Chapter 8
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Lu Fenghan had only just left when Qi Yan opened his eyes, his brows furrowing tightly. He took a few quick breaths and looked over at the empty space on the other side of the bed.
The person was already gone.
He propped himself up in bed, the soft robe clinging to his thin frame as he moved. He reached down to touch his calf, feeling a rough texture under his fingertips. With the light from his personal terminal, he saw a bandage wrapped around his calf, tied off with a small bowknot.
Tentatively, he brushed his fingers against the bowknot, then again, lingering before finally pulling his hand away.
After sitting in a daze for a while, Qi Yan slowly moved to the other side of the bed and finally lay down where Lu Fenghan had just been sitting. He pathetically sought out the lingering warmth on the pillow, while simultaneously tapping on his personal terminal to initiate a communication.
The room was dark, with a little light coming in from the window, outlining the furniture in vague shapes. The blue light of the personal terminal was dimly lit, reflecting on Qi Yan’s face and making his complexion look paler than usual.
Soon, the communication successfully connected, and a gentle female voice came through from the other end, “Qi Yan?”
On the communication interface, the line and contact were marked as “encrypted.”
Qi Yan had regained his composure. “An hour ago, I experienced another instance of reality distortion.”
The voice on the other end inquired, “How many times has this happened since you returned to Leto?”
His gaze settled on a point in the empty air. Qi Yan pondered carefully, his expression tinged with bewilderment. Finally, he answered, “I don’t know. I don’t know how many times I’ve been confused.”
“Don’t worry, can you tell me about this particular instance?”
“After completing the psychological assessment, I went downstairs, passed through the living room, and headed to the kitchen to pour some water. When I returned, I received a reply. Then, the glass slipped from my hand, and Lu Fenghan emerged from the bedroom opposite. I asked him what day it was, and he answered.” Qi Yan recounted the events in sequence, his voice softening. “So, the date I thought was indeed correct.”
“What wasn’t correct?”
Qi Yan’s fingertips trembled slightly as he gathered the pillow that Lu Fenghan had leaned against, inch by inch, into his arms. Gripping the fabric tightly, he continued, “What wasn’t correct was that in my memory, when I went downstairs to get water, he was downstairs too, watching the news. But he said he had been in the bedroom the whole time, not downstairs.”
“When you say ‘he,’ you’re referring to Lu Fenghan, correct?”
The voice on the other end seemed to be recording something. “So, you used the information stored in your memory to piece together and fabricate the scene of Lu Fenghan watching the news downstairs, is that right?”
“Yes.”
Qi Yan described the scene from his memory. “He was wearing a white shirt, black trousers, and outside the window, there was the sound of a patrolling aircraft taking off, lasting for nine seconds. The news broadcast—” He paused, his brows furrowing. “In the news, a military spokesperson was being interviewed by reporters, but in the bottom right corner of the news screen, the date displayed was July twenty-ninth.”
The fingers that had been clutching the pillow suddenly slackened. A hint of confusion flickered in Qi Yan’s eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. “This memory, I pieced it together.”
“Qi Yan, being able to find clearly marked time stamps in the memory’s imagery is just happenstance,” sighed the voice on the other end softly. “Your memory capacity surpasses that of the vast majority of people. It’s a gift. In just a few seconds, you can intricately engrave a person’s appearance into your mind or meticulously note every detail of a scene, including the positioning of light and the number of fallen leaves on the ground. With this information as a foundation, you can easily construct a memory that never actually occurred.”
Qi Yan spoke slowly, his eyes closed as he responded, “I’m familiar with every inch of the downstairs living room, equally acquainted with Lu Fenghan’s appearance, posture, tone of speech, and expressions, and I’ve even witnessed Lu Fenghan watching the news before.”
Thus, without his own awareness, he pieced together the scene of “Lu Fenghan watching the news downstairs,” embedding it into his memory, believing it to be real.
The sound of a pen being placed on the table came from the other side. “Originally, I thought that exposure to unfamiliar environments, interactions with unfamiliar people, or encountering different things might alleviate the instances of reality distortion for you. However, now it seems that the alleviation effect is quite limited.”
Qi Yan remained silent.
The woman’s voice softened again. “But it’s okay, Qi Yan. We can continue to try other methods. It will just require your effort to analyze whether the memories in your mind are false or true.”
“Elisa, let’s—”
Just give up.
But those three words, Qi Yan couldn’t bring himself to say in the end.
In the dim light, he simply nodded, his voice slightly hoarse. “Alright, I’ll try my best.”
The communication ended, and the blue glow gradually dimmed.
Qi Yan lay quietly in the darkness, with only the sound of his own breathing in his ears. He couldn’t help but wonder, could it be… that Lu Fenghan didn’t answer him the date today, nor did he carry him back to the bedroom, and even… the psychological assessment he sent out hadn’t received a response at all?
He knew Elisa too well. The information stored in his mind was entirely sufficient for him to fabricate a conversation between himself and Elisa.
If everything was false, all fabricated by himself…
Then… what was truly real?
Qi Yan buried his face in the soft pillow, which had completely lost Lu Fenghan’s warmth and scent.
