Can't afford to pay for the takeout? Stunning CEO: Then pay with your body!

Zhang Yan lay on the bed and pulled his hand back from the woman's.

He knew his name.

Knowing the heart of nature's craftsmanship.

Know that you are a maintainer.

Knowing the community matrix, knowing how to observe the stars, Qin Xiao.

But the person in front of him, he searched every memory area he could find, and found nothing.

"Who are you?"

The woman pursed her lips slightly, a movement so subtle that it was barely noticeable to most people.

"Nie Qingcheng".

These three words entered his auditory system. Zhang Yan waited for two seconds for the corresponding image to appear in his mind.

No, there's nothing at all.

Do I know you?

Nie Qingcheng turned around, picked up a metal box from the bedside table, and patted it on his chest.

See for yourself.

Then she walked to the cabinet in the corner, opened the door, took out a thermos, unscrewed the lid, took out the bowl inside, and placed it on the bedside table.

Pork rib soup, hot.

"Drink the soup after you finish watching." After saying this, she took a USB flash drive out of her pocket, plugged it into the media player on the bedside table, pressed the play button, and then walked out.

The door was locked from the outside.

Zhang Yan looked at the closed door, then at the metal box on his chest, then at the steaming pork rib soup, and finally at the holographic image projected by the player.

The image shows himself.

He was sitting at a table, wearing a gray T-shirt, his hair was a little messy, and there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well for many days.

He spoke in the video. "If you are watching this video, it means you have amnesia. Don't panic, let me finish."

Zhang Yan leaned against the pillow, listening to himself in the video narrating a woman's story for forty-seven minutes.

She likes to wear silk pajamas.

Her collar was always neat because she felt that being sloppy was disrespectful to others.

When she's angry, she doesn't argue; she stays silent first, and then says something that usually leaves a lasting impression.

She would straighten his slippers before going to bed.

She mortgaged three ports to prepare a way out for him.

Her password was his birthday.

Her feet were very cold, and every night she would put them on his lap to warm them.

After watching all the videos, Zhang Yan sat on the bed in a daze for a while.

The pork rib soup was still hot; the thermos was well insulated. He picked up the bowl and took a sip.

The salt was added just right.

He finished his soup and pressed the call button by his bedside.

The door opened, and Nie Qingcheng walked in. She glanced at the empty bowl, then took it away and put it back in the thermos.

Her movements were swift and efficient, without any unnecessary emotional outward expression.

"Finished watching?"

"I've finished watching it."

"Is there anything you'd like to ask?"

Zhang Yan thought for a moment. "The video says you mortgaged three ports."

"Um."

"Interest rate 1.2%?"

"Um."

"Have you renewed it?"

Nie Qingcheng glanced at him. "It's done."

Zhang Yan nodded, then said, "I really don't remember you right now."

Nie Qingcheng closed the thermos lid with her usual swift movements. "I know."

"But in the video, I seem pretty sure you're important."

"It's not just a guess, it's a fact."

Zhang Yan picked up the metal box, rummaged through it, and opened it. Inside was a shell made from scraps of the Origin Fragment. He pressed a switch, and a holographic image popped up, showing the entire scene of the two of them from their first encounter to the present.

He watched it for about ten seconds and then turned it off.

There are too many to read in a short time.

"You should rest first." Nie Qingcheng picked up the thermos and walked out. "The second phase of synapse repair will begin tomorrow, and the cycle will take about seven to ten days."

"Wait a moment."

Nie Qingcheng stopped at the door.

Zhang Yan watched her retreating figure. "Have you eaten today?"

Nie Qingcheng turned to look at him, her expression unchanged.

"have eaten."

she left.

After locking the door, Zhang Yan sat on the bed for a while. He was very clear-headed and his body was fine, but there was a big blank in his mind.

Not all empty.

He remembered the Heart of the Heavenly Craftsman, the mecha, the battles, the Return to the Void, and the nosebleed during training.

But all the fragments related to that woman are gray, not black, just gray, as if something is blocking them, so you can't see the content, but you know there used to be something there.

He got out of bed and took a few steps, and found a pair of slippers placed neatly beside the bed, with a finger's width between them.

He put on his slippers and went to the sink to wash his hands.

My complexion looks alright in the mirror, better than in the video; at least my dark circles aren't as bad.

He sat back down on the bed and started watching the holographic images in the metal box from the beginning.

At the twelfth minute, someone was outside the door.

It wasn't a knock, but footsteps that paused at the door for about three seconds before leaving.

Their footsteps were very light, and they were wearing flat shoes or slippers.

Zhang Yan continued watching the video.

When he reached the thirtieth minute, he noticed a problem.

When the woman in the video is smiling, the right side of her mouth moves first.

