Yang Sijie brought out a plate of reheated pizza and placed it on the dining table, saying, "This is the fastest way to fill your stomach. Eat it while it's hot."
Susu picked up a fork and began to eat. No matter what, she had to fill her stomach first. She couldn't afford to be hungry or cold, get sick, or truly lose her memory.
Her grievances with Yang Sijie were not yet settled. She needed the police to know he was hiding here, and she also wanted Su Kangxi and Sophie to be safe.
"Is it good?" Yang Sijie asked, seeing her eat with relish.
"It's delicious. Who made it, or was it takeout you ordered earlier?" Susu asked him, feigning innocence, though each question was an attempt to find the answers she sought.
But Yang Sijie was too cunning, never answering her questions properly. He didn't seem to fully believe she had amnesia, but he hadn't exposed her either.
It seemed he was half-believing and half-doubting her amnesia, so she still had a chance to make him believe it completely.
"Takeout?" Yang Sijie said with amusement. "How could there be takeout here? From now on, we'll have to rely on ourselves for everything we need."
Susu acted as if she had completely let down her guard, giggling, "Did you make the pizza yourself?"
Yang Sijie nodded.
"You're a great cook," Susu praised him.
"Actually, your cooking skills are better than mine, it's a shame you have amnesia," Yang Sijie sighed. "But it's okay, we have plenty of time here, you can start learning again."
Susu looked at him, stunned, not understanding what he intended to do.
Did his words mean he wanted to trap her in this desolate place forever?
Yang Sijie reached out and plucked a few blades of grass from her hair, saying gently, "You have mud and grass stuck all over your hair and body. After you finish eating, I'll help you take a bath."
Susu blurted out without thinking, "No need, I can bathe myself."
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Yang Sijie's last remark was clearly another test.
She quickly changed her tune, "I don't dislike you, it's just that men and women are different..."
Yang Sijie leaned in suggestively, "But I'm your boyfriend. We used to bathe together often, you don't need to be so shy."
Susu secretly gasped, forcing a blush to her cheeks. "I can't remember any of that. I'm still not used to a stranger helping me bathe."
"Alright, no rush. Eat slowly then. I'll go upstairs to bathe and change," he said, getting up and leaving the dining room to go upstairs.
Susu breathed a sigh of relief. Yang Sijie's current approach was exactly the same as when she had truly lost her memory before.
The current situation was one of mutual testing. If she didn't play along with his rhythm, he likely wouldn't believe her feigned amnesia.
...
Yang Sijie reached the bedroom upstairs, took off his riding attire, and tossed his riding boots aside.
He didn't bathe but sat in a chair, drinking red wine. Everything he had worked so hard to build over the years was gone, completely gone.
But no one would believe that he didn't care about any of that. All he ever cared about was the woman in the dining room downstairs.
He had tried to stop caring about her, but he couldn't, he was still hopelessly drawn to her.
In those darkest days, which felt like hell, his longing for her was like a beam of light in his life, the light that supported him to survive in such a brutal environment. If this light were extinguished, he didn't know what meaning his life would hold.
Susu finished her pizza downstairs and washed the dishes before slowly going upstairs, looking for the room she had been in earlier.
As she pushed the door open, she saw Yang Sijie sitting in the room, drinking, his clothes disheveled. She was startled and panicked, wondering if he really intended to help her bathe. The thought was revolting.
But she quickly calmed herself and asked, "Is this your room?"
Yang Sijie, slightly drunk, corrected her, "Our room."
Susu pretended to be unfamiliar with him, saying, "You want to share a room with me? But this house has so many rooms, why would we..."
"Whether you remember or not, as a couple, we should naturally share a room," he said with a smile, his voice lazy.
Susu said naturally, "Then you continue drinking, I'll go to the next room to rest for a while."
"Wait," Yang Sijie suddenly picked up a decorative letter opener and handed it to her, saying, "Do you hate me? Then kill me. If you kill me, you can leave here!"
Susu held the small knife, looking at him with a bewildered expression, but in her heart, she truly wanted to plunge it into his throat.
Two voices battled in her mind. One voice urged her to kill him, saying that killing him would end all her nightmares. The other voice cautioned her to be calm, telling her to be rational, and asking if she didn't want Xin Xing anymore, if she didn't want to see Qin Tianyi again.
"Do it," Yang Sijie said with a drunken smile, grasping her hand holding the knife, wishing he could help her drive the small blade into his own body. "In truth, I died many years ago, more than once. I no longer have any attachment to this world. The only, the only person and thing I cherished... is no longer important. I should have died long ago. Having you be the one to end me might be my best ending. Come on, do it."
Susu knew he was testing her. She forcefully pulled her hand back, saying innocently, "I don't remember what our relationship was before. I don't know you well now, but I don't hate you, so why should I kill you?"
"Stop pretending. I know you're a good actress," Yang Sijie said, his eyes reddening. He grabbed her hand and refused to let go, "You want to save Sophie, want to save Kangxi? Kill me, and they will be saved!"
Susu used all her strength to shake him off, dropping the small knife. She said with flustered embarrassment, "What are you talking about? Who are Sophie and Kangxi? Do I know them?"
Yang Sijie stared intently into her eyes, not missing any subtle changes in her expression. He began to waver. Could it be that Susu was truly experiencing prolonged amnesia again?
Susu pointed to her head, saying pitifully, "Is there something wrong with your brain?"
Yang Sijie looked at the small knife on the floor, and a flicker of hope reignited in his eyes. Heaven had given them another chance to start anew.
"I'm sorry, I'm drunk."
Susu quickly stepped forward to help him, making him sit down. "No wonder I couldn't understand what you were saying. Sit down and rest."
As she spoke, she took away the wine bottle and glasses, then said, "I'll go pour you a cup of hot tea, and by the way, a hot towel too."
Without waiting for Yang Sijie to say anything more, she left the room and went to the kitchen downstairs, quickly finding a cup to pour hot water into. Had she managed to deceive Yang Sijie?
Her heart was still filled with panic.
Despite her profound fear of him, she had to pretend to be unfazed, to pretend she didn't dislike him, nor like him, but was merely a stranger she had just met.