In the depths of her dream, Gu Siqing felt as if she were trapped in a carefully staged play.
It began sweetly. Ye Chen, carrying the aura of a novel’s protagonist, burst into her life. His gaze was aggressive, his words carried a controlling dominance, and he swiftly broke through the defenses of her heart. Their feelings warmed quickly, everything playing out exactly as if scripted.
But the good days didn’t last. Ye Chen became busy, his attention drifting to other women. Those women, equally outstanding and beautiful, were the ones destined to be his heroines. Gu Siqing found herself forgotten, like an item carelessly discarded.
Loneliness clung to her, swallowing her whole. The empty room, the cold bed, all mocked her solitude.
The colors of the dream began to shift.
Qin Xiao’s figure suddenly appeared in this place of desolation. He didn’t have Ye Chen’s blinding radiance, but he carried a steady strength. His approach was not intrusive—only the right kind of presence.
It was as if he could see through the fragile side beneath her cold exterior, as if he understood the loneliness buried deep inside her. He said nothing, merely sat quietly beside her, handing her a cup of warm tea.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked.
Gu Siqing shook her head, her voice a little hoarse. “Mm, I can’t sleep.”
Qin Xiao didn’t press further. He simply patted her shoulder gently. “I’m here.”
His embrace wasn’t warm, but it dispelled the chill of the dream and brought her a rare sense of peace. Leaning on his shoulder, she felt her weary heart rest for a moment.
He began accompanying her every day, chatting about work, life, and even trivial gossip. He always managed to use a bit of humor to relax her taut nerves.
“I say, Miss Gu, aren’t you tired of keeping that stern face every day?” Qin Xiao asked with a smile.
She glared at him. “None of your business.”
“Tsk tsk, still fierce.” Qin Xiao exaggeratedly shrank his neck. “But if you smiled now and then, you’d be even more beautiful.”
His words were never many, but they always smoothed the frown between her brows, rekindling a faint hope for life. The gifts he gave weren’t expensive jewels but small things she liked—an out-of-print poetry collection, or a carefully tended potted plant.
“These things mean more than diamonds,” Qin Xiao said.
Gu Siqing sank into this long-lost warmth and comfort, feeling as if her frozen world was slowly melting. She began looking forward to seeing Qin Xiao every day, to his jokes, to his presence.
She realized she might be starting to like this man she was supposed to hate deeply.
Ye Chen’s figure returned, full of rage and violence. He discovered Qin Xiao’s existence, his eyes burning with possessiveness and fury at being infringed upon.
The dream twisted into something violent and distorted.
Like a beast out of control, Ye Chen attacked Qin Xiao without mercy. Blow after blow, each heavy strike felt like it landed on Gu Siqing’s heart.
Qin Xiao was beaten until his body was covered in wounds, his clothes stained with blood, yet his gaze toward her still carried worry.
Ye Chen didn’t stop. He dragged Gu Siqing away like an object, locking her in a cold, dark room.
“Why?”
She stared at the man who had once made her heart race, her voice trembling with anger. “You clearly don’t need me anymore, so why treat me like this? Why abandon me?”
Ye Chen sneered, his eyes full of contempt. “Hah, what would a woman understand?”
His voice was as cold as ice. “You’re nothing but a plaything to me. I got close to you for the Gu family’s resources and your pretty face. Aside from that, what else do you have? That cold, stinking face?”
Before his words even faded, a sharp slap landed hard on Gu Siqing’s cheek. The searing pain, coupled with unbearable humiliation, shattered all her pride in an instant.
The end of the dream was a desperate chase.
Qin Xiao somehow broke free from his restraints and, with all his strength, rescued her from captivity. Holding her hand, he ran through the darkness while Ye Chen’s footsteps and furious roars pursued them.
At last, they were forced to the edge of a cliff. Qin Xiao shielded her, blocking the cold muzzle of Ye Chen’s gun.
“Bang!”
The gunshot tore through the dream’s silence.
Qin Xiao’s body slowly collapsed, falling into the endless abyss.
“Qin Xiao!!!”
Gu Siqing’s scream was heart-wrenching.
“Qin Xiao!!!”
She jolted upright in bed, gasping for breath, her forehead drenched in cold sweat. Her heart pounded violently, the desperate cries from the dream still echoing in her ears.
She instinctively touched her cheek, as if the sting from the slap still lingered. Her eyes were wet, cold tears sliding down her face.
Why? Why in the dream had she chosen Ye Chen in the first place?
The Ye Chen in the dream—cruel, cold, treating her like a toy—was a stark contrast to the man in reality who seemed to carry a halo.
Which one was the real him?
A deep unease gripped her heart. She picked up her phone, her fingers trembling slightly as she dialed the Gu family’s old butler.
“Hello, Uncle Zhang.” Her voice was hoarse and urgent from waking out of a nightmare. “About what I asked you to investigate on Ye Chen—any results? Have you found out his background?”
The butler’s respectful voice came from the other end. “Miss, we used every connection we could, but… about this Ye Chen, his background is almost a complete blank. The information we did find is very limited, and much of it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. It’s as if… this man appeared out of thin air.”
“Miss, this man is very suspicious. You must be extremely careful!”
Appeared out of thin air…
The butler’s words struck Gu Siqing like a thunderclap, overlapping with the false face of Ye Chen in her dream.
She hung up, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Talk of a marriage arranged by elders, talk of family interests… in the face of this man with an unknown and possibly dangerous background, all of it felt weak and meaningless.
Her mind kept flashing back to Qin Xiao’s gentle gaze in the dream and the sight of him falling off that cliff.
A clarity she had never felt before rose within her.
She walked to her desk, opened a drawer, and took out the document symbolizing her engagement to Ye Chen.
Once, she had felt conflicted and helpless about it. But now, looking at the document, she felt only deep disgust and fear.
Without hesitation, she tore the finely made marriage contract into shreds.
The paper fluttered to the floor like the severing of her past and her confusion.
“Compared to this man who came out of nowhere…” Gu Siqing’s gaze hardened as she looked at the scattered fragments. “Qin Xiao… is the man I need.”
Her fingertips brushed lightly over her lips, as if she could still feel the warmth from the dream.
“Qin Xiao, you’re mine. Don’t even think about running.”