The institute erupted into chaos as the fire continued to rage, with the uncertainty of another blast looming. Frantic guards scrambled to evacuate the crowd, pulling them out of the building.

    Zhao Lan and her friends were among those yanked out by the guards in a state of panic. They sprinted alongside the main force, a massive swarm of people fleeing in disorder. Then they spotted her: Director Qu, pale and unconscious, being carried by several people.

    “What’s wrong with Director Qu?” Zhao Lan snatched a passerby and demanded.

    “Director Qu took a massive hit. Her heart attack flared up again!”

    The six of them exchanged gleeful looks. They hoped this nightmare would end soon.

    Most of the institute staff managed to escape and squeezed into various vehicles, preparing to retreat. Amidst the panicked crowd in the vehicles, some couldn’t resist asking: “What on earth happened? Why did the lab explode?”

    This led them to look at the final group of individuals who exited the lab.

    A few people identified Zhao Lan and the others and called out from two vehicles in the distance: “Weren’t you inside the lab earlier? What’s happening?”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen had a knack for shifting the blame and framing others. She instantly yelled back: “The lab was in order when we departed. Everyone can confirm that. Shen Chuan was the last to leave!”

    “Indeed!” Another person added. “Director Shen instructed us to leave. He assured us that he could finish the task on his own once we returned to rest.”

    Subsequently, those who departed later recalled the emotional distress and shock they experienced when Director Shen berated them upon their departure. The typically kind Deputy Director Shen referred to them all as worthless.

    Someone said, “I think this has something to do with Deputy Director Shen. You saw it too. Director Shen wasn’t himself today.”

    “Yeah, did something trigger Deputy Director Shen?”

    “I know! I know!” a fat man bellowed from a truck farther away, “I saw it! —”

    “— I walked past Director Qu’s office today and heard some strange noises inside, almost like a fight. Shortly after, Deputy Director Shen stormed out of Director Qu’s office looking terrible, with dishevelled hair and clothes. Even after he left, I could still hear Director Qu sobbing in the office. Director Qu is usually very open, and I have never seen her cry before.

    Most of the people there were scientists and researchers with good intelligence and imagination. As soon as these words were spoken, they sparked everyone’s imagination.

    Panic gave way to gossip as their faces lit up with excitement. This was bloody brilliant, wasn’t it?

    The scene in the office was perfect for speculation: a man and a woman, alone and unsupervised, making dubious noises. His clothes were dishevelled, her sobs were heart-wrenching…

    There’s nothing like a bit of gossip to ease the shock of a lab explosion. The whole place was abuzz with rumours in no time. It began with a hint of something suspicious between the two directors, then escalated to Deputy Director Shen’s unreciprocated love and bitter resentment, and finally culminated in his desperate mistake.

    Some people weren’t convinced, though. “Come on, we’ve worked with Deputy Director Shen for ages. You know what he’s like. He’s not the type to have any worldly desires. I don’t believe he would do such a thing.”

    “Then how do you explain this?”

    “Why don’t you explain it, then…”

    **

    Meanwhile, in the research institute, some people fled, some people fought the fire, and Yu Xiao was left alone for a while.

    She waited in the warehouse for Dr. Qu to wake up and end this nightmare. She longed to return to the ward, enjoy a decent meal, and get some sleep. Starving, she hadn’t eaten anything since being locked up here. She regretted not taking a bite of the food Shen Chuan had brought earlier.

    She was so hungry that she decided to look for food and eat some of it. It was cold, but she didn’t care; she just needed something to fill her stomach.

    Where had she put the lunchbox?

    The warehouse was pitch-black, and Yu Xiao could barely see anything. She groped her way around, following her memory.

    She crouched and felt around until she caught a whiff of something strange, something burnt.

    Had the fire reached here? Yu Xiao wondered and took a step back, only to bump into something behind her.

    Yu Xiao gasped and jumped to her feet. A cold hand snaked around her neck from behind. Yu Xiao tried to move away but hit a solid chest.

    The smell of burning surrounded her, and she knew instinctively who was behind her.

    “Shen Chuan… ugh.”

    The hand on her neck tightened, and Yu Xiao was left voiceless. She tried to resist, but the grip only increased, forcing her to cease her struggle.

    The person behind her remained silent and motionless.

    Yu Xiao stood there, pressed against him, feeling frozen in place for what seemed like an eternity. He gave no indication of life, causing her to grow restless. She wanted to say something, anything. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    A faint pop by her ear made her pause, as something wet landed on her shoulder.

    Yu Xiao reached up to touch it, but found nothing there, just a damp spot.

    Damp?

    Was he crying?!

    The thought terrified her. Could Nightmare cry too? What on earth was he crying for?

    She wanted to look behind her, but before she could, the hand around her neck slid down and held her shoulder, trapping her in place. Another hand came up and covered her eyes gently.

