"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dull thud of fists hitting the wall, like war drums, pounded in the silent apartment, and also in the hearts of Su Nian and Xie Chen (the main personality). Chen seemed completely oblivious to the pain, mechanically and frantically repeating this self-destructive act, his hands already torn and bleeding, leaving glaring and shocking marks on the white wall.

"No! Stop! Please stop!" Xie Chen (the main personality) stumbled off the bed, his face as pale as paper. He wanted to stop him, but was too frightened to approach by the destructive aura emanating from A Zhou. He could only cry and beg helplessly.

Su Nian's heart clenched. Behind A Chen's rage lay immense panic and helplessness, a collapse after his defenses were breached. Unable to express himself in words, he could only vent the inner conflict that was tearing him apart through this extreme method.

We can't let him continue like this!

Unlike Xie Chen, Su Nian didn't beg. She took a deep breath, her eyes sharpened, and she rushed forward. Instead of grabbing Xie Chen's injured hand, she used all her strength to hug his waist tightly from behind!

Her movements were abrupt and resolute, carrying an undeniable sense of obstruction.

Ah Chen's violent movements suddenly froze! He felt a soft yet firm body pressed tightly against his back, those slender arms encircling him, conveying not fear, but a kind of... almost stubborn protection?

"Let go!" he growled, trying to break free, but his voice trembled slightly.

"I won't let go." Su Nian's voice rang out behind him, clear and calm, without fear or accusation, only a firm statement of facts, "Stop, A-Chen. Hurting yourself won't solve anything."

Her embrace wasn't forceful, yet it seemed to possess a strange magic, forcefully restraining a portion of his escalating rage. His struggling movements slowed, and his fist, which had been slamming against the wall, finally fell limply, blood dripping from his fingertips onto the floor with a soft "drip...drip..." sound.

The entire apartment fell into an eerie silence, with only Xie Chen's (the main personality) suppressed sobs and A Chen's heavy, chaotic breathing.

Su Nian felt Ah Chen's tense body relax slightly, but she still didn't let go. She just loosened her embrace a little and adopted a supporting posture.

“You see,” she whispered, her voice close to his ear, “even you get hurt, you feel pain.”

Ah Chen's body jolted violently.

These words are more penetrating than any accusation or persuasion. He has always presented himself as strong and ruthless, regarding pain as a sign of weakness and using violence to mask all vulnerability. But at this moment, his bloodied hands and the woman behind him who refuses to give up on him are silently revealing a fact—he is not omnipotent; he also bleeds, and he also suffers from being misunderstood and the fear of loss.

He turned around slowly and with extreme stiffness.

Su Nian raised her head and met his eyes, still dark but churning with a complex storm. There was lingering violence, annoyance at being seen through, confusion, and a hint of… something even he himself couldn't understand—a craving for this sudden closeness and confinement?

His gaze fell on Su Nian's face, seeing her calm and unwavering eyes, and... the dried but still conspicuous bloodstain on her lips that belonged to him.

Those were the marks left by his loss of control.

A mixture of possessiveness, shame, and even more confusion welled up inside me.

"You..." he began, his voice hoarse, "Why aren't you afraid?" Why didn't you scream and run away like everyone else when you saw him like this?

“Why should I be afraid?” Su Nian asked him back, her eyes clear. “A person who expresses their emotions by hurting themselves often has a helpless child living inside them. What I’m facing is not a monster, but a wounded soul trapped in the past.”

Her words, like a ray of light, pierced through his layers of defenses and shone into his desolate and dark inner world.

Ah Chen stared at her blankly, as if seeing her for the first time. Not as an object to be conquered and possessed, but as someone who... was trying to understand him, even daring to embrace his thorny exterior.

Xie Chen (the main personality) also stopped crying and stared blankly at the scene. He never imagined that the violent and terrifying "A-Chen" would show such a... fragile stillness in Su Nian's embrace and words.

During the standoff, Su Nian released her grip on A Chen, but remained standing in front of him without backing down. She glanced at his bloodied and mangled hand, her brows furrowing slightly.

"I need to treat the wound," she said, turning and walking towards the first-aid kit in the living room. Her movements were natural, as if the harrowing experience just moments before was nothing out of the ordinary.

Ah Chen stood silently, watching her retreating figure, without stopping her. His frenzied emotions dissipated like the receding tide, leaving behind a deep weariness and an unprecedented...bewilderment. He looked down at his mangled hands, then at the mottled bloodstains on the wall, and a strange feeling, akin to "regret," quietly began to grow within him.

Su Nian returned with the first-aid kit and gestured for him to sit on the sofa.

