After saying this, Huo Youqing put down his laptop and returned to the bedroom, not bothering to check Dai Yixin’s reaction. After taking another shower, he was too exhausted to work, so he simply went to bed.
His sleep was restless, filled with fragmented dreams of his past with Dai Yixin or strange, disjointed imagery. When he woke in the middle of the night, he found himself drenched in cold sweat.
For a moment, he stared at the dark ceiling before slowly turning his head. The other half of the bed was empty—the person who usually insisted on sleeping beside him wasn’t there.
He blinked tiredly, recalling the vivid dream he had just had—it had felt all too real. In the dream, Dai Yixin had killed him.
To be precise, Dai Yixin had held him and jumped out of the floor-to-ceiling window.
The glass had cut Dai Yixin’s face, and they had fallen endlessly downward. The wind roared in his ears, and he couldn’t struggle—he could only watch as crimson blood dripped into his eyes, staining his vision red.
The shattered glass had slashed Dai Yixin’s face open, and blood poured out of his pale skin. Soon, his face peeled away, revealing a snake’s head underneath.
Before he had a chance to feel fear, he saw his dream-self reaching out to the snake.
No, that wasn’t a hand—it was the root of a plant.
The root wrapped around the snake, tighter and tighter, dragging them both downward until they crashed into the earth with a loud thud.
In the next instant, his perspective shifted to a god-like view. He saw two bloody, tangled snakes lying dead on the ground.
***
When Huo Youqing opened his eyes again, the time and place had changed.
He was back to being eighteen.
Because his uncle and aunt had returned to the country, Huo Youqing had slept at home that night. The next morning, he barely had time to sit down for breakfast before rushing out to catch a ride to school.
On the way, he checked his phone. His chat with the eighteen-year-old version of Dai Yixin had ended the night before.
Dai Yixin had reluctantly wished him goodnight, but there was no message from him that morning. Huo Youqing found this odd because usually, Dai Yixin would have already messaged him by now.
He couldn’t help but think about Dai Yuan’s call, where Dai Yuan had asked him to go to M Country.
After his morning classes ended, Dai Yixin still hadn’t sent any messages. Huo Youqing called him, but the phone was turned off. At that moment, he realized something was wrong.
He immediately dialed Dai Yuan’s number, and Dai Yuan picked up quickly.
“Have you bought your ticket?” Dai Yuan asked in a relaxed tone.
Huo Youqing asked, “Where is Dai Yixin?”
“How would I know? Isn’t he with you?”
“I don’t want to play games with you. If you won’t tell the truth, I’ll have to hang up.”
On the other end of the line, Dai Yuan let out a nonchalant “Oh. Then hang up, I really don’t know. If you can’t find him, maybe… he’s dead?” He burst out laughing, as if he had just made a hilarious joke. After his laughter subsided, his tone shifted, and he started to whine, “Youyou, when are you coming to M Country to see me? I miss you so much.”
Huo Youqing felt disgusted and didn’t reply. On the other end of the ocean, Dai Yuan, unaware of how unpleasant his words were, continued, “Why not come in the next few days? I’ll help you buy a ticket.”
Huo Youqing hung up on him. After that, Dai Yuan didn’t call back but sent a single text message.
The message was simple—a cartoon smiley face.
In his recent interactions with Dai Yuan, Huo Youqing realized that this version of Dai Yuan was different from the one in the twenty-seven-year-old timeline, where he had died early. In that timeline, Dai Yuan was skilled at masking his true emotions. But in this one, he was openly showing his madness on the phone.
Why the change?
It might have been because of Huo Youqing’s recent attitude during his stay in M Country. Dai Yuan must have realized that pretending was useless, so he stopped.
Or maybe it was intentional.
Did Dai Yuan love him? Huo Youqing thought the answer was no. In Dai Yuan’s eyes, he was just a toy in the brothers’ rivalry, a tool for Dai Yuan to use in his revenge against Dai Yixin. That’s why Dai Yuan befriended him, went skydiving with him, watched musicals together, and even went whale watching.
Every step Dai Yuan took was calculated, including his eventual death.
He didn’t hesitate to die if it meant getting revenge on Dai Yixin.
Now, would he just stand by and watch his brother be happy?
Of course not.
Dai Yuan hated Dai Yixin, though Huo Youqing found this hatred baffling. He had seen Dai Yuan’s pre-recorded video, but he couldn’t comprehend Dai Yuan’s desire for revenge against his brother. Instead of hating their unfaithful father, he directed his hatred toward his brother, who was only two years older.
Huo Youqing thought the biggest issue probably laid with their father, who had personally driven the brothers’ relationship to such a state.
Dai Yixin had no feelings for his younger brother either. If he had even a little affection, he wouldn’t have changed his name to his brother’s right after Dai Yuan died.
Now, while Dai Yuan still maintained some semblance of pretense, his madness was starting to show. After all, no sane person would cheerfully curse their own brother’s death.
Why would he do this?
Huo Youqing thought of an answer.
Dai Yuan wanted him to back off.
Any rational person hearing Dai Yuan’s words would be reluctant to go to M Country. Refusing to go would suggest that his feelings for Dai Yixin weren’t deep enough, or at least that he wouldn’t risk danger for him.
If that happened, Dai Yuan wouldn’t need to worry about him. Plus, most normal people would probably avoid such a dysfunctional family altogether.
And if he did go, Dai Yuan would certainly have something prepared for him.
No matter what, Dai Yuan wouldn’t lose.
***
For a whole week after that phone call, Huo Youqing couldn’t reach Dai Yixin. Meanwhile, Dai Yuan continued to send a smiley face every day, always at 1 p.m., with no other communication.
Huo Youqing knew he could choose not to go. If he didn’t, Dai Yixin would eventually come looking for him—as long as he wasn’t dead.
While the eighteen-year-old timeline seemed to be stuck, the twenty-seven-year-old timeline was unfolding differently.
Gong Lang didn’t show up again, and Dai Yixin acted as if the conversation from that day had never happened, continuing to shamelessly stay at Huo Youqing’s place. During one of these times, Huo Youqing caught Dai Yixin spacing out while cooking. He would stop mid-slice, staring at the knife for so long that he didn’t even notice Huo Youqing standing there.
This made Huo Youqing think of his dream, and the next time he returned to the eighteen-year-old timeline, he boarded a plane to M Country.
He was curious to find out: would he be walking into a trap, or would he be the one lying in wait?
Every time before, he had been the prey. Could this time be different?
