Chapter 973: Chapter 973: The Least Like a Nightmare Dream
“Coffee, cigarettes, and alcohol are all bitter, yet somehow they make people addicted. Even though love torments you to the core, some people are still willing to crash into it again and again like moths to a flame. Why is that?”
Zhang Mingli was driving, smoking, a man full of foul language and lacking manners, the madman who had just burned his own house, yet as he slowly approached the end point, he grew somewhat silent.
“The first love destroyed all my illusions about love, made me feel uncomfortable, and turned me realistic. Wasn’t everyone once a naive youth? Didn’t everyone come through ?”
“From the beginning, I thought too much, you know? Once you start fantasizing how beautiful love can be, you’ve already lost, even the color of your underwear has been seen through.”
“Life’s messy with all kinds of chores, love needs no reason, but sustaining love requires methods.”
“For a person like me who relies on sheer courage to love, what damn methods would I understand? The love embraced with hot-bloodedness will eventually lose her because the heat cools down.”
“Damn it, I’ve gone off track again.” What Zhang Mingli said represents solely his personal view, his eyes always fixed on the night road ahead, where there was no light, relying only on navigation and moving forward.
From this perspective, actually, so many years have passed, he still hasn’t changed much, still the person who loves with sheer courage. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⚑fire.net
“I think true love should be mutual devotion, something where both people are willing,” Han Fei looked at his hands, “How to put it? It’s like she’s the best chef, and I’m the best ingredient, willing to become the most delicious meat on her table, eventually merging with her.”
“I think your problem might be bigger than Teacher Mingli’s.” Huang Ying puffed out a smoke ring and lightly sighed, there were three people in the car, and two seemed abnormal.
“You have eleven girlfriends; are you really willing to be put on their table?” Zhang Mingli considered Han Fei’s attitude towards love disrespectful.
“How do you know I wasn’t put on the table before? I already became the fish on the chopping board, losing all ability to fight back, but later, things happened, they entered my body, fused with me in a special way.” Han Fei didn’t elaborate, omitting what he deemed unnecessary details.
The three in the car fell into silence, listening to the soothing songs.
“What do you think makes love, love?” Han Fei broke the calm, looking at the other two.
“Don’t look at me, I don’t plan on dating for now.” Huang Ying waved his hand, unwilling to get involved, fearing things could go awry after leaving the nightmare, maybe being seized by some hatred wielding a dinner knife.
“Love is pain! The more it hurts when lost, the deeper the love; love that can’t be returned is more painful than death!” One cigarette after another, Zhang Mingli’s emotions fired up.
“Why do you always link pain with love? Don’t you find this thinking perverted?” Han Fei replied perplexed.
“How the hell am I more perverted than you?! You want to be eaten by your wife, damn it, who’s the pervert between us!” Zhang Mingli tossed a cigarette to Huang Ying, “Buddy, say something fair-minded?”
“I’m just curious, why do you have such thoughts? Isn’t love about mutual affection, desiring to be together to build a beautiful life?” Brother Huang Ying said timidly, feeling somewhat out of place here.
“Love isn’t as beautiful as you think.”
“Yes, love isn’t as simple as you think.”
Han Fei and Zhang Mingli spoke almost simultaneously, though their views on love differed, they shared one common trait, rarely having been loved before.
Perhaps it’s precisely this point that made Zhang Mingli willing to continue chatting with Han Fei.
“One’s never been in love; the other’s had too many loves, compared to you two, shouldn’t I count as the precursor?” Zhang Mingli slowed down the car speed a bit, “What I said is all based on personal experiences, without embellishment. The first love ended without a clear conclusion, the person I saw as sunlight left me, life left the sun, isn’t that painful? Actually, the pain of the first love I could still bear, but the second already exceeded my capacity, so I committed acts incomprehensible to you because I had to reach the end point, had to see her.”
“You and your second wife loved each other so much, why did she leave you?” Huang Ying found Zhang Mingli’s words somewhat contradictory.
“She…” Zhang Mingli took a deep draw from the cigarette, smoke passed through his lungs, fiery, “You know? After losing her, whenever I think of anything related to her, I feel so sad, so painful! I can freely narrate the first love’s story to you, but to tell her story, I need a long time to mentally prepare.”
“She’s not the world’s most beautiful girl, but she was my whole world.”
“She never wanted perfume, lipstick, or clothes from me but liked snatching the snacks I bought. She really was like a child or maybe I was a child in front of her, a child who didn’t want anything, didn’t regret anything, who could find joy in everything.”
“I never considered her the sunlight in my life; she never acted too dazzling either. I was unclear what she meant to me until I realized my life had become her, she became an inseparable part of my life.”
“I don’t know if you’ve ever had this experience, but I once did. Just being with her, even doing something very boring and trivial, felt incredibly satisfying and happy.”
“That day, the first snow fell in Xinhu; she wrapped herself in a blanket and ran to the window, foolishly watching the snowflakes, I sat with her, counting snowflakes all afternoon till the plants on the balcony had a little layer of snow.”
“My life has experienced many things, great rises and falls, but many have been forgotten, yet I distinctly remember those small things we did together.”
“Being late for a movie, running to the wrong theater, watching for ten minutes still guessing who the protagonist was? On the first anniversary of our love, wanting to surprise each other, I secretly ran to her city, she secretly ran to the city I worked in, and at six in the afternoon, we were in each other’s cities, standing beneath each other’s buildings, texting each other to look down. Later, we caught the last train meeting at an unfamiliar transfer station between the two cities.”
