Sleeping During the Day and Having Nightmares, Reviving the Glory of the Du Family from a Hundred Years Ago

"Ah, ladies, you've got the wrong guy! I'm Li Yong alright, but definitely not the Li Yong you're looking for! I'm an honest man, a law-abiding citizen! This is a miscarriage of justice!"

"My father is Li Erhe!"

"You can't do this to me! You can't treat me like this..."

Outside the hallway, Li Yong was being dragged away by a swarm of bodyguards. As they hauled him off, his cries of innocence pierced through the air, loud enough for people upstairs and downstairs to hear. Even the teacher paused mid-lecture to peek out curiously, wondering what was going on.

What could Li Yong have possibly done to warrant such a brazen arrest by the student council? And why bring bodyguards? Were they afraid he'd flee from justice?

An incident like this was practically unheard of in the academy's history.

Upstairs.

Ye Cheng, who had been napping face-down, furrowed his brows at the noise. He fished two pieces of paper from his pocket, crumpled them into little balls, and stuffed them into his ears.

Instant silence. His tense expression relaxed as he shifted into a more comfortable sleeping position, muttering under his breath before drifting off again.

"Some people have no manners. Can't they see class is in session? Why scream so damn loud..."

He yawned and settled back into sleep, vaguely registering that the obnoxious voice sounded familiar.

Whatever. Sleep first.

Ye Cheng slept with the serene indifference of someone completely unbothered by Li Yong's plight.

Meanwhile.

Student Council President's Office.

The group of bodyguards hauled Li Yong to the door, where the lead girl stopped and knocked lightly.

Knock knock.

"President, we've brought him."

"Enter." Dongfang Zhixia's icy voice came from inside. Only after receiving permission did the girl gently push the door open.

Li Yong, trembling with terror, was shoved forward and dumped unceremoniously in front of Dongfang Zhixia.

"Mmph—!" His eyes were wide with fear, but his mouth was gagged, leaving him only able to whimper pitifully. He looked on the verge of tears.

The "Big Brother Yong" persona Li Yong had boasted about in front of Ye Cheng was strictly for his small circle of lackeys and hangers-on. At school, he didn’t even have a single follower—Li Erhe had warned him to keep a low profile, or else he’d be strung up and whipped at home.

That morning, after being startled awake by Ye Cheng’s unholy screeching, Li Yong had initially decided to swallow his pride. But the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, leading to the earlier confrontation—only to be roared back into submission by Ye Cheng.

In Li Yong’s mind, this was already the most humiliating form of retaliation. If this were anywhere else, he’d have had Ye Cheng tied up and beaten black and blue. But who knew the guy would be so unshakable? Not only did Ye Cheng refuse to back down, he even challenged Li Yong to a one-on-one fight.

As if Li Yong would dare. Forget the academy’s strict no-violence policy—getting caught would mean a world of pain. And just looking at Ye Cheng’s "god-tier muscle definition" was enough to make him lose his nerve.

In Li Yong’s estimation, Ye Cheng was practically a monster. If he actually tried to fight him, he might end up folded into a human origami project.

In the end, he could only slink away in humiliated rage, stewing in class while debating whether to switch dorms. With Ye Cheng’s freakish athleticism, if the guy ever came looking for him, he could probably vault down from the upper floors and break into Li Yong’s apartment easier than walking into his own place.

At least his own apartment required a key. Ye Cheng wouldn’t even need that.

So, running away was the only option, right?

But before he could even flee, he’d been captured.

Right now, though, Li Yong had no clue what he’d done wrong. He assumed Dongfang Zhixia was settling some old score, which was why his eyes brimmed with sheer terror.

At Dongfang Zhixia’s signal, one of the bodyguards removed the gag from Li Yong’s mouth.

"Do you know why you’re here?" Dongfang Zhixia asked coldly.

Li Yong stared up at her, trembling. She stood before him, arms crossed, expression unreadable, radiating an aura that sent chills down his spine.

Gulp.

He swallowed hard, scrambling for the right words. Even though it had been years since he’d been this close to Dongfang Zhixia, the trauma of that one slap from long ago still haunted him.

Now, he was shaking like a leaf, sweat beading on his forehead.

