Chapter 128: The Most Confident Caprice in the World

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As the two wandered the night, outside the dream, within the “embryo,” Adonis stretched his curled-up body and then opened his eyes. Qin Mo instinctively felt that she was being watched by some gaze, but when she looked around, she found nothing.

Though the dream centered on Ji Ning, its creator was Adonis. He had encompassed the entire city of London within his “mind’s” domain, weaving countless dreams. Each dream existed independently yet was connected through their creator, like the intersecting branches of the World Tree, with Adonis as the guardian of the entire tree.

When Adonis linked himself to the collective spirit of the city, he began to transcend mortal limits and became a demigod walking the world, though this transformation required time.

From the moment Qin Mo, an outsider without his consent, entered Ji Ning’s dream, Adonis sensed it but did not intervene immediately.

On one hand, he was merging with and empowering the city’s collective spirit; on the other, he had to contend with far more troublesome opponents. As a world-class metropolis, London harbored supernatural organizations far from ordinary.

Over time, Adonis’s strength grew ever greater, and he gradually mastered his own authority completely.

Shedding his mortal shell, he became a purely spiritual being, like activating an internal immune system, expelling viral intrusions—of which Qin Mo was one.

“What’s the specialty here?” Ji Ning suddenly asked behind Qin Mo.

“Fried chicken collarbones,” Qin Mo answered briskly and confidently, having just noticed a nearby stall selling them.

Ji Ning stopped and called out to the feigning Qin Mo, “You’re not a local.”

Qin Mo nodded. “I never said I was.”

“Then where’s your home?”

Qin Mo’s gaze flickered evasively. “Just up ahead.”

One lie demanded more lies to cover it; naïve Qin Mo, lacking experience in deception, simply persisted stubbornly.

Ji Ning leapt back considerably. “Still won’t admit it. You must have big plans—when we get there, won’t you jump out with four or five big guys? Then the world gains a happy rich woman and loses a carefree boy.”

“Nonsense! I just want you to walk with me,” Qin Mo said, amused and bewildered by Ji Ning’s suspicion that she might sell him out.

“So where’s your home?” Ji Ning sized up the girl, about 170 cm tall, just a bit shorter than himself, wondering about her fighting ability. Though he hadn’t trained in martial arts, his male physique gave him confidence that even if four or five big guys jumped out, he could take them down by striking at their leader first.

“Alright, actually I have no fixed residence now,” Qin Mo decided to reveal the truth; lies only deepen gaps.

“Still say you’re not a liar?” Ji Ning said with unsurprised calm.

“Have you ever thought that what I said might all be true—that this is your dream?” Qin Mo brushed her wind-tousled hair back, striving to appear earnest.

Ji Ning curled his lips. “Have you thought maybe all you said is your own dream, and this is the real world?”

Qin Mo glanced down at the ring on her hand, still silent. She was confident in her answer but knew empty words couldn’t convince Ji Ning.

How to explain? If only the ring could show some special power… she wondered if it could be removed.

Suddenly excited, Qin Mo looked at Ji Ning. “I know you have a scar on your left arm. Doesn’t that prove I really know you?”

Ji Ning showed no expression. “I also know you have one on your arm.”

Qin Mo was stunned, then happily and shyly reached out to hug Ji Ning. “So you finally remember? But when did you see it before?”

Ji Ning, caught off guard by the embrace, blushed deeply and tried to push her away, but felt embarrassed and turned his head. “That’s from the BCG vaccine. Ninety percent of people have a small scar like that.”

Qin Mo felt disappointed. “So you still don’t remember.”

“Speak properly. I’m a young lad here—can you let go?” This was the only time in his seventeen years that a peer of the opposite sex had hugged him like this. The unique feminine scent on Qin Mo made him oddly shy.

Seeing Ji Ning’s flushed ears, Qin Mo, though a bit embarrassed by her own behavior, mischievously blew a breath into his ear.

“What… what are you doing?” Ji Ning jumped up like a frightened rabbit.

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Qin Mo scrunched her nose, frowning fiercely. “Who told you not to believe me?”

Before Ji Ning could speak, Qin Mo turned and said, “I’m going to see the Yangtze River. Whether you come or not is up to you.”

Ji Ning touched his burning cheeks, wondering why she hugged him so naturally without hesitation.

Under the streetlamp, Qin Mo’s silhouette swayed gracefully. To cover her earlier behavior, she walked forward without looking back. Ji Ning pondered for a few seconds, then followed. It wasn’t romance; his boundless curiosity was typical of his age.

Well, a youthful admiration for Qin Mo was also a typical affliction for the boy. If she were less attractive, Ji Ning would have turned back.

After five minutes, Qin Mo slowed her pace, eyes on the traffic light ahead but slightly turning to watch behind.

As expected, he had followed. Qin Mo felt relieved.

No matter what, you are still you, she believed. Whether past or future, dream or reality, the boy behind her would never leave.

“Why did you follow me again? Aren’t you afraid of four or five big guys jumping out and selling you off?” Qin Mo smiled, stepping back a few paces to walk beside Ji Ning.

“What do I like to eat most?” Ji Ning didn’t answer but asked an ill-timed question.

“Medium-well sirloin steak, with a bit of black pepper,” Qin Mo answered confidently.

