CHAPTER 8

As expected, Sheng Qing and Meng Yunxi woke up in the same bed again, starting a new day's plot.

"What are you thinking about so intently? Why aren't you eating properly?" Meng Yunxi gently nudged Sheng Qing's arm, her tone slightly reproachful.

"It's nothing." Sheng Qing was pulled back to reality, and turned her head slightly to avoid a doting head pat from Meng Yunxi.

I ate a couple of bites of food without any taste, and my mind went back to the scene before I went to bed last night.

“Perhaps those nighttime investigations were meaningless. Apart from dealing with some strange creatures, there was no substantial progress.” Meng Yunxi frowned, her expression deep.

"Has the building been investigated beforehand?"

Meng Yunxi raised an eyebrow and glanced at Sheng Qing. Her expression seemed to ask, "What do you think?"

"When is it? Is it at night?" Sheng Qing continued to ask, then suddenly remembered something and said to herself, "Oh, right."

"Should we go see another doctor?" Sheng Qing asked tentatively.

"Now?" Meng Yunxi asked, puzzled.

"No, no, no, I mean I'll go take another look tomorrow." Sheng Qing got out of bed, took out paper and pen as she spoke, and then sat down next to Meng Yunxi on the sofa. She said sincerely, "Boss, can you tell me about the situation you investigated before?"

Meng Yunxi coughed lightly and glanced at the distance between the two. Sheng Qing realized what was happening, and awkwardly moved to the other side, continuing to wait expectantly for Meng Yunxi to speak.

“It can’t be explained in a few words.” Meng Yunxi took the pen and paper from Sheng Qing’s hand, stood up and walked straight to the desk to sit down. “I’ll draw it out for you and make some marks so you can easily check it.”

Sheng Qing followed, standing by the desk, while Meng Yunxi wrote and drew continuously, patiently explaining.

Sheng Qing had always admired people with a talent for drawing; with just a few strokes, the three-dimensional form of an entire building would leap off the paper. Even someone like herself, who lacked a sense of spatial awareness, could understand it at a glance.

Sheng Qing's gaze shifted slightly. How come she hadn't noticed how beautiful Meng Yunxi's fingers were before? Fair, slender, and with distinct knuckles, such fingers would be perfect for playing the piano.

"Can you play the piano?" Sheng Qing asked unintentionally.

"Hmm?" Meng Yunxi's fingers paused, and she looked up to meet Sheng Qing's gaze, her eyes flashing with doubt.

"It's okay, it's okay, you keep drawing, I'm listening carefully." Sheng Qing hurriedly turned her gaze to the paper, like a student caught daydreaming in class, her cheeks even slightly flushed.

"That's about it. Be careful." Meng Yunxi put down her pen, got up, and went out. Then she turned back and added, "Don't be reckless."

"Is there something wrong with my cooking?" Sheng Qing was pulled back to reality by Meng Yunxi's voice once again. Before she could react, the food in her bowl was taken away by another pair of chopsticks and then steadily put into her mouth.

"That's in my bowl..." Sheng Qing's lips twitched slightly as she tried to snatch it back, but it was too late.

This is a bit too ambiguous, isn't it? Sheng Qing lowered his head silently, not daring to imagine what kind of wonderful expression Meng Yunxi would have when she found out tonight.

Brother, you'll regret this!

Meng Yunxi was unaware that a little drama was unfolding in Sheng Qing's mind. He kept his mouth closed, chewing and savoring the food, seemingly genuinely searching for the reason. Then, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he swallowed the food.

Meng Yunxi put on a relaxed expression and said sincerely, "No problem." Then her eyes lowered, and she became very sad.

"Qingqing, have you changed your mind? So even your tastes have changed?" He said, getting up and making a move to pull Shengqing into his arms.

Sheng Qing was startled and jumped up, accidentally bumping her leg on the table leg. Ignoring the pain in her leg, she quickly moved far away from Meng Yunxi, making sure to clasp her hands in a defensive posture.

Brother, please don't get me into trouble!

Who on earth came up with this plot? Sheng Qing cursed the mastermind behind it all.

Unexpectedly, Sheng Qing reacted so strongly. Meng Yunxi was stunned and looked at Sheng Qing with a disappointed expression. She wanted to get closer, but she didn't dare to.

"I haven't recovered from what happened to Jiajia yet." Sheng Qing felt a pang of pity and carefully chose her words. "Give me some more time."

I suddenly remembered that I mentioned yesterday that I was going to Xiang Wan's house to check out the renovations. Of course, whether or not the renovations are done is completely unimportant; I'll just be thankful to get out of this awkward situation.

"I'm done eating, your cooking is fantastic." Sheng Qing's eyes darted around, and she uttered some incoherent words. "Uh, I'm going to check on the renovations at Xiang Wan's house first, you go ahead with your work." With that, Sheng Qing turned and fled towards the door, changing her shoes as she prepared to open it.

"Wait for me, how can you do this alone?" Sheng Qing's hand was pulled, and Meng Yunxi's calm voice came from behind him. Turning around, he saw that his expression had returned to normal.

“Okay.” Sheng Qing couldn’t find an excuse to refuse.

Sheng Qing stood in front of the door of 22-3 and knocked three times.

The door opened, and a young, unfamiliar man appeared in the doorway, greeting him with a smile: "Looking at the renovations, huh? Wanwan told me. Please come in, no need to take off your shoes." He then turned and called into the house, "Wife, Mr. Meng and Ms. Sheng have come to see the renovations."

Wife?

