"If I'm not mistaken, this isn't actually a kitchen..."
Wen Xishu seemed to imagine a child named Charlie, having a pair of "stiff" parents.
This isn't a kitchen at all, but a prison where emotions are materialized.
Wen Xishu's reading comprehension reached its peak at this moment.
He was once obsessed with various interpretations of Silent Hill, and now this ability to interpret made him realize that the truth might be completely different from what his eyes showed.
Next, he began to piece together the truth about the "kitchen."
"This is a story about a child named Charlie."
"In his childhood, Charlie's mother used surplus material things and rigid responsibilities, like telling him to 'be sensible' and 'obedient', to fill in for the emotional support she couldn't provide."
"Perhaps I can view every instance of forced feeding as an oversight of Charlie's real needs..."
"Charlie's father might often be absent from home? In any case, he definitely seldom participated in family dinners."
"As for Charlie's childhood joys, like toys, painting, and fantasy stories, they were all 'devoured' and 'digested' here."
"Because those were not what his parents required; they needed to use the superiority of providing materially to demand that Charlie... perform better academically."
"This differs from Tang Rui's parents, who don't love Tang Rui, but in this world, there's another type of parent willing to provide abundantly but never bothers about their child's inner world..."
"So much so that the child is unable to discern whether they truly love him or not."
"For the parents, Charlie only needs to accept it. He doesn't need to have his own thoughts."
"His birthday gifts could only be tutoring books, nothing else."
"And this glutton isn't Charlie; it's a 'glutton' born out of Charlie's desire for love."
Wen Xishu gazed at the continuously eating "glutton."
It kept chewing, but could never fill its stomach. Even though the amount of food in the room grew, it ate faster and faster, yet the food never finished, nor did it ever feel full.
"The glutton itself is a monster born out of Charlie's parents' attempt to fill a vast emotional void with material goods, achievements, and even twisted desires."
"The more it devours, the more empty it becomes inside... the more parents use material things as a pretense, the more intense the longing inside becomes."
"A child needs to be loved and seen, while parents provide demands and material goods."
"It will never be full, and this food will never run out."
Wen Xishu analyzed this, feeling a bit sad at heart.
He knew that a sharp childhood can indeed scar like a knife, but there's another type of childhood, like a soft knife slicing flesh, that is even more unbearably painful.
Suddenly, he wondered, maybe the child he rescued was Charlie.
But perhaps... the child named Charlie was already dead.
He died in the Land of Dust, and past experiences turned into many different types of monsters.
Shaking his head, Wen Xishu dismissed these miscellaneous thoughts.
"Since we met, it's fate. I hope you're still alive, Charlie."
Wen Xishu thought about it and realized that rescuing Charlie was indeed an extremely difficult task.
But he has always liked doing difficult things.
He realized that perhaps he first needed to close that enormous refrigerator, which seemed to hide a black hole inside.
At first, Wen Xishu felt that was an extremely dangerous place.
But now, he found the courage to give it a try.
The hole in his waist shot out a long rope once again, and Hanged Man Wen Xishu began his rescue mission.