Vol. 1 Chapter 21 – Real-World Flowers

Yin Liuming lowered his gaze, his expression unchanged, and stepped inside.

The moment he walked in, his eyes were nearly blinded. The entire room was blindingly lavish, glowing with gold and splendor.

The walls were sapphire blue, the floor was sapphire blue, and the curtains were sapphire blue; the carpet was pure gold, the sofa was pure gold, and the chandelier was pure gold.

…The room was filled with a literal brilliance of gold and blue.

Yin Liuming took a deep breath. “Where is this place?”

Shen Lou was suddenly on the pure golden sofa, elegantly swirling a wine glass. “This is my domain. The inside of the illustration book.”

Yin Liuming couldn’t bear to look directly at the eye-searing color scheme of the room and let out a quiet sigh.

He suddenly noticed that Shen Lou seemed different somehow.

When he first met Shen Lou, Shen Lou had been a faint blue phantom, like a soul with no physical form.

But now, in this lounge, Shen Lou had a full physical body, and instead of pale blue, he wore a luxurious tailcoat woven with gold and blue patterns.

…Just as hard to look at as the rest of the room.

Thankfully, Shen Lou’s face was so handsome it hardly looked real; otherwise, that outfit alone might’ve scared a kid into silence.

Yin Liuming made himself adapt. “Where’s my lounge?”

“The Nightmare Game lounges lead to your own dreams. If you couldn’t enter yours, there’s only one possibility… you don’t have any dreams.”

Shen Lou set down his glass and walked over with interest. “It’s a miracle you’re even alive without dreams.”

Yin Liuming frowned slightly. “Is not dreaming really that rare?”

“Not dreaming and having no dreams are two different things.”

Shen Lou stepped closer. At nearly 1.9 meters tall, he was only a bit taller than Yin Liuming, so he could easily look down and see the long lashes on Yin Liuming’s eyes.

“You humans still treat dream research as part of the physical world but dreams are actually tied tightly to your soul and consciousness. People who think they don’t dream usually forget their dreams or their dreams are too small to notice. However, a person without dreams is basically someone without consciousness.”

Shen Lou raised an eyebrow, touching Yin Liuming’s cheek with two fingers. “So where exactly did the consciousness talking to me right now come from?”

Yin Liuming calmly pushed his hand away. “If you want to talk, then talk. Keep your hands to yourself.”

Shen Lou chuckled, turned back to the sofa, and snapped his fingers. “Your insomnia is likely related to your lack of dreams and the Nightmare Game is the only thing that can fix it.”

Yin Liuming sighed. “So?”

“Because you don’t have dreams, and your first illustration record collection was pretty decent, I’ll be generous and let you use my domain.”

Shen Lou waved a hand, and a pale blue light entered Yin Liuming’s body. “From now on, you can open the door to welcome guests or return to the real world from here.”

He lifted his chin a little, hinting that it was time for Yin Liuming to show some gratitude.

Yin Liuming glanced around at the blinding decor and held back the complaint. “…Well then, thank you so much.”

Shen Lou gave a refined nod. “A player’s personal area can be customized freely. It’s their dream, after all. However, the illustration book space can only be modified by me. If there’s anything you want, you can let me know.”

He said, “let me know,” but it was more likely meant, ‘request permission.’

Yin Liuming said, “…I don’t want anything.”

Seeing how satisfied Shen Lou was with this room’s color, Yin Liuming wisely chose not to object.

He tugged at his pajamas. “Where’s the changing room?”

Shen Lou pointed. “Over there.”

Yin Liuming carried his bag over, changed back into his tracksuit, and carefully folded his pajamas to wash them later.

When he came out, the scene had shifted from Shen Lou acting cool alone to a full-on family gathering.

Ye Qingqing was pacing the room with a potted ivy plant, clearly troubled. “Brother Shen, is there no window that gets sunlight? I want to let my soul sunbathe.”

Director Jiang scowled with his square-shaped face. “Ye Qingqing, sit down and stop bothering others!”

Then he apologized to Shen Lou, “Sorry, Mr. Shen.”

Shen Lou waved it off generously. “It’s fine.”

Yin Liuming: “……”

He asked, “What’s going on here?”

Shen Lou swirled his wine glass from the sofa. “Didn’t I say it earlier? This is the illustration book space.”

This meant that everything he had collected in the dream would also appear here.

Yin Liuming’s face went numb.

A flame-colored rose of fire floated gently in front of him, swaying its flame tip as if trying to please him.

Yin Liuming squeezed the bridge of his nose. He remembered that the Flame of Rage and Regret had pretty high intelligence. “Careful not to burn anything.”

