Perchance to Dream

2: Lost in Limbo

The next time Mei Yanran woke up, it was to find herself floating in strange, silvery-blue translucent space. It almost reminded her of the sea, but she'd never seen water glitter like the air around her. Rubbing her eyes, Mei Yanran tried to find her bearings just as a voice rang out.

"My, my. To think that someone had the tenacity to find me all the way back here."

Mei Yanran blinked, before looking up to see another figure floating in the space before her. She was dressed in long flowing robes and wide skirts in hues that perfectly complemented their surroundings. They almost seemed like ancient robes, but their cut and make was somewhat different. Errant strands of hair framed her face and floated about her like ribbons, while a vertical headpiece embedded with something that looked like three red pearls rested above her head.

Mei Yanran's gaze shifted to the person's face next, and saw that her features were cool and refined, with a tall, straight nose, pale lips, and light blue eyes. Some sort of turquoise-hued sigil decorated her forehead and glowed with a faint light.

The sixteen-year old wrinkled her brows before she blurted out, "Am I dead?"

The woman seemed to smile in amusement. "What makes you think that?"

"I remember being hit by a bus..." Mei Yanran deadpanned.

The woman's mouth twitched, before she said, "You're on your way to the hospital now, but you won't die. And I'm here to help you out."

"Why?"

"Do you know who I am?"

Mei Yanran paused, looking the woman up and down again. "...a really good cosplayer? I don't know the series you're from though, sorry."

Again, the woman's mouth twitched before she shook her head. "Do you remember what you were doing before you got hit?"

"Crossing the street?"

"Besides that."

"Thinking of what I'll eat for dinner!"

"Besides that."

Mei Yanran frowned until it hit her. "Ah, I was looking at my phone! The fanfic---I never got to read it!"

"Yes. Do you remember the author?"

Mei Yanran wasn't sure why this woman was asking her such inane questions, but she figured she could play along for now. "Goddess zero fates," she replied instantly. Non-boys' love Ling Fengxiao fanfics were rare to come by, so she always made sure to remember the authors' usernames.

The woman blanched. "That's Goddess of Fates to you."

"But there was a zero in the username..."

"That's just the style!" the woman huffed. "Goddessofates was already taken, so I used a zero to stand in for the 'o!'"

"That doesn't seem very..." Goddess-y, Mei Yanran wanted to say, but common sense and tact made her stop. "Um. So, you're the author?"

"A goddess!"

A chunni author, then, Mei Yanran mused. Did the accident damage my brains? Why am I dreaming about a weirdly-dressed woman instead of Ling Fengxiao, ah~? "Right," she said out loud. "Goddess, then. Is there anything you need?" Because I'd like to finish this up, quick.

"I'm here to make amends," the Goddess of Fates replied, still sounding somewhat disgruntled. "You weren't supposed to get hit by that bus. Because you happened to get distracted by my story, you got hurt---"

"What's a goddess doing writing fanfiction, anyways?" Mei Yanran cut in. She was getting a little impatient.

"I weave true stories," the goddess huffed in response. "Tales that speak to the deepest desires of the human heart. I am a harbinger of romance, the red thread that ties together forsaken lovers, the---"

"Alright, alright," Mei Yanran interrupted again. "Let's go back to what you were saying before. You mentioned amends?"

This girl, why won't she stop interrupting me?! The Goddess of Fates was in a huffy mood, but resisted the urge to leave right then and there. She'd face heavy consequences for injuring a mortal without ample grounds. "Yes, amends. I'll grant you one wish in exchange for the mishap. For example, rewinding time to the moment before you crossed the street---"

"Can my wish be any wish?" Mei Yanran piped up.

"Yes. The simplest one, though, would be to prevent the accident entirely, so that your---"

"You say you specialize in love fates, too?" Mei Yanran asked next.

The goddess gave up trying to speak her piece and simply crossed her arms. "Yes."

Mei Yanran's eyes gleamed. "Then, can you tie my fate with Ling Fengxiao's?"

The goddess furrowed her eyebrows in thought before she spoke up. "The green grocer's son who lives over in the next city?"

"What? No, no, I don't mean someone here," Mei Yanran shook her head. "It's Ling Fengxiao from Conspiracies of the Northern Court! The one that ends up being Prime Minister."

Again, the goddess furrowed her eyebrows in thought, only to frown when she realized what Mei Yanran meant. "You want...to be tied to someone in a story?"

"Yeah!"

"But he doesn't exist..."

"He's real enough in the novel! Can't you send me there instead, or something?"

The Goddess of Fates blinked. "You want me to make you a character in an online novel?"

"No, no, send me to the world inside the novel. Like those transmigration stories people read about all the time. You're a goddess, so you can do that, right?"

"It's not like I can't, but..."

"Great! Then that's what I wish for. A fated romance with Ling Fengxiao!"

The Goddess of Fates opened and closed her mouth a few times. Then she gave a sigh and spoke. "It won't be real. At most, you'll live out your lifespan inside that book, and come back to the present after you've died."

"Oh, then that's not much different from Scarlet Heart. I can manage!" Mei Yanran nodded confidently.

"You'll probably wake up in the hospital. What's more, that accident---"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Mei Yanran interrupted yet again. "I can handle the consequences!" When was she ever going to get a chance to see her precious Fengxiao in the flesh, if not now? This was too good of a chance to pass up!

But the goddess wasn't so easily bowed. "Even if I tied your fates together, it's not a guarantee of true love. That's not how these things go. You'll have to work for it. What's more, my time and powers are limited. I can't give you a second chance if you fail the first time."

"Then I'll just make sure to succeed in one try!" Mei Yanran was adamant. She'd spent most of her life at her dance academy, living and breathing dance. Ling Fengxiao was probably her first crush with all the headstrong passion that came with it. The goddess was about to rebuke her when Mei Yanran suddenly pouted and crossed her arms. "Otherwise, I just won't make a wish at all. Since I'm not dead, I don't need you to save my life, right?"

"No, but..." the Goddess of Fates hesitated as she felt their surroundings shift. It was never wise to linger long in a mortal's consciousness, because their fragile bodies couldn't take the strain of such potent divinity. She had already dawdled here for quite a while. Perhaps this is fate, too, she thought to herself. If what's left unsaid remains unknown...so be it.

She looked back at Mei Yanran and the stubborn set of her chin, before acquiescing with a nod. "Very well. I'll give you your wish, but the details will be left to you!"

Mei Yanran barely had time to express her thanks before the world vanished in a flash of white.