Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

A casual "I’ve seen you in a dream" suddenly made Wen Zhi tense up.

"You, you... Have you really seen me in a dream?" Wen Zhi spoke nervously, stumbling over her words.

"I said I’ve dreamed of you, and you seem very nervous." Having said that, Shang Hexing put down his chopsticks, reached over to pick up the cup Wen Zhi had drunk from, and leaning over to the spot where she had sipped, he took a drink.

Wen Zhi thought to herself, how could she not be surprised?

The dreams she had of him were not just any ordinary dreams; they were the kind of dreams that could embarrass someone to death if she were to describe even a single scene. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

So what kind of dreams did he have of her? Were they... normal dreams?

With that thought, Wen Zhi, seemingly without control from her brain, blurted out the question, "Are they normal dreams?"

Shang Hexing’s eyebrows raised playfully as he countered, "What counts as normal?"

Wen Zhi raised a hand to her forehead, her expression as embarrassed as it could be, "Don’t misunderstand, what I mean is, dreams can be good or bad, right? I’m worried that you’re having the not-so-good kind of dreams about me."

This was close, she nearly didn’t talk her way out of it.

Shang Hexing watched motionlessly as Wen Zhi tried hard to smooth over her words, the smile on his lips growing deeper, "It wasn’t a bad dream, quite the opposite..."

Wen Zhi’s expression instantly tensed, and she straightened her back, "The opposite of what?"

Shang Hexing spoke slowly, word by word, "The opposite, as in they were very good dreams, the kind that leave you feeling regretfully disappointed upon realizing they were only dreams."

Wen Zhi: "..."

No way, did she and he really share a dream?

But the Buddha Beads were clearly with her, Shang Hexing had never owned them, so how could she and he share a dream!

While Wen Zhi was incredibly flustered and panicked, Shang Hexing suddenly asked her, "Do you want to hear the details of the dream?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Zhi abruptly stood up.

The movement was so sudden that even Aunt Lin in the kitchen stuck her head out to check on the situation outside.

Shang Hexing looked at Wen Zhi who had suddenly stood up, "You seem even more nervous than before."

Wen Zhi was silent for a moment, and just as she thought to change the subject, she suddenly heard Shang Hexing say, "Actually, the details of the dream involve nothing more than me asking you for a rightful status."

Wen Zhi was taken aback.

Shang Hexing watched her reaction, "Or what kind of details did you think it was?"

Wen Zhi: "I..."

Shang Hexing laughed, "Or perhaps your thoughts have strayed to something else?"

Wen Zhi’s cheeks burned hot, her thoughts laid bare by his insight.

Then Shang Hexing stood up as well, his already tall frame making the Wen Zhi across from him appear exceptionally petite.

Staring into Wen Zhi’s eyes, he asked at a calm pace, "People say dreams are the opposite of reality, what do you think of that?"

Wen Zhi lowered her eyelids, not meeting his gaze, and shook her head, "I don’t know."

Shang Hexing chuckled softly, though the amusement didn’t reach his eyes, "I don’t want to dream an empty dream; I hope everything has a conclusion, Wen Zhi, that’s my view."

Wen Zhi was startled but still didn’t look at him.

She didn’t know how disappointed Shang Hexing might be at her reaction at this moment. He was hopeful, including every time he brought it up.

But she, she just wouldn’t respond to him.

"Wen Zhi, can you look at me?" Shang Hexing asked, his tone carrying a hint of pleading.

However, Wen Zhi acted as if she hadn’t heard his words, her head still not raised.

"You didn’t leave your room at all today; I was worried about you, so I made a point to come back to have lunch with you," he said, determined to let her know it was a deliberate act on his part.

Wen Zhi’s breathing lightened a bit, "If you’re busy, you don’t have to come back on purpose."

"Wen Zhi," Shang Hexing suddenly called her full name with a serious tone but then hesitated to continue.

"Mhm," she responded nonchalantly.

Shang Hexing felt stifled inside, the sigh that had reached his lips was withdrawn.

Forget it, for fear that his emotions would affect her mood, he simply said calmly, "I have things to do this afternoon, I’ll leave first, and I’ll try to come back early tonight."

Wen Zhi nodded, "Okay."

