As soon as he stepped into the room, Xiao Cheng felt a sliver of his nearly lost rationality return.
It was a very ordinary little house, just that it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, covered in a layer of dust.
Though he couldn’t smell anything in the dream, Xiao Cheng could sense that the atmosphere inside and outside were like two different worlds—it should have felt warm and cozy here.
“Xia, I’m back from buying groceries,” the girl said again.
As soon as she finished speaking, Qi Xia’s figure emerged from the innermost room. He scratched the back of his head, his expression dazed.
“An…?” Qi Xia called softly, “What’s happening to me…?”
Seeing Qi Xia appear in person, Xiao Cheng hurried forward: “Hey! Brother Qi, can you hear me?”
But it was clear Qi Xia couldn’t hear Xiao Cheng at all—he just stared straight at the girl in white before him.
“Brother Qi!”
Xiao Cheng reached out to tug at Qi Xia, but the seemingly soft fabric of his clothes felt as hard as steel, completely unyielding no matter how much Xiao Cheng pulled.
“Brother Qi, your world is sick!” Xiao Cheng shouted even louder. “You have to find a way to hold on to your heart!”
Yet his loud voice didn’t even create an echo in the room.
“Xia, you look exhausted. What’s wrong?” the girl in white asked.
“I… I don’t know…” Qi Xia scratched his hair hard, as if trying to recall what had happened.
But his expression made it obvious—he was already being affected. He was on the verge of accepting his own dream.
“It’s okay, Xia,” the girl in white chuckled lightly. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I bought groceries today—I’ll cook something for you.”
“Oh…” Qi Xia nodded absentmindedly.
The girl in white picked up two plastic bags, flashing an unnervingly sweet smile before asking, “Xia, I bought two kinds of vegetables. Guess what I’m making today?”
Qi Xia froze for a moment, thinking for a few seconds before answering, “Bean sprouts… and braised eggplant?”
“Huh?” The girl’s mouth fell open in surprise. “How did you guess?”
She placed the plastic bags on the kitchen counter and opened them to show him.
“I only bought two things today—bean sprouts and eggplant. I didn’t expect you to guess it right away.”
“I…” Qi Xia smiled sheepishly. “I just took a random guess…”
Seeing the contents of the bags, Xiao Cheng’s jaw slowly dropped. “Bro… Brother Qi… wait…”
Still hearing nothing, Qi Xia took a step forward and wrapped his arms around the girl from behind, murmuring, “You’ve worked hard.”
“I’m not tired. Just wait—I’ll cook for you right away.”
Xiao Cheng turned his gaze to the kitchen counter, a chill running down his spine.
The bag labeled “bean sprouts” was filled with squirming, writhing earthworms, while the one labeled “eggplant” contained a bloody, freshly harvested heart.
“Brother Qi… can’t you see…?” Xiao Cheng’s lips trembled as he asked. “What’s wrong with you?”
Xiao Cheng’s mind raced. Qi Xia’s dream was presenting him with a situation he’d never encountered before.
Normally, people having nightmares knew they were in one—they’d panic, fear, and try to escape until they woke up in a cold sweat. But Qi Xia was different.
His dream was already full of holes—the world outside the window was in chaos, and even his immediate surroundings were filled with bizarre anomalies. Yet in his eyes, everything seemed normal.
This wasn’t like dreaming. It was more like he was hypnotizing himself.
The girl in white dumped the bag of earthworms into a colander, then turned on the faucet. Thick, black blood gushed out, drenching the squirming creatures inside.
While that was happening, she walked over to the counter, picked up the heart, and with swift, practiced motions, chopped it into uneven chunks. Her pale fingers were soon stained red.
Xiao Cheng covered his mouth several times, forcing himself not to gag.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia turned blankly and walked to the sofa, sitting down.
It was only then that Xiao Cheng noticed something odd about the room—despite being a space for two people, there was only a single armchair and a small dining table in the living room.
In theory, the two of them wouldn’t be able to sit and eat together.
“Brother Qi…”
Xiao Cheng followed Qi Xia into the living room, desperately trying to get his attention.
“Can you hear me?!”
He waved his hands frantically in front of Qi Xia’s face, but Qi Xia just lowered his head, lost in thought, completely oblivious.
“This is just a dream!” Xiao Cheng shouted. “We’re both trapped in a dream!”
Qi Xia sat quietly for a while, then stood up and slowly walked to the window, gazing outside.
Xiao Cheng followed his line of sight and realized he seemed to be staring at the “sun” in the sky.
At that moment, the colossal pupil in the heavens turned slightly, locking eyes with Qi Xia.
“The sun today… is so beautiful.”
“Brother Qi!”
Xiao Cheng was at a complete loss now. If Qi Xia couldn’t see, hear, or feel him at all, how was he supposed to rebuild his psychological defenses?
As the master of this dream, Qi Xia seemed to have lost all control over it. What kind of bizarre situation was this?
Qi Xia remained oblivious to Xiao Cheng. Instead, he looked down at the window—just as a crack visibly appeared in the glass.
Both Xiao Cheng and Qi Xia noticed the crack at the same time, their expressions turning strange.
Qi Xia ran a finger slowly over the fissure, murmuring, “Weird…”
“Could this be the ’cause’…?” Xiao Cheng’s eyes widened as he stared at the crack, but he quickly dismissed the thought.
Was this crack really caused by “entering the dream”?
He couldn’t even smooth out the wrinkles in Qi Xia’s clothes—so how could someone leave a crack in this window?
“An…” Qi Xia called softly.
“Yeah?” The girl’s voice rose from the kitchen. “Xia, did you say something?”
“Our window is broken…” Qi Xia muttered.
“Window…?”
The girl in white walked out, wearing an apron. As she moved, she wiped her hands on it, leaving behind two bright red handprints.
“Huh…?” She examined the window and confirmed the crack.
“How did this happen?” Qi Xia asked.
“No idea…” The girl shook her head with a smile.
“Was it a bird?” Qi Xia blinked, his expression still vacant. “But I didn’t see any birds just now…”
“Maybe someone’s playing a prank?”
The girl in white covered her mouth with a light chuckle, then slowly turned her head, fixing Xiao Cheng with a sweet, knowing smile.
“Don’t you think so?”
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