The night was unusually quiet.
The air was still, as if the world had silenced itself so that some very old secret could breathe again.
Wei Ying lay on his bed, but sleep seemed to be slipping away as it approached him.
There was a strange weight on his heart, as if someone was calling him…
As if a memory was slowly knocking on the door of his soul.
Finally, exhaustion took hold of him, and his eyes grew heavy.
As he blinked for the last time—
The world had changed.
He found himself standing in a place so beautiful that he forgot to breathe.
Beneath his feet was soft silver grass,
The sweet scent of white lotus in the air.
The sky-blue light on the trees flickered like millions of fireflies,
and above, the sky, as if someone had dissolved stars in sapphire water.
Wei Ying walked forward, amazed.
"This place… I've seen it somewhere…
Or… have I ever been here?"
He didn't get an answer, but his heart beat—
strongly.
Then suddenly, amidst the distant halls of light, a person stood.
The person stood with his back to Wei Ying.
A long, deep white cloak was slightly billowing in the wind around him,
and his waist-length black hair was soaking up the moonlight.
A strange moisture began to fall into Wei Ying's eyes—
as if the person standing in front of him
was not just any person,
but a secret
that his soul had known for centuries.
"Wh… who is it?"
His voice trembled slightly.
The person slowly turned—
But as soon as his face came into the light,
A thick fog hid his features.
As if fate had not seen fit to reveal his face yet.
But—That smile…
That soft, pure, and painful smile hit Wei Ying's heart like an arrow.
Wei Ying's breath stopped.
The words came to his tongue on their own,
as if he had been calling her for a thousand years:
"Lan… Zhan…?"
As soon as he said the name, a surge of electricity ran through Wei Ying.
As if his heart's lost beat had returned.
The man came closer to him.
Centuries of love were hidden in the letters.
With every step, the blue light scattered on the ground danced around him
as if it recognised him.
"Wei Ying…"
It was as if the name was not in the air,
but rather descended into Wei Ying's soul.
The voice was so soft, so familiar—
as if he had been calling her while he was asleep.
As if someone had placed a hand on his heart
and healed the wounds of a thousand years.
Wei Ying's steps rose automatically.
The next moment, he was in front of this person.
Then, he opened his arms,
and gently, tenderly, lovingly, and anxiously
held Wei Ying close to his heart.
That embrace—
that embrace was like the safest, most true,
The oldest home in the world.
Wei Ying trembled.
His breathing quickened.
His heart began to tremble,
as if he had found his lost place after centuries.
"Lan… Zhan…"
Wei Ying's voice caught in his throat.
"I know you, right?
I've seen you somewhere…
I…why am I breaking down?"
The person smiled lightly.
But that smile—
There was so much love in it that Wei Ying's heart cried.
"You know, Wei Ying…
You've always known me.
It's just that time has covered your memories.
But your heart…It's never forgotten."
Wei Ying placed his hand on her chest—
and was shocked.
Her heart was beating fast,
just as if he had heard that beat a thousand times before.
And her lips trembled.
"Why do I remember your voice?
Why do I break without seeing you?
Why is my heart so heavy for you…so restless…?"
The man leaned in—
so close that Wei Ying could feel the warmth of his breath.
He placed his hand on her shoulders,
slowly, as if he were touching something sacred.
"Because, Wei Ying…I am your soulmate.
The one you held in your hands a thousand years ago
and called out my name.
The one you never left…You just forgot."
Tears flowed silently from Wei Ying's eyes.
"I…I have lost you, right?
I must have made you cry a lot…
Because when you hold me…I feel like I…
I have missed you for centuries…"
The man placed his forehead on her tears and said:
"You have never lost me, Wei Ying.
You just wandered off. And I—
I have waited for you for centuries.
In every dream, in every breath,
I have called out your name every night."
Wei Ying's breath hitched.
Her heart raced.
"Lan Zhan…
Can I…
Come back? To you…?"
He held Wei Ying's cheeks and said:
"When you are ready.
When your soul tells you
who I am…
and whose you belong to."
Wei Ying's heart began to sink.
"And if I never remember?
If I lose you again…?"
The man laughed lightly—
That laugh fell like ointment on Wei Ying's heart.
"You can never lose me again, Wei Ying.
Because I am a part of your heart.
And you…"
He hugged her tightly to his chest,
"Forever… and forever…
Only mine."
Then suddenly the light began to dim.
The air began to cool.
The earth's radiance began to scatter.
"Lan Zhan…?
Lan Zhan, please don't go!"
Wei Ying's voice broke.
He tried to hold her with trembling hands.
The man held her hand for the last time and said:
"I'm coming back to see you, Wei Ying…
Soon…very soon…
Really."
The last bit of light went out—
And Wei Ying woke up screaming.
His breath hitched.
His eyes welled with tears.
His heart was pounding as if someone had died and been brought back to life.
He kept saying the same name over and over again, panting:
"Lan… Zhan…
Who are you…?
Why do I love you so much…?"
The dream was over—
But the fire of love…
still burned in his heart.