I Hate You, Devil!

Chapter 295  Final Arc Part XIII

He started to see Hinari's smiling face in his dreams. The surroundings were so bright and were filled with nothing but contentment, happiness, and love. Zaki could also see that Sei, his brother, and his family, including Juu and Kyuu, Yu Chen, Xiaolei and their boys were also. Everyone and everything looked perfect and blissful as they were all gathered together enjoying each other's company. He even saw his future son there along with them.

In his dream, the world was so beautiful and peaceful. If he were dreaming of such a joyful world eight years ago, Zaki was certain he would find it as hilarious and impossible. But he somehow felt that it was not that far-fetched now. This reality could actually happen in real life. And it might even be happening very soon! Once he is cured, he would do everything in his power to make this dream become a reality for his family. He just knew that it could happen. This ideal reality just needs a little more time to be achieved. He need only to be patient. And that was not an issue to him.

As he continued to doze, it started to rain. The wind was cool and the pitter patter of raindrops falling were so soothing, making the already comfortable atmosphere even more perfect for a long, lazy nap.

…

"Hubby, please be careful. Though this is urgent, we need to make sure we arrive in one piece." Xiaolei curled one hand around her seatbelt on the passenger side that was strapped across her body and the other was tightly clutching at the door handle. Her knuckles were white. But it was not only due to Yu Chen's fast driving, but also at the memories of what happened on this same day in her past life that had flashed through her mind in bits and pieces as their car hurtled down the highway.

Yu Chen only frowned harder at her reminder. He had not doubted her words at all earlier when she mentioned about the emergency that most likely would happen at Scarlet Hill. After she mentioned the big fire and the moment her panicked eyes met his, Yu Chen suddenly had a flash of recollection as well.

He had felt that sudden chill run down his spine as he had a sudden clear vision of him and his big bro Sei being in a panicked rush as they sped all the way back to Scarlet Hill after receiving the S.O.S. call from Ryou that something had gone wrong in the research lab and that Davi had been kidnapped. And it was that day in his past life that had brought so much grief and sadness to all of them. One that was crippling as they had lost so many of their loved ones.

"Yu Chen…?" Xiaolei prompted again, seeing as he had not replied to her.

"Mmm… I know." Yu Chen answered. He had decided to drive himself instead of relying on the driver. Though Xiaolei was a courageous woman, he knew he was driving way too fast and was scaring her.

Drawing in a hissing breath through his clenched teeth, he forced himself to let up a little on the accelerator. He knew what his wife said was true. They needed to be careful and get there in one piece. No point in them getting into an accident and complicating things even further. He had already called his big bro Sei. The army had also been mobilized. So, all he needed to do was to get them both back safe and sound.

An idea sprouted in Yu Chen's mind. He had not thought of this due to being a little rattled earlier. "Xiaolei, get your phone and call bro Zaki. Perhaps we can give him a heads-up." He looked over at Xiaolei. She could catch the slight eagerness in his voice.

Nodding, she fished out her phone from her clutch. "Good idea. We can call him and warn him in advance… I hope…" her voice softened at the end.

Quickly accessing the 'Favorites' in her contact list, she quickly tapped on Zaki's number and put her phone on speaker mode. The dial tone connected, and a ringing sound filled the car as Yu Chen continued speeding on.

"He's not picking up…" Xiaolei spoke up after listening to the dial tone ringing continuously for 5 rings. Looking over helplessly at her husband, her face paled as Yu Chen's jaws clenched and unclenched, a clear sign that he was worried.

Zaki always picks up within 5 rings. Unless there were other important matters that he needed to attend to. This did not bode well at all.

"Keep trying." Yu Chen's tense voice instructed her. Xiaolei could only nod and kept dialing the same number.

…

Back at Scarlet Hill.

A frown started to form on Zaki's peacefully sleeping face. He started to sweat and trash around on the sofa as if he were having a nightmare.

On the coffee table at the side of the sofa where Zaki's legs were draped over, a phone was sitting there. Its screen was flashing as the notification of someone's call came in. Unfortunately, the phone had been set to mute and no vibration. It was a rare occasion that Zaki did this. He had thought Yu Chen and Xiaolei would be home soon and they could wake him up once they saw him sleeping on their sofa.

Who would have thought fate would play it out this way? The phone stopped flashing. But after a few seconds, it flashed again with the identification of the caller "Sis-in-law Xiaolei". However, the owner of the phone was not aware of the urgency of the calls at all. In fact, it seemed as if he was trapped in troubles of his own over here.

He began to moan out in agony as the rain fell heavier outside, adding to the suffocating feeling that was surrounding Zaki. He seemed to be suffering as he was trapped in his nightmare. The sweat that had beaded his brows trickled down the sides of his head, causing the hair at his temples and even the front and back of his shirt to dampen. His usually easy and elegant brows were scrunched up as though he was in a quandary.

"…!!!" His eyes snapped open without warning and he abruptly jumped off the sofa, eyes wide and feral. His breath appeared in little white puffs, coming out unevenly with coughs interspersed as though he had just emerged from an underwater struggle after being held down for a long time.

Terror filled his eyes as he frantically looked around, hair mussed up and his fists clenched and unclenched beside his body. The tenseness of his muscles, a clear indication at how ready he was to launch an attack at the slightest provocation. The once bright and serene feeling inside the longue was long gone, now charged with an unknown tension. It was a little dark and cold and eerily quiet.