In a moment of impulse, I forcibly kissed my brother's best friend.

"I..." She opened her mouth, her voice hoarse, "I just..."

"You did it!" Dudu jumped excitedly in her mind. "Although it only lasted a little while, I really got into that person's dream! How was it? What did you see?"

Xie Yige's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. She clutched her chest, feeling as if her heart was about to jump out of her throat.

She buried herself in the blankets, and after a long while, she mumbled a few words: "It's nothing..."

"Liar!" Dudu floated in front of her, her little face full of "I don't believe you!" "Master, your ears are all red! Your heart is beating at 180! Tell me quickly, what happened in your dream? What did he dream about?"

Xie Yige fell silent.

The images from my dream kept replaying in my mind—his burning kiss, his trembling embrace, his hoarse whispers, and the words "I can't control myself."

My heart started pounding uncontrollably again.

How could he... have such a dream?

How did he know her name?

And there was that thick, painful struggle in his eyes...

"Beep beep," she suddenly spoke, her voice very soft, "Are you sure... I really entered his dream? Or what if... it was just my own dream?"

"Of course it's his dream!" Dudu said confidently, patting her little chest loudly. "Although the ability to enter dreams is unstable, the direction is never wrong. Everything you see and feel is from his subconscious."

Subconscious things...

Xie Yige gripped the corner of the blanket tightly, her fingertips turning white.

So those kisses, those hugs, those painful whispers... were all things he was thinking in his "subconscious"?

My face was burning hot, but deep in my heart, there was a secret, bittersweet flutter, like spring vines, quietly spreading.

"Master?" Dudu tilted her head to look at her. "Are you alright? Your face is so red..."

"I'm fine." Xie Yige buried herself deeper into the blankets. "You...you don't talk to me yet, let me have some peace and quiet."

"Oh..." Dudu responded with a wronged tone, then turned into a speck of blue light and disappeared into the depths of her consciousness.

The room fell silent.

Only her own heartbeat, fast and heavy, beats repeatedly before the silent dawn.

She turned over and buried her face in the pillow. The pillow had a faint scent of pear blossoms, but her mind was now filled with the scent of sandalwood.

The smell on that person.

At the same time, in the East Study of the Academy.

Cui Yutang suddenly sat up from the couch.

Cold sweat soaked through his undergarment, clinging stickily to his body. The night wind seeped in through the cracks in the window, sending a chill down his back. He was panting, his chest heaving violently.

The burning touch, the soft waist, and the sweet fruity scent on her lips from my dream are now vividly imprinted on my senses, a hundred times clearer than the unexpected incident during the day.

He raised his hand to his lips, his fingertips trembling.

In his dream... he kissed her deeply.

He not only kissed her, but also held her tightly and whispered those filthy things in her ear.

Every word felt like a red-hot branding iron, searing his heart and hissing.

"Absurd..." he uttered in a low voice, his voice hoarse, yet it sounded particularly clear in the empty dormitory.

If he can control himself during the day, why is he so unrestrained in his dreams?

He closed his eyes, leaned back on the couch, and rested his arm on his forehead, feeling a throbbing pain in his temples. In the darkness, the pale green figure lingered—her panicked eyes, her trembling eyelashes, and her slightly swollen lips after his kiss.

It's crazy.

He turned over and took the jade pendant from under his pillow. Moonlight streamed in through the window cracks, illuminating the pendant with a warm glow.

He should have returned the jade pendant to her immediately when he found it during the day. But he didn't.

He hid it in his bosom, in the place closest to his heart.

Cui Yutang gripped the jade pendant tightly, his knuckles turning white. The cold jade pressed against his palm, reminding him of the difference between reality and dream.

"Xie Yige..." he murmured the name silently, his voice as soft as a sigh.

Then, as if burned, she stuffed the jade pendant back under her pillow and turned over.

But he couldn't calm his heartbeat no matter what he did. It felt like a small beast was rampaging through his chest, causing him excruciating pain.

The next morning.

As dawn broke, Cui Yutang had already finished washing up and was sitting upright at his desk. He had barely slept the night before, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, but his back remained as straight as a pine tree, showing no sign of fatigue—this was the dignity ingrained in the Cui family precepts.

Zhou Xuan'an was still fast asleep, snoring softly. Cui Yutang glanced at him, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her—guilt, bitterness, and a hint of inexplicable jealousy.

My friend's fiancée.

He repeated those words in his mind again, like reciting a mantra.

I can't think about it anymore.

At this moment, sunlight streamed through the window of the Zhou residence, shining brightly on the eyelids of the young girl who was sleeping soundly on the bed.

Xie Yige's eyes were half-awake and half-closed as she lazily wrapped herself in the quilt, while Dudu chattered away in her mind.

"Master, master, do you want to try a second time? I saved up some more energy last night!"

"No!" Xie Yige covered her face, feeling her ears burning again. "It's too embarrassing..."

"What's so embarrassing about it? He kissed you! He initiated it!" Dudu spun around excitedly, her blue light flashing. "That means he subconsciously wanted to kiss you! Master, you clearly liked it too; your heart was practically jumping out of your chest last night!"

"Shut up!" Xie Yige's ears turned bright red. "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll lock you in a dark room."

"Waaaaah, Master is so fierce..." Dudu shrank into a ball of blue light, feeling wronged.

"Master, I'll tell you a secret."

"Increasing your intimacy level with him can help me fix system functions; I discovered this yesterday."

As Dudu spoke, she poked her two little hands together, looking both expectant and afraid of being scolded.

What does "increasing intimacy level" mean?

"It's about holding hands, hugging, kissing, or even having close physical contact with him... Master, you know what I mean."

"I don't understand your master, get out of my mind!" Xie Yige's face turned bright red. Imagining herself doing that kind of thing with him, her heart, which had just calmed down, started pounding wildly again, and her whole body turned so red that she felt like she was about to spontaneously combust.