Entering a Split Personality — Chapter 12

Xiao He died, and he died in such a violent and cruel way…

When he thought about it a little, his heart ached!

Ah...his heart, his heart was gone.

When this thought had just come to him, Xiao He woke with a start, and leaped up in an instant.

In front of him was an expanse of white. White walls, white ceiling, white everything…

“Mr. Xiao, you’ve woken up.” A man’s rigid voice sounded by his ear. Xiao He turned stiffly, and saw an impeccably attired man in front of him.

At that moment, he felt like he was in a different world.

But at the next moment, he felt great joy. This was wonderful…it was all a dream, he was still alive, and his heart was still beating. There was no Cowen, no elves, and no...no...no matter what, he couldn’t say the last word. 

The gorgeous, gentle but extremely seductive smile of that silver-haired elf was permanently engraved in his chest. When he remembered it a little, his heart palpitated.

“You’ve been fast asleep for eight hours in total. A minute earlier, your heart rate went over the limit, so the link was forced to break and wake you up.”

Xiao He heard him speak, but he was a bit dazed. He couldn't tell that it was nighttime right now.

After a long time, he recollected himself. Eight hours? But he’d obviously spent more than a month there!

His heart beat too fast? It’d obviously already stopped beating!

So was what he called the link being forced to break, him “dying” in the dream? 

This was too frightening!

“Mr. Xiao, can you tell me what you’ve experienced? It looks like you’re exhausted and you've received a great shock, but regretfully, I have to tell you this.” Qin Su adjusted his glasses and said, “You’ve failed your mission.”

Of course I’d fail! When Xiao He thought about that last scene, he felt completely ill.

How was that an easy case of split personality? He was simply a perverse, murderous devil!

Qin Su considerately brought him a cup of hot water. Xiao He held the glass and took a few sips, and finally calmed down.

He thought it over, and told him his experience in full detail.

Qin Su didn’t ask any questions, and only scribbled on his notebook with rapt attention, seriously recording it down.

It was only when Xiao He finished speaking that Qin Su closed his notebook, looked up and asked, “So you died? You had an affair, so the young master killed you?”

Xiao He said in grief and indignation, “I didn’t have an affair! It’s baffling, I couldn’t figure it out. That world doesn’t have any women, and it’s all male elves, not to mention…”

He spoke anxiously and incoherently, but Qin Su’s face didn’t show the slightest surprise. He adjusted his glasses and said calmly, “The young master likes men, so it’s normal that his mental world wouldn’t have any women in it.” 

“What?” Xiao He was shocked. “He...he likes men??? Why didn’t you tell me this kind of thing ahead of time!!” 

“What use would it have been if I had told you ahead of time?” Qin Su looked at him through his glasses. “You’re homophobic?”

“N-no.” 

“You’re gay?” 

As soon as he heard this, Xiao He was like a kitten with bristling hair. He immediately replied, “Of-of course not!”

“Then that’s fine, it doesn’t matter if I said it or not.”

Xiao He felt listless. He felt like that wasn’t right somewhere, but he couldn’t outtalk him, so what could he do! 

Seeing that Xiao He looked a little gloomy, for once, Qin Su’s tone wasn’t so inflexible anymore. “Mr. Xiao, be at ease, this is all very normal. In the young master’s mental world, you’re the only outsider, so you’re the most novel and unexpected existence there. On top of that, your degree of compatibility with him is higher than 99.9999%, so he’d definitely be very interested in you. Any kind of behavior is normal.” 

Xiao He suddenly thought of the shameless days he’d spent with Ayr in the palace, and he blushed a little.

As if he hadn’t discovered this, Qin Su continued talking. “The elven king Ayr is one of the young master’s major personalities, but in the young master’s mental world, every mature consciousness is born from one of his mental fragments. They’re incomplete, damaged, and have even developed self-awareness, but they all share a certain degree of commonality. That’s why…”

Qin Su paused for a moment, looked at him seriously and said, “The matter of them all liking you, is also very normal.” 

Xiao He: ...So it was like that! In Fan Shen’s mental world, he’d actually become the legendary face that launched a thousand ships? 

Fuck...it sounded logical, but he still felt weird!

