Dreaming With My Dragon Lover - Chapter 162

Two hours later.

“Yuan Ge, dance with me!” Amélie shakes her long hair loose and boldly takes off her jacket, revealing a tight little black sequined dress.

“Amélie, you’re drunk!”

“I’m not drunk! Stop talking! Let’s dance!” Amélie grabs Yuan Ge’s hand and places it on her slender waist, which is already swaying to the rhythm of the vigorous dance music, her smooth, naked back looking dazzlingly white in the psychedelic light.

“You’re really d……”

Before Yuan Ge can finish his words, he is dragged into the dancing floor by Amélie around his neck.

Rong Qiuchen sits in his seat and looks at the dance floor from afar as crimson and indigo columns of light seem to pour into the floor like a waterfall.

The sound of raucous and exciting music is pounding hard in people’s ears and minds; the smell of alcohol, sweat and perfume weaves a gaudy web of the unknown. Spinning disco balls cast splashes of colours, robotic arms move back and forth overhead, LED lights constantly change in the background and oversized screens display sexy female bodies, they fill the thick and sticky air with the illusion of a post-apocalyptic rave. In the large dance floor, which is set up to resemble an old factory, heads and arms are bobbing up and down, and bare skins are flashing in the light and shadow. Burning with alcohol and lust, the young people seem to have not a care in the world, releasing their unbridled passion and inexhaustible youth in the booming music and writhing limbs.

Is this the type of entertainment favoured by modern men and women?

Rong Qiuchen supports his slightly dizzy head with his hand.

Is it the effect of the alcohol, or is he having a hard time adjusting to a place like this?

His eyes are struggling to follow the two figures weaving through the crowded dancers, but in a trance, he catches a glimpse of Amélie’s petite and curvaceous body that has somehow pressed against the tall, straight figure in front of her. Her arms that were wrapped around Yuan Ge’s neck are now lowered, while her head is slightly tilted up and her delicate red lips pressed against his.

For a moment, Rong Qiuchen feels like his heart has been hit by a heavy drum beat, the grotesque and gaudy scene in front of him became even more chaotic, the alcohol he has drunk tumbling through his mind like never before, while his body is shivering with cold, as if it is going to freeze into ice.

Through the psychedelic colours, he gazes at the two figures nestled together, as distant as if they were from another lifetime. That kind of intimacy will never leave room to allow anyone else’s existence, will it?

There was a time when he himself was used to seeing flirtatious women in those debauched or lascivious places. Rong Qiuchen understands that when two people snuggle and kiss like this, it represents not only physical desire, but also the exchange and entanglement of bodily fluids.

Loose hair, bare skin, fervent embraces, spontaneous seductions, unbridled lust – the boldness of modern women has far exceeded that of a hundred years ago. What man of desire through the ages has been able to resist this soft, warm and sultry temptation?

Amélie’s high heels seem blindingly red in the light, her pale skin shining brightly against the little sequined black dress. Despite their drunkenness, their gait as they dance in each other’s arms still exudes an indescribable languor and enchantment.

Rong Qiuchen lets his eyes follow this gorgeous yet torturous scene.

As their skin and hair touch, and they breathe in each other’s scent from such close range, there must have been an intimate warmth passing between them. Hearts are stirred by alcohol and passion, beating together in the same rhythm – but at the moment, he is just a man with no body heat, no heartbeat, and even his ability to move his limbs depended on physical contact with Yuan Ge!

Where has this reincarnation gone wrong? Is this body of his a human or a ghost or a demon? What can such a being count on to compete for his love!

***

After taking the completely drunk and almost unconscious Amélie home, Yuan Ge drives back to Moonlight Villa. He notices that Rong Qiuchen, who is sitting in the passenger seat, is particularly quiet this evening.

He has been slouching in his seat the entire journey, arms folded across his chest, not at all like his usual self, eager to see the world and understand everything. Is this man also drunk?

“Hey, talk to me. You stole the show at the temple fair this afternoon, and you won the drinking contest at night, so why are you all of a sudden so depressed?”

“Is the rouge on her lips that tasty?” Rong Qiuchen speaks in a low voice.

Yuan Ge is speechless.

“‘Upon thy cheek I lay this zealous kiss, as seal to the indenture of my love’. Did you act in this manner with the intention of making her your Lady Yuan?”

