Chapter 64

Lin Xiaoyu stood at the entrance of the Shi family villa, carrying a bulging paper bag in her hand. Inside were almond cookies from a well-known old shop that she had queued up early that morning to buy, which she had specifically chosen as less sugary, supposedly because Shi Yejie used to like them. In her other hand, she held a small pot of lush green succulents with thick leaves—something called "Lithops," which she said were easy to care for and good for one's mood.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. The chaotic emotions she felt at the preview last night, after a night of semi-sleeplessness, had settled into a more concrete determination and... a little bit of trepidation. She had to see Sister Shi Ye with her own eyes, alone, without the oppressive aura of Senior Qi Jin.

When the doorbell rang, it was Aunt Shi who opened the door. Upon seeing Lin Xiaoyu, she gave a gentle yet complex smile: "Miss Lin is here. She's in the art studio."

The art studio? Shi Ye went to the art studio? Lin Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat. Shi Ye had a foundation in painting, and her mother's belongings included many art supplies, but as far as she knew, Shi Ye hadn't touched them for a long time. Was it a sign of memory resurfacing? Or simply boredom?

She followed her aunt into the villa. The room was quiet, filled with a faint scent of sun-dried fabrics, and a very faint, distinctive smell of turpentine and paint wafting down from the direction of the second-floor studio.

Lin Xiaoyu tiptoed upstairs and reached the studio door. The door was ajar, and through the crack, she saw the original owner of Shi Ye sitting on a high stool in front of the easel with his back to the door.

She wore a loose, off-white linen robe (Lin Xiaoyu remembered this wasn't her usual clothing; it was probably new?), her long hair loosely tied back, revealing her slender, delicate neck. A canvas was stretched on the easel, but she wasn't painting; she was just sitting quietly, facing the blank canvas, a charcoal pencil in her hand, unconsciously twirling it between her fingers.

Sunlight streamed in through the large side window, gilding her with a fuzzy golden edge, but making her figure appear even thinner, like a piece of paper that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

Lin Xiaoyu knocked on the door: "Sister Shi?"

The original owner of Shi Ye seemed startled, and the charcoal pencil in her hand fell to the ground with a "clatter". She turned around somewhat hastily, and when she saw Lin Xiaoyu, the fear in her eyes faded, replaced by a familiar bewilderment, and then she tried to force a smile: "Xiaoyu...you're here."

His voice was still a little dry, and his smile was stiff.

"Okay! I brought you almond cookies and a small succulent plant. You can put it in your room and enjoy it." Lin Xiaoyu walked into the art studio, trying to make her tone light and natural. She placed the paper bag and the succulent on the small coffee table next to her, her gaze sweeping across the art studio.

The studio was large, but sparsely furnished. Several easels stood against the wall, some covered with cloth. The paint cabinets were closed. An old, stain-resistant canvas covered the floor. The smell of turpentine in the air seemed to come more from the unopened paints and cleaned palettes than from the ongoing artwork.

"Why did you decide to come to the art studio? Do you want to paint?" Lin Xiaoyu walked to the easel and looked curiously at the blank canvas.

The original owner of Shi Ye also looked at the canvas, her eyes somewhat vacant: "I don't know... I just feel like I should be here. But..." She paused, her voice lowering, "When I pick up the brush, I don't know what to draw. My mind... is blank."

The tiny flame of hope that had just risen in Lin Xiaoyu's heart was extinguished by these words. It wasn't a resurgence of inspiration, but a deeper sense of bewilderment.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. If you don’t want to paint, then don’t. It’s good to look at it too,” Lin Xiaoyu quickly said, trying to liven up the atmosphere. “There are a lot of your mother’s art supplies here, right? They’re so well preserved.” She pointed to an open, old-fashioned wooden paint box next to her, which contained neatly arranged tubes of paint that were either dry or semi-dry, with the labels somewhat blurred.

The original owner of this body followed her finger and looked at the paint, but his expression was not very turbulent. He simply hummed softly.