Qin Su opened his notebook again, pored over the notes he had just recorded for a while, and said, “I once requested that you not have too much affection for the young master, but after seeing the course of treatment this time, I think...that you might have to be a bit more open.” 

Xiao He frowned slightly, having a bad premonition at heart.

At the next moment, he heard Qin Su say: “It’s plain that the young master likes you. Since he wants to monopolize you, if you were to treat him sincerely, won’t he be satisfied? And then won't he be cured?”

That’ll redress him, but it’ll depress me! Xiao He roared inside. 

“No, that I can't do.” 

Qin Su coughed lightly and said, “Actually, it’s not difficult. You firmly believe that you’re a straight man, but looking at the results of the online questionnaire, it shouldn’t be possible for you to be straight. You probably believe that you’re straight because you’ve never dated before. You’ve never met anyone you like, so you’d naturally have no way to judge if you’re…”

“No way!“ Xiao He was unconvinced. “I’ve never been attracted to a man, let alone had any dirty thoughts. I want to get married, have children and spend my life with them, how could I possibly be gay.” 

Faced with his irritation, Qin Su wasn’t the least bit angry. He only said mildly, “But you were attracted to the elven king Ayr.”

Xiao He opened his mouth, suddenly thought of the month one could call debauched, and actually couldn’t immediately refute him.

Seeing him compromise, Qin Su wasn’t smug, and only followed through and said, “I don’t have the right to oppose anything. The reason I said those words back then was actually out of consideration for you.”

“Over the course of treatment, you’ll stay clear-headed, and you’ll have to face many versions of the young master. But after completely recovering, the young master may not remember you.” Qin Su looked at him and said softly, “If you invest too much of your feelings, and even fall in love with him, when the time comes and he forgets everything, only endless pain will be awaiting you. So I reminded you like that.”

“But now…” Qin Su laughed bitterly and said, “We need your cooperation.” 

Xiao He was startled. It was only now that he understood everything.

“As for the reward,” Qin Su dropped another piece of bait, “If you can cure him completely, we can double the reward.” 

Doubled...sixty million!

Xiao He was startled, but he wasn’t that excited at heart. In fact, he was a bit uneasy.

He didn’t need this much money, and he couldn’t finish using it. To him, thirty million and sixty million were both figures that he didn’t dare imagine, so they were all the same. 

But he got a piece of information out of Qin Su’s words. They needed him, needed him to cure Fan Shen, and they’ve already approved of him.

Qin Su didn’t say it outright, but the implication there was already very clear.

If you don’t do it, we’ll still have to force you to do it.

Because you're the only one who can.

Xiao He wasn’t that smart of a person, but he was someone who had a clear view of things.

He had a father, a mother and a family. This incident caught him off guard when it happened, and the circumstances were a bit unimaginable.

But over the course of a lifetime, it was hard to avoid unexpected events. He couldn’t retreat, so he could only move forward.

Xiao He took a deep breath. “I understand. Be at ease, I’ll work hard to cure him.”

“Thanks for your trouble.” Qin Su smiled, pleased. “Please take a short rest. In a while, I’ll link you up again. The Ayr personality is still there, so you may still return to the elven world.”

Xiao He was taken aback. “But I’ve already died!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make some slight adjustments. You can come back to life.”

Xiao He didn’t understand what he meant by “come back to life” at the time, but when he set up the link and entered the mental world again, he instantly understood.

He was standing in that gorgeous, colorful bath, completely naked. The silver-haired elf was as perfect as if he’d walked out of a painting. He held Xiao He by the waist, his azure eyes reflecting the pool water, as dazzling as a sky full of stars. “Careful, don’t slip.” 

***

2 hours and 36 minutes for 1,571 words, or 9.9 minutes for every 100 words. An increase in rate by 0.7 minutes.

Qin Su's name is 秦肃, pronounced Qín Sù. His surname, 秦, is the name of the first Chinese emperor, 秦始皇 (Qín Shǐhuáng, literally First Emperor Qin), from whence the name "China" comes. His personal name, 肃, means solemn. 

Just realized that "first name" and "last name" don't work in Chinese. Huh. 

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