Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Wen Zhi suddenly sat up, "Meng Fan?"

Meng Fan, with a dubious expression, leaned in and asked, "How can you not recognize me after waking up?"

"I do recognize you." Wen Zhi lay back down, looking dejected, wrapped herself in the blanket, and spoke listlessly, "Why have you come?"

Meng Fan muttered, "I was worried about you. I rushed over early in the morning. At first, that woman Wen Yiwan tried to stop me from seeing you. I wasn’t about to put up with that! I made a scene right there. Luckily, Uncle Mu was at home; he let me come up."

At this point, Meng Fan’s tone became excited, "You should have seen Wen Yiwan’s face, she looked so deflated."

Wen Zhi smiled, "I didn’t see it, but I can imagine."

Meng Fan threw her head back in laughter, then pulled Wen Zhi up to ask, "Who’s Zhisui?"

Wen Zhi’s eyelids drooped, appearing to be in quite a solemn mood.

Meng Fan felt something was amiss, reached out, and lifted Wen Zhi’s chin, "What’s happened?"

Wen Zhi was at a loss for words, "I had a dream."

When Meng Fan heard it was a dream, the tension in her heart eased immediately. She had thought Wen Zhi had been bullied by Wen Yiwan yet again last night.

Letting out a breath, Meng Fan propped her hands behind her on the bed and chuckled, "Come on then, tell me about this dream of yours. What did you dream about this time?"

Wen Zhi hugged her knees, wrapping the blanket around her legs, cleared her throat before beginning, and then started her story from a less horrifying angle, "I dreamt that I moved into a small wooden house and lived a very impoverished life."

Meng Fan voiced her acknowledgment, clearly not too interested in the dream, "Go on."

Wen Zhi recalled the dream from last night, "In the dream I also had a husband. We lived together in that humble little wooden house, very happily, joyfully."

After listening, Meng Fan nodded with full understanding, "I get it, that might just be the ordinary life you want..."

Pausing for a moment, Meng Fan suddenly leaned in close to Wen Zhi and asked, "So, is Zhisui your husband from the dream?"

Wen Zhi shook her head, "He’s the son I bore for him."

Meng Fan tapped her chin, "You have a good memory. To marry and have children in a dream and still remember the son’s name when you wake up, do you remember the name of your dream husband?"

Wen Zhi pursed her lips, remaining silent.

Seeing her reaction, Meng Fan guessed, "Looks like you’ve forgotten!"

Wen Zhi cast her eyes downward.

Meng Fan continued, "Many forget as soon as they wake, but you remembered the name of your dream son... Zhisui Zhisui, it sounds pretty good, and the key thing is, it has your name in it!"

It has her name?

He had said the same thing in the dream.

Wen Zhi silently pushed off the blanket and got out of bed, walking like a lost soul toward the washroom.

Meng Fan, full of gossip, followed her and saw Wen Zhi filling the basin to wash her face. She perched at the washroom entrance and pressed on, "Zhizhi, was your dream husband handsome? What type of hunk was he? Does your son resemble you more or your husband? Also, also, you..."

Wen Zhi turned off the tap and looked up at Meng Fan, "He has a prototype."

Upon hearing that the male lead of the dream had a real-life prototype, Meng Fan’s features fluttered with excitement, "Who? Who? Who is it? Which male celebrity?"

Wen Zhi said the name, "Shang Hexing."

Meng Fan: "..."

Seeing Meng Fan quiet down suddenly, Wen Zhi asked with a smile, "Still want to know the details of the dream?"

Meng Fan silently walked away, "I’ve just realized I’m not that gossipy after all."

This time, it was Wen Zhi’s turn to laugh.

Today, Wen Yiwan and Mu Yanzhou were both not at home. Gu Rang said the pair went out together to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at an exhibition.

At the dining table downstairs, when Meng Fan sat down she said, "I think Uncle Mu must have intentionally cleared space for us, taking that mad woman with him, lest she cause trouble at home."

Wen Zhi placed an omelette onto Meng Fan’s bowl as she said, "Perhaps."

Meng Fan picked up her chopsticks, "Zhizhi, I feel like Uncle Mu still cares about you a lot."

Care about me?

Wen Zhi didn’t continue the conversation and silently ate her breakfast.

Gu Rang also sat down beside them and took a sip of milk before asking, "Will Miss Meng leave today?"

Meng Fan took a bite of her rolled pancake, "I have to go. My dad said that Grandpa wants us to come back for dinner today. I’ll come back here later in the evening after dinner."

Gu Rang asked, "Is it the old commander from the Han Family?"

Meng Fan nodded, "Yes, that’s the one."

Gu Rang put down his glass of milk and said, "The old commander is in strong health."

Meng Fan didn’t deny it at all, "Grandpa is almost ninety already, yet he can walk, run, eat, and drink. He’s indeed very strong. They all say that the old man could live to be a hundred without any problems."

Gu Rang smiled, "If the old commander really lives to be a hundred, the whole nation will celebrate his birthday."

Meng Fan smiled in agreement, "That’s for sure."

Not sure if something crossed her mind, but Meng Fan suddenly leaned close to Wen Zhi and whispered into her ear, "Uncle Gu is also going back to the Han Family today."

Wen Zhi took a bite of fried egg, "That’s his maternal grandfather; he should go."

Meng Fan’s smile was pregnant with meaning, and in a hushed, conspiratorial voice, she asked, "Did Uncle Gu treat you well in your dreams last night?"

Wen Zhi choked, turned her head and asked, "Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t gossip?"

"You actually believed that," Meng Fan’s expression was all over the place, "I didn’t dare to before, but now the more I think about it, the more I want to know the details. Tell me more later."

Gu Rang on the side raised his hand to cover his lips, "Cough, cough!"

Meng Fan immediately returned to her usual expression.

...

Approaching half-past eleven, Meng Fan still hadn’t planned on leaving the Wen Family until Rong Huaishen’s phone call came asking, "Where are you?"

Meng Fan was doing her makeup in the dressing room of Wen Zhi’s bedroom. She placed her phone on speaker on the side and answered him, "I’m on my eyelashes."

Silence from the other end of the phone.

Meng Fan finished applying mascara and started to apply lip glaze. Hearing no response from Rong Huaishen, she reached for her phone intending to hang up. Just then, his voice came through, "Where are you?"

Meng Fan replied, "At Zhizhi’s place."

Rong Huaishen asked, "Shang Family or Wen Family?"

Meng Fan, "You’re weird; what does the Shang Family have to do with it? Zhizhi’s place is, of course, the Wen Family. Okay, I won’t talk to you anymore, I’m onto the lipstick. I’ll drive myself over after I’m done."

Rong Huaishen, "I’ll come to pick you up."

"No need!"

"I’m changing direction."

"Hisss, I’m saying, Rong Huaishen, aren’t you too pretentious? You always try to win me over during key moments. Are you also afraid of letting the elders know that our relationship is bad?" Meng Fan spoke as she applied lip glaze, her tone too passionate, and she smeared it.

Damn man, only ever messing up whatever she did.

It was then that Rong Huaishen said, "Weren’t we going to get a divorce? We can talk about it after today."

Meng Fan’s hand paused mid-application.

She looked up at her reflection in the mirror, absent any smile. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

A cold laugh came from the phone, "You really can’t bear it when it comes down to it?"

Meng Fan screwed the cap back on, took a deep breath, and retorted with an even tone, "It’s you who can’t bear it, more like. If you hadn’t been so stubborn, I would have divorced you long ago."

Rong Huaishen replied to her, "You’ll get your wish."