Afraid that Jiang Zhuo wouldn’t believe her, Cheng Sisi struggled free from his embrace.
Then, with vivid expressions and gestures, she recounted the incident that had just occurred.
“Really, after you arrived, all of those things disappeared.”
“I’m not lying to you, you have to believe me!”
Jiang Zhuo sat beside her, gazing at her with gentle eyes. He didn’t interrupt her no matter what she said. Seeing her eager, pleading look for trust, he patiently ruffled her hair.
“I know, Sisi is so well-behaved, she wouldn’t lie to me.”
“But there must be a reason for this situation. Sisi, don’t be nervous. I’ll help you figure out why this happened.”
“First, let’s start by examining your physical condition.”
“Tell me, what did you do today? Where did you go, or what did you eat?”
He gently guided her step by step, and she trusted him completely, cooperating as she recalled everything that had happened that day.
“Today, I just went about my normal routine—submitting resumes and going to interviews one by one, only to be rejected each time. Nothing unusual happened. Then, at noon, because I didn’t have time, I only ate half a bowl of instant noodles and drank… just mineral water. I didn’t eat anything else.”
“What about in the evening?”
“In the evening?” Cheng Sisi thought carefully before continuing, “In the evening, I waited for Xinxin to finish work, and we came back together. We had dinner made by the housekeeper. Then… oh, I had a few sips of red wine that Xinxin poured for me.”
She recalled carefully, speaking earnestly, completely unaware of the amused glint in Jiang Zhuo’s eyes.
His eyes seemed to hold a hint of mockery, laughing at how adorably foolish she was!
Only when she finished speaking and looked up at him did he put on a profound expression again.
He then asked, “Everything else sounds fine, but what about dinner? What exactly did you eat?”
She began listing the dishes she had eaten during dinner one by one.
When she finally mentioned the “seafood mushroom soup,” Jiang Zhuo stopped her at just the right moment.
Cheng Sisi blinked innocently and asked, “Brother Jiang Zhuo, is there something wrong with the seafood mushroom soup?”
“There’s nothing wrong with the seafood mushroom soup, but I know that combining mushrooms with red wine…”
He paused halfway through his sentence.
As if remembering something important, he asked her with a serious expression, “Have you ever had a history of allergies?”
Cheng Sisi was taken aback. Seeing the seriousness in his expression, she didn’t dare hide anything and nodded in response. “I have had a history of allergies before!”
“That’s it!” Jiang Zhuo seemed to have found the cause.
Cheng Sisi thought for a moment and asked him, “Brother Jiang Zhuo, are you saying that people with a history of allergies shouldn’t eat mushrooms and drink red wine at the same time?”
“Yes!”
Jiang Zhuo continued unhurriedly, “If you don’t believe me, you can look it up. For people with a history of allergies, consuming mushrooms along with alcohol can cause hallucinations to some extent.”
“Hallucinations…” Cheng Sisi lowered her head in shock. “What I heard and saw earlier were hallucinations?”
But then she thought of something else and quickly asked again, “What about the light in the room? Can it be turned on now?”
“That light must just be broken!”
Jiang Zhuo patted the back of her head and patiently explained, “I forgot—the wiring in that room has issues, which often causes problems with the lights.”
“It’s my fault!”
He began apologizing again, his eyes filled with self-blame.
“Tomorrow I’ll have an electrician come to the house for renovations. Tonight, I’ll arrange another room for you to sleep in.”
As he spoke, his expression showed some concern, and he asked her thoughtfully, “Do you dare to sleep alone?”
No, she didn’t!
Cheng Sisi shook her head repeatedly. Even though she knew what she had seen and heard earlier were just illusions, she was already traumatized and didn’t dare to sleep alone anymore.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhuo tentatively asked, “Then tonight, shall I sleep with you?”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Sisi widened her eyes slightly, swallowing nervously, unsure of how to respond.
A man and a woman sharing a room alone?
That seemed… inappropriate!
“Don’t misunderstand!”
Noticing her embarrassment, Jiang Zhuo quickly explained, “What I meant was, tonight I’ll accompany you in the living room?”
Cheng Sisi didn’t nod, but tears welled up in her eyes first.
“Why are you crying?” Jiang Zhuo asked gently, without a hint of impatience.
“I’m sorry!” she choked out between sobs, tears flowing faster and faster. “I’m always troubling you. I really don’t want to be like this, but I also know I truly don’t dare to sleep alone. I’m… I’m sorry…”
Just then, the nearby stairway light suddenly dimmed.
Cheng Sisi, already frightened, had a stress reaction, flinching and covering her head with a cry.
Then, instinctively, she buried herself in Jiang Zhuo’s embrace!
Seeing this, Jiang Zhuo grinned.
She really was easy to scare, but he liked seeing her trembling with fear.
The more afraid she was, the more excited he felt!
However, on the surface, he still had to maintain a gentle and innocent demeanor, patting her head to comfort her.
“Silly, the stairway light is motion-activated. If no one passes by for a while, it turns off automatically.
“Did you forget?”
Hearing this, Cheng Sisi lowered her hands from her head, still trembling with fear as she looked up and slowly withdrew from his embrace.
“I’m sorry, I… I lost my composure again.”
“It’s fine!” Jiang Zhuo acted as if it didn’tt matter, then changed the subject, saying, “I’ll go get some blankets from the room. We’ll make do here tonight. Once Jiang Xin returns tomorrow, you can sleep with her.”
He made a move to stand up, and Cheng Sisi quickly followed suit.
“I’ll go with you. I can help you carry them.”
In truth, she was afraid to stay alone in the living room.
Jiang Zhuo saw through her thoughts but didn’t expose her, simply nodding in agreement.
They went to his room, where Jiang Zhuo took out two clean blankets from the closet but didn’t rush to bring them outside.
Noticing his slight hesitation, Cheng Sisi asked, “What’s wrong?”
He glanced at the wide-open door and replied, “I’d like to take a shower. Is that okay?”
“Of… of course!”
Cheng Sisi averted her eyes, too embarrassed to look at him, her head hanging low.
But what should she do next?
Wait outside for him?
She glanced toward the doorway, feeling as though something might suddenly emerge from the unseen corners beside the doorframe.
As she hesitated, she heard a few soft clicks.
Immediately after, all the lights in the room turned on—Jiang Zhuo had switched them on, afraid she might be scared.
“You don’t have to go out. Just wait inside. I’ll be out soon.”
She didn’t have to go out—what a relief!
Cheng Sisi once again cast a grateful look his way, but he merely smiled gently, telling her to “make herself at home,” before grabbing a change of clothes and heading into the bathroom.
She stumbled to the sofa in front of the bed and sat down, facing the door, keeping a constant watch on the movements outside.
Even now, her hands were still trembling.
She was so terrified that she didn’t even have the energy to ask Jiang Zhuo how Jiang Si was doing after the car accident.
Soon, the sound of running water came from the bathroom.
However, the lukewarm water from the showerhead in the bathroom did not fall on Jiang Zhuo’s body.
He pulled a small speaker, no larger than half a palm, from the pocket of his discarded suit pants, turned it on, and lowered the volume to its minimum.
Then, he held it close to his ear, listening with a sense of pleasure.
“Thump… thump… thump…”
The unhurried knocking sounds from the speaker traveled from his ear canal into his skull, stimulating every nerve in his body.