Brother Lín Chí—
Everyone was drunk and tired, so Bald Yang led them to a repair shop to rest.
It was only a few minutes' walk.
The first floor of the repair shop was for auto repair services, and the second floor was for employees to rest and live.
"I'm going to sleep. Make yourselves at home," Bald Yang said and walked towards his room.
Everyone else lay down in the messy living room, but Lín Chí grabbed Bald Yang and stopped him from entering his room. "You can't sleep in your room right now."
"Why?" Bald Yang asked groggily.
"Because it's for my sister to sleep in," Lín Chí said.
Bald Yang wanted to argue a few more words, but he was too tired to do so and went into an adjacent employee dormitory.
Inside Bald Yang's room, Lín Chí couldn't help but complain, "This guy, how many times have I told him to tidy up his room? Why is it still this messy..."
"Brother, do we really have to stay here?" Yáng Zhī asked weakly.
"We'll just have to make do and rest for a bit," Lín Chí said. "I'll be outside. Call me if you need anything."
Lín Chí turned to leave, but Yáng Zhī grabbed his hand. "Brother, don't. I'm scared... Look, there are so many people outside. If you go out, where will I go?"
"You're all grown up now. Are you not afraid of being laughed at if you share a room with your brother?" Lín Chí joked.
She thought to herself that she feared the feeling of fear and unease more than being laughed at.
Seeing her silence, Lín Chí's heart softened. "Alright, you rest. I'll be right outside watching. No one else will bother you, okay?"
The bedding looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time. She had to choose a corner of the duvet with the least signs of contact and cover herself. She could vaguely smell an unpleasant odor. She initially intended to pretend to be asleep with her eyes closed, but she was too tired. Once her eyes were closed, her body acted on its own, and she unknowingly fell asleep.
It wasn't until the light from outside the window woke her up that she looked at the completely unfamiliar room and Lín Chí, who was asleep on the other half of the bed. She had to rack her brain to recall what had happened.
After sleeping, she was free of nightmares and felt a bit refreshed. She thought a long time had passed, but upon checking the time, she realized it had only been two hours.
She thought, since she hadn't been disturbed by nightmares, she might as well sleep a bit longer. But as she looked at Lín Chí on one side, her mind began to wander, and she couldn't sleep anymore.
If only she could always be by his side like this, watching him sleep soundly, wouldn't that be a beautiful dream too!
She didn't even want to close her eyes and just stared blankly. That half-turned face, those handsome and charming facial features, and his calm and serene expression... Everything about him was so captivating.
She couldn't help but reach out to touch Lín Chí's fingertips. His fingertips, the only boy whose hand she had held, the fingertips she had held countless times unintentionally, still sent electric sparks through her when she touched them secretly, filling her with the quiet joy of a young girl who had obtained something precious.
Just as she was about to reach out and touch Lín Chí's straight nose, Lín Chí suddenly trembled. Her hand stopped awkwardly in the air for a few seconds. Realizing Lín Chí was dreaming and hadn't woken up, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to pull her hand back, Lín Chí suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand for some reason.
She propped herself up halfway and looked closely for a long time. Since Lín Chí hadn't woken up, she dared to pull her hand away, but Lín Chí suddenly tightened his grip, holding her hand even tighter. She didn't dare to pull harder, fearing she might wake him up.
She saw Lín Chí's lips twitching, as if he wanted to speak, but he couldn't. It was exactly like when she had nightmares, struggling no matter what.
Seeing Lín Chí's struggle and unease, she hesitated for a long time and couldn't help but ask softly, "Brother, what's wrong? If you can hear me, please don't be afraid. Your sister is right here with you." She didn't know if people in dreams could hear others speak, but she knew that when she had nightmares, some sounds from her surroundings would enter her dreams and transform into suitable scenes, so she tried to say something comforting, hoping Lín Chí's dream wouldn't be too difficult or painful.
Lín Chí's mouth opened slightly, as if repeating a certain phrase, perhaps a name. She couldn't help but lean closer to eavesdrop, wanting to know what Brother Lín Chí was saying or who he was calling for.
"Don't go?"
She thought she heard that phrase and repeatedly watched Lín Chí's lips forming the same shape. The more she looked, the more it seemed like he was saying "don't go." But who was he asking not to go?
She remembered that while eating a late-night snack, Long Hair had mentioned that Brother Lín Chí had dated many girlfriends. Could he be asking one of his girlfriends not to leave?
If her Brother Lín Chí had indeed dated so many girlfriends, wasn't he a player?
Thinking this, she almost slapped herself twice. Her Brother Lín Chí had always been a good guy; how could he be a player? If he had truly intended to deceive so many girls, he would have had many opportunities before...
But it was true that many girls in school liked Lín Chí, and she had also inadvertently heard some rumors about him... If these things were true, how could Brother Lín Chí have become like this?
Could it be, like in the TV dramas, that Brother Lín Chí was once hurt by a girl he deeply loved, and since then he lost all hope in love and started playing around? What kind of girl could possess such charm that even the campus beauty Lǐ Mù, a girl as beautiful, gentle, and understanding as she was, couldn't replace her?
Yáng Zhī couldn't stop thinking. The more she thought, the sadder she became. Seeing that hand, which had held so many girls' hands, still holding hers, she suddenly got angry and forcefully pulled her hand away.
But her anger seemed a bit too much, and with a sudden exertion, Lín Chí was startled awake.
Lín Chí looked at her, took a moment to gather himself, and frowned even more tightly than when he was dreaming. He closed his eyes and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Nothing... nothing," Yáng Zhī replied guiltily.
"Nothing?" Lín Chí's tone was questioning. "Why weren't you sleeping, staring at me?"
"I... I... you woke me up in your dream..." she stammered in panic, speaking incoherently.
"So, you admit you were staring at me?" Lín Chí's frown eased slightly. He opened one eye and looked at her with a half-smile.
"I... I wasn't!" she said, her voice lacking conviction, but she denied it outright. "You were dreaming and kept calling for someone not to go. Could it be, Brother, that you were once abandoned by a girl?" She decided to probe into Brother Lín Chí's dream.
"Nonsense! How could I, your handsome and lovable brother, ever be abandoned!" Lín Chí denied it emphatically, then began to recall his dream.