Yan Changqing knew he had been paralyzed twelve years ago, but he had no memory of anything before that.
He didn't remember his parents, his friends, or even how he became paralyzed.
Modern medicine hadn't provided a reasonable explanation; his body, brain, organs, blood, nerves, and bones—almost everything that could be examined—had been checked, but no cause was found. All his data indicators were normal.
Doctors once thought he was faking it, but after a period of observation, they dismissed that idea.
If he were truly a normal person, even if he consciously remained still, it would be impossible for him not to even tilt his neck for 24 hours a day.
Later, doctors could only classify it as a psychological illness, believing his subconscious thought he was a paralyzed person.
Although Yan Changqing didn't believe he had such a subconscious, due to his memory loss, he couldn't be entirely sure whether certain past experiences had led him to this state.
His only relative, his grandfather, lived with him and visited his ward daily to look after him.
His grandfather, Yan Leming, was thin and slightly hunched. Due to his age, his legs were not in good condition, and wrinkles were visible on his face; he wasn't the type with abundant vitality.
However, he loved to smile and was a very optimistic person. For twelve years, he had cared for him daily without interruption, never giving up because of his paralysis.
Yan Changqing had asked him about his family situation, but his grandfather was somewhat vague, only telling him that his grandmother had passed away long ago and his parents were working abroad and couldn't return.
He didn't quite believe this explanation. What kind of parents wouldn't even visit their paralyzed son for twelve years, unless they simply didn't care about him?
Whatever the reason, it wasn't good news for Yan Changqing, but he was obedient and didn't ask further.
Now that he thought about it...
If his lost memory and his paralysis were both influenced by some mysterious power...
If the mysterious phenomena happening to him were the stepping stones that made him dream the same dream for twelve consecutive years...
If the ultimate goal of all this was to guide him to this strange place...
Then—
What exactly was the force behind it all?
Yan Changqing's expression changed. Currently, all this was just his hypothesis and didn't prove anything.
Moreover, some arguments would only be known after tonight. If this truly was just a dream, there would always be a way to wake up.
Perhaps he could return to reality through sleep.
But before that, there were still some things he needed to confirm with these people.
“By the way, have any of you had similar dreams before?” Yan Changqing asked casually.
Everyone shook their heads. Dreams themselves are ambiguous in human memory, and most people don't even know if they dreamed at night when they wake up.
Yan Changqing felt this was reasonable. After all, these people all had proper identities and jobs, unlike himself, who was “abnormal.”
Of course, the premise was that they weren't lying.
The group arrived on the second floor, where the butler was already waiting for them in the Hall.
“There are five rooms on the left and five on the right. Except for the innermost rooms on both sides, you can choose any of the others as your Guest rooms,” the butler said, pointing to the numbers above the doors. “For the convenience of Guests, we have labeled the accessible doors with room numbers, from 201 to 208. The Guest who came up earlier has already chosen 204.”
“What are the two innermost rooms for?” Yan Changqing asked.
“The room on the left is the master’s room, and the room on the right is the mistress’s room.”
“Hmm?” Ning Xiaona was curious. “They don’t live in the same room?”
“They usually live in the same room,” the butler patiently explained. “However, sometimes one party might need some private space, which could be the master or the mistress, so a separate room was set up.”
“However,” he changed his tone, “the master and mistress value their privacy very much. They do not like Guests going into their rooms, and we hope Guests will take note of this.”
“What about the young lady’s room?”
“The young lady lives on the third floor. The third floor has many entertainment facilities: a Game Room, a music room, and a Library. Apart from the young lady’s room, everyone is free to visit,” the butler scanned the group. “Are there any other questions?”
Yan Changqing quickly processed the information in his mind and then posed another question.
“What if we need to find you?”
“The right passage on the first floor, at its deepest point, leads to the staff’s rooms. You can find me there.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It’s my honor to serve Guests. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
Seeing that no one spoke further, the butler went downstairs alone, leaving the six remaining people standing still.
“Changqing, what do we do next?” Ning Xiaona looked at Yan Changqing, implicitly regarding him as their backbone.
“Let’s assign rooms first,” Yan Changqing said after a moment of thought. “Although there are eight rooms in total, I still recommend two people per room. That way, if something happens, you’ll have someone to look out for you.”
“That’s fine,” Fu Suyun said with a displeased expression. “Don’t think I don’t know what you stinky men are plotting. I’m telling you, the four of us women fit perfectly into two rooms. Don’t even think about anything dirty.”
“No,” He Xuexing rubbed his head, where he had few strands of hair left, a headache brewing. “Girl, you can’t just say things like that. I have a wife and children out there. A casual remark like that from you could ruin my entire life.”
“Besides, the young man didn’t mean anything else. Don’t unfairly accuse him; it’s bad for his reputation.”
“That’s right,” Ning Xiaona also helped explain. “I’ve known Changqing for a long time; he’s a very upright person.”
“You can’t be sure,” Fu Suyun sneered, pouting dismissively. “He’s been paralyzed in bed all this time, so of course, he’s not dangerous. But when he gets better, who knows?”
“I say, how can you be so thoughtless?” Ji Tingting also looked at Fu Suyun with dissatisfaction. “First, you’re making baseless accusations here, and don’t you have any idea of our current situation? Stop dragging things out.”
“Hey, I’m thinking about us girls, and you still have an opinion?” Fu Suyun immediately became displeased. “You’re truly ungrateful, like a dog biting Lu Dongbin.”
She then looked at Dan Lingting: “You judge this. I’m clearly trying to protect the safety of women, and these people are criticizing me in return. It’s truly unreasonable. Don’t you think I’m right?”
“This…” Dan Lingting was clearly uncomfortable with such social dynamics, her face full of difficulty. Finally, under Fu Suyun’s intense gaze, she softly said, “I… I think everyone has a point…”
“You, you!” Fu Suyun looked exasperated, stepping forward and grabbing Dan Lingting’s hand. “If you agree with me, say it out loud! Don’t be afraid of their threats.”
“Huh?”
“Forget it, you’ll share a room with me tonight,” Fu Suyun pulled Dan Lingting towards room 203. “These people aren’t reliable. You’re a delicate young girl, so I’ll protect you.”
“Oh…”
“Wait.”
Just as Fu Suyun was about to close the door, Yan Changqing spoke up, stopping her.
“What? Do you want to criticize me a few more times?” Fu Suyun sneered incessantly.
“I just want to remind you about the order,” Yan Changqing couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. “Cai Xiaohong’s last order was to clean your Guest room. I suggest you thoroughly clean every corner of the room and don’t leave any dirt.”
“Are you saying they’ll set a trap in the room?” Fu Suyun’s expression instantly changed, and she released the door she was about to close tightly.