Chapter 70.1 Dream
The words “You can’t tell the difference” exploded in Lin Banxia’s ears like thunder, giving him a fear originating from the depths of his soul. What he had suspected before was confirmed in these words. Song Qingluo in the second-level dream said that they were in the first-level dream, but who could confirm that they were in the first level, not the second, third, or even the hundredth level?
Countless dreams could continue to extend deeper, just like a person sleeping on a cliff. As long as he closes his eyes, he will continue to fall down without realizing it. Falling off a cliff is not scary, it’s just welcoming death, but in this endless dream, you don’t even know whether you are alive or dead.
According to Song Qingluo’s logic, all the people pulled into the dream were real human beings who exist in reality. If his statement was correct, then there was an existence inside that he could not understand. It should not appear on this campus that was exactly the same as reality, and it was also incompatible with the people around him.
That existence was the girl named Xiaohua in the closet.
Lin Banxia was silent for a long time. It was not until Song Qingluo softly called his name that he came back to his senses.
“What are you thinking about?” Song Qingluo asked.
Lin Banxia said: “Tell me, if everything we see here is a dream, how can we wake up from the dream?”
Song Qingluo’s expression was a little complicated: “You…could you…”
Lin Banxia said: “No, don’t get me wrong.”
“I didn’t misunderstand.” Song Qingluo said, “Before Qin Xu died, he also asked people around him this question. I heard it at the time and didn’t take it to heart.” He stretched out his hand and pointed his finger at Lin Banxia and said, “Banxia, if you think something is wrong, please tell me first, okay?”
What could Lin Banxia say, he could only nod his head.
The next afternoon, Lin Banxia was a little absent-minded while reading. Song Qingluo also noticed it and joked: “Are you still thinking about Cui Gaoyu?”
Lin Banxia said: “Cui Gaoyu is your neighbor?”
Song Qingluo raised his eyebrows: “You’re really thinking about it.”
Lin Banxia said sarcastically: “Isn’t it a bit strange what he said?”
Song Qingluo said: “Yes, he is my neighbor.” He thought for a while and made a suggestion, “There are no classes today anyway, do you want to… go to my house to play for a while?”
When Lin Banxia heard this suggestion, he was almost stunned on the spot and looked at Song Qingluo blankly.
Song Qingluo saw him like this and smiled: “Do you want to go? My parents are not at home. Let’s go to the supermarket together later and I will prepare delicious food for you in the evening.”
As soon as he said these words, Lin Banxia was immediately tempted. Even though he knew that this might be just an illusory dream, Lin Banxia couldn’t refuse the thought of visiting Song Qingluo’s house.
Song Qingluo naturally noticed it, and stretched out his hand to rub Lin Banxia’s soft hair: “What do you like to eat?”
Lin Banxia said: “Anything will do.”
“Let’s go.” Song Qingluo checked the time, “The Cui Gaoyu you care about lives next door to me. If you want… you can go over and talk to him again.” Lin Banxia was lost all afternoon, and he guessed that it was related to Cui Gaoyu. Although he was jealous, he was not unreasonable.
This would be better. If possible, Lin Banxia really wanted to talk to Cui Gaoyu in private. After all, he was worried that if Song Qingluo heard some things, he would think that he was the one with the problem.
The orange sunset hung in the sky, making people feel warm. Lin Banxia and Song Qingluo got on the bus to his home.
Lin Banxia was sitting by the window, watching the unfamiliar scenery quickly retreating behind him. Song Qingluo was on his right, and their hands were quietly holding each other. When they were about to get off the bus, they reluctantly let go.
Lin Banxia felt a little uncomfortable after entering Song Qingluo’s community. This was the first time he saw such a beautiful house. Even before that, he didn’t know that there was such a complex of buildings near the school. It has a red roof and white walls. The roses in front of the house had spread to the walls, blooming delicately, some red and some white. It looked as beautiful as a fairy tale.
Lin Banxia walked forward with his head lowered. He noticed his worn-out sneakers that had once been white, and his toes curled up unconsciously. He felt that he was incompatible with the beautiful environment. Just when he was thinking this, Song Qingluo held his hand again and said warmly: “There is no one here, so I won’t let go.” He held Lin Banxia’s hand and squeezed lightly, as if to reassure him just like in the past, “No matter what other people think, Lin Banxia is the best in my eyes.”
“No one can compare,” he said.
Lin Banxia raised his eyes and hummed softly under Song Qingluo’s black gaze.
The two entered the house. As expected, the inside was as beautiful as the outside. Song Qingluo led Lin Banxia directly to the bedroom on the second floor. After entering, he took off his coat and let Lin Banxia rest inside, saying that he would go downstairs to cook them a meal.
Lin Banxia said: “Let me help too.”
“No need.” Song Qingluo helped Lin Banxia turn on the TV, “Just rest, it will be quick.” After saying that, he went out.
Lin Banxia was a little restless at first, but Song Qingluo left for a while so he finally got used to the surrounding environment. Song Qingluo’s room was very large, with a huge bed in the center. Like most boys of this age, there were some clothes piled on the bed. This bed was where Song Qingluo slept at night. Lin Banxia, who was sitting by the bed, suddenly realized this. He quietly glanced outside and made sure that Song Qingluo had gone downstairs to cook. He couldn’t help it, so he carefully moved closer to the pillow and put his face in it.
