Chapter 1007: Beautiful Girl (52)

Have you ever experienced a time when everyone around you was hostile?

What they experienced was a world where everyone was hostile.

For example, someone would spread rumors that they had stolen something. In their dreams, they desperately defended themselves, insisting that they hadn't.

But the others sneered.

"Everyone in our class comes from good families. You're the poorest one here. If it wasn't you, then who stole it?"

Their faces flushed red in the dream as they protested that they hadn't stolen anything.

"Still trying to deny it? If you didn't steal it, then why was it found in your desk drawer?"

"Yeah, having a classmate with sticky fingers like this is so embarrassing."

"If you can't afford something, then you can't afford it. Why steal other people's belongings?"

"Tell the teacher! We have to tell the teacher. Don't make friends with a bad student like this in the future."

They thought the teacher would investigate the truth.

Yet under the influence of those classmates' accusations, the teacher firmly believed that they had stolen from a fellow student.

"Teacher, I didn't steal anything."

"Teacher, he did! I saw him steal it."

The teacher said sternly, "When you've done something wrong, you need to admit it. Stealing is a bad habit, and lying is also a bad habit. I hope you can recognize your mistake. During class later, you'll apologize to the whole class and reflect on your behavior."

Despair filled them.

They simply couldn't understand why even the teacher no longer believed them.

They stubbornly refused to admit it, believing that this would surely make people take the matter seriously and uncover the truth.

Unexpectedly, the teacher informed their parents, telling them that they had stolen from a classmate.

They thought their parents would believe them.

But to their utter disbelief, their father slapped them the moment he arrived, cursing, "You little bastard! You've learned to steal now, have you?"

"I didn't steal anything!" they cried.

"Parent, all the students have testified that they saw him steal with their own eyes. I didn't expect him to refuse to admit his mistake and even curse at his classmates. You should take him home and teach him properly."

They watched their father or mother flush with embarrassment, bow repeatedly with apologetic smiles, promising that they would.

And just like that, they were taken home, where another brutal beating inevitably awaited them.

The neighbors, hearing the commotion and learning the story, offered their own judgments.

"Children need discipline. Steal a needle when you're young, steal gold when you're older. A good beating will fix him."

As they endured the blows, they felt bitter and wronged.

They hadn't done anything.

Why were these people slandering them and accusing them of stealing?

From that day onward, everyone who knew them believed they had once been thieves.

The dream was unbearably long.

Or rather—

It was a lifetime within a dream.

Those who experienced it all met different endings.

Some eventually couldn't withstand the rumors. In the end, they truly became thieves. They stole small things as children and bigger things as adults, until they were eventually caught and imprisoned, accomplishing nothing and ruining their entire lives.

Others couldn't bear the endless gossip and slander. They desperately tried to prove their innocence, only to face even more attacks. In the end, unable to endure any longer, they chose death.

And the moment these people leaped from the top of a building, all they saw before them was blood and mangled flesh.

Then, with a jolt, they awoke.

Seeing nothing but darkness around them, they realized it had all been a dream.

They rejoiced.

It was only a dream.

Little did they know that from that day onward, the dream would never stop.

Night after night.

Again and again.

They would dream the same dream forever.