Over the next few days, a delicate balance settled in the apartment. Ah Chen no longer exuded the same menacing aura as before; he was mostly silent, observing Su Nian and her master, Xie Chen, with a deep and unfathomable gaze. The wound on his hand was slowly healing, leaving several gruesome scars after the bandages were removed, but he didn't care at all, as if they were some kind of medal.
Xie Chen (the main personality) became even more dependent on Su Nian. The conflict that day and Xie Chen's unusual "calmness" afterwards seemed to make him subconsciously realize that Su Nian was the only person who could bring stability to this chaos. He was like a young animal cautiously approaching a warm light source, both eager to get close and afraid of being burned.
Su Nian knew that guiding the main personality to find the "key" required extreme caution. Forcing it might cause him to have a mental breakdown, while letting it go might make Ah Chen lose patience and trigger another crisis. She decided to adopt a gentler, more indirect approach.
She didn't directly mention the music room or childhood trauma, but instead focused on the present, on the area where Xie Chen felt safest and could express herself most—music.
“Mr. Xie,” one afternoon, under the bright sunshine, Su Nian looked at Xie Chen, who was sitting at the piano but seemed somewhat distracted, and suggested, “If you’re currently lacking inspiration, how about we try… improvising?”
Xie Chen paused for a moment, looking at her somewhat blankly: "Improvisation?"
“Yes, you don’t need sheet music. Just let your fingers follow your current mood and thoughts.” Su Nian walked to the piano, her tone encouraging. “Play whatever comes to mind, even if it’s just a few scattered notes or a repeated melody. It’s a great way to release emotions.”
Xie Chen seemed hesitant and timid. His music has always been rigorous and refined, full of carefully crafted emotions. The improvisational style, which is too casual and directly confronts one's inner raw emotions, made him feel uneasy.
[Host, that's a brilliant move!] 088 exclaimed in admiration. [Improvisational performances are the best way to expose the subconscious; maybe they can catch the big fish hiding the key!]
Just then, a cold voice came from the corner of the living room:
"Useless! You don't even dare to play the piano as you please?"
It was Ah Chen. He had appeared out of nowhere, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his eyes carrying his usual mockery. But upon closer inspection, a faint hint of... expectation seemed to lurk beneath that mockery.
Xie Chen's face turned pale from the provocation, and his fingers instinctively pressed on the piano keys, producing a dull note.
"I...I'm not afraid..." Xie Chen retorted softly, sounding aggrieved.
“Then play.” Ah Chen’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an undeniable pressure. “Don’t act like a baby who needs to be fed.”
Su Nian glanced at A Chen but didn't stop him from using this reverse psychology tactic. Sometimes, stimulation from within is more effective than external guidance.
Xie took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind. He closed his eyes and his fingers returned to the piano keys.
At first, the notes were hesitant and fragmented, like lost children groping in the dark. Gradually, the melody began to take shape, still with that familiar, lingering melancholy tone, but mixed with some subtle restlessness and unease that were not there before, as if influenced by Ah Chen's presence.
Su Nian listened quietly, while 088 rapidly analyzed the clues that might be hidden in the melody.
Suddenly, after a relatively smooth transition, Xie Chen's right hand unconsciously began to play a short, slightly hurried descending scale. This scale motif abruptly inserted itself into the originally smooth melody, carrying a sense of anxiety, as if it wanted to escape from something.
[Host! This musical motif is highly correlated with the childhood tune that previously triggered a strong reaction from the alternate personality!] 088 immediately issued a warning: [This is subconscious repetition! The clue to the key might be here!]
Su Nian's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't interrupt Xie Chen immediately. She saw that when the scale motif was repeated for the third time, Xie Chen's left hand began to produce chaotic chords, the rhythm became unstable, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his breathing became slightly rapid.
He clearly felt the discomfort brought on by the melody and wanted to get rid of it, but it was as if he was being haunted by something, and his fingers involuntarily repeated that damned scale.
Ah Chen, who was in the corner, suddenly sharpened his gaze. He straightened up and stared intently at Xie Chen and the piano, his aura becoming dangerous and tense once again. That musical scale had clearly touched a nerve with him.
"Stop." Su Nian spoke at the right moment, her voice gentle yet carrying an irresistible force.