Rong Qiuchen, who has always been fond of quoting Chinese classics, surprisingly quoted a Shakespearean aphorism. His serious attitude leaves Yuan Ge at a loss for how to answer.

“You … What did you see?”

“I thought I had seen enough of the world’s strange and bizarre things after all these days of study. But now I realise that the spirit and temperament of women in this world is very different from what it used to be, while the frivolity and spontaneity of men has remained the same.”

With a long sigh, as if he were a dragon stranded in the shallows, he presses his face against the cold car window, stares out at the fast-moving night scene and says nothing more.

***

“You are the purest white of the snowy mountains, the deepest blue of the vast oceans, the bone etching heat of the corona centre, the virgin red of the cherry blossoms…”

Amélie murmurs softly, her face flushed, not sure whether it was the alcohol coursing through her blood or the wave of emotion inspired by the passionate kiss. As if her bones have been pulled out by an invisible force, she slumps languidly onto bed, her hands raised high in the air, as if holding the elegant and delicate face of her invisible lover…

“O Yuan Ge, you are a demon creature in human form, aren’t you?”

She looks at the stuffed animals piled up on her bed and it suddenly hits her that she, an ever invincible drinker, has lost tonight’s contest, and to an inexplicable little boy at that!

But so be it. There comes a time in life when you have to admit defeat for the first time. Only when you lose can you shed the heavy burden you have carried for so long, face up to your failures, admit vulnerability, let go of your reserve and express yourself freely – just like tonight, where there is finally a definite excuse to indulge that burning desire, to feel that heart-melting touch, to enjoy those broad shoulders and warm embrace …

But at the moment, in the dim light, Amélie’s eyes are full of tears.

She has taken the initiative to make her feelings known to him many times, but Yuan Ge’s responses have always been evasive and baffling. To her, it is a love that is engraved in her bones and imprinted in her heart; but what is this love to him?

She has always known that the man she loves is a Kuafu[1] who pursues the ultimate in everything. His talent and character are like sunlight that attracts all living creatures. Not only herself, but also that strange Rong Qiuchen, and even Chow Mingrun and Du Jinghai, who follow him willingly precisely because they are unknowingly illuminated by his light. However, he is a living artist, and such a person possesses a child-like quality – a combination of naivety and cruelty. He could be attracted to someone simply because of the coincidental overlap of dreams and reality, and he could also abandon the years of love and friendship without regard for old feelings, simply because he has drifted away from those people in his spiritual world and inner experience, couldn’t he?

Falling in love with a living artist is like going through the most gruelling battle of your life!

Amélie wipes off the tears from her cheeks.

When she thinks of the heavy workload of the upcoming production of “A Journey in Brocade”, of the mysterious and unpredictable big boss Arthur Guan and that equally mysterious and strange Rong Qiuchen, and of the stormy future of Dragon Dreams, her exhausted body feels even more powerless.

There are really all kinds of demons and monsters who are after Yuan Ge. As he is thrust onto the centre stage by King Guan Entertainment, and there are brighter lights to assist him in showcasing his talent to the world, what will happen between her and him? Will they still be able to have a relaxed conversation and enjoy a romantic evening alone at Rêver like they once did?

The image of the kiss in the bar still seems to be playing in her mesmerised mind, but in her ears comes the melody that has moved her in the very first place –

My skin’s burning from your caresses

My heart’s haunted by your loneliness

Can we give up this pretence

I can’t predict how it ends

You can have my all

My heart, my life and my desires

I’ve bared my soul

For your eyes are dangerous

… …

Tell me, who do you dream of in your sleep?

There will be times when dreams end and illusions are shattered, when rocks are broken and mountains are moved. Even if you are made of stone, in time, the drops of water will wear through it.

I shall break through your heart’s defences!

Amélie smiles softly. That exhilarating and palpitating fervour, that sadness of unrequited love, always resonates with her for no apparent reason, comforting her and encouraging her.

No matter if it’s god or demon, dragon or tiger, no matter how many fierce battles lie ahead, what she has decided for herself, she will not easily let go.

Tell me, who do you dream of in your sleep?

I will break through your heart’s defence!

I will possess your life, even if I crash and burn in the process!

——————–

[1] Kuafu is a giant in Chinese mythology who wished to capture the Sun. In modern Chinese usage, the story of Kuafu chasing the Sun is used to describe a person who is brave and optimistic and willing to overcome all the obstacles to reach the goal.

<END OF VOLUME 1>