Ye Tiancheng observed for a while before deciding to leave a mark in a conspicuous yet inconspicuous place to remind himself.
He also had to ensure that no matter how many times he lost his memory, he would always be able to find this mark and, with its help, recall the events that had just transpired.
After much thought, Ye Tiancheng chose a spot and left his mark.
Corresponding to the marked location, Ye Tiancheng had a flash of inspiration, found paper and pen, and composed a piece of incredibly absurd text. It was so absurd that the White Dragon, who had hidden inside his body, couldn't help but speak out upon seeing it.
But Ye Tiancheng felt it was the most appropriate method.
Moreover, even if it were accidentally discovered, the discoverer likely wouldn't realize its connection to his memory recovery, nor would they suspect that he had regained his memory.
After putting down his pen, Ye Tiancheng looked at what he had written with great satisfaction and then carefully hid it.
Having done all this, Ye Tiancheng left the room, intending to find the little fox.
The White Dragon had said that the little fox was also his brother, and there was even a bird. Although the idea of a bird being a brother surprised Ye Tiancheng greatly, he figured that since he had already accepted the existence of the White Dragon, accepting a bird as his brother wouldn't be particularly difficult.
Ye Tiancheng wasn't entirely sure about the bird's specific situation, but judging by the little fox's condition, it seemed likely that, like himself, the bird had also lost its original memories.
As Ye Tiancheng thought of this, he communicated with the White Dragon again in his mind.
He wanted to know if the matter of him having a brother who was a bird had anything to do with Aya, and if Aya had turned his brother into a bird.
However, the White Dragon informed Ye Tiancheng that Aya had nothing to do with it.
Only then did Ye Tiancheng heave a sigh of relief.
Perhaps it was due to other circumstances. In any case, as long as the current situation didn't worsen, it was fine.
After finishing lunch, the little fox went to help with the dishes at home.
After washing the dishes, the little fox originally intended to find Ye Tiancheng and stay with his elder brother. However, upon searching, the little fox discovered Ye Tiancheng talking with Aya, which made the little fox somewhat conflicted.
He genuinely disliked Aya and felt a sense of rejection towards her.
Therefore, after some hesitation, the little fox ultimately chose to leave by himself and return to his own room.
After leaving his room, Ye Tiancheng wandered around outside but didn't see the little fox.
He didn't intend to disturb Aya.
Seeing that the little fox wasn't outside, he wondered if the little fox might have returned to his room, so he went to the little fox's room.
He knocked on the door, and sure enough, the little fox was there.
The little fox opened the door, and upon seeing Ye Tiancheng, he asked with some surprise, "Brother? Aren't you with...?"
He knew he should call Aya "sister-in-law," but the little fox instinctively swallowed the address.
Seeing the little fox's demeanor, Ye Tiancheng said to him, "Let's talk inside."
The little fox had no objections. He moved aside, and after Ye Tiancheng entered his room, he closed the door behind him and followed to sit down.
Ye Tiancheng asked the little fox, "Little fox, how are you feeling about that discomfort you mentioned earlier today?"
The little fox instinctively wanted to avoid worrying Ye Tiancheng and was about to retort. However, upon seeing Ye Tiancheng's serious gaze, the words at the tip of his tongue were swallowed back.
He had no choice but to reply to Ye Tiancheng, "Still a little."
"...I don't know what's going on. After I woke up today, I felt like something was off everywhere, and I kept having strange thoughts. It's really weird."
The little fox shared his feelings with Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng then realized that the little fox was truly like him.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng said to the little fox, "It seems I've dragged you down this time. We keep having these strange thoughts, and it's not because we're strange, but because our memories have a problem."
The little fox recalled his moments of absentmindedness and his eyes widened, as if sensing something.
He asked in surprise, "Memories have a problem?"
Ye Tiancheng nodded and replied to the little fox, "Actually, I hadn't fully considered this point before. I just felt my state was very abnormal. It was only a moment ago, when an unexpected event occurred, that I realized our current state is problematic."
The little fox quickly pressed Ye Tiancheng, "Brother, what exactly is going on?"
Ye Tiancheng began to explain to the little fox.
"It seems that we brothers, due to some incident, came to this village and were then schemed against. Our memories were tampered with, and what we know in our minds is not real."
"We are brothers, and also... this bird."
Ye Tiancheng pointed to a bird with mixed plumage that had followed the little fox back into the room.
The little fox's gaze also shifted strangely towards the bird.
"He seems to be our brother too."
The little fox was bewildered, "A bird?"
Ye Tiancheng nodded slightly with a helpless expression and said, "It seems that's indeed the case."
