Book 2, Chapter 49 - Nightmare

What does it feel like to like a person?

I lay in bed, where I finally had peace and quiet. I’ve never liked anyone before. I don’t know how it feels to like someone. However, I’m certain that I would never like Harry. Because any extra moment I spend with him, I can’t help but feel like beating him up. The feeling of liking someone shouldn’t be this, where you feel like beating someone up all the time.

However, I could tell who likes who. It is obvious that Xiao Jing likes Harry. When Harry and I stand together, Xiao Jing would be angry. She wouldn’t say anything, only keep it to herself. I am guessing she likes Harry very much.

Arsenal likes Xing Chuan because she always looks at the moon. Whenever Silver Moon City is around, she would look at Silver Moon City quietly. When she meets Xing Chuan, she would be shy. She would blush. She would become different.

Xing Chuan knows that Arsenal likes him, just like Harry knows Xiao Jing likes him. However, both of them sounded so indifferent when they talked about it. It is so annoying. As if they couldn’t care less about girls liking them.

Bill likes Xue Gie and I couldn’t tell if Sharjah truly likes her. However, comparing Bill and Sharjah, I’ll definitely side with Bill. Bill is always guarding her in silence, which is heartwarming, while Sharjah is from Silver Moon City. His intention isn’t innocent.

I’ve always thought a romantic relationship would still be very far down the road for me because I’m only sixteen. Although I’m turning seventeen in three months’ time.

Seventeen is a beautiful age. I once looked forward to my seventeenth birthday, but Dad said that he would throw me a grand coming-of-age ceremony and I instantly lost interest. I could totally imagine the coming-of-age party that he was going to throw for me.

However, I’ve never thought of liking anyone. Because in my original plan, at seventeen years old I would still be studying. I would only experience a romantic relationship when I was in university.

By then, I should have been twenty years old.

Noah City was too quiet. It was so quiet that I couldn’t sleep. There was no TV, no computer nor any other form of entertainment. The people in Noah City slept early but I could only toss and turn in bed, and daydream.

*Bzzt.* The communicator buzzed.

I picked up the communicator. It was Raffles.

“I’m sorry. The meeting just ended,” Raffles apologized.

I was confused. “Why did you apologize to me?”

He smiled bashfully. He lowered his head and his grayish hair fell over his face. His face looked even more delicate through the small screen on the communicator. “You’re definitely unable to sleep,” he said.

“Mm.” I nodded.

“So, I disrupted your sleep patterns,” he blamed himself.

I understood then. He must have viewed helping me to sleep as his obligation and duty.

“Raffles.”

“Hm?” He lifted his head and looked at me.

“Don’t view helping me to sleep as your obligation and duty.”

He smiled bashfully again and scratched his head. “I don’t really sleep at night anyway.”

“However, this is not the solution.” I placed the communicator next to my face. If this continues, I would develop a pre-sleep Raffles reliance disorder.

“This is inconvenient after all. Harry is right. I can’t be in your room,” he looked down and said embarrassedly. He still views it as his obligation.

“Actually, I only need some sound.” I turned to look at Raffles in the communicator. “Is there any radio?”

“Radio?” Raffles was dumbfounded, before he came back to reality after some thinking, “Oh, that is an antique!” He suddenly smiled excitedly. “I understand what you mean. I’ll make you a small robot!” He was pumped up again. He turned and walked out of the screen. Suddenly, he rushed back and smiled. “Don’t turn off the communicator.” Then, he walked away. Soon after, I heard the familiar jabbering sound again.

Raffles’s jabbering effect worked well and I fell asleep very soon.

There was a beautiful sky garden in front of me. Next to where I stood was a musical fountain. At the fountain, a beautiful rainbow arced under the sunlight. It looked lovely.

Green fields stretched by the fountain like a green furry carpet. Colorful butterflies weaved among flowers in full bloom, creating a scene like a painting in a children’s book.

Melodious music was playing, bright like wind chimes or the bubbling of a gurgling spring.

Graceful men and women were walking around. Some were greeting one another. Some brought their children to watch the fountain. All of them were wearing delighted smiles.

Suddenly, the fountain stopped in mid-air as if time itself had frozen. The people stopped where they stood and the surroundings became extremely quiet. Only the music continued to play.

The music gradually slowed too, as if it was a DVD that’d been affected by damp. As the music grew slower, the people slowly turned towards me. They fixed their gaze on me. The men, women, old people and children were all looking at me.

I began to feel fear because there was no expression on their faces. There was no light in in their eyes but they continued looking at me.

I started running in fear. Everyone that I ran past stared at me, their gazes fixed on me. I ran to the rose counter and panted. Everyone was still staring at me.

I looked at them in shock. Then, they started moving towards me slowly. “Help me, help me, help me…” Their robotic, monotonous chant resounded. They extended their arms towards me and got closer to me like zombies!

“Don’t come near me! No!”

The blue light suddenly surged over from behind them. Their clothes turned to dust in the blue lights. Torn pieces of clothing in various colors danced before me like broken flower petals. Their bodies and their faces were swallowed by the blue lights, bit by bit. They withered and shattered. Blue roundworm-like insects crawled out from their eyes and mouths!

“H-E-L-P! Help me!” Their screams turned into a shrill roar and they clawed at me in agony. More insects swarmed out from their open mouths at me.

*Ah!* I woke up with a start, covered in sweat!

*Phew!*

*Lub-dub! Lub-dub! Lub-dub! Lub-dub!* My heart was beating vigorously.

“Luo Bing! Are you okay?” I heard a concerned exclamation.

I came back to reality and looked to the side. The communicator was still on. “I’m okay. You’re not sleeping yet?”

Raffles in the communicator smiled and raised his hand. He held a white operating lever that was as big as a cucumber. “I am making your operating lever. Is this about the size of a cucumber?” He was smug with success as if he had created a satisfying piece of art.

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