He looked towards the sound, and the darkness before his eyes was split by a beam of light. There stood his father, whom he missed night after night, smiling gently in that sacred light.
Su Qingwan finally broke down, tears pouring from his eyes the next second. He ran towards that beam of light with hot tears, and as soon as he stood in the light, his surroundings instantly changed to scenes of his days with his father.
His father was sitting in the back garden, sewing clothes for him stitch by stitch, looking at him with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "My Wan Wan is such a little mischief-maker. Where have you been off playing again? Come here quickly, let father measure you and see if it's too big or too small?"
Su Qingwan obediently walked over, but with each step, his feet felt as heavy as if they were tied to lead weights.
"Oh? Why is my Wan Wan crying? Who bullied you? Tell father quickly, and father will stand up for you."
Su Qingwan said pitifully, "It's mother, mother bullied Wan Wan."
"Alright, father will go settle accounts with your mother right now!" His father gently patted his head and left with a smile.
Su Qingwan suddenly realized something and cried out anxiously, "Father! Father, don't go!"
As soon as the words fell, darkness surrounded him.
Suddenly, the scene returned to the lively performance at the September Hundred Shows Troupe. Su Qingwan and Xiao Yuan were separated by the surging crowd, and he was alone when three ruffians accosted him. Frightened, he fled in all directions.
The surroundings grew darker and quieter, while the three ruffians chased him relentlessly. In a moment of inattention, he fell into the Liusu River.
The water of the Liusu River was bitingly cold, with needle-like chills piercing through his limbs and into his marrow.
Unable to swim, he could only wait for death.
Gradually, everything around him became very quiet. A sense of suffocation came over him, tightly gripping his throat. His five senses were slowly fading, his entire body and mind sinking.
Su Qingwan only remembered that just before he closed his eyes, a blurry figure radiating a sacred light rushed towards him.
At this moment, he realized that there was someone besides his father who would rush towards him without regard for their own safety, just like his father.
When he regained some consciousness, he still couldn't see that face clearly. Seeing that person about to leave, Su Qingwan became anxious and reached out, wanting to firmly grasp that person.
He excitedly said, "Who are you? Don't go! Tell me who you are! Don't leave!..."
Su Qingwan suddenly opened his eyes from the dream, his hand frozen in mid-air. Realizing it was a dream, he slowly lowered his hand after a long while.
His eyes were full of desolation, and his dazed face revealed a hint of despair, as if his soul bore an inconsolable wound.
Su Qingwan walked barefoot down from the bed, and in the soft moonlight, he came to the wardrobe. He placed his hand on the neatly folded outer garment, gently caressing the white magnolia flower embroidered on the clothing, inch by inch.
A radiant smile, as bright as a fresh flower, slowly blossomed on his thoroughly contented face, spreading to the tips of his eyebrows.
Afterwards, Su Qingwan took the garment back to bed, cherishing it preciously as he pillowed it in his arms. Accompanied by a pleasant, faint cool fragrance, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
In the latter half of the night, the moon was bright and the wind was clear, peaceful and tranquil.
Su Qingwan slept very soundly, a faint smile lingering on his lips.