No wonder they’d dared to arrest him in broad daylight. If Dongfang Zhixia was behind it, everything made sense.

"Y-Young Mistress, I... I don’t understand what you mean..."

His voice quivered. After a long pause, he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

Dongfang Zhixia said nothing, just fixed him with that bone-chilling stare. Li Yong’s heart plummeted. He nodded frantically, afraid that hesitation would cost him.

"I know! I know!"

Then, he started slapping himself. Smack! Smack! Two sharp strikes later, he broke down sobbing.

"Young Mistress, whatever I said back then was just childish nonsense! I’ve turned over a new leaf! Li Meng is like my own sister—"

"Hm?"

Dongfang Zhixia’s frown deepened, a displeased noise escaping her lips. Thinking he hadn’t groveled enough, Li Yong hastily corrected himself.

"No, no! Li Meng is like my own mother!" He beamed up at her with desperate enthusiasm.

Dongfang Zhixia: "..."

For some reason, she had a sinking feeling that... she might have gotten the wrong guy.

Just looking at Li Yong’s spineless, instant-surrender act made it hard to believe he could’ve done anything to Ye Cheng. Frowning, she ignored Li Yong for the moment and turned to the student council girl beside her.

"Where’s the other one?"

She’d ordered both Ye Cheng and Li Yong to be brought in, but only Li Yong had shown up. Until she saw Ye Cheng with her own eyes, the unease gnawing at her wouldn’t fade.

She needed to lay eyes on that bastard.

The girl hesitated. "President, the team said they couldn’t find him..."

Dongfang Zhixia’s anxiety spiked. Her chest rose and fell sharply before she redirected all that tension onto Li Yong.

"Last chance. Where is he?" Her voice was glacial.

As far as Dongfang Zhixia was concerned, Ye Cheng should’ve been in class like everyone else. His sudden disappearance could only mean one thing—someone had interfered. And who else could it be?

Li Yong was utterly baffled. His face was a portrait of confusion—Who am I? Where am I? What’s happening?—even suspecting Dongfang Zhixia had made up an excuse just to beat him up.

But then it occurred to me—that didn’t seem right either. If Dongfang Zhixia wanted to hit him, would she even need an excuse?

"Y-young Mistress, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about. What person? I don’t know anything! I-I didn’t touch anyone under your protection! I—sob—I really didn’t… sniffle…"

Li Yong trembled as he stammered out his explanation, tears and snot streaming down his face before he finally broke down crying outright. His pitiful display left Dongfang Zhixia utterly speechless.

In Li Yong, she seemed to catch a glimpse of her little secretary’s shadow. Sure, Li Yong was a spoiled rich kid, but judging by this pathetic display, he wasn’t the worst kind of scoundrel—just a coward who burst into tears at the slightest scolding without even being hit. It was almost impressive how terrified he was.

At the same time, it was clear just how terrifying Dongfang Zhixia was in Li Yong’s mind. She probably wasn’t just "scary" at this point—more like something straight out of a nightmare.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a girl’s excited voice cut through the tension.

"President, we found him!" The girl held up her phone.

"Where?!" Dongfang Zhixia’s voice carried an urgency she hadn’t even noticed herself as she snatched the phone from the girl’s hand. The screen displayed the surveillance feed from Ye Cheng’s classroom.

The room was empty except for one person—Ye Cheng, sprawled across the very last row of desks, fast asleep. Everyone else had already left for P.E. class. The noise-canceling earbuds he’d crafted for himself worked a little too well—so well, in fact, that he hadn’t even heard the bell ring.

Given Ye Cheng’s… impressive track record, the only person in class who could tolerate him was Shen Qinghan. Not that Ye Cheng cared. If anything, it wasn’t so much that the class had ostracized him—it was more like he’d ostracized the entire class.

The consequence? The people Dongfang Zhixia had sent out couldn’t find him at first. They’d had to pull up the school’s surveillance footage to track his movements throughout the day before finally locating him.

Watching Ye Cheng snooze peacefully on the screen, Dongfang Zhixia suddenly felt all the tension from the morning melt away. A smile tugged at her lips—though behind her, a spectral figure with wild, floating hair and a matching grin seemed to materialize.