He didn't hear this detail in his narration in the video.

But he knew.

He was certain he knew.

It wasn't something I saw in the video; it was a vague perception in my mind that didn't belong to any specific image: when she smiled, the right corner of her mouth moved first.

Zhang Yan paused the video and sat down to think for a while.

He woke up at six o'clock the next morning.

The door to the medical pod unlocked from the outside, and Nie Qingcheng pushed it open, carrying a tray with white porridge and two small dishes on it.

"Eat breakfast."

Zhang Yan sat up, took the tray, and placed it on the mobile table.

Nie Qingcheng stood beside him watching him eat, without sitting down.

He ate three mouthfuls of porridge, then stopped and looked at her.

"Aren't you tired of standing?"

"Not tired."

"You have dark circles under your eyes; you haven't been sleeping much."

Nie Qingcheng glanced at him but didn't reply.

Zhang Yan finished his porridge, put the bowl and chopsticks back on the tray, and then he did something that he himself didn't know why he did.

He stood up and reached out to press back the corner of Nie Qingcheng's right collar that had been turned up.

The movement was very natural; from standing up to the fingers touching the collar, there was no thought process in between—it was just done.

After they finished, they were both stunned for a moment.

Zhang Yan withdrew his hand, looking at his fingers as if they were the hands of a stranger.

Nie Qingcheng's lips twitched slightly, but the movement was minimal.

She picked up the tray and turned around. "The repair team will be there at nine. You can sleep a little longer."

After the door closed, Zhang Yan stood there, looking at his right hand.

Why did he straighten her collar just now?

There is no memory of this person in my mind, no scenes of our time together, and no emotional connection.

But the moment the hand is extended is completely unconscious, like breathing, like blinking.

At noon, after the repair team finished the first treatment and left, Zhang Yan stayed alone in the medical pod.

He was hungry.

He remembered where the kitchen was in the villa; the medical pod was on the basement level, and the kitchen was on the ground floor. Go up the elevator and turn right to the second door.

He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

Pork ribs, ginger, scallions, cooking wine, goji berries.

He took out the ribs to thaw, boiled a pot of water, blanched them, took them out, changed the water, added ginger slices and scallion segments, brought it to a boil over high heat, and then turned it down to low heat.

Only after he finished doing these actions did he realize that he was stewing pork rib soup.

Why?

He didn't want pork rib soup; he wanted noodles.

But the hand had already put the ribs into the pot.

Nie Qingcheng appeared at the kitchen door at four o'clock in the afternoon and saw soup simmering on the stove. Zhang Yan was sitting behind the bar looking at the system panel.

She walked to the stove, lifted the pot lid to take a look, and then put it back on.

"How long has it been stewing?"

"Two hours." Zhang Yan looked up. "I don't know why I stewed this."

Nie Qingcheng took a bowl out of the cupboard. "Because you used to stew it for me twice a week."

"……oh."

Nie Qingcheng filled a bowl, sat down at the bar, and took a sip.

"There's not enough salt."

Zhang Yan looked at her, took the salt shaker from the spice rack, opened the lid, scooped out a little with a small spoon, and handed it to her.

Nie Qingcheng didn't take the salt container; she just looked at him.

Zhang Yan did something that puzzled him again: he added the small spoonful of salt directly into her bowl and stirred it a couple of times with a spoon.

After he finished, he put the salt shaker back and noticed that Nie Qingcheng was watching him.

"Are you testing me?" Zhang Yan asked.

"No," Nie Qingcheng continued drinking her soup. "You're testing yourself."

That night, Zhang Yan slept in the medical pod.

He was awakened at three in the morning by a sudden, inexplicable anxiety. He didn't know what he was anxious about, but he just felt that something was wrong.

He got out of bed, put on his slippers, and went to the door, which was locked.

He pressed unlock, the permission verification passed, and he had the highest level of access to this room.

I went out, went upstairs, and walked to the door of the master bedroom.

The door was closed.

Zhang Yan stood there for three seconds, wondering what he was doing there.

Then he squatted down and adjusted the direction of the pair of women's slippers by the door, making the distance between them about a finger's width.

I stood up, went downstairs, and went back to sleep.

On the morning of the third day, Nie Qingcheng delivered breakfast as usual.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Yan said, "I've watched the video and the hologram twice."

"Do you remember now?"

"No," Zhang Yan said. "But my body seems to remember a lot of things. I don't know who you are, but my hands know that your collar will be turned up, my sense of taste knows how much salt you need to add to your soup, and I will walk to your door at three in the morning to tidy up your slippers."

Nie Qingcheng put down her chopsticks.

"So who do you think I am now?"

Zhang Yan thought for a moment. "I don't know, but my body thinks you're the most important person to me."