When Chi Yu realized that this was not sleepwalking, but rather another consciousness hidden within his mind, it was already too late.

The other consciousness that was originally hidden inside his body had awakened.

Upon opening his eyes again, he was still himself, and yet...

...

The next day.

It was just dawn.

As the manager of the farmhouse inn, Yao Tao got up early to start her busy day.

She draped a towel over her shoulder, put her hair up into a bun, washed her face, brushed her teeth, applied some skincare, and then put on a light makeup.

After tidying herself up, she went to the kitchen.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, she saw a tall, slender figure standing at the stove.

He was dressed in black; because he was working, his sleeves were rolled up halfway, revealing a pale white arm, with faint blue veins slightly protruding from the back of his hand, extending into the arm hidden beneath the sleeve.

The joints of his fingers were not large, each finger distinct and exceptionally beautiful.

His soft hair was styled, and his profile was strikingly handsome, not someone you’d expect to find in a kitchen, but here he was, focusing diligently and attentively on his task.

"Chi Yu?"

The one calling out Chi Yu’s name was Yao Tao.

She rubbed her eyes, feeling that it was still the same person, yet somehow, he seemed like two different people—could it be she wasn’t fully awake?

Perplexed, Yao Tao walked closer and called out to the man who was working, but he didn’t turn back, only responding coolly, "Mhm."

The voice was unmistakably his.

Yao Tao went to his side, seeming unsure, and leaned in to take a closer look at him.

At the same time, Chi Yu glanced sideways.

Their eyes briefly met, and Chi Yu asked, "Is there something you need?"

Yao Tao chuckled dryly, "I thought the sun came up from the west today, seeing you so industrious."

Chi Yu: "Not really."

Yao Tao: "..."

During the days of recording the show, only Lin Xijiang and Fu Yao, along with Sheng Yi, had been cooking in the kitchen. Besides them, Chi Yu hadn’t entered the kitchen, and the youngest, Lin Shi, had only come in to look around.

The reason Yao Tao was surprised was that Chi Yu, who never stepped into the kitchen, was already busying himself in there early in the morning. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He seemed well-practiced, not at all like someone who didn’t know what he was doing.

He definitely looked like the same person, but somehow gave Yao Tao the illusion of two different people.

"Weren’t you the one who said you couldn’t cook?" Yao Tao voiced her confusion.

Chi Yu: "Just a little bit."

But from his skillful movements, he certainly didn’t seem to be just a novice.

So, he had been pretending all along!

"I noticed quite a bit of redness in your eyes, did you really not sleep at all last night?" Yao Tao rolled up her sleeves and started working on her tasks, casually inquiring about Chi Yu’s situation.

He only let out a soft "Mhm," without further elaboration.

Yao Tao continued to ask, "How many pots of tea did you have last night?"

He replied, "I forgot."

"It seems you drank quite a lot." She remembered that when she went to rest, he had already consumed several pots of tea.

"After lighting mosquito-repellent incense last night, the mosquitoes shouldn’t have been as aggressive, right?" she asked in a tone as if in idle chat.

Chi Yu still responded with just a faint "Mhm," without any additional words.

Yao Tao thought, since he was someone connected to the proprietress, she kindly suggested, "You should take a break; with me in the kitchen, you can get some rest. There shouldn’t be any problems during the day."

What she meant by no problems during the day referred to sleepwalking.

The sleepwalking episodes had both occurred at night.

It was unlikely to happen during the day.

Even if it did, it would be during the day while everyone was awake, so they could keep an eye on things.

"No need." His voice remained as cool and detached as before, tossing the freshly washed vegetables into the boiling pot.

He stirred them with chopsticks, then lifted them out to drain the water, and finally placed them at the bottom of a bowl.

He was cooking noodles.

With vegetables at the base, he added plenty of cilantro as seasoning.

There were four bowls of noodles in total.

He only took one bowl, saying as he left, "The rest is for you guys, I didn’t want to make too much, it’s troublesome."

Yao Tao: "..."

At that moment, Yao Tao realized that his expressionless demeanor was actually no different from the past few days. The only difference was in his eyes; now his eyes appeared extremely bland, unlike before when they seemed more approachable.

Yao Tao pondered various thoughts internally but didn’t voice her doubts, simply replying, "Alright, I’ll tell the early risers to eat first."

Apart from Yao Tao, the photography crew always got up early.

Today’s recording tasks weren’t as many as the previous days; since it was wrapping up, they were more relaxed.

Therefore, when the photography crew saw Chi Yu already sitting quietly eating noodles early in the morning, their reaction was much like Yao Tao’s, quite surprised. But recalling his recent sleepwalking incidents, it wasn’t surprising that he probably hadn’t slept last night.