Heart aflutter

At midnight, the lights backstage at the Gershwin Theatre had long since gone out.

Sophia was curled up in her private dressing room, having just woken from a dream. Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her heart pounded-not with fear, but with a cloyingly sweet thrill.

She nestled lazily beneath the covers, ignoring the silk robe that had slipped down her shoulder. She merely tugged the blanket up to her chin, unable to keep the corners of her mouth from rising.

She was savoring everything in the dream...

The little punishment she had deliberately devised with the endless staircase, Lin Rui's faintly helpless expression, her aggrieved complaint that he had "only come twice in a week," and finally, the clingy intimacy of their intertwined fingers.

At that thought, she could not help burying her face in her pillow and giggling like a little girl who had stolen a taste of honey.

"Oh no... I forgot to record the details again." Her laughter stopped short. Sophia abruptly sat up, and her robe's shoulder straps slipped off completely.

She rolled out of bed, her bare feet landing on the cold wooden floor, stumbled two steps to her bedside table, and snapped open her laptop.

The screen lit up blue, making her squint.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, but it felt as though a thread had been pulled out of her mind.

The dream's images were like thin mist scattered by the wind, impossible to grasp.

She struggled to remember, but only scattered fragments remained: a barbell bar, bloodstains, the police station, Molly... In the end, she typed only two words-"Malice Detection."

What was that?

She grabbed the mouse and opened the "Dream Records" folder.

Inside was a jumble of fragmented entries: "The old pastor guarding the shelter alone," "Suggestion Technique to correct a troublesome student," "A gunfight in a dream."

The more she read, the more confused she became. She could no longer remember at all why she had recorded these things.

She leaned back in her chair, clasped her head in both hands, and ruffled her long hair in frustration. "Damn it... I'm probably the stupidest woman in the world.

"I've never dated anyone in real life, yet in a dream, I've fallen this deeply... for a boy I barely know."

She took a deep breath and opened another encrypted folder.

It was bare:

Name: Leon.

Sex: Male.

Approximate background: An international student from Country Z.

Address: Temporarily staying at the church in the Fortieth Block of The Bronx.

There was nothing else. No photo, no social media account, no phone number.

"I really want to meet him in real life. Talk to him, hold his hand... Just thinking about it makes me tremble all over and burn up."

She hugged her arms tightly around herself, as though embracing a phantom that did not exist. "But I'm afraid I'll scare him. He'll definitely think I'm crazy-how could anyone fall in love with someone after seeing them a few times in dreams?"

Her emotions surged in her chest like floodwaters that had been held back too long. Cracks had already appeared in the dam. If she did not find an outlet soon, it would burst.

Sophia suddenly sat up straight.

At the end of the dream, Lin Rui had asked her for help. He had mentioned a gym, a gang, Molly... and the "Malice Detection" she had taught him-a witch's warning spell that could sense hostility within a certain range.

She quickly typed a few lines: "Malice Detection: Taught to Lin Rui to guard against subsequent gang retaliation.

"Cause-a conflict at the gym. He seriously injured someone with an unloaded barbell bar and went to the police station, but surveillance footage proved self-defense."

Even after thinking carefully, that was all she could remember.

Once she finished recording it, she shut the laptop and crawled back under the covers. Her heartbeat gradually settled, but now there was a hint of clearheaded excitement.

After daybreak, she changed into professional attire-a black turtleneck sweater with a long dark gray skirt-and pinned her silver hair into an elegant low bun, transforming into the theatre's artistic director.

During the day, she directed musical rehearsals, her voice calm and professional, though her gaze occasionally wandered.

During a break in rehearsals, she walked over to the manager's assistant and asked casually, "Are we getting our late-night snacks from the same place tonight? I'm getting a little tired of it and want to try something new."

The assistant immediately grew nervous. "Ms. Sophia, I'll change it right away! Which place would you prefer?"

"No, no, I mean... the current place is quite good. I just hope he could customize it a little. Add some cheese I like, for example, or make it less spicy."

