I'm Here, Don't Be Afraid

Su Yang had intended to test the system on purpose, but it didn’t take the bait, still insisting it was just a dream.

"Well, guess it really was a dream. Weird, though—why would I dream something like that?"

Su Yang couldn’t figure it out and didn’t bother dwelling on it. He got up, walked back to the living room to turn off the light, then returned to the bedroom.

Glancing at Pan Ning, who was fast asleep, he quietly sighed in relief before climbing into bed and drifting off into a heavy slumber.

......

Around eight in the morning, Su Yang groggily woke up.

Because of that unsettlingly realistic dream, he hadn’t slept well at all last night. He blinked his eyes open and looked to the side.

Pan Ning was already awake, lying there scrolling through her phone.

"You’re up?" Pan Ning said casually.

"Yeah. You feeling any better?" Su Yang sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"I just checked my temperature—it’s down to 38.4°C."

"That’s good, but it’s still not back to normal. You’ll need to take more medicine after eating something."

Pan Ning turned her head to look at Su Yang. "Then make me breakfast."

"No problem. What do you want?"

"I’d like some congee."

"Sure."

Pan Ning still seemed a bit weak. She studied Su Yang and asked softly, "Why do you look so out of it? Did I get you sick?"

As she spoke, she reached out and touched his forehead.

Su Yang gave a faint smile. "I’m fine. Just didn’t sleep well."

Pan Ning carefully felt his temperature before nodding. "Yeah, no fever. So why the bad sleep?"

"Ugh, don’t even ask. Last night, I had this dream..."

"Oh, right! You never told me what it was about. Must’ve been awful if it kept you up."

Su Yang thought for a moment before speaking. "I dreamed you were killed... Well, no—more like pushed off a building."

Pan Ning’s eyes widened, her face frozen in shock. "What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Last night, I set an alarm for three, thinking I’d check if you needed more fever meds. After setting it, I went to sleep like normal. When the alarm went off, I woke up and saw you weren’t in bed. At first, I figured you’d gone to the bathroom, but when I called out and you didn’t answer, I got up to look for you."

Su Yang glanced at Pan Ning before continuing. "You weren’t in the bathroom, so I thought maybe you’d gone to the living room for water. But when I walked in there, you know what I saw?"

Pan Ning swallowed hard. "What?"

"I saw you and another woman arguing on the balcony."

"What?!" Pan Ning’s skin prickled with goosebumps.

Su Yang reached out and rubbed her arm. "Don’t just get goosebumps—I was completely stunned when I saw it last night. I instinctively hid by the wall to watch. After you two argued for a bit, it stopped, and I thought, ‘Why am I hiding? This is my damn house!’ Just as I was about to step out and call to you, then..."

"Then... what?" Pan Ning asked nervously.

"Then that woman picked you up and threw you off the balcony. I was in total shock. But I snapped out of it fast—I yelled and was about to charge at her to beat the hell out of her... and then I woke up. The rest you know."

Pan Ning stared at Su Yang, deep in thought. "Why was it a woman?"

"No idea. And she was about your height. It was dark, and the balcony glass was reflecting light, so I couldn’t see her face clearly. But her figure was great—better than yours."

Pan Ning had been listening intently until Su Yang threw in that last remark.

She rolled her eyes. "Why would she push me off?"

"How should I know? I didn’t hear what you were arguing about. All I know is she pushed you, which is why I said this dream was scarier than being chased by ghosts."

He took a sip of water from the nightstand before adding, "It felt so real. When the alarm woke me up, it was exactly like those times I’d get up late to watch soccer. Dreams don’t usually feel that vivid."

"But if it wasn’t a dream, I’d already be dead at the bottom of the building," Pan Ning said flatly.

"Ugh, don’t say that! It was just a dream. I’m just saying how real it felt—way too real."

"Still..." Su Yang looked into Pan Ning’s eyes. "Do you have any female friends who are about your height, with a curvy figure but not overweight? Someone with a similar build to you?"

Pan Ning thought for a moment. "No."

Then she quickly added, "No friends like that. But if we’re talking about someone I know... then it’d have to be..."

"Who?" Su Yang leaned in, curious.

"Meng Qianyu—Meng Wenzhou’s younger sister. My cousin." Pan Ning looked at Su Yang as she spoke.

Su Yang froze, frowning. "Meng Qianyu? Wait, wait—my brain’s about to explode. Why would Meng Qianyu want to hurt you?"

Pan Ning rolled her eyes again. "It’s your dream. How would I know?"

"No, I feel like there’s something off about this dream. Like it’s some kind of omen. Wenzhou’s been telling me his sister’s coming back to the country soon. The name ‘Meng Qianyu’ has popped up a lot for me lately, and now the person in my dream looks just like her. What the hell?"

"She’s about to return, I have this dream, you... me... her..."

Pan Ning tilted her head. "What are you even saying?"

"Oh—what kind of hairstyle does Meng Qianyu usually have?" Su Yang suddenly asked.

Pan Ning thought again. "I don’t know now, but she used to always wear a ponytail."

"Holy—it’s her!!" Su Yang’s skin crawled.

"It’s your cousin—Meng Qianyu!"

"Why do you say that?" Pan Ning stared at him.

"Because the woman last night had a ponytail..."

"...Stop scaring me!" Pan Ning scooted closer to Su Yang.

"I’m not trying to scare you. The clearest thing I saw last night was her standing sideways with that obvious ponytail."

Pan Ning fell silent.

Su Yang swallowed hard before asking, "But are you sure Meng Qianyu has that kind of figure—curvy and all?"

"Pretty much. Same height as me, similar build."

"But... you’ve never even seen her. How could the person in your dream match her so perfectly?"

"That’s exactly why I said this dream is weird! I don’t know what she looks like, let alone details like her height, figure, or hairstyle!"

"It makes no sense. Sure, dreams sometimes have random people you’ve never met, but if it’s Meng Qianyu, that’s way too specific."

The two stared at each other in silence.

Su Yang checked the time on his phone. "Whatever. Let’s drop it for now. I’ll go make breakfast."

"Wait..." Pan Ning grabbed his hand.

"What’s wrong?"

"I’m kind of scared..."

"What are you afraid of? We were just analyzing the dream earlier. With me here, there’s nothing to fear!"

Su Yang leaned in and couldn’t resist planting a kiss on Pan Ning’s cheek.

"Be good, lie down and rest. I’ll go make breakfast."

"Don’t close the bedroom door, okay?"

"I won’t."

With a smile, Su Yang got up, slipped on his slippers, and headed toward the living room.