Chapter 11 The Nightmare
The shower lasted very long. So long that blood overflowed the gauze.
I wanted to continue. But Han Zheng's face sank.
I shut up and obediently went out to let him bandage.
Outside it was deep night. In the bathroom the steam was heavy. I had not looked at Han Zheng's face closely.
Now with enough light I saw the faint red spots on his cheeks.
I lifted his face and rubbed. They would not go away.
"What is this?" I asked.
"Nothing. Mosquito bites."
I smiled. "Oh. These mosquitoes bit symmetrically. One on each cheek."
Of course I knew what it was.
After Han Zheng said the person he liked had dimples I researched dimple piercings. I almost got them impulsively.
"I... I think it is quite a coincidence too." He looked away guiltily.
My smile grew larger. I cupped Han Zheng's face and rubbed gently. "Stop wearing them. I like our Han Zheng without dimples too."
"I said they were mosquito bites..."
......
We embraced and slept after so long. Listening to Han Zheng's breathing my heart settled again.
Just when I thought Han Zheng had fallen asleep I heard him say. "Jiang Zhong, I had a nightmare."
"What dream?" I asked.
He buried his head in my neck. His voice was muffled. "I dreamed I died. At my funeral you shed not a single tear."
"Is that so?" I smiled. But my nose stung badly. "Then what?"
"Then after my seventh day you committed suicide."
My neck felt damp.
After a long time I sighed. I lifted Han Zheng's face and wiped it. "Is this why you pushed me away so desperately?"
Earlier I saw a notebook on the bedside table.
Han Zheng did not have the habit of writing. Curiosity made me open it. It was full of the harsh words he said to me.
They were deleted and revised. Getting harsher.
The writing grew messier with water stains blooming in the ink.
I remembered the date on the first page.
That day I came home late. Lights not on yet Han Zheng threw himself on me crying.
It was the hardest I saw him cry. I coaxed long before he told me the nightmare.
Then... the next day he urgently went to the doctor.
"Alright. It was only a dream."
I hugged him tighter. Feeling his heartbeat as if telling myself. "It was only a dream."
"You will be fine. I will be fine too. Okay?"