Lin Xiaoyu sensed something was amiss. The Shi Ye Jie of the past, though silent and melancholic when mentioning her mother, always had something in her eyes—a heavy, lingering longing and hidden pain. But now, Shi Ye Jie looked at her mother's belongings as if they were unfamiliar, old objects unrelated to her.

“Sister Shi Ye,” Lin Xiaoyu cautiously probed, “Do you remember? At the previous design exhibition, we also exhibited some of your mother’s art supplies and sketchbooks. The effect was excellent. Many people said they could feel that… power of inheritance and time.”

The original owner of Shi Ye turned her head and looked at Lin Xiaoyu, her eyes revealing clear confusion: "Design exhibition? My... Mom's art supplies are on display?"

Lin Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat. Shi Ye didn't remember the design exhibition? That was something the four of them (her, Shi Ye, Senior Qi Jin, and Senior Jiang Chen) had prepared for a long time; it should be something Shi Ye remembered vividly! Moreover, Shi Ye had given a brief but composed speech as a guest speaker, and she had even secretly taken photos!

"It's... that 'Memories of Time' design exhibition, the one held in my living room, you forgot?" Lin Xiaoyu's voice unconsciously rose a little, tinged with urgency, "You even gave a speech, and Senior Qi Jin came too, we even..."

"Xiaoyu." The original owner of Shi Ye interrupted her softly, her brows furrowing slightly. She raised her hand to rub her temples, revealing a tired and somewhat pained expression. "I... I seem to remember nothing clearly. Many things... are vague, like looking through a layer of fog. The doctor said... it might be post-traumatic temporary amnesia. Some memories will take time to slowly return, or... I may never remember them at all."

As she spoke, she lowered her hand, looked at Lin Xiaoyu, her eyes pleading and somewhat helpless: "Could you... tell me more about the past? About me, about... everyone. I'm afraid I'm forgetting more and more."

Looking at her pale face and those bewildered eyes, Lin Xiaoyu's initial unease and curiosity stemming from the "difference" were instantly overwhelmed by a surge of heartache and sympathy. She immediately sat down on another stool nearby and grasped the original owner Shi Ye's slightly cool hand: "Of course! Sister Shi Ye, what do you want to hear? I'll tell you everything!"

For the next hour or so, Lin Xiaoyu acted like a dutiful "memory player," recounting their first meeting at a design department event ("You were so aloof back then, I didn't even dare to talk to you!"), their gradual familiarity, their joint preparation for the design exhibition, their conversation about Senior Qi Jin ("Although she looks cold, she's actually very thoughtful. When you had a cold, she specially had someone deliver medicine and porridge, even though she didn't show up herself..."), and also mentioning Senior Jiang Chen ("Senior Jiang Chen used to secretly watch you all the time, but you didn't seem to notice at all, haha...").

She spoke vividly, choosing the most interesting and heartwarming details. The original owner, Shi Ye, listened quietly the whole time, occasionally asking a question or two, but mostly just nodding, his eyes sometimes brightening slightly as Lin Xiaoyu spoke, and sometimes showing more confusion.

Lin Xiaoyu's throat was dry from talking, so she stopped to drink some water. Her gaze inadvertently fell on the original owner's empty neck. She remembered Qi Jin's left hand, which she had kept in her pocket all night, and the moon necklace and the peace buckle.

“Sister Shiye,” she put down her water glass, her voice softening, “do you… do you remember that necklace you used to wear often, the one shaped like a crescent moon, and the jade piece that Grandpa Qi gave you?”

The original owner paused for a moment, her fingers unconsciously touching her neck, feeling around for a moment, then shook her head: "Necklace? Jade? I don't remember... Is it something very important?"

Lin Xiaoyu looked at her genuine blankness and felt a mix of emotions. Those two items, especially the moon necklace that Senior Qi Jin had treasured for five years and which Shi Ye had finally given back to her, held immense significance for both of them. Yet now, Shi Ye seemed to have completely forgotten about them.

