Chapter 103: Memoirs of a Late Wife

Liang Shining was stunned for a moment.

He turned his head back hesitantly, and was met with the smiling expression of "Ying Huai" in the hallucination.

"Ying Huai" saw him turn his head, and a smile instantly appeared in his eyes.

He indeed...... shouldn't count as Liang Shining's hallucination.

But neither was it the so-called transmigration of a soul.

——Ying Huai vaguely felt that he must be dreaming.

A second ago, his memory was still of the chaos and frenzy between the sheets.

Today he had curiously asked Liang Shining about what happened after his death in the previous life.

Liang Shining, who always answered his every question, was unusually evasive. Only when worn down by his pestering did he reluctantly pick out a few questions to answer, and then refused to say more.

That night, Liang Shining's movements were especially intense, even losing control toward the end.

Ying Huai was soon utterly routed.

He remembered that at the very end, Liang Shining held him tightly, his slightly heavy breath falling against his ear, and his exhausted thoughts uncontrollably began to sink and slow.

The words about the previous life from before sleep, along with his last bit of fading consciousness, surfaced in his mind and gradually wove into an illusory dream.

Before Ying Huai could react, the next second, he felt a wave of weightlessness wash over him.

When he opened his eyes again, it was the scene from the living room just now.

Ying Huai was clearly in a dream; after all, Liang Shining had just told him these things before sleep.

Ying Huai looked at the surroundings that seemed real but were actually blurred, and for a moment didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

——He finally understood what it meant to dream at night of what one thinks about by day.

Just as he was bored and about to simply sit on the sofa and doze for a while, Liang Shining finally came home.

Ying Huai was instantly energized.

He was clear this was his dream; everything in it could probably only develop according to what Liang Shining had told him.

But he still couldn't resist wanting to talk to Liang Shining.

Ying Huai never had the chance to know what Liang Shining was like after his death in the previous life.

So at this moment, Liang Shining in the dream should still have the personality from when they first met in the previous life.

This made Ying Huai even more unable to resist wanting to tease him.

——He hadn't expected that the Liang Shining in this dream would be just as stiff as in reality, actually trying to ignore him directly.

·

At this moment, Ying Huai watched Liang Shining finally turn his gaze over, and an uncontrollable flash of delight crossed his eyes.

"How about it? Have you figured it out? Can you keep me company........."

Before he could finish speaking, the next second, he saw Liang Shining suddenly raise his hand and toss the towel in his hand directly over his head.

Ying Huai: ?

The towel instantly landed on his head.

Ying Huai was stunned for a moment, and Liang Shining's expression also froze.

"You........" Liang Shining began hesitantly.

Before he could finish, the next second he saw Ying Huai grab the towel from his head and, without hesitation, toss it right back.

He looked up at Liang Shining, gritting his teeth with a half-smile: "What 'you'?"

Liang Shining somewhat flusteredly caught the towel.

He hesitated, then finally said in a low voice: "You........ have a physical body?"

Ying Huai was almost amused to anger by this remark.

"I told you I'm not a hallucination, nor a soul, I am—"

He paused mid-sentence, momentarily unsure how to explain to this dream version of Liang Shining.

Saying that Liang Shining was a person in his dream would probably make someone who had barely started to accept things change his mind again.

——He might not only think he himself was hallucinating, but also think they were both crazy.

Ying Huai thought for a few seconds, looked at Liang Shining's suspicious gaze again, and decided to just go for broke.

——It was his own dream; why overthink it.

"Just consider me as—no, you are dreaming."

Liang Shining frowned and stared at him for a few seconds; whether he believed it was unclear.

Ying Huai had no intention of dwelling on this with him further.

He covered his mouth and yawned, somewhat surprised that he could feel sleepy even in his dream.

"Alright, stop fussing over it. It's already very late tonight. Aren't you sleepy?"

