Chapter 45 The Prophetic Dream

Chapter 45: The Prophetic Dream

As the year came to an end, a brand new one was about to begin.

Bai Li's birthday passed quietly. Following the New Year's holiday, once the three days had flown by, she returned to school and once again threw herself into her studies.

Southern cities lacked central heating. The classrooms needed ventilation, making the air conditioners utterly useless. Snowflakes covered the ground like a silver quilt, and Bai Li's fingers were nearly frozen stiff.

Studying by day, reciting texts by night—she repeated this routine day after day.

Yet, life was not entirely static.

Having been well cared for in Lingjiang, Bai Li's complexion no longer had that sallow tint, and her hair regained its luster, revealing her naturally striking features.

When the second light snowfall descended, Bai Li returned from her physical education class to find several bottles of beverages neatly arranged on her desk, along with a pair of gloves.

Beside them were a few youthful sticky notes. The topmost one read:
[Classmate Bai Li, a gift for you.]

In the coldest month of the year, only the impassioned atmosphere of a youthful campus could breed such a fervent gesture.

Beside her, He Suisui teased her with a playful smile, making the exaggerated prediction that years from now, Bai Li would become the unforgettable first-love ideal in the hearts of many boys at No. 1 Private High School.

Occasionally, self-proclaimed romantic male classmates would corner her on her way home, scratching their heads while quietly mustering the courage to express their feelings.

"Classmate Bai Li, I like you. Which university do you want to test into? I'll go with you!"

These were words Bai Li had spoken to her older brother days prior, minus that bold declaration of affection.

Now, she understood these sentiments all too well.

Therefore, whenever such situations arose, she would politely say, "Thank you for liking me," followed by a soft refusal: "I'm sorry, but I already have someone I like."

Watching the boys walk away in awkward embarrassment, she couldn't help feeling a tinge of pity.

Yet Bai Li understood that her studies remained her top priority.

A youthful affection came quickly and left just as fast, without leaving behind an excess of lingering resentment or regret.

Whenever she had spare time, Bai Li would buy local specialty snacks that couldn't be found elsewhere and mail them to Fang Ye. If something tasted exceptionally delicious, she would buy extra to send to Brother Cheng and the others as well. These expenses were all paid for using the pocket money she had managed to save bit by bit.

She never touched the money Fang Ye had given her; in her mind, every penny of it would eventually have to be returned to him.

The midterm examinations of the first half of the semester would immediately follow the New Year's holiday.

This year's Lunar New Year arrived unusually early, with Chinese New Year falling at the very beginning of February, which meant the final exams approached with equal swiftness.

The exam results were released on the very day the tests concluded.

Bai Li achieved a stellar score.

Holding a report card that placed her among the top three in the entire grade, Ms. Hu forced a rare smile before turning around and tossing the paper straight into the wastebasket, deliberately covering it with a layer of fruit peels.

Fiddling with her freshly done manicure, she remarked, "I just called the school. Your younger sister didn't do very well. It's enough that you know you got a good score in your heart—don't go bragging about it everywhere, lest it hurts your sister's feelings."

Just then, Su Changjin emerged from the study and poured half a cup of leftover tea directly into the wastebasket, completely ruining the report card beyond recognition.

Bai Li quietly retreated to the side, gazing at Ms. Hu with clear eyes, making no effort to conceal the subtle trace of pity radiating from her.

How could a sound, able-bodied person willingly let themselves possess such a vile soul?

Ms. Hu's expression stiffened; if Su Changjin hadn't been standing right there, she undoubtedly would have flown into a rage.

Consequently, during dinner that evening, every dish was placed as far away from Bai Li as possible.

Her step-sister glanced sideways and smiled secretly.

Her step-brother didn't dare provoke her directly, yet his expression carried a hint of mockery.

Su Changjin had always prized family harmony above all else, yet at this moment, he kept his mouth firmly shut.

