Xie Chen (the main personality) fainted in the sunroom due to the shock of the memory. Su Nian and A Chen worked together to put him back on the bed in the guest room. He slept soundly, but his brows were still furrowed, as if he was still fighting against those terrible images in his nightmare. Su Nian gently wiped the cold sweat and undried tear stains from his forehead with a warm towel, her movements gentle.
Ah stood silently by the bed, looking at the face on the bed that was exactly like his own, yet filled with vulnerability and pain, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He didn't leave, nor did he show impatience or disdain as usual; he just stood there, like a silent guardian statue, or rather, guarding a part of himself that he didn't want to lose again.
“Candle in the Wind…” Su Nian repeated the song title Ah Chen had just mentioned in a low voice, “It’s this song, isn’t it?”
Ah Chen nodded, his gaze still fixed on Xie Chen's face: "It was her favorite song. She said... music is like a candle flame in the wind, fragile, yet it can bring a little light and warmth in the darkness." His voice was soft, with a rare, almost nostalgic tone, but then it was tinged with cold hatred, "But he destroyed it. He destroyed the candle flame, and he also destroyed... the person holding the candle."
Su Nian's heart clenched at his words. She could imagine the devastating blow it would be for a sensitive child to witness the warmest and most beautiful symbols in her heart being destroyed in the most brutal way by the person closest to her. This was not just domestic violence, but the strangulation of faith and beauty.
“We need to find the sheet music.” Su Nian stood up and looked at A Chen. “The original manuscript. If it’s still in this apartment.” The original manuscript of that piece could very well be the last key to unlocking the memory, or even… the crucial evidence to reveal the truth.
Ah Chen's eyes sharpened: "He should be there. That good-for-nothing... he must have hidden himself, he's even forgotten where he hid." He paused, then added, "Or, he might be in that locked music room."
For the next half day, Su Nian and A Chen began a careful search of the apartment. They avoided the guest bedroom and didn't disturb the sleeping Xie Chen. The search focused on corners where old items might be stored or easily overlooked.
Ah Chen displayed astonishing patience and meticulousness in his search, a stark contrast to his usual manic demeanor. He seemed to have an obsession with finding the sheet music, as if it were not merely a tool to aid his main personality, but also a way to fulfill an unfulfilled promise he himself had made.
Su Nian relied more on the system and her own intuition. She carefully examined the back of the bookshelves, the drawer compartments, and even the edges of the carpet.
However, by evening, after searching almost every possible part of the apartment, they found nothing. The sheet music for "Candle in the Wind" seemed to have vanished into thin air.
As the sun set, it cast a dim, yellowish glow over the apartment, bringing with it a sense of unease. The family celebration was less than three days away.
Ah Chen's patience was wearing thin, and his aura began to stir restlessly again. He slammed his fist on the bookshelf with a dull thud, his eyes filled with malice: "Can't find it! Could it really be in that damned music room?!"
Just then, a slight noise came from the guest room. Xie Chen (the main personality) woke up.
Su Nian and A Chen exchanged a glance, temporarily halted their search, and headed towards the guest room.
Xie Chen had already sat up, hugging his knees, staring blankly at the darkening sky outside the window. His face was still pale, but the extreme fear seemed to have subsided somewhat, replaced by a deep weariness and sorrow, as if all his strength had been drained away.
Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned his head. When he saw Su Nian, a hint of dependence flashed in his eyes, but when he saw A Chen following behind, he did not immediately show fear as usual. He just silently lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously clutching the quilt.
Su Nian walked to the bedside and sat down, asking softly, "How are you feeling?"
Xie silently shook his head. After a long while, he said in a hoarse, almost inaudible voice, "I...I remember...that night...Mom, she..." His voice choked, and he couldn't continue.
Ah Chen stood at the door with his hands in his pockets. He snorted coldly upon hearing this, but did not say anything provocative.
Su Nian gently grasped Xie Chen's cold hand: "We are looking for the sheet music for 'Candle in the Wind,' do you remember where we put it?"
Xie Chen's body trembled slightly, his eyes becoming even more confused and pained: "The sheet music... Mom... Mom... hid it..." he recalled intermittently, "She said... Dad can't find it... he can't..."
"Where is it hidden?" Su Nian guided him, her voice becoming even softer.
Xie Chen frowned deeply, struggling to recall, his face showing a pained expression: "I...I don't know...I think...I saw her...put it...in a box...a very old...wooden box..."
Wooden box!
Su Nian and A Chen both perked up at the same time!
