Chapter 113: The Secondary Personality Says He Loves Me (2)
No one could understand Xiao Yinnian’s current state of mind.
Heaven knew what kind of nerve-wracking, miserable days he had lived through these past three months.
He forcefully controlled his emotions, walked to the spot Xiao Ji had mentioned, dug out a jade pendant from the shelf, and held it up to the light.
“What is carved on this? A chicken? A bird?”
Xiao Ji also hadn’t expected to encounter this jade pendant again here.
This was the very jade pendant that Xiao Ji, in his capacity as Beichen Wangfei, had personally carved for Xiang Yinnian back when they were in Beijing.
Its reappearance here right now shouldn’t be as simple as the intersection and collision of planes.
Perhaps there was some other karmic connection hidden within.
But there was no way he could explain these things to Xiao Yinnian right now, so he merely said faintly,
“Keep it safe, wear it close to your body.”
Xiao Yinnian took the jade pendant. When he said goodbye to the shop owner, the owner had once again nestled behind the counter.
He didn’t even look to see what Xiao Yinnian had taken. He simply reached out a hand and waved at Xiao Yinnian, saying:
“May your dreams come true, and may good luck always be with you.”
Xiao Yinnian hung the jade pendant around his neck, tucked it under his collar, and asked in his mind:
“Are you still there?”
Xiao Ji gave an “Mhm.”
“Do you have your own name?” Xiao Yinnian asked.
“Xiao Ji.”
“The ‘Ji’ from ‘Jimo’ (loneliness)?”
“The ‘Ji’ from ‘Jijing’ (silence).”
“Isn’t that the same character?”
“It doesn’t have the same meaning.”
Xiao Yinnian’s current emotions indeed carried a somewhat difficult-to-suppress high.
In most cases, the emergence of a secondary personality was a dissociative response and defense mechanism exhibited when coping with stress, trauma, or stimulating events.
But Xiao Yinnian had always experienced smooth sailing in the past. Unable to understand the reason behind his secondary personality’s appearance, he could only ask Xiao Ji:
“Why did you appear?”
The information 037 transmitted to Xiao Ji did not contain a detailed explanation regarding this aspect.
Currently, Xiao Ji also didn’t know the reason and catalyst for the appearance of Xiao Yinnian’s original secondary personality.
He could only say: “Perhaps it’s because… you need me.”
Xiao Yinnian remained noncommittal to this.
“You should know my wish. It is for you to disappear.”
Xiao Ji gave an “Mhm.” Not only did he not refute it, but he also played along with his words, saying:
“I will help you.”
Xiao Yinnian clearly didn’t believe him. He let out a scoffing laugh:
“If you had that kind of self-awareness, I wouldn’t have had to come here and blindly sign some ridiculously absurd contract.”
At present, Xiao Yinnian didn’t have any deep understanding of this wishing system he had just signed a contract with.
He only knew that he needed to earn points by completing tasks assigned by the system in order to redeem his wish.
As for the content of the tasks, it was entirely confidential.
Those who successfully completed them kept their mouths shut, and those who failed to do so had, just as the shop owner said, paid the price amidst the risks.
At this very moment, Xiao Yinnian felt as if he were a murderer detailing his killing plan directly to the person he intended to kill.
And that very victim was cooperating completely, telling him: Alright, I’ve presented my neck to you; go ahead and draw your blade. It just felt a bit strange somehow, though he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Xiao Ji wasn’t very concerned about Xiao Yinnian’s current psychological state.
He was conflicted over two things.
One was how to make Xiao Yinnian fall in love with him when they were sharing the same body.
The other was, if he needed to take over Xiao Yinnian’s body midway, would Xiao Yinnian faint and lose all consciousness like before, or would he quietly stay inside the vessel, observing coldly like Xiao Ji was doing right now?
He watched as Xiao Yinnian walked out of the street, pulled open the door of a flashy red sports car by the roadside, and sat inside.
Then he stepped on the gas pedal and rushed toward the neighboring city, following the navigation info.
