Chapter 14
Sheng Jing was never one for many words, and with Tong Yu engrossed in his meal, the living room fell into silence.
Little Fatty, the considerate robot, quietly returned to its corner to recharge.
There's something magical about midnight snacks. The later it gets, the better they taste. Before he knew it, Tong Yu had polished off a bowl of Yangzhou fried rice. Just as he was about to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked up and met Sheng Jing's steady gaze.
Oops, he had been so focused on the food that he forgot about his companion.
Tong Yu quickly abandoned his crude gesture, grabbed a napkin, and wiped his mouth with a touch of decorum. Awkwardly, he offered, "Uh, are you sure you don't want a bowl? It's really good."
"You worked so hard cooking, how could I possibly eat it?" Sheng Jing scoffed.
Though Sheng Jing knew Tong Yu must have some ulterior motive, he had been quieter than usual this past week, leading Sheng Jing to think Tong Yu might have changed a bit. But no, it was the same old routine: climbing into bed, eating, making demands.
Sheng Jing's eyes were filled with disdain. The thought of enduring another year like this made him even more weary.
"If you have any requests, you can make them now. I'm heading back to the Research Institute tomorrow," Sheng Jing said, wanting to resolve this matter quickly without letting Tong Yu push his limits. "You know my boundaries."
"I know, I know."
Sheng Jing's boundaries were quite low, indeed.
Given the original owner's behavior, Tong Yu figured he wouldn't have lasted a month. When the original owner jumped off the building, he wouldn't have saved him. Watching him die, he might have even celebrated with fireworks.
"Please, have a seat." After watching the original owner's videos, Tong Yu had wanted to talk to Sheng Jing. After all, they still had a year before they could divorce. Whether they liked it or not, they were still a couple for that year. Besides, the money he was making now, though the creativity was his, the mental power for crafting the escape room scenes came from the man in front of him.
Yes, in Tong Yu's eyes, Sheng Jing was a big shot. Through his time running the escape room, Tong Yu had gained a rough understanding of the mental states in this interstellar era. Generally, if a player used more than 180,000B of mental energy in the escape room, they would disconnect. But this man, on the first day of constructing the escape room, had used about 300,000, and yet he continued to provide mental energy with vigor.
If that wasn't a big shot, what was? He wasn't just a mental powerhouse, he was also Tong Yu's financial backer.
With this change in perspective, Tong Yu's eyes lit up when he looked at Sheng Jing.
Noticing the change in Tong Yu's gaze, Sheng Jing furrowed his brow. Tong Yu had looked at him like this before, but this time it seemed different. Previously, there was something sordid in his eyes, but now it seemed purely… affectionate?
"Go on," Sheng Jing said, averting his gaze, making it clear he didn't intend for a long conversation.
"Alright, I'll keep it brief." Tong Yu organized his thoughts and said, "I've been seeing a psychologist for the past six months. Did you know that?"
Sheng Jing was taken aback, his surprise evident on his face.
"I realized early on that I had psychological issues. You might not believe it, but every time I hurt you, I regretted it afterward." These were the original owner's words, though his regret was more about not achieving the desired effect. His therapy sessions were less about treatment and more about reviewing his actions. Still, Tong Yu thought that the fact he sought therapy indicated some desire to change.
Sheng Jing's lips curled into a cold smile at the mention of regret. "Is this your new tactic? When self-harm doesn't work, you try the pity route?"
Tong Yu felt exhausted. The original owner had made Sheng Jing so distrustful of him. Fortunately, he had anticipated this reaction and earnestly pleaded, "Can you let me finish without interrupting? Otherwise, I might not be able to explain properly."
Sheng Jing hesitated, then apologized, "Sorry."
Apologizing already? No wonder the original owner had such a hold on him. If someone like Sheng Jing wasn't bound by moral obligation, who would be?
"In short, I've been seeing a psychologist for a long time. I won't go into details, just the outcome. The doctor said my extreme behavior towards you was due to insecurity. I admired you and looked up to you…"
Admiration and respect—Tong Yu had said these things before, but never with such sincerity, making it almost believable.
"Compared to your excellence, I'm worthless. The only thing I could do for you was to be your contractor and help channel your mental power, but I couldn't even do that well. That time during the Mental Cleansing, it hurt so much, it terrified me."
