Chapter 679: Helpless

When the girl in white stared at him, Xiao Cheng’s scalp tingled instantly.

He involuntarily took a step back and suddenly felt a sharp pain on his arm.

He gritted his teeth and turned around, only to see that a pot of Lü Luo on the windowsill had cut his arm.

Since he couldn't affect any objects in this world, his arm brushing against the leaves of the Lü Luo felt like scraping against an extremely sharp blade.

His blood scattered like beans, splattering onto the floor with a series of pops.

The blood couldn't stain the floor, so it turned into red beads that rolled around everywhere.

He didn't have time to deal with it and quickly turned his head toward the girl in white, only to find that she had already looked away and was focused on examining the crack in the window with Qi Xia.

It was as if her sudden gaze had been just an illusion.

Since the girl in white wasn't looking at him anymore, even Xiao Cheng himself couldn't be sure if he had truly been noticed.

Theoretically, only the owner of the dream could detect him, and as a product of this dream, the girl had probably just glanced at him by chance.

At that moment, a muffled voice came from the sky, as if someone were speaking from the edge of the heavens.

“This kid is injured!”

“How did he get that cut? Quickly, bandage him up.”

The voices from beyond sounded just like Chen Jun Nan and Tian Tian.

Xiao Cheng also started to feel that something was wrong; this dream seemed both solid and unstable, feeling incredibly real while still allowing him to hear sounds from the outside world.

If he were awakened, his consciousness might be trapped here forever, leaving only an empty shell behind.

But what should he do next? If he wasn't awakened from the outside, how could he escape this illusory and terrifying dream?

“I think it was probably a small stone thrown by someone,” the girl in white said. “Don't worry about it, Xia. I'll get someone to replace the glass tomorrow.”

“Oh… okay…”

Qi Xia nodded slightly.

After speaking, the girl in white walked into the kitchen. From the sounds, it seemed like she turned on the gas stove, poured in oil, heated the pan, and then threw in a big pile of wet things, causing the hot oil to sizzle loudly.

That was the “bean sprouts.”

Qi Xia didn't stay by the window and instead went to the dining table to wait.

Xiao Cheng couldn't think of any solutions, so he walked a few steps forward and stood opposite Qi Xia.

Then, gritting his teeth, he reached out with his finger toward Qi Xia's eyes while Qi Xia was staring blankly at the table.

The eyes were the most vulnerable part of the body, and although Xiao Cheng found it hard to influence things in the dream, attacking Qi Xia's eyes might make him notice.

Bang!

The sound came not from Qi Xia's eyes, but from Xiao Cheng's finger.

It was like poking extremely hard fiberglass; Qi Xia didn't even blink, but Xiao Cheng felt intense pain in his finger.

He clutched his finger and furrowed his brow deeply.

“Damn it… His psychological defenses are even stronger than I imagined.”

This dream was indeed completely unshakeable.

Xiao Cheng tried many more methods, but no matter what, he couldn't get Qi Xia's attention, which left him puzzled.

Was Qi Xia different from other people?

In previous dreams, most people couldn't notice him, but as long as he managed to touch them—whether it was their eyes or even just tugging at their clothes—they would immediately detect him.

But Qi Xia's dream seemed to defy that rule; everything here was abnormal.

“Xia, the bean sprouts are ready.”

The girl in white came out of the kitchen carrying a steaming plate, filled with dark, stringy things. She looked like she had put real effort into cooking it.

The “bean sprouts” even had chopped green onions and pieces of fresh chili peppers mixed in, adding red and green accents that made the dish less monotonous.

“You eat first.” She placed the “bean sprouts” on the table in front of Qi Xia. “The eggplant isn't done yet; it needs more time.”

Qi Xia nodded blankly and grabbed the girl in white's hand. “An, don't work so hard… One dish is enough…”

“No way!” The girl in white smiled. “I've already chopped everything; it's just cooking now. You go ahead and eat.”

With that, she handed him a pair of chopsticks and turned back to the kitchen.

Qi Xia took the chopsticks, his eyes still vacant. He placed them on the table, then picked up a clump of the dark stuff.

“Qi Ge!!” Xiao Cheng shouted. “You can't eat that! Don't you see what it is?!”

Xiao Cheng looked panicked at the clump on Qi Xia's chopsticks. In the past, he had never noticed that earthworms had pointed ends, and after being heated, their bodies had a stiff, curved appearance—he couldn't tell if the chopsticks were holding them or if they were wrapped around the chopsticks.

Qi Xia slowly brought the clump, with its chili and onions, to his mouth. Xiao Cheng rushed to stop him, but Qi Xia's hand was as immovable as the door earlier, completely unbudging.

In the end, Qi Xia put the dark strings into his mouth and chewed expressionlessly.

Xiao Cheng quickly covered his eyes, as if he were about to be driven mad by this strange dream.

What on earth was going on?

How could someone in their own dream lose their ability to recognize things?

The most normal outcome should have been Qi Xia suddenly realizing the dish was full of earthworms, jolting awake from the nightmare, feeling relieved, and then telling himself it was just a dream.

But the Qi Xia in front of him seemed to be trying to turn the nightmare into an ordinary dream.

Even though his dream was so horrifying, he was acting as if nothing had happened.

“Wait a minute…”

Xiao Cheng paused, feeling like he had discovered something else.

Qi Xia's perception was impaired… Assuming that was true, but Xiao Cheng's own perception was fine; he could clearly see that the world had changed.

So, perhaps only Qi Xia himself had changed. He must have used some method to hide all of this from himself.

The more Xiao Cheng analyzed, the more it made sense. This way, every “nightmare” could be treated as a “good dream,” which was a possible motive.

But thinking about it that way…

Xiao Cheng's heart, which had just calmed down, suddenly raced again, and his hands and feet turned ice-cold once more.

That girl in white… Her world should be the same as his.

She could see it all!