The Dream That Wasn’t a Dream

Ming Zhong remained in a daze for quite some time. He touched his face, still feeling the force of Senior Sister’s slap from his dream. It even seemed to sting a little… The dream had been far too real. Ming Zhong felt his mind wavering, blurring the lines between dream and reality. He remained in this state of disorientation until the bell signaling the end of the exam finally jolted him back to a semblance of awareness. After submitting his paper, Ming Zhong immediately descended the stairs and exited Dengke Tower. Arriving beneath the vibrant, flourishing fringe tree, Ming Zhong gazed upwards, yet found no sign of Fu Ziqing.

“Senior Sister, I’m here.”

Ming Zhong called out, his head still tilted back.

“Come up.”

Senior Sister remained unseen, but her voice drifted from amidst the verdant leaves and blossoms. Ming Zhong paused, slightly taken aback, but then complied, climbing into the tree. Finding a sturdy branch to settle on, Ming Zhong took a couple of light breaths before speaking with a chuckle:

“What secret matter does Senior Sister wish to discuss? To hide up in a tree for it?”

Only then did Fu Ziqing poke her head out from a cluster of flowers opposite Ming Zhong, remarking indifferently:

“No secret at all. I simply find it easier to talk this way.”

“Hmm?”

Ming Zhong’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but ask:

“Then why didn’t Senior Sister just come down?”

Senior Sister could fly; it would clearly be much simpler for her to descend the tree…

Fu Ziqing froze for a moment, then forced an explanation:

“I’m merely having you exercise, for your own good, understand?”

Ming Zhong stared at Fu Ziqing for a moment before lowering his gaze to his hands, which were smudged with moss. He brushed it off, then proceeded to pat away broken twigs and dried leaf debris from his clothes, chuckling:

“Then I truly must express my gratitude for Senior Sister’s kind intentions.”

Fu Ziqing bit her lip, saying:

“Are you being sarcastic with me again, you brat?”

“Not at all, I’m genuinely sincere.”

Ming Zhong’s expression was earnest, his face serious. Fu Ziqing narrowed her eyes, concluding that the boy’s thought process was quite unusual. Moreover, she sensed that he was growing increasingly unafraid of her. This evoked a peculiar feeling within her. After all, she was a ghost; if humans ceased to fear her, wouldn’t she lose face? However, Fu Ziqing didn’t dwell on the matter for long. She looked at Ming Zhong and directly stated her purpose for seeking him out:

“Take me to find ghosts.”

“Alright.”

Ming Zhong didn’t ask further questions, nodding quite straightforwardly. This brought a rather satisfied smile to Fu Ziqing’s face. No questions, just compliance—a perfectly adequate tool.

“Now?”

Ming Zhong asked, already preparing to descend the tree. But Fu Ziqing suddenly stopped him:

“Wait!”

“Is there something else, Senior Sister?”

Ming Zhong paused his descent, looking towards Fu Ziqing. Fu Ziqing stared at Ming Zhong intently, her gaze lingering until he began to feel distinctly uncomfortable, before she finally spoke:

“Let me ask you something.”

“Yes, Senior Sister, ask away.”

Ming Zhong replied with apparent eagerness, though a hint of panic flickered in his eyes. Senior Sister’s slap in the dream had been quite forceful; he still felt a phantom ache on his face.

“You had another dream just now, didn’t you?”

Fu Ziqing wasted no time in asking. Ming Zhong offered no futile excuses, instead nodding quite obediently.

Fu Ziqing pressed on:

“What did you dream about?”

“I dreamed…”

After uttering two words, Ming Zhong glanced at Fu Ziqing, his gaze momentarily evasive. Then, following what seemed to be an internal struggle, his eyes regained a degree of firmness.

“I dreamed of…”

“Me.”

Fu Ziqing tilted her head slightly, pointing a forefinger at herself, and softly said:

“Right?”

Ming Zhong stared blankly at Fu Ziqing, his earlobes slowly reddening.

“Yes.”

“What did I do to you?”

Fu Ziqing inquired further. Ming Zhong snapped back to reality, saying somewhat guiltily:

“You… you slapped me.”

As he spoke, the fierce image of Senior Sister, delivering a slap without a word, seemed to reappear before his eyes. Ming Zhong couldn’t fathom why he’d had such a dream, but ultimately, it was just a dream, something to dismiss. Yet, recalling it still brought a strange, subtle pang of guilt. Alas, if one didn’t have a ghost in their heart, how could they dream of ghosts?

At this moment, Fu Ziqing furrowed her brow in thought, then, looking at Ming Zhong’s face, suddenly said:

“Does your face still hurt?”

Ming Zhong touched his cheek, his expression slowly turning peculiar.

“Don’t even mention it, it actually does a little…”

As Ming Zhong spoke, he gave Fu Ziqing an awkward, sheepish smile.

“Heh heh, that dream felt quite real.”

Fu Ziqing remained expressionless, her pale eyes fixed on Ming Zhong, unmoving. At first, it was fine, but as time stretched on, Ming Zhong felt the flower-scented breeze, inexplicably chilling him to the bone. After another moment, Ming Zhong finally couldn’t help but speak:

“Senior Sister, could you please stop looking at me like that?”

“That wasn’t a dream.”

“Huh?”

Senior Sister’s sudden declaration left Ming Zhong momentarily bewildered. Fu Ziqing repeated:

“That wasn’t a dream.”

“It wasn’t… a dream…?”

Ming Zhong’s eyes widened, a look of disbelief on his face.

“In your so-called dream, you met me at the entrance of Dengke Tower, didn’t you?”

