Translator: CinderTL
At first glance, Senior Sister's words seemed perfectly reasonable. However, Jiang Cheng detected a flaw—one that Gao Yan, Shen Mengyun, and the others might easily have overlooked.
Multiple Personality, scientifically known as Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), is characterized by the fragmentation of identity. This manifests as two or more distinct personality states. Each personality state exhibits its own unique patterns of experience, perception, thought, and relationship to self, body, and environment.
In other words, if Yuan Xiaoyi's self-perception remained fixed on the identity of "Yuan Xiaoyi," there was no logical reason for her to remember her five "friends." After a personality switch, there was no basis for retaining memories of the other personalities.
Jiang Cheng subtly voiced his doubts to Senior Sister in layman's terms. If a psychology professor had truly been monitoring Yuan Xiaoyi, as Senior Sister claimed, there was no way they would have overlooked this crucial point.
His suspicion was soon confirmed.
The Senior Sister looked at him in surprise, her lips slightly parted as if she hadn't expected her Junior Brother to know so much.
"You're right," she explained. "Professor Chen had the same doubts. That's why he's so interested in Yuan Xiaoyi. He believes she's an extremely rare case with significant research value."
"And..." The Senior Sister paused, her voice taking on a reminiscent tone. "Professor Chen is also dedicated to finding that special something that can break down the barriers between these personalities."
At this point, Jiang Cheng noticed a subtle change in the Senior Sister's expression. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a fleeting flicker of unease crossed her eyes.
She was hesitating.
Hesitating whether to tell him what came next.
A hand rested on her thigh, slowly caressing it. The Senior Sister snapped back to reality and met Jiang Cheng's light chestnut eyes.
Without Jiang Cheng needing to say a word, she surrendered. "Junior Brother, do you know... Professor Chen... he really found it."
Jiang Cheng gave her an encouraging look. "What is it?"
Senior Sister bit her lip, then as if making a firm decision, turned around, picked up the file folder again, and pulled out a few more photos.
After looking at them, she handed one to Jiang Cheng. "Take a look at this first."
The photo showed a chair—the standard type used at the school, identical to the ones in the earlier photos.
But Jiang Cheng noticed something amiss. Holding the photo in his left hand, he took the photo of the several chairs he had photographed earlier and compared them repeatedly.
In contrast, the last chair in the photo was completely clean, with nothing on it.
"This is... the seventh chair?" Jiang Cheng looked up at Senior Sister.
"That's right." Senior Sister nodded, her gaze strange. "This chair was also in that warehouse, not far from the other six chairs and the mirror on the wall."
"If each chair represents a different identity of Yuan Xiaoyi, then in her perception, there was someone else present in that warehouse besides her and her five friends," Jiang Cheng said, holding the photo firmly.
He had already guessed the identity of this "person."
Heart-Corroding Demon
"Yes, Professor Chen said the same thing. He suspects this person is also responsible for the collapse of the cognitive barriers between Yuan Xiaoyi's multiple personalities," Senior Sister paused, then looked up. "This is an entirely new personality, one we don't yet understand."
"At least, it has never manifested in Yuan Xiaoyi before," she added.
"And there's something else you'd never guess. This personality's strangeness is two-sided, meaning..."
"Meaning not only are we unfamiliar with this personality, but Yuan Xiaoyi herself is also deeply unfamiliar with it," Jiang Cheng finished.
Senior Sister's eyes widened slowly.
Jiang Cheng's mind was completely consumed by thought, so he replied casually, "That's easy to guess. The chairs representing the other personalities all have identifying markers—swimming goggles, running shoes, and so on. Only this chair is empty."
"This suggests that even in Yuan Xiaoyi's own subconscious, she doesn't know who sits in this chair, what characteristics they have, or what marker to use for their new identity."
To my surprise, Senior Sister's expression turned tense at this point, her breathing becoming rapid. "It's not just that. This personality isn't just unfamiliar to Yuan Xiaoyi—it's terrifying!"
"During her interactions with the professor, Xiaoyi was constantly in a state of panic. She kept glancing behind her and around, always sitting with her back against the wall, leaving no gaps."
"She whispered that someone was following her. Not just her, but also her five friends. They were all being watched by the same person."
"In her description, this person was everywhere. As soon as dusk fell, they would appear, staring at them relentlessly, drawing closer and closer."
"She and her five friends were driven nearly mad by this!"
"It's the owner of that chair." The answer was obvious, and Jiang Cheng stated it matter-of-factly.
Speaking of this seemed to have a profound impact on Senior Sister. After a long moment, her violently heaving chest finally settled. She looked at Jiang Cheng and said, "You're truly remarkable. It seems your medical family background has had a significant influence on you."
"Junior Brother, you really should consider studying medicine," the Senior Sister said, her gaze momentarily drifting into a distant thought. "If you had come earlier and met Professor Chen, he would have been delighted. He truly values talent."
From her tone, Jiang Cheng sensed a foreboding premonition. He frowned slightly and asked, "Professor Chen... what's happened to him?"
"He had an accident," the Senior Sister said, lowering her head and sighing. "He's still in the hospital. The doctors say he may never wake up."
Professor Chen Zeqing was clearly someone who knew something important. Jiang Cheng had hoped the Senior Sister could introduce him, but now this lead had abruptly ended.
"That's a shame. I hope the professor recovers soon," Jiang Cheng said with regret. "By the way, may I ask what kind of accident it was?"
Through the Senior Sister's introduction, Jiang Cheng was certain that Professor Chen had uncovered crucial information. This accident was no ordinary incident.
Hearing Jiang Cheng's question, the Senior Sister recalled, "It was one evening, just as dusk was falling. I was on duty at the School Doctor's Office, and the professor was sitting across from me."
Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Professor Chen's own cell phone.
After answering, he spoke only a few sentences before becoming visibly agitated. He stood up, began putting on his clothes, and hurried out the door.
(End of the Chapter)
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