Young Prime Minister, a Hermit

Chapter 38

The town under a hazy yellow sky, the simple yet elegant restaurant, the bright and alluring young woman, the exquisite and beautiful dishes... and what else? I tugged at my hair, and a sentence suddenly popped into my head: Young master, don't swallow this!

A handsome face, devoid of its usual indifference, stared at me with a hint of anxiety. His wheat-colored skin was flushed, and his dark pupils shimmered with an emerald green, making my heart inexplicably clench as I looked at him.

Then, that face changed from anxious to indifferent, from worried to desperate, and then resolute... Suddenly, it coughed up a mouthful of blood. My whole body stiffened abruptly, and images flashed before my eyes in a chaotic, disjointed manner.

The black-clad men falling one after another, the stench of garbage, hands and bodies covered in blood, the boy's gentle smile as he left, the cool yet comforting embrace that enveloped me, the undisguised rage in his brown eyes, the endless yellow sand, and finally, the figure falling into a pool of blood...

"Ahhhhhh!" I screamed, and with a thud, I rolled off the bed, still wrapped in the blanket that had been covering me and Xu Lie. My feet got caught in the sheet, but I could almost see the mangled flesh of the corpse. I screamed and kicked it away, scrambling to the table.

I got up from the edge of the table to get some water, but after a series of splashes, the water bottle tipped over, and the still-warm water dripped down the edge of the table. As if possessed, I scrambled over, tilted my head back, and the water splattered into my mouth. My body convulsed as I desperately swallowed the water, and I choked, coughing uncontrollably.

"Galan! Galan!" Xu Lie rushed over and hugged me, his voice filled with worry. "What's wrong? Galan!"

"Water..." I cried out towards the water, "Water! I need water!"

"Galan!" Xu Lie shouted in my ear, holding me tightly, "Wake up!"

I shuddered violently, my whole body trembling. I looked up at him with my wet head, my eyes unfocused and unfocused, as if I didn't know where I was. Xu Lie lifted me up with one arm, quickly straightened the water bottle with the other, poured the remaining water into a glass, and brought it to my lips.

I quickly snatched it and gulped it down, coughing from time to time, but I wouldn't stop. Xu Lie gently patted my back and said softly, "Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Nobody... is going to take it from me... I looked down at the empty glass, and the image of his pale, cracked lips seemed to flash before my eyes. He hadn't even taken a sip of water. I slammed the glass down, picked up the entire glass water bottle, and hugged it tightly to my chest, as if afraid someone would try to take it from me. I mumbled incoherently, "Yihan... Yihan, you have to drink water... you'll die if you don't... I... I'll get you some water right now... don't worry..."

I turned to leave, but my shoulders were grabbed tightly, and my body was shaken violently twice. Xu Lie's furious voice exploded in my ears: "Galan! Wake up! What are you talking about?!"

I was shaken until my head was spinning, and my ears were ringing, but the scene before me slowly became clearer. Short black hair, dark eyes, a thin, oval face, and a navy blue cotton nightgown. That was…

“Xu Lie…?” I looked up at him and called out to him in a very low and careful voice.

"It's me." He breathed a sigh of relief and hugged me. "Galan, don't be afraid, I'm here with you."

I clutched his clothes tightly, smelling the familiar scent of his shower gel. My tense nerves gradually relaxed, but a heavy weight of pain weighed on my heart.

I cried silently, tears streaming down my face, soaking his clothes. My chest felt so tight I could barely breathe, and my whole body ached from the stress. But nothing compared to the fear, guilt, and dread I felt at that moment.

"Xu Lie... I'm so scared!" I hugged him tightly, my voice trembling with sobs, betraying my despair and panic. "What should I do?... What should I do?" I've caused so many deaths, I'm in dire straits, I abandoned Yi Han and escaped alone, what should I do?

"It's alright now." Xu Lie gently patted my shoulder, his tone as patient and gentle as if he were coaxing a child. "It was just a nightmare. With me by your side, nothing will happen."

I couldn't say anything more, I just cried. I collapsed into Xu Lie's arms in a daze, feeling him gently lift me up, put me on the bed, cover me with a thin blanket, and then place a kiss on my forehead that was softer than a feather.

"This time... have a good dream..."

Xiao Yi

2007.8.26 22:24

Chapter 26, The Long Road Ahead (End).

Chapter 27 Escape

Chapter 27 Escape

"...When Zhang Qian was sent on his mission to the Western Regions, he had no other means of transportation besides camels and horses, yet he had to cross the vast desert, but in the end..." The professor spoke with great enthusiasm as he showed the slides.

