LFIA -Chapter 2

“Since it was so hard for us to get out this time, why don’t we meet up again tomorrow?” Chen Yi pleaded. “Once my girlfriend comes to find me, we won’t be able to meet anymore. If you don’t want to, then forget it!”

After all, the fact that she had managed to get in touch with her senior sister was already a gain for her.

Du Qing hesitated for a moment before saying, “All right. Let’s meet again tomorrow and go to City B for some fun! I heard there’s supposed to be a meteor shower there tomorrow night. Let’s go watch it!”

Whether he went alone or went with Chen Yi, he was going anyway. At least going with someone would make his parents feel a little more at ease.

“Really?” Chen Yi said happily, her big eyes sparkling. “If I liked boys, I’d definitely fall for you.”

He might look rather inconspicuous, but there was a gentle aura around him that made spending time beside him a pleasant experience.

“This is my home phone number. You can call me and find me then.” Chen Yi borrowed a pen from the cashier, wrote her family’s number on a sticky note, then kissed the note and smiled. “Remember to call me, okay?”

Then she glanced at the bodyguard who had been secretly following her.

How annoying. Wherever she went, he followed.

Chen Yi narrowed her eyes in discomfort before looking at Du Qing. Suddenly, she moved closer to him. From behind, it looked as though she were hugging him.

“Don’t move. There’s a strand of hair here.”

She maintained that position for several seconds before patting her hands together.

“All right, I got the hair off. I’ll head back first, then. Remember to call me!”

That evening, at the Du family dinner table.

“What do you think of Aunt Chen’s daughter? Do you two get along?” Du Qing’s mother asked with concern as she put food into her son’s bowl.

Looking at the nervousness hidden beneath his mother’s concern, Du Qing mumbled indistinctly, “Mm-hmm. She’s pretty nice. We’re planning to go to City B to watch the meteor shower.”

“Good job! Just as expected of my son. You really take after me when I was young. Back when I was pursuing your mother… Ah!”

Du Qing’s father eagerly began preparing to give his son some advice.

“Eat your food. Can’t all those dishes keep your mouth shut?” Du Qing’s mother pressed down hard with her foot.

Du Qing’s father immediately fell silent. He didn’t dare say another word and frantically winked at his son.

Du Qing silently continued eating.

Deep down, he was envious of and yearned for a love like his parents had—a relationship where they could bicker and make noise together for an entire lifetime.

Besides, his father had already told the story of how he pursued his mother countless times. Du Qing had heard it ever since he was little and could practically recite the whole thing backward by now!

After successfully putting her husband in his place, Du Qing’s mother continued showing concern for her son.

“When you take a girl out, whether it’s food, drinks, or entertainment, you have to take the initiative to pay the bill, understand?”

Such a reminder was entirely because Du Qing had brought it upon himself.

During his previous blind dates, he had discovered that this method worked extremely well. As long as he suggested splitting the bill fifty-fifty at the blind-date dinner, the woman would basically never want a second meeting.

Du Qing nodded guiltily.

After dinner, he washed the dishes and then made an excuse to return to his room.

He lay down on his large bed, and before long, he drifted into a hazy sleep.

He dreamed about that apocalyptic world again.

When he had finished dinner earlier, it had only been six o’clock and it was still early. But now that he had woken from his sleep, it was already dark outside.

The dream he had just experienced was still fresh in his mind. The sensation of hunger from the dream seemed to remain in his body.

He turned on the light and got up. Then he picked up the new phone and new SIM card he had bought when he went out during the day. After turning the phone on and setting the time, he discovered that it was already nine at night.

He had slept for three whole hours.

He walked out of his room and saw his father and mother watching a television drama.

It was one of those family-ethics dramas. Whenever the plot became particularly emotional, his mother would sob uncontrollably while his father sat beside her, responsible for handing her tissues and comforting her.

This was their way of enjoying themselves as a couple.

The corner of Du Qing’s mouth twitched.

He grabbed his clothes and went to take a shower.

It was only when he looked in the mirror that Du Qing noticed his eyes were completely red, as though he had once cried terribly.

Du Qing: “???”

What was wrong with his eyes?

Had he cried in his dream?

He only remembered having an extremely long dream.

He tried hard to recall it. After thinking about it several times, he finally realized that his dream was incomplete.

Or rather, he had forgotten part of it.

No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t remember what had happened.

However, based on what he could remember, he did manage to dig up something rather interesting.

His family heirloom jade pendant was actually a space?!

Thinking of the usual trope in novels where one recognizes ownership of a magical treasure through blood, Du Qing couldn’t wait after finishing his shower.

He found a needle and ruthlessly pricked his finger.

Then he squeezed out a drop of blood and dripped it onto the jade pendant he had dug out.

Du Qing waited expectantly for a miracle.

One minute passed.

Nothing happened to the jade pendant.

Three minutes passed.

Still nothing.

Ten minutes passed.

Du Qing placed the jade pendant on the bed.

While waiting for a miracle to happen to the pendant, he had also been eating the snacks his mother had been eating while watching her soap opera. Without realizing it, he had eaten all of them.

He was already full.

But because of the influence of the dream, that feeling of hunger—the urge to eat himself hollow—was affecting his body.

Du Qing stopped himself from reaching for more snacks and instead reached for some digestive tablets.

He couldn’t eat anymore.

If he ate too much, he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

After taking the digestive tablets, Du Qing returned and saw that the jade pendant lying on his bed was still exactly the same.

