Chapter 2754: Chapter 2749: Thirteen Stories (6)

"I don’t understand what you mean."

As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. After agreeing with Lady Trish’s words, Fu Qian didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he found a place to sit down.

Trish, who witnessed the entire behavior, seemed to only now recover from the impact of those words and expressed with a cold face that she didn’t understand why she was being compared.

"Don’t be nervous, I’m not some savior who has descended here, just a listener who’s curious about your behavior."

To this, Fu Qian merely shook his head, first denying that he was a heaven-sent savior, emphasizing that he couldn’t help.

"Though the words just now were unpleasant, they were indeed my genuine feelings. You’re not really invested in this date, so why are you still so actively preparing for it?"

The so-called unpleasant words, naturally, referred to "a lot of pretense".

Of course, mentioning it earlier was mainly to provoke the fainted one.

But as the saying goes, honesty can be hurtful. With some experience, if his words were completely baseless, it would be hard to truly stir up anger.

Lady Trish’s male companion, perhaps, had also felt something before, and only became more embarrassed and angry after being exposed.

"I find this quite interesting, so I’m a bit keen to hear your share—look, you can take it now, I’m already far away."

Seeing Lady Trish’s gaze unconsciously fall on her male companion, following the previous statement.

Fu Qian gestured towards the pocket of the hospital gown, reminding her that he couldn’t do anything else now and that she could take the brooch back.

...

Fu Qian’s kind reminder was impeccable.

Combined with previous actions, it could almost be understood that putting the brooch back in the pocket was considering the original owner’s concerns, hence the roundabout way.

After a moment of silent eye contact, Lady Trish actually took two steps forward and took the brooch out of the pocket.

"Every minute you delay increases the risk of being discovered."

Not only that, seemingly out of habitual politeness, after retrieving the item, Trish even offered a reminder.

"I know."

Fu Qian nodded to show he got the point.

"But you still want to waste time?"

"Yes."

"Even if you learn about my dilemma, you still don’t plan to help at all?"

"That’s right."

...

"You’re really a strange person."

The question-and-answer exchange ended with Lady Trish’s silence.

When confirming the other party was really waiting there quietly, she finally murmured in amazement.

"However, since you have no intention of saving me, I suppose I can talk to you."

...

As they say, never just look at the surface.

A place like a sanatorium is still easy to hide dragons and crouching tigers.

"If you can’t help, then perhaps I can talk to you," Lady Trish’s logic, no doubt, has an abstract quality.

But for Fu Qian, on one hand, it’s a relief to have such a result, yet not surprising.

All previous actions were never about suddenly getting abstract but were a series of multifaceted tests.

Perhaps according to classic movie plots, what should be done now is to take the substitute and disguise acquired and make the most of the time gap, fleeing before being discovered.

It also fits the containment goal.

Unfortunately, as a task numbered 1, it’s really hard to hope for such treatment.

From start to finish, regardless of whether it seemed like cleverly capturing two scapegoats to secure an escape opportunity, Fu Qian still found it overly simplistic, necessitating confirmation of things beneath the surface.

For example, the contradictions on Lady Trish.

Neither enjoying nor being active, just these two points could be understood as performing due to certain benefits, employing feminine wiles.

But during the subsequent continuous exchange, she inadvertently revealed some beautiful mental states.

This is also why the brooch was deliberately used to probe and eventually chose to tie her male companion to a chair.

Yes, fitting the clothes was merely a small part of it.

The core difference lies in the fact that the fainted one was more mediocre by comparison.

As for why repeatedly emphasizing the unwillingness to help?

Firstly, it is indeed the truth.

Secondly, according to Fu Qian’s experience, those with contradictory yet unnoticeable behaviors often don’t wish for help.

The final result also proved that this choice was indeed correct, as the repeated emphasis on not being willing to help successfully moved the person involved.

"I came here as number 49 last year."

Lady Trish’s first sentence delivered a brain-shaking feeling.

"Tomorrow will be exactly one year."

...

"The initial reason for coming here was that I needed to calm myself, quell my desire for the opposite sex."

It seems the previous efforts opened up a long-suppressed valve.

As Fu Qian quietly listened, Lady Trish’s desire to confide surged gradually, starting directly from the beginning, shockingly explicit.

"I can’t describe that impulse, but I don’t believe it was my fault, I can hear that rolling heat inside me.

"Even the horse I ride while hunting gets agitated by the scent... Can you understand?"

There’s even an interactive segment where, at some moment, Trish exhaled heavily, confirming Fu Qian’s feelings.

"I can, but just such a reason doesn’t seem enough to confine oneself in a place like this?"

Fu Qian slightly nodded, expressing that it’s entirely imaginable, yet he questioned whether the measures were overly harsh.

"...I now believe you really won’t help me."

This somewhat offbeat comment made Lady Trish’s eyes light up.

"You’re right, mere excessive passion means nothing, the reason for confining myself here is mainly due to unnecessary societal pressure, which is also the outcome of discussions with my husband."

That makes sense. Societal pressure... It seems Lady Trish’s husband doesn’t mind her indulgences much, but the wrong targets might strain the well-functioning network of relationships.

"And since the first day here, I did feel different, that warmth was calming."

Soon returning to the storyteller’s state, Lady Trish reminisces about the past, with a trace of panic at that moment.

"But the reason is very unpleasant, the decline in interest is because I’ve always felt there’s a pair of eyes watching.

"That feeling douses certain flames within me, making me no longer myself... And I can never find it, not even a trace.

"Soon an entire year will pass, and I have an increasing premonition that I will finally see it on that day, when I am completely drained."

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