That day, Yu Ning had drifted into a dreamland while resting her head against a lemon-scented, warm chest.

Hardly a few seconds after the world turned black, she opened her eyes amidst a hazy, dream-drugged state.

Yu Ning realized at once that she was dreaming again.

It was the familiar first-person perspective.

A bright room, a white computer desk, and a plant—whose name she couldn’t recall—planted in a glass water bottle at the corner of the desk.

Yu Ning knew this place all too well; she had been here countless times, both in her dreams and in reality.

It was Ling Wangjin’s office.

Bionic Wonder House: Could you describe the layout of your boyfriend’s office in detail for me?

Hand-Cut Lemon: Does that matter?

Bionic Wonder House: Often, details in life, such as room layout, can reflect a person’s psychological state.

Yu Ning began to recall the details of the dream.

As her first-person perspective shifted, a cat painting hanging on the wall flickered past.

Next, a small yellow sofa appeared in the frame, draped with a Pikachu-themed sofa cover. A leather lightning-bolt tail hung from the back of the chair.

Bionic Wonder House: A Pikachu sofa cover?

Hand-Cut Lemon: Yes! It’s super cute; it even has ears and a tail. I have no idea where he bought it.

Bionic Wonder House: Are you very fond of Pikachu?

Hand-Cut Lemon: I am! We even have Pikachu pillowcases at home.

Hand-Cut Lemon: Is there something wrong with that?

Bionic Wonder House: Does your home have any ornaments that he likes?

Hand-Cut Lemon: Let me think…

Hand-Cut Lemon: Not many, it seems? Honestly, I feel like he is extremely accommodating to me in our daily life.

Bionic Wonder House: For example?

Hand-Cut Lemon: When we go out to eat, we eat whatever I want. If I ask him, he just says he isn’t picky. I didn’t think much of it before, but now that I really think about it, it’s a bit strange.

Bionic Wonder House: Have you ever argued?

Hand-Cut Lemon: No, he basically yields to everything I want, and I feel like he’s quite good at de-escalating conflicts… we can’t really seem to fight.

Bionic Wonder House: Based on your description, in some ways, he’s a pretty good boyfriend.

Hand-Cut Lemon: That’s true, which is why I’m super conflicted. I feel like even if we broke up and I looked for someone else, it would be hard to find someone this compatible.

Bionic Wonder House: Indeed, the relationship between you two is… quite subtle.

Bionic Wonder House: Let’s continue with your dream.

When she first dreamt of his office, Yu Ning had felt a bit bored.

This time, the dream didn’t skip over his work; she watched for a while.

The image of him facing the computer was motionless. If it weren’t for the occasional sound of keyboard clicks and the shifting of documents on the screen, she would have suspected the image was frozen.

Having to watch someone work in a first-person dream was truly a form of torture.

The work scene didn’t last long. She saw him stand up, his gaze turning toward the Pikachu sofa. Then, the view shifted toward the ceiling—he must have lain down on the sofa. Afterward, it felt as if a black curtain closed from above and below, like two curtains being drawn shut.

The screen went black.

Hand-Cut Lemon: He finally went to sleep, he finally went to sleep! In the past, I never dreamt of him sleeping. I felt a real sense of relief then.

Hand-Cut Lemon: That said, he’s truly amazing. He works so hard all day, yet he still finds time to accompany me and even manages to squeeze in a nap during his busy schedule… Ah, I’ve gone off-topic again.

Bionic Wonder House: Continue.

—Buzz.

Yu Ning heard the sound of a phone vibrating, and then the two ‘curtains’ above and below pulled open.

He had opened his eyes.

The view followed his gaze, sweeping rapidly across the floor before finally landing on the phone screen.

It was an alarm.

Yu Ning stared at the time displayed on the screen.

11:10.

Bionic Wonder House: Is there something special about this time?

Hand-Cut Lemon: I usually receive my food delivery between 11:40 and 12:00. He always orders it for me at this time.

Bionic Wonder House: He orders your food? Don’t you order it yourself?

Hand-Cut Lemon: I did when we first met. I was quite busy with work back then, and sometimes I would forget to eat. Once he found out, he would ask me at first, but I don’t know when he started just ordering it for me…

Bionic Wonder House: Now that you’ve quit your job and aren’t busy, he still orders it for you?

Hand-Cut Lemon: Yes…

Hand-Cut Lemon: Now that you mention it, I feel like something is wrong… Have I just become accustomed to it?

Bionic Wonder House: …Habit is sometimes a very terrifying thing.

Hand-Cut Lemon: Is he using this method to keep track of my whereabouts? Damn it, but the food he orders is so delicious, wuwuwu.

Bionic Wonder House: …

At the time, Yu Ning had felt quite surprised when she dreamt of him ordering her food.

After all, in most of those other dreams, Ling Wangjin was doing things that were far from normal.

However, the normalcy only lasted for a minute.

Yu Ning saw him open WeChat, select her profile, and initiate a voice call.

In the brief moment before the call connected, Ling Wangjin pulled out a drawer under his desk and took out a piece of paper.

Hand-Cut Lemon: After having so many dreams, I’ve summarized a pattern: when he’s thinking, he likes to write and draw things.

Bionic Wonder House: Why?

Yes, why?

Yu Ning was also pondering this question while dreaming.

“What’s wrong?”

The WeChat call was answered, and Yu Ning heard her own voice coming from the other side of the phone.

