Chapter 151 (First Release)...
They all...had been tampered with.
Ning Wanwan couldn't help but shiver.
Ning Wanwan had already guessed that he had memory problems.
However, hearing Qi Lin say it so directly still sent a chill down Ning Wanwan's spine.
It's one thing if it's just myself... but even people with status like Qi Lin and Zhou Yanyao had their memories tampered with.
So, how terrifying must the mastermind be?
"Is this world... really real?" Ning Wanwan pulled her coat tighter around herself, muttering to herself in confusion.
Qi Lin was slightly taken aback, looking at Ning Wanwan with surprise.
"Why do you think that?" he asked.
Ning Wanwan hadn't expected Qi Lin to be drawn to her remark. She said softly, "...It just suddenly feels like this world isn't real."
It was as if she had been living in a grand, terrible lie, and she couldn't even see who was making it up.
"..."
As soon as Ning Wanwan finished speaking, she pursed her lips in silence, realizing that what she had said might have been a bit absurd.
After all, how could the world not be real?
Ning Wanwan awkwardly whispered, trying to make amends: "I've lost all my memories. I can't remember the past, and I don't know what I've been through, so I always have a sense of emptiness about my surroundings... You don't have to mind what I'm saying."
Qi Lin: "No, I think what you said makes a lot of sense."
He seemed thoughtful: "I was too conservative before. Maybe we can be bolder and speculate and investigate in this direction."
Ning Wanwan: "...Eh?"
Ning Wanwan blinked, but Qi Lin didn't say anything more. He raised his hand and touched the cup in her hand to check the temperature of the water.
The cup was warm but slightly cool; it was clear it would get cold if I didn't drink it soon.
Qi Lin added a little more hot water to her cup with a blank expression, estimating that the water temperature would be just right for her to drink at this moment, and then put down the kettle.
Ning Wanwan was still somewhat dazed as she held the water cup that had been shoved back into her hands and had warmed up again.
"After you finish this half glass, go to sleep."
Qi Lin spoke, his voice unusually gentle.
"If we talk any more, you probably won't be able to sleep tonight."
His tone was subtle, with a hint of amusement.
Ning Wanwan subconsciously tightened her grip on the water glass, uttering a bewildered interjection: "Um..."
After realizing what Qi Lin was talking about, Ning Wanwan felt a rare surge of annoyance.
Why do you talk like some little kid who stays up all night?
Moreover, receiving so much information all at once would make it difficult for a normal person to fall asleep at night.
And since you're not going to say anything more, is there some information you're hiding from me?
I'm a little angry. If I were strong enough, I would force you to say it.
Many thoughts raced through Ning Wanwan's mind, but despite her lips moving a few times, she stammered and didn't ask the question aloud.
She really talked too much tonight; her mind is still a bit muddled and she needs to sort it out properly.
There will be another opportunity to ask about the rest later.
Thinking of this, Ning Wanwan shivered again from the chill of the night, and even her coat and hot water couldn't keep her warm. She simply tilted her head back and drank all the water in one gulp, then stumbled and groped in the dim light to put the cup back on the table.
Just as she stepped on something and almost fell, a pair of arms caught her waist, preventing her from nearly hitting her face on the ground.
"How did you get here safely from the room?" Qi Lin sighed, seemingly somewhat helpless.
This is why he doesn't actively reach out to ordinary people.
Ordinary people are too fragile and too powerless; even a little bit of darkness can stop them.
Ning Wanwan also felt embarrassed: "When I first woke up, there was still some moonlight outside the window..."
Unlike now, the night is getting thicker.
It was cold and dark.
It was only because of her familiarity with the place after living there for a short time that Ning Wanwan was able to find the cup and kettle so easily.
If it weren't for the fact that this was a familiar environment, Ning Wanwan would have been terrified and run back to her room to hide under the covers in this pitch-black place, let alone having talked with Qi Lin here for so long.
Qi Lin thought for a moment and said, "This won't do, you might bump into something. Wait a minute."
Then Qi Lin was doing something there, like he was rummaging through something, making rustling noises, but Ning Wanwan couldn't see his movements clearly.
Ning Wanwan waited obediently, and then, unable to resist asking the question that had been on her mind.
"Lord Qi Lin...do you...believe what I said?"
"Call me Qi Lin." He first corrected Ning Wanwan's form of address, then casually and calmly asked, "What do you mean by believing what you said?"
Ning Wanwan: "Well, we knew each other before... and stuff like that. After all, what you saw was just a dream, right? It's not strange what happens in dreams, is it?"
Most people wouldn't believe it, or they'd be torn between belief and doubt for a long time.
After all, not everyone can find something amiss in seemingly flawless, unbroken memories and be so certain that their memories have been tampered with.
Qi Lin, however, directly acknowledged Ning Wanwan's initial statement about "getting to know each other," and based on this, he described the dream scenes and conducted a detailed analysis.