"Bang—" I stood up abruptly, my face pale, and under the astonished gazes from all directions, I managed to force a weak, pleading expression and said, "Teacher, I'm not feeling well."

Seeing my pale face, the teacher nodded and said with concern, "Go and rest. If you're not feeling well, don't come to class."

I rushed out without even having time to organize my books, and amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, I hid in a secluded corner and kept retching.

A plain white napkin was handed to me. I took it and wiped the stains from the corner of my mouth. I felt weak all over and couldn't help but walk to the bench in front of me and sit down, supported by the hands that were holding me.

I looked up and saw a head of gorgeous short hair, and dark eyes that shone like stars in the night sky. She looked at me with worry and concern and said softly, "Galan, what's wrong?"

I shook my head, leaned back against the bench, rested my head on her shoulder, and whispered, "Wei Ye, am I a useless person?"

After a long silence, Wei Ye sighed and said helplessly, "Asking such a question proves that you are a very useless person."

She paused, and seeing that I didn't answer and didn't even show any expression, she grabbed my hair and laughed, "You should ask me this. Do you dare say I'm a useless person?" Her arrogant and threatening tone made me burst out laughing.

"Finally, you smiled." Wei Ye breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I really don't know what's wrong with you these past two days. You haven't smiled genuinely since yesterday. Before, even though you might be a bit silly and childish, seeing your smile made me happy, as if I could be infected by your joy. Even when I was sad before, I would still have a big smile on my face when I was with your arrogant husband. But these past few days..."

She sighed, remained silent for a long time, but finally asked, "What happened?"

I looked up at the blue sky, a gentle, warm breeze caressing my face, the air slightly damp. It was the perfect time of year, March, when flowers bloomed and birds sang sweetly. But what about there? I shivered, my body involuntarily tensing to prevent a spasm. There, only scorching sun and endless yellow sand. I… didn't want to go back!

“Wei Ye, I had a terrifying dream, it was so real, it felt like the real world.” I said softly, “Every night, as soon as I close my eyes, I have this dream. In the dream, many people die for me, someone risks their life to save me in the Devil’s Desert, someone keeps scolding me for my cowardice and selfishness, but… I run away.”

“Galan, that was just a dream.” Wei Ye straightened up and looked at me with incomprehension.

“But… for me, it’s true.” I choked out. “I killed so many people, and I ran away; I asked him to take me into the desert, and I abandoned him. Wei Ye, but… I’m so scared, scared of that world, scared of all the bloodshed, and even more scared of the endless, hellish desert. So, I force myself to sleep during the day and stay awake at night… whether I’m reading, surfing the internet, or just spacing out, as long as I don’t fall asleep, I can get away from that world.”

"Galan, what... what are you talking about?" Wei Ye touched my forehead and patted my cheek, saying worriedly, "Galan, my aunt is a famous psychologist, why don't I take you to see her..."

"No!" I exclaimed in shock, shoving her away. "I'm not sick. Wei Ye, you don't understand, you don't understand! I'm just afraid, just afraid of that world. I don't want to go back, never go back. Yes...yes! I just need...I just need to hold on for fifteen more days, and I'll never have to go back...Yu Fei...Yu Fei...I don't care anymore..."

"Lin Jialan!!" Wei Ye punched me hard on the shoulder, making me cry out in pain. She glared at me, her eyes bright yet deep as the sea, and said, word by word, "You call yourself healthy? Do you know you'll have a mental breakdown if you keep going like this?!"

I avoided her eyes, buried my face in my hands, and sobbed, repeatedly saying, "I don't want to go back... I don't want to... I don't want to..."

"Galan, are you sure you know your own feelings?" Galan held my shoulders and said softly and slowly, "Are you sure that going back... would be more painful than your current breakdown?"

I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the classes, so I called Mr. Lin to pick me up. As soon as I got in the car, I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. Mr. Lin asked me where I was going, and I just weakly replied, "Anywhere."

Traffic jams are common in big cities. The car moved intermittently, stopping and starting. I kept waking up and down, my head throbbing, and I didn't feel well. I didn't know if it was just psychological or if I actually had a cold.

The car finally came to a smooth stop. Old Lin shook me awake, and when I looked up, the four gleaming silver characters of "Xu Tian Building" immediately caught my eye. Old Lin looked at me with a kind smile: "Young Madam must be missing Young Master, so let's go in and take a look."