Hai Baihe woke up from her dream once again, the scorching August sunlight seeping through the gaps in the curtains and casting a fiery sensation on her face.
She abruptly sat up from the bed, momentarily dazed as memories from the previous night flooded in. Seeing the scattered Playboy bunny lingerie on the floor, she knew just how wild things had gotten.
But... another set of memories appeared vividly in her mind.
This time, Hai Baihe quickly organized her thoughts without much effort. She looked at the person sleeping beside her, feeling a complex mix of emotions. She was only infatuated with Liang Xiao's appearance, enjoying each day of pleasure as it came. That was all there was to it. But thinking of the scene where Di Ya had jumped into the abyss without hesitation, she felt as though she had stolen something from someone else.
Even if she knew that without her, Liang Xiao and Di Ya might not reconcile, even if she knew their relationship was not genuine, she still felt guilty.
"Forget it, let's not dwell on it," she said, running her fingers through her hair before heading to the bathroom to take a shower. If it were any other ordinary morning, she would not be so docile. But today, she wanted peace and quiet.
After showering and wrapping herself in a towel, Hai Baihe found Liang Xiao awake. He looked at her thoughtfully and said, "I had a nightmare."
"What kind of nightmare?" Hai Baihe was still a bit sluggish, not in the mood for her usual banter.
"I dreamt that I was buried alive," Liang Xiao said, putting the teddy bear that had fallen from the bed back in its place. "When I woke up, this thing was pressing on me." He chuckled and winked, as if he didn't take the events in the nightmare seriously.
Hai Baihe bit her lip and sat next to him. "I have a question for you."
"What question?" he asked.
"Do you have someone you like?" she said. "Or someone you love."
"We agreed not to ask that, didn't we?" Liang Xiao pinched her cheek. "You're not keeping your word. Be careful, or you'll turn into a little puppy."
Hai Baihe bit her lower lip. "Because I had a dream too."
Liang Xiao laughed. "Dreamt that I was buried alive?"
"Yes, I dreamt that you were buried alive. Your ex-girlfriend jumped in to save you, sacrificing herself for you, and I didn't." Hai Baihe said with a melancholic tone. "I couldn't do it."
What kind of love would make someone risk their life like that? It was something she had never experienced and believed she couldn't do.
Liang Xiao was slightly taken aback, but then he smiled and caressed her cheek before kissing her gently. "It's better this way."
"What's better?" she asked with a gloomy expression. "Aren't you upset?"
"Of course not," he said, pinching her cheek. Half serious, half joking, he added, "If such an adorable girl like you were to die, then I would be upset."
Hai Baihe fell silent for a moment and asked cautiously, "Were you touched when your ex-girlfriend saved you?"
Liang Xiao chuckled, finding it amusing why she couldn't let go of a dream like this. But her serious expression was quite cute, so he answered seriously, "No, I'm only moved when someone responds positively to a feeling. I support and appreciate such actions. But since she's an ex-girlfriend, it means it's in the past. And having liked her before, I don't want
her to die either. So, I don't approve of that kind of behavior. Sacrificing for love is beautiful, but being alive gives hope."
Hai Baihe didn't expect to receive such a response, it was beyond her expectations. After hesitating for a while, she finally asked, somewhat timidly, "Do you want me to save you?"
Liang Xiao understood the meaning behind her words, and he smiled gently, saying, "Of course not." As he smiled, a tear-shaped birthmark in the corner of his eye trembled slightly, like a droplet of water on glass. "Baihe, we're together. Let's not talk about love."
"Are you afraid that I'll fall in love with you?" She tilted her head. "Why?"
Now, they weren't in the dark and hopeless underground tunnel, where life and death were uncertain. Liang Xiao didn't reveal his true feelings. He smiled and said, "Love includes not only happiness but also pain. We've always been happy together, isn't that better?"
"But there is love that has always been happy," she said, not believing his words. "Don't deceive me."
Liang Xiao thought for a moment and finally spoke the truth, "Perhaps there is, but it won't be with me. I don't have a future, and you don't even know who I am. Maybe one day, I will suddenly disappear. I'll be dead, turned to ashes in a corner you don't know about. And you won't know."
Hai Baihe was taken aback. She knew he was talking about his job. After all, it was an unstable and dangerous line of work, sometimes requiring him to go to perilous places. Sacrificing one's life in the line of duty was normal, but she couldn't help but recall the scene of him disappearing underground. Although she couldn't see him at that moment or hear his voice, she imagined it must have been painful to be bitten alive by that monster. Why did he choose to stay? For Di Ya, perhaps. But for others, was it worth it?
Seeing her complex expression, Liang Xiao smiled and asked, "What do you want to say?"
"I just can't think of what to say," Hai Baihe sighed. "I didn't sleep well last night. I'll go make a cup of coffee. Do you want some?"
"Thank you," Liang Xiao smiled and watched her leave the room. His expression slightly darkened. The dream he had during the night was only fragmentary, glimpses of a dark tunnel, a mysterious creature, Di Ya, and Hai Baihe... He knew it was just a dream, but somehow, he couldn't treat it as a pure dream.
What was going on?
Hai Baihe pondered while grinding the coffee beans, lost in her thoughts. Putting aside the matter of emotions for now, Liang Xiao had no recollection of Huyang Village, but this time he remembered being buried alive. Could it be that he didn't lose his memory this time?
"You've already added three teaspoons of sugar," Liang Xiao said as he came out of the shower, seeing her lost in thought, he playfully waved his hand in front of her.
Hai Baihe snapped back to reality and took a sip of her coffee... it was sweet and bittersweet. She slapped her forehead and said, "I'm still not fully awake."
"Is it really just because you're not fully awake?" Liang Xiao teased, raising an eyebrow.
Hai Baihe pretended to be annoyed. "Alright, alright, blame it on you for sucking the energy out of me, showing off!"
"Okay, it's all my
fault." Liang Xiao ruffled her hair, messing up the carefully styled hair she had just finished. "What do you want to eat for breakfast?"
"I don't know, let's see what's in the fridge." Sometimes, Hai Baihe was too lazy to go to the supermarket, so she would ask the housekeeper to buy some food and stock it in the fridge. "Oh, there are eggs, ham, bacon, and flour. I want to eat egg pancakes!"
Liang Xiao was taken aback. "Egg pancakes?"
"Yes, someone like you who grew up abroad missed out on a lot of Chinese delicacies." Hai Baihe brought a bowl and started beating the eggs.
Liang Xiao furrowed his eyebrows. "Who said I grew up abroad?"
"You... didn't grow up in a foreign country?" Hai Baihe wished she could slap herself. She pretended to act innocent.
Liang Xiao smiled. "I spent some time abroad, but mostly in Hong Kong. I'm surprised you thought I grew up abroad." That was his current cover story and public image. Why would Hai Baihe think otherwise?
Hai Baihe pretended to speak confidently. "Well, it must be because of your face that gave me that impression. Not my fault!"
"Oh," unexpectedly, Liang Xiao didn't dwell on the matter. "So, you said you wanted to eat... egg pancakes?"
"Yes, I'll make the pancakes, and you can fry the bacon and sausages," Hai Baihe said, starting to cook.
The two late risers busied themselves for twenty minutes, and finally, they could sit at the dining table and enjoy a fusion breakfast. By this time, the clock pointed to 10:40.
Hai Baihe took a bite of the pancake when her phone rang. She listened to it—a sensual male voice panting, the opening theme of "Majestic," and Liang Xiao almost choked on his coffee. Hai Baihe remained calm as she got up and said, "Oh, it's mine."