Xu Lin slowly opened his eyes.
The memories of the beautiful dream had already blurred, but a trace of sweetness still lingered in his heart.
?!!
Fierce memories surged in his mind.
Everything that happened before the beautiful dream replayed in his head, as if it were happening all over again.
He sat up and felt something sticky behind him.
“This… even in my dreams, she won’t let me go.”
Xu Lin looked around.
Faint sunlight streamed into the room.
Besides his own spot, there were three other beds.
His three roommates were still snoring loudly in deep sleep.
After confirming he was indeed in the dormitory, his rapid breathing finally calmed down.
Xu Lin sat on his bed in a daze for a short while.
Feeling the sweat on his face becoming unbearable, he got out of bed, went to the bathroom, and washed his face.
He looked at his dripping face in the mirror; a trace of fear still lingered in his eyes.
Returning to the chair under his bed, he collapsed into it.
Scenes from the dream flashed through his mind.
Most of them were images of Lin Shen Xue’s power running wild.
How come all I remember clearly are these parts?
I remember there were lighter, more relaxed scenes later.
How come they’ve all turned into vague concepts? I can’t recall the details at all?
And was that really just a dream?
Only those dangerous memories remained, and they were so vivid that Xu Lin couldn’t tell if it was a dream or a real experience.
He had never had such a realistic dream before.
Grabbing his water bottle, Xu Lin took a big gulp and let out a long breath.
The memories from the dream no longer surged so violently.
He picked up his phone and glanced at the time.
Just past six.
During this period, he only managed to wake up this early for his 8 a.m. classes.
Sleep more?
Forget it.
He was afraid of falling back into that terrifying dream.
Wait, no—did that mean every time he slept from now on, he would enter that dream world?
Would he ever be able to rest properly again?
From his memories, he did have ways to wake himself up from that dream, but he didn’t want to keep fixing things after the fact!
What should he do?
“Right.”
He suddenly thought of Li Zhi Ran.
But seeing it was only just past six, he wasn’t sure if she was awake yet, so he didn’t message her.
He put down his phone, deciding to think of a solution himself first and contact Li Zhi Ran later when the time was right.
Buzz buzz.
His phone vibrated. A new WeChat message had arrived.
Hearing that sound, Xu Lin’s body involuntarily stiffened.
Has Lin Shen Xue woken up too?
He thought he could at least catch a break at six in the morning.
He really didn’t want to look at his phone.
But remembering the scenes from the dream, he finally held his breath and looked at the screen.
After seeing the content, Xu Lin let out the breath he had been holding.
It was a message from Li Zhi Ran.
Perfect.
He quickly opened the chat and saw what she wanted, planning to share everything about the dream with her.
But he noticed the tone of the message was a little strange.
[Kid, did something happen to you just now?]
It sounded just like when Noxis used to speak through her.
…No way. Why was Li Zhi Ran suddenly talking like this?
Without the influence of <Electrowave>, Xu Lin naturally didn’t believe it was actually Noxis sending the message.
“Are you… Noxis?”
Still, he didn’t call her out.
[Cut the crap, kid. Just tell me if something happened or not!]
This temper was pretty explosive.
He really couldn’t imagine Li Zhi Ran speaking to him like this in person.
She usually had a cold expression, but her speech wasn’t this aggressive.
Well, this was part of her chuunibyou, right…
The witch’s familiar sending me a message through another familiar. Perfect.
[Yeah, something really did happen.]
After Xu Lin sent that, the other side suddenly went silent.
Should I keep going?
This made Xu Lin worry that Li Zhi Ran had lost her phone or something.
[Sorry, Young Hero. I just woke up and saw Noxis using my phone to message you.]
After a short while, another message came through. The tone had changed again.
She switched characters that fast?
[Young Hero, did something really happen to you?]
Li Zhi Ran continued from the previous topic.
[Yeah.]
Xu Lin surprisingly accepted this quickly and, without overthinking, told Li Zhi Ran about his dream.
…
Sorceress: [This situation really was unexpected.]
Sorceress: [But it also proves that what I said before was correct. We need to deal with the Gravity Witch as soon as possible. If we keep dragging it out, who knows what new changes might appear.]
It really was troublesome.
Xu Lin had previously considered completely staying away from Lin Shen Xue.
Yet first, she influenced him through the phone from afar, and now she was chasing him into his dreams. It seemed escaping was impossible.
The Gravity Witch was terrifying.
Mu-Mu: [This situation… does that mean I can’t sleep anymore?]
Sorceress: [That’s absolutely not okay! Long-term sleep deprivation leads to mental fatigue, which could be extremely disadvantageous when facing the Gravity Witch!]
Indeed, Xu Lin agreed.
Even when he was full of energy, interacting with Lin Shen Xue was already like that.
If he went to her half-asleep, wouldn’t he just get completely crushed?
Mu-Mu: [Is there any way to solve this?]
Sorceress: [There is.]
There really was?
Mu-Mu: [What is it?]
Sorceress: [Come live with me.]
Still thinking about that?
Mu-Mu: [But…]
Sorceress: [If Noxis hadn’t noticed something this morning, I might not even know this happened to you.]
Sorceress: [Young Hero, you must consider this carefully.]
Sorceress: [Because it’s very possible that the next time you enter the dream, you won’t wake up again.]
Sorceress: [Young Hero, last night you did manage to wake yourself up using your own power. But what about next time?]
Sorceress: [The Gravity Witch’s power is clearly growing stronger. Even with preparation, we still need to be careful. Not to mention an unpredictable encounter like falling into a dream. If next time your power isn’t enough to fully counter the Gravity Witch’s magic, you might be trapped in the dream forever.]
Sorceress: [Just like a gravity field. Once it reaches a certain limit, not even light can escape.]
That analogy…
Mu-Mu: [Is there really no other way?]
Sorceress: [Of course there is. You can drink potions. But you’d need to drink a lot before sleep to cover the entire night. Or set an alarm to wake up periodically and drink more.]
Sorceress: [But neither of those options is good for your sleep quality.]
What she said made sense.
But things were different now.
So Xu Lin told her about developing the Six Gods Blessed Florida Water.
Sorceress: [As expected of the Young Hero. You developed a new potion so quickly.]
Sorceress: [However, there are still risks. Until we confirm the dosage and effects, someone still needs to watch over you in case something unexpected happens.]
She wasn’t wrong.
But the problem was, he couldn’t just escape one tiger’s den only to enter a wolf’s den, right?
Why was she becoming even more determined to have him live with her?
This was getting tricky…
While worrying, his gaze unconsciously drifted elsewhere and landed on the current time.
Mu-Mu: [Oh no. Witch-dono, I have class soon. Gotta go for now.]
There was still a little time left, but he decided to change the subject first.
Besides, he needed to prepare before class.
His body was all sticky; he couldn’t go to the classroom like this.
He decided to take a proper shower first, then head to class.
That would take some time.
Standing her up was out of the question.
Even after last night’s dream.
He still needed to be cautious with Lin Shen Xue. One wrong step, and who knew what kind of intensity she’d bring.
Right now he was awake, he had the Florida Water, and worst case, he still had mineral water to fall back on. The problem shouldn’t be as serious as in the dream.
Moreover, he wanted to confirm whether the changes he made to her tag status in the dream would reflect in reality.
***
At Li Zhi Ran’s home.
“Noxis, why is the Young Hero so against living with me? Aren’t we partners?”
Li Zhi Ran held up the black cat plushie, her tone puzzled.
Noxis let out a few sharp, kitten-like laughs, carrying a hint of playful mischief.
“Noxis, why are you laughing like that?”
Noxis didn’t speak, just laughed again.