Chapter 7

Only the monitor is lit, as Chi Zhi Han eats her dinner in the living room, with an unknown variety show playing on the iPad, filled with exaggerated laughter

Thus, he carefully pondered over his words for seven or eight days and meticulously transcribed them onto the daily menu

He is very anxious; this is not a pleasant matter. Anyone whose privacy is violated would likely feel anger.

She misses her mother very much

Even if her mother really abandoned her due to being entangled in debt, as others said, she still thinks of her, because before abandoning her, her mother had always been a gentle and capable parent. Finding her mother means that, at the very least, she would not have to guard their family's house alone like an orphan, as she does now.

He has been ill for many years, and such progress is bound to have setbacks; it is not your fault. Dr. Zhao's voice, as he fumbled to turn on the power in the house, was accompanied by a bitter smile in the bright light. "None of us expected the results to be this good this time. If we are not careless this time, we will be careless next time."

"Why speak to a stranger?" Because his mental state was poor, he spoke incoherently and intermittently, yet he held on tightly, his eyes fixed on Qi Ning without blinking

The result has now become like this

He is a patient, carefully cared for, a patient placed in a glass box, always afraid of being shattered

In front of the camera, with her brows and eyes curved, she smiled as if everything were normal, not even pausing her gesture of chopping vegetables, as if she were completely accustomed to being watched by the lens

Moreover, whenever having a meal, one is bound to watch these variety shows characterized by particularly exaggerated laughter

Regardless of how Chi Zhihan reacts after receiving the note, Qi Cheng will certainly realize that Chi Zhihan has already known about the camera.

For example, the menu for his late-night snack today includes date paste pastry.

He believes that this bowl of wontons has nothing to do with work; it is purely a matter of the neighbor cooking one extra bowl.

Chi Zhihan's head paused in the crack of the door, then he shrank his neck and responded with a playful smile before closing the door

She was momentarily dazed, holding flour and butter in one hand, and instinctively glanced at the clock

Zhou Jingshuo held Qi Ning's hand, speaking in a calm tone: "You are doing this for his own good, and moreover, this method is indeed effective"

Chi Zhihan hesitated for a moment, opened the door, and poked her head out: "Do you need help?"

Chi Zhihan's WeChat messages to Qi Ning have gone unanswered, but due to Qi Ning's aloofness, she has not taken this matter to heart

What kind of illness is so severe that it requires such a lack of exposure to daylight

It was truly a late-night snack that Zhi Han made for himself, and he did not expend much effort, yet he drank every last drop of the soup.

Time-consuming and labor-intensive, these snacks are both oily and sweet. They emphasize the heart resembling an eyebrow, and the shape resembling an eyebrow. The pastry must have distinct layers, and no carelessness is allowed, so that during the final frying, it can achieve a layered effect similar to that of eyebrows.

From the beginning, both Dr. Zhao and she did not truly believe that Qi Cheng could muster the courage; mental illness has strict stages, and the likelihood of Qi Cheng engaging in such actions at this stage is almost zero

In the spirit of reciprocity, he should inform her about the camera and audio recording features

The three of them turned around at the same time, and Qi Ning waved his hand, his tone somewhat impatient: "It's none of your business"

I always wake up in a sweat

The time for delivering late-night snacks is usually between 11:30 PM and 12:00 AM. Ten o'clock in the evening is the busiest time for Zhi Zhihan. The pastries made for the Qi family certainly cannot use margarine, which is a type of artificial butter. Moreover, the neighbor does not consume lard, so Zhi Zhihan wrote unsalted butter on the procurement list.

... ...

It is my fault. Qi Ning's voice trembled as they ultimately forced their way in using the administrator password. There was not a single light in the room. If I were not pregnant, I would not have advised Qi Cheng to use such a radical method for treatment

For ten days, apart from her and that female housekeeper, this person across the door has not seen any other living soul. He is so reclusive that when she suddenly speaks, he is frightened and flees in all directions

10:05

As a result, no one expected that Qi Cheng hesitated for ten days and actually took the initiative.

Caught everyone off guard by killing them all

"Serves you right for being so meddlesome!" Chi Zhihan self-deprecatingly patted her own face, softly scolding herself, with flour dusted all over her face.

On that night, when she asked him whether it was to his liking, what kind of feelings did she have? Curiosity? Or genuine concern?

He opened the small window and, as usual, took the food, but he no longer opened the food box to taste it as he usually did. During this period, he often chose to forgo the nutritious meals prepared by his mother Liu at home because the dishes made by the new chef were more to his liking

However, in recent years, all of his social interactions have been related to therapy

Darkness has returned again

Something in the depths of his eyes gradually grew colder, and Qi Cheng groped his way into the wardrobe in the darkness

Qi Cheng stood up, his legs felt a bit numb due to the prolonged squatting position, and his posture while walking was quite awkward

When Dr. Zhao mentioned that Qi Cheng might take the initiative to approach Chi Zhi Han, she dismissed it

While running halfway, I remembered the surveillance and glanced at it with a sense of apology

Even such a complete stranger has finally come to know that the person living across the door is a monster who never dares to step outside

Qi Cheng exhausted all his courage to write that note

The current situation is the worst outcome

However, Chi Zhihan showed no reaction at all; after finishing, she even playfully made a gesture to the camera as if to say everything is fine

The bowl of wontons is topped with seaweed, dried shrimp, and shredded egg, without the use of broth, making it quite an ordinary dish

In the early summer of City S, the nights still carry a hint of coolness, and this luxuriously decorated small villa continues to have the heating on.