The little flame of the Flame of Rage and Regret went poof and shrank back pitifully.

Yin Liuming walked over to Ye Qingqing and Director Jiang, hesitating as he tried to figure out what to say.

Ye Qingqing seemed to know what he was going to say and spoke up first. “Teacher Yin, Director Jiang, and I already know what’s going on.”

Yin Liuming was slightly taken aback.

“We’re not real people… just illusions from Chu Dong’s dream, right?”

Ye Qingqing tilted her head, a bit of confusion showing on her face. “No wonder I have no memories of a family or a past life.”

Director Jiang sighed as well.

“But don’t worry, Teacher Yin, I’ve come to terms with it!”

Ye Qingqing patted her chest, trying to comfort Yin Liuming instead. “Here in the illustration book space—is that what it’s called?—I get my own room to design however I want! And no more classes or exams! I can spend the whole day watching dramas and reading novels!”

Director Jiang frowned and disapproved. “Ye Qingqing, no matter what the future holds, you’re still at an age where you should be learning. I’ll make an exam paper for you.”

Ye Qingqing: “…….”

Yin Liuming watched as Ye Qingqing’s face fell and couldn’t help but feel both amused and helpless.

Still, since this was the illustration book space, it made sense for the collected records to live here.

Yin Liuming thought about it and felt maybe he was the most pitiful one; even the illustration records had their own rooms they could decorate, but he had to stay in Shen Lou’s gaudy, golden-blue room.

As if sensing his thoughts, Shen Lou snapped his fingers again. A new door appeared on the wall. “Your room.”

Yin Liuming mentally prepared himself, opened the door, and was surprised to find a blank space inside.

“Whose room is this?”

“Mine,” Shen Lou shrugged. “Now it’s yours.”

So this was the first page of the illustration book.

Yin Liuming thought for a moment, then tapped the wall and imagined his home’s layout.

Simple and elegant wallpaper, a sofa, and a chandelier appeared out of thin air.

It was finally more comfortable than the room outside.

When he turned around, Shen Lou was giving him a puzzled look.

Yin Liuming: “What?”

Shen Lou said, “Technically, you shouldn’t be able to control this room — the illustration book is my domain.”

Yin Liuming raised an eyebrow and said with good temper, “Should I change it back then?”

“No need. A gift is a gift.” Shen Lou waved his hand. “You should go check your lottery draw.”

Yin Liuming had almost forgotten. After clearing the ‘Fresh Flowers Scorched Earth Campus’ mission, the system had rewarded him with a lottery draw.

As he thought about it, a slot machine appeared in front of him out of thin air.

Yin Liuming pulled down the lever and asked, “What kind of things can you get from this draw?”

“The better ones include a chance to directly fulfill a wish or a card that lets you come back after death. The lesser ones are things like custom dreams or intel on the next dream, though most of the time, you just get some pretty useless items.”

Shen Lou kindly warned, “Don’t get your hopes up…”

Clack. Just as he finished speaking, the result appeared.

A radiant pearl showed up in the prize slot.

Yin Liuming picked it up, examined it from both sides, and asked in confusion, “What is this?”

When he turned his head, Shen Lou’s face was an odd mix of stiffness and astonishment.

“Mr. Shen?”

It took Shen Lou a long moment before he finally said, almost as if staring at a strange creature, “That’s the sea pearl that grants direct wishes.”

Yin Liuming: “…”

A jackpot right from the start?

He looked at the delicate, glowing pearl in his hand and weighed it lightly. “So, I can actually make my wish come true?”

Shen Lou put away his expression, stared at Yin Liuming for a moment, then touched the pearl and said, “This is only the most basic sea pearl—it can only grant small-scale wishes. But for you, it should be enough.”

“Scope of impact?”

“The Nightmare Game evaluates wishes based on how far-reaching they are. For example, someone might wish for enough money to live comfortably — that only affects themselves and a few others, so it doesn’t cost much. If they wish to become the richest person in the world, it would affect the entire global economy, so it would require a ton of points.”

Yin Liuming understood.

His wish was to cure his insomnia, which should only affect him—this pearl should be more than enough.

Yin Liuming looked up at Shen Lou with a sincere smile. “It hasn’t been long, but I really appreciate your help.”

Shen Lou gave a little laugh. “As long as you’re not cursing me in your heart, that’s good enough.”

Yin Liuming raised his brows slightly and held the pearl tighter.

Their contract was that he would help Shen Lou collect illustration book records until the wish condition was met. With this lucky jackpot, he was technically reaching it early—so he wasn’t breaking the contract.

The pearl vibrated softly, and the system’s robotic voice spoke, “Player Yin Liuming, please make your wish.”

