Chapter 17: 015 Nightmare Chapter 17: 015 Nightmare Yu Yang took the 9 PM flight and reached home the next day by noon. Yuxin decided not to go out that day. Instead, she stayed home accompanying Bai Qianqian, which delighted him immensely. He followed her around wherever she went.
Upon Yu Yang’s arrival, he was obviously taken aback when he saw Bai Qianqian standing next to Yuxin. His gaze swept back and forth between their faces before he finally asked Yuxin, “Xinxin, who is this child…”
Before he could finish, Bai Qianqian had already called out, “Uncle! I’m Qianqian!” After speaking, he looked up at Yu Yang anxiously, his face filled with expectation.
Yuxin was startled by his reaction and her complexion immediately changed. “What… what did you just say?” she asked sternly. Looking at Yuxin, she continued, “Xinxin, what on earth is going on?” Yuxin had already figured out what was happening. She had investigated the pharmaceutical company only to discover that it had long been shut down due to alleged illegal activities.
She knew she had to explain the situation to Yu Yang; however, discussing it in front of Bai Qianqian, who was only five, seemed inappropriate. She suggested, “Brother, let’s talk about this later. You must be tired, do you want to rest for a while?”
Aunt Li was preparing a meal in the kitchen, and the aroma had already started to waft through the air. Yu Yang cast a deep look at Bai Qianqian and Yuxin, and then told Yuxin, “Come with me.” He paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully before turning to Bai Qianqian, “Qianqian, why don’t you watch TV with grandma? Uncle has something to discuss with your mom.”
Bai Qianqian nodded obediently, his eyes filled with nervousness and worry as he unconsciously clutched at his pants. At that moment, Qu Qianhe approached with a smile, gently took his hand, and led him to the sofa in the living room, softly asking what he wanted to watch.
Yu Yang sighed with relief, said to Yuxin, “Let’s go,” and then dragged his suitcase upstairs. Yuxin followed, wanting to help him with the luggage, but Yu Yang refused, claiming he couldn’t bear to see his sister weary. Once inside the room, he threw his luggage aside, pulled off his tie, loosened two buttons, and feeling much more comfortable, he summoned Yuxin to sit and inquired, “Can you tell me now? What exactly happened?”
Yuxin briefly explained the circumstances. Yu Yang, hearing that Bai Qianqian had suddenly appeared and was nearly hit by Yuxin, who later discovered their blood relationship, grew suspicious. He looked at Yuxin thoughtfully and asked, “Xinxin, don’t you think the child appeared too suddenly? It’s as if…”
“As if he was intentionally placed in front of me to be discovered, right?” Yuxin interjected. Then she added, “Brother, I also find this situation very strange. Plus, a man appeared in my room the night before last, entering through the window unnoticed by the bodyguard downstairs. He asked me to take good care of Bai Qianqian and to be cautious of the Qiu Family. I suspect he’s Bai Qianqian’s father. He seemed very dangerous, unfortunately, he left immediately after speaking, and hasn’t shown up since.”
Yu Yang, already worried, grew more suspicious upon hearing this. He pondered before asking, “That Bai Qianqian… what are your plans?”
Yuxin sighed, “I had a friend do a DNA test; he is indeed my son. Despite the suspicious circumstances of his appearance, regardless, he’s still just a child. I can’t just kick him out; I’ll have to take it one step at a time.”
Yu Yang nodded, “Be careful with this matter, I’ll try to find out more. By the way, you sounded upset over the phone yesterday, was it because of him?”
Yuxin shook her head, “Not entirely. I had a nightmare a few days ago, but I’ll recover soon. Don’t worry about me, brother.”
Fang Yuyang furrowed his brow and looked disapprovingly at Fang Yuxin. How could he not be worried! He asked, “What exactly was the nightmare?”
But Fang Yuxin said, “Let’s eat first. After the meal, once you’ve rested, we can talk.”
Fang Yuyang shook his head, “No need, I already slept on the plane. You go ahead, I will take a shower and change my clothes, then come down.”
Fang Yuyang was quick to act. After showering and changing into a casual set of home clothes, he came downstairs. Fang Jintang had also returned knowing that he would be back today, so he specially rushed back to have a meal with the family. After they finished lunch, Fang Yuxin asked Aunt Li to take Bai Qianqian out to play, then turned to her family and said, “Dad, Mom, and brother, I have something to tell you.”
Seeing her serious expression as if she was about to discuss something important, Fang Jintang suggested, “Let’s go to the study.” Before entering, Fang Yuxin specifically retrieved her tablet and opened it to pull up a screenshot. It was a screenshot of the post she had initially made. Fortunately, she captured it quickly. When she checked later, the post had already been deleted.
In the study, Fang Yuxin showed the screenshot to the other three members first. Fang Jintang and Qu Qianhe had already seen this post and recalled its contents with a glance. However, it was the first time Fang Yuyang had seen it, but he read it very quickly, finishing in less than a minute.
Then he looked at Fang Yuxin and asked, “Xinxin, is the post what you wanted to talk about?”
Fang Yuxin nodded and then said, “I’ve already talked to Mom and Dad before. I had a nightmare, and the content of the dream was similar to this post—no, more precise. I dreamt about a lot more.”
Next, Fang Yuxin revealed the crucial content about the apocalypse but didn’t go into the specific outcomes of the Fang Family. However, although she didn’t mention it, Fang Jintang, Qu Qianhe, and Fang Yuyang all sensed something was amiss.
Fang Yuyang then asked, “Do you mean that in 25 days, a meteorite will strike Earth, followed by a massive outbreak of zombies, and the mutations of animals, plants, and insects, leading the world into apocalypse?”
Fang Yuxin nodded, her mood growing heavy. As she spoke to her family, the scenes from her dream flashed through her mind—Fang Jintang’s death, Qu Qianhe’s death, and… Fang Yuyang’s death. The consecutive deaths of her loved ones were, to her, the true nightmares and apocalypse!
The other three sharply picked up on Fang Yuxin’s emotional shift. After hesitating for a moment, Fang Yuyang asked, “Xinxin, did you dream about us? Did something happen to us, right?”
“No! Nothing will happen!” Fang Yuxin shook her head vigorously and tightly grasped Fang Yuyang’s hand, “Brother, and Mom and Dad, I promise you, nothing will happen to any of you. I… I’ll take you to a place, that’s the second thing I wanted to tell you today.”