âGrandma!â
Xu Youning screamed and suddenly jumped up from the bed with sweat all over her head. She couldnât even tell where she was at the moment. She just wanted to see her grandma right away, so she removed the quilts and got out of bed.
Due to the fact that she had laid in bed for too long without having eaten a thing, she fell the moment she stepped out of bed. Her whole body simply collapsed.
Mu Sijue walked in from outside and saw Xu Youning falling down. He rushed over the hold her, but it was too late. He could only lift her up as soon as he could.
âXu Youning, you...â Mu Sijue was about to admonish her when he saw Xu Youningâs red eyes. His words stopped and were turned into an inquiry. âWhatâs wrong?â
Xu Youning lifted her head and helplessly caught Mu Sijue, âMu Sijue, something happened to my grandma. I saw...â Her eyes felt a warm flow and tears came out first before her words.
âYouâve slept all day. How could you see your grandma?â Mu Sijue frowned. âYou just had a nightmare.â
âNo, it was not a nightmare...â In Xu Youningâs mind, it was real. She shook her head and said, âI want to go home! I have to see my grandma!â Then, she tried to rush out.
Mu Sijue caught Xu Youning just in time. âWeâre not in City G!â
â...Weâre not in City G?â Xu Youning looked around and realized she was on an island with Mu Sijue, which was more than a thousand miles away from City G.
Therefore, what Mu Sijue said was correct. She couldnât have seen her grandma.
âSo, the things that just happened were really just a nightmare?â
Xu Youning scratched her head and tried to clear her mind. âWeâre on the island. This morning... didnât you tell me that you would take me to some place? Why am I still on the island?â
Mu Sijue frowned even more. âSomething wrong happened to the boat on our way. You ate some wild fruit in the jungle. Did you forget?â
Xu Youning tried hard to think about it and the feeling of how her stomach ached finally came up to her mind.
Later, Mu Sijue had carried her to the boat on his back...
But then, did Mu Sijue take her back to the island?
Xu Youningâs memories became fragments which couldnât be stitched back together at the moment. She didnât know the reason why her stomach suddenly ached and looked at Mu Sijue while in a blank. âWas that kind of wild fruit poisonous? Can it induce nightmares? But Iâve eaten it before and I never felt anything wrong.â
Mu Sijue avoided Xu Youningâs frenzied eyes and replied quite unnaturally, âThey shouldnât be eaten during your period.â
â...â Xu Youning stopped and felt quite awkward about it. She nervously reached her hand to Mu Sijue. âGive me your cellphone. I want to call my grandma.â The nightmare seemed too real to her so she still felt worried about it.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âItâs half past eleven in the evening. Your grandma must have gone to sleep.â Mu Sijue asked calmly, âAre you sure you want to bother her just because of a nightmare?â
Xu Youning: â...â He was right. She couldnât make the phone call right then. If there was nothing wrong with her grandma, the call would only worry her.
She touched her belly as if nothing had ever happened. âI slept for so long? No wonder Iâm so hungry!â
Then, she put on her shoes and walked directly to the diner.
The waiter at the diner saw Xu Youning and smiled, âMiss Xu, youâre awake?â
â...Youâre still working?â Xu Youning stared at her eyes. âI wanted to find some random food for myself.â
âMr. Mu asked us to.â The waiter passed the menu to Xu Youning. âHe was afraid that you might feel hungry by the time you woke up. Take a look and tell me what you want to eat. You can order food not listed on the menu. The cook can make it for you.â
Xu Youning held the menu and was confusedâMu Sijue specially ordered the staff in the diner to work overtime for her?
Didnât it sound like a fairytale?
At last, Xu Youning asked for a bowl of porridge and chose a seat beside the window.
The lights on the island were lit overnight. She looked out through the window and had a great view of the wonderful night scenery of the island.
However, with time going by, her mind subconsciously went back to the nightmare which had worried her all night long.
She seldom dreamed at night, not to mention a dream which seemed so real. Could it be only a nightmare like Mu Sijue said?
Before Xu Youning could think about an answer, Mu Sijue showed up at the diner.
He sat across her gave the cellphone back to her. âYou can call Auntie Sun.â
Xu Youningâs eyes brightened. How did she forget about it? If she called Auntie Sun, it wouldnât affect her grannyâs rest!
She instantly turned on the phone and dialed Auntie Sunâs number, but the only message she got was that her Auntieâs phone was powered off.
She felt down. That bad feeling came back to her mind again.
âMiss Xu, this is the porridge you wanted.â The waiter served Xu Youning with the fresh and delicious porridge. âEnjoy.â
âThanks.â Xu Youning mechanically stirred the porridge in the bowl; all kinds of different reasons why Auntie Sunâs phone was off flashed in her brain. Her face turned even darker.
Mu Sijue felt somewhat guilty after giving her that advice. He took a look at his watch and said, âWeâll be back in City G by morning. There are only six hours left.â
Six hours...