So, in the end, it couldn't just be a lie to deceive her, could it...? The more Ning Wanwan thought about it, the more uneasy she felt, and her mind began to wander aimlessly.
She had been trying hard to get the answer, but after finally getting it, she began to feel anxious and uncertain.
In this world that she felt was unreal and illusory, she had suppressed her doubts and confusion for too long. When she finally touched a bit of reality, joy, fear, anger, and bitterness all tangled together, making her feel incredibly complicated.
Ning Wanwan gripped the hem of her clothes, realizing that her reaction was too strange.
The other person will probably be very impatient... after all, they're not responsible for resolving her psychological issues...
"Don't overthink it."
Qi Lin's calm voice rang out, effectively easing Ning Wanwan's doubts and anxieties.
I believe what you say.
Ning Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help asking, "Don't you think it's ridiculous?"
"Why do you think that?" Qi Lin paused in his search, as if he was very interested in throwing the question back at him.
Ning Wanwan: "Exactly, you see... life was going well and peacefully, and then suddenly this happened. Choosing to believe me is like everything that happened before has been overturned."
"Your life was already pretty good before, why did you choose to believe in a nobody like me..."
Ning Wanwan didn't even know what she was babbling about, but Qi Lin seemed to understand what she was trying to say.
"If a perfectly good life can be disrupted, it means that danger has always existed; it's just a matter of whether it will be detonated or not. If not now, then in the future."
"And the consequences of being discovered later might be even worse."
Qi Lin's voice was very calm, as if he were just talking about something ordinary, but this nonchalant calmness gave Ning Wanwan a strange sense of security.
He concluded with the statement: "Moreover, this is not only about believing your words, but also about believing in my own judgment."
His judgment was to trust her, and that was his own decision.
Qi Linren's last sentence took all the consequences of his choices upon himself.
Ning Wanwan didn't immediately understand his hidden meaning, but she vaguely sensed his attitude.
Whether a person holds a positive or negative attitude towards another, and whether they want to treat the other person in a good or bad way, can be detected in every detail, even if the person being treated is not sensitive.
Ning Wanwan sensed it immediately.
She let out a silent breath, and her body relaxed.
Qi Lin seemed to sense something, and his tone became slightly strange: "So, that's what you were worried about just now?"
Ning Wanwan felt a little embarrassed, realizing that she wasn't as calm as Qi Lin: "Well, I'll try to be calmer in the future..."
The girl's slightly annoyed, head-drooping expression was rather cute, making one want to treat her even more intimately.
Qi Lin was silent for a moment, then his fingers twitched slightly as he looked away. "It's nothing, just a normal reaction."
I don't know if I'm talking about a young girl or about myself.
Ning Wanwan didn't think much of it, assuming that Qi Lin was responding to her words.
Ning Wanwan pursed her lips. Although she didn't know that Qi Lin could see it clearly, she still subconsciously gave him a small smile.
"Thank you." Her voice was very soft, like a dandelion that was almost transparent and swaying softly in the wind.
Ning Wanwan knew that Qi Lin didn't actually need to say so much to her, especially those seemingly cold and emotionless explanations at the end, which were all a kind of subtle attempt to soothe her emotions.
This person isn't as difficult to get along with as I initially imagined. Ning Wanwan thought to herself.
She was starting to believe that, in her lost memories, she might have had a very good friend with this person.
The girl said "thank you" softly, with a small smile, but it was clearly seen by the other person, as if it were some kind of reward.
Qi Lin's eyes darkened, and his Adam's apple bobbed twice.
I don't know what I'm thinking. Maybe I'm thinking about a lot of things, or maybe I'm thinking about nothing at all.
"You're welcome," he said finally. "It's nothing, no need to thank me."
His tone was unusually gentle, and his voice was slightly hoarse.
The man's patient and gentle tone made Ning Wanwan pause for a moment.
Perhaps in the darkness, after a brief moment of stunned silence, Ning Wanwan's expression became even more undisguised, and she couldn't help but smile upon hearing these words.
And a little curiosity arose: what kind of expression did Qi Lin, who always seemed so aloof and unpredictable during the day, have when he said those words?
Then, unexpectedly, the darkness before their eyes was dispelled, and a small, warm, and bright flame illuminated the space between them.
Ning Wanwan: "Huh!!"
Ning Wanwan was so startled she almost cried out, until the man said, "It's okay, take it."
Ning Wanwan swallowed the gasp that was about to escape her lips and carefully examined the scene before her.
That bright little flame originated from the candle Qi Lin was holding.
There seemed to be some faint noises coming from the other side.
Qi Lin lowered his eyes and gave Ning Wanwan a somewhat ambiguous look.
When Ning Wanwan was confused, he explained, "Your voice is too loud."
"Others might get woken up by you."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 12:41:38 on June 2, 2024 and 10:53:36 on June 6, 2024!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 57900050 (1 landmine);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
