Stella had dreamed of Liam three times in the past month.
*But she hadn't thought about him at all during the day.*
"If you frequently dream about someone, it means they're thinking of you too."
*Those online relationship gurus always sounded like they were trying to hypnotize themselves.*
*Better not to think of him.*
*She still hadn't paid back the five grand she borrowed from him half a year ago.*
"It must be because that jerk-face came back recently, I keep hearing his name." Stella grumbled to herself, pulled her duvet over her head, and rolled over, hoping to get back to sleep.
But then.
Liam appeared in her dream for the fourth time.
This time, though, it wasn't a good dream.
She dreamed he'd been in a car accident and... was gone.
Stella's eyes snapped open. As her consciousness returned, she felt a clammy layer of sweat coating her neck and back.
She lay still, her hand fumbling beside her for the AC remote. She picked it up and saw it was dead.
*Whenever anything involved Liam, things just seemed to go south.*
*This was the kind of 'bond' they had, going all the way back to when they were toddlers. Impossible to shake off.*
Stella frustratingly ruffled her hair, then rummaged through her drawers until she found a fan she'd gotten for free from a street promotion. She flopped back onto her bed and fanned herself manually.
*Too hot. Couldn't sleep a wink.*
*But wow, that dream was intense, wasn't it?*
She tossed the fan aside, opened her phone's call log, and tapped the first contact.
*Ring… ring…*
On the fourth ring, a clear, crisp male voice came through the line.
Stella closed her eyes and mimed his words—
"What now?"
She rolled her eyes. *Yep, just as I thought.*
"Jerk-face, I just had a dream you got into a car accident, boo-hoo-hoo..."
"What are you talking about?" His words were muffled by a noisy background. "It's really loud here."
Stella raised her voice: "I dreamed you were in a car crash and d-d-"
*Click.*
This time, it was the sound of him hanging up.
*Great. Liam.*
Stella stared at her screen, nodding with a fake smile, and redialed the number at the top of her list.
Again, after the fourth ring, he picked up impatiently: "What *now*?"
"Where are you?" Stella asked, her voice sugary sweet.
He was merciless: "Dummy, just talk normally."
"Okay, where are you?"
"Out."
"Doing what?"
"Eating."
"With whom?"
"Kyle and a few others."
*High school friends, she knew them.*
"Can you let them talk on the phone?"
"No."
"Please."
Liam was silent.
"Pretty please!" *That trick never failed.*
After a moment, Stella heard him take a deep breath.
*The tell-tale sign of forced agreement.*
*A little trick, and Liam the Dog bows down.*
A few seconds later, a laid-back, somewhat raspy voice spoke.
"Yo?"
"Hey, Kyle? It's Stella." She repeated her earlier question, and only after confirming they were indeed eating did she instruct, "You guys need to take good care of that dog... oops, I mean Liam, okay? Don't let him cross the street alone."
Kyle said, "What's up? What are you two messing around about? You're being all cryptic. Should I hold his hand while he crosses the street or something?"
Stella seriously recounted her dream.
"Anyway, I think it's better to be safe than sorry," she said.
Silence.
Suddenly, a burst of earth-shattering laughter erupted.
It lasted ten seconds.
Liam's exasperated voice reappeared: "Are you still half-asleep in the middle of the day? I'm hanging up if you're done."
Stella whined pitifully: "But I'm worried about you!"
"Worry about your own thick skull," he said with a hint of disdain. "Don't you know dreams are the opposite of reality?"
"All I know is I don't want to lose you."
Stella rubbed her arms. *Goosebumps, I'll make sure you're worth it.*
Liam was silent for a moment. "What do you want to eat? What do you want me to buy? Just. Text. It. To. Me."
He finally caved, a hint of gritted teeth in his tone.
Before she could speak, he quickly emphasized: "Only ten minutes! Think carefully and send it all at once. Don't add things every few minutes, or you're out of luck!"
*Click.*
This time, it was Stella who hurriedly hung up.
*Ten minutes! Every second counts!*
***
By the time Liam's Facebook message came, power had been restored to the neighborhood.
Stella, drenched in sweat, had taken a shower. Feeling refreshed and relaxed, she was casually waiting for her food delivery.
Facebook—
Liam: I'm back. Come get it yourself.
Stella: Huh? But I'm not wearing any clothes.
He sent a meme of a cartoon character looking utterly exasperated.
Liam: You don't even wear clothes at home?
Stella: The power was out just now, it was too hot.
Liam: The power's back on now.
Stella: But it's still so hot.
She sent a meme: *A celeb looking utterly exhausted, slumped in a chair, needing oxygen.*
Not to be outdone, he replied with: *A meme of a dog giving major side-eye.*
Liam: Come or don't. If you're not here in ten minutes, I'm giving it to Douglas.
