Ye City.
Wen Yan was still deep in her sleep.
The entire night, she had been dreaming non-stop.
In the morning, she dreamed of another fragment.
A man dressed in a long black robe with his long hair tied up. His facial features were sharp and cold, as if carved by a knife.
He forcefully pushed her away with his palm. She fell to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
His face was as cold as frost, his gaze piercing as he looked at her. "Wen Yan, if there is a next life, let us never meet again!"
The moment he turned and left, her heart felt as if it were being twisted by a knife.
She reached out and grabbed the hem of his clothes.
But he didn't stop. The fabric slipped through her fingertips.
She closed her fingers, grasping nothing but air.
Looking at his retreating back, she shook her head repeatedly.
"Don't go. I know what love is now..."
But it was already too late.
For a moment, her heart ached beyond measure.
The scene shifted again. She was holding a sharp dagger, plunging it forcefully into the man's chest.
The man collapsed into her arms. His narrow eyes were stained with a terrifying crimson, and a trickle of blood slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth. He looked at her in disbelief, "Was it all fake?"
She let out a cold laugh, "Yes."
A tear slowly slid down from the corner of his eye. He closed his eyes, his thin lips trembling as he spat out three words, "I hate you—"
"Don't hate me, don't hate me!"
Wen Yan jolted awake from the nightmare.
She sat up in bed, her mouth wide open as she gasped for air.
The bathroom door opened, and a man who had just taken his morning shower walked out.
He was wearing a black dress shirt, his long, slender fingers buttoning it up.
The top three buttons were left undone, revealing his exquisite collarbones and a glimpse of his chest.
Firm and sexy.
Seeing the man, Wen Yan quickly got out of bed, ran up to him, and tightly hugged his lean waist. "Si Moyan, don't hate me!"
Si Moyan's tall figure stiffened slightly. His large hands wrapped around her slender waist, his dark eyes looking at her deeply. "Did you have a nightmare?"
He couldn't even love her enough, so how could he possibly hate her?
After returning from Heng City yesterday, she hadn't slept peacefully at night, constantly having nightmares.
It was probably because that evil entity had severely damaged her mental energy.
He had stayed by her side all night. Every time she woke up startled, he would patiently comfort her.
Si Moyan lowered his head and kissed Wen Yan's forehead, his voice husky and gentle. "I won't go to work today. I'll stay home with you."
Wen Yan looked up at Si Moyan.
The fragments in her dream were disjointed, but she clearly remembered that the man who said he hated her had Si Moyan's face.
There must be some love-hate entanglement between them spanning past and present lives.
Would she be able to uncover the truth once she finished consuming the last four pieces of gossip?
Wen Yan rested her small face against the man's broad, firm chest. Feeling his strong, steady heartbeat, she calmed down after a while, her emotions settling.
"I have to go back to the university later too."
Si Moyan looked at her slightly pale face. "Are you really okay?"
"It was just a nightmare. I'm fine now. You should hurry to work. You've been away from the company for days, so you must have a lot to handle!"
Si Moyan nodded. "I also need to visit the aristocratic academy here in Ye City later, to try and get Xiaoshu transferred in as soon as possible."
Wen Yan took the initiative to kiss the man's handsome, resolute jawline. "Thanks for going through the trouble."
Si Moyan raised his index finger and gently scraped the tip of the woman's elegant nose. "What are you talking about? Xiaoshu is my brother-in-law."
Hearing him say the word brother-in-law, Wen Yan felt inexplicably touched.
...
Wen Yan arranged for Wen Jinglou and Wen Xiaoshu to stay in her apartment.
The apartment was nearly two hundred square meters, more than enough space for the father and son.
After the incident at Isha Academy, Wen Jinglou followed Wen Yan's arrangements and brought Xiaoshu to Ye City to reunite with her.
From now on, she would have her true maiden family with her in Ye City.
After finishing her classes in the afternoon, Wen Yan drove straight back to the apartment.
When entering the lobby of her building, she ran into her neighbor's daughter.
The neighbor was a businesswoman with good financial standing, rumored to be a single mother.
Her daughter was currently in college, and her boyfriend attended the same school.
The two were walking and kissing, completely oblivious to Wen Yan behind them.
"My mom only has me as her only daughter. Everything in our family is mine, which means it will be yours in the future too."
"Once we get married, we'll move into the luxurious grand villa at the old estate. My grandfather is getting old and probably won't live much longer. When the time comes, we can bring your parents, brother, and sister all over."
"I grew up in a single-parent household, so I really envy that you have a big family."
The young girl, deeply immersed in love, didn't notice the calculating gleam that flashed through the boy's eyes.
Wen Yan shook her head speechlessly.
Being hopelessly love-struck was really fatal!
Back at the apartment, Wen Jinglou had already prepared a table full of dishes.
"Is Ah Yan not coming back for dinner?" Wen Jinglou asked.
Wen Yan had received a message from Si Moyan in the afternoon saying he had a gathering tonight and asking if she wanted to go together. At the time, she wanted to go home to spend time with her father and brother, so she declined.
"He's a bit busy. He'll come over another day when he's free."
Wen Xiaoshu rolled his wheelchair over to Wen Yan. "Sis, I got a message from my brother-in-law this afternoon. He said he sorted out the school transfer for me here. He's pretty amazing, huh."
Hearing Wen Xiaoshu call him brother-in-law, a smile curled on Wen Yan's lips. "You changed your tune that quickly?"
Wen Xiaoshu crossed his arms over his chest and let out a proud hmph. "I won't call him brother-in-law to his face. I still need to see how he performs in the future."
After dinner, Wen Yan received a call from Si Jingyi.
"Sister-in-law, didn't you go to the gathering with my older brother tonight?"
Wen Yan gave an affirmative hum.
"Sister-in-law, do you not know who came back? How could you not attend the gathering with my brother?"
Wen Yan furrowed her brows. "Who came back? Could it be a romantic rival of mine?"
"Damn, sister-in-law, you're amazing. Spot on with one guess. That's right, your biggest rival has returned. Hurry up and get to the Shuiyunjian Club. I'm keeping an eye on my brother for you right now, lest he gets bewitched by that spider demoness."
Wen Yan's mouth twitched.
Was it really that exaggerated?
Just as Wen Yan was about to hang up, Si Jingyi added, "Sister-in-law, dress up nicely before you come. Make sure to blind your rival with your beauty."
Wen Yan couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, I won't show up in my ugly work clothes."
Half an hour later, Wen Yan drove to the Shuiyunjian Club.
When Si Jingyi saw Wen Yan, his peach-blossom eyes were filled with pride.
As expected of his sister-in-law, calling her a stunning beauty of the mortal realm was no exaggeration.
"What's the situation in the private room?" The club had heating, so Wen Yan took off her coat and handed it to the manager.
Underneath, she wore a black slit dress, looking alluring and swaying gracefully with every step.
Si Jingyi spoke quickly, "While we were handling business in Heng City, Jiang Shuyin returned to the country. My brother's buddies, Jiang Yufeng and Song Wenjing, both like her a lot. As soon as my brother got back yesterday, they set up a gathering for him and Jiang Shuyin to meet."
Wen Yan raised an eyebrow, her red lips parting slightly. "The female comrade-in-arms who took a bullet for your brother?"
Si Jingyi nodded, a rare serious expression appearing on his handsome, devilish face. "Sister-in-law, did you know that my brother has a secret buried deep in his heart?"
