Meng Yan's Transformation

Chapter 654 Seeing My Longed-For Sister Again in a Dream

"Brother, you said Zhang Xincheng... is something wrong with him?" Zhan Mengyan asked softly, her voice carried away by the wind.

Zhan Zixun was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Him? What could he have done? It was getting dark, and he was worried that his family would be concerned, so he left to go home."

Zhan Mengyan nodded, but something still felt off. She stared at the lock as if it were not just a barrier, but a puzzle waiting for her to solve.

As night deepened, the village lights gradually illuminated the village, like a string of scattered pearls. Zhan Mengyan stood inside the courtyard gate, gazing at the darkness, silently muttering to herself, "Zhang Xincheng, why are you acting so strange today?"

After washing up, Zhan Mengyan felt the coolness of her father's ointment on her fingertips, like touching a minty cloud. She carefully applied the cool ointment to the red rashes on her face and neck, as if touching a melting sunset. The moment the ointment seeped into her skin, the burning sensation vanished instantly. The thorny, glaring red rashes were now quietly fading, replaced by a refreshing coolness, as if countless tiny streams were flowing through her veins, smoothing the restless red marks into a gentle, pale yellow, leaving a faint, almost transparent pink blush on her skin, as if gently kissed by the sunset. The herbal scent of the ointment mingled with the dry aroma of the straw mat on the kang (heated brick bed), like a silent lullaby, slowly flowing through the air.

Zhan Mengyan lay on the kang, her body sinking into the soft, warm quilt, as if being gently embraced by Mother Earth, as if falling into a cloud. The minty scent of the ointment lingered in her nose, mixed with the fragrance of dried mugwort from the kang, supporting her like a gentle net. A breeze slowly drifted through the window screen, gently seeping into her limbs and bones, blowing away the last trace of fatigue.

Zhan Mengyan's eyelids grew heavy, and her thoughts, like scattered dandelion seeds, gradually blurred. Before long, her consciousness slipped into the river of dreams.

In her dream, Zhan Mengyan saw her sister again. It wasn't a blurry phantom, but a vivid image—her sister, wearing that faded work uniform, stood beside the cannery's assembly line. Metal cans jingled on the conveyor belt like strings of silver musical notes. Zhan Mengyan's heart raced. She wanted to call out, but no sound came out. She wanted to reach out and touch her, but grasped only emptiness. Her sister wore a familiar smile, but a subtle weariness lingered in the corners of her eyes, as if etched silently by time. The cannery's lights were dim yet glaring, and the air was thick with the smell of rust and preservatives. Zhan Mengyan could feel the cold, mechanical sensation, like an invisible net enveloping her.

She wanted to ask her sister, "Are you alright?" But the fragments of her dream were slipping away like sand in an hourglass, and the scene began to distort. The roar of the cannery gradually weakened, replaced by her mother's soft call from the distant shore. Zhan Mengyan frowned slightly; she didn't want to wake up, but a gentle force pulled her back to reality.

The morning light streamed through the window and gently fell on her face. The coolness of the ointment reminded her that it was just a dream, but the image of her sister left an indelible warmth in her heart.

Zhan Mengyan turned over, her cheek pressed against the pillow, the cool sensation of the ointment still lingering. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again. This time, she seemed to have traveled through a time tunnel and saw her sister standing on the threshold of the old house, wearing that faded blue cloth shirt, clutching half a piece of malt candy in her hand. Sunlight streamed through the wooden lattice window, painting a fuzzy golden edge on the ends of her hair. Her sister turned and walked into the main house, her silhouette gradually blurring into a warm yellow halo that illuminated the softest corner of her heart.

"Sister..." Zhan Mengyan murmured softly in her dream, her voice as light as a feather, yet filled with endless longing.