Who Would Fall in Love After Being Reborn?

Chapter 224: Feng Nanshu’s Sleep Talking

The next morning dawned warm and bright, heralding a perfect day for a stroll.

Feng Nanshu woke from her dreams, crawled out from under her covers, and rubbed her eyes, looking around dazedly. She noticed the bed next to hers was already empty, while Gao Wenhui was on the balcony, humming a tune as she freshened up.

Gao, now the part-time manager of the local Xi Tian store, had to rise early even on days without classes. This routine not only cured her habit of idly knocking about in the dorm but also instilled in her the healthy practice of early nights and early mornings.

Feng, sitting on her bed for a moment in confusion, then clambered down the ladder. Slipping her snow-white feet into her slippers, she trotted over to the balcony to greet her roommate.

“Good morning, Wenhui,” she said cheerily.

Gao turned to her with a smile. “Good morning, Nanshu. You were talking in your sleep last night, weren’t you?”

The little rich lady was puzzled. “?”

“I stayed up late working on a report and went to bed after you. Then I heard you mumbling in your dreams.”

Gao coughed, then imitated Feng’s tone, “Jiang Qin, dear, huff huff huff… Uh, I can’t breathe, Jiang Qin, slow down, wuwuwu…”

Feng was stunned, her clear eyes wide open and her cherry-red lips parted in shock.

Gao, still in character, continued with her act, swaying her head as she mimed Feng’s dreamy mumblings.

“No, Jiang Qin… dirty, good big brother, don’t do that, sister… sister can’t breathe, please stop.”

(good big brother is a cliche/classic nickname for your boyfriend when you have sex btw)

Feng watched her, bewildered, not understanding why she would say such things.

Was the big bear in her dream nibbling her feet again?

She glanced at her pink toes, curling them slightly as if they tickled.

As they spoke, Fan Shuling also climbed out of bed, yawning and joining them on the balcony. “Nanshu, don’t believe her. She’s clearly lying to you.”

“I am not,” Gao defended herself stoutly.

“Really? Then how come the last two lines you just said are exactly the same as the romance novel you Bluetoothed to me a few days ago?”

“…”

Fan crossed her arms, giving Gao a knowing look.

Around the millennium, the formalization of online literature was still lax. Authors would hammer away at their keyboards without restraint, writing about anything and everything with no taboos. The key theme was indulgence in personal fantasy.

Some female romance authors even outdid their male counterparts in audacity. Their writing was not only delicate but also bold and unrestrained, almost lifelike in its vividness.

During this era, a piece of literature without sensual descriptions hardly qualified as “literature.” Many websites discreetly launched a series of profound “classics,” each a popular masterpiece in its own right.

Frankly, the rapid development of web novels owed much to these widely enjoyed themes.

The romance novel Gao shared with Fan was a standout in this genre, giving Fan reason to suspect Gao was deceiving Feng.

“Shuling, I think Wenhui is telling the truth,” Feng said, her face serious yet guilty.

“?”

Fan turned to her with a questioning look, only to find Feng pouting, both serious and sheepish.

Having read a forum post about kissing a friend, Feng wouldn’t be surprised if she had dreamt of asking Jiang Qin for a kiss.

And Gao’s “Jiang Qin, dear” sounded very much like something she would say, making her somewhat credulous.

“See, I never lie. I always speak my mind,” Gao declared proudly, lifting her chin.

“But… how could Nanshu have such… such thoughts in her head?” Fan still sensed something amiss.

Dreams are the result of brain cells continuing to function during sleep, composed of memories involving sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and feelings.

Feng, as innocent as a blank slate, was unlikely to have a dream so foreign to her own experiences.

Just then, Wang Haini also woke up. After a trip to the restroom, she joined the conversation. “Let me be the fair judge here. Last night, Nanshu only mentioned Jiang Qin in her sleep talk. The rest, all those moans and groans, were made up by Wenhui.”

Caught in her ruse, Gao immediately gave up the pretense. “So you were also awake last night? And here I thought my lie was flawless.”

“I wasn’t awake. I just couldn’t sleep because of a fight with my boyfriend, so I was up until the early hours,” Haini explained.

“You two seemed to be getting along well. Why the sudden quarrel?” Fan Shuling asked, puzzled.

“I’ve forgotten the reason, or maybe the reason doesn’t even matter. We were both stubborn, each wanting the other to yield. I don’t understand why men are so compliant when pursuing you but show their true colors once in a relationship. Had I known this would happen, I wouldn’t have rushed into it with him,” Wang Haini spoke bitterly, while Feng Nanshu listened intently.

“Arguments are normal in a relationship. You need to learn to accommodate each other,” Gao Wenhui couldn’t help but offer some consolation.

But Wang Haini shook her head immediately, “The beginning of love is filled with joy, but once you’re in it, happiness fades and troubles multiply. What’s the point of being in a relationship then?”

“Uh…”

“You’re in a relationship, so you make the rules,” said Wang, dismissing Gao’s idealistic notions.

