Nightmare

After Ding Yebai returned home, Yang Zhi drove to the university.

Late at night

Jinghuai University

Inside the graduate student dormitory

"Waaah!!!!"

Yang Zhi had a nightmare and woke up with a shout, sitting up abruptly in bed.

Pat.

Luo Luo was also startled awake at the same time.

She turned on the light and quickly rushed to Yang Zhi's bedside to ask.

"What's wrong, Xiao Zhi? Another nightmare?"

"..."

Yang Zhi held her head with a troubled expression, feeling the cold sweat on her forehead.

Luo Luo immediately hugged her and patted her back.

This wasn't Yang Zhi's first nightmare.

It was a lingering effect from experiencing a massive earthquake.

She was always afraid that the people closest to her would leave again, and her dreams would always depict that scenario.

Yang Zhi hunched over, pressing her knees to her chest, feeling weak all over, her breathing growing more rapid.

It was clear she was trying very hard to calm her uneasy and terrified emotions.

Luo Luo stayed by her side, comforting her.

"It's okay, Xiao Zhi. Everyone is here."

After a long while

Yang Zhi opened her eyes. After the nightmare, she seemed to have lost her soul, completely lacking her usual spirit and energy.

"Sigh..." she sighed with a pale face, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. She forced a smile at Luo Luo and patted her head, "Sorry for waking you up."

"I'm fine, it's mainly you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

No wonder Yang Zhi liked to stay in bed; she was a terrible morning person.

Because for her, getting a good night's sleep was a rare thing.

So, as long as she could sleep peacefully once, she had to seize the opportunity.

As a young girl, Yang Zhi suffered from insomnia almost every day. She had gotten much better after becoming an adult, and now she might have two or three nightmares a month.

"Xiao Zhi, get some good sleep," Luo Luo comforted her again.

Yang Zhi nodded.

"Luo Luo, you should go to sleep too."

"If anything happens, just tell me."

"Mhm."

Before leaving, Luo Luo patted Yang Zhi's shoulder again, then walked to her own bed, lifted the covers, and lay down to sleep.

Yang Zhi sat up in bed with her legs straight, looked at Luo Luo for a moment, then stared straight ahead.

Her gaze moved from the pen holder on her desk, to the neatly arranged books, and then to a photo of her, Grandma, and Qiqi playing in the snow in the yard...

Her eyes slowly shifted to the right, finally landing on the little white rabbit hairpin placed in the corner.

She slowly raised her eyes, touched her long black hair, then lifted the covers and listlessly got out of bed.

Her slippers dragged as she walked, her footsteps indicating her lack of energy.

Creak--

She turned on the small desk lamp, adjusted it to its dimmest setting, pushed her chair away, and sat down.

"The hairpin..."

She looked at the little white rabbit hairpin for a while, then mirrored herself, pinning up her bangs.

"Mhm..."

She tilted her head, constantly appraising her face.

Although people outside always called her a gentle, fresh, and highly artistic beauty, she felt she was, at most, just somewhat attractive.

After pinning up her bangs with the hairpin, she immediately felt different.

In fact, her side-swept bangs, parted in a three-seven split, added to her quiet and intellectual temperament. But now that they were pinned up...

It was a feeling that couldn't quite be described.

It looks good anyway.

Yang Zhi took the hairpin off again, looked at it, and sighed softly.

"When was the last time someone gave me a hairpin?"

"I think it was when I was little, Mom gave me one..." she said, a relieved smile appearing on her face.

Ding Yebai gave it to me...

Speaking of which, that kid seems a bit strange lately.

He seems to be looking at me strangely.

His eyes are unfocused, clearly preoccupied.

Yang Zhi scratched her face with her finger, an inexplicable emotion clouding her heart: "Does he have something he wants to say?"

Actually, if I think about it carefully, I've been quite strange myself lately.

I find myself thinking about him often, worrying about his exams, worrying if he's happy, worrying if he's under a lot of pressure.

"Never mind." Yang Zhi shook her head, rubbed her throbbing temples, and took out her Mom's old-fashioned phone from her bag.

She turned on the screen and opened her messages, and the text from that year appeared.

[Baby, if you survive, remember Mom will always love you.]

Yang Zhi read it as she looked at it.

Her voice was as soft as two pieces of thin paper rubbing against each other.

"Mom... I dreamed of you again."

"If it weren't for me, would you be living a good life right now?"

"I miss you so much... I really miss you so much."

After a long while, she held the phone in her palm, placed it over her heart, lowered her head, and was overcome with sadness. The longing threatened to tear her chest apart, but there was no longer any answer to be heard.

Later, Yang Zhi walked to the dormitory balcony and pulled a chair over to sit down.

Because it was a bit cold, she casually threw on a jacket.

Ding dong--

Her phone suddenly lit up. Yang Zhi opened it and saw a message from Ding Yebai.

[I see you're online on Douyin, why aren't you sleeping yet?]

Yang Zhi thought she must have accidentally tapped it earlier.

[Why aren't you sleeping either.]

She replied.

[I'm doing problems.]

[It's already 1 AM. You should go to bed early.]

[Then why isn't Sister Yang Zhi sleeping? Are you having trouble sleeping?]

Yang Zhi wanted to type [Had a nightmare] on the keyboard, but after hesitating for a moment, she only typed [Yeah, but it's okay. I'm just getting some fresh air on the balcony, I'll be fine in a bit.]

Ding Yebai didn't say anything more, only sending [Staying up late is bad for your health. Sister Yang Zhi is so tired every day, you need to rest well.].

The two didn't continue to chat.

Ding Yebai was still working through his practice tests, while Yang Zhi leaned lazily against the back of the chair, looking up at the bright moon in the sky.

However, the nightmares didn't end. For some reason, the number of nightmares had increased this month.

It must have been four or five times already.

Waking up suddenly in the middle of the night when you're sleeping soundly feels terrible.

She kept dreaming of loved ones leaving, of the devastation of major earthquakes. These things made Yang Zhi afraid to sleep.

"This October has been a black October," Yang Zhi joked.

Because she wasn't sleeping well, she lacked energy in class.

Ding Yebai observed her, noticing that her dark circles were becoming quite severe.

After all, for someone with her fair skin, any dark circles or red blemishes on her face would be particularly noticeable.

The weather was also getting colder. Ding Yebai watched as her clothes became thicker and thicker, while her eyes were no longer as bright and spirited as before.

Something must have happened.

He always thought this way.

This insomnia is getting a bit serious. My sister said she also has to prepare some PPT reports recently, so she's incredibly busy.

At the end of the month, Ding Yebai took another monthly exam.

As usual, he got a perfect score in Math and Science, 125 in Chinese, and surprisingly, 123 in English.

123! A score he never expected.

That day, he happily awaited Yang Zhi's arrival.

He opened the door at 7:30 and saw Yang Zhi standing elegantly before him. She was wearing a long black wool coat, a white scarf, her long hair tucked in, and a white beret tilted on her head. Her hands held her bag.

But that wasn't the main point. Ding Yebai immediately noticed her prominent dark circles under her eyes.

"Are you... okay?" he asked.

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