This time, Fu Ziqing’s tone held no trace of a question. Ming Zhong, still astonished, had no chance to reply before Fu Ziqing continued from across from him:

“I also met you at the entrance of Dengke Tower.”

Pausing for a moment, Fu Ziqing went on:

“Perhaps you were dreaming at that time, but I was not. I had gone to the exam hall to find you earlier, saw you sleeping, and left. Yet, I encountered you at the entrance of Dengke Tower…”

“This… how is that possible?”

Ming Zhong was utterly dumbfounded. According to Senior Sister’s account, there were two of him at that moment? No, that wasn’t entirely accurate. It should be…

“My dream became reality?”

Ming Zhong asked, a hint of shock in his voice. This was already a so-called superpower! Could such a good thing truly exist? Wait, his ability to see ghosts already fell under the category of superpowers… and that eerie sound that rang out every night…

Given all this… Ming Zhong’s expression shifted from shock to calm.

“What does Senior Sister think? Please share your perspective as well.”

Ming Zhong said to Fu Ziqing with remarkable composure. Fu Ziqing looked at Ming Zhong, a touch of surprise in her eyes. This kid’s mental fortitude is impressive…

Then, she mused for a moment before speaking:

“As I said before, I don’t believe it was a dream.”

“Oh?”

Ming Zhong displayed a deeply interested expression, adopting an attentive posture. Such a respectful demeanor naturally put Fu Ziqing at ease, and a faint smile played on her lips as she said:

“I don’t think your dream became reality. Rather, I believe you were in a state of disembodied consciousness at that time, though you weren’t aware of it, and thus assumed you were dreaming.”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

Ming Zhong pondered, his brows furrowed, then spoke with a hint of doubt:

“Was I… astral projecting?”

“Likely.”

Although Fu Ziqing said this, she was almost certain in her heart. “Didn’t I slap you? The fact that I could touch you then indicates you were in a state similar to mine.”

Fu Ziqing analyzed.

“That makes sense.”

Ming Zhong nodded again, then seemed to feel the ache on his face once more. He suddenly looked up at Fu Ziqing, asking with a frown:

“Senior Sister, you didn’t just slap me once, did you?”

“…”

Fu Ziqing bit her lip, remaining silent. Ming Zhong put on an expression of combined sorrow and lingering fear, his features scrunching together as if on the verge of tears, and said:

“Senior Sister is truly merciless. That final blow, it was meant to smash me to smithereens, wasn’t it…?”

Ugh~ That expression is too much…

A shiver of revulsion ran down Fu Ziqing’s spine.

“Well, you didn’t actually fall, did you…?”

Fu Ziqing turned her head away, unwilling to look at Ming Zhong’s sickeningly exaggerated expression. Ming Zhong suddenly burst into laughter, saying:

“Haha, this humble one thanks the heroine for sparing his life.”

Fu Ziqing shot him a glance, then turned her head away again, scoffing:

“Heroine? What nonsense… I am a ghost.”

As she spoke, she slowly turned her head to face Ming Zhong, then abruptly thrust her head forward. It seemed she had used too much force, for both her eyeballs suddenly popped out of their sockets!

“Holy shit!”

Upon seeing the dark, empty eye sockets, Ming Zhong gasped, his legs kicking out as his body lurched backward… Fu Ziqing caught the fallen eyeballs and promptly reinserted them. Opening her eyes, she saw Ming Zhong on the verge of tumbling from the tree…

“You li—”

The word “little” hadn’t even left her lips, and she was about to use her ghostly power to pull him back, but Ming Zhong had already grabbed the tree trunk and steadied himself. So, Fu Ziqing’s subsequent words transformed into:

“Serves you right for being scared to death!”

Ming Zhong clung to the tree trunk, cold sweat beading on his forehead from fright, yet he was still smiling at Fu Ziqing.

“Hmph! You can still laugh?”

Fu Ziqing scoffed coldly. Ming Zhong settled back onto the branch, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a chuckle:

“Thank you!”

“What are you thanking me for?”

Fu Ziqing frowned deeply. This person truly had a screw loose; she had just scared him, yet he was saying ‘thank you’?

“Senior Sister was trying to save me just now, wasn’t she?”

Ming Zhong asked, smiling. Fu Ziqing turned her head away once more.

“Two separate matters.”

Ming Zhong nodded, saying:

“Alright, two separate matters. Let’s discuss them individually. I appreciate Senior Sister’s intention to save me. So, shouldn’t Senior Sister also acknowledge the fact that she just scared me?”

“For a ghost to scare people is simply doing its duty.”

Fu Ziqing cast a sidelong glance at Ming Zhong. It hadn’t even been a full day! And he dared to speak to her like this? She had to scare him, otherwise, this brat would surely take an inch and demand a mile. At Fu Ziqing’s words, Ming Zhong was momentarily speechless.

“Alright, it’s your duty… Let’s return to our previous topic then.”

Ming Zhong proactively steered the conversation back, saying:

“You said my state was similar to yours then. Does that mean I was also a ghost at that moment?”

Since the conversation had returned to the previous topic, Fu Ziqing naturally continued:

“I thought you were some ghost in disguise back then, which is why I…”

It seemed the conversation was about to circle back to the incident of her throwing him, so Fu Ziqing quickly changed her words:

“You likely weren’t a ghost then, but if you wished to become one, there’s just one crucial step.”

“What?”

“Die.”

“Hahahaha…”

“What? Reluctant?”

“Of course I’m reluctant. After all, I’m still so young.”

“Indeed, still so young. How wonderful it is to live well.”

“…”

With these words, the atmosphere suddenly grew a little heavy.