Chapter 2199: You Are My Only Color 34

In order to let Wen Jin fully understand the difference between "binding the body" and "binding the heart," over the next few days Jin Chen exhibited the clingy canary's standard to the extreme.

Not only did I not step half a foot out of Zhuang Yuan's main gate, but Wen Jin also couldn't go out to work; wherever he went, I followed, and if I didn't see him for more than twenty minutes I would stick to him twice as much.

At the online meeting of the group's senior leadership, Wen Jin wore glasses and presided coldly in front of the screen, while Jin Chen sat beside him, occasionally seeking a sense of presence.

It almost made the senior leaders suspect that Jin Chen had developed Stockholm Syndrome; a manager who had established a slacking-off friendship with Jin Chen also specially sent a polite message asking about Jin Chen's mental state.

But the effect was significant.

At least with this effort, Wen Jin's blackening value had successfully dropped to 30, a level worth celebrating.

It was also a level that allowed a smooth transition into the final treatment stage.

That day, the intercepted email finally managed to land in Wen Jin's inbox; before it could be treated as spam, the two words "Jin Chen" caught his eye, he moved the mouse, and clicked it open.

Those working under Wen Jin had to follow the rule of stating the main point first, then the details when sending emails; even though Gu Xi had grown to hate Wen Jin, this habit was retained.

Thus, when Wen Jin opened the email, the first thing that met his eyes were several large characters: "Jin Chen is also betraying you!"

Wen Jin: "……"

Wen Jin spent three seconds thinking; the last time Gu Xi was interrupted, it was definitely his leg, not his brain.

After scanning at a glance of ten lines, Wen Jin became even more silent.

Silent to the point of feeling a bit chilly.

Jin Chen had met with his previous psychologist, even more than once, and Gu Xi had even caught him on camera.

Gu Xi devoted a lengthy passage to describing how Jin Chen's behavior was also a betrayal, after all everyone around Wen Jin knew how much he despised psychologists.

Wen Jin suddenly felt a bit numb, an unconscious sinking into a state of mental stagnation.

Before each meeting with the psychologist, Wen Jin would have this feeling, after which all his actions and words would adjust to the most aggressive state, a form of self-protection.

For example, now.

Even if emotionally he questioned Jin Chen's actions, rationally his focus was on the possibility that Gu Xi might be stalking Jin Jin.

Thus, within just ten minutes, he had already contacted his subordinates to cleanly dispose of Gu Xi.

Dusk filtered through the study's blinds as Wen Jin continued to stare at that email, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the paintbrush Jin Chen had left in the study.

——

Jin Chen kept a close watch on Wen Jin's reaction, but he never expected that after seeing the email, what awaited him was not doubt, but a full day of not seeing each other.

Not even at night did they sleep together!

The next day, Wen Jin had Jin Chen come to the basement.

The old butler and servants standing at the basement entrance couldn't help but cast sympathetic glances.

"【They seem to be seeing you off to the execution ground.】 Ling Gun Gun said in a breathy voice."

"【……】"

Saying something inauspicious first thing in the morning.

Can my wife even harm me!

Jin Chen was still quite confident about his blackening level of 30.

He stepped into the basement entrance.

The basement corridor was like a black tunnel with no end.

Wen Jin stood before the monitoring screen, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the switch button.

He remembered that when he was first locked up in such a place, the old man said it was to let him adapt to a world without color; once he learned to adapt, he could become a normal person.

Jin Chen's footsteps were especially clear in the darkness, but the sound of his shoe tips striking the cement floor was somewhat slow.

Wen Jin gazed at the blurry figure on the monitor, silently lowering his eyes.

Such darkness was naturally unimpeded for Jin Chen.

But given that someone was still watching from behind the monitor, Jin Chen could only try to slow his steps.

Incidentally, he observed the situation in the corridor.

This seemed to be imitating a setup from many years ago.

The corridor lights were deliberately replaced with old tungsten bulbs, flickering now and then, with fine dust floating in the halo.

Every few meters, an iron railing cast prison‑like long‑grid shadows on the wall; the wall surface retained grooves like fingernail scratches, and brown rust traces wound their way out of the cracks.

At the turn, Jin Chen suddenly bumped into a full‑length mirror, its surface crawling with moldy cracks.

His shadow in the mirror was torn into seven or eight fragments, each face veiled by a gray‑white filter; Jin Chen frowned now and then, looking rather solemn.

"【Ahhhhh I'm scared to death!】 Ling Gun Gun immediately fled."

Suddenly, from the dark corner, came the sound of dragging footsteps; a doctor in a white coat appeared.

That person's face was shrouded in a layer of ashy mist, his features like a charcoal sketch rubbed with an eraser—this was the psychologist's image in Wen Jin's eyes.

The corridor ceiling flickered a few more times; in that instant of flash, Jin Chen saw the wall covered in dense scratches.

Varying‑depth scratches formed a distorted calendar, overlaid with a dozen or so "black" characters, the childish handwriting fragmented by wall dust.

At the end of the corridor, Jin Chen saw a huge portrait of a face on the wall, its eye sockets blooming with two blotches of ink.

Jin Chen paused midway down the corridor, reached out to touch the wall, as if sensing some texture.

Suddenly he let out a soft sigh: "So dark."

Outside the monitor screen.

Yu Lan stood dutifully behind Wen Jin, very satisfied with the results of her overnight setup.

He had replicated it one‑to‑one according to the master's recollections and description.

The next second he heard Wen Jin softly complain, "What's the point of making it so dark? You scared him."

Yu Lan: "……"

Isn't this exactly what you intended?

Before the words even faded, Wen Jin had already pressed the switch.

Warm yellow emergency lights lit up both sides of the corridor, slicing the darkness into mottled light and shadow.

Yu Lan stared at the suddenly lit corridor, wanting to speak but stopping: "Sir, this..."

"Xiao Chen is afraid of the dark." Wen Jin stared at the monitor screen, his voice hoarse, "And he's recently caught a cold; too dark and he might trip."

Yu Lan:???

You ought to listen to what you're saying.

Is there any causal connection among this?!

As the corridor lights came on one by one, the monitor showed Jin Chen's pale face more clearly.

He was tilting his head to catch the light spilling from the corridor lights, his eyelashes casting fine shadows under the ceiling light.

Wen Jin's fingernails were almost digging into his palm.

He saw Jin Chen's motion of raising a hand to shield his eyes, overlapping with the memory of himself curled up in a corner to avoid strong light.

Wen Jin instinctively stepped back half a step, as if that would let him hide deeper in the shadows.

"Forget it." Wen Jin sighed lowly, "Go open the door and let him in."

Yu Lan felt numb; this was no different from setting up a ghost house, only to discover that besides the designer themselves, nobody cared about any difference.

"... Okay, Sir."

When the iron door was pushed open, Wen Jin stood at the doorway, watching Jin Chen walk toward him backlit.

He suddenly felt that the prison he had suppressed in his heart for years was as fragile as a sheet of paper in front of Jin Chen.

Jin Chen, however, stopped at the doorway and did not come in.

Wen Jin hadn't even had time to ask for an explanation, after all Jin Chen's concealment and meeting with the psychologist were genuine.

The next second he heard Jin Chen's accusation: "Wen Jin, what are you trying to do."

"You found out I met with your previous psychologist, didn't you? You're doing this to make me give up on you, aren't you?"

Wen Jin froze instantly.

"If you want me to experience your world next time, just tell me directly." Jin Chen turned his gaze away from meeting his eyes, his eye sockets slightly reddened under the corridor light.

"No need to go to all this trouble."