Chapter 880: Chapter 878: Cecilia’s World Chapter 880: Chapter 878: Cecilia’s World Even though she hadn’t made a sound, Fu Qian understood Tan Ying’s meaning quite well.
At the next moment, he nodded.
It had to be said, her imagination was indeed rich.
Under continuous stimulation, she had quickly interpreted Cecilia’s behavior.
Even this interpretation aligned with his own view–just like Truman, who was trapped in a huge studio as the legend goes, she believed she was an actor scrutinized by the entire world.
In fact, since meeting this special client, Fu Qian had been pondering the reason for that sense of disharmony.
As a consultant with professional ethics, Fu Qian never profiled his own clients, but from some of the most direct feelings, his client was undoubtedly somewhat different from the person before him.
Setting aside the ludicrous possibility of a hacked account, Fu Qian’s first reaction was that there was some kind of cognitive bias present, commonly known as a subpar mental state.
And after only a few exchanges, Fu Qian had confirmed the existence of this bias.
She was graceful in comportment and proper in speech, yet there was a clear, performative quality about her.
Her every move seemed to interact with some invisible scrutiny as if she were at the center of a stage.
That was an abnormal state, completely different from the usual sense of affectation.
Given such an understanding, when she mentioned that she waited in the neighboring city for more than a month just for his reply, he wasn’t too surprised.
Although Tan Ying had sought his opinion, she couldn’t help but turn even paler at the sight of Fu Qian nodding.
Under the dim light in the hallway, Lady Cecilia was looking this way with a meaningful gaze, a smile playing on her lips.
Recalling their interactions all the way here, Tan Ying found it overwhelmingly strange.
Just like Truman in the story, did she believe that there were hundreds of cameras on her at all times?
Even including Tan Ying and Fu Qian as actors guiding her?
Judging by appearances alone, it was really hard to imagine that such fantastical thoughts could exist in this lady’s head.
By this reasoning, her own attempt to leave earlier without a trace was probably already “seen through” by her–is that why she asked if she had frightened Tan Ying?
The more she thought about it, the more her heart raced; though there were no strange items like the last time with the mirror, Tan Ying felt this experience was even more terrifying.
What kind of constitution did she have, that she never encountered anything normal in this place?
As a young person of good character, Tan Ying’s first reaction was even to look for a problem within herself, rather than blame Fu Qian.
“Let’s walk and talk, or the staff will come to usher us out soon.”
As Tan Ying gradually came to understand everything, Fu Qian simply made a hand gesture, indicating they should continue walking.
“So now, how do you feel about the actors you finally chose after seeing them?”
He asked effortlessly, without any objection to the client’s understanding.
“The perfect selection.”
Cecilia smiled at him.
“At least before meeting the person, I could not imagine that the Razor Consultant truly existed.”
“Is that why you were so persistent? Do you think that the person you interacted with before couldn’t possibly be a real human?”
“Yes, in my imagination, there should’ve been at least a group of humans, a team.”
Cecilia didn’t deny Fu Qian’s words.
“But after meeting you, it’s like some unimaginable oddity is placed before me, making me feel that if anyone could actually achieve those things, it must be someone like you.”
“You even chose a very good place for communication.”
She surveyed the surroundings.
“Under fear beyond one’s control, it’s difficult to conceal one’s true self.”
“If it weren’t for the fact that the time was dragged out a bit, your performance might have shaken my beliefs.”
Oddity… Theoretically, it’s a compliment, isn’t it?
Comforting himself, Fu Qian watched as Cecilia shook her head.
“Forgive my bluntness, but even if your judgment is correct, such behavior itself has no impact.”
“That’s true.”
Cecilia finally showed emotion, sighing softly after a few seconds of silence.
“So what if there are no suitable actors, you wouldn’t admit it; even if you did, it might just be a reverse ploy to confound me.”
Excluding the bump on the head, everything about her logically seemed to be in order.
Fu Qian silently critiqued in his mind as he quickly led the stunned Tan Ying by the hand, helping her narrowly evade a staff member’s attempt to grab her ankle.
The more logical a person is, the more serious the problem is when their worldview is self-consistent; it becomes an unsolvable orb of perfection…
…
Being entangled by a child with a rumored mental illness, Fu Qian didn’t feel any unusual emotions.
After all, during this time, he had been encountering neurotics by the dozen every day.
In fact, what concerned him more was the origin of this situation.
Some things just seemed too coincidental.
“So when did you start ‘awakening’?” he asked.
“Much earlier than it appeared,” Cecilia said with a smile.
“I can tell you that it isn’t some fantasy from a midnight dream but has a solid reason behind it. I am very confident in my own judgment.”
“Believe me, anyone in my shoes would come to the same conclusion.”
Your style of speech makes me almost believe you are Brother Yuan Fang whom I just dealt with.
Fu Qian silently snarked.
“We’re here.”
Given their brisk pace in the latter half of the journey, the trio had already reached their destination and left that terrifying space by now.
Only then did Tan Ying let go of Fu Qian’s arm, inhaled deeply in the noon sunlight, and relaxed a little.
“Lady Cecilia… What are your plans now?” she asked, hesitantly biting her lip before politely maintaining the formal address.
“Of course, I’m going home,” Cecilia replied with a smile, sounding as though she had decided long ago.
“I had a good time coming out, but there’s a lot waiting for me back home.”
She’s leaving already? Just came for a quick look?
Although Tan Ying was a bit surprised, when considering Cecilia’s psychological state, she found nothing incomprehensible about it.
“Mr. Fu.”
At that moment, Lady Cecilia turned her attention to Fu Qian again.
“I’m so glad to know someone like you exists. Can I come by again when convenient? Or do you consult in types other than Razor?” she inquired.
“I do,” replied Fu Qian with confidence.
“That’s wonderful.”
She then reached into her neckline and fished out a business card.
Honestly, the motion wasn’t very graceful, but Fu Qian could somewhat understand her mindset.
It was one way to release emotions in the face of some unsolvable mysteries.
“If possible, I’d like to formally hire you as my personal consultant. You can choose the time, place, mode of operation, and even the content of the work.”
“I hope you’ll consider it, take as long as you need–”
“I accept.”
Before she could finish, Fu Qian took the business card from her hand.
Joking aside, even though he wasn’t sure if there were any supernatural factors behind her issues, how could he refuse a clue that came knocking on his door?
Especially when he had paid for his own coffee and travel costs; wouldn’t it be a loss without any gain?
“That’s wonderful, I’m looking forward to working with you,” she said, a little taken aback by his prompt agreement.
However, she immediately showed a radiant smile, very pleased with the development.
The next moment, she bowed gracefully as if taking a curtain call before an invisible audience.
“Sorry to have troubled you with my visit,” she said.