After he had walked away, Wen Zhi finally lifted her head to watch his retreating figure, not taking her eyes off him until he disappeared from view.

Aunt Lin approached Wen Zhi and noticed her empty bowl, asking her, "Miss Wen, would you like some more rice?"

Wen Zhi shook her head.

There was plenty of food, but she had lost her appetite.

Today’s lunch hadn’t been very pleasant, it was her fault, repeatedly causing him disappointment.

They say that when a person accumulates enough disappointment, even the most passionate love cools off.

Perhaps it was true.

When Wen Zhi went to rest in the afternoon, she suddenly received a call from Liang Yin. She chatted with him absentmindedly for a few sentences, and Liang Yin could clearly sense her distraction.

So, Liang Yin brought up something that would interest Wen Zhi, "Guess who I saw your stepmother walking with today?"

Wen Zhi, who had been lethargic, suddenly perked up, "Wen Yiwan was with whom?"

Liang Yin laughed, "That tone finally sounds energetic."

Feeling something was off when she heard him laugh, Wen Zhi immediately asked, "Are you using this topic to trick me?"

"Of course not," Liang Yin, afraid of misunderstanding, quickly added, "I really saw your stepmother walking with Mrs. Shang."

Wen Zhi’s voice suddenly deepened, "You mean Wen Yiwan and Chong Wanyin?"

Liang Yin detected the emotion in Wen Zhi’s voice, "Zhizhi, you’re excited!"

Wen Zhi gripped her phone tighter and asked again, "Did you really see Wen Yiwan and Chong Wanyin together?"

"Why would I lie to you? I should have taken a photo for you," Liang Yin had not anticipated that bringing this up would suddenly affect Wen Zhi’s emotions.

Before he spoke, he just thought it was a topic that would make Wen Zhi pay attention to him.

Wen Zhi kept asking Liang Yin about the circumstances under which he saw Wen Yiwan and Chong Wanyin together, and then Liang Yin told her he encountered Chong Wanyin’s usual car while on the way to a police incident.

Normally such an encounter wouldn’t yield much, but coincidentally, an issue arose with the car, stopping it at the roadside, where traffic police went to handle the situation. When the car window rolled down, Liang Yin immediately spotted Chong Wanyin and Wen Yiwan in the back seat.

Both of their expressions were not good, looking as though they had been in a spat.

"After that..." As he reached this point, Liang Yin paused for a moment.

Wen Zhi pressed on, "What happened afterward?"

There was a light snort from Liang Yin on the phone, "After that, the L5 showed up, and Chong Wanyin’s face bloomed into smiles, happily getting into the L5."

"The L5 is..." Wen Zhi murmured.

Liang Yin said, "In the whole of Bai City, the number of people who drive that car can be counted on one hand. Being connected with Mrs. Shang, that’s pretty much pinpointed, isn’t it?"

Clearly implying, who else could it be if not Shang Hexing?

Wen Zhi stood up and walked to the window, "The driver should be Shang Jing, right?"

At Jiuqu Villa last time, it was Shang Jing who drove. Chong Wanyin was Shang Jing’s birth mother; with just a word from Shang Jing, Shang Hexing would nod in agreement.

"Shang Jing? I didn’t see him, the driver was Shang Hexing’s personal chauffeur, plus, Shang Hexing was in the back seat," Liang Yin said with the tone of someone enjoying the drama.

After listening, Wen Zhi calmly responded with a ’hmm’ and said, "I understand, thank you for telling me all this, I’ll hang up if there’s nothing else."

"Hey—Zhizhi? Zhizhi? Wen Zhi!!" Liang Yin hadn’t finished speaking, but the call had already been hung up by Wen Zhi.

Wen Zhi put away her phone, composed her thoughts, and then fetched a hat and a mask from the wardrobe along with her jewelry box. Finally, she pocketed her phone and went downstairs to leave.

Chen Jinhai had already left with Shang Hexing at noon, so no one stopped her, only Aunt Lin asked, "Miss Wen, are you going out?"

Wen Zhi walked briskly, and by the time her voice carried back, she was already out the door, "A friend asked to meet, I’ll be back by six."

Aunt Lin responded and went to the landline to call Chen Zhu and report that Miss Wen had gone out.

...