After the tycoon went bankrupt, he was raised by the villainous female supporting character and beca

At four o'clock in the morning, Xie Zhaoyuan suddenly sat up in bed in fright.

Pei Xingzhi wasn't sound asleep to begin with, and as soon as she moved, he immediately sat up.

"What's wrong?" Pei Xingzhi straightened the crooked collar of her pajamas, touched her cheek, and asked, "Did you have another nightmare?"

"Hmm." Xie Zhaoyuan frowned, her face turning pale. "I dreamt that Qin Wushuang was still alive, and that he was still imprisoning me in that villa."

"And then?" Pei Xingzhi pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back like he was comforting a child.

She looked up at Pei Xingzhi, her bewildered gaze fixed on his handsome profile.

Pei Xingzhi had just shaved that evening, and the bluish stubble around his chin was gone. His face was clean, and just looking at him made Xie Zhaoyuan feel at ease.

"Pei Xingzhi, why are you asking me about the aftermath of my nightmare?" she asked, somewhat puzzled.

Pei Xingzhi looked down at her, and because he wasn't wearing his glasses, his gaze was gentler than usual.

"Because nightmares can't be kept inside. Only by talking about them will you feel better and be able to gradually let go."

"Ah Yuan." He raised his hand and gently stroked Xie Zhaoyuan's face, his thumb unconsciously rubbing against her skin. "Don't be afraid, feel free to tell me about your nightmares. It will make you feel better."

“…Hmm.” Xie Zhaoyuan nodded and slowly recounted her nightmare under Pei Xingzhi’s gentle gaze.

“I dreamt that I was still being held captive by Qin Wushuang. I wanted to run away, but Qin Wushuang wouldn’t allow it, so I fought with him. He couldn’t beat me, so he let me take the opportunity to escape.”

"But to my surprise, he chased after me as soon as I ran out of the villa gate. I instinctively turned around and saw that he was engulfed in flames, and his face was completely burned beyond recognition."

Pei Xingzhi: "And then you woke up?"

Xie Zhaoyuan: "Yes. I was afraid of seeing something even more terrifying, so I immediately woke up."

"It's alright." Pei Xingzhi wrapped his arms around Xie Zhaoyuan's legs, holding her tightly in his embrace. "It's alright, A-Yuan, everything is in the past. Besides, dreams shatter when spoken aloud, so you won't have these kinds of dreams again."

Xie Zhao curled up like a kitten in Pei Xingzhi's arms, pressing her ear against his chest, greedily feeling his steady and powerful heartbeat.

"With you by my side, I wasn't actually that scared. It's just that Qin Wushuang's death was so gruesome that the shadow in my heart just won't go away."

Pei Xingzhi: "Then don't think about him anymore. His parents have already cremated his body and transported it back to Yuncheng overnight. From now on, Qin Wushuang is just a handful of ashes and can no longer hurt my Ayuan."

"Be good, Ah Yuan. As long as you don't think about him on purpose, he will slowly disappear from your mind. You won't have nightmares about him anymore when you mention him in the future."

Xie Zhaoyuan: "Mm!"

Pei Xingzhi freed one hand and took Xie Zhaoyuan's newly bought phone from the bedside table: "Didn't you say you were going to play the boy who cried wolf with Lu Yibai? It's almost time now, Zhaoyuan, do you think the game can start?"

“Okay!” Xie Zhaoyuan perked up instantly at the mention of this. She sat up from Pei Xingzhi’s lap, used his hand to find Lu Yibai’s number on her phone, and then dialed Lu Yibai without hesitation.

"Beep...beep..."

The phone rang only twice before Lu Yibai answered it.

"Hello?" His voice sounded quite awake, suggesting he wasn't sound asleep, or perhaps hadn't slept at all.

Xie Zhaoyuan leaned on Pei Xingzhi's shoulder and said with a half-smile, "Good evening, President Lu. I'm Xie Zhaoyuan."

Lu Yibai was silent for a few seconds, then his voice suddenly rose: "Qin..."

He subconsciously wanted to call him Qin Song, but then suddenly remembered that Xie Zhaoyuan had said she didn't like the name, so he quickly changed the subject and corrected himself.

"Xie Zhaoyuan, have you and Pei Xingzhi made up your minds?"

"...No." Xie Zhaoyuan couldn't help but laugh at the thought of what she was going to say next. "We haven't decided yet."

"Haven't thought it through?" Lu Yibai asked, somewhat puzzled. "Then why are you calling so late at night? Is there something else going on?"

"No, not really." Xie Zhaoyuan tried hard to suppress the upturn of her lips. "I haven't thought it through, and I don't have anything else to talk to you about. I'm calling you suddenly just to let you know that I haven't made up my mind yet."

"..."

Lu Yibai fell silent.

"Hmph..." Pei Xingzhi laughed so hard he was shaking.

Xie Zhaoyuan: "Alright, I won't disturb President Lu's sleep any longer. I'll hang up now. Goodnight."

After saying that, he hung up the phone decisively, not giving Lu Yibai a chance to speak at all.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

Xie Zhaoyuan put down her phone and laughed very loudly. If the room hadn't been well soundproofed, the whole family might have been woken up by her laughter.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep." She pressed Pei Xingzhi's shoulder and forcefully pushed him down onto the bed. "Sleep for half an hour first, and then I'll call Lu Yibai."

"You want to fight again?" Pei Xingzhi was shocked.

Xie Zhaoyuan: "I've already told you it's the story of the boy who cried wolf. If we don't repeat it a few more times, how can we make Lu Yibai lower his guard?"

"Hiss... Oh right!" Pei Xingzhi suddenly realized.

Xie Zhaoyuan pulled the blanket over herself and Pei Xingzhi, saying, "I've already set the alarm. I'll call Lu Yibai when it goes off."

"Hmm!" Pei Xingzhi rolled over and pulled Xie Zhaoyuan firmly into his arms. "Let's sleep for a while, and then get up and mess with him in half an hour!"

"Hahahaha!!" Xie Zhaoyuan couldn't help but laugh just thinking about it.

Pei Xingzhi placed his palm over her eyes and casually commanded, "Stop laughing and go to sleep."

Xie Zhaoyuan: "Oh."

Half an hour later, the alarm clock rang on time.

Xie Zhaoyuan immediately sat up in bed, her eyes clear and bright, showing no signs of sleepiness.

Pei Xingzhi got up with her, looking even more energetic than her.

"Call Lu Yibai quickly." He was already quite impatient.

Xie Zhaoyuan pulled her phone out from under her pillow and called Lu Yibai again.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

This time, the phone rang three times before Lu Yibai finally answered it.

"Hey, Xie Zhaoyuan." Lu Yibai's voice was clearly sleepy; he must have been asleep for the past half hour.

"What, have you suddenly decided what you want?"

Xie Zhaoyuan: "...No."

Lu Yibai: "Then why did you call me again out of the blue? What do you want?"

"I wanted to tell you that I still haven't made up my mind, so that's all, I'm hanging up now." Xie Zhaoyuan spoke very quickly, rattling off this sentence before hurriedly hanging up the phone, feeling guilty.

Then he and Pei Xingzhi laughed wildly.

"Hahahahaha!!"

"Hahahahahaha!!!"