“Didn’t you say that he who strikes first prevails and he who strikes late fails? It has always been the style of soldiers to act quickly, mercilessly, and accurately after securing the target. I was your husband both in and out of your dream. You should have already been used to this.”

  Zhai Sheng was satisfied with his performance in the dream.

  He only got married to Qiao Nan now in his forties. Sometimes, Zhai Sheng couldn’t help but feel depressed and angry as he had led a happy life. Before he transferred to the capital, he was living in the same city and quad as Qiao Nan.

  After spending only two days in Qingshui Town, he had developed different feelings for Qiao Nan. If he had discovered Qiao Nan’s existence earlier in the quad, he would definitely have developed the same likeness for Qiao Nan then. He would stay by her side and get married to her once they were of legal age to do so.

  As such, how would there be a Qiu Chenxi? More importantly, there would have been more time for him to spend together with Qiao Nan. They wouldn’t have been ten or twenty years late.

  Zhai Sheng always had such a regret. However, after knowing his existence in the dream, the thorn in Zhai Sheng’s heart softened. It didn’t feel as terrible as before.

  “In the dream, how old did we live until? After the children grew up, what kind of daughters-in-law, son-in-law, and grandchildren were there?” They had triplets in the family. There should be a bunch of children in the house when they became grandparents.

  \r \r \r

  Zhai Sheng’s math wasn’t bad. His memory was good as well. In Qiao Nan’s dream, not only did Shi Qing marry Zhu Baoguo and give birth to a son, but Zhai Hua also didn’t marry Wei De. Instead, she got together with Tian Dong and gave birth to a child… These children spent quite a long time in the Zhai family and were about the same age as the children from the Zhai family.

  As such, there would be so many children from the triplets’ generation that the Zhai family could open a mini kindergarten class, let alone their grandchildren’s generation.

  Qiao Nan’s smile fell and she placed a hand on Zhai Sheng’s shoulder. “This lifetime was really happy and complete. There weren’t any shortcomings. If I have to pinpoint something, it would be that I woke up before the triplets graduated from university and I was only forty years old. Because of the car accident, I was lying on the hospital bed.” That lifetime in her dream didn’t continue to the end.

  Sometimes, Qiao Nan didn’t dare to think about the things in her dream. Firstly, she was afraid that she would confuse the happiness in her dream with reality. Secondly, if everything in the dream was true and she woke up in another world after falling asleep at the age of forty, would the self in her dream not wake up at all? Or would her life in reality be just a short period of time for her self in her dream?

  Qiao Nan didn’t dare to think that the self in her dream had died when she was just forty years old. If that was the case, the her in her dreams had caused Zhai Sheng to lose his wife and happiness when he was forty-five years old. After returning to reality, she had married Zhai Sheng at approximately the same time so that the Zhai Sheng in real life could have a real marriage and a happy life.

  As such, Zhai Sheng had married her both in and out of her dream. It wasn’t that Zhai Sheng had benefited. Instead, he was considered unlucky. Otherwise, why would Zhai Sheng not have life-long happiness regardless of if he was in her dream or not?

  Zhai Sheng’s eyes became a little dark. “Don’t think too much. A dream is just a dream. Your dream is more unique in that it’s close to reality. Also, no matter in or out of your dream, I could marry you as my wife. No matter what, I’m not on the losing end. Instead, I became lucky.”

  Happy for the rest of his lifetime?

  As he listened, although the time now was shorter, at least he had met Nan Nan both in and out of the dream and had gained happiness. If there wasn’t Nan Nan, he would have met all the ‘other women’. How would he be able to be happy for the rest of his lifetime?

  “Brother Zhai…” Qiao Nan sniffed. She felt bad that she made the Zhai Sheng in her dream happy for only twenty years. Although the triplets went to university, they hadn’t graduated. In her eyes, the triplets were still children who hadn’t grown up. If she was really ‘dead’, her triplets would become motherless children. What should she do if they didn’t find good partners when they grew up or if San Bao was bullied? Without her by Brother Zhai’s side, would he become the same as in the past where he didn’t like to talk and interact with people and not have a private life aside from the army?

  These possibilities broke Qiao Nan’s heart so much that she couldn’t breathe.

  Qiao Nan never told everything in her dream to Zhai Sheng as she herself couldn’t face these ‘possibilities’. She wanted to escape everything in her dream more. She couldn’t accept that the four family members she deeply loved became unhappy because of her.

  Zhai Sheng hugged Qiao Nan and flipped over such that he was on top of her again. “You women always like to think too much. A dream is just a dream. If you turn reality into a mess because of your struggles in the dream, the triplets would definitely laugh at you if they find out about this. Nan Nan, I’ve given you too much time and freedom. Look how bored you are now. It’s getting late. Let’s ‘sleep’ soon.”

  At the mention of ‘sleep’, Qiao Nan’s sadness disappeared almost immediately. It wasn’t that it disappeared quickly. It was simply because in the face of Zhai Sheng, an old man in his forties who had more vigor than a young man with desire, how would Qiao Nan be his match and still have the energy to feel sad about her suspicions and doubts in her dream?

  When Qiao Nan, who was holding her severely aching waist, realized the next morning that she was late for class, she expressed that she was no longer going to talk to Zhai Sheng about her ‘dream’.

  Even if Zhai Sheng’s performance previously was considered formidable, it was obvious that he seemed to have suffered some agitation yesterday night. He even treated her like an inflatable doll…

  Miao Jing secretly laughed when she saw Qiao Nan coming down from upstairs late. The son who got married the latest was so happy after marriage now. Why would she, as a mother, be upset? This marriage came late, but at least it was sweet. “You’re hungry, right? Come over and eat quickly. I’ll take care of the triplets with your father. Are you still going to school today?”

  Qiao Nan paused in her action of eating porridge and resisted the urge to blush. “I’m not going. Actually, I think I’m good. It’s already June, so the school is just doing revisions now. It’s the same if I revise at home. It’ll be fine if I just take the examination then.”

  It was already so late. As a good student who never skipped classes or was never late, Qiao Nan couldn’t afford to lose that image of hers.

  “Ah!” San Bao was so happy when she saw her mother. She patted her hands and wanted her to carry her.