Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

Wen Zhi thought she was dreaming and conducted herself with the unrestrained boldness and initiative of her dreamlike instincts.

The warmth and softness on her lips made her extremely captivated, longing to draw more, so she tightened her embrace around his neck and whispered into his ear, "Shang Hexing, I like you..."

His thin lips curled into a smile, his breath steady, "How much do you like me?"

Her passionate response, "I want to have your children."

His laughter was very joyful, and then he lowered his head to nudge her nose with his, asking, "Why are you so eager to have children?"

Twice now.

She had mentioned it twice.

Wen Zhi pursed her lips, looking as if she were seriously considering something when she was silent.

After pondering, she suddenly raised her chin and lightly kissed the corner of his lips.

It was a brief touch, but extraordinarily seductive, easily enough to mesmerize him completely. He simply stopped asking, only wanting to cherish the kisses she gave while half-asleep and half-awake.

At this moment, she suddenly blurted out an answer she had hesitated over for a long time, "Because you’re getting older, and if we wait a few more years you might not be able to have them."

As her words were about to end, he suddenly stopped his next move.

The warm yellow light cast a hazy shadow across her face.

He gazed quietly at her delicate face, and she met his eyes; the atmosphere was silent.

After a long pause, he laughed in exasperation.

With one hand, he undid the buttons of his shirt, got into bed under the covers, and Wen Zhi exclaimed in a low voice, "Ah—"

Late into the night, he had just hurried back, bringing a chill with him; the moment the blanket was lifted, a shred of cold seeped into her body, making her shiver involuntarily.

"Are you cold?" he noticed.

Wen Zhi whispered quietly, "A little."

With the collar of her clothing open, the chill was even more pronounced; her instinctive reaction was to shrink back, the halo of light before her eyes changing like a kaleidoscope, letting her vaguely feel that tonight’s dream was somehow different from before.

But she couldn’t describe how it was different, just that it felt very strange, or rather very real...

Her waist went limp, and she murmured his full name, met with the whisper in her ear:

"Wen Zhi, do you want to?"

His deep, low voice seemed to be able to captivate the soul, and Wen Zhi felt extremely intoxicated; she no longer pondered over what was different about this dream, but responded to him with all her heart.

About ten minutes later.

Wen Zhi fell asleep.

Shang Hexing tucked her in nicely and then got up to go to the bathroom.

He stood before the washbasin, turned on the faucet, and the rustling sound of the water concealed his heavy breathing. His lips retained a smile as he leaned over leisurely to wash his hands.

...

The next day.

Wen Zhi woke up in a strange room, a bit confused. It took her a while to recall that this was a guest bedroom in Qionglou.

Rubbing her messy hair, she quickly got dressed and went downstairs.

Shang Hexing wasn’t downstairs, and she didn’t know whether he had already left or hadn’t woken up yet. As for what time he came back last night, she was even less aware, as she had already gone to sleep by then.

Suddenly, the kiss from last night’s dream came to mind. She raised her hand to touch her lips, then frowned suddenly, "Hiss..."

What happened to her mouth?

Was it inflamed?

It seemed a bit painful!

Wen Zhi rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror and only then noticed her lips were red, appearing somewhat inflamed. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Yesterday... She didn’t seem to have eaten anything that would cause heatiness; how could her lips have become inflamed out of nowhere?

Wen Zhi bit her fingertip, her face full of life’s suspicions, as she came out of the bathroom.

"Wen Zhi."

Wen Zhi looked up at the sound of her name and saw the man standing opposite her across the courtyard.

He was wearing athletic performance gear and looked as if he had just come back from a workout. Wen Zhi let go of the hand she had been biting and quickly walked around the courtyard toward him to ask, "Mr. Shang, where have you been?"

Shang Hexing replied to her, "Morning run."

"Did you go alone?" she asked casually.

Shang Hexing answered seriously, "Running with half a person would probably scare others."

Wen Zhi paused, "..."

His eyes swept over her lively expression as he walked past her, "I’ll bring you along tomorrow morning."

Wen Zhi quickened her pace to keep up with him, responding, "Who knows if I’ll still be staying here tomorrow."

Her lips felt so dry and painful, even though she had already drunk two cups of water and it hadn’t helped.

She had no choice but to lick her lips, to moisten them with saliva; only, as she licked her lips, Shang Hexing just happened to turn to her to say something, "I was thinking about today..."

His gaze suddenly froze.

Wen Zhi also looked up at him.

She saw Shang Hexing restrain his gaze, swallow a little, and his expression returned to normal in a second.

Feeling his reaction, Wen Zhi couldn’t help but think of Shang Hexing from her dream and asked absentmindedly, "Is the search and rescue team still dredging Cocoon Lake?"

Shang Hexing replied, "Yeah."

Wen Zhi asked again, "How many people are looking for me?"

"A lot," Shang Hexing said with a light tone, "Liang Yin didn’t leave Cocoon Lake last night, Shang Jing heard the news and went too, and that Gu guy who often follows you around is also there."

Wen Zhi said, "That would be Gu Rang."

Shang Hexing cracked a smile, "There are quite a few people concerned about your safety."

"Is it just my imagination..." Wen Zhi blinked, her tone whimsical, purposely saying, "Mr. Shang, your voice sounds like you’re jealous."

Shang Hexing stopped in his tracks, glancing sideways at her, "Wen Zhi, it’s not just how it sounds."

He was really jealous!

Wen Zhi quickly shifted her gaze away, then blinked a few times to calm the sudden palpitations in her heart.

Shang Hexing’s eyes fell on her overly red lips, recalling the unrestrained kisses from last night; he swallowed and knowingly asked, "What’s wrong with your mouth?"

Hearing his question, Wen Zhi instinctively touched her lips, her eyes not daring to meet his as she replied, "Maybe it’s just some heatiness."

Shang Hexing said indifferently, "Is that so."

After all, Wen Zhi felt it was just heatiness—otherwise, why would her lips hurt? Kissing had happened in a dream, not in reality—

At that moment, Wen Zhi suddenly felt a jolt and a ridiculous suspicion flashed through her mind; her cheeks and the tips of her ears flushed as she turned to look at Shang Hexing.

Shang Hexing looked undisturbed, casually taking a towel from a nearby stand to wipe off sweat, and asked calmly, "What is it?"

She hadn’t even asked, but Wen Zhi was already feeling nervous.

Watching him leisurely wiping sweat, she asked, "When did you come back last night?"

The motion of Shang Hexing wiping paused, "You don’t know?"

Wen Zhi shook her head, "I fell asleep without waiting for you to return, so I don’t know when you came back."

"Eleven o’clock," he answered her.

Wen Zhi opened her mouth, "Oh, eleven o’clock, that’s quite late..."

"It was a bit late," he said as he placed the towel over his shoulder, his eyes clear and profound, "There were a few experts from the province at the dinner, we talked a lot about official business, so I got home late."

Wen Zhi smiled lightly, "You don’t have to tell me these things."

Shang Hexing looked straight into her eyes and said, "I thought you wanted to know."

Wen Zhi’s breath hitched.

He also mentioned, "When I came back last night, I didn’t see you. I thought you had left; later I found you in the guest room..."

As he spoke, he deliberately paused, his eyes holding a meaningful look as he gazed at her.

Wen Zhi quietly asked the question, "Did you come in?"