After the rain, the mountains turned green; the clouds rolled away, and the sun shone down.
An unexpected storm had swept through in the middle of the night, pouring rain and rolling thunder. By the next morning, the sky had cleared to a brilliant blue.
"Meow~~~~"
"Meow~~~~"
"Meow meow meow~~~~"
A kitten's high-pitched mews rang through the room.
Sunlight slipped through the window and danced into the room, mischievously landing on Qi Shan's thick, long eyelashes. A pale tabby kitten, smaller than an adult's palm, mewed and mewed. It was still so young that its legs didn't have the strength to carry it far.
At some point, it had woken on the padded bamboo basket and stumbled off, putting a paw down wrong beside the bed. It blinked sleepily, then lifted a forepaw to push the "obstacle" blocking its way.
The "obstacle" wouldn't budge, but it was soft.
Using both paws, it struggled with all its might until it managed to climb halfway up the "obstacle's" face. Perhaps driven by curiosity, it stuck out its tongue and licked him again and again. The sensation was soft, with a faint tickle, and the "obstacle," trapped deep in a nightmare, seemed to feel it.
His brows drew together. As his lashes trembled faintly, the combined efforts of the kitten and the sunlight began to rouse the "obstacle."
Qi Shan felt as though he'd had an incredibly long nightmare.
When he woke, he couldn't remember what had happened in the dream, but the darkness and suffocating dread still clung to his heart, refusing to fade.
He fought with all his strength to escape the nightmare's grip and suddenly opened his eyes. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep. Waking abruptly, he couldn't adjust to the bright morning sunlight streaming in from