Xu Youning thought about it and realized six hours were not too long to wait. Reassured, she nodded and started to eat the porridge.
In the end, they went back to the cabin together.
Xu Youning quickly took a shower and lay in bed. But she just couldnât fall asleep. Maybe it was because she had overslept during the daytime or she was simply still worried.
She moved for a while and then Mu Sijue also walked out from the bathroom. She looked at him with her mind a blank, not knowing what to say. The atmosphere in the room was a bit embarrassing.
Finally Mu Sijue broke the silence. âTurn off the light. Donât speak. I want to sleep.
Xu Youning answered him with an âoh,â then reached out her hand to turn off the lamp on the bedstand. The entire room was swallowed by darkness. She could feel Mu Sijue lying down on the other side of the bed.
When really thinking about it, they... they hadnât slept in a bed peacefully like that.
At the moment, the air in the room seemed to be frozen. Xu Youning caught an end of the quilt and was careful even with her breath.
âCover yourself with the quilt.â Mu Sijueâs cold voice cut through the darkness and went into Xu Youningâs ears.
Xu Youning became stiff and then replied. She pulled over the quilt and covered herself. She couldnât help wondering, âSince when did Mu Sijue become so careful and garrulous? He even worries about whether I had a quilt?â
âMaybe itâs because heâs sleeping by the seaside?â
Mu Sijue saw Xu Youning covered in the quilt, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
In just a moment, Xu Youning heard his breath become shallow and stable in silence.
From what she knew about Mu Sijue, she could tell that he was indeed asleep.
She was relieved. She bravely changed into a more comfortable sleeping position and saw Mu Sijueâs face with the dim light coming from outside of the window.
While looking at his face, Xu Youning suddenly wanted to punch him.
If it werenât for his face, she wouldnât have tasted the real feeling of love, and her life and plans wouldnât have been bothered like that.
After being unhappy for a while, a wild idea came up to Xu Youningâs mind.
No matter how she was encouraged, she didnât dare to punch him.
But she dared to give him a hug.
When thinking about it, Xu Youning quietly got close to him, staring at him for a while. Then she carefully got into his arms like a worm.
Her face lightly leaned against Mu Sijueâs chest and then she listened to his heartbeat. Suddenly, she felt secure and her breath synchronized with his heartbeat.
âYour breath controls my heartbeat. Could it be seen as the true intimacy?â
Xu Youning closed her eyes and didnât move a bit, as if afraid to disturb this intimacy.
After quite a while, Mu Sijue still remained unmoving. Then she reached out her hand and lightly hugged Mu Sijue.
A short while would be enough. She knew she couldnât stay too long with Mu Sijue. So just a while would be great...
But the fact was that Xu Youning overestimated herself.
Before she could let go of him, she fell asleep. Almost at the same time, Mu Sijue opened his eyes.
Mu Sijue didnât sleep deeply all the time. By the time Xu Youning got close to him sneakily, he had felt it and he knew Xu Youningâs purpose.
At the moment, he felt bewitched. He not only didnât open his eyes, but looked forward to it. Then, he felt his heart being pricked when he felt how careful Xu Youning was.
She was courageous and reckless all the time. What made her so careful and prudent?
Mu Sijue reached out his hand and held her in his arms like Xu Youning dreamt about.
âThis one time.â He told himself to go with his heart just this once.
That night, Mu Sijue didnât fall asleep again and Xu Youning just lay still in his arms.
Just like what Mu Sijue said, six hours was just a short period of time and it soon became bright.
Xu Youning opened her eyes on time and tried to move but felt something on her waist. When she carefully looked at it, she thought she might be having a hallucinationâ
On her waist were Mu Sijueâs hands, as he was surrounding her with his arms. She didnât evade Mu Sijue. Instead, she leaned on his chest and half of her weight was over him. They looked extremely intimate.
Her mind told Xu Youning that she should leave right away. But, she was strangely obsessed with that feeling. She subconsciously reached out her hand and traced Mu Sijueâs figure in the morning light.
It might be the only chance in her life.
So she forgot all the other things, even if she were to be despised by him!
At last, Xu Youning closed her eyes and kissed Mu Sijueâs lips.
âOkay, the dream is over.â
However, right at the moment when she wanted to separate from Mu Sijue, he suddenly caught her hand tightly and opened his eyes.
In the morning, Mu Sijueâs eyes were sharp like an eagleâs, as if he had seen Xu Youning through. âWhat are you doing?â
â...You actually felt it, right?â Xu Youning shrugged. âIâm harassing you. So what? You canât harass me!â
Mu Sijue bit his teeth, giving Xu Youning a chance to get away. She rolled down from the bed and quickly hid herself in the bathroom.
Then Mu Sijue got up.
âNaive. How could the door of the bathroom stop me?â
Coincidentally, Ah Guangâs call arrived at that moment.
Mu Sijue picked it up and said in an extremely cold tone, âYouâd better have something important to say.â
Ah Guangâs voice sounded particularly heavy. âSeventh Brother, bad news...â