[I like you, so I’ve been sleeping in your bed]

Sheng Jing was already a man of few words, and Tong Yu was busy devouring his meal, so the living room quickly fell silent.

Little Fatty, being a sensible robot, quietly rolled to a corner to recharge.

‘Late-night snacks are truly magical; they taste even better in the dead of night.’ Before Tong Yu knew it, he had polished off a bowl of Yangzhou fried rice. Just as he was about to rudely wipe his mouth, he looked up and met Sheng Jing’s lingering gaze.

‘Uh oh, I was too focused on devouring the food; I forgot about this guy.’

Tong Yu quickly retracted his rude wiping motion, grabbed a napkin, gracefully wiped his mouth, and awkwardly offered, “Um, seriously, don’t you want a bowl? It’s really good.”

“You worked so hard cooking, how could I possibly eat it?” Sheng Jing sneered.

Although he knew Tong Yu always had ulterior motives, this past week, Tong Yu had been quieter than usual, making Sheng Jing think he might have changed somewhat. But apparently, it was still the same old routine: climbing into bed, eating, and making demands.

Sheng Jing’s eyes were filled with disgust. The thought of enduring this for another year made him even more exhausted.

“What are your demands? You can state them now. I’m returning to the research institute tomorrow.” Sheng Jing didn’t want to prolong the argument with Tong Yu and wanted to resolve this as quickly as possible. Yet, he didn’t want Tong Yu to go too far, so he reminded him, “You know my bottom line.”

“I know, I know.”

‘Sheng Jing’s bottom line is quite low, actually.’

‘Someone like the original owner, if it were me, I probably couldn’t tolerate them for a month. When the original owner jumped from the building, I wouldn’t have saved him. I’d probably watch him die and then set off a string of firecrackers to celebrate.’

“Um, please have a seat first.” After watching the original owner’s videos, Tong Yu had thought about talking to Sheng Jing. After all, they still had a year until they could divorce, and whether they liked it or not, they were husband and wife for a year. Also, the money he was earning now, while the idea was his, the spiritual power for creating the escape room scenes came from this “big shot” in front of him.

Yes, in Tong Yu’s eyes, Sheng Jing was a big shot. Through his recent escape room operations, he had gained a general understanding of spiritual states in the interstellar era. Generally, players would go offline if they consumed over 180,000 R of spiritual power in an escape room. But he, on the very first day of setting up the escape room, used nearly 300,000 R, and this comrade was still spiritedly providing him with spiritual energy.

If this isn’t a big shot, what is? He’s not just a spiritual big shot; he’s a big shot on Tong Yu’s path to making money!

With this shift in perspective, Tong Yu’s gaze towards Sheng Jing lit up.

Sensing the change in Tong Yu’s gaze, Sheng Jing frowned. Tong Yu had looked at him like this before, but this time seemed different. In the past, Tong Yu’s eyes held a hidden depravity when he looked at him. Now, it seemed like pure… liking?

“Speak,” Sheng Jing averted his gaze, not sitting down. The meaning was clear: ‘I have no intention of a long conversation with you.’

“Alright, I’ll make it short,” Tong Yu organized his thoughts and said, “I’ve been seeing a psychologist for the past six months. Did you know that?”

Sheng Jing froze, the surprise on his face saying it all.

“I realized a long time ago that I had psychological problems. You might not believe it, but every time I hurt you, I genuinely regretted it.” These were the original owner’s words, but what the original owner regretted was not achieving the desired effect. He was seeing a psychologist, and it was less about treatment and more about reviewing his tactics. Still, Tong Yu felt that the fact he sought help at all indicated he likely wanted to change his situation to some extent.

Sheng Jing, hearing Tong Yu say he regretted it, let out a cold laugh: “What, is this your new trick? Self-harm didn’t work, so you’re going for the pathetic route now?”

Tong Yu felt exhausted. The original owner had really pushed Sheng Jing to the point where he had no trust left. Fortunately, Tong Yu had anticipated this. He immediately said, earnestly: “Can you let me finish speaking? Please don’t interrupt me midway, or I’m afraid I won’t be able to explain myself clearly.”

Sheng Jing paused: “Apologies.”

‘He apologized? This guy, no wonder the original owner had him completely under his thumb. If someone like you isn’t morally blackmailed, then who is?’

“Anyway, I’ve been seeing a psychologist for a long time. I won’t go into details, just the results. The doctor told me that the reason I acted so excessively towards you was actually due to insecurity. I like you, and I admire you…”

Liking, admiring… Tong Yu had said these words before, but never once had he said them in such a tone. It made Sheng Jing almost believe him.

“Compared to your excellence, I felt worthless. The only thing I could do for you was to become your contractor and help you soothe your spiritual power, but even that sole purpose, I couldn’t fulfill well. That one spiritual cleansing session, it hurt too much. That pain filled me with fear.”

