Chapter 2 A Dream
As soon as he finally made it back to the dorm and opened the door, Gu Qiu was greeted by his roommates in unison: "Greetings, Father! Please accept your children's homage!"
"Hey, hey, hey, dig in, guys. It took too long on the road because of the rain, the food is almost cold."
Gu Qiu casually brushed off his roommates with a few remarks, feeling his damp clothes cling to his skin and send chills through his body. That cold, wet sensation was terribly uncomfortable, and if things kept up like this, he was bound to run a fever.
He hurriedly set the takeout on the table in the middle of the room, then took a change of clothes from his locker, intending to take a shower.
Locking the bathroom door, he quickly stripped off his outer layers. Before he could even untie his belt, his phone, resting on the sink, buzzed with a vibration.
It was a message from Su Jiuyue.
Only now did Gu Qiu notice that her WeChat profile picture was fan art of Yae Miko.
The avatar really did suit her persona.
Stunning, alluring, yet carrying a hint of danger.
He chuckled, unlocked his phone, and wanted to see what the gorgeous older girl had sent him before he showered.
After all, humans were visual creatures. Barring any exceptions, the initial favorability rating for anything high-value in the looks department was never going to be low.
If it were any of his roommates messaging him, he wouldn't even bother looking.
After all, it would just be some license plates or a couple of pictures.
[Jiuyue]: Little one~ Did you make it safely back to the dorm?
[Qiu]: Yeah, just got in. Afraid of catching a cold, so I'm about to take a quick shower.
After sending the message, Gu Qiu swiftly stripped off his shirt and pants and turned on the hot water.
The phone buzzed again, unpleasantly out of timing.
Only, unlike the short vibrations of ordinary notifications, this one kept going and going for a long time.
What's going on?
With half his body already soaked, Gu Qiu picked up the phone, completely baffled—
[Jiuyue] was calling via video chat.
???
Huh, something's not right with this older sister?!
Did she hit the wrong button or something?He was completely thrown off by the other person's move. Flustered, he hurriedly declined the video call request and sent back a single question mark.
At that moment, Gu Qiu was still thinking how someone as stunning and regal as Su Jiuyue could ever do something as stalker-like as this.
Even though he was admittedly somewhat attractive, surely it wasn't *that* extreme, right?
Gu Qiu kept comforting himself inwardly, struggling to preserve the image of her he held in his heart.
Su Jiuyue replied almost instantly.
[Jiuyue]: cancanneed
This single line shattered Gu Qiu's romantic illusions about this regal beauty.
If his understanding of the phrase was correct.
This "cancanneed" employed a blend of Chinese and Western styles to elevate its cultural depth, while adopting a witty and humorous tone to mask its perverted essence.
He suddenly felt she was a lot like those people online who sold tea or stole kidneys.
He shivered inexplicably, unsure what to reply that would reflect his self-respect and good upbringing.
At that moment, Gu Qiu suddenly felt a deep empathy for all the girls harassed online.
Gu Qiu hesitated for a long time, deleting and rewriting his message in the chat box. In the end, he simply replied with a string of ellipsis, tossed his phone back onto the sink, and went back to his shower.
As for this stunning regal beauty he had just met, he figured he still needed to maintain a bit of vigilance.
He simply didn't believe that some peerless beauty on the street would fall head over heels at first sight for a broke loser like him.
He wasn't bound to some romance system like in the novels, nor was there any strange app on his phone like in some manga. What right did he, a mere student, have to attract the favor of a beauty?
Aside from his looks, which could perhaps be considered some capital.
Besides, women would only slow him down—oh wait, no, they would only slow down his progress in Genshin Impact.Closing his eyes and clearing his mind of stray thoughts, Gu Qiu let the hot water wash away the chill from his body, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin.
He shivered with a sense of relief as he rinsed off the soap. Not wanting to hog the bathroom for too long, he dried himself off, opened the door, and retreated into the sanctuary of his curtained bunk.
Perhaps it was the onset of a cold, but he unexpectedly felt no desire to join the heated conversation his roommates were having. Once the shower was finished, he felt only a dull, heavy throbbing in his head.
Oh no... am I really going to miss class tomorrow because of a fever?
Hardly had he tucked himself into bed when his phone signaled a new message.
[Jiuyue]: Actually, big sister is a doctor. I just wanted to check if you, little one, are in good health.
[Jiuyue]: Where did you go?
[Jiuyue]: Little one, are you ignoring me?
[Jiuyue]: Waaah... I’m so sad...
Gu Qiu stared at the rapid-fire messages and couldn't help but rub his forehead in resignation.
Is she really a stalker? Or is this some new kind of honey trap? Do stalkers and scammers these days really need to be this good-looking to make a living?
[Qiu]: Sorry, I was in the shower. I didn’t see my phone.
After sending the message, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, accompanied by a heavy sense of sleepiness.
The phone vibrated a few more times.
Gu Qiu truly didn’t have the strength to keep chatting with Su Jiuyue. He forced himself to switch his phone to "Do Not Disturb" mode, plugged it into the charger, and rummaged through the bedside clutter until he found a packet of cold medicine.
He tore open the package, poured the granules into his mouth, and grabbed the insulated cup from his bedside table, swallowing the medicine with a gulp of warm water.
Having done all this, he collapsed back onto the bed, wrapped himself in his quilt, and drifted into a deep sleep...
...
The dream tonight was very strange.
Everything in the dream felt hazy, yet subconsciously, he felt that it was more vivid and real than any dream he had ever had before.
In this dream, Gu Qiu was a monk living alone in a deserted temple.
For some reason, he knew with absolute clarity that he was sweeping up fallen leaves in the temple grounds, just as he did every day. After clearing the dust and leaves from the courtyard, Gu Qiu leaned his broom against the temple gate and turned toward the woods beside the temple to gather firewood.
He did not know why he was doing this. He only knew that this was what he always did.
But unlike usual, as he stepped out to gather firewood, he caught a whiff of something distinct and unsettling.
It was the smell of blood.
Following the scent, Gu Qiu moved through the woods.
Before long, he came upon a patch of crushed, tangled shrubbery. When he leaned in for a closer look, he was shocked to find a woman lying there, unconscious and covered in blood.
Though startled by the severity of her injuries, his body moved of its own accord. He gently scooped the woman up, cradling her in his arms, and prepared to take her to the temple to see if he could save her.
"Amitabha. A person of the cloth must hold compassion in their heart."
The owner of the body spoke those very words.
Perhaps because of the wounded woman, Gu Qiu quickened his pace, returning to the temple shortly after to carefully examine her injuries.
Fortunately, the woman’s wounds were only superficial. After a simple dressing, there was no danger to her life.
However, the temple forbade the presence of blood, so Gu Qiu’s body quickly fetched a basin of water to wipe the blood and grime from her.
As the dirt and blood were wiped away from the woman’s pretty face, Gu Qiu froze.
Apart from her ancient attire and a face that still held a hint of youthfulness, she looked identical to the Su Jiuyue he had met earlier today.