Capítulo 9: Chapter 9 Ten Years in Dreams (Part 1)

Ling Ze stood in the shabby rental room.

Actually, calling it a room was giving it too much credit.

It was a total of ten square meters with a folding wire bed occupying two, two square meters cordoned off for a bathroom with plastic, a couple of cluttered cabinets, and some scattered household items like pots and stoves.

This was the dwelling place for the working class in the Imperial Capital, especially for people like Zheng Mingcui who had no idea how to enjoy life and only buried herself in work, desperately saving money—she truly deserved no better than this.

Indeed, the bedspread adorned with flamboyant light pink peonies confirmed to Ling Ze that this was Zheng Mingcui's residence.

He seldom came here during his three years of university at Ming University, only counting five or six times at most. But he never paid attention to this place except for the cheap, sole red plastic stool, which he firmly remembered because he had no choice but to sit on it each time.

Oh, and that unbearable bedspread.

That night, after grovelling to please Zhang Lingyan during the day and just happening to get some money from Zheng Mingcui in the evening, the frustration in his heart interwoven with the tangible feel of the banknotes in his hand spurred a twisted, indescribable excitement in him.

So, fueled by alcohol, he finally tasted what it was like to feel conquest, with that bedspread swaying before his eyes...

Ling Ze didn't know why he was standing here; he remembered that Zheng Mingcui, that nonsensical woman, had been thoroughly dealt with by him.

Such a cheap and lowly woman had the audacity to think she could use a child to tie him down... The path of Ling Ze's life would never change for anyone.

Whether it was his parents who were vulgar and shallow, or Zheng Mingcui who dreamt of binding him, or even the haughty and imperious Miss Zhang Lingyan...

He looked around and sneered at the surroundings; nothing could ever affect him.

Perhaps, this was Ling Ze's innate ability. He was too calm and too indifferent. Although he always smiled, he never truly looked at anyone directly and certainly wouldn't be moved by the actions of ants. He knew his true worth and had planned his future life—all his ambitions were stronger than anyone else's. He had no weaknesses!

It was a pity he had forgotten that women in love pour all of their hearts into the object of their affection. They could observe details even more clearly than the person themselves. However, women in love are equally foolish, their brains automatically blocking out such information during the honeymoon phase, seeing only what they want to see...

And now, Zheng Mingcui stood in the corner, watching Ling Ze with a cold laugh.

The resolve of Ling Ze's heart was absolutely extraordinary. He Qing was right; a man like this, if not for his low starting point and narrow vision, was destined to become a regional hegemon.

Ling Ze was completely indifferent to others' thoughts; he was still standing in the room. He knew this was a dream, for the real room had been re-rented when the landlord discovered no one was there at the end of the month.

Yet, the scene was becoming more and more real. He could even hear the faint sound of water in the bathroom...

Zheng Mingcui, with short hair, looked haggard yet gentle as she appeared, as alive as ever.

She... seemed even older.

Her face was still pale, but in his memory, despite her tiredness, she still bore a bit of a young girl's brightness.

But the person before him seemed like a bona fide housewife worn down by life, turning into the lifeless eyes that Jia Baoyu spoke of.

Zheng Mingcui looked at him, walked over tenderly, yet passed straight through his body.

Ling Ze turned in surprise and saw Zheng Mingcui with a smile, walking toward the door; as she opened it, she greeted, "I'm back... How was your day?"

The person at the door didn't speak, just snorted coldly and made their way into the room.

Ling Ze was astonish to discover that this man bore his own face!

Only, he was also a bit older.

He held back the astonishment in his heart, turned his head to take a deep breath, but then saw on the blurred old calendar, an array of red numbers: the year 20XX, X month, XX day—

This date was ten years ahead of his current time!

Could it be that this was his future?

No, it's wrong, impossible, Zheng Mingcui had long since vanished from this world, his future was bright, she couldn't possibly reappear!!!

That's what Ling Ze thought angrily.

Then, all of a sudden, he felt dizzy, and by the time he came to his senses, he was already sitting at the dining table. His hand, which was holding the bowl, was rough and stiff, definitely not his own hand!

—He had become the older Ling Ze!

Opposite him, Zheng Mingcui sighed and lamented, her expression one of gloomy distress: "Ah, what to do if it goes on like this every day? Xiao Bao is already ten this year, and if we can't get the school selection fee, he might not have a school to attend."

"And you," said the girl who in Ling Ze's memory was always gentle only towards him, now looked at him with a mix of helplessness and heartache, and an unknowing hint of disdain: "Look at you. I spent so much money to send you to Ming University, and you had to break up with me to get involved with someone with the surname Zhang, ending up not even graduating. Now what? You could once call yourself a brilliant student from the prestigious Ming University, but with no diploma, other jobs make you feel embarrassed because they know your background, so you can only go into sales..."

"Look at you, ten years of struggling and you still haven't made it anywhere, earning less in a month either selling TV boxes or health products than I do working as a nanny... How can you be so incapable?"

Zheng Mingcui sounded like a middle-aged woman truly oppressed by life, rambling on endlessly.

But as Ling Ze listened, he sorted through the information in her words, and couldn't help but feel a storm of shock in his heart!

From the time he was young, he had always known how to use his strengths, and he was willing to work diligently, which is why he was able to go from a small mountain village to attending Ming University in the Imperial Capital.

Though he was, in comparison to his classmates, indeed down and out and poor, the always proud Ling Ze would never just resign to fate.

He wanted to ensure his scholarship, so he had no time for part-time jobs. At that time, the vulgar and dumb Zheng Mingcui caught his eye... He made all kinds of preparations and arrangements, ensuring that his classmates and teachers knew about his poor family background. On the other hand, he continually demonstrated an image of striving for improvement and using various means to better his life. After three years of constant presence, he finally started to feel that Zhang Lingyan, equally decorative, was gradually becoming devoted to him...

His future was looking bright!

How could he bear it? How could he endure such a mundane, fallen, and wretched life?!!!

He suddenly flipped the table in front of him, amidst the clattering noise, he let out his own roar: "What are you talking about!!!"

At two or three in the morning, when everyone was sound asleep.

In the Ming University male dormitory, Zhang Xu was returning from the bathroom and groping his way back to bed in the dark when suddenly he heard Ling Ze, sleeping next to him, utter a repressed and angry roar: "What are you talking about!!!"

The night-time sleep talk was so sudden and horrifying that Zhang Xu's feet slipped and he slid down the ladder.

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