Drowning Again

[A similar story, You Dreamed of Me, is now available. Weibo: @Mimi Juan] In the kidnapping, the last thing Jiang Zhiyi saw before losing consciousness was Zhou Xuying's face. The night they parted, the rain was heavy and the air stifling. Zhou Xuying leaned back, the back of his head against the sofa, his raised Adam's apple flushed red. He smoked in silence, the blue-gray rings of smoke blurring his features. His voice was hoarse and defeated as he sneered, "Get as far away from me as you can. Don't let me see you again." "Okay." Jiang Zhiyi remembered those words, so she gave up on calling for help. Later, in the hospital room, Zhou Xuying sat in a shadowy corner. At the sound of movement, he looked up and stared at her. The curve of Jiang Zhiyi's lips stiffened. He tossed the folded paper in his hand at her, his voice icy. "So proud of yourself." "You'd rather die than swallow your pride and come to me?" Zhou Xuying called her name mockingly, then said his final words. "Fine. Then don't you dare grow a heart." - She didn't know that in all the years she was gone, Zhou Xuying dreamed countless times of a girl with bright eyes, hooking her hand around his. On a snowy day, on New Year's Eve, on the final day of 2013, she had said three things. She said she liked him. She said she wanted a long future with him. She also said she would stand with him at the summit reserved for winners. She was a liar, but he still wanted a future with her. He had never doubted her. A healing story / from school to the city / HE Please add You Dreamed of Me to your collection! Lin Zhiwei and Shen Ji first clashed on a summer evening. The ground was muddy after the rain. Cicadas had shed their shells beneath the trees. A car sped by, and Shen Ji ruined her favorite dress. That was the first time Lin Zhiwei had heard of Shen Ji. He didn't fit in with this remote place, wearing the simplest black T-shirt yet dazzling beyond reason. Through the car window, she saw the boy's sharply defined, lean features, the expensive watch on his wrist, and the cool, unapologetic look in his dark eyes as they passed over the hem of her dress. Later, Lin Zhiwei got her revenge with a prank: "I'll make him fall for me, then dump him." Everyone thought the two of them would become lifelong enemies. But at 3:18 that night, Lin Zhiwei received a text. Shen Ji: "Feel good about winning?" "Then next time, you'll be my girlfriend." - Many years after they truly parted, at the same time, 3:18 in the morning, Lin Zhiwei woke from a dream. A cold wind blew in, chasing away her sleep. She dialed a number in the dark, and the automated tone sounded cold and hollow. At the other end, she heard his voice, cool and indifferent, emotionless yet familiar, overlapping with the voice from her dream. "Who is this?" he asked, tired and impatient. Lin Zhiwei paused for a second, ignored his question, and spoke on her own. "I dreamed you said you missed me." The words fell, then seemed to go quiet before being torn apart. He scoffed, mocking her without mercy. "After all these years, that's still the only trick you've got." She said nothing. Only her breathing mingled with a crackle of static. In the night, his warning came out hoarse and fierce. He called her name: "Lin Zhiwei, what did I tell you back then?" "This time, there's no one who cares about you." Message: Study hard