Trying to avoid sleep can never make the nightmare go away. The nightmares we see with open eyes are scarier. The dawn’s first light can help you escape the looming shadows of your nightmares but what about the reality that you have to face with that first light of dawn.

  We can pick our nightmares neither can we choose our reality. It’s either the cruel reality or ruthless nightmares, both choose us. In that case, we can have only two choices; Either we let the nightmares or reality destroy our soul or we can make those nightmares our old friends, dance with those devils buried deep in our hearts and let the ghosts of past sing the lullabies for us.

  But like every other thing in our life; it’s easier said than done. Because the ghosts of past don’t sing lullabies, they howl. They howl loudly to crush your soul. And we let them do it.

  The bright sun was gazing inside the room through the gaps between the sheer curtains of the tall windows. The honeycomb-yellow rays caressed his face like a warm blanket. Ye Jie felt a bit weight on his chest and opened his eyes slowly trying to cover his eyes with the back of his other hand.

  There she was with her head on his chest and an arm wrapped around his waist. He smiled softly. The soft body his embrace felt nice and cozy making him want to close his eyes again.

  He noticed it was almost 11 in the morning. Ye Jie wasn’t a heavy sleeper or a lazy person. His sleeping hours were reasonable. But he couldn’t decide whether it was because he was too tired last night or a soft body was buried in his embrace that he slept peacefully for such long hours.

  He tilted his head to look at her face as the soft smile didn’t leave his face. Her closed eyes gave a peek at how her long lashes made a shadow over her cheekbones. Her face was clear but it was still a bit pale. Her usual bright cherry blossom-like lips were lustreless. But there was peacefulness on her face that overshadowed her unwell traits.

  Ye Jie loved watching her sleep but there was an itch he couldn’t avoid. He raised his bandaged hand and tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear which was obstructing him from seeing her face clearly. But he didn’t stop there. His rough hands stroked her forehead, moving to her cheeks and finally, her lips. Her lustreless lips were still as soft as he remembered.

  Xu Mey squirmed a little halting his hand. In her groggy state of mind, Xu Mey started rubbing her head against his warm chest like a kitten. Her arm around his waist tightened. It took a lot of effort for Ye Jie to stop that groan from escaping.

  "Your presence is giving me basorexia," He commented softly.

  "What’s basorexia?" He heard her hoarse voice taking him by surprise. But he composed himself and smiled at her rubbing her eyes adorably.

  "Look it up yourself," He replied. "Go back to sleep. It’s good for health." He pulled her back to his chest making her body stiffen on reflex. But it relaxed after listening to his rhythmic heartbeat.

  The sound of the doorbell made all his plans to make her sleep, drown in an ocean. "I’ll go check. You go back to sleep." Ye Jie sternly adviced her before walking out of the comfort. The comfort was definitely from her presence and not from the comfy duvet.

  Ye Jie didn’t like having servants running around the house. That’s why only one maid was allowed to enter his house for basic chores or cook a meal when he asks for it. And since he changes the passcode of the door because of Ye Jun, he had to open the door himself.

  He didn’t check the monitor and directly opened the door. There stood his parents with a frown etched on their faces but as their eyes fell on Ye Jie, they smiled sweetly. "What took you so long, Ah Jie?" Mother Ye asked with mild irritation.

  "I was sleeping, mom," He replied while scratching the back of his head.

  "Really?" Both parents were surprised but it was a pleasant surprise for them to see him sleep till this late. They made their way inside the house while their eyes were looking around, trying to find something or more specifically someone. "Where is Xu Mey?" Mother Ye asked as Father Ye sat down on the couch.

  "She’s sleeping."

  "It’s so late. Why is she sleeping even now?" Mother Ye’s temperament took a 180 degrees turn.

  "Mom, I was also sleeping. It’s not a big deal."

  "You can sleep for this long, it’s normal. She’s the mistress of this household. She has some responsibilities. She’s supposed to prepare a meal for you, take care of your necessities. But she’s still sleeping?" Mother Ye was feeling indignant. But Ye Jie found it a bit odd.

  "Mey was tired last night. So, it’s fair that she catch up on some sleep." Ye Jie was defending his wife and oddly it made mother Ye even more resentful.

  "What did you do last night?" Ye Jun’s voice came from behind as he sauntered inside the house using the spare key he had sneakily stole last time. Ye Jie frowned. "I mean you must have done something that tired out our sis-in-law." His voice was suggestive and it made Ye Jie want to strangle him. He glared at Ye Jun making him swallow the rest of his imaginative theory.

  "What happened to your hand?" When Father Ye asked this question, it made both Mother Ye and Ye Jun notice his bandaged hand.

  "It’s nothing…… I just hurt myself." Ye Jie didn’t want to disclose how he injured himself. Both his parents will blame Xu Mey and he wasn’t going to let them do it.

  The first thing Xu Mey did when Ye Jie left the room was to find her phone. It was a tough task since she never took notice of her cellphone. The poor phone was found under the bed. When she searched for basorexia, the search result made her eyes widen. Her pale face instantly turned red burning her cheeks from embarrassment. The search result read: ’An overwhelming desire to kiss.’


  Hearing the voices, Xu Mey also came downstairs. Ye Jun was the first to notice her, he opened his mouth to say something but his eyes fell on the scratched around her neck and the bandage on her hand.

  "Now, you guys really need to tell me. What have you both been doing last night?" Ye Jun’s question made everyone look at Xu Mey.