123: Dissociative Identity Disorder

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Xiao Qi sensed that Yi Yang was acting strangely this afternoon, but naturally, she didn’t dwell on it too much. After all, she was in a very good mood! Perhaps she could take the opportunity to see Lin Yichen while getting some water. It had been almost five hours since she last saw him. Just thinking of him made the corners of Xiao Qi’s mouth involuntarily lift.

She arrived at the CEO’s office but didn’t knock; instead, she pushed the door slightly open and peeked in. Yichen was standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, his crimson maple-colored shirt accentuating his tall and striking figure. He held a wine glass, the shimmering red wine swirling against the glass as if trapped by the warmth in his palm.

Xiao Qi tiptoed inside and gently closed the door behind her.

“Not working properly and just standing there gazing out, slacking off—President Lin, you’re setting a terrible example!” Her voice, sweet and soft, was unmistakably hers. Yichen immediately recognized it. He loved hearing her voice—it always seemed to pierce through his eardrums and resonate clearly within his senses. Strangely enough, since his recent bout of amnesia, he had heard her voice only a few times, but each time it left a deep impression.

Yichen turned to look at her, then walked to his desk and sat down, setting the wine glass aside and picking up some documents. Without emotion, he asked, “What is it?”

Xiao Qi felt his tone was a little cold but didn’t think much of it. She walked closer, standing confidently with an imposing air. “Nothing, I just knew you were slacking off, so I came to check on you.”

His hand paused in turning the page, his gaze sharpening as it crossed the sharp edge of the paper to look at her. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth. “Last time you drugged me, I let it slide. This time, leaving your post during work hours without permission and even going to play cards—I'm really curious, who gave you the courage and audacity to be so shameless?”

“...” What did he mean by that? Why was he mocking her with such cold sarcasm again?

Xiao Qi placed her hands on the desk and lowered her head to look at him. “Hey, why do I feel like you’re acting weird?” She recalled that he had been gentle with her earlier that morning. She glanced at the wine beside him. Normally, he drank coffee at work, but now he was drinking red wine... Could it be that something at work had gone wrong, souring his mood and causing his cold words?

Xiao Qi thought that was quite possible. “Lin Yichen, was there something about the project this afternoon that you weren’t satisfied with, or...”

“Get out!” The two cold words cut her off sharply.

Xiao Qi blinked in confusion. “What’s wrong with you?” Then her tone turned shocked. “Could it be that I didn’t bring you lunch at noon, and you’re mad because you went hungry?”

Hearing this, Yichen looked up at her. “You brought lunch?”

“Yes. Didn’t I always bring your lunch before?” Xiao Qi snatched the documents from his hand. “Stop working now. Tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll go get it.”

Yichen’s eyes rested on her slender white hand—each finger long and smooth, the fingertips rounded and polished. His gaze shifted to her fair face. His thin lips unconsciously curved slightly, but he quickly withdrew his eyes and snatched the papers back. “If you enter my office again without my permission, you’ll leave TC—get out.”

“...” Xiao Qi glared at him, feeling he was more moody than a girl on her period.

“Fine, I won’t come if you don’t want me to. You think I’m happy to come? Don’t even bother begging me next time,” she said as she turned around, then suddenly pulled a photo from her pocket and tossed it onto the desk. “Here, take this back. Humph!”

Yichen picked up the photo and looked at it. He had no memory of it, but it unmistakably showed him with the girl who had just left. Fang Li had told him that he liked Ye Xiyang, but Joanna claimed he had liked her before.

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So one of them must be lying. Or maybe Fang Li didn’t know about Anna and him. After all, three years ago, Fang Li hadn’t been with him often.

But he didn’t care much. He was always someone who looked forward, so what mattered most now was the present. The past was the past.

He tossed the photo toward the trash but paused, then opened a drawer and placed it inside.

“Yichen, let’s try together, okay?” Anna’s words echoed in his ears again.

He didn’t reply, but he didn’t refuse either.

Since his amnesia, there were two women around him—one was the girl who had just been pestering him incessantly, which annoyed him. The other was Anna, who wholeheartedly helped him, gentle and refined, fitting for his status. Having a girlfriend like Anna seemed perfect.

So he didn’t reject her offer. As for why he didn’t answer, Yichen couldn’t quite explain. Always decisive, this was the first time in his life that he hesitated over something.

After work, Yi Yang wanted to drag Xiao Qi out for dinner, but Xiao Qi’s desk was empty.

She had left so soon? Maybe she had gone home to watch TV or scroll through her phone and had seen Anna’s interview with the reporters...

Yi Yang pulled out his phone and called Xiao Qi. It took a while for her to pick up.

“Xiyang, you just got off work and you’re already gone. Where are you now?”

