After the Dream

Chapter 4

Luo Binghe stared in silence, the look in his eyes was full of disbelief.

"The place where you come from?" he repeated Shen Qingqiu's words, "How can you come from a...place like this?"

A world completely different from his own, a sight completely different from anything he'd ever seen before. Even if he was stunned to the point of being unable to take another step from where he stood, Luo Binghe was not stupid. Immediately, he reached a conclusion.

"...There is no way you are Shen Qingqiu," he said, brows pulled into a frown, "Who are you? Where is Shen Qingqiu?"

The matter of who he was, it could be explained somehow now that they were here. Shen Qingqiu turned on his heels, gesturing for the other man to follow him.

"Come. I'll show you," he said.

"What are you going to show me?"

"You asked me who I am. I feel that it would be faster if I just let you see on your own," Shen Qingqiu replied, "It is just going to be a little walk. The place isn't very far from here."

Past a crossroad and straight along the pavement, not long after they arrived in what looked like an elite residential area. Of course, Luo Binghe would have no way of knowing where they were, be it an upscale housing complex or a market, or a military base. He didn't even know what to make of this world; the only thing he was familiar with perhaps was nothing more than the trees and grass. Had this not been a dream, the two of them would've stood out like a sore thumb among these crowds, what with the ancient cultivator robes they were wearing.

Shen Qingqiu headed for one of the houses in the complex. It was considerably bigger than most of the rest, proof that whoever owned it must be a very wealthy family of the upper class. Just as he stepped onto the entrance, a familiar voice rang out from inside.

"Gege!"

Despite the calm air he had been putting on, for a split second Shen Qingqiu failed to keep his composure. He was startled, his eyes traveled inside the house to find the owner of that chirpy voice. A teenage girl appeared from the stairs, going down in a hurry as she ran towards him. Shen Qingqiu inadvertently opened his arms to greet her.

However, her figure went straight past him.

"Who was that?" he heard Luo Binghe asking him cautiously.

"...My younger sister," Shen Qingqiu replied, "Pray forgive my unseemly act just now. I haven't seen her in such a long time that I almost forgot this is just a dream."

He turned back to see where the illusion of his younger sister was running to. A black car, the latest model of a luxurious brand, drove towards the entrance. The driver stepped down to open the door to the back seat, and a pair of young men appeared from within; one was older than the other.

"Ah."

"What now?"

"My older brothers."

The girl appeared to happily welcome the return of her two older brothers, who brought her gifts in a fancy bag. The three figures then walked into the house, to the living room. Here, they saw a middle-aged man and woman who were in the middle of relaxing on the sofa.

Shen Qingqiu thought to himself then, "Do my parents always look this old?"

It was then that he noticed his father turning his gaze towards the stairs where his sister had come down from. With a subtle smile on his face, the older man uttered a name.

"Shen Yuan, come here."

On the stairs was a young man in his early twenties. He came down to the first floor, looking lazy and sleepy, scratching his hair. He was not exactly bad-looking, but there was simply not enough spirit or motivation that could be detected from his overly casual demeanor. Shen Qingqiu sucked in a breath. He realized just now that he had nearly forgotten about how his own face used to look.