44 3.3

Sulking at the corner of the room was his experiment who not too long ago was excitedly making one-sided conversation with him. He peered at the untouched crystal nucleus on the table and frowned.

"Why do you not eat?"

"....."

Ye Junli had no experience with consoling a person, let alone a superhuman breed and empathy was an emotion indistinct to himself. In the apocalypse intelligence and strength means power, so as someone from the top of the food chain, he never had to accommodate other people's interest and rather it was everyone else pandering to his whims. This silent treatment was a rather novel experience to be honest.

He faintly remembered his parents' cats who threw tantrums whenever they would leave them for a long period of time but were quick to be placated whenever there were treats involved. He dug his pockets and managed to fish out a snickers bar.

He waved the snickers like waving a treat in Feng Mian's direction. Realising that her back was still facing him, he moved in closer and nudged the bar to her cheek when tapping it to her shoulder did not work.

"Chocolate?"

He waited for a few seconds and just when he thought the bait did not work, a pair of hands deftly grabbed it at the speed of light and his hands were empty. Feng Mian turned her butt to face her old housemate inch by inch all the while glaring discontentedly at him.

Ye Junlin raised an amused brow. "Did I anger you somehow?"

Feng Mian huffed through her nose. "No!"

Several researchers who saw this exchange from the one-way mirror outside gawked in disbelief. 'Who is this inside the room? Did someone sneak in and stole 119 and replace her with a look-alike when they weren't looking? Who is this person selling meng to one of the most poker-faced researchers in China?'

Ye Junlin unzipped his briefcase and took out several A3 sized pictures and placed them on the table. "I brought you something."

Feng Mian knew it was ridiculous of her to be offended at a person who has lost his memory but felt it would be too embarrassing to stop moping too suddenly. So she adapted a severely offended look while dragging her heels to sit in front of the man. She acted as if she was reluctant to spare him a glance.

There were three photographs in front of her; all of famous artworks. Having visited the art gallery several times in the past world, she was somewhat familiar with paintings and such.

But what Ye Junlin asked her wasn't whether she knew what they were, who drew them, or what they were about, but what she felt from the three paintings.

"These are three paintings produced by Wang Yin, George Condo, and Luo Zhongli respectively. Let's start with this one." He pointed to the middle picture and slid it closer to her side.

"What do you think about this picture?"

It was a painting of George Condo's The Cracked Cardinal. Feng Mian squinted her eyes as if analysing the painting below her.

Feng Mian: "Yo 555, why do you think they're interested in my opinions on some paintings?"

System 555: "I also don't know. Why do you think ba?"

Feng Mian's nose had nearly touched the table as her head hovered above the painting in pretense concentration. Ye Junlin saw her body swaying side by side and in circular motions but could not tell what she was thinking as her hair covered her face entirely from view.

Feng Mian: "I've once read Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. In the story, art was used as a way to detect some semblance of a soul in a human being."

System 555: "Wah! Is that what they're trying to do, see if you have a human soul?"

Feng Mian: "Maybe."

Ye Junlin's calm heart gave a slight jump as Feng Mian whipped her head backwards without warning, her hair scattering and nearly hitting him in the face. Her eyes had also rolled back as if possessed.

In a low voice, dripped with the mysticism of a shaman trying to con someone, she spoke, "I see it now."

Ye Junlin looked upwards to the roof where Feng Mian was apparently staring at to see nothing but white tiles.

'BANG!'

The surface of the metal table was hit loudly and Ye Junlin saw 119 creeping in from across the table, her face a breadth's hair away from his own. He had a sense that the room's lights flickered for a brief second.

He cleared his throat. "What do you see?"

Feng Mian clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"No greed surpasses charity. No delusion surpasses concentration. No ill will surpasses morality."

System 555: "You're secretly a conman aren't you?"

"This painting. Haisshhh~ this painting. Tsk tsk tsk. Look at his eyes! These are eyes of greed!"

Ye Junlin: 'Really? Why don't I see it?'

"These are the eyes of someone who will backstab you when you're looking at the front, and will front stab you as you look at the back. Bad person! Nappeun man! Cattivo! So catty that people who met him all became a dog person! See those red robes? Those were Red Riding Hood's until he stole them! Tsk tsk tsk scumbag who wouldn't even let children off."

"..." For the first time in his life, Ye Junlin was rendered speechless and unable to comprehend. Could art be understood to this extent?

Ye Junlin wasn't sure how to assess the psychological trait of 119. To say she was artistic; she had clearly missed the statement of the problem, and to say her three world views were not right would also be wrong; she clearly knew what greed and morals were. He was also pretty sure that multilingualism wasn't a program they've installed in her?

There was a feeling of an incoming headache from the workload of having to write the final report. It was better that he come again when he's more prepared.

"You're leaving already?" Ye Junlin had already finished packing up as he ran his itinerary for the week in his head.

"Un. I'll see you in the next two days."

A beeping sound let them know that the mechanism for the inside gate was opening. Feng Mian followed Ye Junlin to see him off at the door, which also scared the laboratory witless as they saw her approaching with an unusually amiable smile.

One of them whispered. "Get ready to close the gate ba! Quickly! Quickly!"

Ye Junlin turned. "Remember to eat your supplement." By supplement, he meant the crystal nucleus.

Feng Mian waved him goodbye. "Okay."

The inner gate was promptly shut soon after Ye Junlin crossed over and the outer door was unlocked. Seeing that her housemate really was leaving, Feng Mian gave a sprint, and in the same position as when they first met, hugged him for the last time.

She gave no mind to Ye Junlin's frozen body and squashed them together. Through the bar's gap, she placed her head on one of his shoulders and gave a friendly farewell tap on his other while showing an expression of reluctance to part. "Goodbye. And one more thing..."

"I like fruits better. Next time bring just bring one of those," Ye Junlin felt her breath tickling his ears as she whispered, warm and floating. He nodded, absentmindedly.