Chapter 23: Suspicious Points

After a simple check of the TV's condition, Yu Sheng found that the thing had simply frozen.

A classic situation that occurs when cheap smart devices are used for too long—Oh no, I've been working for two hours straight, my CPU is smoking, memory error, power overheating, or I just want to die for a bit...

Yu Sheng couldn't help but miss those sturdy, durable old antique TVs from his memories; home appliances back then weren't as fussy as today's smart devices. Although they had fewer functions, he felt those myriad smart functions nowadays weren't particularly useful either, with each artificial intelligence looking more like artificial stupidity...

"Just cut the power and wait two minutes to restart," Yu Sheng mused in his heart, casually turning off the TV's power, then turning to say to Erin, "This thing's quality isn't great; if left on too long, it freezes on its own."

"Do you want to replace it with a new one?" Erin's eyes immediately lit up. "Get one with voice control, then I can change channels myself. Even when you're not home, I can watch TV..."

"You really have the nerve to make demands?" Seeing this person who didn't treat him as an outsider at all, Yu Sheng was actually amused by his anger. "I haven't said anything about you staying in my house, yet you want a new TV. Are you paying for it or doing the work?"

"I..." Erin opened her mouth, her face actually turning a bit red, and she stammered, "I, I have no money, but I've been helping you fill in knowledge about the Other Realm! That counts as being a consultant, right..."

"This consultant's memory isn't great either, is it? Saying things you yourself aren't sure are reliable," Yu Sheng pouted. "If I hire you as a consultant, I'll have to hire another consultant to consult for you."

Erin's face turned red, but after turning red for a long time, she still couldn't find a place to refute, so she just lowered her head and stewed in her own anger. However, her mindset was good; she stewed in anger for three seconds and recovered, looking up at Yu Sheng: "Then when you get me out, no matter how you get me out, I'll work to pay you back. And aren't you going to deal with the Other Realm in the future? I can be your assistant! Fighting your battles for you, that should be fine, right..."

Yu Sheng actually hadn't thought of this—in fact, he hadn't considered at all the matter of Erin one day really coming out of this painting. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow: "You? Are you sure?"

"Hey, let me tell you, don't underestimate me! I am Alice's doll!" Erin put her hands on her hips and stood up from the chair, acting extremely smug. "Living dolls are blessed; in the Other Realm, I can fight much better than those so-called investigators and spirit world detectives..."

"And then you got pushed into a painting, right?"

Erin's eyes instantly turned red (although her eyes were red to begin with): "You... you, you, you... wait until I get out and you'll know! Don't turn your head away!"

"Fine, fine, fine, I believe you, I believe you." Yu Sheng turned around with a smile, helplessly waving his hand at the same time.

Actually, from the very beginning, he hadn't taken this doll seriously; after all, she was just staying in the painting. Although she was staying in his house, she didn't eat his rice. Even laid flat on the ground, the area occupied was less than half a square meter; hung on the wall, it was in the way nowhere. Except for watching TV, there was almost no consumption, and bickering could even relieve boredom—not to mention, she did help him supplement quite a bit of knowledge about the "other world."

As for this person's talk of working to repay debts or being a lackey enforcer after coming out of the painting... he would just listen to it as if it were true for now.

The TV screen lit up again; Yu Sheng pressed the remote a few times and found a completely unentertaining urban drama.

Erin wasn't picky about TV programs at all—after all, Teletubbies were more interesting than wallpaper.

But just then, looking at the TV screen before him, Yu Sheng suddenly thought of something he hadn't cared about before.

"Erin." He turned his head, looking at the doll girl in the oil painting.

"Huh?"

"I remember you said you've been sealed in this oil painting for a long time, right?"

"Yeah, for many, many years. I can't even remember when I came in..."

"Then how do you know so much about various modern things?" Yu Sheng asked very seriously. "Even knowing about smart TVs with voice control?"

He had discovered a flaw in Erin's words and actions.

But this actually wasn't a huge problem; there were many explanations that could answer this point. For instance, she learned about changes in the world by observing the dreams of people nearby, or before entering this house, she had also been hung in other modern homes—Yu Sheng felt Erin's answer would most likely be along these lines.

But what Erin responded with was a blank "Huh?"