Recalling the incident, Sheng Jing felt a pang of guilt. Doctor Choi had mentioned that his mental power was too strong, putting a lot of pressure on his contractor. He did bear some responsibility for that.
Ah, guilt again! Sheng Jing was too easy to manipulate.
Tong Yu continued, "That Mental Cleansing made me realize I wasn't the right contractor for you. But I liked you and wanted to be with you. After finally marrying you, I found my reason for being by your side was gone. So my fear multiplied. I was afraid you'd divorce me, so I exaggerated the harm you did to me and my sacrifices for you, trying to morally bind you from asking for a divorce. And you, at first, met all my conditions. So I believed my method was right and became even more excessive…"
Sheng Jing's expression changed, wanting to speak, but remembering his promise to let Tong Yu finish, he held back.
"I felt like I was becoming two people: one who tormented you and one who felt immense guilt. I wanted to kill the part of me that tormented you, so… I chose to end my life." Tong Yu's tone was heavy, his brows knitted with sorrow.
Sheng Jing's pupils contracted sharply. Was that why he jumped?
"I jumped to kill the part of me that tormented you. I chose to jump before you came home, not to increase your guilt by dying at your feet, but because I feared that if you were home, I wouldn't want to die. Yet I didn't dare to die when you weren't home because I wanted to see you one last time." Tong Yu mentally applauded his own performance.
What a line! It was shameless… no, it was brilliant.
Sure enough, Sheng Jing's expression was not just shocked but bewildered, his worldview turned upside down.
"I didn't expect you to save me. After all I'd done to you, you still saved me. You're so good, how could I not like you? But I also know that if I truly like you, I should leave you." Tong Yu almost believed his own words, his face carrying a bitter smile as he announced, "Alright, I'm done. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."
Tong Yu replayed his speech in his mind, confident it was flawless and deeply moving, with first-rate effectiveness.
After a moment of contemplation, Sheng Jing asked, "So, the current you is the remorseful you?"
"Yes."
Sheng Jing: "And the part of you that wanted to torment me?"
Tong Yu: "He hasn't appeared for a long time. The psychologist said he might have died the day I jumped."
Sheng Jing: "Split personality?"
Tong Yu's eyes lit up. Why hadn't he thought of that term earlier? "Yes, the doctor also said I might have a split personality."
Sheng Jing wasn't a fool; on the contrary, he was extremely intelligent. But the smarter you are, the more you overthink. Although Tong Yu's story seemed flawless and sincere, it was overly dramatic. However, with their Psychic Connection, when Tong Yu jumped, their link was severed. A severed connection usually meant one party's mental power had vanished. Sheng Jing had almost concluded Tong Yu was dead, but in just a moment, a new mental power emerged. It was so weak, nearly dying. If not for Sheng Jing's strong mental power and sensitivity, anyone else might not have noticed.
In other words, if Sheng Jing hadn't wanted to save Tong Yu, no one would have realized he was still alive at that moment.
In all honesty, for a brief moment, Sheng Jing didn't want to save him. But as a contractor and husband, he had a duty to protect Tong Yu. Despite not having deep feelings for him, he took his vows seriously.
He wrapped Tong Yu's faint mental power with his own, nurturing and maintaining it until it stabilized again. No one understood the changes in Tong Yu's mental power better than Sheng Jing. He had always thought it was a natural transformation following a life-and-death experience, but now it seemed more reasonable to consider it as the awakening of a second personality.
"I know you can't fully trust me yet, but that's okay. We still have a year left on the contract. You can watch how I behave."
"Behave, like earlier in the room?" Sheng Jing, though somewhat convinced, still needed an explanation for the bed incident.
"Ahem, well… I… I didn't know you were back. I thought you were returning tomorrow. I really just went into the room to sleep. So, it was a misunderstanding."
"You went into my room to sleep? A misunderstanding?"
"That's because I… I like you. I just wanted to sleep in your bed while you weren't home." Tong Yu closed his eyes, steeling himself to confess with embarrassment.
For a moment, Sheng Jing was at a loss for words: "…"
"I… I'll go sleep in the master bedroom." Tong Yu couldn't stay any longer, his face flushed as he bolted.
Watching the flustered retreat, Sheng Jing's face showed surprise.
Did he just blush? The person who once insisted they must share a bed, in every sense of the word, was blushing?
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