In the quiet space, everything was pitch black. Only the blood-red moon in the sky was glowing red.

  “It’s time for you to come back. This is not a place for you to stay.”


  That strange voice sounded from all directions. It was like a tidal wave surging toward Jiang Xuecheng, trying to swallow his rationality.

  “Come back.”


  That was clearly not a language that he had practiced before.

  However, it was so familiar, as if someone had carved this language into his bones a long, long time ago.

  Jiang Xuecheng’s breathing became more and more rapid. He could not help but stretch out his fist, wanting to break the blank darkness, wanting to tear apart the blood-red moon that was overflowing with evil energy in the sky.

  Jiang Xuecheng hated the feeling of being manipulated by others. He shouted with all his might, “Get lost!”


  In the endless darkness, the strange voice laughed softly, as if mocking Jiang Xuecheng’s futile struggle.

  Slowly, the fog-like darkness in front of him gradually disappeared, followed by the blood-red moon in the sky.

  Jiang Xuecheng opened his eyes. His usually indifferent eyes were now filled with bright red veins.

  His vision was blank. The scene in his dream was still vivid in his mind, and he could not get rid of it.

  Jiang Xuecheng could not help but gasp for breath. He clenched his palm, and twisted veins appeared on the back of his hand. His entire body seemed to be enveloped by a ruthless aura.

  Su Wan, who had been waiting by Jiang Xuecheng’s side, was surprised and happy when she saw him suddenly open his eyes. However, she soon found that there was something wrong with Jiang Xuecheng’s expression.

  A hint of worry appeared in Su Wan’s eyes. She reached out and put her arm around Jiang Xuecheng’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.

  “Xuecheng, what happened to you? Did you have a nightmare?”


  What kind of nightmare could turn him like this?

  Su Wan could not describe the expression on Jiang Xuecheng’s face. In short, it was very scary. It made people feel that Jiang Xuecheng would pick up a knife at any time and slaughter everyone in the area.

  A worried female voice suddenly appeared in his ears.

  Jiang Xuecheng pursed his lips and opened his eyes forcefully. His blurry vision gradually became clear.

  A beautiful and delicate face appeared in front of him. Her clear eyes were filled with worry.

  Jiang Xuecheng’s eyes darkened. Without thinking, he immediately hugged Su Wan.

  He did not know why, but that dream he had just now always gave him a very bad feeling.

  It was as if he would lose everything he had, lose the woman in front of him, and be driven to the unknown.

  It was just a dream, but for the first time, Jiang Xuecheng felt a chill.

  The content of the dream was absurd, but it felt too real.

  Every time he thought about it, he felt a chill on his back.

  Jiang Xuecheng’s gaze carefully swept across Su Wan’s face. The concern in the little woman’s almond-shaped eyes slowly calmed Jiang Xuecheng down.

  “Wan Wan, did I scare you just now?”


  Jiang Xuecheng reached out and brushed the strands of hair on Su Wan’s forehead. He could imagine how terrifying his expression was just now.

  Su Wan nodded and then shook her head. She grabbed Jiang Xuecheng’s hand and said, “No, I’m just a little worried about you. Go and wash up. I’ll go and cook for you.”


  It was getting late. It was almost time for lunch.

  Seeing Jiang Xuecheng nod, Su Wan smiled faintly and quickly got up and walked into the kitchen.

  ***

  Su Wan opened the refrigerator and found that there were not many ingredients left. It seemed that she should find some time to go to the supermarket with Jiang Xuecheng.

  Su Wan took out two green cucumbers, an egg and some frozen shrimp. She was ready to cook a dish with meat and vegetables.

  Su Wan stood in front of the counter and put on a cartoon apron. She looked gentle and playful.

  She turned on the tap and slowly washed the cucumbers with water.

  Then, she took out a shiny kitchen knife and began to slice the cucumbers.

  Su Wan’s knife skills were naturally not as good as Jiang Xuecheng’s. The size of each cucumber was not the same, but the thickness of the cucumbers looked uniform.

  Su Wan lifted the lid of the pot and poured in some water. Just as she was about to pour in the sliced cucumber, she suddenly heard the sound of slow footsteps behind her.

  “What are you doing here? You just have to wait to eat.”


  Su Wan put down the knife in her hand. When she turned around, she saw a handsome face in front of her.

  Jiang Xuecheng had changed into a casual outfit. The blood veins in his eyes had faded a lot, and he looked much calmer now. He was no longer filled with that gloomy aura.

  “Wan Wan, I’m hungry.”


  The corner of Jiang Xuecheng’s lips curved into a faint smile. He walked toward Su Wan. When Su Wan was not paying attention, he took a piece of cucumber with his well-jointed fingers.

  The taste of the green cucumber was refreshing.

  Jiang Xuecheng narrowed his eyes. He could not help but try the same trick again, wanting to pick another piece.

  Su Wan glanced at Jiang Xuecheng speechlessly. He looked lazy and did not care about Su Wan’s scrutiny.

  If she were to follow Jiang Xuecheng’s method of eating sneakily, the vegetables would have entered someone’s stomach before it even entered the pot.

  “Hey, aren’t you a clean freak? Don’t you find it dirty to use your fingers to eat?”


  Su Wan glared at Jiang Xuecheng in annoyance. When Jiang Xuecheng heard Su Wan’s words, the corners of his lips curled up even more.

  “Wan Wan, I don’t mind. Why do you mind?”


  As he spoke, Jiang Xuecheng took another piece of cucumber and put it into his mouth casually.

  “Go, go, go. Can you wait until I finish cooking before eating? If you continue doing this, I can’t even display my culinary skills.”


  As Su Wan said this, she held Jiang Xuecheng’s arm and tried hard to push him out of the door.

  Jiang Xuecheng raised his eyebrows helplessly. Well, since Su Wan didn’t want him to stay here, then he would wait for Su Wan’s delicacies.

  ***

  Su Wan cooked three dishes. In addition to fried shrimp with cucumber and egg, there was also a dish of eggplant with minced pork, and a seaweed and egg soup.

  Su Wan carried the plates and placed them on the Ebony Gold Nan table one by one.

  Jiang Xuecheng glanced at the dishes, and a hint of a smile flashed across his deep eyes. He couldn’t help but comment.

  “It looks pretty good.”


  “It tastes even better.”


  As Su Wan said that, she picked up a piece of egg and shrimp for Jiang Xuecheng.

  “It’s okay. Although it’s far worse than mine, I can give it a passing grade.”


  Jiang Xuecheng smiled as he put the piece of shrimp into his mouth. Then, he reached out his chopsticks and picked up a few more pieces.

  Su Wan had long been used to this man’s narcissism. Of course, narcissism also required capital. Obviously, if Jiang Xuecheng’s culinary skills were the benchmark, then Su Wan could only give hers a passing grade.

  Su Wan scooped a spoonful of seaweed and egg soup and suddenly remembered something.

  “Xuecheng, in a few days, it will be grandfather’s 70th birthday. What gift should we give him?”


  Jiang Zhiyuan had been powerful in Jiuzhou for more than ten years, so he must have seen many rare treasures. Su Wan really didn’t know what to give him as a birthday gift.

  When Jiang Xuecheng heard this, the chopsticks in his hand paused, and he said casually.

  “Anything will do, it’s the thoughts that count.”