"So, have you... read all these books?" Han Yanyan asked.

They were in Yao Chen's study. Not only did it contain a huge desk, but also an entire wall of bookshelves full of books. It looked like a bluff, which is why Han Yanyan had just asked that question.

Without turning a hair, Yao Chen said, "Yes, I have..."

Under Han Yanyan's suspicious gaze, his eyes drifted away for a moment, and the word "have" dragged out, until he finally ended with, "...read some of them."

That was more like it.

"Okay, okay, those big tomes on the top are all just for looks," Yao Chen admitted through gritted teeth. "But I really have read the ones on the bottom, like this one and this one!"

Han Yanyan looked at the densely-packed books, and her expression slowly became unfathomable.

"What's wrong? Hey!" Yao Chen waved his hand in front of her face.

Grabbing his hand, she said, "Do me a favor."

"Huh?"

"Help me grab two books."

"Why?" Yao Chen asked suspiciously.

"Go on." Han Yanyan gave him a little shove.

Suspecting that she was going to test him, Yao Chen deliberately picked two books he was familiar with.

Han Yanyan stroked the covers. "Do you know how to determine whether this is reality or a dream?"

"Huh?" Yao Chen sounded thrown, unable to keep up with Han Yanyan's mental leaps.

"How do you know that you're really here with me right now? Maybe you're actually a 15-year-old junior high school student in the next class. During lunch break, you saw me walking past the window, and now you're napping on your desk, dreaming that you're an awesome, magnificent gangster bro, and turned me into your girlfriend," she said seriously.

Yao Chen couldn't help but laugh. "That's not a bad for a spring dream."

"What are you going to do now?" he asked.

Han Yanyan was silent for a moment before saying, "I once saw a way in a movie to identify whether I was in a dream or in reality."

She patted the two books and said, "Choose any two books and open any page. Your brain has limited information at hand when it's not awake, so if it's a dream, you'll always see the same content when you open different books."

"Help me try this out, Yao Chen."

"Why don't you try? Don't you spend every day reading?"

Han Yanyan smiled. "Because I'm very clear about the fact that I'm not dreaming, but I don't know if you are."

She thrust a book into Yao Chen's hand. "Hurry up."

"What makes you think I'm dreaming?" Yao Chen complained, but he still opened the book.

"Read the first paragraph." Han Yanyan instructed.

The last time Yao Chen had read out loud to someone else was in high school. He cleared his throat and read, "'At this point in time, there was some dissatisfaction within the gang over his actions. The dissenters colluded in secret to overthrow him.'"

"Now switch to this one." She gave him another book.

Yao Chen opened a page at random and scanned it with pleasure. He read, "'The failure of this venture woke him like a splash of cold water, rousing him from his feverish memories of previous success. Thankfully, failure had brought him not only huge debt, but also profound introspection and valuable experience...' Look at that! Who's dreaming now, huh? Who's dreaming now?"

He knocked her on the head with the book.

Han Yanyan grabbed his arm, pasted a smile over her complicated thoughts, and changed the subject. "What kind of books do you read?"

Both were biographies. One was about a man's journey from poverty to business tycoon. The man was still alive, one of the richest men in the world. The other had gone from a big brother in the Mafia to Congressman. He had died 70 years ago, and could be called a legendary historical figure.

Han Yanyan flipped through the second book, murmured "Oh?" and gave Yao Chen a look.

Laughing with anger, he took the book out of her hand and knocked her on the head again. "'Oh'? What do you mean, 'Oh'?"

He pursed his lips and explained, "He's the idol of everyone in organized crime. When I was still a little brother, I read this book cover to cover, back to front. Who knows which copy of it this one is by now."

"Do you want to follow his route?"

"Who doesn't? Is he the only one in the world who can do it? If he can, then why can't I?" Yao Chen asked. "What's the big deal about being Congressman? I've dealt with the Members of Congress in K City, and none of them are angels. Their hands aren't any cleaner than mine, so if they can sit in a seat like that, why can't I?"

"I don't care if you want to be a big shot on TV." Han Yanyan cupped his forehead with her hands. "I just hope you can cut off that... life."

Her back pressed up against the desk. Yao Chen locked her before him with both his hands on its surface and looked down at her. "You don't like it?"

"Whether I like it or not doesn't matter," Han Yanyan said gently, "But when you're in this business, the police watch you day in and day out. It scares me."