Liang Shining hesitantly raised his head, and the next second saw Ying Huai once again cover his mouth and yawn, answering his own question.

"Anyway, I'm sleepy. Keep me company while I sleep first. We'll talk about anything else tomorrow."

Liang Shining was stunned for a moment.

Before he could figure out what was happening, he had already keenly caught the key point in Ying Huai's words.

"'Keep you company' while you sleep........."

Ying Huai didn't sense anything wrong and casually hummed "mm" in response.

Liang Shining vaguely felt that this "keep company" was somehow off.

But before he could react, the next second, he saw Ying Huai lean back slightly, tilt his body, and directly lie down sideways on Liang Shining's bed with practiced ease.

Liang Shining: ???

He instantly reached out to pull him: "What are you doing? Get up........"

"Mm?"

Ying Huai was drowsy and confused, momentarily not realizing what was wrong.

"What's wrong......."

He was pulled up to a sitting position by Liang Shining, and before Liang Shining could say anything, he frowned and whispered first: "Be gentler....... It hurts."

Liang Shining's eyes widened slightly in disbelief.

——He couldn't understand how this person who had usurped his bed could have the nerve to speak so matter-of-factly.

Although he hadn't actually thought this in his heart, his hands still subconsciously loosened a bit.

Ying Huai rubbed his wrist, looked up and glanced at him somewhat bafflingly: "What are you doing?"

Liang Shining clenched his teeth: "Why are you sleeping in my bed........ No, why do you want me to sleep with you?"

Ying Huai was stunned for a moment.

He instinctively raised his head, and only when he met Liang Shining's nervous and flustered expression did he belatedly realize—

He was now facing the "innocent" Liang Shining from the dream, not the one who had already......... gotten into bed with him.

Ying Huai coughed lightly, his expression momentarily unnatural.

His eyes darted around, and the next second, he suddenly realized something and raised his head with a half-smile.

"What? Is there a problem?"

He suddenly propped himself up to sit straight on the bed, leaned forward, and looked over with smiling peach blossom eyes.

"No reason. I just want you to sleep with me. Is that not allowed?"

The moment his words fell, the next second he saw a crack appear on Liang Shining's perpetually icy face.

He seemed unable to believe what he had just heard: "What did you say......."

Ying Huai said nothing, unable to resist smiling with curved eyes again.

He suddenly raised his hand and, amid Liang Shining's shocked expression, reached out and wrapped his arm around his neck.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

He had just suddenly realized something.

——In his own dream, couldn't he do as he pleased?

Ying Huai raised his head, looked at the person whose cheeks were slowly reddening before him, and a teasing glint unconsciously entered his eyes: "Could it be that you're unwilling....... little disciple?"

Liang Shining's body instantly stiffened.

Ying Huai could no longer hold back and laughed openly without concealment.

——It had been a long time since he had felt the joy of freely teasing someone.

Liang Shining was now not only immune to his teasing but could occasionally turn the tables.

Unlike this one in the dream, who still had the personality from his previous life's memory—green and stiff.

The smile in Ying Huai's eyes nearly overflowed.

He looked at Liang Shining's unnatural expression, his eyes darted around, and he opened his mouth with a smile wanting to say more, but the next second suddenly saw the person in front of him instantly stand up.

Then, before Ying Huai could react, Liang Shining suddenly raised his hand, grabbed the blanket beside him, and wrapped the person next to him up in it.

Ying Huai: ?

He was stunned for a moment and instinctively struggled, but immediately after, he felt Liang Shining place him on the bed and step back to turn off the light.

"No matter what you are....... sleep by yourself."

Liang Shining stood at the doorway holding the door frame, his voice hoarse: "I'm going out."

Ying Huai: ........?

He looked at himself wrapped up like a dumpling, raised his head with a wry smile, and the next second heard a soft "click," followed by darkness before his eyes.

Liang Shining, seemingly afraid he would say more, unhesitatingly shut the bedroom door.

