Chapter 282: If It’s a Dream, He Doesn’t Want to Wake Up

Chapter 282: If It Were a Dream, He Wouldn’t Want to Wake Up

The second this little girl opened her mouth, the tense mood vanished in an instant.

It had to be said, Niu Niu was truly their family's little ball of sunshine.

"Alright, come here. Mommy's got you, you won’t be scared anymore."

Su He spread her arms and sat on the bed, cradling a kid in each arm.

"Brother, come on, tell us already! I want to hear the scary story!" Niu Niu exclaimed excitedly the moment she was in Su He’s embrace.

Zai Zai: "......"

Su He bit back a laugh and quieted her daughter with a "shh."

"Listen to what your brother has to say."

Zai Zai glanced at Su He and said, "I don't really remember much of the dream. I just remember being surrounded by flames. The feeling was... really terrifying."

Hearing this, Su He's smile dropped immediately.

"Mommy, what’s wrong?" Niu Niu was too young to understand what her brother was describing.

What did "a sea of fire" mean?

Her tiny head was spinning with questions.

"It’s alright, Zai Zai. It was just a dream. After a good night’s sleep, you’ll forget all about it by tomorrow." Su He ruffled Zai Zai's hair comfortingly.

"Mm, I’m not scared anymore," Zai Zai replied earnestly, looking at Su He.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

Fu Tinghua pushed it open and looked at his three little night owls, looking thoroughly unamused.

He had stayed up waiting for Su He to return to their room after her shower, only to find her here chatting with the kids.

"Not planning to sleep tonight?" He arched an eyebrow at them.

"Daddy, Mommy said she’s sleeping with us tonight!" Niu Niu announced triumphantly.

Fu Tinghua let out an "Oh?" and turned to Su He.

Su He: "......"

"Zai Zai had a nightmare. I'm bunking with them tonight."

She blinked at Fu Tinghua, giving him a pointed look that said "take the hint" and go back to their room alone.

"Then let’s all pile into our bed," Fu Tinghua suddenly countered.

"Huh?" Su He blinked in surprise.

"Our bed is bigger. When my son has a nightmare, you think I'd leave him alone?"

With that, he walked over to Zai Zai and swept him up in his arms.

Zai Zai: "......"

"Yay, I'm the luckiest kid ever tonight! I get to sleep with Mommy and Daddy." Niu Niu immediately wrapped her arms around Su He's neck, gesturing for her to carry her to bed.

Su He chuckled and gave her daughter’s behind a playful pat before the four of them headed to the master bedroom to sleep.

This might’ve been the first time all four of them had shared a bed.

As Zai Zai lay on the bed, he still felt a bit disoriented.

He and Niu Niu slept in the middle, while Su He and Fu Tinghua each took one side of the bed.

Was this really his life? Such a perfect moment...

Was this some dying dream?

But he remembered everything that had happened recently—it was all real.

After Mom took them back to the countryside, things started getting better.

She loved them fiercely, wanting to give them every good thing.

Whenever he was bullied by the villagers, Mom would always come to his rescue and make things right.

Honestly, he wouldn’t even dare to dream of such things.

And in this dream, Mom and Dad were actually in love.

Gone was the tough, heavyset mom he remembered—she was gentle, graceful, beautiful, and wise.

Honestly, every compliment suited her perfectly.

"Can't sleep?" Fu Tinghua suddenly asked his son lying beside him.

Zai Zai’s eyes were wide open—no way he’d sleep tonight.

"Yeah," Zai Zai nodded softly.

"Get some rest. Mom and your sister are out cold," Fu Tinghua glanced at the mother and daughter tightly hugging each other, sighed, then scooped his son up into a hug.

He thought Zai Zai also wanted to be held while sleeping.

Zai Zai: ...

Two guys cuddling? How lame.

But this feeling… it kinda felt nice.

Before long, Zai Zai drifted off too.

But he was still dreaming; the dream picked up where it left off.

In the dream—

At the moment of the explosion, he heard a very familiar voice, one raw with pain and despair.

"Fu Hanzhi—"

"Stay back! Hit the deck—now!"

And then, darkness.

But in the dream, he didn't seem to fear death at all.

In that world, it felt like he had nothing, and everything he did was achieved through his own efforts, yet the results were still unsatisfactory.

Please, send me back to the world where Mom and Dad are, okay?

......

The next morning, Fu Tinghua was the first to wake up.

Seeing the three people in bed sleeping so soundly, Fu Tinghua couldn't help but smile, moving even more quietly as he got out of bed.

There was a very important surgery scheduled for this afternoon, and it couldn't be delayed.

Nowadays, every surgery Fu Tinghua performed was not for ordinary people.

This left him somewhat helpless.

Unlike future generations, where there were plenty of highly skilled doctors, as the first top-tier surgeon in the country, the state naturally allocated this resource to high-ranking officials.

So unless one had connections, it was very difficult for ordinary people to schedule an appointment with Fu Tinghua now.

Even for something like a heart stent surgery, several procedures were already booked.

As he went downstairs, he saw his mother-in-law Wen Qing, who had already gotten up and prepared breakfast.

"Mom," Fu Tinghua greeted.

"Ah, Ting Hua, you're up. I made breakfast—do you want to eat at home or take it to the hospital?" Wen Qing asked immediately upon seeing him.

She knew Fu Tinghua had been very busy lately, so she wanted to make life a little easier for her son-in-law by handling the little things.

"Mom, let me freshen up first and then I'll take it with me to the hospital."

Fu Tinghua didn't say things like "You shouldn’t have to wake up so early to make breakfast for us, it's too much trouble."

He understood that his in-laws' biggest worry now was that he and Su He might keep them at arm's length.

So the best thing was to let things happen naturally and treat them as the closest family.

"Ah, okay."

Wen Qing grabbed a to-go bag and packed a sweet potato, an ear of corn, and two eggs for Fu Tinghua.

She selected the largest portions.

When she handed the bag to Fu Tinghua, he couldn't help feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"Mom, this is too much food for me," Fu Tinghua said with a smile.

"It's fine, just save what you don't eat and eat it later when you're hungry. I made extra—here, take this, you have work to do." Wen Qing began ushering him out.

Her son-in-law was so capable, of course she wouldn't dream of neglecting him.