“Clearly an unfamiliar third city, clearly no one around we knew, yet seeing each other made the city feel extremely warm.”
“There are many similar stories, the first hand hold, the first cooking together, first park visit, first time raising a cat, first gift exchange. Everything about her, I remember clearly.”
“We argued over trivial matters, but when I saw her tearfully aggrieved, I felt like the most unforgivable bastard, the worst sinner in the universe. Whenever I apologized to her, she’d always angrily ignore me unless I took her out for delicious food.”
“In your life, have there ever been moments where you truly felt each other?”
“Honestly, every moment I’ve lived with her, I feel incredibly calm and comfortable inside.”
“No matter how terrible the things I’m going through or how frightening the troubles I encounter, as long as I think of her, I will regain my spirit. I know she’s waiting for me.”
Zhang Mingli repeatedly emphasized one thing: he knew his wife was waiting for him.
From his words, it could be seen that Zhang Mingli truly cherished his wife, but why did they end up separating?
Exhaling a mouthful of smoke, Zhang Mingli began to cough violently.
Smoking is harmful to health; in fact, every smoker knows this, yet when thinking of that person, they can’t help but light a cigarette.
The road ahead grew darker, and the condition deteriorated, rugged and bumpy, the path lined by deep valleys. But Zhang Mingli pressed the accelerator to the floor, his navigation indicating he was near the end.
The ghosts and monsters appearing on the night road became more terrifying, their grudge energy beginning to evolve into hatred. An ordinary-looking night road gradually became distorted; this small car seemed to be driving on the back of a nightmare, and the road’s end was a bottomless abyss.
Windows bled, the glass showed countless cracks; it seemed Zhang Mingli wasn’t driving this night road for the first time, but this time he had a reason he had to go through.
Becoming increasingly weak, Zhang Mingli no longer paid attention to the demons and ghosts on either side of the road, but as he crossed a black bridge, he suddenly saw a shadowed school bus filled with primary school students driving by.
That bus should belong to some unscrupulous early education department, packed with small stools, severely overloaded.
“You’re almost at the end, don’t meddle in others’ affairs.” Han Fei knew this was a nightmare; he had a bad premonition, so he decisively reminded Zhang Mingli.
Zhang Mingli nodded but couldn’t help looking at that school bus.
The eyes of the school bus driver were sewn shut with black Life Rope, his body covered in Dream Dust, countless blood vessels protruded down his arms, absorbed onto the steering wheel.
The children on board were unaware of the danger approaching, playing and laughing, crowded together, yet wearing the most pure and innocent smiles.
These children dressed plainly; their families weren’t wealthy, which was why they chose the cheapest early education department.
The two vehicles drove towards each other; the school bus driver seemed possessed by a ghost or suddenly awoke from sleep, and as he descended the bridge, the vehicle suddenly lost control, the school bus full of students directly crashing towards Zhang Mingli!
The roadway up the bridge was narrow; if Zhang Mingli avoided it, he would likely fall into the valley. If he didn’t, there would definitely be a collision with the school bus, potentially sending both vehicles into the valley.
Facing the black school bus filled with children, without even seatbelts, Zhang Mingli almost instinctively reacted within one or two seconds, sharply turning the steering wheel, almost intentionally driving towards the valley!
The ghost pattern breaking the nightmare’s rules lit up instantly, the scent of Disaster flowed outside the car, Big Evil sped up, yet the car still collided with trees beside the valley, and Big Evil subsequently shielded the car with its body.
Big Evil outside the car emitted heart-wrenching screams, it was the first time Han Fei heard Big Evil wail in such agonizing pain.
He turned to look, Big Evil standing outside the car was wrapped tightly in black blood vessels, countless Dream Dust poured into its body!
This nightmare appeared harmless because Zhang Mingli was the one who exited the car; if Han Fei or Huang Ying were to exit, the awaited revenge from the Dream would kick in!
The Dream Dust infiltrating Big Evil’s body carried unspeakable energy; the nightmare could be confirmed as a trap laid by the Dream. After Zhang Mingli exited the car, the nightmare world wouldn’t drastically change; the Dream aimed to numb Han Fei, waiting for Han Fei to unintentionally step outside, where it would strike swiftly!
Actually, the ninth level nightmare was extremely perilous, only gentle towards Zhang Mingli.
The car window shattered, Big Evil endured the excruciating pain and dragged the car back to the road, staying outside the car for just a dozen seconds, already tattered and torn, soul poison-infused black blood dripping everywhere.
For the first time, without Han Fei’s prompting, Big Evil hurriedly returned to the ghost pattern. The nightmare was vast, but only its master’s ghost pattern was its home.
“Big Evil is tough but barely holding on, if I and Brother Huang Ying go out, we’ll probably turn to ash immediately.”
Once the vehicle stopped steadily, Zhang Mingli suddenly fell silent.
Han Fei bent down to look at the driver’s seat; Zhang Mingli’s neck and face were pierced with glass fragments, and a broken thick branch stabbed into his body: “Did these really happen?”
Raising his hand, Zhang Mingli pointed to the car’s navigation, then pointed at Han Fei: “Could you… help me drive there…”
“Okay, no problem!” Han Fei adjusted the driver’s seat; he and Huang Ying gave Zhang Mingli a simple treatment, then moved Zhang Mingli to the passenger seat, making Han Fei the new driver of the night car.
“Must reach the destination; don’t let her go.” Zhang Mingli’s voice was intermittent; he was the master of the nightmare, his dream the least nightmare-like of all.