The doll in the painting seemed completely baffled by this question, even looking as if she herself was realizing this matter for the first time. After staring blankly with wide eyes for a long time, she slowly turned her head: "I... I don't know why?"

"You don't know why?" Yu Sheng looked utterly stunned.

"Yeah, I... was indeed locked in this painting for a very, very long time, really, maybe even decades, but... but I just know what the current world is like. Although I don't know how I learned it, I..."

The doll in the painting stammered, and by the end, she seemed to start doubting herself, hesitating and unable to continue speaking.

Yu Sheng stared tightly at Erin's expression, trying to find a trace of lying on her face.

"Then do you remember exactly how you were locked into this painting? And the things before being locked in, do you remember them?" he asked next.

"I... I just remember it was a curse," Erin hesitated before speaking. "This painting is also some kind of entity. I should have come to resolve it, but instead, I got locked in. But I can't remember the specific process, and the things before being locked in... the things before being locked in..."

The doll slowly stopped, as if fragmented past memories had tangled her thoughts. She recalled in confusion, and after an unknown amount of time, she softly spoke as if in a dream: "I am Erin from Alice's Cottage, one of Alice's dolls..." She raised her head, her expression carrying unease.

"Yu Sheng, that's all I remember."

Yu Sheng frowned deeply.

In that instant, there was far too much he imagined in his mind.

From the eerie to the conspiratorial to the funny—there was everything, but nothing reliable.

After all, he had no evidence or clues to answer the mysteries surrounding Erin.

Erin looked especially uneasy; she hugged the teddy bear in her arms tightly, squeezing the plush toy until it deformed. "Is my brain broken or something?"

Yu Sheng crossed out the conspiracy direction from his imagination.

Then he looked up at Erin and added ten percent weight to the funny direction.

"If you can't remember, don't force it. At least don't think about it for now," he sighed lightly and shook his head at Erin. "Perhaps it really is because you were locked up for too long, causing your memory and logic to be a bit confused."

!.

"Oh, is that so?" Erin hesitantly nodded, and then seemed to actually relax a little.

Yu Sheng: "..."

No, how did she relax after knowing her memory and logic might be problematic? Doesn't this prove her brain is really broken?! Which part of what I just said actually comforted this person?!

Yu Sheng was instantly covered in question marks, but to be fair, Erin's reaction just now did actually dispel quite a bit of the doubt that had arisen in his heart.

To be honest, if this doll in the painting had really found a perfect set of reasons to explain her "source of modern knowledge," Yu Sheng might have been even more suspicious. Instead, the moment her heartfelt "Huh?" popped out, Yu Sheng felt this person's entire persona had become crystal clear...

Thinking of this, he shook his head, walked toward the stairs leading to the second floor, and casually said, "You watch TV downstairs; I'll go up and catch some sleep first."

Erin waved her hand: "Hey, hey, go ahead."

Yu Sheng then left the dining room and went upstairs, carrying the fatigue accumulated in that Night Valley, yawning as he walked toward his bedroom.

He was indeed tired and sleepy; after eating and drinking his fill, the sleepiness was even stronger. At this time, he really needed a good sleep.

However, when he arrived in front of the bedroom door, he couldn't help but stop, looking up toward the end of the corridor.

That door, once sealed by an unnamed power, stood quietly in his line of sight.

The room at the end of the corridor was where Erin had been found by him at that time.

Yu Sheng frowned, felt a stir in his heart, and stepped toward that direction.

When he arrived in front of the door, he noticed the position of the handle had changed; the hinge and handle directions had been swapped, changed to the "correct position" he had finally discovered that could successfully open the door.

After hesitating for a moment, he reached out, grasped the doorknob, and turned it gently.

A soft crack sounded, and the door that had once been impossible to open now swung open lightly, just like the doors in every other room.

Pushing the great door open, the scene within the room came into Yu Sheng's eyes—

Simple and ordinary furnishings: against the wall to the left of the door stood a single bed and a bedside table; against the wall to the right were a wardrobe, a desk, and a chair. The old floorboards looked somewhat faded, and light-blue wallpaper covered the walls.

Above the desk was a window; bright sunlight streamed through it, making the entire room appear bright and warm.

And on the wall directly opposite the door, where an oil painting of Erin had once hung, there now hung a mirror.

Reflected in the mirror was Yu Sheng's expression, growing increasingly shocked.

(End of this chapter)