In the darkness, Ying Huai lay tightly wrapped in the blanket on the bed, and after a long moment, let out a soft sigh.

·

The passage of time in the dream seemed to be only an instant.

Ying Huai wasn't sure whether he had actually fallen asleep; it felt like he had only just closed his eyes when the light from outside had already come through the curtains.

The blanket around him seemed to have loosened while he slept. Ying Huai slowly propped himself up, momentarily uncertain whether he was still in the dream.

The next moment, a soft "click" came from the doorway, followed by Liang Shining hesitantly poking his head in.

He looked at the person on the bed who had instinctively turned his head at the sound, and unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he had said "cannot sink into illusion" yesterday, all night long he had been tossing and turning, wondering what this "Ying Huai" was, and whether he might suddenly disappear without warning just as he had appeared.

All night, Liang Shining had countless times wanted to get up and check the room, but forced himself to suppress the thought.

When the daylight was fully bright, the person who had been tossing all night, as if receiving some pardon, suddenly stood up and headed straight for the bedroom without hesitation.

Only upon seeing the familiar figure on the bed did Liang Shining's suspended heart involuntarily drop heavily.

——Fortunately, no matter what this person before him was........ at least he was still here.

Ying Huai didn't notice the fleeting change in Liang Shining's expression.

"Morning, little disciple."

He pressed his chest and raised his head with a smile.

"How did you sleep last night?"

Liang Shining glanced at him with a complicated expression, leaning against the door without speaking.

Ying Huai didn't mind. Anyway, it was his own dream; if the mountain wouldn't come to him, he'd go to the mountain.

He propped himself up to sit, intending to get off the bed and walk over on his own, but the next second suddenly frowned and pressed his hand to his chest.

"What's wrong?"

Before Liang Shining could even react, he had already nervously stepped forward first.

Ying Huai pressed his chest and panted a few times, then shook his head slightly.

"Nothing's wrong........ probably just low blood pressure from just waking up. I'll be fine after a moment."

As he spoke, he forced a slight smile at Liang Shining, but inwardly he was groaning.

—How was it that even in a dream, his heart wouldn't let him off?

Ying Huai sighed, lowered his eyes, and struggled to endure the waves of palpitations in his chest, not noticing the unusually grim expression on Liang Shining's face.

Fortunately, this kind of morning palpitations came and went quickly. After taking a few deep breaths, Ying Huai felt the tightness in his chest had eased considerably.

His shoulders relaxed slightly. He exhaled silently, then raised his head with a renewed smile: "Alright, I'm fine now. You don't need to keep supporting me........"

Before he could finish speaking, he met Liang Shining's expression and suddenly froze.

Liang Shining's face was unusually grim, bloodshot veins bursting in his eyes, his entire body extremely tense.

He gripped Ying Huai's arm tightly, gritted his teeth, and said in a low voice: "You........"

"I'm fine. What's wrong with you?" Ying Huai hurriedly said.

Ying Huai immediately grabbed his wrist in return, speaking with some concern: "I'm already fine. Don't be nervous. I just got up too fast and felt a bit dizzy........"

He wasn't sure when Liang Shining had learned about his heart problem after his death in his previous life.

Ying Huai felt a surge of panic in his heart, but watched as Liang Shining stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly gradually regaining some composure.

".......Are you really alright?" Liang Shining said hoarsely.

"Then earlier you........"

"I'm really fine now. And haven't you always thought I was your hallucination? What could possibly happen to me?"

Ying Huai thought of something and raised his head with a bright smile.

The moment his words fell, he saw Liang Shining's face darken several shades more.

Ying Huai blinked in some confusion, but watched as Liang Shining's expression returned to cold indifference. He slowly straightened up, but did not let go of the hand supporting him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to just now."

Though he said this, his gaze remained fixed unblinkingly on Ying Huai: "You........"

