Chapter 1

Feeling the softness within reach, I could still faintly smell a delicate fragrance, which I immediately recognized as coming from Xiaomei!

My heart leaped with joy, and I opened my eyes in the darkness. Sure enough, I vaguely saw a familiar outline – it was Xiaomei, the woman I had been thinking about!

"Xiaomei! Xiaomei! You're back?"

I asked, my voice hoarse with happiness.

Xiaomei gently lay down beside me, embracing me in her warm arms, kissing my burning forehead, and saying with heartache,

"Rongsheng, you still have a fever? You can't take care of yourself when I'm not around, honestly…"

I held Xiaomei tightly, happily saying,

"I'm fine, Xiaomei. The fever will break after a night's rest, it's nothing serious. Your return is more important than anything."

I wanted to ask Xiaomei where she had been, if she had escaped outside to take refuge. I also wanted to ask who had killed Aunt Mei, but before I could speak, Xiaomei suddenly began to unbutton my clothes, then pressed herself against me.

I was slightly stunned and asked blankly, "Xiaomei, what are you doing?"

Xiaomei smiled softly, her tone both gentle and sad: "Rongsheng, I can't stay by your side forever. Let me serve you one last time tonight."

I was completely bewildered and quickly asked, "Xiaomei, what do you mean? Why can't you stay by my side? Aren't you going to be my wife?"

Xiaomei didn't answer, instead, she gently silenced me with a kiss.

What followed was a natural progression.

I felt myself drowning in tenderness, floating on air.

Later, exhausted and still running a high fever, I unknowingly fell asleep in Xiaomei's arms.

I slept for an unknown amount of time. When I woke up again, I felt a tickling sensation on my face, as if a woman's hair was gently caressing it.

Opening my eyes, I indeed saw a beautiful figure.

I quickly opened my arms and hugged her tightly, saying in a trembling voice, "Xiaomei, don't leave me! Be my wife! Please be my wife!"

But in the next moment, I realized something was wrong, because the woman's scent was different from Xiaomei's. She also didn't have long hair, but a neat short haircut.

Then, policewoman Xiao Liang's scream rang out in my arms:

"Aiya! Chen Rongsheng, what are you doing? Why are you acting like a pervert!"

I hurriedly and shamefully let go, looking at Xiao Liang, whose face was completely red, and apologizing repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I mistook you for Xiaomei…"

Only then did I realize that my shirt had been taken off, and Xiao Liang was holding a wet towel, probably using it to wipe my upper body to bring down the fever.

Xiao Liang's pretty face was so red it could drip blood. She glared at me resentfully and muttered, "Hmph! If it weren't for the fact that you're delirious with fever, I… I wouldn't be done with you!"

After saying that, she still walked over with the wet towel and continued to wipe my body, complaining, "I told you not to stay in the rain and go home, but you wouldn't listen! Look, you have a high fever, right? I have to take care of you, what a pain!"

I said a reluctant apology, and then suddenly realized that Xiaomei had come back last night!

Not only had she come back, but we had slept together, and we had… we had even gone all the way!

So I quickly asked Xiao Liang, "Xiao Liang, where's Xiaomei? Where is Xiaomei?"

As a result, upon hearing this question, Xiao Liang slowly lowered her head. She said helplessly, "Chen Rongsheng, don't worry, we are still looking for Xiaomei's whereabouts. If we have any clues, we will notify you as soon as possible."

I quickly said, "No, Xiao Liang, Xiaomei came back last night. I saw her last night, she slept right next to me, and we even… we even talked for a while."

Xiao Liang, however, looked at me with sympathy and said, "Chen Rongsheng, you're delirious."

I shook my head repeatedly, saying firmly, "I'm not delirious! I can distinguish between reality and dreams. Xiaomei's return was definitely not a dream. Dreams can't be so realistic. Xiaomei really came back last night, I can swear!"

Xiao Liang still didn't believe it, but suddenly asked me, "Okay, you say you're not delirious, then let me ask you, do you know how long you've been asleep?"

I was immediately stunned.

I asked, "How long have I been asleep? Didn't I sleep for one night? Six hours? Eight hours?"

Xiao Liang smiled, a very sympathetic smile.

She said, "Silly, you've been in a coma for five days, a full five days! Uncle Mei only fainted for two days before waking up, but you've been lying in bed for five whole days. I've been watching over you these five days. If Xiaomei really came back, wouldn't I know?"

"What?!"

I was completely dumbfounded after hearing that!

I was in a coma for five days? A full five days?

But why do I only have the memory of last night?

And if Xiao Liang wasn't lying, even my memory of last night is wrong!

I frowned and asked Xiao Liang, "Are you by my side every night? Are you with me every night?"

Xiao Liang blushed upon hearing this, glared at me and said, "What are you talking about? What do you mean I'm with you every night?"

I quickly clarified, "Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to take advantage of you. I just want to ask, are you sure there's someone by my side every night? Can you testify that Xiaomei didn't come back?"

Xiao Liang counted on her fingers and said, "I took care of you last night and the night before, so I can be sure that Xiaomei didn't come back. Jiang Yongguang arranged for someone to stay with you the previous few nights. I'm not sure if they were there all night, so I can't say for sure…"

"Then how can you be sure that Xiaomei didn't come back? Maybe Xiaomei came back the previous few nights!" I couldn't help raising my voice and said loudly.

At this moment, a weathered voice suddenly came from outside the door:

"Rongsheng, don't get excited, An'an hasn't… really been back these past few days."

An'an is Xiaomei's nickname.

I looked up and saw Uncle Mei walking in from outside.

I hadn't seen him for a few days, and Uncle Mei had aged a lot. His hair was already gray, but now it was almost completely white.

His eyes were empty and lifeless, filled with bloodshot veins, and his lips were chapped and pale, making him look very weak.

I was still unwilling to accept this, and I told Uncle Mei:

"One night, Xiaomei really came back. She said a lot to me, it wasn't a dream at all. Uncle Mei, you must have been in a coma at that time, so you didn't know."

Uncle Mei shook his head and sighed:

"Rongsheng, there have been people in our house these days, Lao Li, Jiang Yongguang, and the others have been taking turns on duty. If An'an came back, they would definitely know."

It wasn't until I heard this that I finally began to suspect that that night was just my dream.

But if it was a dream, everything was so real.

At this time, Uncle Mei said to Xiao Liang, "Xiao Liang, you've worked hard these past few days, not getting a good rest for two nights in a row. Stop being so busy, go home and get a good night's sleep, don't exhaust yourself…"

Xiao Liang nodded, put down the towel, and turned to leave.

After she left, Uncle Mei turned to look at me and said in a serious tone: "Rongsheng, it's just the two of us now, I want to have a heart-to-heart talk with you…"