The harmony he desired was simply for his own biological children to grow up safely and healthily.

Enduring the disharmonious dinner, Bai Li retreated into the sanctuary of her room. She had no time for grief, having long since learned to stop wasting her anger on such matters.

Her mind was consumed by a single thought: she needed to finish the holiday assignments left by the school as soon as possible.

It didn't matter—once she went to university, everything would be fine!

After more than a dozen days of silence, when she finally opened her phone to check the study materials sent by her classmates, she noticed that Brother Cheng had sent her a message not long ago, though he had quickly un-sent it.

Biting her finger, Bai Li tapped into Brother Cheng's chat box and typed: [What did you un-send?]

Her message wasn't answered until the following day.

Brother Cheng's rough voice sounded somewhat hoarse. "Nothing, little sister. Just checking in on you. Have you been well lately?"

?

Why would he un-send a simple greeting?

Bai Li was completely baffled, though she supposed it made sense—perhaps Brother Cheng had sent the message to the wrong chat and used the recall feature out of awkwardness.

Tapping the voice note button, Bai Li spoke softly, "Brother Cheng, I'm doing well. It's just that the college entrance examination is only half a year away, and I'm a bit busy, so I don't check my phone very often."

Brother Cheng expressed his understanding and offered her his well-wishes once more, hoping her studies would progress smoothly and her future would be bright.

After ending the conversation, Bai Li buried herself in solving practice problems late into the night.

Her biological clock had re-established its order; the moment the night grew deep, overwhelming drowsiness washed over her. Her heavy eyelids struggled against sleep a few times before her head tilted, and she slumped forward, fast asleep at her desk.

The longer she slept, the stiffer her neck became, making her slumber increasingly restless.

In fragments and snatches, she fell into a dream.

In the dream, Fang Ye was holding a funerary urn, and the small two-story house in Lingjiang was being crushed to the ground by a massive excavator.

Her beloved little house in Lingjiang was thoroughly reduced to ruins. Fang Ye stood alone, his eyes bloodshot, burying the urn into the earth before coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood.

No matter how desperately she tried to draw closer, she was forever barred by the driving rain within the dream.

When she jolted awake, Bai Li was panting, bathed in a cold sweat.

The desolate guest bedroom was dead quiet, shrouded in absolute darkness.

Her phone chimed, casting a fluorescent glow across the room.

Her heart tightened instantly as she snatched up the phone, terrified it might be some ominous news.

Yet there was nothing—absolutely nothing.

The screen displayed a push notification from Weibo.

[Has anyone ever experienced a prophetic dream?]

What an incredible coincidence. Had the big data algorithms truly evolved to this extent?

Bai Li parted her lips, propping herself up from the bed to sit. She tapped on the notification, discovering the post came from a blogger who specialized in the study of destiny and metaphysics.

Aside from a dense array of esoteric terminology, the post read:
[Living souls harbor no idle dreams; every dream must bear a consequence.]
[To a certain extent, you are tied more closely to sorrow. The greater the hardships you have endured, the more acutely you perceive the shifts of heaven and earth. When divine portents stir the mechanisms of fate, prophetic dreams naturally manifest.]

She stared at the lines of text for a moment before scrolling down to read the comments.

[@BrotherIsNotABrother: I've had many prophetic dreams, even dreaming of things that had already happened to strangers. Even though we'd never met online, I could dream about what their homes looked like, their ages, and what had transpired.]

[@LightingAStar: I've had a prophetic dream, and it was terrifyingly accurate. I foresaw the passing of a relative. At the time, I thought it was just a dream, but by the time my family's phone call came, it was already too late. That remains my lifelong regret.]

The night was so quiet not a single sound stirred, not even a trembling leaf.

Bai Li placed the phone on her lap, and a few seconds later, she hastily opened WeChat and sent a single sentence to Fang Ye.

[Brother, have you been doing well lately?]

(End of this chapter)