Extra 7 : To appear more suitable for her.
That morning, after waking up, Lu Xi sat on the bed in a daze for a long time.
It wasn’t until Xie Yizhao came back from his morning run and saw her looking absent-minded that he sat beside her with concern.
Lu Xi looked at him, momentarily at a loss for words.
She had a bizarre dream last night. She dreamt that she was being chased by a giant monster. That monster was taller than a skyscraper and pursued her relentlessly.
Lu Xi ran for her life, sprinting down several streets, almost to the point of exhaustion.
The scariest part was that the monster kept laughing behind her—“hee hee hee hee.”
Damn, that was even creepier!
Lu Xi finally couldn’t run anymore. She stopped, turned back despite herself, and saw that the monster was already within arm’s reach, about to grab her.
Only then did she get a good look at it.
Why did this monster look so much like Xie Yizhao…? No, wait, that was just a giant-sized Xie Yizhao!
It was even wearing a suit!
Just as Lu Xi was reeling from the absurdity, a small child suddenly descended from the sky. He wore his underwear on the outside, had a cape tied around him, and was bathed in golden sunlight, making a dazzling entrance.
The little chubby-faced boy frowned deeply and shouted in his childish voice, “Mommy, I will protect you! Daddy-monster, go away!”
Even though he was still a little short-legged kid, he exuded immense power.
With his tiny fists clenched, he dashed forward at the speed of a sprinting champion, then took flight. With a hook punch and a flying kick, he sent the Xie Yizhao-monster crashing to the ground.
Physics? Logic? None of that mattered.
Lu Xi was so startled by this dream that she woke up immediately.
That’s why, when she saw Xie Yizhao now, she found him both strange and hilarious.
She had no idea why she had such a dream… but both the monster version of Xie Yizhao and the little Xie Heng in her dream were ridiculously funny.
And it suddenly dawned on her. The monster wasn’t laughing “hee hee,” it was actually calling out, “Xi Xi…”
Even this detail was devilishly weird.
She struggled to hold back her laughter and went to the bathroom to wash up. Once inside, she finally let herself laugh out loud. But she was so loud that Xie Yizhao overheard her.
Xie Yizhao was the kind of person who remained composed.
At first, he didn’t think much of it.
But at the breakfast table, Lu Xi kept sneaking glances at him, stifling her laughter, and then pretending nothing had happened. It was impossible for him not to notice.
Xie Yizhao: “What’s so funny? Share it with me.”
Lu Xi cleared her throat, blinked innocently, and tried to play it off. “Nothing, I just had a weird dream.”
Xie Yizhao paused slightly, then said, “Tell me about it.”
“I dreamt I was being chased by a monster, and then a superhero appeared to save me. That’s all.” Lu Xi was kind enough to spare him the truth.
Xie Yizhao glanced at her.
He frowned slightly, hesitating as if he had something to say. After a few seconds, he finally asked, “Was that monster me?”
Lu Xi nearly choked. “How… how did you know?”
Did she talk in her sleep last night?
Xie Yizhao: “What if I told you I had the exact same dream? Would you believe me?”
Lu Xi was dumbfounded and nodded.
There was no other explanation.
Then, as Xie Yizhao described what had happened in his dream, Lu Xi realized that their dreams were completely identical—just from different perspectives.
In Xie Yizhao’s dream, he inexplicably became a giant and uncontrollably chased after Lu Xi.
Well, it was a dream.
Anything absurd could happen—even getting knocked down by a five-year-old version of Xie Heng.
But having the same dream, down to the tiniest details, was simply bizarre.
It felt like something worthy of a ten-episode <Beyond Science> documentary.
Over the next few days, even stranger things happened.
Lu Xi started experiencing sudden, vivid memories—completely out of the blue. It happened while she was working, eating, even while sleeping.
After discussing it with Xie Yizhao, she discovered that she wasn’t the only one being ‘attacked by memories of the past.’
They both suddenly remembered—back in middle school, they had already met.
Xie Yizhao had once picked up a little bear for her.
She had accidentally spilled her milk tea and stained his shoes.
She had attended his mother’s birthday banquet.
On the eve of her birthday, he had given her a strawberry hair clip.
These memories had been buried under layers of dust, locked away for years, until some unseen force blew them back into their minds.
Lu Xi could no longer tell if these memories had truly existed, or if something about that dream had changed reality.
Maybe, even her ‘coming back to life’ had something to do with that little bear.
After all, the last two gifts she had received—one was seeing Xie Heng again, and the other was getting what she had always wished for.