Any driver who has driven long distances knows that the early morning is often the hardest time to maintain concentration.
Those driving through the night have nearly exhausted their energy after driving all night.
Those who have just woken up still carry the drowsiness of not being fully awake.
Xiao Yinnian had rushed overnight to the [Yuan] shop yesterday, and now that he was done, he was rushing back in a fiery hurry.
The return trip would take about three hours, and he had an important meeting at nine-thirty in the morning.
If there was no traffic on the way, he would still have time to take a shower and eat breakfast after getting back before heading to the company.
But possessing a mortal body of flesh and blood, no matter how young he was, he couldn’t withstand a full day and night of torment. Not long after Xiao Yinnian got onto the highway, he couldn’t help but start yawning.
He was just thinking that if it really got too bad, he would hold out until the service area ahead and curl up in the car to rest his eyes.
Who would have expected that in a split second of lost focus, before he could even react, two cargo trucks ahead collided, with one of them immediately flipping onto its side and careening horizontally toward the side of the road.
Seeing the accident unfold right in front of him, Xiao Yinnian’s speed wasn’t low. Slamming the brakes right now would not only be useless, but it might also cause him to flip over.
If he was lucky enough to dodge the pincer attack of the large trucks ahead, he might have a slim chance of survival. But if he was unlucky and got directly crushed beneath a truck, he would probably be heading straight to reincarnation.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Xiao Yinnian’s forehead.
Just as he was at a total loss for what to do, Xiao Ji said faintly in his mind:
“Relax, let me handle it.”
The next second, Xiao Yinnian lost control of his body. From a bystander’s perspective within his own body, he felt Xiao Ji slam his foot onto the gas pedal.
Tilting the car’s body on its side, he shot through the narrowing gap between the roadside guardrail and the soon-to-collide large truck with a whoosh.
Not only did he successfully evade the car crash, but he also successfully bypassed the soon-to-be-blocked section of the highway.
The bright red sports car continued to drive smoothly on the highway.
Seizing absolute control of the body, Xiao Ji freed one hand to massage the neck he shared with Xiao Yinnian, and probed verbally:
“Are you there?”
Xiao Ji needed to confirm whether Xiao Yinnian’s consciousness still existed within his mind after he had taken over the body.
After a long while, just as he thought Xiao Yinnian had fainted once again, he heard Xiao Yinnian let out a soft “mhm” from some small corner of his mind.
It seemed he wanted to say thank you, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.
Xiao Ji didn’t mind. Knowing that Xiao Yinnian was still there gave him a clear picture, and he said faintly:
“Go to sleep if you’re tired. I’ll call you when we arrive.”
Xiao Yinnian made no further sound. Xiao Ji didn’t know if he had already fallen asleep, nor did he press further. He just followed the navigation info, driving the car all the way to the building of Xiao Yinnian’s company.
Xiao Ji called out to him in his mind: “We’re here. Wake up.”
Xiao Yinnian showed no reaction.
Xiao Ji then summoned 037 again: [What’s going on?]
037 probed the movements of Xiao Yinnian’s soul and replied:
[Extreme fatigue. His nerves have been strung too tightly lately, and he just suffered a shock. He fell asleep.]
Xiao Ji understood. Acting independently, he locked the car doors, entered the company in Xiao Yinnian’s place, and ate breakfast.
He even held the meeting for him.
Xiao Yinnian’s work was related to finance and securities. The content of the meeting couldn’t have been clearer to Xiao Ji. Not only did he make no mistakes, but he also highlighted several key points.
After the meeting ended, he had just returned to Xiao Yinnian’s home, taken a shower, and was walking out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe, when he discovered that everything before his eyes had completely changed.
He was standing in front of an old white building, its exterior paint already severely mottled and peeling away from the touch of time.
And on the wall of this old building were several large red characters:
[Telindun Psychiatric Sanatorium].
Translator’s Note: “Beijing” (北境) here literally means the “Northern Frontier/Border,” representing the geographic region from a previous arc, and is not to be confused with the capital city of modern China (北京)!
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