Sheng Jing thought of that scene, a flicker of guilt in his eyes. Dr. Cui had said that his spiritual power was too strong, putting immense pressure on his contractors. He indeed bore some responsibility for that incident.

‘Tsk, he’s feeling guilty again! My friend, you’re too easy to manipulate.’

Tong Yu continued: “That spiritual cleansing made me realize something: I wasn’t the right contractor for you. But I liked you, I wanted to be with you. I finally managed to marry you, only to find that my reason for being by your side suddenly vanished. So, the fear magnified exponentially. I was afraid you’d divorce me because of it, so I exaggerated the harm you caused me, exaggerated my sacrifices for you, trying to use moral blackmail to make you afraid to divorce me. And you, at first, you met all my demands. So I firmly believed my method was correct, and I started escalating my behavior…”

Sheng Jing’s expression changed, wanting to speak, but remembering his promise to Tong Yu earlier, he held back.

“I felt like I had become two people. One person tormented you madly, while the other felt immense guilt towards you. I wanted to kill the person who was madly tormenting you, so… I chose suicide.” Tong Yu’s voice was heavy, his brows etched with sadness.

Sheng Jing’s pupils constricted sharply. ‘So the jump was for this reason?’

“I jumped to kill the ‘me’ who tormented you. I specifically chose to jump before you entered the door, not to fall at your feet and increase your guilt, but because I was afraid that if you came in, I wouldn’t want to die anymore. But I didn’t dare to die when you weren’t home, because I still wanted to see you one last time.” Tong Yu silently congratulated himself on that line.

‘He really let me say anything I wanted. It’s truly shameless… Pfft, no, it’s brilliant.’

Indeed, Sheng Jing’s expression was beyond mere shock; it was a daze as if his worldview had been overturned.

“What I didn’t expect was that you would save me. I treated you like that, and you still saved me. You’re so kind, how can I not like you? But I also know that if I truly like you, I should leave you.” Tong Yu almost believed his own words. He announced with a bitter, relieved smile, “Alright, I’m done speaking. What do you want to ask?”

Tong Yu repeatedly savored his recent speech, deeming it airtight and deeply emotional, confident in its first-rate effect.

Sheng Jing pondered for a moment, then asked: “The current you, is the remorseful you?”

“Yes.”

Sheng Jing: “And the ‘you’ who wanted to torment me?”

Tong Yu: “He hasn’t appeared for a long time. The psychologist said he might have died on the day I jumped.”

Sheng Jing: “Multiple personality disorder?”

Tong Yu’s eyes lit up. ‘Why didn’t I think of that term earlier?’ “Yes, the doctor also said I might have multiple personality disorder.”

Sheng Jing wasn’t a fool; on the contrary, he was extremely intelligent, and the more intelligent he was, the more he thought. While Tong Yu’s statement seemed flawless and sincere, it was overly dramatic. However, he and Tong Yu shared a spiritual contract. The moment Tong Yu jumped from the building, their spiritual link broke. When a spiritual link breaks, if it’s not forcibly terminated, it must mean the other party’s spiritual power has vanished. At that moment, Sheng Jing was almost certain Tong Yu was dead. But then, in just an instant, a new spiritual force emerged. That spiritual force was incredibly faint, almost on the verge of death. If it weren’t for his strong spiritual power and high sensitivity, someone else might not have noticed it at all.

This meant that if he hadn’t wanted to save Tong Yu, no one would have discovered that Tong Yu was still alive at that moment.

To be honest, for a split second, Sheng Jing truly didn’t want to save him. But both as a contractor and a husband, he had an obligation to protect Tong Yu. Even though he didn’t have deep feelings for Tong Yu, he was serious about the vows he’d made.

He used his own spiritual power to envelop that faint wisp of spiritual power, nurturing and maintaining it until it stabilized again. So, no one knew better than him the changes in Tong Yu’s spiritual power before and after. He had always thought it was a natural transformation of Tong Yu’s spiritual power after a near-death experience, but now, it seemed more logical if it was the awakening of a second personality.

“I know you can’t completely trust me yet, but that’s okay. Anyway, the contract still has a year left, just watch my performance.”

“Performance, like in the room just now?” Although Sheng Jing was somewhat convinced, he still needed an explanation for the act of trying to get into his bed earlier.

“Cough, well… I… I didn’t know you were back. I thought you’d be back tomorrow. I really just went into the room to sleep. So, it was a misunderstanding.”

“You went into my room to sleep? A misunderstanding?”

“That’s because I… I like you, so… so I just wanted to sleep in the bed you’d slept in while you weren’t there.” Tong Yu closed his eyes, steeled himself, and answered blushingly.

Sheng Jing was speechless for a moment. “…”

“I… I’m going back to the master bedroom to sleep.” Tong Yu couldn’t bear to stay, his face flushed as he bolted away.

Watching the flustered figure flee, Sheng Jing’s face registered surprise.

‘Did that person just blush? The person who threatened me and insisted we sleep together, actually blushed?’