Chapter 17

Chi Zhihan felt a pang of guilt.

The sound of sniffling was particularly clear in the quiet house.

She… had scared him to tears with her recklessness.

Ever since seeing his recovery environment, she couldn’t help but meddle. Crossing boundaries had become something she did repeatedly and inexplicably since becoming his private chef.

Her compassion was similar to most people’s. She would feel heartbroken seeing abandoned stray cats and dogs online, but when it came to actually adopting one, she would find all sorts of reasons to back out.

She had a kind heart, but most of the time, she remained coldly focused only on herself.

But this man, for some inexplicable reason, always made her feel… a sense of empathy.

That feeling of being abandoned by the whole world, and the desperate, almost involuntary cries for help that came with it.

This had actually been her own state of mind these past few years.

This man, living alone in a mansion at the center of a private garden, came from a prominent family. His relatives and doctors spared no effort for him. The monthly salary offered to hire a cook was equivalent to a five-star hotel chef’s annual salary.

On the surface, everything seemed perfect—fame, fortune, and meticulous care.

But his sense of despair was identical to hers.

“I’ve kept the apple tea warm in a glass pot over an alcohol lamp. The snacks are the desserts I usually make. The nougat was something you ordered last time, but I didn’t get a chance to make it then,” she said, trying to keep her tone as gentle as possible, pretending nothing had happened. “I added lots of nuts and cranberries, made both original and matcha flavors. The matcha one tastes better, but remember to brush your teeth after eating.”

After rambling on, Chi Zhihan secretly glanced over at his figure.

He was curled up in a pitiful ball, the blanket in disarray.

……

She pressed her lips together, warning herself not to repeatedly cross the patient’s boundaries, and turned her attention to the window.

“I’ll close the window and lower the heating a bit so the room won’t feel too stuffy.” She turned her head and couldn’t help glancing at the blanket again.

Good heavens, more than half the blanket was about to fall off the bed, but he didn’t dare reach for it. His hands were gripping it tightly, his whole body frozen still.

……

“I…” Chi Zhihan bit her lower lip, hesitating unusually, and sniffled.

“I won’t look at you, I just want to help fix your blanket, is that okay?” Seeing his helpless state made her heart ache, and she finally couldn’t help but ask.

……

She was really treating him like an idiot.

Chi Zhihan began to hate herself.

After she left the room, he could naturally fix his own blanket – why did she have to unnecessarily ask such a question?

Her face flushed as she tried to figure out how to retract her previous words without awkwardness. Then, the headboard gave a muffled knock.

……

Of course, he wasn’t actually incapable of fixing the blanket himself.

It was just that the atmosphere was too awkward, and since she had offered, he decided to let her take the opportunity to save face.

A gesture of reconciliation.

…This person was sometimes considerate to the point of being painful.

After being so terrified by their earlier eye contact, he was now willing to risk being seen by allowing her to approach.

Just to spare her embarrassment.

Her heart clenching, she approached the headboard. The area behind the staircase didn’t have the small nightlights, and as she approached, the corner appeared even darker due to the backlighting.

The bed was large, once again confirming her guess – the person across the hall was very tall, even slightly taller than Qi Peng, though not as muscular.

The bed sheets, covers, and pillows were all dark gray, and what little showed of his clothes and pants were the same color scheme, all somber and dark.

While making the bed, Chi Zhihan strictly kept her promise not to look at him, keeping her head down, carefully tucking in the edges of his blanket so he could comfortably curl up inside.

Qi Cheng’s forehead was covered in cold sweat from the physiological reaction to a stranger’s proximity. Around him was Chi Zhihan’s sweet bakery scent. He was so nervous he felt somewhat dazed.

He was sensitive enough to feel Chi Zhihan’s breath brush against his ankle as she fixed the blanket at the foot of the bed.

He shuddered in fright, and felt Chi Zhihan pause her movements.

“All done!” Chi Zhihan maintained an enthusiastic tone, sighing with relief as if completing a major task.

She was actually nervous too. This boundary crossing was quite significant, especially since she had just discovered today that the person across the hall probably wasn’t the middle-aged or elderly person she had imagined.

He wasn’t old enough for her to feel completely at ease caring for him as an elder.

A single man and woman alone together, and she had actually volunteered to fix his blanket. She originally thought this action wouldn’t mean much, but only realized when actually doing it how strange it was.

She couldn’t touch him and couldn’t look at him, but when she lowered her head, her hair would accidentally brush against him. Fortunately, his pajamas were quite thick.

“Get some rest, the monitoring is on.” Chi Zhihan only spoke again after retreating to the living room area. “I’ll bring dinner at the usual time. I’ll knock first before using the keypad.”

“If you get hungry earlier, just wave at the camera twice. I’ll be in the living room all afternoon and will see it,” After tidying everything, she finally felt relieved but still explained one more thing before leaving, “I was just surprised that the camera was much clearer than I imagined, nothing else.”

“Having the camera on is good, if anything happens I can know right away.” After saying this she felt it was really embarrassing, and in a moment of confusion added an even more embarrassing follow-up, “At least there isn’t one in the bedroom.”

……

Flustered by her own rambling, Chi Zhihan hurriedly opened the door, hurriedly closed it, then shouted loudly one more time, “Remember, dinner at the usual time!”