Xiao Qi was already lying on her bed, drowsy. “Auntie said the restaurant was busy, so I came back right after work. What’s up?”

“There is something,” Yi Yang quickly thought of a reason. “Our sales department at the company needs to check out which perfumes are selling well recently to better restock and consider more varieties. I’m coming to pick you up now.”

“I don’t...” The call ended abruptly.

Xiao Qi threw her phone aside, annoyed, then sat up. She had been hoping for a nice date with Lin Yichen tonight, but now he had turned his back on her.

No, more like mood swings—acting like he had a mental breakdown.

Xiao Qi poked the dozing Xiao Bai. “Xiao Bai, do you think Lin Yichen has split personality disorder? Why is he suddenly so gentle with me, then so cold?”

Xiao Bai lazily opened his cat eyes. “Is it on purpose? You drugged him, so he’s just toying with you?”

Xiao Qi thought that was very possible since he had mentioned the drugging earlier in the office.

“Damn, a big CEO so petty.”

Xiao Bai stopped napping and sat up seriously. “Xiao Qi, don’t think too much. Humans are complicated—we aliens just don’t understand. The most important thing now is to get your signal device back and go home.”

In fact, Xiao Qi had been so happy these past two days that she had completely forgotten about the signal device. But she wouldn’t let Xiao Bai know that it was because of someone’s sudden change that she forgot.

Sigh, earthly relationships—she really couldn’t comprehend them, and she definitely couldn’t understand that capitalist. If she couldn’t understand, she might as well not try.

The priority now was to retrieve the signal device.

Yi Yang’s car arrived at the restaurant, and he called Xiao Qi to come out.

Xiao Qi appeared, carrying a large backpack. She wore a sleeveless pale pink top and a pair of slim-fitting pencil pants that showed off her shapely legs—long, straight, and beautiful.

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Yi Yang stared unblinkingly at the person walking toward the driver’s seat. Only when Xiao Qi sat in the passenger seat did he snap back to reality.

Xiao Qi sat quietly, her gaze lost in the scenery flashing past the window.

She thought to herself, maybe human emotions on Earth were like these fleeting scenes—just whoosh, and they’re gone.

Yi Yang noticed her silence and wondered when Xiyang had ever been so quiet—usually she was chatty and lively. Maybe she had seen the media news about Anna’s interview? He wasn’t sure but couldn’t ask abruptly.

The journey was peaceful, and they arrived at a large perfume shop. They got out and walked inside.

Xiao Qi looked around and commented, “This store is huge.”

“Of course,” Yi Yang said, relieved to see some energy return to her. “Let me tell you, the biggest feature of this perfume shop is its variety of linear scents—no top, middle, or base notes. Some don’t even smell like traditional fragrances.” He casually picked up a bottle and handed it to her. “Try smelling this one.”

Xiao Qi sniffed but couldn’t detect any scent.

“Do you get a salty, eye-stinging sensation?”

She didn’t. “What’s this perfume called?”

“Tears.”

Tears?

Xiao Qi put the bottle back. “I don’t want to smell this one—I don’t cry, so I don’t understand what you mean.”

Yi Yang picked up another bottle. “This one is called Storm.”

Xiao Qi sniffed carefully.

“So? Don’t you feel a strong, damp sensation? Like the night when a storm is coming?”

His words suddenly reminded her of that stormy night on the island she had spent with Yichen. Her expression darkened.

She put the perfume back. “Yi Yang, I’m really tired now. I want to go back and sleep.”

Yi Yang looked at her for a few seconds. “Already tired so early? Tell me, what did you do last night?”

Last night with him...

Xiao Qi’s tone was muffled. “I went to get my stuff from your brother, but I guess I won’t be getting it back.”

“What exactly did he take from you?” Yi Yang teased. “Don’t tell me he took your maiden heart?”

Xiao Qi denied vehemently, “Is my maiden heart something so easy to take?”

“Xiyang,” Yi Yang hesitated, “if my brother found another girlfriend, would you be upset?”

Xiao Qi’s eyes wandered among the various perfumes. Indifferently, she said, “Why would I be upset? Someone as cold-hearted and stone-faced as him—I’d rather he fall for someone else!”

Yi Yang lowered his gaze. “You know your expression just now betrayed you. You’re lying to yourself.”

“I’m telling the truth.” Xiao Qi picked up a bottle and smelled it to show her natural tone. “Even if he confessed to me now, I wouldn’t be moved. Even if he stripped naked in front of me, I’d remain completely unmoved. Before, I said I didn’t like him, but my body was honest. Now, I’ve developed immunity to him—I have resistance.”

Before, she had been utterly infatuated with Yi Yang’s brother from head to toe.