“Cure my insomnia.”

“……” The system went silent for a moment, then said, “Permission level of this low-level sea pearl is insufficient. Unable to fulfill the wish.”

Yin Liuming: “……”

What the hell? Is his insomnia really that far-reaching?

Shen Lou raised his eyebrows and gave him a friendly smile. “Looks like we’ll be working together for a while longer.”

Yin Liuming took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

Saying he wasn’t disappointed would be a lie. His insomnia had haunted him for years—he’d thought he could finally get a good night’s sleep. Yet, for some reason, the Nightmare Game refused to grant it.

Yin Liuming gave Shen Lou a sideways glance, half-suspecting he’d tampered with it earlier.

Shen Lou spread his hands innocently.

Yin Liuming looked away, thought for a moment, then turned and headed over to the pitiful-looking Ye Qingqing and ever-strict Director Jiang. “Classmate Ye, Director Jiang, I have a question for you.”

……

Inpatient Department, Central Hospital of Anyang Town.

Chi Xi was standing at the door to Room 7102, peeking inside and hesitating about whether to enter, when someone suddenly tapped his shoulder.

Startled, he turned around and met Yin Liuming’s faintly smiling gaze.

“Brother Yin?!” Chi Xi was stunned. “What are you doing here?”

Yin Liuming pointed at the flower basket in his hand. “I came to visit the real-life Chu Dong and figured I’d see you too.”

Chi Xi murmured in surprise, “How did you know, Brother Yin?”

“In the dream, you seemed very familiar with Anyang High School’s layout and structure, so I guessed you might have graduated from there,” Yin Liuming replied. “Looks like I was right.”

Chi Xi blushed a little. “Sorry, Brother Yin… I didn’t say anything because I was scared…”

Yin Liuming smiled and waved it off. “No worries. You’ve already been a big help.”

He glanced into the hospital room. “Why aren’t you going in?”

“I… I’m a bit nervous. What if Chu Dong’s parents think I’m up to something…” Chi Xi scratched his head awkwardly. “I mean, I can’t exactly say we met in a dream, right?”

Yin Liuming let out a laugh and casually knocked on the hospital room door before walking right in.

Chi Xi froze for a second, then followed instinctively.

In the hospital room, a middle-aged woman patiently peeled an orange beside a girl who was leaning weakly against the bed with an IV drip and half-closed eyes.

When she saw Yin Liuming and Chi Xi enter, the woman stood up warily. “Who are you?”

“Hello, Auntie. Are you Classmate Chu’s mother? I’m Yin Liuming, and this is Chi Xi.” Yin Liuming introduced himself, then added, “Chi Xi is an outstanding graduate of Anyang High School. He returned this year to visit his old school and came to visit Classmate Chu when he heard about what happened.”

Mother Chu still looked a bit doubtful and hadn’t let down her guard. “Thank you, both.”

Yin Liuming turned his gaze to Chu Dong.

The real-life Chu Dong appeared much thinner and more haggard than in the dream. Maybe it was from lying in bed for so long. Her eyes looked dim.

She looked at Yin Liuming and Chi Xi, a hint of familiarity in her eyes, but mostly confusion.

Yin Liuming suddenly heard Shen Lou’s voice in his ear. “Once a dreamer’s dream is completely broken, most of the memories from the dream will disappear.”

Similar to the difficulty in recalling specific details of a dream after waking up.

Yin Liuming gave a tiny, almost unnoticeable nod.

The door swung open as a middle-aged man stepped in, brushing dust off his clothes. He spoke with anger in his voice. “Can you believe this? Vice Principal Yan said that for the school’s reputation, they expect Xiao Dong to pretend nothing ever happened. They’re pinning everything on that boy—claiming he stole the exam papers and started the fire. If not…”

He abruptly stopped mid-sentence and looked warily at the two strangers in the room. “Who are you?”

Before Yin Liuming could speak, Chi Xi gathered his courage and said, “Uncle, I’m Chu Dong’s senior. I came here for this matter.”

Father Chu’s face instantly darkened. “Let me tell you—senior or not, even if the head of the Education Bureau came, it’d be useless! Xiao Dong was nearly raped, and two people died because of it. We’re not letting the matter go!”

After speaking, he rushed to Chu Dong’s bedside and stood protectively in front of her.

Chu’s mother also stepped up with a cold expression, standing united with her husband.

Yin Liuming didn’t get frustrated. He smiled. “No, we’re here to help Classmate Chu get justice.”

Both of Chu’s parents were stunned for a moment.

…….

After leaving the hospital room, Chi Xi looked noticeably more relaxed.

