My wife is a witch princess

Chapter 81 Song Che, I want to warm my hands

Gone, everything is gone.

He fell asleep faster than usual, but his mind was clearer than ever.

Song Che pinched his arm hard—but it didn't hurt at all.

Hmm, I'm dreaming, or rather, it's a lucid dream.

But this dream was different from the usual ones.

He couldn't control anything; it was as if he had been thrown into a movie he couldn't switch out of.

The problem now is... how do I wake up?

He got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom.

The room's layout was exactly the same as in reality, except that it was an abnormally bright daytime outside the window. He approached the window; in broad daylight, the street below was deserted, eerily silent.

But since it's a dream, there's nothing strange about it.

He circled the living room but didn't see Bruce's furry figure. Finally, he decided to check Xia Li's room. They say dreams contain anything, but this dream was far too lonely—except for himself, there was no one else there.

The entire world was bathed in a somber, dusky yellow hue, as if everything was shrouded in an unsettling halo.

He walked slowly, able to clearly hear the echo of his own breathing. The omnipresent twilight exuded the regret and weariness of a drama about to end.

He pushed open the door to Xia Li's bedroom.

Then, he froze on the spot.

……

The next morning.

"You scared me to death!" Tao Yao sprang up from her cat bed, her fur standing on end. "What kind of nightmare was that! How could I, the Fox King, die so...so undignifiedly!"

"What did you see, sister?" Tao Xiang asked timidly in her heart.

"The four of us died in Xia Li's room!"

"Sister Xia Li...will she kill us?"

"Idiot, there were four people. She's dead too! Me, Bruce, her... all lying on the bed. He pushed the door open, saw it, and died on the spot too."

"His dream... was really scary."

"It wasn't a sudden death... it's more like murder." Tao Yao's voice lowered, carrying a hint of analysis. "It seems that Song Che has developed paranoia. In his dreams, we are all killed with a single blow."

"Isn't that the effect of your illusion, sister?"

"It's true that it was my illusion, but I didn't make him dream like this!" Tao Yao scratched the ground with her claws in frustration. "Usually, dreaming of being killed means that he lacks a sense of security in his subconscious, or that he always feels that someone wants to harm him when he is awake."

"He's out." Tao Xiang paused, stopping her internal communication, then looked up at Song Che, her voice clear and crisp, "Good morning, Brother Song Che."

"Good morning, Taotian... Taoxiang?" Song Che responded, his gaze lingering on her face for two seconds, his eyes holding something indescribable.

Then he turned to Bruce, who was still dozing, and glanced at Xia Li's closed door before turning and going into the bathroom.

It wasn't until Song Che and Xia Li left for the final rehearsal that Tao Yao spoke again, her tone unusually serious: "Sister, my sixth sense tells me—we have to run."

"Oh, just because we died once in his dream?"

"No! It's my sixth sense! After careful observation and analysis, that wicked woman definitely knows Song Che! But for some reason, she can't meet him directly, so she's using us as messengers and punching bags! This means we'll continue to be manipulated by her from the shadows... No, we need our freedom!"

"But last time we used illusion magic to give Song Che a little fright, that wicked woman knocked bumps on both of our heads..."

"What are you afraid of? This time we'll run far away! We'll make sure she can't find us!"

"Then what about our meals and sleep...?"

"Self-reliance!" Tao Yao puffed out her hairy chest, her tone resolute. "If there's really no food, I'd rather starve to death outside!"

"Am I...am I going to starve to death too?" Momoka's voice was trembling with tears.

"Yes, you must have backbone!"

Tao Xiang fell silent, curling up pitifully in a ball. She didn't want to starve. Song Che's cooking was so delicious; wouldn't it be better to eat a few more meals? That wicked woman… she only made them "bless" the gold coins. Was her sister overreacting?

However, cats are naturally quite prone to stress.

My older sister doesn't eat it, but she does.

Tao Xiang secretly made up her mind.

……

Generally, people forget their dreams quickly after they've had them, at most remembering some fragmented pieces. But Song Che clearly remembered every detail of this dream—from the strange sense of wakefulness when he opened his eyes, to the empty streets, to the suffocating twilight hues that enveloped everything, and finally, the scene he saw after pushing open that door.

This was a complete nightmare for him.

In the rehearsal room, Song Che sat alone on a chair in the corner. The final rehearsal was almost over; they were just waiting for the official performance next weekend. Xia Li wasn't beside him; she was learning makeup from Jiang Xiaoxiao. The others had already left after their rehearsals.

