And in her mind, voices kept appearing from time to time.

Those thoughts that occasionally surfaced during the day suddenly all rushed in at this moment.

"You have to believe me, Qi Qi, no one treats you better than I do..."

"Don’t get close to Yan Yan, he’s not a good person, he wants to harm you."

"He’s just using you as a stand-in for his fiancée, his fiancée is your clone, the girl he fell in love with only looks like you..."

Not knowing whose voice it was, familiar yet gentle, carrying an unknown trembling that she should resist.

At this moment, however, it seemed to have a strange magic, swirling in her consciousness.

Yan Yan was awakened in the middle of the night by the movement in his arms, the young girl in her dreams seemed uneasy, with furrowed brows and tightly grasping his clothes with her little hands.

Her lips slightly parted, her face as pale as paper, with beads of sweat faintly appearing on her forehead.

It was like someone who was drowning and struggling to breathe.

Yan Yan’s first reaction was to think she was having a nightmare, so he reached out to shake her shoulders: "Little Gua?"

Called out several times but saw no response from Yun Qiqi.

Yan Yan didn’t know what was going on, didn’t dare to forcibly wake her, just noticed her body was icy cold, and hugged her tighter into his arms.

His big hand gently patting her back.

He comforted with a soft voice: "Don’t be afraid, dear, don’t be afraid, I’m here."

Usually, when Yun Qiqi would sleep uncomfortably, he’d coax her like this and she’d quickly relax and snuggle back into his arms, continuing to sleep deeply. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

But today was different, the young girl seemed trapped in her own nightmare, completely deaf to the outside world.

Her brows furrowed tightly, showing a painful yet somewhat bewildered expression.

After about ten minutes, she gradually calmed down.

She continued sleeping, sleeping deeply, but her face remained as pale as ever, her body still ice-cold.

But at least she wasn’t restless anymore.

Yan Yan breathed a sigh of relief, holding her tightly with a heart full of tenderness, and planted a comforting kiss on her forehead.

.

The next morning, Yan Yan didn’t think much about what happened last night, he only assumed she had a nightmare.

After getting up, he noticed the young girl in his arms was still sleeping, kissed her a few times, then cautiously got out of bed and carefully tucked the blanket around her.

He washed up and then went to the study room next door to handle some matters briefly before heading downstairs to the dining room.

While seated, he browsed financial news on his phone, waiting for Yun Qiqi to come down and have breakfast together.

After waiting for about half an hour, Yun Qiqi slowly came downstairs.

Yan Yan looked at the time, it’s already eight o’clock. Did this little one see he took leave for her this morning, so she’s purposely sleeping in?

"Little Gua, good morning."

Yun Qiqi paused as she approached the dining table, then responded softly: "Mm, good morning."

The villa’s servants stepped forward to set up her napkin, and she lowered her head to start eating.

Compared to usual, she was much quieter, her aura cold and indifferent.

Yan Yan looked at her cool side profile, momentarily feeling as if he was seeing the same her he met when they reunited.

Back then, she carried an air of defense against others, like someone determined to keep herself locked within her own world.

He only thought she was still a bit dazed from waking up—after all, it’s not the first time, every time she wakes up it takes a while for her to come around.