Mygo, you guys seem to be getting a bit heavy-hearted.

Page 108

He seemed to have forgotten something.

……

"Squeak-"

Pulling down the trapdoor to the attic, Yanming, with a premonition, sidestepped the falling dust on the ladder.

The thick cloud of dust landed solidly at the bottom of the ladder, scattering in all directions and raising a cloud of dust.

"Good heavens... I haven't been here for just a few months, and it's probably piled up with dust by now."

As Yanming spoke, he entered the attic with cleaning tools. Sure enough, everything in sight was covered with a layer of gray, like a place that would appear in a horror movie. It was as if if you opened a box, the sleeping vampire lady inside would suddenly jump out and bite the intruder's neck.

He then checked the faucet in the attic and breathed a sigh of relief after finding that it was still working properly.

Okay, let's get started.

"Hey, could you lend a hand or something?"

[Give me... good luck?]

well

Still as useless and reassuring as ever.

……

"Hmph~ Hmph hmph hmph~" Xiangzi, wearing a black and white dress that looked like he was working part-time, hummed a smug little tune as he wiped the cabinet in the corner of the living room with a rag.

Speaking of which, when Yanming took his Ultimate Rampage Smash Max Complete Guitar Hero Magic King Pro, it seems he took it from behind this cabinet.

What's inside?

With a touch of curiosity, Xiangzi opened the cabinet door.

Two rows of shelves and neatly arranged drawers below—a standard cabinet design that perfectly matched Xiangzi's stereotypical impression of Yanming.

It's like the furniture in my grandmother's house in the countryside—practical but not flashy or beautiful.

"This is……"

Xiangzi picked up a black box from the shelf, carefully wiped away the thin layer of dust on it with a rag, and opened the box through a gap that was also filled with dust.

"Oh... it's a CD, but why isn't there anything written on the box?" Xiangzi took the CD out of the box and looked at it.

The box is well sealed, so the CD looks brand new and is probably still usable.

"Could it be a song from Yanming's old band?... I really want to hear it. I'll ask him about it later." Xiangzi muttered to himself, putting the CD back in its original place.

"What else is there?"

As Xiangzi cleaned away the dust and cobwebs, his gaze continued to scan the cabinet.

If nothing unexpected happens, this cabinet should contain Yanming's old belongings.

Xiangzi, on the other hand, happened to be extremely interested in Yanming's past, so of course she wouldn't let this opportunity pass her by.

"Hmm, new target found... what's this?"

The letter that Xiangzi picked up didn't look like anything special at first glance. One corner of the envelope looked like it had been squeezed tightly with fingers, all crumpled up.

"It looks like an ordinary letter, with no signs of being opened. I have no idea what's inside?"

Considering that the items found in the cabinet before were all related to the band, it's reasonable to speculate that this letter might be an invitation to a performance.

"Performances outside of live houses... Hmm, maybe one day, my group Ave Mujica will be able to perform at that legendary Budokan... But it's better not to think too much about it now, let's get everyone together first."

Mujica is a band with commercial aspirations, so their performances cannot be limited to venues like live houses; they should take place on larger stages.

Starting next week, they will begin contacting Chuhua; it would be a lie to say they aren't nervous.

Hope everything goes well.

Xiangzi put the letter of unknown origin back in its place and then continued cleaning.

She quickly and carefully cleaned both shelves, finding many interesting items in addition to the two items mentioned above.

For example, a whole box of broken guitar picks, a handwritten guitar manual... Xiangzi couldn't quite understand Yanming's handwriting.

There's also a castanet; striking it makes a clattering sound, perfect for simple musical performances.

"Whoosh—" Xiangzi wiped the sweat from his forehead, preparing to finish cleaning up the rest in one go.

However, only the drawer was left untouched. Judging from the marks on the handle, Yanming probably used this drawer frequently, so it probably didn't need much cleaning.

Let's just go through it once then!

With this lighthearted thought in mind, Xiangzi opened the drawer.

...The next second, a full set of white medicine bottles came into her view.

Chapter 160 Hypnosis

"……Eh?"

After realizing that what he was seeing was not an illusion, Xiangzi's pupils contracted sharply to the size of pinholes.

These are... medicine? Why are there so many...?

Is it Yanming's?

...Are you kidding me?

No… wait, come to think of it, I did notice before, without realizing it, that Yanming would sometimes take something out of the cabinet… but I just didn’t pay attention at the time…

Is Yanming sick? What kind of illness does he have that requires so many different medications?

Or is it for some other purpose?

Xiangzi discovered that what she considered her "familiarity" with Yanming was still just the tip of the iceberg, or even just a tiny fraction of it...

This guess filled her with unease and anxiety.

Xiangzi knew that even if he took the medicine to Yanming now and confronted him, given Yanming's personality, he would only try his best to stop him from investigating further, rather than tell him the truth.

The secret she stumbled upon... she has to find the answer herself.

What exactly is Yanming hiding? What are these drugs with different labels, sizes, and uses used for?

