Lu Zhe kissed the girl a few times, tasting the tears that lingered at the corner of her lips.
His warm fingertips gently wiped away the teardrops clinging to her lashes. Lu Zhe was concerned about the injury on her foot. "Tuantuan, let's take care of the wound on your foot first."
Su Ci's dark eyes shimmered with emotion as she stared at Lu Zhe. "I dreamed of you again."
Lu Zhe's gaze deepened. He kissed the top of her head, his voice low and husky. "What did Tuantuan dream about me?"
Su Ci's hands remained wrapped around Lu Zhe's lean waist, refusing to let go. The dream had felt so real, the pain of losing him almost suffocating.
As soon as she spoke, tears began to fall again.
Su Ci's heart ached. "I dreamed that your illness didn't get better, that you left me."
"No matter how much I tried to talk to you, you wouldn't respond," Su Ci's eyes were blurred with tears, her vision hazy.
The next moment, Lu Zhe lowered his head, his voice soft and slightly hoarse. "It's my fault."
His thin lips pressed against her eyelids, gently kissing away the tears clinging to her lashes. "I made you sad. Watching me die in front of you must have been unbearable."
Lu Zhe's eyes were filled with heartache. "Tuantuan, I'm fully recovered now. What happened in the past life won't happen again."
The girl's tears continued to fall, burning his heart with their heat. He whispered soothingly, "Tuantuan, don't be afraid. In this life, I'll always be with you."
Su Ci sniffled, her red-rimmed eyes staring at Lu Zhe in disbelief. Her mind struggled to process his words. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "How do you know about the past life?"
Lu Zhe picked up a tissue from the desk and gently wiped away the tear stains on her face. "Whether it's in the dream or in reality, Tuantuan, it's always been me. I've always been by your side."
Su Ci was genuinely shocked. "You dreamed about me too?"
"Yes," Lu Zhe confessed. "The first time, I forgot the contents of the dream. It wasn't until I woke up from this dream that I remembered everything."
Su Ci's expression was one of utter astonishment. She hadn't expected Lu Zhe to have shared the same dream.
"Why didn't you recognize me at first?" she asked. In the beginning, the younger Lu Zhe had been so cold toward her.
"I'm sorry," Lu Zhe kissed the tip of her reddened nose. "In the dream, I didn't have memories of reality."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so foolish, constantly jealous of his real self.
Curled up in Lu Zhe's arms, Su Ci's tears fell even more freely, as if the regrets from the dream were finally being filled.
Whether in dreams or reality, it was always him.
Lu Zhe fetched the first aid kit.
He knelt beside Su Ci, his large hand gripping her ankle as he lifted her foot.
The inside of her foot had been scraped. Her skin was pale and delicate, making even the smallest red mark stand out, let alone the scratch that had formed.
Lu Zhe placed her foot on his knee, using a cotton swab dipped in antiseptic to clean the wound. He asked softly, "Tuantuan, how did you get hurt?"
"I accidentally bumped into a servant and got scratched by a broken piece of porcelain," Su Ci explained, her heart softening as she watched Lu Zhe crouch at her feet, meticulously tending to her injury.
The sting of the antiseptic made her flinch, and Lu Zhe gently held her foot in place.
Her fair foot rested on his black suit pants, the delicate ankle adorned with the jade rabbit charm he had given her, making her skin appear even more porcelain-like.
Lu Zhe's eyes darkened, his voice low and husky. "Why aren't you wearing shoes again?"
"I was in a hurry to see you and forgot," she admitted. After waking up, all she could think about was seeing him. Shoes were the last thing on her mind.
Lu Zhe held her foot, carefully applying a bandage to the wound. Then, using a damp cotton swab, he gently wiped away the blood around the injury. "Tuantuan, don't be afraid. I'll always be with you from now on."
"Lu Zhe," Su Ci gazed intently at the man before her.
Unlike the version of him in her dream, who had been gaunt and frail, this Lu Zhe was healthy and radiant, his face no longer hollow. The ache in her heart slowly began to ease.
"Hmm?" Lu Zhe responded softly.
"Let's get married," Su Ci said. The wedding dress she had worn for him in the dream hadn't been official. She wanted to wear a real wedding dress for him. "Before, I thought that as long as we were together, it didn't matter whether we got married or when. But now, my feelings have changed. I want to be with you every moment, every day. I want our names to be together."
The suffocating pain she had felt in the dream, the kind that made it hard to breathe, was something she never wanted to experience again.
Lu Zhe's grip on her foot tightened. He looked up at her, his throat dry. "Tuantuan, I should be the one saying these words to you."
Su Ci didn't care about that. "Will you agree?"
A smile spread across Lu Zhe's face, his dark eyes shining with joy. He knelt on one knee before her.
Gently lifting her foot, he placed a sincere and tender kiss on the back of it. "I'll agree to anything you ask."
In the dream, his greatest regret had been not being able to marry her, not being able to stay by her side and grow old with her.
In reality, he would spend his entire life protecting her.
Lu Zhe and Su Ci were getting married, and both the Lu and Su families were overjoyed. Su Ci's mother, Tong Xin, and Wen Ya were particularly enthusiastic, diving headfirst into selecting an auspicious date and planning the wedding.
Su Ci's investment fund had matured, and with professionals managing it, she no longer needed to worry about it. The wedding preparations were left to her mother, Wen Ya, and Lu Zhe. All she had to do was wait patiently for the big day.
