Chapter 23 - Midnight Visits

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The night was utterly silent.

Outside, the wind brushed against the trees, making a strange whistling sound.

Xiao Zhan lay in his room, with Yibo sleeping beside him—

but his sleep kept breaking again and again.

He closed his eyes… and the world changed.

A realm filled with swirling black mist.

No stars, no moon—only endless, echoing emptiness.

Xiao Zhan heard footsteps behind him.

Slow, faint… not like the wind, but like a presence shifting through the dark.

Lian appeared.

White dress, messy hair… but this time, her face wasn't terrifying.

Instead—tired, shattered.

Lian: "Why are you scared of me, Xiao Zhan?"

Xiao Zhan stepped back.

Xiao Zhan: "Because you want to kill Yibo… and maybe now, even me."

Lian smiled—a painful smile.

Lian: "If I really wanted to kill you… you wouldn't be awake right now."

She walked closer, extending her hand.

Xiao Zhan tried to touch it—

but his fingers passed through cold, empty air ❄️.

Lian:

"I'm not your enemy, Xiao Zhan.

I just… want to be free.

Yibo didn't save me… he trapped me."

Her eyes glowed red—

not with hatred alone,

but with pain, rage, and an aching loneliness.

Lian: "Three years… I've been stuck in this world.

Couldn't wake… couldn't die…

Only watched as Yibo fell in love with you."

Xiao Zhan froze.

Xiao Zhan: "You… you're jealous?"

Lian's smile turned dangerous, yet deeply sad.

Lian: "Wouldn't you be?"

She reached to touch his face—

and for the first time, he felt it.

Just a faint pressure, but real.

She was growing stronger.

Lian (softly):

"Xiao Zhan… I don't want to hurt you.

But if you get too close to Yibo…

the price of my freedom might be you."

The realm shook—

the dream began to shatter.

Lian whispered one last time:

"Understand me… I don't want to become a monster."

And Xiao Zhan woke up suddenly,

breathing fast, heart pounding.

Yibo turned toward him, still half asleep.

Yibo (murmuring): "Zhan… you okay?"

Xiao Zhan couldn't answer.

Because one truth had become terrifyingly clear—

Lian no longer felt like the enemy.

And that…

was the real danger.

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