Qi Cheng is a considerate and attentive person. He understands that his family worries about him, and except during his illness, he is always the first to answer the phone and reassure them of his safety.

In a daze, it seemed that I heard the sound of the door lock being unlocked next door

Qi Cheng fell ill, changed the password lock, and the room was in complete darkness

... ...

The mind began to uncontrollably race towards conspiracy theories, and Chi Zhihan forcefully patted her face, reminding herself for the ten thousandth time that she would only do this for a month. The person across the door lived a much better life than she did, free from worries about food and clothing, residing in a large house, attended to by dedicated staff, and enjoying various exquisite delicacies

A wealthy person who comes up with such tricky schemes should not be pitied

Outside the door is Qi Ning, along with two unfamiliar men. It seems that there was an error when entering the password for the first time, and Qi Ning is bending down to input it a second time

Since Qi Ning suggested that he could help her find her mother, her attitude towards Qi Ning has become quite complex. Despite knowing that Qi Ning does not think highly of her, she unexpectedly began to ingratiate herself with him uncontrollably

He then slowly put down the pen used for drawing storyboards, stood up, and walked straight into the studio. After closing the door, only Chi Zhihan remained in the empty space, laughing like a fool in front of the monitor.

Qi Ning's attitude towards Chi Zhi Han has been quite restrained. She did not receive the WeChat message sent by Chi Zhi Han immediately. By the time she noticed it, it was already close to midnight, and Qi Cheng had long stopped answering her calls.

Not even a glance was taken again

He has his rightful place to be, and it is unrealistic to harbor impractical fantasies. Aside from his family, everyone who has shown him kindness has been compensated by his family, all due to his illness

This absurd yet humorous dream inexplicably weighed heavily on her mind

The recovery from mental illness is gradual; that note from Qicheng seems to have jumped abruptly from low-level treatment to mid-level treatment, making a rebound almost certain

There are indeed people

He staggered while carrying the food box and directly threw it into the trash can as he passed by

People are quite comfortable, but the butter has completely softened, leaving Zhi Han sweating profusely from the exertion

She and the butler Liu Mama's son, Zhou Jingshuo, have been married for six years and finally have a child. She was afraid that she would not have enough energy after becoming pregnant, so when Dr. Zhao suggested that this method could be tried, she agreed without hesitation

The conspiracy theory that had just been suppressed in her mind began to resurface. Chi Zhihan, wearing slippers and with her hands covered in flour, ran to the door and stood on tiptoe to look through the peephole

The affairs of the wealthy are not meant for her to gossip about, but is this truly acceptable? To exile a living person to a desolate place, where each morning a kind-looking housekeeper in her fifties or sixties enters through the front door, only to leave in the afternoon

Treatment is not a bad thing; he longs for redemption

His expression suddenly froze as he stared at the surveillance monitor

This time it was her oversight

The first time he took the initiative after falling ill was that bowl of steaming wontons that pushed him a little that night

One thinks during the day and dreams at night. For two consecutive nights, Chi Zhihan has been having the same strange dream. In the dream, an elderly man who cannot speak reaches out with his pale, youthful hand in the darkness, trembling as he seeks her help. All she can do is throw meat buns at the old man with all her might

When it was handed out, the whole person felt as if they had been pulled out of water, breaking out in a cold sweat

Qi Cheng's illness has shown fluctuating treatment effects, with even signs of worsening. In addition to his deeply ingrained sense of inferiority, sensitivity is also an important factor

As the sky darkened, the automatic light sensors that his family had installed began to illuminate one by one. He walked slowly past them, turning each one off.

As they opened the wardrobe, Dr. Zhao and Zhou Jingshuo skillfully lifted Qi Cheng, who was curled up in the corner, onto the bed. During the medication injection, Qi Cheng suddenly reached out from his self-imposed isolation and grabbed Qi Ning's arm.

In just ten days, this new chef seems to have an astonishing adaptability

Moreover, she did not trust Chi Zhihan; her initial invitation was solely based on her typical appearance. The private chefs that Qi Cheng had hired over the past six months had only been responsible for cooking and delivering meals, and Chi Zhihan would be no exception. She was very reluctant to see any connection between Chi Zhihan and the Qi family that went beyond the role of a private chef, so she held Chi Zhihan's weakness in her hands and demanded that she accompany them in a performance, ensuring that their financial transactions were clear-cut.

The expressions of the three individuals were all very serious

The entire day, until the dinner bell rang.

Qi Cheng's self-deprecating smile revealed what he should have realized long ago: how could anyone be this happy? Even while washing vegetables, he could hum a tune. He hadn't stepped outside for ten days, yet he showed no signs of despondency. Every day, he got up on time, and the colors of his clothes were mostly bright and pastel.

She clearly knew about the surveillance being able to record audio long ago. After spending ten days together, she had been just like everyone else around him, with all her actions aimed at healing.