The Nightmare-Stricken Girl

"Don’t, don’t! Daddy, Mommy, Xiaoqi is scared!"

Huang Anqi muttered in her sleep. She seemed to be having a nightmare, her hands clutching the blanket and waving frantically as if trying to drive something away.

"Xiaoqi is scared… Daddy, Mommy…"

Huang Anqi called out in her sleep, waving her hands in front of her as she tried to drive away the nightmare, but to no avail. Sweat soaked through her pajamas. Her delicate face was covered in cold sweat, and fine beads of sweat continuously slid from the tip of her nose and forehead down her cheeks onto the pillow.

"Ah~"

Huang Anqi let out a loud cry and sat up. The last traces of sleep vanished completely.

"Go away~~ So it was just a dream! It’s all over."

Huang Anqi finally woke up and regained her usual composure. Recalling everything that had happened in the alley still left her shaken. "Huang Anqi, you’re the best. It’s okay, it’s okay. Xin’er already… killed them all~"

As she said this, she instinctively covered her mouth. She had been scared senseless when Chu Xin killed those people, so she hadn’t reacted too violently at the time.

But now that she thought about it, she was drenched in a cold sweat! Killing people—the Chu Xin who had so effortlessly killed all those thugs—was she really the same little follower she knew?

"What should I do? Should I call the police?"

After calming down, Huang Anqi found herself caught in a dilemma. She didn’t know whether she should call the police or pretend she knew nothing. But how was she supposed to get along with Chu Xin from now on? Although she had regained her senses after sleeping, she had also gained a whole host of troubles.

"Forget it. Xin’er only did it to save me…"

Huang Anqi sighed, then looked around. Her body suddenly stiffened. "This is… a hotel!" More memories came flooding back, and she finally sorted out the entire sequence of events.

"After Xin’er killed those people, she called a man and a woman. The man seemed to be the boyfriend she was dating. They brought us back to the hotel, then discussed going after Zheng Shaotian. Oh God! I was the one who told them about the Zheng Family."

Huang Anqi began to panic. If something had happened to Chu Xin and the others, she, as an accomplice, wouldn’t escape either.

"Wait! Wait! I remember Xin’er came back and said goodbye to me. She said she had already gotten her revenge. In other words, they went to the Zheng Family and successfully dealt with Zheng Shaotian."

Huang Anqi remembered that, while she had been half-conscious earlier, she seemed to have heard Chu Xin saying goodbye and telling her that she was leaving first. Chu Xin had also said that she had already called Huang Anqi’s family for her.

"The phone! Right! The phone!"

Huang Anqi picked up the landline beside the bed and dialed her family’s number.

"Beep, beep, beep~~~ Hello! Who is this?"

A familiar woman’s voice came from the other end, accompanied by the clatter of mahjong tiles. Huang Anqi covered her mouth and began to cry. That was her mother’s voice.

"Is that Anqi? Why are you crying? Did someone bully you?"

The woman on the other end recognized the sobbing voice and immediately grew nervous. Although she usually wasn’t very strict in disciplining her daughter, she was still a mother. How could she not care about her own daughter?

"I’m fine, Mom! I’m outside right now, playing with Chu Xin! You go ahead and do your thing~"

Huang Anqi wiped away her tears and smiled. After assuring her mother that she was safe, she hung up. She then called her father as well. Afterward, she sat against the headboard, with no intention of getting up and going home.

It was already late. Besides, she didn’t want to go home today. From that call, she had already learned that, as usual, her parents weren’t home. The house would be empty except for her, so what was the point of going back?

She might as well stay here. This seemed to be the place where the silly and absent-minded Chu Xin’s newly acknowledged god-sister and boyfriend lived.

She didn’t know whether that silly girl was simply carefree or what. How could she be so confident as to let her boyfriend live with such a beautiful older woman? And she was carefree enough to leave her big sister, who needed protection, here. Wasn’t she afraid something might happen?

Honestly, did she trust her boyfriend that much? If that man got a little carried away, wouldn’t this helpless little lamb be delivered straight into the wolf’s mouth by her own friend?

When Huang Anqi thought of this, the image of the man who had stroked her face and told her he was going to take revenge surfaced in her mind. "That man looks pretty average. He isn’t handsome at all. I really don’t know what Xin’er sees in him. Could it be that she’s never had a man before?"

Although Huang Anqi said this with her mouth, her little face had already flushed red. Recalling Gu Sheng’s appearance from her memories, she covered her face as if fantasizing about something.

"Mm~ What’s that sound~"

Huang Anqi’s little ears, red as if they might drip blood, suddenly twitched. A hint of confusion flashed in her eyes. "This sound seems a little… Why does it sound like something from those little movies I secretly watched…"

Curiosity flashed through Huang Anqi’s eyes. She was a bold girl to begin with, and once the thought occurred to her, she immediately acted on it. She propped herself up, sneaked down from the bed, and followed the sound toward another room, tiptoeing with movements that looked quite practiced.

"What is this… Oh my God~"

Huang Anqi crossed the living room and followed the sound all the way to the outside of an open door. Gu Sheng and Liu Daimei had truly been far too careless—or perhaps they had simply become too casual after growing familiar with each other.

Not long after meeting, the two had begun living together. As they grew more familiar, they became increasingly careless. After their relationship had grown more intimate, they had even stopped bothering to close the doors inside the suite.

Originally, after Gu Sheng had used that little trick on Huang Anqi, she shouldn’t have woken up until at least the next morning. Who could have expected this girl to have a nightmare and wake up early, discovering a secret that made her face burn?

Huang Anqi covered her mouth, afraid to make a sound. Her large eyes seemed ready to overflow with tears. "Xin’er’s boyfriend and that beautiful older sister…"

"Mei-jie! Mei-jie!"

Early the next morning, Gu Sheng patted the beauty beside him. Liu Daimei lazily shifted into another sleeping position, picked up the car keys from the bedside table without opening her eyes, and tossed them to Gu Sheng. "Stop bothering me. I was exhausted last night. Let me sleep a little longer. Go to school by yourself!"

Gu Sheng glanced at the car keys in his hand and smiled. He placed them back on the bedside table, got out of bed, tucked the blanket around Liu Daimei, then left the room and closed the door behind him.

He couldn’t drive anyway, so what would he need the keys for? Liu Daimei had indulged him until late the previous night, so it was only natural that she wanted to rest. He certainly wouldn’t disturb her. Not having a car was no problem either; he could simply take a taxi to school. He wasn’t short of money now.

"Knock, knock, knock~~~"

Gu Sheng entered the living room. Seeing that no one was there—and that no one should be there—he glanced around casually, then walked to the other bedroom door and knocked.