“I consulted a lawyer. The chances of winning are high due to Chu Dong’s statement, the clothes and signs of violence preserved by her mother before she fell into a coma, and the police investigation.” His expression turned enraged. “If Chu Dong hadn’t been in a coma for two months after the fire, Yan Hang wouldn’t have gotten away with it for this long!”

Yin Liuming smiled. “At least justice is delayed, not denied.”

He had contacted a professional legal team for Chu Dong. They would soon arrive in Anyang Town to meet with her parents.

Chi Xi, meanwhile, reached out to the old principal — now promoted to the Education Bureau, forcing the incident into the public eye.

Yan Hang’s father, Vice Principal Yan’s son, worked in the Provincial Education Department. He had always been Yan Hang’s biggest backer and now had the most to lose if the scandal blew up.

With pressure from both sides, there was no way the Yan Family could cover it up this time.

Chu Dong was firm. She refused any settlement. Yan Hang would have to face the full force of the law.

Chi Xi asked in admiration, “Brother Yin, how did you manage to contact a whole legal team in such a short time?”

“Just some connections my grandfather left behind,” Yin Liuming said. “Come on, let’s go visit Qi Xiaobei.”

They went to Qi Xiaobei’s grave to pay their respects.

The boy on the tombstone looked young and shy. His black-and-white photo stood like a line between life and death.

They also asked about Qi Xiaobei’s parents—

After Qi Xiaobei died in the fire, both of his parents fainted on the spot. His mother’s condition worsened, and now she was mentally foggy. His father, dragging a crippled leg, took care of her and, being uneducated, had no choice but to quietly accept the school’s explanation as he struggled to survive.

Once the case was decided, the Qi Family would likely receive a large compensation payout. Their lives might finally get a little better.

However, if given the choice, they would surely rather go back to their poor but peaceful life as long as Qi Xiaobei could still be alive.

Yin Liuming took out the sea pearl he’d won from the lottery, looked at Qi Xiaobei’s photo on the tombstone, and whispered, “This wish… I’ll give it to you.”

Although he couldn’t bring Qi Xiaobei back to life, he could at least ensure that his parents wouldn’t suffer for the remainder of their lives.

Finally, they went to visit Director Jiang’s family.

That was when they found out that Director Jiang wasn’t a director anymore—

He had stood up against Yan Hang and Vice Principal Yan but was suppressed by the school authorities, stripped of his title, and reassigned as a computer science teacher—the most sidelined subject.

Yan Hang had even threatened Director Jiang with his young daughter, warning him to ‘keep quiet.’

Director Jiang was filled with rage but had nowhere to release it. Ultimately, all he could do was sigh and make an effort to take better care of Qi Xiaobei.

Yin Liuming met Director Jiang’s daughter, ‘Qiqi.’

Though young, Jiang Qiqi clearly understood far too much. She sat silently on a plastic chair, hugging her schoolbag, staring at her father’s photo on the table without a word.

Yin Liuming thought for a moment. While Chi Xi and Director Jiang’s wife were talking, he slipped into the bathroom and pressed his finger on the illustration book.

He silently mouthed ‘release,’ and a flash of light later, Director Jiang’s figure appeared in front of him.

Like Shen Lou, Director Jiang’s form in the real world was a translucent, ghost-like figure.

“Director Jiang, do you want to go see your family?”

Director Jiang stood at the bathroom door, staring blankly at his family outside. His usually stern, square-shaped face now showed a hint of helplessness.

He stayed silent for a while before sighing, “I’m not really him… and I might not have been a good husband or father either. I’d better not show myself.”

Just then, voices from the living room drifted in.

“Old Jiang had a blunt temper. Once he had a strong belief in something, he would not back down. I used to think offending the school leadership was the worst that could happen, but I never imagined…”

Chi Xi asked softly, “Please don’t blame him. Teacher Jiang, he…”

“I don’t blame him.”

Madam Jiang’s voice was gentle, but there was a trace of firmness beneath it. She let out a bitter laugh and said, “Old Jiang and I are the same type of person. If I had encountered a situation like this, I would have rushed in without hesitation as well. Back when we were dating, people used to say we were like two steel rods twisted together¹[T/N: It’s metaphorically means two equally strong-willed or stubborn people coming together, tough, unyielding, and tightly bound.].”

She paused, reached out to stroke her daughter’s hair, her eyes slightly red. “Even though I’m heartbroken, I’m proud of him too.”

……

Director Jiang lowered his head, took off his glasses, and gently wiped the corners of his eyes. Then he turned into a stream of light and quietly returned to the illustration book.

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  [T/N: It’s metaphorically means two equally strong-willed or stubborn people coming together, tough, unyielding, and tightly bound.]