Dreaming [Chinese Dreamcore]

[Chinese Dreamcore]

Outwardly shy and well-behaved, inwardly obsessive and dangerously unhinged younger gong (Lu Qian)

Outwardly sunny and gentle, inwardly sensitive and world-weary doctor shou (Mu Bai)

Mu Bai had a dream. In it, he returned to the Su City of his past.

The sun shone brightly, trees grew lush and leafy, a photo booth stood outside a boutique, and the Ferris wheel at the amusement park swayed gently.

Everything was just as it had been, but there wasn't a single person around.

Following his memories, Mu Bai returned to the residential compound where he had once lived.

He walked down the dusty stairwell and found that the door to his young neighbor Lu Qian's apartment was ajar...

In Mu Bai's memory, Lu Qian had been an excellent student, quiet and gentle. He would always bring his homework over to ask Mu Bai questions, then shyly tell him how many points he'd scored on the latest test.

But his life had ended at eighteen.

Mu Bai pushed open the door and went in, running his hand over the old bookcase and the certificates on the wall.

He didn't know the bolt behind him had quietly slid into place.

The familiar scent of laundry detergent washed over him. Mu Bai was shoved hard against the full-length mirror.

The tie he'd given Lu Qian as an adulthood gift was fastened around his wrist by Lu Qian himself. Cold fingers closed around Mu Bai's neck.

In the mirror, Lu Qian, now a head taller than him, bent down and whispered against his ear: