She Comes Into My Dreams Every Night - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Friend

“Uh, you are a… very good person? And, you are very beautiful?”

Lin Jue had both hands braced on either side of Su Huaiwang’s lounge chair. Her black hair cascaded down, like bed curtains, and her gently smiling face, backlit, was filled with a sense of illusory beauty. For a moment, Su Huaiwang couldn’t distinguish between dream and reality, unsure where to fix her eyes.

A trace of coolness seemed to emanate from Lin Jue. Su Huaiwang’s hand beneath the blanket instinctively gripped it tighter.

Lin Jue touched her own face, looking thoughtful: “Do I suit your taste in looks?”

Su Huaiwang’s entire face flushed, and she almost wanted to run away. She whispered, “It’s quite in line with the public’s aesthetic.”

The smile on Lin Jue’s face broadened: “As long as you find me pleasing to the eye, that’s all I care about.”

After speaking, she released her grip on the chair armrests and gracefully sat down nearby, leaving Su Huaiwang dizzy and disoriented.

Wait, what did she mean by that? Su Huaiwang now felt she had a reason to suspect she had fallen asleep on the lounge chair and that everything that just happened was a dream. But that wasn’t right either. She was only sexually repressed, not harboring any impure feelings for Lin Jue. How did the plot suddenly move towards pure romance?

“…Big Sister?” Lin Jue’s call pulled Su Huaiwang back to reality.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Jue asked with concern.

“Nothing, just zoning out for a moment.” Su Huaiwang burrowed deeper into the blanket, trying to hide her flushed face, but a small part of her ear remained exposed to the air.

“You won’t be able to breathe like that. Are you feeling unwell?” Lin Jue continued to worry. Su Huaiwang had no choice but to pull her head back out of the blanket.

“No, I’m fine.”

Lin Jue scrutinized her, seemingly confirming that she was indeed alright, then turned her head and squinted to sunbathe.

A rare sense of tranquility settled between them, but Su Huaiwang was far from as calm as she appeared.

After several internal battles, she decided to ask Lin Jue:

“What did you mean by that just now?”

Lin Jue’s wording had been too ambiguous, making Su Huaiwang feel very uneasy. She never believed she possessed the charm to make someone fall in love with her at first sight, nor had she ever thought about dating. The reason was simple: dating would drain too much of her energy. She was already tired enough managing her own life and didn’t have the excess energy to dedicate to anyone else.

If Lin Jue wanted to develop a relationship beyond friendship, she was not a good candidate.

“Which one? What is it?” Lin Jue turned to look at her, her gaze too innocent, as if genuinely puzzled.

“It’s about…” Su Huaiwang found it difficult to speak, while simultaneously feeling a slight irritation. If Lin Jue had truly been subtly flirting with her using that seemingly intimate tone, how could she not understand the implied meaning of her words?

People tend to be more lenient towards beautiful creatures, but that didn’t mean Su Huaiwang could tolerate her crossing the line repeatedly.

Lin Jue watched her for a long time, then suddenly asked, “Are you angry?”

The anger that had just flared up in Su Huaiwang was interrupted by this sudden question. Lin Jue’s smile, which always seemed fixed on her face, vanished. Her expression revealed nervousness and confusion. She sat up straight, her hands anxiously clasped over her knees.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, her voice tight and anxious.

Huh?

Su Huaiwang truly didn’t know what to do now. Her recent brainstorming had painted Lin Jue as a manipulative woman who used her looks to flirt with everyone, but now Lin Jue was showing an expression like an abandoned puppy, which was genuinely jarring.

Seeing Su Huaiwang remain silent, Lin Jue felt even more frightened, and faint wisps of black energy began to emerge from her body.

She quickly patted the tip of the black energy back down, then cautiously leaned closer, making sure not to touch Su Huaiwang:

“I haven’t… socialized much before, so sometimes I might do inappropriate things. I don’t want to make you angry. If I did anything wrong, could you tell me?”

Su Huaiwang looked down at Lin Jue, who was squatting pitifully beside her, feeling a strange delusion. Shaking her head, she quickly dismissed the feeling.

“You said you haven’t socialized much?” Su Huaiwang asked incredulously.

Lin Jue lowered her lashes and nodded: “Yes, I was born… in a small, almost deserted village,” if that could be considered being “born.” “The people around me didn’t like me much and rarely spoke to me, so I don’t really know how to interact with people.”

She then looked up: “So, if I did something wrong, can you forgive me?”

Her amber eyes were moist. Su Huaiwang actually felt a slight urge to pat her head.

However, another fact Lin Jue mentioned was far more shocking than this insignificant thought.

“Didn’t like you? How could they not like you?” The astonished words slipped out, Su Huaiwang’s voice carrying a small hint of indignation that she herself didn’t realize.

She looked at Lin Jue’s jade-like, exquisite face, then at the girl’s exposed, slender, fair arms, feeling even more bewildered.

Even though she had been slightly angry at Lin Jue a moment ago, it didn’t mean she disliked her. Frankly, few people could feel disgust for Lin Jue upon first sight.

“Does that mean you like me?” The moistness in Lin Jue’s eyes vanished, replaced by a soft light reflected in the amber.

Su Huaiwang fell silent again. After a long pause, she couldn’t resist reaching out like an older sister to pat Lin Jue’s head, tentatively asking:

“Do you know what ‘like’ means?”

“It means you won’t drive me away, and we can continue sunbathing here together?”

Su Huaiwang was speechless. Lin Jue really seemed clueless about love and affection.

“So, you didn’t know what I was asking you about earlier?”

Lin Jue tilted her head, trying to prompt Su Huaiwang to pat her again. Based on her observations over the past few days, when the small dogs at home showed this expression, Su Huaiwang would smile and pat their heads.

