"Pant*, Pant*"
"Search for him in this place! The rest follow me!"
"Surrender now and your punishment will be lightened!"
"Pant*, Pant*"
"…all for a woman in those inferior realms, yet still, FATHER PICKED YOU OVER ME!!"
"Be grateful that you served for such a glorious purpose for me."
Sitting up in a fright, the young man's hand pressed on his chest, as if he had experienced a heart attack. Due to his ragged breathing, the window next to his bed was already fogged up, furthering darkening the room from the night stars.
After a while, Jiang Feng stabilized himself as he reached for his phone. Seeing that it was already six o'clock, he switched on the lights before getting off from his bed.
…
Sitting in the water filled tub, Jiang Feng fell into deep thought. He had once again experienced the nightmare that had troubled him for a year.
The contents of the dream were still as clear as day to him, with every single expression, every single brick, and every single detail about it engraved into his mind. It was to be expected, after all, with how many times he had to experience it.
"Be grateful that you served for such a glorious purpose for me."
As he thought back on it, the resentful voice of that unknown man sounded in his mind. Jiang Feng didn't know why, but ever since his first time in that nightmare, he always felt that the voice was very familiar, as if he had interacted with it thousand, maybe millions of times with that voice.
'Just what is up with this nightmare…confusing me with all these weird scenes.'
Closing his eyes, Jiang Feng gave up thinking about it and submerged his body into the water.
…
"You're here. Quickly, we'll head out after finishing breakfast."
Being called by his mother, Jiang Feng quickly seated himself as breakfast was served before him. Grabbing the toasted bread in his plate, he scooped up a small piece of butter using a knife and spread it evenly on the bread.
Once that was done, Jiang Feng munched down a big bite in one go as his mother lightly shook her head with how mannerless he currently is. Despite so, she wasn't angry as they knew this had been how Jiang Feng ate whenever bread was served.
"Have you readied everything you need for the checkup today?" Jiang Feng's father asked.
"Yup, all done. There was nothing much needed in the first place." Jiang Feng replied.
"Good. I'll tell Uncle Chen to start the car first."
After his father left the room, it didn't take long for Jiang Feng to finish his breakfast as well. Leaving the building his mother, the two saw that there was already a black car waiting for them outside of the gates.
Quickly putting on their shoes, they moved to the car as they sat in the backseat.
"Good morning, Madam. We'll be stopping by Doctor Wang's hospital first, correct?"
Right after they entered, Jiang Feng heard the voice of an old man coming from the driver seat. Looking through the rear-view mirror, he saw a face filled with wrinkles yet overflowing with compassion staring at his mother.
The old man's hair had long turned white, and his age was already eligible for retirement, yet he still was working for the Jiang Family, or to be exact, Jiang Feng's father.
"That's right, Uncle Chen. I'm bringing Feng there for a checkup." Jiang Feng's mother replied.
"Oh? Is Young Master Feng feeling unwell? Or has that nightmare been causing problems to his health?"
Shifting his attention away from his mother onto him, the old man looked at Jiang Feng, who also was looking at him, as he waited for a reply.
"It's nothing much, Uncle Chen. I've just fainted in a restaurant yesterday. They think that it may be relative to that nightmare so we're going there just for a check. No need to worry about me." Jiang Feng replied immediately with a smile.
To Jiang Feng, Uncle Chen was like another grandfather to him after the passing of his one. From what he heard, Uncle Chen is a butler previously working for his grandmother, who was now living in the hospital they were about to headed to.
After Jiang Feng's grandmother retired and moved into the hospital, Uncle Chen continued his work under Jiang Feng's father when Jiang Feng was at the age of 7, which meant that it has been 11 years by now.
"I see. I hope things are as you say. It'll saddened your grandma if she ever catches wind of your condition."
Saying so, Uncle Chen pressed down on the brakes as the car started to move. Taking out his phone, Jiang Feng tapped on his notifications as it brought him to the conversation between his friends.
Tang Hu Lu: "@The World's Sun, is everything needed prepared? I really don't want what happened last time to happen again."
The World's Sun: "Can't you have some trust in me as your boyfriend? I've already searched online about what to bring when exploring a cave, and just so you guys know, I've prepared two sets for everyone. So we're definitely fine."
Lao Mu: "That's good. With that much stuff there, you'll definitely be able to notice it before you leave."
The World's Sun: "@Lao Mu, do you take me as a blind?"
Tang Hu Lu: "Should we recount on the times you had to meet with the eye doctor because of your hyperopia worsening?"
The World's Sun: "Like I've said, can't you have some trust in me? I'm already avoiding looking at phone in the dark so there's no way it's going to get worse."
Not wanting to be deeply involve in the following conversation, Jiang Feng sent a link to the group which talked about "How Can Sleeping Late Affect Your Eyes" before hitting the power button.
It wasn't long before the car arrived at the hospital's entrance. Switching the car to parking mode, Uncle Chen got off as he opened the door on Jiang Feng's side, fulfilling his duty as a butler.
Once Jiang Feng and his mother were off, Uncle Chen bowed lightly at them before getting back into the car and drove it away. The two walked into the building together as the nurse sitting at the reception counter took notice of them immediately.
"Ah, Miss Jiang! You've came. Are you here to check on your mother-in-law again?" Standing up to greet the two, the nurse asked Jiang Feng's mother.
"Well, I might as well do that, but I'm here to bring my son for a checkup. Is Doctor Wang free at the moment?" Jiang Feng's mother replied.
"He should be at his office right now. Should I lead you there?"
"No need, I know where the office is located at. Come on, let's go and meet Doctor Wang before he gets busy."
Walking away from the reception counter, Jiang Feng's mother turned to the left with Jiang Feng walking behind her. They arrived at a corner where the stairs and the lift were at.
Entering the lift, the eyes of Jiang Feng's mother swept through the seven buttons before stopping at the with the number '3'. Pressing on the button, it became lit as the lift slowly moved up from the first floor. Walking away from the corner and down the straight corridor, she stopped in front of a door with Doctor Wang's sign on it.
Knock*~ Knock*~
"Come in."
After receiving permission, Jiang Feng's mother pressed down on the door handle as the door opened. Walking in behind his mother, Jiang Feng made sure that he closed the door before turning around to face the doctor they were meeting.
At the desk placed near the furthest corner from the door, Jiang Feng saw a middle-aged man who had a head with light reflecting onto it. Most likely due to his work, the man had a rather big and round belly visible even to Jiang Feng who stood the furthest from it.
Wearing just a long-sleeved brown cotton shirt and a pair of blue jeans, one might just mistake him as another regular worker in his 40's.
"Doctor Wang, are you heading out in a moment? It's rare to see you in such casual clothes."
Hearing the familiar voice, Doctor Wang finally lifted his head up and looked at the mother-and-son pair. Recognizing Jiang Feng's mother immediately, Doctor Wang stood up and walked towards her as he offered a handshake.
"Miss Jiang, what brings you here?"
"It pleasures me to know that you still remember me, Doctor Wang. It has been almost 3 months since I last visited my mother-in-law after all."
"Why wouldn't I remember you? You've been coming to this hospital for 11 years straight after all. As the doctor assigned to your mother-in-law, of course I would remember you even if it's been 3 months. Come, why don't we sit down and talk further?"