From this perspective, she couldn’t see Ling Wangjin’s expression; she could only see him pull a pen from his pen holder.

Ling Wangjin: “Are you out?”

As if to confirm this, Yu Ning heard the sound of wind rushing past from the phone’s microphone, caused by cars driving by.

“Yeah! Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’m eating out today, you don’t need to order food for me.”

Ling Wangjin: “Okay.”

He uncapped the pen and drew a few lines rapidly on the paper. Yu Ning looked closely.

That was the downside of a first-person dream; she couldn’t even turn her head or zoom in. After a while, she realized he had drawn what looked like a crossroads.

Ling Wangjin: “Did you find a good restaurant?”

“Lao San came to find me today, so I’m out eating with her at noon.”

Yu Ning saw him draw a few squares at the crossroads.

Ling Wangjin: “Lao San? Your college roommate?”

He wrote the name ‘Lao San’ in the corner of the paper, and beside it, he wrote ‘Qin Wen’.

“You still remember her!” The voice on the other end of the phone came through, accompanied by the creaking sound of a glass door being pushed open.

He drew a circle on the bottom right of the crossroads on the paper, enclosing one of the squares.

Yu Ning stared at this crossroads, feeling a sense of deep familiarity.

Ling Wangjin: “How could I not remember your good friend? You told me before that she likes coffee. I remember there’s a pretty good cafe right across from our place.”

“You actually guessed right.” Yu Ning heard her dream-self say with a laugh, “I’m actually at the cafe you mentioned right now.”

Ling Wangjin placed a checkmark on the square he had circled on the paper.

At this moment, Yu Ning finally recognized it.

He was drawing a map of the area around their home.

Ling Wangjin: “Is Lao San there yet?”

He continued writing beside the name Qin Wen, adding terms like ‘Engineering Management’ and ‘Certification Exams’.

Bionic Wonder House: What does that mean? Can you explain?

Hand-Cut Lemon: Lao San is named Qin Wen. We were in the same dorm in college. Because of our ages, she was third in the dorm, so we called her Lao San. Our major was Engineering Management.

Bionic Wonder House: And what does ‘Certification Exams’ mean?

“She hasn’t arrived yet. She just walked out of the exam hall and is still on her way.”

Ling Wangjin: “Is it for the Level 2 Architect certification?”

“Ah, I’ve been taking that exam for years. Forget it…”

Ling Wangjin: “It’s fine, don’t push yourself too hard.”

The pen tip slid across the paper and wrote new words next to Qin Wen’s name: Tongshun.

Ling Wangjin: “Lao San came to Echeng for the exam? Doesn’t she work in Tongshun? It would be more convenient to take the exam there, right?”

“Tongshun is remote, and the passing score is very low. They only allow people with local household registration to take it, and Lao San isn’t from Tongshun.”

“By the way, Guai-guai,” the ‘Yu Ning’ on the other end of the phone said cheekily, “I’m not coming back for a few days. Since Lao San finally made the trip, I’m going to stay at a hotel with her and hang out for a few days before I head back.”

The pen tip slashed violently, piercing through the paper.

Ling Wangjin: “Okay, don’t forget to call me tonight. Have fun.”

Bionic Wonder House: And then? Did he do anything?

Hand-Cut Lemon: He didn’t do anything. He just worked as usual, took his little naps in the gaps, and asked me if I needed him to help buy tickets for tourist attractions or anything else…

Bionic Wonder House: From your description, it sounds like he is very busy.

Hand-Cut Lemon: Right? In the afternoon, I saw people coming in and out of his office. He was able to talk to people and organize documents while simultaneously searching for Echeng travel guides, asking me if I wanted him to buy tickets?

Hand-Cut Lemon: Is this what a ‘master of time management’ looks like?

Bionic Wonder House: Isn’t he spending a bit too much time on you?

Hand-Cut Lemon: It really is a bit much. The amount of thought he puts into me is just too much, isn’t it?

Bionic Wonder House: You’re only noticing this now? You didn’t feel it before?

Hand-Cut Lemon: If I look closely, it’s actually quite hard to put into words… Being with him before felt so comfortable in every aspect… so I didn’t notice some things. Subconsciously, I might not have even wanted to realize them.

That was why it wasn’t until I started having these dreams that I discovered many things were completely different from what I had imagined.

Yu Ning withdrew her gaze from the computer. Talking to someone about her dreams made her feel much lighter, but on the other hand, the content of those dreams truly made her feel uneasy.

She unconsciously flipped her phone in her hand, opened Lao San’s profile, and began to scroll through their past chat history.

The most recent message was from yesterday.

Hand-Cut Lemon: You’ve been so distant lately, you hardly reply to my messages. What’s up?

Lao San: Preparing for the First-Class Constructor exam.

Hand-Cut Lemon: So soon? I see it’s almost time for the exam. How is your preparation?

Lao San: It’s alright.

Hand-Cut Lemon: Come to Echeng for the exam again. We can hang out.

Lao San: …Maybe not.

Hand-Cut Lemon: What’s wrong?

Lao San: You have a boyfriend now. It wouldn’t be very appropriate for me to be there…

Yu Ning flipped the phone face down on the desk and turned her gaze to the chat box on the computer.

Bionic Wonder House: An old friend? Lao San? I seem to remember you telling me that you didn’t have any friends.

Hand-Cut Lemon: That’s right, I don’t have any friends anymore.