Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
An Xiaoning put her phone down, put on her slippers, and entered the bathroom.
She then took a clean shower.
She dried her hair with a towel instead of the hairdryer before combing it.
She then changed into a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts, both of which were red in color, and headed downstairs with her mobile phone.
After grinding up some coffee beans and making herself a cup of coffee, she sat on the couch and sipped on it quietly.
The scenario of her dream flashed through her mind.
It felt unusually real, and she could feel every inch of the pain immensely.
She did not wish to experience such a horrible feeling again.
Ever since she began dreaming about her previous lifetime, she had been having dreams about it every so often; sometimes once in a few days, other times, once in a few months. She had never pondered over what it meant to periodically dream of glimpses of her previous lifetime. However, An Xiaoning soon began to think that things were not as simple as they seemed, now that she thought about it carefully.
Will I continue to dream about my previous lifetime until the story comes full circle?
An Xiaoning had no idea.
A questioned popped up in her head: Was I dreaming of the me now or the me back then?
She asked Jin Qingyan the same question after he arrived. After pondering for a few seconds, Jin Qingyan looked at her and answered, “That’s a tough question, but it’s still you, nonetheless. However, I feel like the present you was the one in the dreams you’ve had recently because you’re no longer just a bystander who’s watching the scenes play out. Rather, you felt every bit of it.”
“In that case, do you think… my actions will change the way history plays out when I dream again?”
Jin Qingyan chuckled and said, “Are you a fool? That happened centuries ago. Things have long been set in stone. Nothing you say or do in your dream is going to change anything. I think you’ll only be wasting your efforts if you meticulously plan to change anything in your dream.”
“Help me analyze something that I can’t seem to wrap my head around. Why am I able to speak in my dreams now and why do they last so long? The thing is, why am I no longer recollecting the memories of our previous lifetime from a third-person perspective? Why am I getting a firsthand experience instead?”
“I think it’s more of an experience that your soul has been through before, rather than a recollection from the past. I think that deep down, you actually want to resolve the mysteries in your heart about our previous lives. You want to find out what we were like in our previous lifetime and you want to communicate with the people in your dream. You want to uncover the truth that has been hidden after so many years. Even though you said that it was tough and torturous in the dream and that you objectively refuse to stay inside, you’re merely deceived by your consciousness, Xiaoning.”
“You mean, deep down, I do want to find out everything about our previous lifetime?”
Jin Qingyan nodded and said, “That’s the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with. Everything originates from your desires. These are all matters of the past that have been washed away with time. After all, we can’t actually transcend time, like those stories in novels.”
“Perhaps I’m going to dream about a different scene next time, but I still want to know what happened after I recovered from my injuries in the dream.”
“You’re hinting to your subconscious that you want to see how the story develops. Perhaps you’ll dream of the aftermath next. I’m not sure if I’m right about it, though. You’ll know the next time you enter dreamland.”
An Xiaoning smiled and held his hand while saying, “Souls would have to drink some Mengpo’s soup before reincarnating in order to forget the memories of the past. Do you think we’re extraordinary?”
“What are you dwelling on it for?” said Jin Qingyan, who appeared rather listless, seemingly having had a poor night’s sleep.
“Did you suffer from insomnia again last night? Did you feel those strange aches again?” she asked worriedly.
“Yes… it’s really strange actually. I rarely get insomnia when you’re around to accompany me at night,” said Jin Qingyan, rubbing his temples.
An Xiaoning leaned closer toward him and said, “Just say so if you want me to accompany you.”
He smiled and said in a gentle voice, “Sleep with me tonight.”
The tenderness of his voice melted her heart.
An Xiaoning scanned her surroundings and inched forward to kiss him after discovering that there was no one else around. They held each other’s gaze, and he pressed his hand against the back of her head to kiss her deeply just as she let go of him.
—
Mo Li thought that the wedding invitation was sent to the wrong person the moment she received it.
However, the courier confirmed that she was the intended recipient.
She opened the envelope to see Ye Xiaotian’s name printed on the red-colored invitation.
She looked below to see that the bride’s name was an unfamiliar one — Qiao Yina.
Mo Li tried to recall the name but realized that she had never heard of it before.
The invitation stated that the wedding was to be held tomorrow.
She noticed that her “boyfriend” was invited too.
The handwriting on the wedding invitation belonged to Ye Xiaotian.
Ye Xiaotian’s purpose for inviting her and her boyfriend was to tell the world, “Look, I’m getting married, but she has a boyfriend too.”
Was that what his intentions were?
Mo Li sat on the couch and placed the invitation on the table.
By getting married before me, is he trying to tell me that he has also let go of the past?
Should I attend the wedding or not?
If I don’t, it’ll seem like I don’t have the guts to show up. If I do… but I really don’t want to attend it.
Besides, I’d have to trouble No. 8 if I decide to attend.
Mo Li and No. 8 had never contacted each other again, ever since he came by to thank her for giving him the shirt.
It had been a long while since she had seen him.
At this moment, she decided to seek the opinion of her friends.
She first called Long Tianze, who sneered, “Who does he think he is? How dare he have the cheek to invite you to his wedding after hurting you so deeply? He’s just like Song Yan and Ciye. Song Yan invited Ciye to her wedding, which he did attend. Afterward, he purposely invited her to his too when it was his turn to get married.”
“Tianze, do you think I should attend the wedding?”
“No, don’t give him the honor of having you as one of his guests.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Yangyang snatched the phone away and said, “Mo Li, I think you should turn up for the wedding. He’s doing this on purpose just to put you in a spot. He must be thinking that you won’t attend it. Actually, he’ll be thrilled either way. If you bring your boyfriend along, he’ll benefit from it since the media won’t castigate him. If you don’t, he’ll think that you’re a coward who’s too timid to bring your boyfriend along. In that case, you should just be the bigger person and attend the wedding. Hey, but did you get a boyfriend recently? Who is he?”
“I didn’t. I just got Xiaoning’s bodyguard to pose as my boyfriend when Ye Xiaotian was blocking me from entering my house that night.”
“Oh, I see. Just get him to pose as your boyfriend again, then. You mustn’t let Ye Xiaotian belittle you. That was what happened with Mr. Ling and Song Yan previously. They invited each other to their respective weddings. When you get married again in the future, you must invite him too. There’s no harm in attending the wedding. It’ll just prove that you’ve completely gotten over him, lest the media spreads rumors again. Isn’t this great? Both of you can live your own lives separately from now on,” said Mei Yangyang.
