, Jin Yi, Hua Han, Xin Feng, Yan Lie, and Yin Ze? Where are my cubs?’

’The system! Right, the system!’

Just as she was reeling in shock, about to subconsciously call out for the system in her mind, a voice came from behind her. It was a voice she thought had long been buried by time, yet it remained seared into the deepest part of her memory, filled with a familiar tenderness and intimacy:

"Wanwan, why are you standing here all alone, spacing out?"

Bai Wanwan froze, her blood seeming to turn to ice in an instant.

Incredibly slowly, filled with a disbelieving terror, she turned her head bit by bit.

Beneath the flickering neon lights, a handsome and gentle face came clearly into view.

His eyes were smiling, his deep gaze holding an affection so profound it could drown her. It was the man she had once loved with all her heart, the very one who had dealt her the heaviest blow.

"Let’s go," he said, walking forward as naturally as he had on their countless dates. He reached out to take her hand, his voice low and pleasant. "What do you want to eat tonight? Japanese? Or that French place you said you wanted to try? I’ll go with you, whatever you choose."

As he spoke, his fingertips brushed against her skin.

The cool touch made Bai Wanwan flinch as if burned, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.

However, his hand quickly tightened, clasping her fingers firmly in his palm with a gentle yet undeniable strength.

A smile she had once been utterly captivated by, one of absolute indulgence, played on his lips. He lowered his head, leaning in closer, his tone coaxing. "What’s wrong? Are you angry because I was two minutes late? What will it take for my little girl to stop being mad? Hm?"

Bai Wanwan stared at the handsome face so close to hers, dazed for a moment.

The man before her perfectly overlapped with the image of the perfect lover in her memories; there wasn’t the slightest difference.

He was clearly a mover and shaker in the business world, a man of power who possessed wealth and influence she could have never imagined. Yet in front of her, he always concealed his sharp edges, tolerated her petty tantrums, and gave her his undivided affection.

In truth... before the truth was revealed, a deep part of her refused to believe he would ever betray her.

She had made countless excuses for him, trying to believe his every promise.

Until... until she accidentally saw the velvet box in his study drawer, the one holding an obviously custom-made woman’s ring.

Until she hired a private investigator and finally learned that behind his prominent family, there was a prospective bride for an arranged marriage—a true heiress from a family of equal standing.

Until... she overheard him with her own ears. In the corner of a private party she wasn’t supposed to be at, he used that pleasant voice she knew so well to say to a friend with a careless smile:

"Being with her is relaxing, for sure. The girl’s innocent, just something to pass the time with for now. Once the engagement party with the Song Family is over, I’ll naturally break it off."

In that moment, all her trust and the beautiful world she had built collapsed with a crash, shattering into dust.

So the love she thought she had was, from start to finish, just a game meticulously woven by someone else—a way to "pass the time" that was waiting to end at any moment.

Now, looking at the flawless, gentle smile on his face, Bai Wanwan felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, colder than the city’s night wind.

She stared at him coldly, her voice devoid of any warmth. "I don’t need your company."

’I already have so many males who truly love me and treasure me. Why should I stay here and watch this master actor continue his performance?’

This time, she used all her strength, yanking her hand from his warm palm so forcefully that her fingertips tingled from the effort.

Without another glance at him, she turned decisively to melt into the crowd.

"Wanwan!"

The scene around her suddenly changed, but the man was still in front of her.

The smile was gone from his face, replaced by an expression of pain and urgency she had never seen before. He tried to grab her arm again, a hint of panic in his voice. "Wanwan, let me explain! It’s not what you think! I didn’t lie to you!"

"Explain?" Bai Wanwan’s suppressed anger finally ignited, and she laughed in fury. "I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. What is there to explain?"

Seeing him still trying to get closer, still trying to deceive her with the same old lines, new and old hatreds surged in her heart. Without a second thought, acting almost on pure instinct, she swung her arm.

SLAP!

A crisp, loud slap landed squarely on the man’s handsome face!

That slap held all her strength, and it shattered the last lingering, unrealistic illusion in her heart.

The dream came to an abrupt end.

Bai Wanwan shot up in bed, her heart pounding—THUMP THUMP THUMP. A fine layer of cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her breathing was rapid and unsteady.

"What is it? Did you have a nightmare?" A pair of strong arms immediately pulled her into a familiar embrace. Hua Han’s worried voice sounded by her ear as he gently patted her back. "Don’t be afraid. I’m here."

Bai Wanwan gasped for breath, blinking blankly. Her vision gradually focused on the familiar ceiling, and the air filled with a reassuring scent, along with Hua Han’s crisp, pleasant smell.

’It was a dream... just an absurdly realistic dream.’

She slowly relaxed, leaning into Hua Han’s embrace and feeling his real warmth and heartbeat. Only then did the terror from the dream begin to fade.

She pulled at the corners of her mouth, a bitter, self-mocking smile on her face.

The real man, after she had torn away all his pretenses and lies on the spot, had never once tried to humbly explain or win her back like he did in the dream.

A man of power is a man of power, after all. Accustomed to control and maintaining his dignity, how could he possibly bow his head to a plaything like her—someone insignificant, used only to "pass the time"?

After she had hysterically accused him and completely shattered the mask he so carefully maintained, he had simply and cleanly vanished from her life, so cold it was as if he had never been there at all.

He might not have even known—or perhaps simply didn’t care—that she later lost her footing and fell off a cliff during a company retreat.

That past, filled with betrayal and despair, stood in stark contrast to her present world—a world with sincere love, a warm family, and a tribe that needed her protection.

She buried her face deep in Hua Han’s chest, soaking in this real, searing warmth.

The past was a nightmare, but the man holding her now was the reality she deserved to cling to.