54 Mr. Liu won't let her fall
‘You snatched away everything from me, Ai! My career, my brother’s affection and even the man I love!’
‘Why couldn’t things have been the same as before between us…?’
Gasping hard, Ai woke up from her nightmare at the point where she fell from Dream High’s terrace and hit Jun’s car. Her forehead was covered with sweat. She hugged herself as if the pain from the cruel impact was still fresh in her body.
When will these dreams end…?
Like Jun, Ai frequently dreamt about her miserable past life. Her failures, the betrayal, her death…it was hard to bear.
She rested her forehead on her knees.
I didn’t dream of my past life last night, so I thought I overcame them…
It was Jun’s company and the good time they shared last night that Ai didn’t have any nightmares. She had slept soundly after many days. But the second night at Jun’s condo didn’t prove to be any different for her. Things hadn’t changed.
Feeling thirsty, she reached out towards the jar, but it was empty. She sighed and got up when the electricity was cut off. It went completely dark.
The lights…
Ai pressed the jar to her belly and hesitatingly stepped out of her room. It was pitch black. She couldn’t make out the furniture shapes at all. She inhaled and exhaled and kept on taking slow steps towards the kitchen.
She took another step but stumbled, feeling dizzy. Fear made her body tremble and her breaths go erratic.
A flash of light shone on her path the next moment, and she shut her eyes with its sudden brightness.
“Ai?” Jun came out of his room.
Hearing the familiar voice, she calmed down. “Hello.”
Jun’s sharp gaze travelled up and down her shaking figure. “Why are you trembling like that?”
“Nothing…I was just out to get some water.”
“Yeah, so where is your mobile with its flashlight on?”
“I don’t use a flashlight in the darkness.”
“…”
“A flashlight is meant to be used when it’s dark, Zhou Ai,” Jun smiled.
“I know. But I get scared.”
“I can understand if you are afraid of the dark, but why are you afraid of the light?”
“I am not afraid of the light. I just don’t like using flashlight when it’s all dark,” she pursed her lips, “I get scared thinking ‘What if I turn on my flashlight and it suddenly shines on a ghost or a monstrous creature in front of me, and then I will be dead?'”
“….”
Why does her imagination always run so wild?
“For that matter, can you please switch off your flashlight? What if a hideous monster is hiding behind that curtain? I really don’t want to see that and get a heart attack.”
His mouth violently twitched.
“Rest assured, Miss Zhou. My house is not haunted.”
“You can never be completely sure.”
He rolled his eyes. “Just sit on the couch. I will get you water. You seem like you would collapse anytime soon.”
As soon as Jun changed the flashlight’s direction, he heard a small thud.
He focused the flashlight back on her and widened his eyes seeing her collapsed on the floor.
“You…you really did collapse! What happened? Get up,” he extended his hand towards her. But she wasn’t listening. He sensed she was trembling more than before.
Jun observed her. He kneeled before her and noticed her complexion turning pale. Her lips were quivering with fear he didn’t understand. He didn’t know why but she reminded him of MissImperfectlyFine when she was shaking just like this when he had saved her from falling off the stairs.
He lowered his voice. “Why are you afraid?”
Ai quickly wiped the corner of her eye. “N-Nothing. It’s just that I am scared of heights…”
He frowned. “I know. But you aren’t at any high place right now.”
She clasped onto her dress. “It got too dark when you moved the flashlight away and I…” she uneasily breathed, “when I moved, I felt that I was falling. I couldn’t see the floor and…I thought I was not standing upon anything. I got dizzy so…”
The death of her previous life made her often hallucinate and nightmares made it just worse for her.
He remained silent.
Jun kept his mobile with the flashlight on near her. “Stay here.”
He took the jar from her and went to the kitchen. As he came back, he said, “Get up.”
She saw the jar filled with water and bit her lip. “I am sorry for-“
“Just hold my hand and get up,” he interrupted her with a serious expression.
Ai put her hand in his, and he pulled her up in a swoop. They froze in place feeling the proximity as they almost hugged. At that distance, they could faintly smell each other.
Jun looked down to see the corner of her eyes still slightly moist. Strangely, he had an urge to wipe the tear off her long eyelashes.
Ai felt the warmth radiate from his chest that drifted away the uneasiness from her heart. She felt lonely and in danger but when his broad shoulders hugged her, she felt all her anxiety dissipate as if nothing could harm her anymore.
He helped her get back to her room, and Ai quickly jumped on the bed, pulling the blanket upon herself.
Jun was speechless. “…Why did you do that? I wasn’t going to eat you up.”
She seriously stated. “But the monster hiding under my bed could. What if something suddenly grabs my feet from under the bed and I will be dead?”
Jun choked.
“Do you… always climb like that on the bed?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“What is with you and monsters? And for the last time, my house is not haunted!”
“You can never be completely sure.”
He sneered. “Ho. And why do you think you are so safe once you are on the bed? Your hideous monster can still climb out from under the bed and jump on you, and then you will be dead.”
“…”
“You are not a nice person,” Ai softly complained under her breath.
“…”
He smiled. “Should I take the jar away and prove that I am really not a nice person?”
Her brow twitched.
“You are welcome to sleep thirsty for the entire night.”
She said nothing.
Jun snorted and turned after keeping the water jar on the bedside table. For a moment, he wanted to ask what he heard her talking in the morning about joining Sky. But seeing her condition like this, he let it go for now.
“I will check what’s wrong with the power. It will be back soon.”
She nodded. “Thank you for the help again.”
As Jun was about to shut the door, he paused and looked back. Ai gave him a questioning look in return.
“If you are anywhere near me, you don’t have to be afraid of heights. As long as I am there, you won’t fall. You just won’t fall. That’s it.”
He then closed the door.
Ai kept staring at the place where he just stood. Unknowingly, her eyes turned a little misty, and warmth enveloped her chest. The certainty in his voice was so unshakeable that it struck the chords in her heart.
“You are indeed a very nice person,” she smilingly whispered.