Imperfect Desires

596 Dream-Like Momen

Xiu didn't even intend to get up. She even threw her phone carelessly at the side as she pulled up the comforter and snuggled in. Although she wasn't that sleepy anymore, she was still feeling super lazy. So, she didn't bother even getting out of the bed.

She had just fallen asleep when she found herself in a strange place. It looked like a locker room, like the ones at the gym? Xiu couldn't tell what place it was. As she slowly darted her eyes around, she couldn't recognize anything. She found herself standing before the locker no 25 with a towel around her neck which made her even more perplexed.

"Didn't I tell you to stop coming here?"

Xiu was startled by that slightly familiar tone of the voice and wanted to whip her head around but she couldn't. Then slowly she saw the person speaking to her emerge from the darkness. However, that person's face was blurry and Xiu couldn't make out any features. She wanted to rub her eyes but she couldn't even move her hands. Why?

"If I won't come here, how will I see my mentor?"

Xiu's eyes widened as she realized that the answer came from her own mouth but she definitely wasn't talking. She wanted to shut her mouth but found out that she had no power to control her own body yet again!

The person came close to rub her head, "That's why I told you to apply to the Academy. With your skills, you'll easily pass the physical test. The written test might not be that easy for you but with my recommendation, it won't be a problem."

Xiu heard herself chuckling, "Mentor, do you think I'm all about brawn and no brain?"

"I didn't say that," that familiar gentle, and affectionate tone replied as the person led her to the nearby bench. "It's a brutal place. That's why I don't want you to keep coming here. Look, your hands must be bruised all over again."

Only now Xiu noticed that she was wearing hand wraps that people often use in combat sports. The person before her slowly helped her in taking off the hand wraps and looked at the bruised hands.

"It's not that serious. Isn't this much very common on the ring? Besides, my face is not hurt. That's a big plus."

"Are you planning on only giving up when your face gets hurt? You're too young for this place."

Xiu didn't know what she was supposed to make of this situation. Was it a dream? If it was then how come she could feel the pain? Was it because she had awakened in a dream? But if it was a memory why was it so blurry? Why wasn't she able to see everything clearly or make sense of this situation in a better way?

While she was contemplating in her mind, she heard her own voice replying, "You can stop reminding me that I'm young. It really won't help."

"You're underage, and this is illegal!" The person exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"It's really pointless. You never listen to me."

The other person was feeling exasperated so they left leaving Xiu behind who just realized that she was looking into Destiny's memories from Destiny's eyes. How very delightful! Peh! Definitely not! It's giving her goosebumps even while she was asleep!

But this bizarre adventure didn't come to an end just yet. Xiu noticed how Destiny turned around and opened her locker again, this time, she stared at the mirror and made Xiu come to a realization. Wearing an oversized hoody and covering her face completely, Destiny pulled out a card from her pocket that had a gray stripe.

In the silence of the room, Xiu heard Destiny's voice, "Sorry, mentor! But I had to steal this from you. It's the only way I can think of surviving right now."

Xiu's heart thudded violently in her chest as her eyes flew open and she gasped for air. She looked for water from her side table and gulped it down in one go before calming down a little. This experience was just as bizarre as previous ones. The only difference would be that this time around Xiu was completely awake in her dream. She saw everything from Destiny's perspective but she had no control over her actions.

It was like she lived a moment of someone's life through their eyes but without having any control over them.

She was about to rub her temples when she realized how profusely she was perspiring. Feeling sticky all over, she threw away the comforter and ran to the bathroom. Instead of taking a normal shower, she decided to pamper herself with a bubble bath and ease up her nerves.

Stripping over, as she laid back in the bathtub to relax her thoughts instinctively wandered off to the dream she just experienced. There were a few things she noticed...

One; Destiny just had a fight and it was illegal as well. What kind of fights are illegal? Streetfights or the ones in the black market! But with how clean that locker room looked, she couldn't decide which idea was more plausible.

Two; The person came to see Destiny was someone she had mentioned as her mentor in her letters. Also, that person was a female dressed as a male. Even though the texture of the voice was different but the tone sounded oddly familiar!

Three; When Destiny looked into the mirror, the face that reflected back was almost like that rebellious girl whom Chen Xiu met coincidently in a movie theatre. So, she could guess that Destiny was only about 15 or 16 at that time.

Fourth and the most important part, the card she stole from her mentor played an important role in this mystery called Destiny Novell. Perhaps, the card could become the key!

Xiu's thoughts were running all over the place. Even she couldn't tell what or why she was thinking or where all of this was coming from. But she had to act like a detective to question every single thing if she wanted to learn all about Destiny.

It was all the more important now since she didn't want Destiny's life's shadow to come and haunt hers now when she had Darren in her life. She wouldn't be able to bear seeing him getting hurt for any reason.