CHAPTER 688: NOT A DREAM

"Nianzu, is everything alright? Your face looks so pale!"

Shen Nianzu had no idea how he made it to the dining table. He blinked, staring at the worried faces of his parents in front of him, then shook his head numbly. Was this yet another gap in his memory? Or was he simply unaware of the passing time due to the shock he had experienced...?

A heavy stone weighed down on his chest, leaving him stifled whenever he recalled the scene of the clean bathroom. It was impossible for another person to enter his room and clean up the mess without him noticing, so the only possibility left was... everything was not real. It was just a hallucination conjured up by his own brain.

...No, impossible! Shen Nianzu gritted his teeth. He had no idea where such a strong conviction came from, but every cell in his body was boiling and clamoring, unwilling to accept this kind of answer no matter what!

Was this the so-called ’intuition’?

Since birth, Shen Nianzu had always relied on his parents for everything. He was like a soft, fragile vine, twisting around the towering trees that were his parents just so that he could grow and survive. He had never doubted their care and affection for him. Everything they did was for his own good. There was not a single day when he doubted them— until now. Because of this damned intuition that was so inexplicable yet so intense that he couldn’t bring himself to ignore it.

His intuition was telling him not to let his guard down, that there was more to this than what met the eye!

Yet at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a hint of doubt sprouting in his heart.

What if he had just been overthinking? What if everything was just inside his head? Both his parents and Qing Mo were so good... they had been taking care of him all his life, so how could he even doubt them like this?!

All the complex speculations left Shen Nianzu with a persistent headache and zero appetite. But he forced himself to eat his breakfast anyway because it had been a habit for him to persist and grit his teeth in silence just so he could avoid worrying his parents.

A single glance at the table told him that the dishes were exactly the same as the ones served yesterday.

But at this moment, Shen Nianzu was a little too numb to question it. He picked up his spoon and sipped his porridge, only to realize that it was deathly silent around him.

He raised his head— the Shen couple and Qing Mo were staring at him intently.

A faint shiver crawled up his spine under the weight of their collective gaze. "W-Why aren’t you eating...?"

Madam Shen’s expressionless face broke into an affectionate smile he knew very well. "Go on, Nianzu. We already ate before you came down. We’re just waiting for you to finish so we can go to the hospital."

"Oh..." Shen Nianzu shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he brought another spoon to his mouth, racking his brain to think. Did the same thing happen yesterday too? Were they also, like they did today, silently staring at him while he finished his breakfast?

...He couldn’t remember.

Shen Nianzu felt annoyed and frustrated with his own incompetence. As a result, he paid careful attention to his parents and Qing Mo all the way until they boarded the car. Yesterday, he had been lost in thought as he stared outside the window, and it wasn’t until today that he noted how silent the entire car was.

The Shen couple and Qing Mo, these three people, had their gazes fixed straight ahead with nary an expression on their faces.

A single glance at their near identical visages left Shen Nianzu fully creeped out, gooseflesh rippling across his arms all the way to the top of his head. His scalp prickled with numbness.

...What the hell?

Was this... was this normal?

Perhaps his gaze had been too heated, Madam Shen turned and asked him with a smile, "What’s wrong, Nianzu?"

Shen Nianzu stared at her without answering. This— it was this familiar smile, soft and affectionate, hiding a hint of concern beneath, that always ended up disarming his mental fortress, making him feel like he had made a mountain of a hill. See? He tried to tell himself. They’re still your parents. The people you know best and who know you best. There is nothing wrong with them.

But Shen Nianzu was dismayed to find out that he couldn’t even seem to convince himself this time.

I suspect that I’m repeating the same day and also... my parents are no longer my parents. My life assistant is also not my life assistant. They still look and behave the same, but somehow, I can tell it’s not them.

How can I tell?

I saw my own self warning me from inside the mirror.

If he dared to say this aloud, he would most likely be sent to the psychiatric department—the kind that needed immediate treatment and close monitoring. Even it sounded too nonsensical and absurd to his own ears!

Under Madam Shen’s puzzled gaze, Shen Nianzu parted his bloodless lips and said dryly, "...I forgot to ask. Where are we heading?"

"Have you forgotten or are you just pretending?" Master Shen replied with a hint of amusement, glancing at him through the front view mirror. "You will be having a routine check-up today, Nianzu."

"That’s right, don’t be afraid!" Madam Shen tried to cheer him up upon seeing how colors drained from his face all of a sudden. "I know you’re sick of this, Nianzu but... just for us. Do it for our sake, en? Your father and I promise, we will be with you every step along the way."

Shen Nianzu licked his dry lips. "But..." he forced a light smile on his face, hoping it wouldn’t appear too distorted. "But didn’t I just get a check-up yesterday?"

The other three erupted into soft laughter.

"What are you talking about, Young Master?" Qing Mo joked. "Have you not woken up yet?"

Shen Nianzu knew that the other person was just cracking a joke, but he found himself seriously considering it. That’s right, what if this is all a dream and I’m still asleep on my bed?

Please... please let this be just a nightmare...

He discreetly pinched his thigh, but alas— the sharp and vivid pain he felt shattered that fragile sliver of hope, grinding it into dust. All that remained was a heavy, sinking disappointment that settled deep in his chest.

This is not a dream, the throbbing pain seemed to mock him. This is your reality.