39. Subjective consciousness (thanks to HGT for explaining diamond gifts)

  My gaze stopped at the black and gold curtains covering the entire wall, and I felt a sense of doubt: had they been pulled up before? After thinking for a moment, I really couldn't remember, but judging from the geographical location of my house, that place should be the balcony. I took a step forward, stopping at a distance of one arm's length, and when I reached out to lift the curtains, I felt inexplicably tense. Through the gap, the floor-to-ceiling glass sliding door was outside, which was indeed the balcony.

  But the high wall's shadow is nowhere to be seen.

  In a daze, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and grasped my left shoulder, pulling me into a chest as I stumbled in shock. A familiar voice came from above: "Although your reaction is slow, you're not completely hopeless, at least you know to look for it here."

  She glared at him, with a hint of annoyance: "Is this fun for you?" His dark eyes sparkled in the dim light, where was the previous distress? As soon as I struggled, his other arm held me tight from behind and lightly scolded: "Don't move!" This time, I was completely stuck to his body, behind the curtains, blocking out the light from inside the room. In the dimness, his outline was clear, and his breath wafted over.

  Her cheeks suddenly flushed, her eyes dodged and didn't dare to look at him. But just for a moment, when he spoke, the ambiguous atmosphere was dispersed.

  "Three times your subjective consciousness misled you: First, closing my eyes made you mistakenly think I was drowsy; Second, the wheelchair overturning and the gate opening wide made you directly think that someone had gone out; Third, even if you reacted and turned back, the details were still not clear in your mind, causing your hesitation, and thus giving up halfway."

  My eyebrows furrowed tighter, and I didn't like the taste of being analyzed by him. It was as if all my actions were under his control, but those three points were indeed my real reactions at that time, so I had no way to refute them.

  Just as he was lamenting, he suddenly changed his tone: "This is the entire shape of this case. Ordinary people can only go to the second pass, and then they will follow the set route."

  Astonished... I heard myself ask in a voiceless tone: "Are you saying that everything just now was intentionally arranged by you to mimic the case?"

  "Behavioral logic is interconnected."

  It's hard to follow his train of thought, who can connect these two things?

  Gao Cheng patted me on the head like he was patting a small dog: "Go back and think about it, hand in your test paper tomorrow morning. If you don't pass, be careful or I'll fix you."

  "But..."

  "He interrupted me: 'Three chances to ask questions, you've exceeded them.'"

  ————

  The next morning, I wandered in the corridor, not waiting for the elevator, but staring at the door of the high-rise building with the key in my hand. The key in my hand was thrown to me by him before he left last night, and he ordered me in a commanding tone: "Go make a spare key, including yours."

  Nature didn't truly listen to him, and the locksmith shop wasn't even open that early. It's all his fault for giving me that problem yesterday, which kept me up all night, my brain constantly racing, my nerves on edge. It's a bit like when a beginner first gets a glimpse of the way, can't suppress the surging emotions, and has an insatiable desire to learn more.

  After really taking the key to open the door, the house was quiet and still, my feet felt a little unsteady, and I had the urge to retreat. But then I heard a muffled sound coming from the kitchen, could it be that someone was already up? I followed the sound and found myself in front of an astonishing scene...

  On the wheelchair, Gao Cheng sat in front of the refrigerator. The muffled sound just now should be the sound of opening the refrigerator door. He stretched out his hand and touched it inside, then took out a carton of milk, twisted open the lid, and poured it into a cup on the glass table, filling it to the brim. Then he put the milk carton back in the refrigerator and took out a packaged hamburger from inside, placed it in a microwave oven on one side, set the time, and the microwave started running.

  It's nothing unusual, as long as you keep your eyes open while doing it, but the high wall closes its eyes.