Before he could finish speaking, the next second, he heard a flurry of hurried footsteps from outside the door, followed by someone gently knocking and carefully pushing the door open.

"Liang-ge, are you up........"

Li Xiang carefully poked his head in, and the next second, his voice cut off abruptly.

The two "people" in the room suddenly raised their heads.

Ying Huai instinctively tried to pull his hand free from Liang Shining's grip, but Liang Shining didn't let go. Instead, he stepped forward and directly shielded Ying Huai behind him.

"Wait a moment, Li Xiang. What you just saw actually.........."

Before he could finish, he saw Li Xiang turn back with some confusion.

"Why are you up so early today, Liang-ge?"

Liang Shining's voice paused slightly.

He watched Li Xiang walk quickly into the room, chattering away as if he hadn't seen Ying Huai at all.

"You didn't stay up all night again, did you, Liang-ge? I've been keeping an eye on the police station and the Hospital for you. Don't worry so much. Teacher Ying Huai's situation will definitely turn out fine........"

He chattered on for a long while without hearing a response from Liang Shining. When he turned his head, he saw his artist still staring at him in a daze.

Li Xiang was startled: "What's wrong? Is something off, Liang-ge?"

Liang Shining looked at him, hesitated, then said in a low voice: "You can't see........"

Li Xiang was completely baffled.

"Can't see what? Did something happen, Liang-ge?"

He instantly became somewhat alert: "Is there something about Teacher Ying Huai's situation that I haven't considered—"

Liang Shining came back to himself.

He cast a complicated glance at the bed, then turned back and shook his head slightly.

"Nothing."

He drew a deep breath, and his tense body gradually relaxed.

"I was just........ overthinking."

Li Xiang was somewhat confused, but knowing Liang Shining had been in a bad mood these past two days, he hesitated before finally nodding uncertainly.

"Alright, Liang-ge, don't put too much pressure on yourself. If there's any problem, just tell me directly."

Liang Shining said nothing, only nodded slightly.

He looked at what Li Xiang was holding in his hands and changed the subject first: "Is there something you need?"

Li Xiang said "Oh" and finally remembered the main business.

"Teacher Ying Huai...... has already been sent to the police forensic department. Nothing happened at the Hospital last night. After President Ying left, no one else came."

Liang Shining nodded slightly, and cast another subtle glance toward the bed.

Li Xiang didn't pay attention to this small gesture from Liang Shining.

As he said this, he seemed to think of something else, and after hesitating, continued: "But just now........ someone went to Liangshi Group saying they wanted to see you, Liang-ge."

Li Xiang raised his head: "Do you want to go over, or should I turn them away for you........"

Liang Shining looked at his expression and seemed to realize something: "Who's looking for me?"

Li Xiang hesitated: "The eldest son of the Lu family, Lu Jing."

Liang Shining's expression showed no surprise at all; he only nodded slightly.

"Alright, I'll be right there........"

He paused, then seemed to remember something, and turned to glance at the bed again.

"I'll go over myself in a bit. You go first. Don't let my parents see Lu Jing."

Li Xiang quickly acknowledged, but also noticed Liang Shining's somewhat unusual behavior.

"What are you looking at, Liang-ge?"

Li Xiang curiously leaned over and glanced at the empty bed: "There's nothing on the bed........"

The next second, he saw Liang Shining's body flash, directly blocking his line of sight.

"Nothing. You go on ahead." he said in a low voice.

Li Xiang was startled by Liang Shining's reaction.

He vaguely sensed something was off, but still hesitated before responding, gave Liang Shining a worried glance, and turned to walk out.

But just as he reached the door, the next second he heard another burst of hurried footsteps from behind.

"Wait a moment."

Li Xiang turned around and saw Liang Shining quickly walk up to him, speaking hurriedly in a low voice: "There's one more thing."

"Look into....... the daily precautions for heart patients, as well as some common medications to have on hand."