Looking at her life now, she realized that because of that strange experience, she had received the most perfect gift of all.
Lu Xi had always believed that fate had given her a second chance so she could save Xie Heng.
But now, she could no longer tell which was the cause and which was the effect… Not that it really mattered.
What mattered was that everything was fine now.
She hadn’t expected, however, that while she had easily accepted this reality, Xie Yizhao had quite a strong reaction.
Lu Xi noticed that Xie Yizhao was going to work later and coming home earlier.
He still went on his morning runs as usual. Before, after his run, he would shower, have breakfast, and head straight to work. But now, unless something urgent came up, he would wait for Lu Xi to wake up, have breakfast with her, and if time allowed, even take a detour to drop her off at work.
And in the evenings, after coming home, he no longer buried himself in his study after dinner.
Instead, he preferred to bury himself in hers.
Xie Yizhao was quiet; most of the time, he just sat on the sofa by the window in her study, handling work on his phone, never disturbing her.
Luckily, Lu Xi enjoyed slacking off. She liked doing things at her own pace, playing on her phone, and now that there was someone else in the study, she could chat with him from time to time. It was nice.
He used to do this too, keeping her company in her study while working on his own tasks.
But after a week, Lu Xi started to feel that something was off.
Lately, there seemed to be an excessive amount of Xie Yizhao in her study.
Not only that—on nights when she wasn’t working and was just watching dramas in the bedroom, he would still hover around her.
He kept appearing in and out of the room throughout the evening, making his presence known.
It didn’t bother him, but Lu Xi was getting anxious just watching him.
That night, when Xie Yizhao walked into the room for the fifth time, Lu Xi finally couldn’t hold back. “What are you here for this time?”
The word ‘again’ in her sentence was unfiltered, clearly showing her confusion.
Calmly, Xie Yizhao replied, “I forgot my phone earlier.”
But if she remembered correctly, he had just come in half an hour ago to put his phone down.
Lu Xi looked at him.
Xie Yizhao knew she had caught on. His gaze was bright and open, meeting hers directly, as if he wasn’t afraid of being found out.
Looking at his handsome face, Lu Xi sighed and beckoned him over. “Come here.”
The man obediently approached and sat beside her.
Without warning, Lu Xi reached out and pinched his nose. “You know lying makes your nose grow longer, right?”
“Pinocchio?” Xie Yizhao raised an eyebrow. “I’m not too familiar. Want to tell me the story?”
Lu Xi shot him a glare. She had recently come to understand something new about this man—
When he decided to be unserious, he was truly unstoppable.
He could play dumb so convincingly, as if he genuinely didn’t know what she was talking about.
Lu Xi stared at him seriously and said, enunciating each word, “I told you. I won’t leave, and I won’t suddenly disappear. You don’t have to be afraid.”
Maybe it was that strange dream that had planted some ominous thoughts in Xie Yizhao’s mind.
They had never openly discussed it, but someone as intelligent as him had probably made certain connections. For example, he never used to believe in metaphysics, nor did he follow business-world superstitions like feng shui.
But lately, she had caught him reading a book on metaphysics. Occasionally, he would take her on hikes, have vegetarian meals, and even visit temples to offer incense.
Whether he truly believed in it or not, at the very least, he was seeking peace of mind.
Caught red-handed, Xie Yizhao averted his gaze for a moment. “Who said I was afraid?”
“Then why are you clinging to me all the time?”
Xie Yizhao : “Oh, so Madam finds me annoying now?”
Lu Xi : …This man got caught overthinking and still had the audacity to twist things around?
Ha.
Unfortunately for him, she wasn’t so easily outmatched.
Lu Xi closed her tablet, set it aside, and lay on her side, propping her head up with one hand. Her gaze, like a hook, slowly scanned the tall, sharp-featured man standing under the light. With a teasing smirk, she challenged, “That’s right. I am annoyed. So, what are you going to do to make it up to me?”
Xie Yizhao chuckled.
He looked at Lu Xi with an unusual intensity, took a step back, and placed a hand on his tie. Slowly, he began to loosen it. Seeing her eyes lock onto his hands, he deliberately slowed his movements…
Lu Xi : “…”
This man definitely knew what he was doing.
But, well, she never got tired of watching.
She realized that Xie Yizhao had been getting better and better at this. He had learned to play into her tastes, to tease, to deliberately leave her hanging.
Luckily, Xie Heng wasn’t home these days, giving Lu Xi and Xie Yizhao the greatest possible freedom. They no longer had to sneak off for the night and return early in the morning. Moving out wasn’t even necessary anymore.