Chapter 4

Just as Lin Sheng had guessed.

On the third day, the nightmare came again.

This time, it happened on the night of the third day.

He had just finished a late-night snack with his dad and gone back to his room to sleep. He'd been asleep for less than ten minutes when the dream came again.

This time, the footsteps outside his door drew closer much faster.

But perhaps because he was on guard, Lin Sheng jolted awake as if he'd been shocked. He managed to wake himself before the owner of the footsteps opened the door.

But this time, he finally knew for certain that it wasn't a coincidence.

That nightmare had to be hiding something he didn't know about.

Just like the memories of his past life that he'd awakened for no reason.

Over the next few days, the nightmare continued to arrive right on schedule. Whenever he fell asleep, it was sure to appear.

Lin Sheng tried each time to control his body in the dream, but to no avail.

Every time, he was surrounded by the same feeling of terror. In the dream, the girl in a white dress sat at the desk in his bedroom, always in the same pose, always silent, and always crying with those strange, twitching movements.

The footsteps also repeated the same sequence, steadily approaching from the corridor.

Fortunately, to prevent anything from happening, Lin Sheng had set an alarm in advance.

Each time, it went off just as the footsteps entered his room.

The shrill ringing woke him up at just the right moment.

It was a precaution he'd worked out ahead of time.

And this way of life continued for two weeks.

"According to my previous calculations, starting from the third time I dreamed it, the whole thing lasted about thirty-five minutes."

"From the fourth dream to the seventh, the average variation was within five minutes. That shows the dream doesn't last very long."

That night, sitting at his desk beneath the lamp, Lin Sheng carefully reviewed the records he'd made of his earlier dreams.

"I can just take the average. That gives me the dream's duration. Then there's the time from falling asleep to the footsteps entering the room. Based on what I've worked out, I already established that in the first two dreams."

He rolled a pencil between his fingers, his expression calm. If not for the beads of sweat still on his forehead, it would have been hard to believe he'd just gone through a nightmare he'd experienced countless times.

"So next, I need to be able to control my body freely before the footsteps enter."

Lin Sheng knew himself well.

He wasn't a top student, nor was he some genius with an exceptionally high IQ. His only advantage was that he could stay calm.

So he had to make the most of that advantage if he wanted to win this tug-of-war against the nightmare.

Even though he didn't know what winning would accomplish.

But his body's instincts kept warning him that he absolutely could not let the owner of those footsteps catch him.

Absolutely!

Lin Sheng held up his pencil and quickly jotted down a few figures in his notebook. Then he snapped it shut.

Standing up from his desk, he gazed out into the distance through the glass window.

The moonlight in the middle of the night was gentle and serene, but he felt a little cold.

He turned around, intending to lie down for a short nap, but hesitated as soon as he sat on the bed.

"Forget it. I'd better not sleep."

He fell silent for a moment, then stood up again.

Whenever he fell asleep, he had a nightmare—and it was always the same one.

The experience had left him with a faint sense of dread toward his bed.

But hesitation aside, he couldn't go without sleep. His body would never be able to take it.

Lin Sheng was quiet for a while. In the end, he picked up the wind-up alarm clock and carefully set it before lying down on the bed, still fully clothed.

But the bed, which anyone else would have found warm and comfortable, felt like a bed of needles to him.

Fortunately, nothing went wrong this time. The nightmare still appeared, but the alarm went off seven times during the night, helping him make it to dawn.

"What have you been up to these past few days?!" Shen Yan stared at Lin Sheng, looking horrified.

Her usually calm and healthy friend now had a deathly pale face, with dark, sunken circles under his eyes. He looked like he'd been seriously deprived of sleep.

"Why do you look so awful? Young people need to learn some restraint," Shen Yan said, offering her tactless consolation.

Lin Sheng helplessly yawned.

Even sitting in a lively, noisy classroom, all he wanted was to lie down and sleep deeply.

The noise around him seemed muffled by a thick layer of soundproofing. It didn't grate on him at all.

"I just haven't been sleeping well these past few days," Lin Sheng replied listlessly.

"Been getting all worked up at night?" Shen Yan leaned closer with a lecherous grin.

"Get lost." Lin Sheng was speechless. "I've just been having nightmares."

"You don't get that bad just from nightmares," Shen Yan said, just as speechlessly.

"It's the same nightmare over and over," Lin Sheng said quietly. There was no reason to hide it. Lots of people had experienced that, just not as badly as he had.

"Recurring nightmares? You could look it up online. I heard some people can control their dreams and turn nightmares into good dreams. Sounds pretty amazing." Shen Yan thought for a moment, then suggested it.

"Really?" Lin Sheng had already looked up information about it online, but he couldn't tell which claims were true.

"Really. I used to have nightmares too. But when it comes to dreams, you absolutely can't read scary stories before bed. You can't let yourself dwell on anything frightening or worrying. Otherwise, you're bound to have nightmares!" Shen Yan said with great conviction.

"Really?" Lin Sheng nodded.

He'd come across that claim before, but hadn't confirmed it.

"Don't doubt me. I used to have nightmares all the time, but after I figured out that trick, I never had another one. You reap what you sow, and what you think about during the day appears in your dreams at night. That's how it works." Shen Yan spoke earnestly.

"Really?" Lin Sheng's eyes flickered, but he said nothing more.

"You look completely exhausted. How about I take you over to the Gymnastics Club later?" Shen Yan had only been serious for a few seconds before slipping back into her lecherous manner.

"I think I'll pass."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Even leotards and beautiful legs in white stockings can't get your attention anymore?" Shen Yan sighed dramatically.

".I just want to get some proper sleep." Lin Sheng was helpless.

After school that afternoon, he went home and was surprised to find that both his parents had come back early.

His mom, Gu Wanqiu, was cooking in the kitchen. His dad, Lin Zhounian, was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper.

His older sister, Lin Xiao, wasn't home. She'd already gone back to university for classes.

When Lin Sheng came home, his dad, Lin Zhounian, put down the newspaper and looked at his face with concern.

"Why have you been looking so awful lately? Are you sick? Don't try to tough it out, kid. Some illnesses won't just go away because you grit your teeth."

"I'm fine, Dad." Lin Sheng changed into his slippers as he answered. "I just haven't been getting enough rest these past few days."

"Good, as long as you're fine, kid—" His dad hadn't finished speaking when Lin Sheng dropped his schoolbag and hurried off toward his bedroom.

A moment later, the bedroom door slammed shut with a bang. Then everything fell quiet again.

"That boy..." Lin Zhounian glanced in surprise at his wife, who had come out after hearing the noise. A trace of worry showed on both their faces.

"Your dad still hasn't recovered. I hope nothing happens to the kids too," Gu Wanqiu said anxiously.

"I'll keep an eye on them. Don't worry about it. Hurry up and get back to cooking!" Lin Zhounian waved her off.