……

Curled up in bed, Qi Cheng lifted the blanket slightly, and only after confirming he was alone in the room did he carefully tuck the blanket back in. It took him a while, as he tried to replicate exactly how Chi Zhihan had tucked him in.

Sounds quickly came from the monitor across the hall – Chi Zhihan had put on music, the soothing, sleep-inducing kind.

Qi Cheng couldn’t help peeking at the monitor again.

She was busy, going back and forth carrying five or six clay pots, arranging them in a row on the counter.

“You rest, I’m making pickles,” Chi Zhihan cheerfully announced to the camera, then ignored it, tied up her hair and covered it, put on a mask, and entered into her familiar chef’s work mode.

The soothing background music was joined by the sounds of washing and chopping vegetables.

The computer screen gave off a cold blue light, and on the counter a small alcohol lamp heated peach-colored caramel apple tea that gave off steam.

Qi Cheng licked his lips.

His body still felt unwell, but not because of his episode – rather from the unique exhaustion that followed each episode.

Chi Zhihan’s intrusion had prevented him from entering an autistic episode, and for some unknown reason, there wasn’t any backlash afterward.

That day when he told his older brother he wanted to keep Chi Zhihan here permanently – that was said in anger.

Because he knew about the treatment process, because he felt the treatment process was useless, he deliberately said it to see his brother’s reaction – words spoken in frustration.

But now, he felt a hidden impulse to make those angry words reality.

Initially renewing her contract was just to help her.

Financially and mentally.

When Dr. Zhao and others reviewed the surveillance footage, only looking at their interactions, he had secretly completely deleted two early morning video segments, and no one ever knew.

In those two segments, Chi Zhihan was sleepwalking.

Wandering aimlessly around the house, then aimlessly returning to her room.

Occasionally, she would cry.

Completely unlike her cheerful daytime self where everything seemed fine, the sleepwalking her had a face full of sorrow.

He had always felt her mental state shouldn’t be in such sustained excitement, even if it was due to Qi Ning’s positive encouragement, it shouldn’t be such a sustained state.

Even the happiest normal person would have low moments, and Chi Zhihan, who wasn’t actually happy, still smiled even when angry on the phone.

Qi Cheng clearly remembered that before his illness, his initial symptoms also included sleepwalking, due to excessive stress and sleep issues.

He hadn’t taken it seriously then, but afterward came the endless, relentless repeated treatments.

He was already beyond help, but he wanted to try to help Chi Zhihan who was already at the edge of the cliff, even though he felt he probably wouldn’t be able to.

But since Chi Zhihan started communicating with him through the camera, she hadn’t sleepwalked again.

She only sleepwalked when under extreme stress during the day.

Renewing the contract for a year would be just enough time for him to finish his manga, and enough time to slowly address Chi Zhihan’s issues.

Perhaps before leaving, he could give her a helping hand.

After all, he had read countless psychology books trying to save himself.

This way, he wouldn’t be completely useless.

But today’s events left him confused. When her breath fell on his ankle, he had no hallucinations – he just felt a light breath of air, then shivered.

The expected burning pain and grotesque hallucinations didn’t appear at all.

Dr. Zhao showed him his psychological evaluation, enthusiastically telling him he had made great progress this month.

He had never taken it seriously.

Feeling it must be a lie – though he randomly filled out every psychological evaluation, the results were eerily accurate, but this time he absolutely didn’t believe it.

Could it really be… different now?

…

The tent outside the mansion had never actually been removed, just moved to a spot where neither Chi Zhihan nor Qi Cheng could see it.

Two men sat silently watching the surveillance screens while holding hot tea.

After Qi Cheng’s suicidal tendencies emerged, Qi Peng had Dr. Zhao install hidden cameras during one of Qi Cheng’s autistic episodes.

They weren’t on every day, only when Qi Cheng’s blood pressure and heart rate were unstable, just in case.

Chi Zhihan’s boldness had made Qi Peng very nervous.

But Qi Cheng’s reaction had completely surprised him.

“No wonder Ning Ning is so annoyed with Chi Zhihan,” Qi Peng said with a bitter smile. Qi Ning was jealous – Qi Cheng rarely cooperated like this, but Chi Zhihan had seemingly gained his internal acceptance in just one month.

They had tried hiring certified psychological counselors as personal caregivers before – most couldn’t get close to him, and the few who could eventually had to give up due to Qi Cheng’s complete lack of response.

“Why is Chi Zhihan able to?” Qi Peng truly didn’t understand.

“Initially we chose her because of her appearance and private chef status – Qi Cheng has been very resistant to anyone associated with psychological treatment these past few years,” Dr. Zhao’s expression was thoughtful. “I always thought Qi Cheng’s kindness toward Chi Zhihan was just because she was a stranger. You know social anxiety patients actually crave interaction – having some dependency and childlike attachment to someone with Chi Zhihan’s naturally friendly personality is very normal.”

“But now it seems Qi Cheng has made Chi Zhihan his companion,” Dr. Zhao’s brows furrowed slightly.

“Companion?” Qi Peng was confused.

“Someone like him. He found characteristics of his own illness in Chi Zhihan, so he has no defenses against her,” Dr. Zhao turned off the monitor and looked at Qi Peng. “We need to tell Chi Zhihan about Qi Cheng’s condition in detail as soon as possible.”