Zhao Lifei slept by Yang Feng’s bedside, completely unaware of the dream he was having. She dozed off to La La Land, whereas Yang Feng was whisked to a dream of the past...
- - - - -
It was a sunny day where the koi fish pond clearly reflected the serene morning sky, small puffs of clouds stretching behind a light blue canvas.
Below, cheerful giggles could be heard as a small child ran through a grassy-green maze, the sun beating down on her back. Protecting her face was a chiffon ribbon sun hat that did not budge from her head even when she dashed with a teacup in her hand, eager to deliver it to someone she held dear to her heart.
"Fengfeng!" Her voice, so pure and delightful, rang throughout the secluded garden.
Flowers were planted in every corner, creating a wonderful world of colors. They weren’t there previously, but after the little girl said she was fond of flowers, the very next day, the garden was filled with them. Butterflies fluttered in the air, dancing upon the petals, as the lively birds sang their choirs.
Sitting with poise, a detached and unsympathetic expression on his youthful face, was a boy no more than the age of nine. He was safely tucked away by the sun due to the massive umbrella attached to the porcelain white table where books were sprawled out. Despite finishing all of his homework, he was still diligently studying.
"Fengfeng, look, I brought you tea!" The little girl shouted, voice sweeter than honey, floated to his ears, a fuzzy feeling spread through his chest.
Yang Feng lifted his head from the book to look at the child, her eyes, too naive for her own good, looked up at him.
When all of the kids ran away from him because of the shadows that clung to him, the death lingering in his eyes, and his forever solemn expression, she was the special one that always chased after him. Even when those harmless eyes of hers were exposed to the cruelty he could unleash, she still did not run away from him. To the polar opposite, she seemed to cherish him even more.
"How many times do I have to tell you, don’t run with things in your hand." His voice, sharp and cold, did not scare her. Even when he looked so annoyed by her, his eyes were still tender for this child, and only her.
"But, but...The tea would get cold." She pouted, walking to him with both of her stubby hands holding the cup.
"Nevermind the tea, you should worry about yourself instead!" When he suddenly stood up, she yelped and took steps backward to prevent the scalding hot drink from landing onto his clothes, but it landed on her skin instead.
"Ow!" She cried out and that was enough for the young Yang Feng to be on high alert. His scorned expression disappeared, filled with wholesome concern.
"Where does it hurt?" He pushed the teacup out of her hand, hurriedly grabbing her arm to examine it.
"T-the teacup...Mommy said it’s expensive..." She hiccuped, her beady eyes swelling with pain, not because of the burn from the drink, but because she was horrifyingly terrified of her parents...
"Forget about the cup, you’re more important." He went to grab the iced drink on the table, but when he turned around, the girl was gone.
He panicked. Where did she go?! She was just here a few seconds ago!
"Little twat, where are you?" He called out, before noticing a small hat at the start of the maze. It was the same one he gifted her a few days ago and ever since then, she refused to part with it. She would throw tantrums whenever someone would try to take it out of her sight and knowing her horrible temper, no one dared to go against her orders.
Seeing the straw hat was abandoned scared him further. Did someone enter the premise when he was not present?!
He picked up the hat, a terrifyingly darkened expression on his face at the idea that she was taken from his clutches. He ensured whoever stupid enough to do this would surely suffer.
He entered the winding maze, which used to be so easy for him to navigate, but now increasingly hard the more he searched and walked. The tall, green bushes seemed to be moving by itself, changing the destined paths, and warping around the young boy.
"Damn it!" Yang Feng snarled, ready to burn down the entire maze until he heard the familiar sound of her voice. She was laughing, the bubbly sound so contagious it often made him smile, was echoing through the left side of the maze.
Without wasting a single second, Yang Feng dashed in that direction. When he witnessed the scene before him, the iced drinks in his hand slipped out of his clutches, clattering onto the ground.
The girl was happily giggling with another boy, similar to his age. She had an arm wrapped around him, desperately seeking his attention to which the boy was giving her. He smiled down at her, brushing her bangs aside, but when he saw it was sticky with sweat, cringed back in disgust.
Infuriated at seeing her so chummy with another boy, Yang Feng snarled, "Xiao Lili, come back here." His heart skipped a beat when she suddenly turned around, the happy expression on her face changing to confusion before annoyance — something she had never shown in front of him.
Her next words would be one that would haunt him for a very long time, and never forgotten, even when he entered adulthood and was close to forgetting about her.
"I’m sorry, but who are you?" She coldly responded, her face filled with pure animosity wand with a loud ’hmph,’ she turned her head from him, her twin pigtails flying.
Yang Feng felt his entire world crash upon hearing those words as he took a step forward to yank her back.
She can’t leave him, no, he could never bear the pain of her departure. In this entire world filled with bleak darkness, she was the light that brought hope back into him.
Hurriedly, he chased after her, but he was rooted to the ground, a force holding him back. "Xiao Lili!" He shouted, the sound resembling an enraged beast, the sound too inhumane and abnormal from a young boy like him.
- - - - -
Yang Feng shot up from the bed, his entire body drenched in sweat. His chest heaved up and down while he struggled to breathe. He felt something constraining his throat and when he looked at his neck, he saw it was just his tie that had become loose, coiling around his neck, nearly suffocating him.
He was confused.
Why was he wearing a suit? He usually slept naked, with nothing but his briefs. Memories of what happened a few hours flooded to him. Torturing the people who caused his woman harm, interrogating Ren Xiong and reaching the brink of a conclusion, the banquet, all of it was coming back now.
Zhao Lifei.
His heart pounded harder. She was with him in the car! Where was she now?! Frantically and feverishly, with his brain out of focus from the nightmare, he sought for her. He needed to see her and he needed to do so now. He needed to know she was safe and by his side, completely his and no one else’s.
When he got up and did not see her in his room, his heart dropped in disappointment. He was about to rush downstairs to look for her in the middle of the night, until a tiny sneeze came from his bed.
His head snapped to it so fast, it was a miracle that he did not get whiplash from it. Curled up with her head resting on the bed and her body on the floor, was the very woman responsible for his constant nightmares and fears.
She was here.
She did not leave him.
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