Sheng Qing was stunned. When did Xiang Wan suddenly get a husband? She turned her head to look at Meng Yunxi, whose expression remained unchanged.

Was I hallucinating again? Or did that shady person behind the scenes add another role?

Just like how she casually erased the memory of Xiang Wan's previous "husband" back then?

Sheng Qing sensed the urgency of the situation. If she didn't find the key clues to escape this world soon, one day she would also be unable to wake up at night, until she became like a puppet, forcibly stuffed with strange memories and forced to have a messy life script set for her.

"Jiajia, this is Aunt Qingqing, quickly greet her." Xiang Wan led a little girl of about 2 or 3 years old to the door. The little girl, holding a doll, glanced at the door, and the moment her eyes met Sheng Qing's, a strange light flashed in her eyes, then she quickly ran away.

"Sigh, look at this child, why is she getting shy?" Xiang Wan said with a smile, complaining.

Is it the same person?

Sheng Qing saw the little girl's face clearly, and it looked exactly like Jiajia in his memory, even the doll in her hand was the same.

"Qingqing?" Meng Yunxi stood inside the room and extended her hand to Sheng Qing. "Come in." The dim light inside the room cast shadows on the ceiling, making it difficult to see clearly.

Sheng Qing couldn't help but shiver.

Throughout the visit, Sheng Qing was lost in thought and couldn't even remember how he got home.

The victim's name on the accident investigation report had somehow changed to Duoduo, and the photo showed a different, unfamiliar little girl.

Meng Yunxi continued to talk enthusiastically, while Sheng Qing mechanically nodded or agreed.

It's useless, it's all fake.

While Meng Yunxi was busy in the kitchen, Sheng Qing quietly slipped out the door with the blueprint from the previous night.

Seeing that no one was around, Sheng Qing took out the blueprints and began to study them carefully.

Beep! The elevator has arrived.

Sheng Qing didn't even look up as he entered the elevator and pressed the buttons for the basement and the close button.

The closing elevator doors came to an abrupt stop. Sheng Qing looked up and saw a small hand blocking the door, while a childish voice came from outside.

"Aunt Qingqing, wait for me."

Then, the little girl wearing Jiajia's face appeared, smiled sweetly, and stood next to Sheng Qing.

"Where's your mother?" Sheng Qing asked, peeking out to check.

"No mommy." The little girl raised her hand and stood on tiptoe, skillfully pressing the close button, and the elevator doors closed quickly.

Sheng Qing glanced at the little girl out of the corner of his eye, then carefully put away the blueprints. As they waited for the elevator to arrive, only the button for the basement level lit up in solitude.

"Jia, Jiajia, which floor are you going to?" Sheng Qing turned his head and met the little girl's dark green eyes staring intently at him. His outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

Dark green? Sheng Qing blinked, her eyes turning jet black again. Her vision was blurry; without thinking much of it, she pressed the button to go to the first floor.

"Mom, you smell so good."

"What did you say?" Sheng Qing's scalp tingled, and he stared at the little girl in disbelief. In his panicked retreat, he bumped into the elevator with a bang.

"Aunt Qingqing, you smell so good!" The little girl smiled innocently and tugged at Sheng Qing's clothes affectionately. "Can I hug you?"

It's not a request, it's a command!

Sheng Qing felt an intense aversion, but his body inexplicably knelt down and gently pulled the little girl into his arms. When he came to his senses, his upper body was already tightly wrapped around the little girl's arms and legs.

Sheng Qing didn't care that this was just a two or three-year-old child and struggled desperately to push her away. The little girl, however, didn't move an inch, still burying her head in Sheng Qing's arms, taking deep breaths and letting out a satisfied murmur: "It smells so good."

The atmosphere in the elevator became strange for a moment, and Sheng Qing's body seemed to be frozen, unable to move.

After a while, the little girl finally raised her head with satisfaction, let go of her hands and feet, and said with a smile, "Aunt Qingqing, you were naughty."

Beep! The elevator has arrived at the first floor.

Seizing the opportunity, Sheng Qing pushed the little girl aside and rushed out of the elevator. As if he had survived a disaster, Sheng Qing's back was already soaked with cold sweat.

What on earth is this little girl?!

I watched as the elevator cursor waited on the basement level for a while, then went up and finally stopped on the 22nd floor.

Is she on the basement level or has she already returned to the 22nd floor? Still shaken, Sheng Qing didn't dare to take the risk and decisively pressed the up button on the elevator next door to go back and calm down.

The elevator stopped on the 21st floor. Just to be on the safe side, Sheng Qing decided to climb up to the last floor.

Pushing open the door at the bottom of the stairs, the strange little girl was standing there, smiling meaningfully at Sheng Qing, like a teacher who had caught a truant student.

A look of panic and wariness flashed in Sheng Qing's eyes, and she stopped in her tracks. She released her hand from the door, but the door seemed to be blocked by some invisible force, stuck in place.

"Mom said I should be a polite child. I haven't said thank you and goodbye to Aunt Qingqing yet," the little girl said, tilting her head seriously.

Sheng Qing remained silent, still watching the little girl warily.

"Thank you, Aunt Qingqing. Goodbye, Aunt Qingqing." After saying this, the little girl looked quietly at Sheng Qing, as if waiting for a reply.

Sheng Qing swallowed hard, her voice hoarse, and managed to squeeze out a few words: "You're welcome, goodbye."

After listening, the little girl nodded in satisfaction, smiled slightly, and turned around to toddle up the stairs.

The door, as if suddenly snapping out of its daze, slowly closed.