Gao was like an armchair strategist with great skills in theorizing about relationships but struggled to give practical advice.

Wang, squeezing toothpaste onto her brush, sighed, “Men, not one of them is good.”

“Are you going to break up?”

“Let’s see how it goes. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll just find someone else. Goodbye to him, and hello to a more obedient next one.”

After her bold declaration, Wang started brushing her teeth vigorously, venting her frustrations.

Meanwhile, Feng Nanshu, listening to the back-and-forth between her roommates, picked up a lot of scattered thoughts:

– There are no relationships without arguments.

– Happiness fades after falling in love.

– No man is good.

Ummm… except Jiang Qin.

She stored this newfound knowledge in her mind and then heard Gao Wenhui inviting her, “Nanshu, do you want to come with me to the milk tea shop today?”

“Wenhui, I won’t go today. Jiang Qin is taking me out.”

After saying this, Feng busied herself with washing her face, brushing her teeth, and even washing her feet. She then changed into a floral dress, layered with a knitted cardigan, its collar adorned with a white bow, epitomizing ladylike elegance.

She completed the look with white socks and brown leather shoes, the epitome of a pure and perfect school beauty.

Just then, a message from Jiang Qin arrived, saying he brought Richie along and was downstairs waiting to take her out.

“Wenhui, I’m leaving.”

“Remember to button up, Nanshu. It’s early spring, and the wind can be quite chilly,” Gao Wenhui reminded her with concern.

Feng lifted her face, “Jiang Qin will button it for me if he sees it’s undone.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, I’m dying of cuteness. Oh right, remember to tell your husband to check his email for the milk tea shop’s account statement from last month!”

“Got it.”

Feng waved goodbye and hurried downstairs, only to see Jiang Qin surrounded by a group of female students at the flower bed between the buildings.

To be precise, they were actually surrounding Richie, the dog.

The girls, saying how cute he was, eagerly petted him. Pets weren’t allowed in the dorms, and a clean, adorable little white dog like Richie was a rare sight on campus, easily attracting the overflowing affection of female students.

Jiang Qin seemed amused and didn’t stop them, though Richie shivered under the barrage of petting.

Two of the girls squatting there were from the dance department. While their looks were above average, their figures were impressive, deserving the compliment of “nice legs, nice waist.”

“Richie, do a backflip for us.”

Richie: “…”

The dance students were surprised, “Can he really do a backflip?”

“In the house, he flips so smoothly, can even drop from the third floor and do ten push-ups,” Jiang quipped.

Richie: “?????”

The girls knew he was joking, but they still laughed heartily, intending to add him on QQ to make plans for future dog-petting sessions. However, before they could pull out their phones, a stunningly beautiful girl approached with an aloof expression.

Her expression seemed to say: “This one is mine, and so is that one.”

The senior girls from the dance department were taken aback by her stunning beauty, which surpassed even the so-called top beauty of the campus. With her impressive figure, she was an absolute head-turner. Sensing the situation, they quickly waved goodbye and left.

“Why haven’t you buttoned up yet?” Jiang Qin asked.

Feng Nanshu obediently lifted her arms to let him button it. “Jiang Qin, I want to eat dumplings.”

“It’s too early for dumplings. Let’s eat something else.”

“Then, how about vinegar peanuts?”

“?”

After breakfast, they began walking Richie, just as Feng had envisioned. She held the leash in one hand and Jiang Qin’s hand in the other, her eyes brimming with joy. Jiang Qin, on the other hand, maintained a straight gaze, trying his best to avoid looking at Feng’s full, rosy lips, lest he become overly eager.

Wandering around, they eventually reached the front square, where Richie, tired and panting, refused to walk further. So, they decided to step into the Xi Tian milk tea shop.

“Jiang Qin, Feng Nanshu dreamt about you last night.”

Gao Wenhui, ever the shipper, blurted out, startling Feng.

Jiang Qin, with narrowed eyes, turned to Feng. “Really? What did you dream about?”

“Jiang Qin, you don’t want to know,” Feng warned, her face puffed up.

Seeing this, Gao immediately reached under the counter for a bag of sunflower seeds, ready to enjoy the drama.

A top-tier shipper knows how to start a conversation that leads to playful banter and sweet moments.

“I want to know. Tell me, what did you dream about?”

“I, I dreamt of you eating something delicious.”

Jiang Qin paused, “Eating what?”

Feng coldly replied, “The same thing you had on Christmas Eve night.”

“…”

Jiang Qin took a sip of his milk tea, opting to remain silent.

That was a threat, a blatant one at that!

Gao Wenhui was stunned, wondering why the conversation didn’t continue. Shouldn’t Feng, after being pressed by Jiang Qin, admit shyly that she dreamt of kissing him, leading to a more romantic atmosphere? What did Jiang Qin eat on Christmas Eve that rendered him speechless?

AN: I’m so tired of typing on a phone!!!

TL: Author-chan still typing away masterpieces on his phone!!

Liked it? Extra chapters at /premium/ via Patreon!