Ah Chen hesitated for a moment, but finally sat down as instructed, extending his injured hand with an awkward movement, as if he was not used to being taken care of.

Su Nian squatted down in front of him, opened the first-aid kit, and took out disinfectant swabs and medicine. Her movements were professional and gentle as she carefully cleaned the wound on the back of his hand and the wall plaster debris embedded in his flesh.

The stinging sensation of the alcohol on the wound caused Ah Chen's muscles to tense instantly, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound. His dark eyes were fixed on Su Nian's focused profile.

Her eyelashes were long, her nose was high and straight, and her lips were slightly pursed with nervousness. Sunlight streamed in from the window, casting a soft glow on her face. At that moment, the calm and resolute strength emanating from her seemed to possess a calming magic, soothing the remaining restlessness within him.

Xie Chen (the main personality) also carefully moved a short distance away, nervously watching Su Nian treat the wounds of "another self." Seeing that A-Chen did not resist, and even seemed somewhat... compliant? His eyes were filled with disbelief.

[Host, well done!] 088 cheered in Su Nian's mind. [The 'gentle confinement' combined with 'empathic understanding' after the violent suppression failed directly broke through the alternate personality's psychological defenses! His trust and dependence on you are skyrocketing! Although the method was a bit laborious...]

Su Nian ignored the system's complaints and carefully bandaged A Chen's wound, tying a neat knot.

"Don't get it wet these next few days, and try to avoid exertion." She stood up and gave instructions, her tone as if she were speaking to any other patient.

Ah Chen looked at his hand wrapped in white gauze, then looked up at Su Nian, his expression complex and unreadable. He suddenly spoke, his voice low: "You... you treat that good-for-nothing like this too?"

He was still comparing, still jealous.

Su Nian paused in packing the first-aid kit, then said frankly, "My duty is to help Xie Chen, no matter which part. You are all one."

"One body?" Ah Chen chuckled, but this time the sarcasm was much weaker, more like a habitual rebuttal. He didn't continue the topic, but stood up and walked towards his bedroom (he usually occupied the master bedroom). He paused at the door, his back to Su Nian, and said in an almost inaudible voice:

"……Thanks."

After saying that, he quickly closed the door, isolating himself from the outside world.

The "thank you" was extremely soft, yet it resounded like a thunderclap in the living room.

Xie Chen (the main personality) stared wide-eyed, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

Su Nian was slightly surprised, then a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips. It seemed that this block of ice was not without cracks.

Ah Chen locked himself in his room and didn't come out. Only Su Nian and the distraught Xie Chen (the main personality) remained in the living room.

After cleaning up the blood-stained cotton swabs and other trash, Su Nian found tools and paint and began cleaning the bloodstains on the wall. She didn't want to leave any traces that might upset them.

Xie walked over silently, picked up a rag, and timidly helped wipe it.

“Assistant Su…” he began softly, his voice filled with lingering fear and gratitude, “Just now… thank you. If it weren’t for you… he might…” He didn’t dare to finish his sentence.

“He’s just expressing his pain in his own way,” Su Nian said while working. “Even though it’s the wrong way, the pain is real. You need to try to understand him, just as he… might be trying to understand you.”

Xie Chen nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite. Everything that happened today overturned his long-held belief that "A-Chen" was nothing but fear.

"He... just said 'thank you'." Xie Chen's voice carried a hint of incredulous hope. "Does he... not hate me that much after all?"

“He protected you, remember?” Su Nian reminded him, “when you couldn’t bear it when you were little. What he hated might not be you as a person, but the root causes that caused you pain and made you ‘weak’.”

Xie Chen fell into deep thought.

After cleaning up the scene, Su Nian prepared to leave. Too much had happened today; she needed to give these two personalities some time to process and process things on their own.

Just as she reached the entrance hall, the door to the master bedroom suddenly opened a crack.

Ah Chen stood in the shadows of the door crack, only half his face and his bandaged hand visible. His eyes were still deep and unfathomable, but the previous violence was gone, replaced by more complex emotions.

He looked at Su Nian, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke in an awkward, commanding tone:

"Come early tomorrow."

Before Su Nian could answer, he slammed the door shut again.

Su Nian stood there, stunned for a moment, then smiled helplessly. This was probably his unique way of expressing "needs".

As she left the apartment, Su Nian glanced back at the window.

The bloodstains were temporarily covered, and the mania subsided for the time being. But the deep-seated trauma had not disappeared, and the war between the two personalities was far from over.

However, a sliver of light had already pierced through the thick clouds and shone in.

She believed that as long as she could grasp this ray of light, one day she could illuminate the locked music room and the shared redemption of two broken souls within it.

(End of Chapter 130)