Going to Bed Holding Hands

"I'm fine," Guan Lei whispered as he pulled away from Shen Xi's gentle touch, his voice scratchy and raw from his screaming.

Shen Xi sprung to her feet and poured a glass of water for Guan Lei. "Drink some; it'll help. It was just a bad dream. Everything is alright."

Guan Lei accepted the cup of water gratefully. It took him quite a while to recover from the nightmare, and even now, he could still feel its effects.

Looking at the time, Shen Xi noted that it was a little after three in the morning. She went to bed around eleven the previous night. If Guan Lei slept not long after she did, he must have had four hours of sleep before his nightmare struck.

"So, it didn't work? Maybe that time in the library was a fluke..." Shen Xi wondered aloud.

Guan Lei was similarly puzzled. He recalled that day with perfect clarity. Back then, he had been lying on Shen Xi's lap. Did he need physical contact for it to work?