"What kind of wooden box? Where is it placed?" Su Nian pressed.
“Patterns…there are patterns…it seems…to be the shape of a flower…” Xie Chen’s voice grew increasingly uncertain, the fragments of his memory still blurry. “The place…I can’t remember…it seemed…very dark…and there was a smell of dust…”
It was dark and smelled of dust...
Su Nian and A Chen exchanged another glance, both having the same guess in their hearts—the locked music room!
Could it be that the key, or rather the clue, ultimately points there?
"That's enough." Ah Chen suddenly spoke, interrupting Xie Chen's painful memories. He walked to the bedside, not to Xie Chen, but to Su Nian, and said, "Let him rest. We'll take care of the rest."
His tone carried an undeniable decisiveness. He no longer pressured the main personality to delve into more painful details, but instead took the responsibility upon himself... and Su Nian.
Xie Chen raised his head somewhat blankly, looked at A Chen, then at Su Nian, his lips moved, but in the end he didn't say anything, he just gripped Su Nian's hand even tighter.
Night fell completely.
After comforting Xie Chen and feeding him some liquid food, he quickly fell into a deep sleep due to exhaustion. Su Nian turned off the light for him and gently closed the door.
In the living room, Ah Chen sat on the sofa, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the armrest, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.
"Wooden box, pattern, music room." He uttered a few keywords, looking at Su Nian, "What do you think?"
“It’s very likely.” Su Nian sat down next to him. “But the door is locked.”
Ah Chen was silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up and walked upstairs. Su Nian followed.
They stood once again before the tightly closed, dark door to the music room. The old brass lock gleamed coldly under the dim corridor lamp.
Ah Chen reached out and touched the cold keyhole, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
“If…” he whispered, as if speaking to Su Nian, yet also as if speaking to himself, “If we were to forcefully break down this door…”
“The risk is too great,” Su Nian immediately rejected. “It could lead to unpredictable consequences, especially for Xie Chen.” She paused, then looked at Xie Chen. “Besides, is this really what you want? To break into that place through destruction?”
Ah Chen's hand froze in mid-air. He knew perfectly well that behind that door lay not just a room, but the source of all his pain and fear. To force his way in would be tantamount to tearing open that never-healed wound once more.
He slumped down, leaned against the wall beside him, raised his hand to shield his eyes, and his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.
"What can we do..." His voice carried a hint of helplessness and suppressed pain, "Time is running out..."
Seeing his rare vulnerability and confusion, Su Nian's heart softened. She stepped forward and gently pulled down the hand that was covering his eyes.
Ah Chen opened his eyes, his dark pupils reflecting the faint light of the corridor lamp, filled with struggle and helplessness.
Su Nian didn't say anything, but simply stretched out her arms and gently hugged him.
This hug carried no hint of lust or comfort; it was more of a silent support and companionship. It told him he wasn't alone in facing all of this.
Ah Chen's body stiffened at first, then suddenly relaxed, as if he had finally shed some kind of heavy armor. He hugged Su Nian tightly, burying his face in her neck and shoulders, breathing deeply, inhaling the reassuring scent emanating from her. His arms were tight, with the strength of a drowning person clinging to driftwood.
The two embraced tightly in the quiet corridor, filled with the scent of old dust. The distant city lights shone through the windows, casting long, intertwined shadows behind them.
After a long while, Ah Chen finally spoke in her ear in a muffled voice, with a barely perceptible sob in his throat:
"Stay with me tonight."
"Just...keeping you company."
He didn't ask for more; he just needed a real, tangible warmth to ward off the coming cold and fear of seeking the truth.
Su Nian nodded gently: "Okay."
That night, in the master bedroom, Ah Chen still held Su Nian tightly from behind, encircling her entirely in his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head. But unlike before, his embrace was less possessive and more subdued, filled with a quiet dependence and a desire for comfort.
Su Nian leaned against his warm chest, feeling his steady heartbeat and regular breathing. She didn't struggle, letting him hold her, silently sharing courage with him in the long night.
In the guest room, Xie Chen (the dominant personality) slept more soundly than the previous few nights, perhaps because of the release of memories or because he sensed some kind of connection.
Three people, two spaces, yet they are tightly bound together by an invisible bond woven from pain, courage, and growing trust.
The clues in the wooden box are like candles in the wind, faint yet tenaciously flickering in the darkness, guiding the way to the ultimate truth.
The key to opening that door seems to lie in this brief but precious tranquility that they both cherish.
(End of Chapter 141)
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