The school belle's nightmare

"Aah!!!"

With a scream, Fu Qingdai jolted upright in bed.

Cold sweat had soaked her light, white pajamas.

Once again, she had startled awake from a dream.

Fu Qingdai panted softly, terror and tears in her eyes.

Endless rain, hunger and cold, madness, people eating one another... the whole world had become hell on earth.

These dreams had repeated for nearly half a month. Every one felt utterly real, mountains of corpses and seas of blood right before her eyes.

Even the smells... were no different from reality.

If they were merely dreams, that would have been one thing.

Fu Qingdai's breathing began to tremble as she pulled back the curtain, fear written across her face.

Outside, the sky had begun to brighten, and she could just make out the clouds overhead.

They billowed like ocean waves, spreading out in orderly layers.

In broad daylight, such a magnificent cloud formation would surely have drawn countless people to take photos.

But at that moment, Fu Qingdai froze completely.

The tears gathering in her eyes finally began to spill uncontrollably.

The scenes in her dreams were indistinguishable from reality, beginning with peaceful everyday life before gradually flashing forward into an apocalyptic landscape.

She had started noticing something wrong after the third dream.

The weather in reality often matched scenes from her dreams.

This time was no exception, and these clouds were so different from the usual ones that they were especially easy to recognize.

Fu Qingdai's slender shoulders shook. As she sobbed quietly, her right hand had gone deathly pale from gripping the curtain.

According to her records of the previous dreams... that horrifying day was not far away.

She had told other people, told her parents, but no one believed her.

She was only a student. She had done everything she could. What could she do... what on earth could she do?

Just then, the bedroom door opened.

Zhang Wan came in and sat on the edge of the bed, looking utterly helpless as she watched Fu Qingdai sob.

Fu Qingdai turned and threw herself into Zhang Wan's arms, her sobs growing louder despite herself.

Zhang Wan sighed. "Another dream?"

"Mom! It's real. Everything I said is real! The world is about to end! Today's clouds are exactly like the ones in my dream... everything matches." Fu Qingdai looked up through her tears. "Mom, please believe me just this once. We have to prepare early... why don't we move somewhere no one else lives?"

Zhang Wan sounded exasperated. "Qing Dai... you're only like this because you're under too much pressure at school. I've already asked a doctor. Your exams are only a month away. Stop thinking about all this nonsense and focus on your studies. If you concentrate, you won't feel stressed."

"Get more of your homework done at school today, and go to bed an hour earlier. You'll be fine after a few days."

"Mom!!!" Fu Qingdai felt ready to shatter. Her tears had only just stopped, but now they poured down uncontrollably again. "Can you let me finish?!"

"All right, all right, all right. Go ahead." Zhang Wan sighed, then added, "Once you're done, hurry up and eat so you can get to school early."

Fighting back her distress, Fu Qingdai began describing her dream.

Zhang Wan kept shaking her head as she listened.

Seeing how distracted her mother was, Fu Qingdai said angrily, "Mom, are you even listening?"

"I'm listening. Isn't this the same thing you told me before?" Zhang Wan replied perfunctorily.

"No!" Fu Qingdai's expression suddenly changed. "I haven't finished. This time was different... I saw a man, and I heard a voice telling me..."

"What?!" Zhang Wan's gaze suddenly sharpened, like a detective who had uncovered the truth.

Seeing her mother turn serious and finally start listening properly, Fu Qingdai felt a surge of joy.

She was just about to continue when Zhang Wan said sternly, "Qing Dai, you're not dating someone, are you? This is no time for dating! Dating at your age won't do you any good!"

"Mom!!!" Fu Qingdai broke down completely. "Do you believe me or not?!"

"Yes, yes, I believe you... now get up and eat."

Her patience completely exhausted, Zhang Wan stood up to leave the room.

Fu Qingdai reached out and grabbed her mother, pleading, "Mom... could you give me some money?"

"Don't I already give you money?"

"I'd like a little more. I haven't been eating well at school lately, and I want to buy some workbooks."

"Fine. How much?"

"...Five, five hundred."

Five hundred... Zhang Wan was furious.