Lin Jue wanted that too.

But Su Huaiwang didn’t make a move; instead, she awkwardly retracted her hand. Her gaze drifted, and she realized Lin Jue was still squatting in front of her, making her feel a little uneasy. She wasn’t sure whether to tell her to sit back down or to get up herself.

Lin Jue honestly shook her head: “I don’t know.” She then added, “But you can tell me, and I won’t make the mistake again.”

She spoke very earnestly, her eyes focused entirely on Su Huaiwang.

At this point, Su Huaiwang had no reason not to believe her. If Lin Jue were truly an old hand at romance, she wouldn’t—and wouldn’t need to—beg for forgiveness with such a… subservient attitude.

The current Lin Jue was more like Da Hui and Little Huang when they were little and looked dejected after tearing up the house, just with an added sense of honesty.

But even this attitude was strange. They had no established relationship, and Su Huaiwang couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong to make a neighbor she had only met a few times act this way towards her.

She felt a little mentally exhausted.

Instead of pointing out what made her uncomfortable, she countered:

“So, what did you mean by those words?”

Lin Jue frowned, running all the words she had just said through her mind: “The literal meaning…?”

Su Huaiwang massaged her forehead, knowing Lin Jue hadn’t understood: “I mean, when you said you were very curious about me and cared about my feelings, why was that?”

“Because I want to be closer to you. I want to become…”

Su Huaiwang’s heart rose.

“…friends.”

The approximately 250-gram heart dropped back down.

“So that’s what it was.”

Su Huaiwang touched her face and unconsciously smiled—a smile of relief.

She then asked, “Have you had friends before?”

Lin Jue shook her head again: “No.”

“I see.” Su Huaiwang looked at her, the urge to pat her head welling up again.

“Why don’t you sit back on the lounge chair? Isn’t squatting all the time tiring?” Su Huaiwang felt more relaxed and spoke with less restraint.

Lin Jue obediently returned to the lounge chair, but her eyes remained fixed on Su Huaiwang, afraid to miss even the slightest change in her expression.

After Lin Jue’s series of honest answers, Su Huaiwang confirmed that the other party genuinely didn’t understand anything. Facing Lin Jue’s gaze, she now felt less anxious.

“Among friends, people rarely say directly that they care about you.”

“Why?” Lin Jue asked seriously.

“Um… it’s a bit mushy?” Su Huaiwang’s experience with making friends wasn’t extensive either; she only had one true confidant.

“Okay, I won’t say that anymore, then.” Lin Jue was slightly hesitant for the first time. The rules of human language seemed a little difficult for her.

“It’s not that you absolutely can’t say it… Oh, well, you—you’ll understand once you make more friends.” Su Huaiwang struggled for a long time, only to come up with this ambiguous answer.

Lin Jue didn’t seem dissatisfied with her vague reply. She simply nodded lightly: “But I only want to be friends with you.”

The breath Su Huaiwang had just let out immediately hitched: “…Alright, let’s skip this topic.”

The girl looked at her carefully, and the familiar smile returned to her face: “Then can you tell me how I can become your friend?”

…

The clouds covered the sky, and the light dimmed.

Su Huaiwang dragged her tired body back to her room and immediately lay down on the bed.

Mimi burrowed out from under the blanket and began kneading on her. Su Huaiwang tapped its tiny head, playfully chiding, “You’re lucky. You disappear the moment a person comes over.”

Mimi let out a “Meow,” completely oblivious to what she meant. Looking at its innocent expression, Su Huaiwang couldn’t help but be reminded of Lin Jue.

She sighed. She had just promised Lin Jue that she would take her sightseeing around the area in a few days.

It was the first time someone had so directly expressed a desire to be her friend. Modern people rarely say such “impolite” things; everything is usually left to happen naturally.

And she had actually agreed.

She had a selfish motive, though.

Lin Jue’s appearance had challenged both her moral bottom line and her little hobby. She suspected this was due to her lack of contact with unfamiliar peers for so long.

If she became friends with Lin Jue and got familiar with her, maybe the wet dreams would stop. Her brain would automatically categorize Lin Jue as a friend. As everyone knows, people rarely feel sexual desire toward friends they interact with normally, just as she had never had a dream involving Tu Zhizhuo (her friend) in that way.

Su Huaiwang sighed again, turning to look at the hidden small cabinet. Struggling to suppress the restlessness in her heart, she felt the road ahead was long and arduous.

The clouds grew thicker. Raindrops began to fall, first one or two, then in heavy bursts, hitting the window with a bang-bang sound.

Su Huaiwang covered her head with the blanket, vaguely thinking that even if they were to go out, it would have to wait for a sunny day.

The sky was completely dark. A pair of eyes watched her through the night.

The girl in the white dress stood in the rain, drenched. Her amber eyes pierced through the rain and the tiles, greedily watching the person lying in bed.

Her face was pale, and her black hair was slick with moisture, making her seem like a ghost. Wisps of black energy rose from her body. Since Su Huaiwang couldn’t see her now, she had no reason to keep up the pretense.

Recalling the afternoon’s conversation, her face grew even paler.

Friend, friend… What exactly is a friend? She had only heard Su Huaiwang use the word.

A friend, three pets—these were the things Su Huaiwang constantly cared about. In other words, these were the things she “loved”?

Then what did she, Lin Jue, have to become to be with her?

She had never met this so-called friend. Now, she thought she might have chosen wrong.

Only pets got to cling to her day and night.

The disappointment in Lin Jue’s heart was nearly overwhelming. She casually batted away a lonely wandering ghost that drifted too close.

She had just thought that, at a ratio of one to three, a friend might receive more time and “love” than pets.

Now it seemed that wasn’t the case?

Then perhaps it would be better for her to be a pet.