“Wrong,” Ji Ning shrugged. Clearly, this good-looking girl was still a liar; he almost mistook her ramblings for truth after that hug.

“Impossible! You always order that at Ambrose’s restaurant. I even asked you— you told me yourself it’s your favorite.”

Qin Mo instantly realized her mistake—the Ji Ning here hadn’t yet encountered the other side of this world, let alone Ambrose’s in Lu Academy. He had neither time nor money for steak.

“I’ve never eaten so-called sirloin steak. Sounds delicious, but I’m not from a wealthy family. We can’t afford that,” Ji Ning mused, touching his chin. Maybe he should save some summer job money to try this “sirloin steak” someday.

“If you remember, in that world we ate it every day,” Qin Mo said casually, then pondered what secret he might be hiding—something so intimate that revealing it would prove their closeness.

After much thought, she gave up. She only knew the Ji Ning who had met her before; she knew nothing of the seventeen-year-old boy now.

The Yangtze’s night, lit by lamps, seemed both distant and clear. Though the street was close, the breeze swept away the noise like waves on the shore.

Qin Mo leaned on the railing, the shimmering river in sight, her thoughts just within reach.

“You don’t believe me, so why did you follow me?” she asked again, as if the answer mattered greatly.

“Who knows? Maybe because the moonlight is beautiful tonight,” Ji Ning thought, unable to admit he was just bored.

Qin Mo looked up, moonlight shimmering in her eyes. She seemed pleased with his answer and nodded, then said casually something that startled Ji Ning.

“I hope to stay at your place for a few days—as a friend.”

Impossible! Ji Ning’s first reaction. Then he saw the calm but resolute look in the girl’s eyes and knew she was serious.

“I refuse.”

“If you don’t agree, I’ll tell your mom you…” Qin Mo hesitated, then finished, “You toy with girls’ feelings.”

Ji Ning turned pale. “How dare you slander me?” Knowing his mother, she’d scold him briefly, call his father home from abroad, then break his legs and drag him over to apologize.

“No, no, your choice,” Qin Mo said, pinching her heated ear and stepping closer to the railing, gazing at the water merging with the sky.

“Is this a joke?” Ji Ning asked, still hoping she was kidding. Qin Mo didn’t look back.

“Why me? Out of all the people in the world.”

Qin Mo, blown by the river breeze, glanced back at Ji Ning, cheeks still flushed. “Because it’s you.”

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“You like me?”

Qin Mo stiffened briefly, then nodded almost imperceptibly.

“I’ve never dated, but I’ve never heard of anyone pursuing like this,” Ji Ning said angrily, then laughed.

“I have dated once,” Qin Mo turned, eyes bright as stars.

Ji Ning sighed. “Don’t tell me it was with me?”

Qin Mo nodded firmly.

Qin Mo guessed that Adonis had sealed all dreamers’ memories, constructing the entire dream from their subconscious desires, meaning they had almost no chance to wake up on their own.

Meeting Ji Ning revealed a crucial problem: this place was too ordinary—so ordinary she could hardly tell it from reality.

Based on this, Qin Mo speculated that to escape the dream, they first needed to uncover Ji Ning’s deepest desires, understand why Adonis created such a dream, then find the anomalies to remind Ji Ning it was just a dream. Once he realized this, he could awaken.

But it was too ordinary: no winged rainbow ponies, no city-destroying monsters seeking Ultraman, not even many pretty girls around Ji Ning.

Before meeting Ji Ning, he was a blank slate. Things she had never cared to explore were slowly unearthed, like grains of sand forming a stranger’s image.

She disliked this. She wanted to know the boy better, to understand what he truly longed for that made Adonis shape this dream. Only then could she reveal the dream’s illusion, help Ji Ning realize it was just a dream, and confidently intervene in his life in the future. Yes, not only did Ji Ning believe any romance without marriage was frivolous; pure-hearted Qin Mo also harbored a brave heart to love.

In the end, Ji Ning agreed to Qin Mo’s request—she hadn’t given him any other choice.

After more than an hour of discussion, or negotiation, the only concession Ji Ning won was that since it was late, Qin Mo would knock on his door tomorrow.

Ji Ning couldn’t imagine what made her so determined. He even wondered if fate’s goddess had altered his charm level.

“Then it’s settled,” Qin Mo said downstairs, waving to Ji Ning. But even after Ji Ning returned to his room and looked out, he saw her still standing, unmoving, not even changing her posture after their farewell.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep?” Ji Ning opened the window.

“The hotel won’t let me stay.”

“Why?” Ji Ning’s alarm bells rang. Could it be because she was a fugitive?

Qin Mo looked matter-of-fact. “I don’t have money for a hotel.”

In the end, Ji Ning escorted Qin Mo to a nearby hotel. Just as he was about to leave, feeling the sting of expense, Qin Mo smiled quietly.

She tugged at Ji Ning’s shirt. “Wait.”

Ji Ning glanced at the pristine bed, swallowed hard, his gaze wavering, trembling as he asked, “What… what else?”

Qin Mo blushed and playfully flicked his forehead. “You’ve got to get up early tomorrow.”

“Why is that so obvious?” Ji Ning grumbled, emptying his meager cash and sighing.

Only after Ji Ning’s footsteps faded did Qin Mo lie down, close her eyes, and whisper softly,

“Because the greatest confidence and willfulness in the world comes from being cherished.”