Chapter 2449: Another Self 18

Lin Wan, wearing a neatly tailored beige suit, stood at the bottom of the steps with her luggage, looking at Li Chi a few steps away.

She tried to approach, but Li Chi instinctively stepped back half a step, a subtle movement.

Lin Wan's outstretched hand froze in midair, her carefully drawn brows slightly furrowed.

"Xiao Chi, don't you miss Mom?"

Li Chi lowered his eyelids, his gaze landing on the clean stone steps beneath his feet, his face expressionless, as if covered in frost.

Lin Wan: "Mom knows, these years…… I've neglected you. But Mom also has her own difficulties."

"The pain of Dad leaving, I can't face it, this place……"

She looked over this villa that had borne too many changes, her voice dropping: "I also can't face it, can you understand Mom, at least materially, Mom has never shortchanged……"

Before she could finish, Lin Wan also recalled the money that the Lai Fen Dou family had embezzled, and the farce that had just ended; the words afterward never left her mouth.

Zhou Shuo stepped forward at the right moment, speaking gently: "Let's go inside to talk, Aunt Lin just got off the plane, she's tired too."

Li Chi nodded slightly, turned sideways to signal the bodyguard to open the door.

Seeing this, Lin Wan frowned even tighter, unable to hold back: "Xiao Chi, the people you hired are really inflexible."

"I haven't seen you be understanding, but Zhou Shuo, you've grown up together since childhood, you were so close—how could you not even let him in?"

Li Chi felt a sense of resistance.

The order to the bodyguard came from his brother.

He doesn't like anyone questioning his brother's decision.

"My relationship with him isn't good." Li Chi lifted his eyes, sweeping over the bodyguard at the door.

The bodyguard immediately understood, stepping in front of Zhou Shuo to block him outside.

Lin Wan immediately recalled Zhou Shuo's worried words from earlier.

"Aunt Lin, Xiao Chi has changed too much—not just toward the Lai Fen Dou family, but also toward me; he's become unfamiliar, sometimes even…… hostile."

This scene before us, isn't it exactly confirming Zhou Shuo's words?

Could it be that a split personality……?

Walking into the spacious living room, Lin Wan stood by the sofa, feeling a bit anxious inside.

She finally couldn't hold back, her voice a little tight: "Xiao Chi, tell Mom the truth. Zhou Shuo told me… said you might have a split personality? Is that really true?"

Li Chi stared for a moment, looked at Lin Wan, "Mom."

He asked, "Do you also think I'm crazy?"

Lin Wan felt a sting in her heart from that gaze.

But she was also eager to confirm, after great effort, that her son who was no longer mute was "normal," was healthy.

"Xiao Chi! Mom came back to this country this time just for you!"

"Let's just go get one checkup, just one! As long as the results are fine, Mom guarantees she'll never bring this up again! Okay?"

Hearing this, Jin Chen sensed something odd.

In his youth, Li Chi underwent a huge change; even before Lin Wan left the country, he was almost unable to communicate with the outside world, which Lin Wan didn't think much of.

Over all these years he's never come back once; why, of all times, does this return make her suddenly so concerned about Li Chi's physical condition?

It can't be that she suddenly grew a conscience.

【Zero Egg, go check Lin Wan's overseas…… medical records, her, or the people around her.】

Ling Gun Gun was shocked.

Turns out today isn't a warm-hearted drama!

【Good der!】

Jin Chen also said to Li Chi: "It's not just her who wants to see the checkup report, Xiao Chi—trust Brother, they won't find anything."

Li Chi lowered his eyes to look at the ground.

He didn't dare to gamble.

"Brother…… I'm scared."

Jin Chen said, "I promised to stay with Xiao Chi for a long time—don't you trust Brother?"

Li Chi was coaxed into feeling light-headed.

He still habitually listens to Brother's words.

Just his gaze toward Lin Wan was more distant than before, "Okay, Mom."

Lin Wan didn't notice the subtle difference, only thinking he'd been persuaded, she let out a breath, her tense shoulders relaxing.

She then sat down on the sofa, and couldn't help but start arranging: "By the way, that Zhou Shuo kid, I've watched him grow up since childhood, his family is well-off, and he's steady."

"How good was your relationship before? You should spend more time with him……"

Li Chi averted his gaze, gave no response, and kept talking to Jin Chen by himself.

So annoying—every time Zhou Shuo is mentioned, Brother gets unhappy, which is exactly what he dislikes.

——

Mental Clinic.

Cold white incandescent light, a faint smell of disinfectant, cleanliness and order make up this clinic.

Li Chi was brought into a quiet room, cooperating with various scale tests and EEG monitoring.

Today he was very silent, answering whatever was asked, doing whatever was told, with no emotion visible on his face.

Finally came the hypnosis segment.

Li Chi lay on a comfortable recliner, watching the therapist's hand slowly sway a silver ball.

The ball swayed left and right rhythmically, reflecting the ceiling light, drawing arcs in his field of vision.

"Relax, look at it…… your eyelids are getting heavier, follow my voice……"

Lai Chi's consciousness began to blur, the swaying light trails in his field of vision gradually blurred, spread, and finally engulfed all scenery.

Lai Chi opened his eyes and found himself in an endless pure white space.

Here there were no walls, no ceiling, no floor, but it was not glaring, like the softest cotton fluff.

In the center of the space, several clumps of fluffy, cloud-like soft material were scattered.

Lai Chi quickly realized this might be a dream, merely influenced by today's treatment.

He looked around, subconsciously calling out, "Brother?"

"I'm here."

Lai Chi turned toward the sound and saw Jin Chen walk out from that expanse of fluffy soft white, his stern brows and eyes carrying a gentle smile.

He opened his arms toward Lai Chi, "Feeling wronged, huh? Come, brother, hug."

All the tension and repression finally poured out at this moment.

Lai Chi lunged forward, crashing into Jin Chen's embrace, and together they fell into that warm, soft cloud.

The cloud sank slightly, gently supporting them.

Lai Chi clung tightly to Jin Chen, his face buried deep in his chest, his body still trembling slightly.

After a while, he spoke in a muffled voice, thick with nasal congestion, "Sorry..."

Jin Chen gently patted his back, somewhat puzzled, "Why are you saying sorry?"

Lai Chi lifted his head, his eye sockets red, tears swirling in them, yet he stubbornly kept them from falling.

He looked at Jin Chen, filled with unease and guilt, "If they find out…… they'll surely treat you badly, they'll hurt you……"

Jin Chen startled, not expecting Lai Chi's first thought to be this; his hand stroking Lai Chi's nape didn't stop, and he used his other hand to cradle his face.

"Don't think like that, you don't have a mental illness, and they can't discover me."

But Lai Chi seemed not to hear, affectionately rubbing his cheek against Jin Chen's warm palm; the pale skin under his eyes also showed a fragile, sickly flush.

He muttered, his tone obsessive.

"Brother, I don't want them…… I only want you, even if……" He sniffed, buried his face in Jin Chen's neck crook, and rubbed the corner of his lips against him.

"Even if I really am ill, it doesn't matter."

Lai Chi didn't care about normal versus illness labels; he only cared whether this soul that had pulled him from the abyss could still stay by his side.