Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“This doesn’t seem right…” Xu Weilai thought.
She held her two shopping bags in one hand and waved her free in front of Zuo An’s eyes as she asked, “Boss, was I really spot on? You sleepwalked here and you’re still in your dreams, aren’t you? Ouch…”
Zuo An seemed to have noticed her injured palms and he quickly regained his clarity. All of a sudden, he grabbed her hand and stared at her wounds fervently before he asked in a deep voice, “Weilai, why is your hand injured?”
“So you’re awake,” Xu Weilai teased. Stunned by his sudden move, she couldn’t help but pout her lips but her brows quickly knitted into a frown and she said, “Boss, could you let go of my hand first? It hurts.”
Zuo An immediately released his grip and seemed rather apologetic as he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t notice that I was exerting too much force.”
Xu Weilai shook her head and replied, “It’s alright, you’re just anxious. But what’s wrong with you? Why are you standing here so early in the morning and looking so distracted?”
Zuo An lowered his jet black eyes and, with his gaze still fixed on her injured hand, replied hoarsely, “I had a nightmare. I dreamt that you…were injured. For a moment, I couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality. When I woke up, I realised that I was standing here and then I heard your voice.”
He then paused for a moment before he resumed darkly, “To think that you would really be injured…”
“A nightmare?” Xu Weilai mused.
“That’s right, he had nightmares. He had called out for his mother in his dreams when he was previously down with fever,” she recalled.
“So he couldn’t stop himself from coming all the way here because he was worried that I would be injured,” she thought.
Xu Weilai looked at Zuo An. He had always been elegant and gentle, but at the present moment, his hair was tousled and even the shirt seemed to have been put on in a hurry, for all the buttons were done up wrong. Perhaps because he was anxious and worried, his eyebrows were knitted into a tight frown and his forehead was still coated with a thin layer of sweat.
Other than the previous time when he had met with an accident on the mountain, she had never seen him in such a sorry and unsightly state.
“Did he just forgo his image because of me?” she wondered.
Xu Weilai’s heart softened. Unwilling to cause him further worry, she pretended to be fine and assured, “It’s nothing serious. It’s just a slight graze. It’s not a big deal. I’ll head upstairs and apply some medicine. Don’t worry.”
“The nightmare is just a dream and it doesn’t affect anything when you wake up. Big Boss, you should loosen up.”
Zuo An gazed at her calmly as he listened to her speak. Every word seemed to be charmed by magic, for they gradually allayed his fears and anxiety.
Last time, she was the one who had dragged him out of his nightmare. This time, it was still her.
“How could she be so incredibly strong when she’s so petite and thin? I could always feel at ease and be myself when I’m with her,” he thought.
“Sure, you could call the shots,” Zuo An agreed and beamed at her before he added, “I’ll do whatever you say.”
Xu Weilai nodded and appeared consoled by how quick he was to pick things up. “You should hurry back now and catch up on your sleep,” she instructed.
However, Zuo An shook his head without hesitation and objected, “I’m not going back now.”
“…” Xu Weilai remained silent for a second before she asked, “Are you going to continue to stand here in a daze? Or…are you actually afraid of sleeping alone?”
Zuo An gazed at her intently and a glint flashed across his eyes before he probed, “Will you sleep with me just like the previous time if I say yes?”