Of course… That bastard wasn’t even worth worrying about.

The girl who’d had her phone stolen peeked at her president’s expression and shuddered.

Waaah… The president’s smile is terrifying…

"Keep an eye on him. If he starts wailing, knock him out."

Dongfang Zhixia shot Li Yong a disgusted look before flipping her hair, crossing her arms, and striding out of the office with an aura that could level buildings. She was going to drag that bastard back personally!!!

Once Dongfang Zhixia was gone, Li Yong—still sniffling—rubbed his eyes and cautiously peeked into the hallway. He kept up the whimpering act just in case, but the moment he confirmed she was really gone, he instantly stopped crying.

"She’s gotten even scarier…"

Li Yong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, marveling at how much more intimidating Dongfang Zhixia had become compared to the girl who’d beaten him up years ago. Her presence alone was suffocating now.

But he wasn’t the same pushover he used to be, either. Over the years, he’d learned the art of survival. Crying? Not a big deal for a man. Better to cry now than to really have something to cry about later when the beating started.

Yes, Li Yong was a clever little schemer—just not as lucky as the secretary. If the secretary cried in front of the president, she got whatever she wanted. If he cried? The bodyguards would probably hang him up and beat him like a piñata.

The only reason he hadn’t been thrashed today was because Dongfang Zhixia had been too busy hunting down Ye Cheng. She didn’t have time to deal with him. Not that she’d ever pity someone like Li Yong—to her, his tears were just proof of his spinelessness.

The only reason he hadn’t been strung up and beaten was because the president had a far more "despicable" bastard to deal with first—one who’d played with her emotions.

After worrying all morning… he was sleeping in class?!

Oh, he was so dead.

---

Classroom.

Completely unaware of the impending doom, Ye Cheng continued snoozing blissfully at the very back of the classroom, his face the picture of contentment.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Light, rapid footsteps echoed through the empty room before stopping right in front of him.

Dongfang Zhixia stared down at Ye Cheng, her expression icy. But inwardly, the weight that had been pressing on her chest all morning finally lifted. That just left one question: Why the hell had this idiot pretended to jump off a building earlier?!

As if sensing the murderous intent, Ye Cheng’s eyes snapped open mid-dream. His homemade noise-canceling earbuds had left his ears ringing, muffling all sound. Groggily, he lifted his head and glanced around.

Where… was everyone?

The classroom was deserted—except for one person. He squinted.

Huh?

The president?!

Ye Cheng blinked several times, half-convinced he was hallucinating. After rubbing his eyes, he reached out and pinched Dongfang Zhixia’s arm.

"No pain!" he declared triumphantly.

Thank goodness—it was just a dream! But why was he having nightmares in broad daylight? Maybe sleeping during the day was the problem.

Yeah, that had to be it. No more naps. At least it was just a false alarm. Phew. Might as well go back to sleep.

Satisfied with his conclusion, Ye Cheng flopped back onto the desk, leaving Dongfang Zhixia standing there in stunned silence. She looked down at her arm—specifically, the faint red mark where he’d pinched her.

Slowly, she raised her hand high into the air, gathering momentum—

WHACK!

"AAAAAAAH—!!!"

---

Great Sea City, Shen Family Mansion.

"Qinghan, are you really not going to school today?" Du Wanyi blinked, her voice laced with shock and disbelief.

This behavior was completely out of character for her daughter. Could it be…? Had the Du family bloodline finally awakened in her?!

Du Wanyi’s eyes sparkled with excitement. "Qinghan, you’ve finally seen the light! Come on, let’s go shoot some guns! What’s the point of studying when you can have real fun? With mother and daughter working together, we’ll restore the Du family’s former glory!"

Shen Qinghan silently closed her book, rolled it into a makeshift baton, and—

BONK!

—smacked it straight onto Du Wanyi’s head with a crisp, satisfying thunk. Then, with practiced ease, she tossed her mother out of the room.

The entire motion was seamless.

By the time Du Wanyi realized what had happened, she had already been thrown out. The world fell silent around her, while inside, Shen Qinghan remained unperturbed, calmly continuing to read his book.

Du Wanyi: "..."