Su Ci had asked Fu Gui about the dream, as it had felt so real, almost as if she had traveled to Lu Zhe's past life.
However, Fu Gui, being a novice system, was clueless and only knew how to consume gold. It had no answers for her.
Fu Gui's small, trembling voice piped up, [Master, I asked my good friend, Tyrant, about it. He said that if you think it's a dream, then it's a dream. If you think it's a journey to the past life, then it's the past life. Everything follows its own logic.]
Su Ci, lying in bed with a face mask on, almost rolled her eyes. "That's as good as saying nothing, Fu Gui. Is your friend Tyrant as unreliable as you?"
Fu Gui felt wronged, but thinking that its master was easier to serve than Tyrant's master, it consoled itself. [Master, Fu Gui is reliable. Remember when I told you that saving enough gold cotton would bring a reward?]
Su Ci lazily raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What reward?"
Fu Gui couldn't help but boast: [The reward is that your and Lu Zhe's future child won't suffer from ALS and will be very healthy.]
Su Ci ripped off her face mask and sat up abruptly. "What did you say?"
Fu Gui was startled, unsure whether its master was happy or not. It lowered its voice, speaking softly: [Your and Lu Zhe's child will be healthy and won't inherit Lu Zhe's ALS.]
Su Ci's eyes suddenly filled with tears.
This had been a concern for both her and Lu Zhe.
Although Lu Zhe never said it out loud, she knew he felt guilty and afraid. That's why he always took precautions when they were intimate, being extremely careful to protect her. Sometimes, when they ran out of condoms, he would rather endure the frustration than risk it.
Fu Gui continued: [Master, this reward is the result of doing good deeds. Fu Gui has consumed a lot of gold, and there will also be a small reward for you.]
But Su Ci was too overwhelmed by the news about their future child's health to pay attention to Fu Gui's mention of a small reward.
The wedding date was set for autumn, when the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, with occasional cool breezes that lifted the spirits.
Two days before the wedding, Su Ci was invited out by Shen Xue and Wen Duoyu.
Shen Xue handed Su Ci a gift bag. "This is your wedding gift."
Su Ci took the gift. "What is it? Can I open it now?"
Shen Xue winked. "You can open it, but it's better not to take it out."
Curious, Su Ci untied the ribbon and opened the bag. Inside was a red dress—a red strapless dress, to be precise.
"Your skin is fair, so red looks best on you," Shen Xue whispered. "If you wear this, Lu Zhe will definitely love it."
Su Ci's eyes curved with a hint of mischief. "I think he'd prefer me not wearing anything at all."
Shen Xue:
She thought to herself that it was fortunate Lu Zhe had taken in this shameless little enchantress, Su Ci. Otherwise, who knows how many young men and women would have fallen victim to her charms.
Across from her, Wen Duoyu took out a delicately wrapped little box, also a wedding gift for Su Ci.
Inside was a pair of small jade ornaments, carved into cartoon-like figures of Lu Zhe and Su Ci. The little boy and girl were placed side by side, utterly adorable.
Su Ci couldn’t help but adore them. “I love them, Duoyu. Thank you for the gift.”
Wen Duoyu smiled shyly, sincerely wishing Su Ci and Lu Zhe a lifetime of happiness.
The night before the wedding, Su Ci lay in bed, unable to sleep. Tomorrow, she would marry Lu Zhe. She had thought she wouldn’t be nervous.
She opened her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling, idly counting the beats of her own heart.
One.
Two.
Ten.
No, she missed Lu Zhe so much.
Su Ci couldn’t resist calling him.
The phone rang only three times before it was instantly answered.
The girl’s sweet voice was especially clear and melodious in the quiet of the night, soft and filled with longing. “Lu Zhe, I miss you so much.”
On the other end of the line, Lu Zhe tightened his grip on the phone. “Tuantuan, come downstairs. I’m at your door.”
Su Ci’s eyes lit up.
Then, Lu Zhe heard the sound of the girl’s slippers hitting the floor, the rhythm quickening.
“Tuantuan, don’t run,” Lu Zhe cautioned her.
Su Ci’s heart raced along with her steps.
Late at night, the Su household was asleep, except for the security guard who was still awake. He watched in surprise as the young lady of the house came running from the distance, ordering him to open the gate.
After opening the gate, he saw the young lady sprint out, her white nightgown fluttering in the air as she rushed toward a shadow beneath a tree.
It was too dark, and the streetlight couldn’t illuminate the scene beneath the tree. The guard didn’t look too closely, nor did he dare to interfere with the young lady’s affairs.
Beneath the tree, Lu Zhe stood tall and slender, dressed in a black shirt that seemed to blend into the night.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, he looked up to see the girl in her nightgown running toward him.
In the next moment, Lu Zhe caught her, pulling her tightly into his arms. “Tuantuan.”
Su Ci’s small hands wrapped around Lu Zhe’s waist, her heart racing like a little rabbit that refused to calm down.
She leaned softly against his chest, her words direct and heartfelt. “Lu Zhe, I missed you so much.”
The coolness in Lu Zhe’s expression melted away, and the corners of his lips curved into a smile. “Me too.”
“I’m a little nervous. I can’t sleep. Tomorrow, you’re marrying me… will you regret it?” Su Ci asked uncertainly.
Lu Zhe gently smoothed the girl’s disheveled hair, then pinched her cheek lightly. “How could I ever regret it?”
In his dreams, he had waited for what felt like a lifetime—a dream he could never attain. In reality, he had waited four years.
