Su Zhiyan blinked and instinctively curled back under the covers, using the remaining fifteen minutes to catch a quick nap.
When Wen Bei’s alarm went off, he opened his eyes again.
Nothing happened in his dream.
Eh?
What was going on?
No dreams?
The joy lurking in the depths of his heart grew larger and larger, completely swallowing up that tiny bit of confusion in his mind.
Su Zhiyan lay spread-eagled on the bed, experiencing for the first time in half a month the comfort of sleep and the fragrance of his bedding.
Wen Bei put on his clothes and jumped out of bed, only to find Su Zhiyan lying motionless on the bed.
“?” He poked him with a finger.
“Aren’t you getting up?” Wen Bei reached over to check his temperature.
Everything seemed normal!
“Leave me alone, let me sleep to death like this.” Su Zhiyan nuzzled his cheek against the bedding, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Joy and excitement filled his chest, and he felt like he could run three kilometers to vent his frustration and bid farewell to the painful past half month.
Peaceful sleep felt so good!
Free from nightmares at last!
Seeing Su Zhiyan still didn’t move, Wen Bei nervously started his morning routine, even accidentally poking his mouth twice with his toothbrush in his shock.
The study machine was sleeping in. Was the sky about to fall?
When he walked out of the bathroom, Su Zhiyan had already started packing his books. Seeing Wen Bei come out, Su Zhiyan put down his things and walked into the bathroom, he put his things down and went into the bathroom, quickly and efficiently washing up before stepping out with a refreshing minty scent and a bottle of milk in hand.
Seeing this, Wen Bei let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, the apocalypse wasn’t here yet.
It had been a long time since Su Zhiyan started a new day feeling so relaxed and happy.
His mind was clear, his eyes weren’t tired, and his whole body was full of energy.
Amazing!
Who would take such a wonderful thing as sleep for granted? Staying up late was simply a waste of heaven’s gifts!
Sitting in the classroom, he took out his phone and looked at the friend he added yesterday, “Dream Thief.”
He only added him as a friend to solve his sleep problems, but now that the problem was solved early, he kind of wanted to just delete them.
Because keeping someone who had been moaning in his dreams every day as a friend…
Was both creepy and perverted.
But it would be impolite… Su Zhiyan struggled with the decision. After all, he was the one who suggested adding each other as friends. Deleting them now would be unethical.
As if heaven had heard Su Zhiyan’s troubles, it kindly helped him solve this problem.
With only one morning class today, Su Zhiyan walked into the academic building in high spirits, only to see a familiar figure approaching.
Shen Nianjing seemed to have just finished his eight AM class. Su Zhiyan recalled that it might be the major course he was about to attend too.
As Shen Nianjing walked closer step by step from the opposite direction, Su Zhiyan walked straight past without a second glance.
Originally, he only approached him to solve the nightmare puzzle. Now that the dreams were gone, there was no need for any further entanglement with that “jerk.”
Su Zhiyan bounded up the stairs with light steps, completely missing how the person he’d just labeled a “jerk” also wore a relieved expression as they passed each other.
“Xiao Zhiyan!” Wen Bei, who had already secured seats, waved at him.
Su Zhiyan walked over and found several close friends nearby. He asked instinctively, “Group project?”
“We thought you hadn’t checked the group chat yet and wanted to surprise you,” Zhuang Qiyu turned around with a smirk.
“Seeing you all here, I could already guess. Why bother checking the group chat?” Su Zhiyan shrugged and raised his eyebrows carelessly.
“You’re in a good mood today?” someone from the group asked curiously.
“Just barely,” Su Zhiyan couldn’t help but curl his lips up, then broke into outright laughter.
More than good, he felt like laughing out loud.
The surrounding classmates all looked over in surprise. Although Su Zhiyan wasn’t some cold ice king, he rarely showed his emotions this openly.
Su Zhiyan listened to the lecture very attentively, his pen never stopping. While Professor Wu was still rambling about topic scope and requirements, he had already quickly chosen several suitable topics and rough frameworks. They could discuss and pick the most appropriate one together later.
Su Zhiyan sent the assignment notes to the group chat, along with the characteristics and advantages of each topic.
“You can’t be this quick and efficient!” Zhuang Qiyu complained for show, but his eyes were shining with excitement, his mouth unable to close, “Awesome!”
“Let the academic god carry us!”
“Stop fooling around!” Su Zhiyan glanced at him with a smile.
Perhaps because he hadn’t relaxed like this in so long, Su Zhiyan’s good mood improved both his state of mind and efficiency. He not only completed all the work he’d fallen behind on in the past half month but also handled most of the group project.
That evening, after closing his laptop, Su Zhiyan stretched contentedly.
It had been a long time since he’d completed something so efficiently. It felt amazing!
He went to bed satisfied, looking forward to greeting a new day.
The next day.
“………..”
Su Zhiyan woke from his dream again. Familiar exhaustion and fatigue wept through his entire body.
Damn.
That was the only word in his mind right now.
Wen Bei seemed to have gotten used to Su Zhiyan’s unusual behavior and didn’t try to wake him. He was busy playing games with two friends from the neighboring dorm, completely missing Su Zhiyan’s thunderous expression.
“………”
Su Zhiyan covered his face with his hands, slowly closing his eyes.
He felt like a blade of grass being pummeled by heavy rain, ready to drop dead at any moment.
Of course, more than anything, he wanted to beat Shen Nianjing to a pulp.
Weren’t the dreams supposed to be gone? Why?
Why were they back again?!