"Only the relationship between us brothers is real. Apart from that, all the information we currently know is false."
The little fox was truly astonished.
He asked in surprise, "How could this be?"
However, he also felt a sense of sudden realization.
If that were the case, it would indeed explain the strange feelings he had been having intermittently throughout the day.
However, since Ye Tiancheng said so, and according to what Ye Tiancheng implied...
The little fox tentatively asked, "Then that Aya, she's not my sister-in-law anymore...?"
Ye Tiancheng rubbed his forehead helplessly and denied, "She is not."
Upon hearing this, the little fox immediately let out a long sigh of relief.
If Aya was not his real sister-in-law, then the little fox felt more comfortable speaking his mind.
The little fox said to Ye Tiancheng, "I see. No wonder... whenever I saw Aya, I always felt something was off, and I seemed to reject her, dislike her very much. I even thought something was wrong with me!"
"So, it's Aya who has the problem? She's a fake sister-in-law?"
Ye Tiancheng asked the little fox, "You felt it?"
The little fox nodded and replied, "I always felt I didn't like her, and I didn't want to call her sister-in-law. I just inexplicably rejected her."
But if Aya was a fake sister-in-law, then the little fox's feelings were perfectly understandable.
Ye Tiancheng indicated that he understood this.
If the little fox had sensed something, he himself had also felt it. It was no wonder he always felt uncomfortable and rejected Aya's advances. This meant that the White Dragon's earlier words had increased in credibility.
The little fox asked Ye Tiancheng, "Then... Brother, what should we do now?"
Upon hearing the little fox's question, Ye Tiancheng was also somewhat troubled.
It seemed all the problems lay with Aya. To return to normal, they would definitely have to start with Aya.
However, Ye Tiancheng still had no clue how to proceed.
Moreover, if Ye Tiancheng were to make a move, he couldn't be too obvious.
Otherwise, if Aya detected something and brainwashed them again, it would be disastrous.
They hadn't known how they were ensnared before. If they were ensnared again, they would surely be more susceptible, falling into a vicious cycle.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng patted the little fox's hair, thought for a moment, and finally said, "No matter what, we need to plan this carefully. We can't act rashly, and we certainly can't alert the enemy."
"We didn't know how we were tricked before, and it wouldn't be any better if it happened again."
"But all of this is definitely inextricably linked to Aya."
"It's best if we remain inactive. Little fox, you should also pay more attention and try not to let Aya discover any anomalies. If we're exposed, we might be brainwashed again, which would be troublesome."
The little fox nodded vigorously, indicating that he had taken note.
Now that they knew Aya had a problem, if he still wasn't careful, he deserved to be manipulated and considered mentally deficient.
The little fox understood that it was crucial to be cautious at this moment. Until they found a way to break free, they absolutely could not let Aya discover any anomalies. Otherwise, their actions would only become more difficult, and who knew what consequences revealing the truth might bring.
Being brainwashed again would be the least of their worries.
The more serious consequence might be losing their lives, which was not impossible.
If Aya developed murderous intent towards them because they exposed the truth, it would be bad.
The little fox had no doubts about what Ye Tiancheng had said.
On one hand, it was because the little fox had a natural trust in Ye Tiancheng, so he generally believed whatever Ye Tiancheng said. However, it wasn't entirely blind trust; the little fox also had his own judgment.
Firstly, the little fox could feel that the person speaking to him was indeed his elder brother, Ye Tiancheng, and not some imposter. Therefore, his brother wouldn't deceive him.
Moreover, his brother showed no abnormal signs and was certainly not being controlled.
On the other hand, it was because the little fox himself had felt something was off after waking up that morning. Therefore, he was already on guard, and what Ye Tiancheng told him simply made his strange thoughts instantly justifiable.
He had felt something was strange everywhere before, but now that Ye Tiancheng mentioned it, the little fox felt that everything was normal.
Furthermore, this indeed made the little fox feel relieved.
Otherwise, the little fox really didn't know how he would peacefully coexist with a sister-in-law he disliked. So, as long as Ye Tiancheng said that Aya was not his real sister-in-law, the little fox's heart felt much lighter.
However, a thought suddenly occurred to the little fox.
He seemed to have a sister-in-law, and it was perhaps for this reason that when Aya appeared, the little fox didn't find the fact that he had a sister-in-law strange. What made him reject and find it strange was Aya herself.
The problem was simply that Aya was not his real sister-in-law.
The little fox also asked Ye Tiancheng about this, but Ye Tiancheng couldn't provide any answers.
When the little fox asked, Ye Tiancheng also had a feeling, but since his memory hadn't recovered, he couldn't give the little fox an answer.