Translator: Cinder Translations
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In fact, it wasn't just that others couldn't understand the girl; sometimes, the girl herself couldn't understand who she was either. She was like someone who had indulged herself too much and didn't know how to restrain her behavior.
But... she clearly didn't want to be like this.
In the end, she had become the person she hated the most.
Like the alcoholic man she called "father."
After the college entrance exams, she was accepted into a decent university. But before she even got to know her classmates, she started playing truant again. Her roommates spread rumors that she didn't respect herself, that it was common for her to stay out all night.
She wasn't angry when she heard these rumors. She just casually showed off her expensive cosmetics and designer jewelry, enjoying the malicious stares of others, and savoring the disapproval.
There were no emotional fluctuations, she simply liked it.
She originally thought she would continue living like this, drifting through life and then dying without purpose.
Until one day, she met that man.
He was a senior, a year older, sent by the college to help with the psychological counseling for the new freshmen.
He was assigned to her dorm.
It was a rainy day.
The weather forecast had predicted rain, but it hadn't come. The dark clouds hung heavily in the sky, as if they would bring a storm at any moment.
She was alone in an internet café, the sound of her careless typing on the keyboard echoing in the empty space.
She was called back by a phone call from her counselor, a woman a few years older than her, who spoke quickly and harshly but wasn't a bad person.
She always scolded her after she caused trouble and then ordered her to write a self-reflection.
Oddly enough, she didn't mind being scolded or writing the reflection.
As she reached the door to the dorm, she overheard her roommates gossiping about her, accusing her of having mental issues, manic behavior, and even the potential to harm others.
She paused outside the door, not rushing in immediately.
One of the girls living in the upper bunk added in a quiet voice, seeming to defend her but actually subtly pointing out her recklessness, staying out all night, spending money lavishly.
"Did you see it with your own eyes?" The senior's voice was clear, different from everyone else's.
The chattering from her roommates ceased.
"I heard it from others, but it must be true," the girl replied, her voice soft and hesitant as she tried to win the senior's favor. "You can ask around in other dorms."
"You don't even understand what's going on in your own dorm, so what could asking others accomplish?" The senior's voice was calm and steady, which made him seem trustworthy. "It's just another rumor."
"My counselor said she's almost back. I'll wait for her here."
Everyone has their own "white moonlight" in their heart. Yu Man originally thought she wasn't one of those people, but the moment she opened the door, her thoughts changed.
"Is it Xia Wan'an?" The senior, wearing glasses, was a rare kind of clean, gentle, and polite guy. He was seriously checking his notes and then looked up, smiling. "Hello, I'm Han Jingnian."
A simple coincidence, and from then on, everything followed naturally.
They became a couple.
Yu Man, no, perhaps Xia Wan'an was a more suitable name for her, felt that her world regained its light when she met Han Jingnian.
She made new friends, felt a long-missed sense of connection, but no one could have predicted that a nightmare would come and ruin everything.
It was a real nightmare.
During their graduation trip.
At the time, she, Han Jingnian, and their closest friends were all caught in the nightmare.
They arrived in a strange world.
As Xia Wan'an's eyes trembled violently, her body also shuddered, she realized... she had returned to the city of her childhood.
It was as if someone had pressed the pause button on time. Ten years had passed, but it was exactly the same as she remembered.
As with most nightmares that followed, they were chased by a terrifying ghost, and one by one, their friends were killed by this evil spirit.
She was terrified, her mind already shutting down. Fortunately, Han Jingnian was always by her side, protecting her.
Han Jingnian was very intelligent. Using the few clues available, he found a way out—a path that led to an underground bar.
But when they arrived, the ghost arrived too.
It was standing crookedly in front of the iron door leading out.
The hope of escape slowly faded.
They scattered, and in the darkness, screams could be heard as their friends were hunted down.
The mist in front of the iron door grew thinner, and Xia Wan'an felt a voice in her mind telling her that it was a sign that the door was about to disappear.
Once the door disappeared, they would be trapped forever in this world.
What awaited them would be a fate worse than death.
The feeling of helplessness she had experienced as a child, when she helplessly watched her drunken father beat her mother with a belt, surged in her chest again.
She thought she had escaped the nightmares this city had given her, but unexpectedly, the nightmare brought her back.
Despair spread through her, and she could feel the malice radiating from the ghost that crawled across the floor with its half-body.
In the nick of time, a burst of flame lit up before her eyes. Han Jingnian had set his jacket on fire and thrown it far away.
The broken bottles fell to the ground, and in an instant, the flames spread uncontrollably.
The ghost seemed momentarily blinded, lunging left and right but failing to catch anyone.
The door was not far away. Their friends, though further off, still had enough time to run and escape.
But what happened next shattered Xia Wan'an's image of Han Jingnian.
He grabbed a bottle of liquor from the bar and smashed it on the ground.
Immediately, a line of fire erupted before them, blocking their friends on the other side.
And that side was about to turn into a sea of flames.
"Listen," Han Jingnian grabbed her by the shoulders, his gaze more serious than ever. "In this nightmare, there are only first times and countless repeats. Since you've stepped in, you can never leave. The only thing you can do is survive."
The fire was about to reach their friends, who were crying and cursing in desperation.
But it didn't seem to affect Han Jingnian at all.
"Remember, in the nightmare, don't trust anyone," he said, taking a deep breath, his voice suddenly changing. "And if you can, try to be the only survivor."
His words were quick, and the heat waves before them came one after another. "When you get out, you'll have something on you. Whatever it is, keep it safe. It will help you survive the next nightmare."
(End of the Chapter)
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