She paused, smiling gently. "You must have his contact information, right? Give me his mobile number. I'll talk to him about what I want myself."

The assistant blinked, quickly pulled out her phone, and recited a string of numbers.

Sophia noted it down, the corners of her mouth rising almost imperceptibly.

That afternoon in the backstage dressing room, after giving her critique of the day's acting exercises, she deliberately turned to Andrea. "What about that handsome Chinese boy you introduced last time? I don't seem to have seen him lately. Is he doing well?"

Andrea shrugged as she removed her makeup. "Leon? Something happened a couple of days ago. He got into a fight with gang members at the gym and ended up at the police station.

"That kid has changed quite a bit. He stabbed someone with an unloaded barbell bar and broke three of their ribs. Luckily, he'd installed surveillance cameras beforehand, which proved self-defense. Otherwise, he would've been in big trouble."

The dressing room immediately erupted, a group of young actresses gathering around and chattering. "Seriously?" "He looks so delicate, but he's that fierce?" "Did he cry at the police station?"

Only Sophia remained where she stood, as though struck by lightning.

An unloaded barbell bar... three ribs... self-defense... surveillance footage...

Everything in the dream matched reality without the slightest discrepancy.

Her fingers grew cold, and her lips trembled slightly. Only one thought echoed over and over in her mind: This wasn't something I imagined... It really happened?

Oh God... Do I have supernatural powers? Can I dream about things I don't know?

When Lin Rui left Sophia's dream, he took one "Suggestion Technique" and one "Malice Detection" with him.

Both skills were single-use.

He intended to use "Suggestion Technique" on Molly to make the girl return to normal instead of spending all day stirring up trouble like a little delinquent.

"Malice Detection" was for Lin Rui himself. It could detect enemies appearing within a hundred meters and tell him their general direction. It would remain effective for one month.

Lin Rui had asked Sophia, in her "witch" form, whether she could teach him to master these skills-better to give someone a golden finger than a mountain of gold.

But "witch" Sophia said Lin Rui's "Spirit" stat was insufficient. Never mind learning magic; even using it, he could only wield low-level spells. He could not cast high-level ones at all.

With the two spells acquired, Lin Rui still followed his regular schedule, going to Central Park during the day to run his food truck.

Over the past month, the food truck's business had taken off like a rocket.

With low-cost ingredients, high-quality flavors, and Lin Rui's unforgettable face, it had managed to evolve from a street food stall into a "Central Park attraction."

Online travel guides even mentioned Lin Rui's food truck. The most popular post was titled: "A must-visit for New York on a budget! Central Park's hottest food truck boy-a $12 lunch with a Michelin feel."

The post included more than a dozen photos: Lin Rui's profile as he lowered his head to take payments, the slightly upturned corners of his mouth as he handed over food, the line of his shoulders outlined by sunlight...

The comments section exploded:

"He didn't look that handsome in the photos, but I was charmed in person!"

"I went there myself, and I can personally confirm: my heart rate went straight to 180. I'd only planned to grab something to eat, but I ended up staying for half an hour."

"He said 'thank you' when he handed me my food, and his voice was so deep my knees went weak... This boy has magic!"

Linda shoved her phone in front of Lin Rui, displaying the latest screenshot of that travel guide post.

She was a great beauty herself, with long legs, a slender waist, and exquisite makeup, but as she looked at the sea of "heart-fluttering warning" comments, there was still a sour look in her eyes.

"Leon, your image has certainly improved," she said, waving the phone screen. "But our food truck business is going to be done for."

Lin Rui was putting a burger into the microwave. At her words, he looked up and raised an eyebrow. "How is it going to be done for?"

"Too much attention can easily attract jealousy." Linda's concerns were not unfounded.

The food truck's revenue had shot up last month, bringing in a full hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Many tourists genuinely came because of its reputation and even wanted souvenir photos with Lin Rui.

After costs, Lin Rui had pocketed over twenty-four thousand dollars-more than many white-collar workers earned, and it was tax-free income.

It would have been strange if no one turned green with envy.