Was it because he ignored that jerk yesterday, so he was getting revenge today?
What a petty bastard!
Su Zhiyan pounded his blanket in frustration.
His eyes caught sight of his phone on the bedside table. Anger rushed to his head as he grabbed it and opened his chat with “Dream Thief,” ready to unleash a torrent of curses.
No. Su Zhiyan’s eyes darkened as he forcefully held himself back.
Shen Nianjing’s profile picture was a silly dog emoji, similar to the viral “cat meme” online.
Su Zhiyan stared at that smugly grinning profile picture and couldn’t help but tap into it.
To his surprise, this jerk hadn’t blocked him from viewing his Moments.
He scrolled down in silence.
Five minutes ago, Shen Nianjing just posted a Moments update.
[Dream Thief: Ten yuan each, first come first served /silly dog peace sign]
The picture showed a table on the university’s main street, decorated with a colorful sign and a bunch of brightly colored bead strings.
Su Zhiyan: “………..” Damn it.
Here I am suffering! While you’re out there setting up shop! Where’s the justice!
A cold laugh echoed through the empty dorm room, startling the gamers below who looked up.
“Xiao Zhiyan, you okay?” Wen Bei asked.
“Oh, I’m great. Just perfect.” Su Zhiyan’s smile grew wider.
He jumped out of bed, rushed through his morning routine, grabbed his cap and slammed the door on his way out.
“…?” The gamers in the room looked at each other.
Gao Yuan turned around slowly and hesitated, “Should we… call the police? He looked like he was going to kill someone.”
–
The autumn market was A University’s tradition. During this time, the main street would be filled with all kinds of stalls as far as the eye could see. Many people had prepared handmade items since summer vacation, waiting to sell them at reasonable prices.
“Sister, you have great taste! Yellow crystal brings wealth, and green crystal can enhance your sixth sense. They’re not just beautiful but meaningful too~” He held up crystal bracelets in both hands, tirelessly introducing each one to the surrounding girls.
“Sister, your purple dress looks so pretty today, it matches your hairstyle perfectly! How about pairing it with this light purple crystal? It would be the perfect finishing touch.”
“Sister, your hair color is so beautiful, is it raspberry?”
“This fruit-based necklace might suit you even better than the crystal bracelet!”
It wasn’t even nine yet, but the market was already packed with people. One stall, in particular, was especially lively, surrounded by a crowd. All you could hear was the cheerful voice of a young man.
His words were fresh and natural, not at all fawning, but rather made people feel pleasant just listening to him.
Of course, this pleasantness didn’t extend to Su Zhiyan.
Under the high morning sun, Su Zhiyan stood before that stall with a face like ice.
His presence was too strong that the two girls standing in front of him sensed his almost tangible anger and carefully glanced back twice.
The young man before them had a very handsome face with strong features and an especially smooth, delicate jawline. His loose T-shirt draped casually over his frame, offering glimpses of his lean shoulders and collarbones.
But his cap obscured his eyes, and he seemed to be suppressing his anger… like a volcano about to erupt.
The girls didn’t have time to admire him before instinctively moving aside, “Sorry, were we in your way?”
“Thanks.” Su Zhiyan replied casually. He took a step forward unceremoniously and blocked most of the stall.
“See, dark green looks better than light green, and gives a cooler feeling.”
The vendor was still diligently introducing his products.
Su Zhiyan let out a cold laugh and extended his hand. “Help me pick one too.”
“Oh, okay!” Although he interrupted suddenly, the young man wasn’t annoyed at all and kept his head down while selecting from his goods. “How about trying this bright yellow crystal? Sister, with your fair skin, this color would definitely…”
The moment he looked up, his clear voice cut off abruptly.
From under the cap brim, a gaze shot straight at him. A pair of familiar narrow eyes stared directly at him, bright and intense, leaving no room for escape.
Su Zhiyan clearly saw Shen Nianjing’s expression freeze as the warm atmosphere instantly turned cold.
“What’s wrong, men can’t buy bracelets?”
Shen Nianjing forced a smile. “Of course not.”
He reached out his hand but pulled back just before touching Su Zhiyan. He placed the bracelet on the velvet cloth in front of him. “Try it yourself.”
Su Zhiyan: “?”
He tilted his head. “You can put bracelets on girls but not on me?”
Shen Nianjing: “……”
The atmosphere grew even more awkward.
The girls watching from the side weren’t in a hurry to buy bracelets anymore. Their eyes darted back and forth between the two men, occasionally glancing excitedly at their companions with expressions that clearly said: “Drama! Let’s watch the drama!”
Under all these watchful eyes, Su Zhiyan kept his hand extended nonchalantly.
He was observing, studying the person in front of him. The build, the voice – everything matched his dreams perfectly, familiar enough to irritate him. But this reaction…
Could it be that Shen Nianjing had known him before he suggested adding each other as friends?
Under Su Zhiyan’s scrutinizing gaze, Shen Nianjing picked up the bracelet and slipped it onto his wrist. “See, it suits you well.”
His voice was tense, his expression unnatural.
This partially confirmed Su Zhiyan’s suspicions.
He glanced casually at his wrist. “Good, I’ll take this one. How much?”
Shen Nianjing named a price, quickly pulled out his payment QR code, and visibly relaxed.
Su Zhiyan caught every nuance of his expression.
Just when Shen Nianjing thought he could finally send his customer on his way, that tormenting voice struck again-
“These bracelets are quite cheap. Help me pick two more?”
Shen Nianjing: “………..”
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