When he thought that Song Qingluo might sleep in this position every night, Lin Banxia spurned himself and said secretly, Lin Banxia, you are so shameless. People invite you to dinner with good intentions, but you secretly sleep on someone else’s pillow.
But the pillow is so soft, Lin Banxia thought, it must be very comfortable to sleep on it…
Just when he finished rubbing against the pillow happily and got up from the bed with a head of frizzy hair, he turned around and found the owner of the bed standing at the door with his arms folded and staring at him. He didn’t know how long he had been standing there.
Lin Banxia stood up immediately, but it was too late. Song Qingluo walked up to him, grabbed his hand, and then pushed Lin Banxia directly onto the bed with force.
“Hug… I’m sorry…” Lin Banxia stammered an apology, “I didn’t mean it!” He just couldn’t hold it back.
“Sorry?” Song Qingluo asked, “Sorry for what?”
Lin Banxia said: “I lay in your bed…”
Song Qingluo said: “Oh, then you really should apologize.” As he said that, he leaned over suddenly. Lin Banxia thought he was going to hit him, so he closed his eyes reflexively. Who knew the next moment, a warm and soft kiss fell on his lips?
“What’s the point of just sleeping on a bed?” The voice was right next to his ear, and he could hear the smile in it, “You are so brave, come and sleep with me.”
Lin Banxia’s face suddenly turned red.
After another kiss, Lin Banxia felt like he was suffocating. He didn’t even know how long the kiss lasted. When Song Qingluo finally let go, he was completely confused and sat on the bed blankly. He let Song Qingluo neaten his hair and clothes.
Song Qingluo looked at Lin Banxia’s pitiful appearance and sighed secretly. He barely suppressed his restless emotions and said casually: “Good boy, there is still a fire burning downstairs. You can play by yourself for a while.” After that, he got up and left.
Lin Banxia watched Song Qingluo leave. After a long while, he took a long breath and coughed violently. He almost choked himself to death.
However, Lin Banxia didn’t understand why Song Qingluo kissed him twice and left so fast. Could it be that his kissing skills were too poor? Thinking of Li Su mocking him for not having watched pornographic films, Lin Banxia became inexplicably depressed and secretly swore in his heart that when he returned to the dormitory, he would find a roommate to ask. He remembered that they seemed to have circulated it privately.
Lin Banxia stretched out his hand and scratched the tip of his ear. It felt hot, and his heart raced with nervousness. He wanted to find something else to distract himself, so he began to observe the decorations in Song Qingluo’s room. The room was quite large, and contained a very tall bookcase. Lin Banxia walked to the bookcase and looked at it. He found that they were all books that he didn’t understand well. On the desk next to the bookcase, there was a photo frame, in which two young people, a man and a woman, were holding a three or four-year-old child. Judging from their faces, they should be Song Qingluo’s parents when they were young. Song Qingluo also looked good, like a doll. Lin Banxia picked up the photo frame and looked at it carefully. After looking at it for a while, he found something strange. There is a shadow of something behind the photo, making it look like there was another photo behind this photo.
Lin Banxia was hesitant to open the photo frame, but he immediately remembered that he was in a dream, and this photo frame should be a product of Song Qingluo’s dream.
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Banxia finally opened the photo frame. Sure enough, he saw another photo behind the family portrait.
This is a very strange photo, of a gentle man standing in front of an ancient scroll. On the scroll, there were two skeletons, one big and one small, and several women. The big skeleton held a string in its hand and controlled the little skeleton like a puppet. Behind it, a woman was breastfeeding her child, and another child was lying on the ground and stretching out his hand towards the skeleton. The scroll was very distinctive, and it was almost unforgettable after just one glance.
The man standing in front of the scroll seemed to be Song Qingluo’s father. Lin Banxia held it in his hand and looked at it for a while before putting it back.
In the kitchen, Song Qingluo had just finished cooking and asked Lin Banxia to come downstairs to eat. Lin Banxia went downstairs and saw the sumptuous food placed on the table.
Before today, Lin Banxia didn’t even know that Song Qingluo could cook and that he could cook so well.
Song Qingluo took off his apron and looked at the time: “Cui Gaoyu should be at home too. Can we ask him to come over and eat with us?”
Lin Banxia said: “Okay.” Naturally, he wanted it.
Song Qingluo made a call, and a few minutes later, Cui Gaoyu came over and knocked on the door, carrying a box of fresh fruit in his hand. He still looked gentle, as if the indifferent person Lin Banxia saw on the playground during the day was an illusion.
Cui Gaoyu was not surprised when he saw Lin Banxia. He nodded slightly and said, “Good evening.”
“Good evening.” Lin Banxia responded.
“Eat.” Song Qingluo handed over the chopsticks.
The three of them started to eat and chatted about some gossip. From the conversation between Cui Gaoyu and Song Qingluo, Lin Banxia knew that he also knew Li Su. It would be better to say that Li Su was originally in the same circle as them, but later got involved with Li Ye and fell out with them.
Song Qingluo’s cooking skills were beyond expectation, and every dish tasted very good. Lin Banxia ate it with gusto till the point of being a bit over-full.
Song Qingluo stood up and said he was going to wash the dishes, but was stopped by Cui Gaoyu. He smiled and said: “You are tired from cooking, take a rest, Lin Banxia… Do you mind washing the dishes with me?”
Of course Lin Banxia doesn’t mind.
When Song Qingluo heard Cui Gaoyu’s request, he raised his eyebrows slightly.
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