Hints at GL - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

One evening, in a certain village.

In an affluent area near South London stood a villa. Its footprint was ordinary, but vast stretches of lawn spread out far into the surroundings. Behind it lay a deep, dense forest, from which the sound of gurgling water drifted out.

A black Aston Martin came to a stop before the gates of the villa. A tall woman stepped out first, her slightly curved eyes scanning the surroundings before she looked back at a visibly nervous Zhong Ning. “Let’s go.”

The cast-iron gates were unlocked, clearly because residents in such an area were accustomed to relaxing their guard.

The two walked slowly across a stone path and stood before the white villa.

Zhong Ning watched as Su Yuan pressed the doorbell, her nerves tightening instinctively. Just then, she felt a hand lightly rest on her shoulder. Su Yuan’s voice drifted into her ear, soft and soothing, “Don’t be afraid. Jacky is a good person.”

The door creaked open.

The man who opened it was a tall Chinese man in his fifties with a sharply contoured, long face. Although his age had taken him past his youth, one could still discern the handsome features of his younger years. He glanced at the two of them and said in a low voice, “Come in.”

Zhong Ning was surprised that he didn’t seem surprised at all; Su Yuan must have explained the situation to him beforehand. She subconsciously glanced at the woman beside her with the gentle smile. Come to think of it, if it weren’t for Su Yuan’s dedicated arrangements, she would probably still be at a complete loss.

“Follow me upstairs to the study. It’s quieter there,” Jacky’s deep voice carried no emotion, perhaps a result of a naturally cold temperament.

“Okay,” Zhong Ning gathered her thoughts and replied with a faint smile.

The study’s furnishings were consistent with the overall style of the villa: brass wall lamps, mahogany tables and chairs, and a grandfather clock. The most eye-catching feature was an oil painting on the wall.

The painting occupied almost the entire wall. It depicted a dark, pitch-black forest with only a corner of a gloomy sky visible, and a gurgling stream flowing through the woods. In the bottom right corner was a young girl in a white gauze dress, sitting on a cold stone by the stream, leaning over to wash clothes.

Zhong Ning stared at the painting for a long while until Jacky finally spoke to remind her, “You are Zhong Ning?”

She turned around as if waking from a dream. “Ah, yes. Hello.”

Jacky’s deep eyes fixed on her for a moment. He said, “First, let me clarify: I generally don’t do this sort of thing. This time, it wasn’t just for Su Yuan’s sake. The main reason is—I am very interested in your situation.”

Zhong Ning felt a bit surprised and instinctively replied, “You flatter me.”

“I’ve heard about your matter from Su Yuan, and I received the records of… your dreams from Alex.” He paused, frowning as he flipped through the documents. “But these are still missing some information. I need to understand your family situation in detail, not just the form Su Yuan had you fill out for me. Is that okay?”

Zhong Ning startled, then nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

“I’ve looked at this form. Are you from a single-parent household?” Jacky pushed up his glasses and motioned for her and Su Yuan to sit, pointing at the data. “Were you raised by your father or your mother?”

Zhong Ning looked at him, surprised by his extraordinary insight. She answered tentatively, “Yes, it’s a single-parent home.”

Jacky nodded. “I could tell from your handwriting. You were raised by your father, right?”

I haven’t even said anything yet, he can deduce that just from handwriting? Zhong Ning was even more astonished. But Jacky ignored the look on her face and asked again, “Was it a divorce, or did your mother have an accident?”

“I…” Mentioning this caused Zhong Ning’s gaze to dim visibly.

“It’s alright, I know now,” Jacky nodded, once again making a note before she could speak. “Your mother had an accident.”

He stared at Zhong Ning for a while, his low voice ringing out, “It seems your mother passed away when you were very young. When the accident happened, you were probably… five or six years old?”

Zhong Ning began to feel uncomfortable all over.

Yet the man insisted on continuing. “One last question. Your father is a city official, and your mother was… a teacher?” Jacky’s deep gaze searched Zhong Ning’s eyes as if trying to see right through her. “Oh, a doctor.”

He finally stopped and set the folder aside. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it. In fact, I could know these things without asking you personally, but understanding your family background face-to-face helps the hypnosis proceed more effectively.”

Zhong Ning suddenly asked, “Professor, do you believe in superpowers?”

Jacky looked at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. “The so-called superpower is actually a capability that one’s subconscious hopes to obtain. It cannot be denied that the human potential still has many undeveloped areas. Whether I believe in superpowers isn’t important. But as for believing in you… that can only be determined after actual testing.”

At this point, he suddenly turned and asked, “Anna, how is your Mandarin listening comprehension?”

Su Yuan, who hadn’t interjected until now, shook her head slightly and smiled. “I can understand simple things; the difficult stuff is beyond me.”