He thought that signing a two-year contract with Lu Fenghan should be real.
Lu Fenghan carrying him into the bedroom… that should also be real, right?
Because Lu Fenghan had never hugged him like that before.
The abnormality of that night, like a stone thrown into a deep lake, had not caused any ripples. Qi Yan still appeared downstairs around ten o’clock every day, reading while eating bread.
The only difference was probably that after finishing the bread each time, Qi Yan would take out a thumb-sized transparent bottle and swallow the pills inside mixed with water.
Although normally delicate and particular, Qi Yan never once wrinkled his brow while taking his medication, as if it had become routine, and the bitterness had long ceased to register.
Unsure if it was due to the medication’s significant side effects, Lu Fenghan observed that after each dose, Qi Yan would visibly experience some discomfort. For instance, he would appear unable to concentrate, pausing whatever he was doing to find a quiet spot to sit.
Sometimes it was on the steps of the staircase, other times in the study chair. The specific location usually depended on where Lu Fenghan was at the time.
Lu Fenghan couldn’t help but wonder about this new quirk. Did Qi Yan need someone within his line of sight during the period after taking his medication?
Watching Qi Yan across from him absentmindedly nibbling on his bread, Lu Fenghan leaned back in his chair, legs naturally splayed, and asked, “Is the bread tasty?”
Qi Yan snapped out of his reverie and glanced at the remaining half of his bread. “It’s bland.”
Lu Fenghan couldn’t quite understand. “Bland? Then why do you eat it every day?”
“Because it’s bland, it doesn’t matter if it’s good or not, or if I like it or not.” Qi Yan paused his chewing, his left cheek slightly bulging as he explained earnestly, “My body needs carbohydrates, so I eat bread.”
Lu Fenghan raised an eyebrow. “So, does that mean you have the same reason for eating that… what’s it called… Set A meal delivered to you every noon and evening?”
“Hmm.” Qi Yan nodded. “It’s bland, with balanced and ample nutritional content.”
At that moment, Lu Fenghan couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret.
He had assumed that Qi Yan ate the same thing every day because he liked it! As a bodyguard, it was only natural to have a sense of duty and not be picky about the food provided by the employer.
Plus, aside from being bland, there weren’t many other downsides to the bread slices and meal set.
Oh, and one more thing: expensive.
No one could possibly eat the same thing every day without getting tired of it. Lu Fenghan suggested, “Let’s give up the Set A meal and try something else?”
Qi Yan shook his head. “A lot of things outside are hard to stomach.”
Remembering Qi Yan’s level of pickiness last time they ate out, Lu Fenghan flicked his fingers. “Then we won’t eat out. I’ll cook!”
With Qi Yan’s permission, Lu Fenghan bought a bunch of groceries and semi-prepared ingredients. Since they didn’t have a household robot, he tied on the new apron, pulled up the recipe on his personal terminal, and headed into the kitchen.
For three consecutive days, strange smells wafted from the kitchen.
During this time, Lu Fenghan would confidentlypresent a plate of decent-looking dishes to Qi Yan, placing it in front of him with chopsticks. “Try it?”
Qi Yan picked up a piece as suggested, took a bite, and swallowed it after a long pause.
Then he quietly set down the chopsticks.
Lu Fenghan didn’t compound the situation by asking if the food tasted good. He discreetly disposed of the dishes and reassured Qi Yan, “Sorry about that.”
Qi Yan nodded. “Hmm.”
It was quite a trial. He had never tasted such awful food before.
As mealtime approached again, Qi Yan retrieved the latest publication from the Alliance, but within seconds, he had read it from cover to cover.
The doorbell rang.
Glancing towards the kitchen, Qi Yan rose to answer the door.
Vincent Von saw the person at the door, but the words he had prepared got stuck in his throat.
After Meng Ge found him and asked for help with the promotion issue he was facing, Vincent realized something and began tracing it back.
He quickly discovered that there were no other appointments for Meng Ge in the two days prior to his visit.
Except for the Qi family’s celebration banquet.
So, after taking several turns, he arrived here.
He just hadn’t expected the person living with the commander to be… quite so good-looking.
“Are you looking for Lu Fenghan?”
Before Vincent could even introduce himself, Qi Yan astutely guessed his purpose. Vincent nodded readily, not denying it, but he couldn’t help but wonder—
How was he so certain I was here to see someone?
Stepping inside, Vincent politely refrained from looking around and followed Qi Yan a few steps further into the room.
At that moment, a pungent smell of burning wafted from somewhere, followed by someone briskly emerging.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Vincent instinctively straightened his posture, lifting his hand halfway in a salute before freezing awkwardly mid-gesture.
And now, his former superior, the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force who had accumulated great prestige on the front line of the Southern Cross Region, who had once decimated hundreds of enemy starships and sent rebel forces fleeing at the mere mention of his name, stood at the kitchen door wearing a gray checkered apron. Gripping a spatula, he exuded a destructive vigor as if he were about to press the button to launch a high-energy particle cannon!
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Thanks for the chapter! Destructive power, lol, that poor kitchen & those poor ingredients.