Does he need these medications himself, or does someone else need them?

Just as Xiangzi was about to further determine the types of medicine in the drawer, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.

"Xiao Xiang."

A flat, monotonous, and indifferent voice rang out, and in an instant, Xiangzi knew who the other person was.

The tacit understanding and trust cultivated over a long period of time made her instinctively turn around and face the other person.

In fact, she did just that.

After a flash of pink light, Xiangzi lost consciousness without any resistance.

“I’m sorry, Xiao Xiang, but now is not the time…we are not ready yet.”

Yanming put down his phone, which he was holding, and caught the limp Xiangzi, then picked him up in his arms.

"...Are you sure there won't be any lasting effects?"

[I guarantee there won't be any issues; at most, you might feel a little groggy when you wake up.]

[Does the host intend for Miss Xiangzi to forget what just happened? If so, it can be done with just a word from the host.]

This isn't the kind of generic hypnotic stuff you find in adult games where it can be easily dispelled. The system guarantees that as long as the host doesn't intend to break the hypnosis, it won't automatically expire, even for a lifetime.

"……Um."

Yanming really doesn't want to use this kind of prop unless it's absolutely necessary.

Such an act of arbitrarily distorting other people's will and thoughts has crossed his bottom line.

...but he had no other choice.

Just as Yanming himself said, not only Xiangzi, but even he himself was not prepared to face all of this.

The outcome of such a sudden revelation, without any buffer, is beyond anyone's control.

Therefore, even if it goes against his bottom line, Yanming has to do this.

"Xiao Xiang, can you hear me?" Yanming placed her on the sofa. The girl's sleeping face was like the snow melting in early winter, indifferent but not cold. On the contrary, it had a faint warmth. Although she did not respond, her trembling, fragile eyebrows were still lively. "Forget what you just saw, and then rest for a while before waking up."

That should be enough.

Yanming let out a weak breath, pressing his throbbing temples with a headache.

How could we have overlooked that?

Mistakes are a normal thing for humans, but Yanming still couldn't help feeling annoyed.

He was used to living a carefree life on his own, and keeping his medicine in an unlocked cabinet wouldn't trigger any conditioned reflex in him. Under normal circumstances, Xiangzi wouldn't touch his things... But this was a big clean-up.

……

"Click...click, click...click." The two drawers were securely locked with the lock they had found.

After ensuring everything was in perfect order, Yanming put his cleaning apron back on and walked to the sofa.

"Xiao Xiang? Wake up, wake up."

Under Yanming's shoving, Xiangzi slowly awoke from his hypnosis, still in a dazed state.

"...Yanming? What's wrong?"

Yanming feigned confusion and said the prepared explanation: "We agreed that you would clean the living room and I would clean the attic. You were cleaning just fine, so why are you lounging on the sofa slacking off?"

"Eh..." Xiangzi felt a faint sense of unease upon hearing this.

is that so?

But wasn't I just... what was I doing just now?

It seems... I really don't know when I fell asleep?

"Alright, stop thinking about it. I've finished cleaning the rest of the living room for you. Now go clean the bedroom. Since you're still half asleep, take your time and come along later." After saying this, Yanming didn't give Xiangzi any more time to think and quickly walked towards the room with the mop.

"Ugh... wait for me!" Xiangzi covered his head, just about to instinctively call out to Yanming who was walking away, when suddenly a hard object in his palm poked his forehead.

Xiangzi then realized that he had been unconsciously clutching a small, cylindrical white bottle tightly in his palm.

Is this... a medicine bottle? When did I get it in my hand?

Xiangzi gently shook it, and the contents inside made a gurgling sound with her movement.

The bottle was completely full and probably hadn't been opened yet.

Xiangzi couldn't understand the writing on the bottle, but she still managed to find the answer using her extracurricular knowledge.

This is Hindi, one of the official languages ​​of India.

Xiangzi quickly searched his body but found no other traces, as if the medicine bottle had simply appeared in his hand out of nowhere.

'...That's strange. I feel like I've forgotten something.'

"Xiao Xiang, go get me a bucket of water." Yanming's urging voice came from a nearby room, interrupting Xiangzi's train of thought.

For some inexplicable reason, Xiangzi didn't tell Yanming about the medicine bottle. Instead, he secretly put it on his person and then casually replied:

"Okay, I'm coming!"

'...I'll look it up online later to see what kind of medicine it is.'

……

After finishing tidying up Xiangzi's room, it was almost noon.

Xiangzi wiped the sweat from his forehead with his palm, but ended up smearing his forehead with gray, and his originally black and white dress became dirty.

"You've worked hard." Yanming put the cleaning tools back in their place, took off his apron and said, "Go wash your face, we'll have a nice lunch."

Xiangzi nodded, but his mind was completely focused on the medicine bottle in his pocket, and he didn't hear what Yanming was saying at all.

Chapter 161 A hundred secrets and one sparse

"Xiao Xiang? Are you listening?" Yanming waved his hand in front of her, and Xiangzi finally came back to her senses.