By the time Huai Shi awoke, he had no idea how much time had passed. Lost in thought on a park bench, he had fallen into a deep sleep. When he woke up, he was still filled with that post-nap grogginess, unwilling to move.
It seemed like he had a dream.
Huai Shi dreamt of Ai Qing, then Fu Yi, and Lily, and his senior sister... and even Little Amber and the others... In the end, he vaguely dreamt of Tong Ji too. She said she wanted to give him a blessing but was sternly rejected by the unyielding Huai Shi; she could only grasp his sleeve cuff, close to tears as she apologized.
It should have been a good dream, where Huai Shi was carefree, joyfully singing and eating hotpot with everyone, filled with hope and future, and laughter. But towards the end of the dream, when everyone gathered, the atmosphere somehow wasn't right. He didn't know why. Weren't they very happy just before? But suddenly, he couldn't feel that happiness anymore. Then, Huai Shi was startled awake.