Xie Chen seemed to be startled awake, his fingers jerking off the piano keys as if they had suddenly become scalding hot. He gasped for breath, his face pale, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at his hands, then turned to Su Nian for help.
"That melody from earlier," Su Nian walked to his side, her tone calm as usual, "sounded a little unsettling to you?"
Xie Chen lowered his head in a panic, his fingers twisting nervously together: "I...I don't know...I just feel...very uncomfortable..."
"Which part makes you uncomfortable?" Su Nian prompted. "Is it that repeating scale?"
Xie Chen's body trembled slightly. He nodded, then shook his head rapidly, stammering, "It seems...it seems like...but it doesn't seem like it...I can't remember..."
His memory was shrouded in a thick fog, and that musical scale was a dangerous lighthouse faintly visible in the fog, but he dared not approach it, much less recall what was hidden beneath it.
"It's okay, don't force yourself if you can't remember," Su Nian reassured her, not pressing the matter further. Capturing this crucial musical motif today was already a huge step forward. Forcing it would only backfire.
She then asked, "That note sounds very special. Does it remind you of anything? Any vague feeling is fine, like color, smell, or a scene?"
Su Nian tried to use synesthesia to bypass rational defenses and directly touch the emotional memories in her subconscious.
Xie Chen closed his eyes, trying hard to feel it, his brows furrowed tightly, appearing to be in great pain. After a long while, he spoke in an extremely uncertain, dreamlike voice:
"Red... a very dark red... and... cold... very cold..."
Dark red? Cold?
These two images made Su Nian's heart sink slightly. This was definitely not a pleasant memory.
"Anything else?" she asked softly.
“The sound…” Xie Chen’s breathing became more rapid, his voice trembling with tears, “A very loud sound… the sound of things being smashed… and… Mom is crying…”
Mom is crying!
The keywords have reappeared! And they're associated with "loud noise" and "throwing things"!
Ah Chen, who had been silently observing, jolted violently upon hearing the words "Mom is crying." All color drained from his face, and a turbulent storm raged in his dark eyes—no longer just simple rage, but a mixture of immense fear and pain that seemed to engulf him. He abruptly turned away from them, his shoulders trembling slightly, as if desperately suppressing something.
Instead of using sarcasm as usual, he chose to run away.
Xie Chen was on the verge of emotional collapse and could no longer continue. Su Nian immediately stopped guiding him and instead used a soothing tone to help him calm his breathing and relax his body.
After a long while, Xie Chen gradually calmed down, but he appeared very listless, curled up on the piano bench like a wounded little animal seeking shelter.
Su Nian poured him a glass of warm water and watched him sip it.
The repetitive musical scale, the dark red color, the coldness, the loud noise, the smashing of things, the mother's weeping… these fragmented pieces of information are gradually piecing together the outline of that terrifying night. What happened in the locked music room was far more than just an argument.
Ah Chen's violent reaction confirmed this. He wasn't just disgusted by that memory; he was also... afraid. That fear, originating from the depths of his soul and impossible to completely conceal with rage, was now laid bare.
Su Nian glanced at A Chen, who was still facing away from them with a stiff posture, and then looked at Xie Chen, who was looking fragile and vulnerable beside her.
These two personalities, one coping with trauma through forgetting and escapism, the other masking their fear with anger and destruction. They were both trapped in that night, never truly moving on.
That repeating scale was the key note in the silent sonata that led to that night. It was an indelible mark on Xie Chen's subconscious, and also the first key that might unlock the lock of memory...
Today, they finally got a glimpse of it.
The road ahead may be even more difficult and painful.
But at least, they were no longer groping aimlessly in the dark.
Su Nian gently patted Xie Chen's shoulder and whispered, "Take a rest. You've done very well today."
Xie Chen looked at her expectantly and nodded gently.
In the corner, Ah Chen remained in that posture with his back turned, like a frozen statue filled with silent pain.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting long shadows of the three people that intertwined on the polished floor, resembling a modern painting filled with contradictions and struggles.
The journey to find the key has finally taken its first substantial step.
The truth behind the door seemed to echo with a low, cold tone, following the repetitive musical scale.
(End of Chapter 132)
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