    “You were different from them.” Shen Chuan’s voice was barely audible, and she wouldn’t have heard him if the warehouse wasn’t so quiet.

    “I died in that room every time, in countless cycles. Sometimes they hacked me to death, sometimes they boiled me in a pot… You were the first person to save me.”

    He rested his chin on her left shoulder, sounding sad. “You were different, but I was wrong. You want to kill me too. You’re no different from them.”

    Yu Xiao’s throat tightened, and she said, “Actually, I don’t really want to kill you. How about this – let’s forget about all this unpleasantness, since I saved you once. I’ll leave soon, and you’ll never see me again… Ouch! Stop pinching me, it’s bloody painful.”

    “I’ve figured it out.”

    “Really?” Yu Xiao said eagerly, “That’s good, that’s good.”

    Shen Chuan said, “You’re not that good, but I still want to keep you.”

    She didn’t know how to respond to that. There were too many things wrong with that sentence.

    “You…” She chose to focus on the latter part, “What if I don’t want to stay?”

    His chin brushed against her shoulder, his mouth close to her ear. “If you die, you’ll have to stay forever.”

    The words were gentle, but they sent a chill down Yu Xiao’s spine.

    She scrambled for a way out, and blurted, “You can’t keep me here, even if you kill me. Don’t you know who I am? I’m the director of St. Elizabeth. I have a job to do, even in death.”

    Shen Chuan paused behind her, as if puzzled by her logic. He pondered for a moment and said, “Fine. I won’t kill you.”

    Yu Xiao let out a sigh of relief and said, “But I still can’t remain here, even if I’m alive.”

    “You will stay here,” Shen Chuan said with certainty. “All I have to do is kill Dr. Qu before she wakes up. Then she’ll be trapped in the dream cycle forever, and you’ll return to me.”

    Damn it! Yu Xiao cursed inwardly.

    “You’re insane!” she snapped, losing her patience. She pulled out a talisman and slapped it on Shen Chuan’s body.

    But nothing happened. The talisman was useless.

    “Forever trapped in the cycle, never to escape,” Shen Chuan said. “I’m a nightmare. Talismans have no power over me.”

    Yu Xiao was speechless. She had a thousand insults in her mind, but she couldn’t voice them. She wished she could go back and punch Dr. Fan Xing in the face. That bastard Fan Xing had put her in this mess!

    She regretted being nice to the attending doctor. The attending doctor was a jerk. If you were rude to him, he’d screw you over. If you were nice to him, he’d screw you over even more!

    “Do you think you can treat me however you like? You have no clue what I’ve done to the ghosts who wronged me,” Yu Xiao attempted to sound tough.

    Shen Chuan disregarded her threats and asked, in a curious tone, “Nightmare can manipulate fearful dreams. Everyone harbours fears within. What is your fear?”

    As he spoke, his hand moved downwards and touched Yu Xiao’s chest.

    Yu Xiao gasped. “What are you doing?”

    Shen Chuan’s hand was resting on Yu Xiao’s chest. He pushed slightly, and his hand passed through Yu Xiao’s body.

    Yu Xiao’s mind went blank for a moment. She could feel it. Shen Chuan’s hand was inside her body, touching her beating heart.

    “Let me see what you fear…”

    Yu Xiao closed her eyes and slowly drifted into sleep in Shen Chuan’s arms.

    **

    The corridor smelled of bleach and disinfectant as slightly younger Yu Xiao tiptoed on the slick floor, her heart pounding in her chest. She reached the office door and pushed it open.

    A bald man in a white coat was sitting at a desk, his face grim. He looked up and saw her.

    “Yu Xiao, right?” He glanced over her shoulder. “Where are your parents? I told you to bring them along.”

    “They split up when I was little. They don’t give a damn about me,” Yu Xiao replied as she took a seat across from him. “You can just tell me what’s wrong.”

    The man frowned and sighed. “Don’t you have a friend who can support you?”

    “I don’t have many friends,” Yu Xiao said. “Actually, I don’t have any.”

    The man hesitated, and Yu Xiao cut to the chase. “How bad is it?”

    He cleared his throat and said, “We found a tumour in your brain, and… we think it’s cancerous.”

    Yu Xiao felt a cold sweat on her forehead. She forced herself to stay calm and asked, “But cancer can be treated, right? I’m young, so I have a better chance of survival, don’t I?”

    He shook his head and pulled out a paper with a brain scan. He pointed at a dark spot. “The issue is not the cancer itself, but… see this? Your tumour is in a very challenging location. The surgery is too risky, almost impossible. We can only attempt conservative treatment.”

    “And how likely is that to be successful?”

    He didn’t respond; he just looked at her with pity.

    ─── ? ── ☆ ── ? ───

    (Her nightmare is her past reality, when she was sick with no hope and no friends. Now she not only has hope but, most importantly, two good friends!)