“What sort of weird idea is that?”
The boy smiled. “So people say.”
Gong Jie disagreed. “Well then, have you ever heard such a saying?”
“Tell me.”
The man continued, “You can live longer if you sleep early. Sleeping late can lead to sudden death.”
The boy nodded. “That’s a pertinent and scientific statement.”
The man turned and leaned back against the parapet. “Can Gong Fan hear whatever I’m saying now?” he suddenly asked, looking serious.
“No he can’t.”
“Does that mean he won’t know anything I tell you?”
The boy nodded. “Of course.”
“Very strange.”
“Strange in what way?”
Gong Jie narrowed his eyes, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “Way before now, you already had a split personality, but the distinction wasn’t as obvious as this.”
The boy was stunned for a moment before he realized what the man meant.
“In the past, I controlled his personality. It wasn’t so much control as I didn’t even realize he existed. Because when he manifested, I’d have a vague memory of what he did and said. It only made me wonder why it seemed I wasn’t under control anymore. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. All I knew was that sometimes I couldn’t help myself from doing or saying certain things. Including the shocking Project Deva Eye. I knew that, too.”
Gong Jie nodded. “Then why did it eventually go out of control?”
The boy replied. “Alice hypnotized me. She entered my hypnotic world and discovered my second personality. In fact, erasing the memory merely sealed my first personality in hypnosis. From that point on, the second personality was completely out of control. I tried to suppress it, too. Gradually, however, I lost control.”
Gong Jie was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked with a grave expression, “Actually, there is a treatment plan. Gong Fan is willing to sleep and go to the Land of the Dead. Are you willing to…”
“I’m not willing to.”
The boy cut him off. Although he said it casually, the man could tell he was shaking.
Gong Jie felt sorry for him for a moment.
“Actually, I used to loathe him, but then I realized I was the one who created him. I forced all my painful memories on him so that I could be at ease. He, on the other hand, has always carried so much. He’s a part of me, too. Why should I destroy him?”
The man remained silent.
The boy studied him for a moment, the spark in his eyes fading.
“I know you’re worried about me and I thank you for that.”
Disgusted, the man ruffled his hair. “Why are you being so polite with me? You’re not cute at all.” He crouched down and looked into the boy’s eyes. “What are you going to do when you grow up and fall for a woman he doesn’t like?” he asked, only half-joking.
The boy blushed, feeling a little frustrated. “Do we have to think so far ahead now?”
“Of course. Actually, it’s not far away at all. People have emotions and desires. When you enter your teenage years, when your heart is stirred, it’s inevitable that there will be girls you like. What will you do if he doesn’t like them and rejects them?”
The boy, however, was clearly unconcerned.
“I find it hard to imagine falling for someone. Do I have to live with my wife when I get married?”
“How would it be otherwise?”
Gong Jie countered, “Do you want to stick to your mommy forever?”