Jacky nodded understandingly and said in a low voice, “That’s a pity. For the hypnosis later, I’ll likely use Chinese…” He stood up from his chair. “If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me afterward, or ask this young lady herself.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Su Yuan smiled.

“Zhong Ning, sit over here on the recliner,” Jacky motioned for her to move while he went to his desk. “I should state beforehand that hypnosis is quite draining, especially since your situation is unique. Therefore, please don’t expect to see all the information in a single session.”

Seeing Zhong Ning nod obediently, he continued, “We’ll agree on this: the moment you can’t handle it, I will wake you. The signal will be, the moment you see me in your dream, you will wake up.”

“Yes, I understand.” Zhong Ning took a deep breath, suddenly feeling nervous.

“Sit here and rest for a moment. I have a word for Anna,” Jacky glanced at Su Yuan, who stood up in response. Before leaving, Su Yuan whispered to comfort Zhong Ning, “Don’t worry, nothing will happen.”

“Mhm.” Zhong Ning’s anxious heart finally relaxed a bit.

Left alone, she couldn’t hear the voices of the other two. The only sound in her ears was the regular “tick-tock” of the old clock. She kept looking at the massive oil painting, her gaze gradually becoming vacant… she felt a strange illusion, as if she could actually smell the cold, fresh scent of the forest.

Her thoughts drifted further and further, her body becoming extremely light. Finally… she actually fell asleep.

Mist spread out from around her body, nearly obscuring her vision.

She walked out of the empty subway station. There were no signs. The entire world felt as if someone had pressed the pause button at a certain point in time.

All of London seemed even colder and gloomier than usual. She pulled her thin coat tighter, but it had little effect.

The surrounding buildings were all so unfamiliar, yet Zhong Ning subconsciously knew which way to go. She closed her eyes and quickened her pace, thinking she could escape all this sooner.

Suddenly, she bumped into a woman’s embrace. “…Careful.”

With that crisp voice, a soft silhouette came into view. This tall woman looked somewhat like a stranger, yet also somewhat familiar. “Who are you?”

The corners of Su Yuan’s lips curved, but she only looked at her with a faint smile. “You know who I am… you just can’t remember.”

Zhong Ning’s fine brows knit. She felt she should have understood, yet she couldn’t figure it out.

Su Yuan smiled, avoiding the question. “Which direction did you come from?” Her words interrupted Zhong Ning’s train of thought, leading her to look toward the surrounding white European-style buildings. “I… think I came from there.”

The gentle voice continued to guide her. “What street is this?”

“This is…” A sharp pain flashed in the corner of Zhong Ning’s eyes. She raised her fingertips to her forehead, only to discover to her surprise that her vision was blurry.

“Sorry, I don’t think I’ve ever been like this before.”

Zhong Ning didn’t know what was wrong with her. She took a deep breath and tried repeatedly. “I seem to… wait a second, let me look more carefully…?”

The moment she uttered those words, a violent pain erupted in her head.

The familiar, soothing voice rang in her ear. The woman seemed to move closer, her warm fingertips smoothing over Zhong Ning’s forehead, gently massaging. “Zhong Ning, relax your body.”

“What’s happening to her now?”

Su Yuan stood by the recliner, leaning over the eyes-closed Zhong Ning, slowly massaging her temples. “She seems to be struggling.”

Jacky stood beside her, frowning. “There’s some mental resistance. I don’t quite understand… make her relax. We can’t let all this effort go to waste now.”

In her haze, Zhong Ning finally seemed to feel better.

She recovered slightly, and that comforting voice rang out again. “Can we go now?”

Zhong Ning looked at the exquisite woman before her. She let her gently take her hand, not wanting to resist; she felt that no matter how the other woman treated her, it was only natural.

She nodded slowly. “Let’s go.”

Finally, the two crossed the third street. A classically decorated bar appeared abruptly before them. Along the way, only this place was brightly lit. As if under some sort of spell, Zhong Ning instinctively wanted to push open the door.

“Don’t be in such a rush,” Su Yuan held her back.

Zhong Ning turned back, looking at her in confusion.

“Can you see that sign clearly?” Su Yuan’s eyes curved slightly as she asked softly.

“Wait a moment,” Zhong Ning was puzzled, yet she still looked up. This time was just like before; no matter how she tried, it was blurry. “I’m sorry, I might have some astigmatism… I wasn’t like this before.” She was getting anxious.

“Don’t rush, take it slow.” Su Yuan slowed her tone as much as possible, guiding her slowly.

It felt as if a long time had passed.

Zhong Ning stared at it with a frown and finally read it out: “STARS.”

“Anna, did you hear that?”

Jacky noted down a few words and signaled Su Yuan with his eyes.

“Wait a second,” Su Yuan was still holding Zhong Ning’s hand by the edge of the chair. She pulled out her phone with a frown and quickly located the bar on Google Maps. “That’s right, STARS. It’s at No. 53, postcode WC2A 2JB.”

Jacky nodded steadily.