"Well... it's not really that important." Lin Xiaoyu forced a smile and changed the subject. "I was just asking casually. By the way, did Senior Qi Jin say anything after she brought you back yesterday? She seems to be particularly busy lately?" She couldn't help but subtly inquire about Qi Jin after all.

Upon hearing the name "Qi Jin," the original owner of this body stiffened almost imperceptibly, a clear emotion resembling fear or tension flashing across her eyes. She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her linen robe: "She didn't say anything... she just escorted me home, watched me go inside, and then left. She... she didn't seem to want to talk to me."

His tone carried a barely perceptible sense of grievance and inferiority.

Lin Xiaoyu's heart clenched again. What kind of mess is this?! One forgot, and the other went cold. How can this couple be saved?

Just as she was about to say something more comforting, the original owner of Shi Ye suddenly raised his head, looked at her with a strange focus in his eyes, and asked softly, "Xiao Yu, are you and Qi Jin... very familiar? You seem to know her very well? And you also... rely on her?"

Lin Xiaoyu was taken aback by the question, her cheeks inexplicably flushing. "It's...it's alright. My senior is a very nice person, she's always taken good care of me. And she's your..." She trailed off, her words trailing off. Your fiancée? But the engagement seems to have been automatically dissolved due to "death"? And given the current situation, bringing this up doesn't seem quite appropriate.

"My what?" the original owner asked, his eyes clear, yet Lin Xiaoyu felt an invisible pressure.

"N-nothing..." Lin Xiaoyu avoided her gaze, picked up her water glass and took another sip, trying to hide her unease. "I just think that senior is a very reliable person. Sister Shi Ye, don't take her attitude too seriously. She's probably under a lot of pressure lately, dealing with a lot of things." She recalled Qi Jin's cold and hard face in the news and his sharp business counterattacks.

The original owner of the body hummed in response and did not ask any further questions, but his gaze remained fixed on Lin Xiaoyu's slightly reddened ear tips, as if he were deep in thought.

The atmosphere in the studio became awkwardly quiet for a moment.

Lin Xiaoyu was wondering if she should say goodbye and let Sister Shi rest when she heard the doorbell ring downstairs, followed by the sound of her aunt coming upstairs: "Miss, we have a guest. She says she is an intern curatorial assistant at 'Tracing the Light Space,' surnamed Su. She's here to deliver some materials and would like to talk to you about the possibility of collaborating on future art therapy projects."

Sue? The girl in the black jumpsuit at last night's party?

Lin Xiaoyu and the original owner of the body, Shi Ye, both looked towards the doorway.

Behind the aunt, Su Xiao (Shi Ye), dressed in a simple white T-shirt and jeans, with a neat ponytail and a bright smile, appeared at the studio door carrying a stack of folders. Her gaze first politely swept over Lin Xiaoyu, nodding in greeting, before landing on the original owner of Shi Ye. Her smile deepened, revealing just the right amount of newcomer humility and enthusiasm:

“Hello Ms. Shi, excuse me. I’m Su Xiao, a new intern assistant at ‘Tracing the Light Space’. This is our organization’s preliminary concept material for a potential project on ‘Art Therapy and Memory Restoration’. The person in charge asked me to bring it to you for your review, to see if you are interested in discussing it further. By the way,” she paused, her gaze naturally turning to Lin Xiaoyu, her smile friendly, “it would be even better if Designer Lin were here as well, we would also love to hear the ideas of young artists.”

Lin Xiaoyu looked at Su Xiao, who had suddenly appeared with a bright smile, and then at the original owner of the body, Shi Ye, who was still somewhat stunned beside her.

There were three people in the art studio.

The protagonist is suffering from amnesia and feeling lost.

A transmigrator with a secret mission (who appears as an enthusiastic newcomer).

A CP with a broken mind, burdened with worries, and who has just been unintentionally exposed by the original owner, Shi Ye, to a certain subtle dependence... herself.

Lin Xiaoyu suddenly realized that she might have bought too few almond cookies today.

It's not calming enough.