*Which, translated, meant—*
*If you don't come, he'll feed it to the dog.*
He did, in fact, have a clever and adorable five-year-old Border Collie.
Stella, in three swift moves, untied her bath towel, threw on a camisole and shorts, grabbed only her phone, and dashed out the door.
*Because it was too close.*
They lived in the same upscale townhouse complex, two two-story houses facing each other across a twenty-meter-wide road. From the moment Stella went downstairs to the second she slipped into Liam's house...
...it took her only twenty seconds.
---
Liam, watching the clock, leisurely walked downstairs.
"Go open the door," he told Douglas.
Douglas wagged his tail, trotting out to the small balcony.
"Douglas!"
A clear female voice called from outside. Liam glanced through the window; Douglas was happily jumping and spinning around Stella.
"Douglas, Douglas!" Stella crouched down, opening her arms to welcome the border collie's pawing. "Big sis is all clear, can I give you a hug?"
Douglas barked happily a few times.
Liam chuckled at the sight, shaking his head as he walked towards the fridge.
The girl and the dog finally came inside.
"Liam, grab me a bottle of ice water."
Stella, with complete ease, hopped onto the sofa, sat cross-legged facing the coffee table, and began unpacking a feast of food.
Liam was drinking his water. Hearing her, he grabbed another bottle with one hand and looked at her. "Catch."
"Douglas, help big sis catch the water," Stella said without looking up.
Douglas looked at Stella, tilted his head, then looked at Liam.
Liam, long used to this, said, "Douglas, here." He jiggled the water bottle, pretending to throw it to the dog.
Douglas sat expectantly, his big eyes unblinking.
The bottle arced through the air.
Douglas leaped lightly and caught the bottle in his mouth.
"You're amazing, Douglas!" Stella held a puff pastry in each hand, vanilla in her left, matcha in her right. She popped one into her mouth, then freed a hand to take the water bottle. "Big sis will feed you one, okay?"
*Okay?*
Girl and dog simultaneously looked at the person standing by the fridge, drinking water.
*A silent request for permission.*
Liam decreed: "Only one."
And so, the girl happily fed, and the dog happily ate.
...
Liam finished his bottle of water, crushed it, tossed it into the recycling bin, and then flopped onto the small single sofa diagonally opposite Stella, lazily watching her devour the feast.
After just a few seconds, his brow furrowed.
"Stella."
"Hmm?"
Liam's expression was odd as he scrutinized her from head to toe.
A pink camisole, gray shorts, and flip-flops. Her shoulder-length hair was damp, clearly freshly washed and not yet dried, with droplets still clinging to the ends, trickling down her fair neck and disappearing into her top...
He hesitated: "Are you... not wearing a bra?"
"Yep," Stella said, taking a huge mouthful of her mixed noodles with her chopsticks.
"What?"
"Oh, yeah."
She answered smoothly, without a hint of embarrassment.
"I mean, you just walked out onto the street like that?"
"Walked on the street where?" she said, her words muffled by the noodles. "I just ran from my place to yours, barely thirty seconds. There was no one on the road."
*In this neighborhood, aside from the busy, early-rising professionals, the only people left were retirees and wealthy housewives relaxing at home – none of whom were likely to be out and about on a summer afternoon.*
Liam rubbed his temples. "Can you *please* have some concept of personal boundaries?"
Stella shrugged. "You still have photos at your place of you 'secretly' kissing me. What kind of boundaries are we talking about?"
"I was five," he said poker-faced. "Besides, I wasn't 'secretly' kissing you; I was coerced into it."
*The adults had gathered, cheering them on, all just to get a festive New Year's Eve photo.*
"Douglas is five too, and he wouldn't be coerced," Stella said innocently.
With that, she turned to the border collie quietly lying beside her and smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Right, Douglas?"
Hearing his name, Douglas wagged his tail happily, grinning with his tongue hanging out.
Liam was speechless.
He took a call, and when he returned, he had a laptop in his hand. He sat back on the small sofa and started typing.
After finishing six cream puffs, a bowl of mixed noodles, and two chicken drumsticks, Stella finally felt full. She picked up her half-finished "Overlord Cheese Strawberry Milk Tea," half-slumped on the sofa, and comfortably sipped it.
In the spacious living room, there was only the soft sound of typing.
And...
...intermittent hiccups.
The typing stopped.
Both instinctively looked at each other. One lying, one sitting, their gazes met.
Liam spoke first: "Heard you quit your job. What have you been doing lately, just sleeping all day?"
"I *do* have things to do, okay?" Stella squinted lazily. "Working from home."
"What kind of work?"
"A streamer."
*Words failed him.*
Liam's expression clearly conveyed this.
He rubbed his temples. "Streaming what? Singing? Dancing? Just wearing that camisole and shorts?"
Stella pondered, then nodded: "Sometimes I do, sometimes I wear a slip dress."
"Do you want me to tell Mrs. Stone?"
