TFSRITA Chapter 122

Jiang Cheng frowned deeply and said, “This painting… it could indicate that he may develop suicidal tendencies later. You must keep a close eye on him. Never leave him alone again.”

He used to be fine on his own, but that’s no longer the case.

The three members of the Chu family nodded furiously, like bobbleheads, seriously taking his advice. “We won’t! No!”

Even Qin Zhen nodded and said apologetically, “I’m sorry—it won’t happen again.”

Today, Chu Zhao had insisted on being alone. In the past, forcing him to comply would have caused an incident, so Qin Zhen had relented.

Jiang Cheng gave them more instructions before leaving.

The Chu family was left in a state of silent panic.

With a sudden thud, Zhou Huaiya knelt in front of Yan Qing, her eyes red. “Qingqing, I’m not trying to use gratitude to demand anything from you, but he only responds to your words now. Could you spend more time with him? Just talk to him, that’s all. If he ever seems like he might hurt himself, call me right away. You don’t need to do anything else—just keep him company, okay?”

“I will, Auntie. I told you, I’ll stay with him and take good care of him,” Yan Qing said quickly, helping her up.

Even Chu Heng hadn’t expected his wife to get so emotional. It took him some effort to lift her to her feet, and he comforted her gently, “Qingqing is a good kid. You’ve seen it yourself today. Don’t worry; our son will get better.”

“I’m scared!” Zhou Huaiya sobbed into his arms. “Jiang Cheng never said he might commit suicide before, but now… now he’s saying this… sob…”

She choked up, unable to finish her sentence.

Yan Qing felt a deep ache in her heart at the sight and said firmly, “Auntie, don’t worry. I swear I’ll take good care of him!”

“Thank you!” Before Zhou Huaiya could respond, a slightly awkward but steady voice interrupted.

Yan Qing turned to see Chu Yang, his expression unusually serious. “No matter what happens in the future, as long as you don’t hurt my brother, I’ll treat you as my sister.”

“There’s no need to be so formal,” Yan Qing replied, feeling uneasy. Their intensity left her feeling guilty—she hadn’t done anything to deserve such trust.

Chu Yang, seeing her reaction, said no more.

There was no point in saying anything else; actions spoke louder than words.

Zhou Huaiya and Chu Heng also stayed quiet. In this household, Chu Yang was poised to take over as the decision-maker. His words carried more weight than even Chu Heng’s.

That evening, as promised, they had hot pot.

They hadn’t even started cooking yet—just opening the packet of hot pot base released an aromatic, spicy fragrance that filled the entire living room.

The Chu family rarely ate such heavily flavored food, but Chu Zhao had a small appetite, like a cat. Whenever he expressed a craving, even if he couldn’t eat much, they would accompany him and eat it too.

The moment Yan Qing caught a whiff of the spices, her mouth began to water.

Qin Zhen, whose room was the furthest inside the house, had a bed and wardrobe but little else in the space. His room connected directly to Chu Zhao’s, allowing him to monitor Chu Zhao at all times.

As the hot pot began to simmer, Qin Zhen informed Yan Qing that Chu Zhao had woken up and was currently lost in thought.

Immediately, the Chu family turned expectant eyes toward Yan Qing.

Taking a deep breath, Yan Qing said, “I’ll give it a try!”

“Try, try!”

“If it doesn’t work, don’t force it!”

“We can bring it to him if needed!”

The three Chu family members each chimed in, but their hopeful gazes were all fixed on her. The light in their eyes made Yan Qing feel like she had to succeed.

Still, no one could be certain of the outcome.

Yan Qing went upstairs and gently knocked on the door. There was no response.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “Chu Zhao, it’s Yan Qing. Can I come in?”

Chu Zhao’s door couldn’t be locked—not because the family wanted to intrude, but to prevent accidents. Still, they rarely entered without his permission.

Yan Qing was prepared to enter if he didn’t respond, but to her surprise, a voice from inside quickly answered, “You can.”

She pushed the door open and saw the young man lying on the bed, hands folded over his abdomen, staring blankly at the ceiling.

His posture was impeccable, and even when she entered, he didn’t move.

Yan Qing couldn’t help but smile. When she turned on the light, his beautiful face came into clear view, his expression thoughtful.

“What are you doing?” Yan Qing asked curiously as she walked over to him.

Jiang Cheng mentioned that most of the time, Chu Zhao was like a normal person, just someone who had been isolated for too long and lived in his own world. His emotional growth had stalled, and his personality was naturally simple.

Yan Qing couldn’t help but wonder—had he always been this endearing?

When she got closer, Chu Zhao seemed to realize the proximity might be a bit much. His cheeks turned slightly pink, and he finally turned to look at her. In a soft voice, he said, “I was thinking… am I alive or dead?”

His calm tone made such a philosophical question sound ordinary.

Yan Qing didn’t know how to respond to that, but remembering her mission, she quickly said, “You’re alive because you can still taste delicious food. Remember the hot pot I told you about? It’s really good. Would you like to try some?”

Chu Zhao’s lips pressed into a line as he hesitated, but after a moment, he nodded. “Okay.”

Yan Qing immediately reached out to pull him out of bed.

Startled, Chu Zhao exclaimed, “What are you doing?”

“Getting you downstairs to eat!” Yan Qing replied. “Why not?”

Chu Zhao hesitated again. He didn’t want to leave his room. The outside world felt terrifying like a monster waiting to swallow him whole.

But he had just agreed to her request.

Seeing his hesitation, Yan Qing quickly said, “But you already said yes!”

Chu Zhao frowned slightly but eventually gave in. “Fine.”

Yan Qing beamed with joy.

The Chu family was beyond excited to see Chu Zhao coming downstairs to eat with them.