Old Road (19)

"Don't mention it. I took the joke too far."

Faced with Fran's solemn thanks, Fu Qian replied with a smile, using her own words.

In less than half a minute, the tense, brutal scene from moments ago had vanished without a trace, and the atmosphere was perfectly harmonious.

It was clear, though, that Fran didn't really believe his explanation that it had all been a joke.

Still, Fran was sensible enough not to press the matter.

Only then did she lower her head and step out of the gruesome torture device.

"Looks like Jessica really isn't here."

A moment later, Fran sighed.

"I should have realized sooner."

"Even if she hadn't run into trouble and her movements weren't restricted, the odds of her coming back would still have been tiny."

"Now that I think about it, insisting on coming up here was completely unreasonable. I just wanted to satisfy an obsession."

"People as honest and self-aware as you are rare these days! But I'm more interested in how you're doing. How do you feel right now?"

Fu Qian made no comment on Fran's deep self-reflection. He simply watched her with interest.

"You seem a little different from before."

"Different? I feel fine."

Fran frowned at that.

"But you're right. Something does seem to have changed."

A moment later, she looked thoughtful.

"It seems to have started just now. I was locked in there and terrified, but then suddenly I felt calmer than I ever have before. The fear just disappeared."

"Now that I think about it, that really is a strange change."

"Anything else?"

Fu Qian listened closely, then asked.

"Anything else... What do you mean?"

Fran looked a little confused.

"What's in the room next door?"

Fu Qian pointed toward the wall and asked out of the blue.

"Nothing