"Go ahead, I'm not scared of her," she bluffed.
"Alright." Liam nodded, tapped his thumb on the screen, and put the phone to his ear. "Hello? Mrs. Stone? It's Liam—"
A throw pillow flew at him.
Liam had anticipated it, easily dodging by tilting his head.
"I'm a professional *technical* streamer, not the kind you're thinking of." Stella watched him slowly lower his phone and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
*Even though she suspected he was probably just messing with her, two out of ten times he was serious, and one wrong move could land her in real trouble.*
*Mrs. Stone was so fierce, both she and her dad were terrified of her.*
Stella finished her milk tea, placed the cup on the coffee table, and flopped back, lying rigidly on the sofa.
*A truly Zen way to digest.*
Liam said, "Singing and dancing are also 'technical skills.' I'm just worried you'll start wiggling around, get screenshot, reported, and then banned."
"Wow, you know a lot about that," Stella said, tilting her head to look at him. "Do you secretly watch a lot?"
She knew he looked all prim and proper on the surface, but deep down, he was a total low-key menace, a sly fox.
"I think you—" He gave a slow, knowing smirk, "—are totally asking for trouble."
Stella rubbed her belly in circles. *Considering he'd just fed her, she'd hold back for now.* *After all, this meal alone was at least fifty bucks, and she hadn't paid him back yet.* *And she still owed him a grand.*
Teasing aside, Liam got serious. "Alright, so what exactly do you stream?"
"A voice streamer. No face-cam."
*No face-cam, no wonder she was still in her PJs.*
He paused. "You actually sing?"
"I tell stories."
Liam coughed lightly. "What kind of stories?"
Stella rattled them off: "Snow White, The Little Mermaid, The Lucky Duck, The Rainbow Fish, The Bear Who Wouldn't Brush His Teeth, you know, stuff like that."
"Your audience is elementary school kids?"
"My audience is—" Stella suddenly sat up, her voice taking on a hushed, almost theatrical tone, "—insomniac city dwellers, late at night."
Liam sighed softly. His gaze returned to his computer, his long fingers resuming their dance on the keyboard. "So you're completely nocturnal now?"
"I go live at nine, chat for a bit. Then from ten-thirty, I read picture books until I sign off at one-thirty."
He grunted. "What do you do after you sign off?"
"Shower, grab a late-night snack, edit videos." She yawned. "Or play some games, watch a show."
"Anything but going to bed early, huh?"
Stella stood up, bare feet on the floor, stretching. "I can't sleep. I get enough sleep during the day."
Liam shot back, "Enough sleep, or just enough life?"
"I'm young and adorable! I've definitely not had enough life."
"Can't you be a little more modest?"
Liam sighed, looking up, his expression momentarily faltering. As Stella stretched, a sliver of her pale, slender waist peeked out. Her calves were long and straight, her thighs well-proportioned. Her appetite had only grown over the years, yet she never seemed to gain an ounce. His gaze slowly moved upwards, then abruptly stopped. He pulled his eyes away, refocusing on his computer.
"Where's your hairdryer? Can I borrow it?" Stella asked, raking her fingers through her wet hair.
"Upstairs," Liam said without looking up. "The room on the left, in the drawer."
Stella thought for a moment. "Could you grab it for me? I shouldn't really go rummaging around."
Liam's gaze was teasing. "Oh, so you *are* self-aware?"
"Come on, hurry up!" Stella urged.
He had no choice but to get up and go upstairs to fetch the hairdryer for her. When he came back down, he noticed the coffee table was already clean, and the trash bag was tied up and placed by the door. Stella was tossing a small ball, playing with the Border Collie.
After that, one person typed, one person blow-dried her hair, and one dog lay quietly, creating a peaceful and relaxed scene. Until the sound of the hairdryer faded. Stella was combing her hair smooth when the person who hadn't spoken for a while asked, "Done?"
"Mhm," she nodded.
"Then you can go." He was basically kicking her out.
"?"
Liam subtly raised his chin. "Take the trash by the door with you."
"Why are you kicking me out?" Stella put her hands on her hips. "Isn't there enough room for me here? Is someone else coming over?"
"Yep." Concise and to the point.
*He actually said yes?*
Liam said flatly, "Someone's coming over soon. You should go."
"Who? Is it someone I'm not supposed to see?" *They'd grown up together; his friends were her friends. Who could she possibly not have met?*
"You're really not suitable to meet them." He picked up his phone from the coffee table, replying to a message with one hand.
*Seriously, who wouldn't be curious?*
"Who is it, really?" Stella eyed him conspiratorially. "Tell me, and I'll leave."
"You're that curious?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm very invested," she replied seriously.
*She was totally invested—okay, fine, totally curious!*
Liam finally tore his gaze away from his computer and phone to look at her. Stella blinked at him. Once. Twice.
He slowly uttered three words: "My daughter."