Song Che's thoughts uncontrollably returned to that dream. That blood-stained kitchen knife—it was the very one Xia Li had placed on her bedside table, saying it was for "self-defense."

...Damn it, the first thing I did when I got home was throw that knife away.

He forced himself to stop thinking, raised his head, and looked at Xia Li not far away.

She studied diligently, practicing in front of the mirror, meticulously following Jiang Xiaoxiao's instructions. Foundation, blush, eyeshadow... the colors gradually spread across her face, magically transforming her aura. The exaggerated stage makeup from last time only seemed comical, but this everyday makeup added a touch of refinement and... aloofness to her already striking features.

"Xiaoxiao." Xia Li suddenly stopped what she was doing and looked at Jiang Xiaoxiao through the mirror. "Could you let Jiang Shuo come and play with Song Che?"

"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoxiao was taken aback. "Sure, my brother just plays games at home on weekends anyway. What's up?"

"Song Che hasn't been talking much these past two days." Xia Li's tone was calm, but her furrowed brows betrayed her confusion. "He doesn't talk to me, and his mind is always in turmoil."

She had been wondering what was wrong with Song Che.

He didn't speak to her, yet he didn't seem to dislike her. She didn't know how to ask, perhaps... it would be better to let Jiang Shuo, who was close to him, ask?

"You two..." Jiang Xiaoxiao probed, "did you have a fight?"

"I don't know," Xia Li shook her head. "He doesn't want to tell me."

"Okay, leave it to me." Jiang Xiaoxiao readily agreed. "When my brother gets here, he'll interrogate me thoroughly, and I'll tell you what's going on."

"Mm." Xia Li paused, then added, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Jiang Xiaoxiao handed over a lipstick, then couldn't help but sigh, "But speaking of which, Sister Xia Li, did you study acting before? When you put on a cold face, your aura really doesn't seem like acting; it's kind of scary."

"I..." Xia Li instantly reverted to her usual somewhat dazed demeanor, "I just... don't smile much usually."

She didn't explain further, took the lipstick, carefully applied it to her lips, and then gently pursed her lips.

Makeup complete.

In the mirror, her features, after being subtly enhanced, appeared even more radiant and breathtaking. The innate aloofness and nobility that belonged to "Your Highness" was amplified to the point that people dared not look directly at her, as if taking another glance would create an invisible distance and a sense of shame.

She stood up, walked to Song Che, and looked down at him slightly: "Song Che, will Auntie like this makeup?"

"You'll like it." Song Che looked up and gave an affirmative answer, but his eyes were somewhat unfocused.

"Your mind... is still in turmoil," Xia Li said softly.

"Hmm." Song Che took a breath, trying to calm himself down. "I'll try to adjust."

However, the impact of last night's nightmare and yesterday morning's conversation has been deeply etched into my heart, and cannot be erased by a few deep breaths.

"Do you want to warm your hands?" Xia Li reached out and took his hand without saying a word.

This time, Song Che didn't take the opportunity to lewdly caress the back of her hand with his fingers as he usually did. He simply withdrew his hand somewhat awkwardly.

"My hands are cold... I don't want them to get cold."

"You seem... very unhappy." Xia Li looked at her empty hands, then looked up at him.

"Um...it's okay." Song Che stood up, avoiding her gaze. "Let's go home."

"Mmm." Xia Li put her hands back into her coat pockets, her fingertips clenching together.

She knew very well that Song Che was unhappy.

She had almost never seen him truly unhappy; usually, she would throw a tantrum, and Song Che would try to coax her. But she didn't know how to coax people like Song Che did. She only remembered that Song Che liked to hold her hand, which made him seem happier.

But now it seems that giving him my hand won't help.

Why is Song Che unhappy?

He wouldn't say, only repeatedly saying "It's nothing."

Xia Li suddenly got a little angry and wanted to give him a flick on the head, just like she always did, and question him: Didn't you teach her before that she should talk about what she was unhappy about and ask questions about what she didn't understand? But when it came to him, he didn't say a word or ask a single question.

Song Che is such an idiot. He doesn't keep his own promises and just keeps telling her to do this and that.

However, when she raised her hand and saw Song Che's face, which hadn't shown a smile for two days, she slowly lowered her hand again.

If I knock on him now, he'll probably... be even more unhappy.

Xia Li felt a sense of confusion.

Before she could learn all of human emotions and ways of dealing with things, the "teacher" who had always guided her had fallen into a predicament she could not understand.

"Song Che," she spoke again, her voice even softer than before, "would you like... to warm your hands?"

"No."

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Song Che." She looked at him, her eyes filled with a stubborn yet clumsy insistence, "I want to warm my hands."