Chapter 17 - The Woman In The White Dress

The very next morning, Xiong Jingfei got up as usual and attended her classes. It wasn't until in the afternoon when she had time to go find Xu Suying. The one who left her with a stranger!

"Feifei, over here." Xu Suying beckoned her over to her table in the library. Which Xiong Jingfei made her way over and sat across from her. "You don't appear to look like you slept at all. Hmm, I wonder why~?"

Xiong Jingfei's eyes immediately darken at what Xu Suying was hinting. Of course, she looked awful as she did not sleep a wink last night! How could she when she woke up to a stranger with her in a hotel room. Then there was her father who was forcing her to meet up with Yang Zheyan.

Although none of these were the reasons why she couldn't sleep well last night. Every time she closed her eyes, all she can see and hear was the cry of a woman dressed in a white hanfu dress. She sat on a rock bench with her head tilted downward looking at the hairpin held tightly in her grip. She had long black hair draping loosely on her shoulders. Making her appear mysterious and in a way, elegant.

From where Xiong Jingfei was standing in her dream, it was quite a distance away from the woman. However, she was able to see everything clearly expect the woman's face.

The silver hairpin in the woman's hand was breathtaking. Whoever made it truly put their heart into making it the best. From the hairpin design to carving two butterflies chasing one another, making them resemble a couple in love.

Nothing in the dream terrifies Xiong Jingfei more than hearing the woman crying voice. It held great hatred, along with a hint of sadness. She doesn't know why the woman was crying, but she can feel the grievances through her voice.

The woman's water tears will turn to blood as it drips onto the butterfly hairpin. Meanwhile, her cries continue to get louder and louder before turning into screams.

When she tries to take a step towards the woman or ask what's wrong. No words will come out of her mouth, nor will her body listen to her command. When she can finally break free, she'll wake up crying hysterically feeling the pain the woman went through. They were unexplained emotions to her. All she knew was that she was in pain and only wanted to keep crying.

As a child, she used to be afraid of going to sleep and experiencing the pain over and over. However, she always had her father by her side, comforting her in the place of her mother.

"Sweetheart, it's alright. Daddy is here and will protect you." Xiong Guozhi held little Xiong Jingfei in her arms and rocked her back to sleep.

He doesn't know why, but he always held a soft spot for her. Something he never gave to Li Roulan daughters. There was an unexplained feeling towards Xiong Jingfei. As though he wronged her somehow and was making up for it. It could be due to feeling guilty towards Yin Yingtai or the fact that Xiong Jingfei was motherless.

Xiong Guozhi took her to see many therapists who may be able to help explain the nightmare or help ease the distress. Unfortunately, none of them could come up with an explanation or solution. Plus, Xiong Jingfei wasn't able to describe why she felt hurt from the dream. So they told Xiong Guozhi it'll eventually go away when she grows up.

It was wishful thinking. The dream never stopped even though many years had passed. Just that Xiong Jingfei stopped telling others about it after overhearing Li Roulan one night.

"Your daughter is cursed! She keeps dreaming of a woman crying blood all the time!" Li Roulan shouted, annoyed Xiong Guozhi wasn't giving her any of his time or attention. Instead, he was devoting himself to helping his daughter Xiong Jingfei recover.

"Li Roulan!" Xiong Guozhi exploded, hitting the table with his palm causing it to tremble. "I dare you to say it again!"

"What? Everyone out there is gossiping she is a jinx because Yin Yingtai died only a few days after giving birth to her!" Li Roulan didn't back down, she wasn't afraid of Xiong Guozhi. He wouldn't be able to do anything to her, she is currently pregnant with their second child. "Everyone knows Yin Yingtai was perfectly healthy only to suddenly passed away after childbirth."

Xiong Guozhi couldn't rebuke what Li Roulan had said. He heard of those nasty rumors about his daughter. It wasn't a surprise people will gossip as Yin Yingtai was a reputable person with a powerful family backing her.

It was at that moment, Xiong Jingfei found out Li Roulan was not her real mother. Anyone who used to work for the Xiong household when Yin Yingtai was still alive was either dismissed or forbid to mention her name. Especially to Xiong Jingfei who knew nothing of her mother.

She only got a hold of the picture frame when an ex-maid sent it to her on her seventeen birthday. The person who sent it to her probably doesn't realize they saved her life. Her life was in crumble after becoming mute and having Feng Huan cheat on her. By having her mother's photo pushed her to keep living on. Her mother brought Xiong Jingfei into the world to live after all.

By having her mother's photo by her side, she finally came to accept the crying woman in her dream along with her emotions. Maybe it was a cry for help to end the pain or for someone to listen. Xiong Jingfei waited patiently every night she dreamt for the woman to speak to her.

The dream will always repeat itself every time she closed her eyes. No matter how many times she had dreamt of her. Since she was able to feel the woman's pain as if it were her own. She came to name her, Ai, meaning love.

The first time she felt something had changed was the mention of Yang Zheyan's name. The name triggered something hidden within her.

In her dream, different scenes came one after another involving Ai. Although she couldn't see Ai's face, she had a strong feeling the woman she kept following in her dream was Ai. She'll wake up remembering everything clearly and was able to write in full details of her dream.

Xiong Jingfei concluded Ai was trying to show her, her life and what caused her to be in pain.

It's just that Yang Zheyan in her dream had the same name as her fiance. It could be a mere coincidence... But she also has the same problem with him that she has with Ai. Unable to recall how he looks like beside the fact knowing he is very handsome.

"Feifei? Hello? Are you listening?" Xu Suying tapped her pen on Xiong Jingfei's textbook. When she got Xiong Jingfei's attention, she took in a sharp gasp, "You're thinking about the night you spent with 'that' man, huh?"

Xiong Jingfei rolled her eyes. She didn't even come down on Xu Suying yet about it, but here she was digging her own grave.

"So... Did you nail him?" Xu Suying giggled, pushing her two fingers together mimicking a pose.

Nail him? Xiong Jingfei grabbed Xu Suying pen and chucked it at her to stop her fingers from having too much "fun." Xu Suying better hopes she did not nail him or else...

"W-what?" Xu Suying dodged the incoming pen, and it hit the person sitting behind her. She quickly apologizes before returning back to the topic. "He wasn't able to satisfy you? That's it! Isn't it?"

"Shhh!" The librarian came around the corner and glared at them. Under her breath, she muttered, "Kids nowadays do not have decency for others."

Xiong Jingfei wanted to hit her head on the table and slide down on her chair to hide under the table. Xu Suying was a person who was not aware of her surroundings and the things coming out from her mouth.

'You let me go home with a stranger!' Xiong Jingfei wrote angrily down on her tablet before adding. 'You said we'll be safe!'

"It wasn't my fault..." Xu Suying whispered. "You were the one who wouldn't let go of him! You clung onto him so tightly... As if someone was trying to steal your husband."

Xiong Jingfei sat there stunned and tried recalling if she did something that embarrassing. It did not sound like something she'll do to anyone no matter how attractive he was. She was the type who likes to hug and hold others when drunk, but it was only to those she knows. She'll never touch a stranger!

"Alas, you really caught a good fish that night." Xu Suying rubbed her hands together. "Don't worry, I got his information before letting you go on your merry way doing things to him. I put it in here..."

Xu Suying searched through her unorganized purse for the information she wrote down. Though she wasn't sure, it will be readable depending on how intoxicated she was. Even in that case, it was impossible to not know who he was anyway.

Xiong Jingfei felt a little vibrate coming from her backpack. She jumped up from her chair, reading the text message sent to her. It was from the person she had been waiting for all this time.