Luo Xiyun's Dilemma

"Happy... cooperation."

Dai Zixin was somewhat speechless at how quickly Chen Xu had changed his attitude. But when she thought about how his participation would surely make her follower count soar, she immediately became excited and suggested, "Let's do another livestream tomorrow at noon."

Chen Xu thought for a moment and said, "No. If we livestream too often, it won't be worth as much. Scarcity marketing, get it? We need to keep up our image and whet the fans' appetites so we can rake in more gifts."

Dai Zixin felt a little disappointed when she heard that. She cared more about the number of followers; gifts were secondary. Still, she could only defer to him on this matter, so she asked, "Then when will the next livestream be?"

After considering it, Chen Xu said, "Twice a week seems about right. Let's set the next one for Thursday, and then one over the weekend. We can decide the exact times later."

Dai Zixin thought that was fine and agreed. "All right."

After discussing their collaboration, both of them were in rather good moods.

"Huh? Director?"

The two were discussing what they should perform during the next livestream when Dai Zixin, who was seated facing the entrance, suddenly cried out.

Luo Xiyun was here? Chen Xu wondered why it was such a coincidence. He turned around and looked several times, but saw no sign of Luo Xiyun. "Where is she?"

"I clearly saw her just now. How did she disappear so suddenly?"

Dai Zixin was puzzled. "Did I see wrong?"

"You must have mistaken someone else for her." Chen Xu did not pay it much attention and continued their discussion. "Where were we just now..."

"What's wrong?"

Liu Yumeng was pulled out of the restaurant entrance by Luo Xiyun and looked at her in confusion.

"I don't like this place." Luo Xiyun threw out those words, released her hand, and got into the car.

Liu Yumeng followed her into the driver's seat and said, "Then how about we go to that place from last time?"

"Mm." Luo Xiyun responded, resting her cheek on one hand as she looked out the window. Through the restaurant's glass, she happened to see the silhouettes of a man and a woman.

For no apparent reason, irritation rose in her heart, and she forcefully rolled up the window.

A burst of music rang out. Her phone was ringing.

"Will he ever stop?" When she saw the number, her emotions flared. She hung up, then blocked the number.

Liu Yumeng looked at her. "Was that Zhou Hao again? That guy still hasn't given up?"

"Forget about him. Let's go."

Luo Xiyun reined in her temper and put her phone back where it belonged.

At that, Liu Yumeng started the car. After driving for a while, she asked, "Have you still been having nightmares at night? You haven't looked well these past few days. How about I go to the hospital with you?"

"I'm fine." Luo Xiyun's voice carried unmistakable exhaustion.

"Stop forcing yourself to hold on. When have you ever worn makeup this heavy before? Your dark circles are practically impossible to cover. Let me tell you, skin aging in women is irreversible. Once your skin condition worsens, it'll be hard to get it back to how it used to be."

Luo Xiyun subconsciously touched her face and hesitated. "Is it really that bad?"

"Not only is your complexion bad, your temper has been explosive too. This can't go on. It'll affect your hormones and send you into menopause early." Liu Yumeng continued, "Just listen to me. Take a day off tomorrow, and I'll go to the hospital with you. You can get some medicine."

Luo Xiyun hesitated, but in the end, she could not bring herself to voice her refusal. She took out a mirror from her bag and carefully examined her face.

After driving a little farther, Liu Yumeng could not help asking, "Come to think of it, you're usually so brave. What kind of nightmare has tormented you so badly that you can't sleep?"

Luo Xiyun's hand paused. She put away the mirror, rested her head against the seatback, and asked, "Have you ever had a particularly long dream?"

"A particularly long dream?" Liu Yumeng shook her head. "I'm not sure. Usually, after you wake up from a dream, you've pretty much forgotten it."

Then she asked curiously, "How long was your dream?"

Luo Xiyun murmured, "In the dream, I lived through several months. At first, I couldn't remember much of what happened in it. I only knew that I'd been having the dream for a very long time."

"Mm, and then?"

"From then on, every morning when I woke up, I remembered what happened in the dream. Those things were too clear, too real. It felt as though I had truly lived through several months in that dream."

Liu Yumeng grew even more curious. "What happened in the dream?"

Luo Xiyun's brows knitted slightly. After a pause, she finally said, "I dreamed about a man."

"Oh." Liu Yumeng's eyes lit up, and the flames of gossip instantly blazed within her. "What kind of man was he?"

Luo Xiyun said, "I already knew that man."

"Huh?"

Liu Yumeng cried out. With a screech, she abruptly pulled the car over to the roadside, turned to look at her, and asked with utter excitement on her face, "Who was it? Do I know him?"

"Not someone you know." Luo Xiyun shook her head and said softly, "I wasn't familiar with him before. We'd never even spoken. I don't know why it was him..."

Liu Yumeng noticed the struggle and pain flash through her eyes. A bold guess suddenly arose in her heart, and she asked quietly, "Could he be a married man?"

Luo Xiyun shook her head without speaking, but her brows furrowed deeply.

Seeing how distressed she looked, Liu Yumeng tried to guess the man's identity and why he had put her in such a difficult position. She advised, "Don't overthink it. No matter what, it was only a dream. After some time, it'll pass."

"You don't understand." Luo Xiyun seemed to be murmuring to herself, but she offered no further explanation.

Over the past few days, the memories from her dream had become clearer and clearer. She could already recall the smell of formaldehyde when that villa had just been renovated, the bone-chilling cold wind, and the nauseating smell of the foods she had eaten for months—canned fish, ham, luncheon meat, sausage, canned fruit...

Everything was far too real.

What embarrassed her most was that, in the dream, her memories with that man seemed carved into her mind, impossible to dispel.

She simply could not accept that the person in the dream had been herself. That was also the root of her pain.

"Are you struggling because the dream left such a deep impression on you?" Liu Yumeng suddenly said. "If that's the case, why not verify it?"

Luo Xiyun raised her head and asked softly, "How?"

"Did the man in your dream have a birthmark or some other distinguishing feature? Find an opportunity to see whether he has it in real life, and wouldn't that clear things up?"

Luo Xiyun said nothing.

"This doesn't seem like you." Liu Yumeng sighed. "This matter has tortured you into such a state, and you still won't do anything about it?"

Luo Xiyun froze. Only after a long time did she sigh. "You're right. This has to be resolved eventually."

"That's more like it." Liu Yumeng finally smiled. "If you don't want to show yourself, I can help."

"No need."