Chapter 144: The Hidden Secret
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Xia Xin couldn’t make out the faces of the two individuals. She only heard the one holding her younger self ask, “Are you sure it’s her?”
The other replied with conviction, “Absolutely. She’s always hanging around that guy. She’s also the same girl who tricked us and called the police that night.”
“Quick, someone’s coming,” another voice urgently cried out.
Immediately, the two men hoisted the younger Xia Xin onto their shoulders and sprinted toward the riverside.
Upon reaching the edge of the water, one of them commanded, “Throw her in, quick. That guy is catching up.’
Without a second thought, the man carrying the young Xia Xin hurled her into the river.
At that moment, Xia Xin, who had been hovering above the scene in a dream-like state, suddenly felt as if she were pulled into her younger self, plunging into the icy river. The chilling water filled her nose and mouth. She wanted to struggle but found she had no strength. She just realized that she had been drugged and she couldn’t possibly fight back.
Mustering all her composure, Xia Xin told herself not to panic. “It’s just a dream,” she reasoned. She thought she was experiencing sleep paralysis, and her dogs, Bobo and Layle, would wake her up.
However, Xia Xin’s younger self’s body quivered with irrepressible fear. The sensation of drowning enveloped her, the cold biting into her flesh as tears involuntarily slipped down her cheeks.
Then, Xia Xin heard the distant sound of a dog barking. She reached out for something, anything, but grasped only air. Overwhelmed with suffocation and helplessness, she thought she was going to die.
Just as Xia Xin accepted her fate, a pair of strong hands grasped hers, pulling her ashore with desperate urgency, saying, “Xia Xin, wake up! Wake up!”
Hearing the cries, Xia Xin jolted awake, gasping for air as if she had actually been drowning. Her chest twisted in agony, her heart pounding with an uncontainable anguish.
When Xia Xin finally came to her senses, she noticed the sky was already bright. Bobo and Layle were lying beside her legs, their eyes filled with concern. Jing MO was standing at the foot of her bed, tightly holding her hand.
Confused, Xia Xin gazed at them and said, “What happened? Why are you all in my room?”
Jing MO looked at Xia Xin, concern knitting his brows together. He said, “You were probably having a nightmare. Bobo sensed something was wrong and started howling. I rushed over and found you, face flushed, struggling to breathe. What did you dream about?”
Tears still dampening her face, Xia Xin touched her cheeks and said, “I think I fell into the water. I can’t remember much else.’
Jing MO comforted Xia Xin, rubbing her back gently, and said, “Maybe it’s from that drowning scene you filmed a couple of days ago. It could have traumatized you.”
Xia Xin nodded, getting up to dress. Even after waking up, she felt a lingering melancholy. She tried to recall whether any such incident had happened in her childhood but drew a blank.
Moreover, Xia Xin realized that she couldn’t remember why she was afraid of water. She only remembered that one day, she suddenly became afraid of water.
Once, when Xia Xin and her father went to the swimming pool and saw water, Xia Xin was so afraid that she hid far away. Xia Song was puzzled and asked her, “What happened? I thought you wanted to come and swim. Why aren’t you going into the pool?”
Xia Xin was afraid and kept retreating. She said, “I don’t know, Dad. I… I’m afraid of water. I don’t want to swim anymore!”
Xia Song was still puzzled. He asked, “You’ve never been afraid of water. Why are you suddenly afraid of water?”
Now that she thought about it, Xia Xin wondered if she had forgotten something. For example, if the dream was real and she had fallen into the water before, that could be the reason why she was so afraid of water.
While eating breakfast, Xia Xin remained lost in thought, mindlessly picking up food from the table.
Noticing Xia Xin had actually forked a mouthful of air, Jing MO finally asked,
“What’s wrong? Still shaken from the dream?”
Snapping back to reality, Xia Xin exhaled sharply and said, “I don’t know. The dream just felt so real.”
As they continued eating, Xia Xin paused and looked at Jing Mo. She asked, “Do you remember a time when I went to look for you after school, but you weren’t home? I think I fell asleep waiting for you, and when I woke up, I was in a hospital.. Do you remember that?”