Something must be going on at school. Asking for five hundred just like that-could she even spend that much?

"No! Fifty at most. Hurry up and get ready for school."

With that, Zhang Wan strode out of the room, leaving Fu Qingdai alone in her misery.

Fu Qingdai wiped her tears, her heart aching with bitterness.

She had no say in anything. No one in this family trusted her at all!

If only she were a little older. Maybe once she earned her own money, she could persuade them.

After brooding for a while, she got up, sat at her desk, and bent over to write.

The sound of the news and bickering drifted in from outside.

"Old Fu, can't you do something about your daughter? You get up and just fucking sit there watching TV! Call Teacher Li and ask whether Qing Dai's dating someone!"

"Yeah... I know. I'll call later."

"Later, later-keep putting it off! You never take care of anything, never do any housework. How did I end up with such a useless man?"

Morning reading had already begun in the classroom.

Fu Qingdai put down her schoolbag, her mind elsewhere.

The scenes from her dream kept replaying in her head.

The classroom was filled with noise.

Seeing her state, her deskmate asked, "Qing Dai... did you dream again?"

"Mm..." Fu Qingdai hesitated, then nodded. Turning to her, she said seriously, "Xiao Ning, everything I told you is true. The world is about to end... if it rains, don't let the rainwater touch you. There's something wrong with it. You need to stock up on food beforehand and seal the doors and windows..."

With an odd expression, Xiao Ning nodded, then turned back around and sighed inwardly.

She'd completely lost it!

The first time or two, she had thought Fu Qingdai was joking, but this had been going on for more than a couple of days. Even her mental state was clearly deteriorating.

Her mother had contacted Xiao Ning early on to ask her to keep an eye on her. From the looks of it, her condition seemed to have worsened.

Shaking her head, Xiao Ning took out a boys' love novel and began studying it intently.

The student in front turned around, glanced over her desk, and whispered, "Hey, why are you still reading that stuff? Qing Dai read herself crazy with novels. Aren't you worried something might happen to you? Take it easy. The school's been cracking down these past couple of days."

Xiao Ning glanced at the student in front and replied quietly, "Mine's boys' love. Even if I go crazy, I'll just go looking for men. Get back to memorizing your textbook!"

"Oh, lend it to me when you're done."

Before long, it was noon.

Countless students streamed toward the cafeteria.

Fu Qingdai was among them, her gaze sweeping from one classmate to another.

Once she spotted someone, she hurried over in small, quick steps and caught the hem of his shirt.

Gao Peng was walking along when he felt a tug. He turned to find Fu Qingdai standing awkwardly behind him.

At the sight of her delicate, pretty face, he paused.

He could not help feeling nervous too.

Fu Qingdai was the school's famous belle... he had no idea who had given her that title, but she was the school belle all the same.

Plenty of boys had tried chatting her up, and every one had gone away defeated.

Although her recent mental instability had made her less popular, there were still plenty of boys sneaking into their classroom to ask about her!

He normally didn't even dare speak to her. Why had the school belle come to him?

At that thought, Gao Peng asked nervously, "Uh, did you need something?"

Fu Qingdai pressed her pink lips together and stared at the tips of her shoes. "Gao Peng... could you lend me some money? I'll definitely pay you back next month!" she asked shyly.

"O~kay... I guess. How much do you need? I've only got a hundred yuan at most," Gao Peng asked, his mind racing.

He didn't have much money himself, but the school belle had asked... turning her down would be too embarrassing!

When he agreed, Fu Qingdai lifted her head and broke into a smile.

Gao Peng's heart instantly raced!

Borrowing money? That was a good thing! She'd smiled at him and even tugged his shirt. Could she be interested in him?

Lending it and getting it back-that meant they'd get to interact twice, didn't it?

"Then I'll borrow a hundred."

Not far away, a pair of small eyes watched Fu Qingdai intently as their owner spoke on the phone.

"Auntie Zhang, Qing Dai's talking to a boy from our class... no, he's a total dork. They're definitely not dating. But her condition really is getting worse. You should take her to see someone as soon as possible."