The drop of blood he had squeezed onto it was still there.

Du Qing smiled.

How could something so fantastical possibly happen to him?

Thinking this, Du Qing took a tissue and wiped the blood away.

It was filthy.

The jade pendant had been given to him by his father after he turned eighteen. His father had said it was a family heirloom passed down through their family from generation to generation.

For a while, Du Qing had even suspected that his father had bought the jade pendant from some street stall for ten yuan and was merely trying to fool him.

But when his father had handed it to him, there had been no hint of joking on his face.

He had solemnly told Du Qing to take good care of it and keep it safe, because one day it would be passed down to Du Qing’s son.

Unfortunately, Du Qing was naturally gay.

He wasn’t interested in women, so he probably wouldn’t have children in this lifetime.

Regardless of whether the dream he had was real or not, he had already decided that after watching the meteor shower, he would confess his sexual orientation to his parents.

Actually, he felt that his parents might already have noticed his little secret.

They simply hadn’t dared to confirm it.

The next day.

Du Qing woke up early in the morning.

Part of his pillow was wet.

He normally didn’t drool while sleeping.

He took out a mirror and looked at himself, only to discover that his eyes were swollen and red to an unbelievable degree…

Last night, he had simply dreamed about that dream again.

When he woke up, he could still remember that feeling of hunger.

Du Qing’s parents hadn’t gotten up yet.

Du Qing left a note explaining that he had gone out first, then dragged his small black suitcase out the door.

He had already called the Chen family the previous night and arranged to go to City B with Chen Yi today.

He hadn’t told her that they were going to watch the meteor shower.

Since even the television hadn’t reported anything about it, if he told someone about it, they might think he was an idiot.

City B was a famous tourist destination, so saying they were going sightseeing was at least a reasonable excuse.

However, because of Chen Yi, his means of transportation changed from taking the train to traveling by car.

When Du Qing arrived at the place they had agreed upon, he checked his phone.

Seeing that there was still plenty of time, he ordered a mousse chocolate cake and slowly ate it.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Chen Yi pushed open the door and walked in from outside.

There weren’t many people in the shop yet.

“It’s fine. I just got here not long ago. Want some?” Du Qing asked while looking at the cake on his spoon.

“No, thanks.”

Chen Yi pulled out a chair and sat down, covering her mouth as she yawned.

She had been thinking about her senior sister the previous night and had suffered from insomnia.

The car was already waiting outside.

Du Qing sped up his movements.

Having a private car pick them up and drop them off all the way to City B and back was something he was experiencing for the first time.

---

City B Hotel

“We finally made it. By the way, where are we going to watch the meteor shower tonight?”

“We’ll go to the skyscraper. We should be able to see it from there.”

Du Qing answered before entering the room.

They were staying at a hotel owned by the Chen family.

The Chen family’s elders were more than happy to let the two of them go out together and cultivate their relationship. They had covered all of their expenses along the way.

If this had been the old Du Qing, he might have minded such arrangements.

But now, the more money he could save, the happier he was.

“When is the meteor shower going to appear?”

Chen Yi lazily swirled the red wine in her glass.

She was sitting on the top floor of the skyscraper, looking down at the scenery below.

The view was indeed beautiful.

But after anyone stared at an unchanging view for half an hour, even the most beautiful scenery would become boring.

Du Qing didn’t say anything.

He silently handed her his new phone.

Chen Yi took the phone.

“I’m going to the bathroom.”

Without the phone to occupy his time, Du Qing focused on the situation outside the window.

There were still three minutes left before the clock on the wall reached ten o’clock.

According to his memories, that was when the meteor shower would appear.

He touched the jade pendant against his chest.

The jade pendant in his hand felt slightly warm.

He didn’t think much of it.

For some reason, before leaving home, he had inexplicably felt compelled to bring this jade pendant with him.

He had hung it around his neck.

During the final few seconds, he didn’t dare blink even once as he stared outside.

Gradually, tiny white dots appeared in the distance.

The meteors had arrived!

Du Qing excitedly stood up.

The chair was knocked over behind him, but he didn’t care in the slightest.

He blinked.

The meteor that had been far away in the sky just moments ago suddenly appeared directly before his eyes.

He wanted to dodge, but there was nowhere to escape.

All he could do was watch as a fist-sized ball of light came crashing toward him—

“Bang!”

“Crash!”

The tempered glass window was smashed apart.

Some of the shards fell to the ground, while others flew toward him.

He only had time to protect his head.

“Ah—!”

The instant the glass shattered, the people dining on the top floor began to panic.

The person in charge of the top floor also hurried over.

“Sir, are you all right?”

A security guard came over and helped Du Qing up.

The shards of glass had left quite a few cuts on his body.

The security guard quickly helped him away from the area.

Wind howled in through the broken window.

Du Qing was supported as he was led away, leaving behind a scene of utter chaos.

The stone that had smashed through the glass had also disappeared without a trace.

But after walking only a few steps away, Du Qing’s chest suddenly grew hot.

Then his vision went black.

He fainted.

The security personnel supporting him had a cold, hard face beneath his hat.

Top Floor of the Skyscraper, “Where did you take the man who came here with me?!”

Chen Yi asked furiously.

She had only gone to make a phone call, yet the man had disappeared.

“Our staff member took him to have his wounds bandaged. Please wait a moment. I’ll immediately check where they are.”

Without another word, the person in charge picked up the phone.

Inwardly, he cursed those idiots.

Hadn’t he told them to take the man to the lounge?