"What did you say?" Xing Yuanzhi asked suspiciously.
"Did you see Su Lili?" She looked around again, but didn't see anyone.
"So you can't see her?" Cheng Jinyang said, bewildered.
Emotions lingered in his body, conveying joy, happiness, and long-lost satisfaction, yet his rationality told him that this was too bizarre.
"I can't see anyone in this room," Xing Yuanzhi said lightly, "except for you."
"Jinyang, who are you talking to?" Su Lili behind the door looked at him timidly. So...
Ah Zhi can't see Xiao Li, and Xiao Li can't see Ah Zhi? A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Xiao Li, it's okay, come out," Cheng Jinyang thought for a moment and said.
Xing Yuanzhi stared somewhat surprised at the entrance to the bedroom, noticing that Cheng Jinyang's finger was still poised on the trigger.
"Oh, okay," Su Lili lifted the hem of her dress and ran over, looking a bit scared.
Arriving beside Cheng Jinyang and Xing Yuanzhi, Cheng Jinyang observed her once again.
Indeed, she resembled Su Lili... exactly as he remembered.
However, he wasn't foolish enough to mistake this figure from his nightmares for the real one.
Su Lili, the childhood sweetheart of the original owner, had actually died long ago.
The Su Lili in his nightmares is likely just a figment of the original owner's memory, a lingering idealized presence.
Different people would react differently in such a situation. If it were a shameless protagonist, they might be ecstatic, thinking, "Since you're just a figment of my dream, can't I have some fun?"
If it were a ruthless protagonist obsessed with cultivation, they might just shoot her on the spot, believing, "Fantasies only disrupt my cultivation path."
If it were a timid protagonist from a Japanese light novel, they might try to delicately explain to her, "Actually, you're not real. You're just a figment of my imagination. You should return to where you belong (meaning suicide)."
Cheng Jinyang didn't intend to choose any of these three approaches.
If this person truly represented a subconscious projection of the original owner based on Su Lili's impression, then she essentially reflected a part of the original owner's inner self.
Talking to her is like talking to the original owner's inner self, which might help Cheng Jinyang to better understand the original owner.
After all, it's been over three years since he transmigrated, and still unable to completely rid himself of the residual emotions of the original owner, indicating that simply resisting may not completely solve the problem.
After all, it's better to loosen up than to block.
Of course, before that, it's necessary to understand clearly who this "Su Lili" in front of him really is.
Cheng Jinyang tried to extend his left hand, pausing in front of her. Su Lili blinked, then also reached out her right hand, interlocking their fingers, gently holding his left hand.
Hmm, the touch is nice, Xiao Li's hand is warm.
"Can you see?" Cheng Jinyang asked in a deep voice.
"Ah, what?" Su Lili thought he was asking her.
"I only see you making a gesture as if practicing Eagle Claw Technique," Xing Yuanzhi said lightly beside them.
"If I do like this?" Cheng Jinyang suddenly embraced Su Lili.
"Eh, eh eh eh, Jinyang!" The girl in his arms immediately blushed, but did not struggle hard, just hesitated for a moment before leaning her head against his chest.
Feeling the warmth in his arms, while looking at her shy and affectionate appearance, truly, she seemed even more pitiful in his eyes.
Cheng Jinyang closed his eyes, cleared away the tenderness in his heart, and then asked again, "Now?"
"It feels like you're holding someone," Xing Yuanzhi frowned and said, her expression suddenly changing, "Wait a moment."
Her gaze turned dangerous: "You're not holding an imaginary Su Lili, are you?"
"Inner projection," Cheng Jinyang said calmly in the face of danger.
With Miss Ah Zhi's intelligence, just a little pondering on this term, she immediately understood what it meant.
In other words, in this room, there exists a Su Lili created by his inner projection, essentially just a part of his memory, so only he can see her.
Cheng Jinyang took the opportunity to loosen his grip, then sat down on the sofa and handed the water glass on the coffee table to Su Lili, saying, "Xiao Li, here you go."
Su Lili took the cup with confusion, and Xing Yuanzhi widened her eyes beside him. She saw the cup leaving Cheng Jinyang's hand and hovering in the air, as if held by an invisible force.
"Take a sip," Cheng Jinyang instructed.
"What are you doing?" Su Lili asked, puzzled.
"Just drink," Cheng Jinyang replied with a smile.
Xing Yuanzhi squinted her eyes. This was the first time she had seen Cheng Jinyang show such an indulgent smile.
It seemed that this Su Lili indeed held an important place in his heart...
So Su Lili took a sip, and Xing Yuanzhi saw the cup slowly tilt towards Cheng Jinyang, with the water disappearing as it reached the rim.
"Okay, give me your hand," Cheng Jinyang reached out.
"Don't treat me like a puppy!" Su Lili finally felt something was off, but Cheng Jinyang had already grabbed her hand and quickly exchanged a glance with Xing Yuanzhi.
Based on Cheng Jinyang's hand, Xing Yuanzhi roughly judged Su Lili's standing position, then walked over and cautiously reached out to touch.
There was nothing.
However, in Cheng Jinyang's eyes, Ah Zhi's hand passed through Su Lili's body without any hindrance, yet the latter remained completely unaware, only feeling sulkily pulled by her own hand.
"I see." Xing Yuanzhi nodded, suddenly enlightened.
"I see." Cheng Jinyang echoed, indicating his own clarity.
"What do you see?" Su Lili blinked in confusion.
In other words, Xing Yuanzhi and Su Lili cannot observe each other's existence or affect each other, yet they can interact with a third party, such as a water cup, the water inside, or... me?
Huh, does that mean I can?
"Even if I can't see her," Xing Yuanzhi suddenly said, "don't even think about getting cozy with her."
"Cough, I never intended for something like that," Cheng Jinyang hurriedly explained.
"What kind of thing?" Su Lili said, her cheeks puffed up with anger. "From the beginning, you've been saying inexplicable things on your own!"
"What you're thinking is already written clearly on your own face," Xing Yuanzhi said disdainfully.
Cheng Jinyang: ...
So, when a girl is too clever, she's really not as adorable as my sweet and silly Xiao Li.
"So, Lili," Cheng Jinyang asked her seriously, "what's going on with you? Why are you here?"
At this point, Su Lili's tears started to fall.
"I don't know! Every night when I fall asleep, I inexplicably end up in your house, and there are monsters and demons outside. I'm afraid they'll come in, so I can only hide in your room all night until I wake up..."
Cheng Jinyang: ???
Your explanation sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?