Liang Shining drew a light breath, his voice pressed very low: "Also help me find a professional cardiologist in the field."

Li Xiang was stunned.

He didn't respond for a moment. After a few seconds of processing, he finally spoke with some hesitation.

"Are you okay........ Liang-ge?"

Liang Shining hadn't expected this reaction from Li Xiang, and frowned slightly.

"What?"

"I mean....... although Teacher Ying Huai did indeed have a heart condition, you didn't know about it before, and his death isn't your fault."

Li Xiang spoke somewhat hesitantly: "Liang-ge, you........ don't put so much pressure on yourself."

Liang Shining's expression instantly stiffened.

Li Xiang looked at Liang Shining and spoke somewhat carefully: "If you're too sad....... do you want me to help you find a Psychologist, Liang-ge?"

"No need."

The moment Li Xiang finished speaking, he saw Liang Shining suddenly speak as if something had been poked through.

Li Xiang was startled, and Liang Shining also realized his reaction had been a bit intense.

He met Li Xiang's worried expression, drew a deep breath, and said through gritted teeth: ".......It's not what you think."

Liang Shining closed his eyes briefly, "It's a....... friend of mine. His heart isn't great, and he asked me to help him find a doctor in that field."

Li Xiang was stunned, unsure whether he believed it or not, and hesitantly said "Oh."

"Alright, I'll ask around for you. Liang-ge, you........"

Li Xiang slowly walked toward the door, looking back every few steps, and finally couldn't help but say softly: "Teacher Ying Huai has already passed away. The dead cannot be brought back."

"You've already done so much, Liang-ge. You........ accept my condolences."

After saying this, he didn't wait for Liang Shining to say anything more, turned around, and quickly walked out the door.

The sunlight outside the window was cut in two by the half-closed door. Liang Shining stood in place, watching that wisp of sunlight slowly disappear as the door closed, before suddenly coming back to himself.

".......I know."

—The dead cannot be brought back. No matter what he did now, it would all be in vain.

Liang Shining swayed slightly, suddenly pressed his brow, and drew a breath.

—But it still wasn't enough.

·

When Liang Shining returned to the bedroom, Ying Huai was still half-leaning against the headboard, idly playing with his own fingers.

Liang Shining's originally gloomy expression instantly softened considerably upon seeing the person on the bed.

He slowly closed the door, watching the person on the bed raise his head at the sound, and when his gaze landed on him, a smile instantly appeared.

"Li Xiang left?"

Liang Shining stood at the door and responded softly.

"It seems he can't see me," Ying Huai raised his head with a half-smile, "Only you can see me, little disciple."

Liang Shining hesitated, then nodded slightly.

Ying Huai let out a seemingly helpless sigh: "What to do, then it seems I can only chat with you alone, little disciple."

He raised his head to glance at Liang Shining, and sighed helplessly once more.

"And yet this one person I have is a silent, taciturn block of ice."

Liang Shining raised his head to look at him, said nothing, only a flash of hesitation crossing his expression.

He knew well that Ying Huai couldn't stay idle.

Liang Shining worried that Ying Huai might actually be upset by this, and no longer cared about the idea of "not indulging in 'hallucinations'," hesitating as he wanted to say something. The next second, however, he heard Ying Huai's slightly teasing voice ring out.

"So, do you feel like you're keeping a beauty hidden in a golden house right now, little disciple?"

Ying Huai had walked up to him at some unknown point, his eyes curving in a smile.

Liang Shining: ........?

He watched Ying Huai straighten up and continue unhurriedly: "Since you're already 'keeping a beauty hidden in a golden house.'"

"Then you absolutely must....... take responsibility for me."

Liang Shining: .........

He turned around expressionlessly, ignoring his slightly burning cheeks, and walked toward the door without hesitation.

—He shouldn't have worried about this "hallucination" just now.

Liang Shining gritted his teeth.

—He might as well just choke on it.