Sunny Joy - CHAPTER 36

At night, Song Ci Yue was aware that she was in a hotel room with Meng Ran. For some reason, he seemed very busy, continuously working on his computer.

Lying on the bed with her eyes closed, Song Ci Yue’s mind wandered—thinking about future trips, what to eat later, plans for tomorrow, and wondering when Meng Ran would finish his work…

Suddenly, she felt someone handling her phone. She immediately opened her eyes and, seeing it was Meng Ran, relaxed as drowsiness returned to her eyes. “Are you done with work?”

“Yes, I’m finished.”

“Why were you holding my phone?”

Meng Ran replied, “I wanted to check how much battery you had left and see if your phone needed charging.”

“No need, my phone still has 200% battery.”

Strangely, even without looking at her phone, she instinctively mentioned the battery percentage, though she didn’t realize it herself.

Meng Ran asked her, “Why did you react so strongly just now?”

For no apparent reason, Song Ci Yue felt guilty, as if she were hiding something from him, yet she couldn’t come up with an excuse to cover it up.

“I… I…”

His expression changed, giving her a strong sense of pressure. “Tell me, what’s the real reason?”

“I… I’m just hungry and wanted… to order takeout.”

A sudden inspiration provided her with a legitimate reason, one that seemed convincing at the time, as if stating the earth is round.

She noticed Meng Ran’s gaze soften instantly. The dim, warm light of the hotel illuminated him, making him appear very gentle.

The scene shifted, and she found herself pulled into Meng Ran’s embrace. His chin rested on her shoulder, holding her tightly, just like in TV dramas. She gradually became aware of his heartbeat.

Sitting on Meng Ran’s lap, she tried to adjust her position, but he laid her down on the bed, cupped her face, and began to kiss her gently, from her forehead to her neck.

She felt that he was like the last time he forced himself on her, but now even more aggressive.

Song Ci Yue became a bit flustered and sought an excuse to avoid being alone with Meng Ran. She said she wanted to take a shower.

However, he kept holding her, not letting her go. Seeing her insistence, he actually carried her to the bathroom, offering to help her bathe.

She should have refused, but instead, she said, “Okay.”

Immediately, she wished she could find a hole to crawl into, filled with regret. Watching him approach step by step, about to undress her…

In a blink, she was already wearing pajamas, and Meng Ran was helping her dry her hair. As he blow-dried, he kissed her neck from behind. Before her hair was completely dry, he suddenly carried her to the bed.

As they kissed, Song Ci Yue touched the bracelet that Chu Xi had given her and asked, “Do you remember Chu Xi?”

“Chu Xi? Your friend? I don’t know her.”

This response seemed to trigger something. She saw her dormmates and asked each of them if they knew Chu Xi.

The answers were all negative.

Song Ci Yue touched the bracelet, thinking: They are university friends; it’s normal they don’t know her. I should ask someone who knows her!

Looking behind her, she saw her high school classmates—Zhao Yu, her deskmate, teachers… so many people. She believed these people must know Chu Xi. As if trying to prove something, she asked each of them.

But the result was the same. They all said they didn’t know her, suggesting she was mistaken and that such a person never existed.

She shouted loudly, insisting she wasn’t mistaken, knowing there must be something to prove it. She began searching through contacts, group chats, any traces of this person, but found nothing, as if, just like everyone said, this person never existed…

But… but the bracelet is still here; the bracelet she always wore is still here.

Seeing her persistence, those people suddenly became distorted, reaching out to grab her, saying they would send her to the psychiatric hospital at the second house on the left of ×× Road.

She started to run, as if trying to preserve the only evidence of Chu Xi’s existence. Song Ci Yue decided to go to Chu Xi’s home to find the final answer.

This time, she saw Chu Xi and was very happy. “Great, I knew you existed. They all say I’m crazy and want to send me to a psychiatric hospital…”

As she spoke, she tried to hold Chu Xi’s hand as usual but grasped only air.

“You actually know that the moment you gave up on me, I ceased to exist. There were two versions of me: one clear-headed and calm, the other indulgent and fallen.”

“No, it’s not like that. I didn’t give up on you; I just felt unworthy to be your friend… I didn’t want you to disappear. What should I do? What should I do? Wha…”

She murmured, lying on a hospital bed in a psychiatric ward, surrounded by doctors and nurses coming and going. They all looked at her, saying she was beyond help…

Song Ci Yue woke up in shock, beads of sweat rolling down her cheeks: Was it all just a dream? She quickly grabbed her phone and checked the graduation group chat, confirming that Chu Xi was indeed there, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

It really was a dream.

She thought of the bracelet in the dream and touched her wrist empty.

Where’s the bracelet?

Song Ci Yue lifted the pillow, searched the quilt, looked on the table, under the bed, then lay back on the bed in frustration.

Oh, she remembered. When she deleted Chu Xi, she didn’t keep the bracelet. It’s normal not to find it, even though it was the first gift Chu Xi gave her.

She laughed at herself. How could she have such a dream? Since she made the decision, why not be more decisive? This New Year, would she spend it with her family?

Her phone vibrated. Song Ci Yue opened it to see a message from Meng Ran, saying he was downstairs and wanted to wish her a Happy New Year in person.

With such a boyfriend, she should feel fortunate. She temporarily set aside the dream and focused on enjoying the sweetness of love.

Song Ci Yue: I’ll be right down.

As she was about to leave, her father called out, “Where are you going at this hour?”

She had already opened the door, paused with her hand on the doorknob, and said, “A friend invited me to celebrate the New Year together.”

“Is it Xiao Xi? Go ahead but come back early tomorrow.”

Song Ci Yue responded, “Okay.”

Meng Ran saw the girl he had been longing for standing not far away, reaching out her hand to him. He couldn’t help but smile, stepped forward, and held the little girl who hadn’t grown up and still needed someone to hold her hand to avoid getting lost.

“Why did you suddenly come? Didn’t we agree not to meet during the New Year?”

“Because I suddenly missed you so much and wanted to see you. I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year and tell you that I like you.”

The boy rarely expressed his feelings so openly.

Later, Song Ci Yue wrote in her diary:

At midnight on New Year’s Eve, under a sky full of fireworks, with our favorite song playing, he kissed me.