Yu Xiaxing and Yu Zheng both turned to look at him.
Yu Zhining also rose to his feet. “The elderly go to the Life Gallery around this time every day to look back on their lives. I happen to be heading there. If you’re going the same way, you can come with me.”
He walked ahead.
Yu Zheng tugged at Yu Xiaxing’s arm. “Come on, come on. Let’s hurry up, get the signature, and go home to sleep. If there’s an easier way, there’s no need to waste time here.”
Yu Xiaxing nodded enthusiastically. “Let’s go.”
—
On their way to the Life Gallery, the three of them learned from the billboards along the road what exactly the place was.
They had initially assumed it was some kind of scenic walkway. It turned out to be a hypnotherapy room.
Through soft lighting, music, images, scents, and other sensory stimuli, the elderly would be hypnotized. Once asleep, they could clearly recall memories from their lives that they had long since forgotten.
In this way, they were helped to complete a retrospective journey through their lives.
The advertisement read:
“The Life Gallery is an immersive space for revisiting memories, specially designed by experts in memory science.
“We believe that every elderly person who has reached the latter half of life is more than merely someone’s father, mother, grandfather, or grandmother.
“You were young once. You were passionate once.
“Over the long years, you gave much of your time to your family, surrendered many choices to your children, and buried countless unfinished dreams deep in your heart.
“And now, the Life Gallery wants to tell you:
“From today onward, you can give your life back to yourself!
“Introductory price: 899 yuan for three sessions. Each session lasts one hour, and the sessions may be shared with friends.”
…
“That’s pretty inspiring. I almost feel fired up enough to revisit my own life after reading it,” Yu Zheng said.
So far, Yu Xiaxing could not see any problem.
If the Life Gallery truly provided nothing more than this service and made its money from the fees, then it really was a wonderful thing.
Helping the elderly look back on their lives and awaken long-forgotten memories was indeed meaningful.
Besides, the price was clearly listed: 899 yuan for three sessions.
For something so meaningful, that price was incredibly affordable. There were probably plenty of elderly people who would want to try it.
But perhaps because she had just experienced the Cocoon scam, her guard against the outside world was at its highest. She could not shake the feeling that things could not possibly be this simple.
Yu Zhining, meanwhile, was certain it was a scam.
Judging from how they confiscated people’s phones under the pretense of “digital detox,” and how they had made Mr. Gu stop taking his medication, Reboot Life was highly suspicious.
Looking more closely, although the advertisement claimed to be aimed at the elderly, it never specified that customers had to be above a certain age…
He scanned the code and purchased the 899-yuan package. After paying, he asked the other two, “Shall we experience it for ourselves?”
Yu Xiaxing and Yu Zheng both nodded. “Sure.”
Yu Zhining sent them each a code.
The three of them continued forward, intending to give it a try.
Suddenly, Yu Xiaxing spotted someone familiar up ahead and stopped at once!
Not far away, Huo Mian was standing in front of a vending machine in a plain-colored dress, her head lowered as she made a payment.
Yu Xiaxing and the others immediately hid behind the bushes nearby.
Lowering her voice, Yu Xiaxing said to Yu Zheng, “Brother, Huo Mian and I are enemies. If she finds out that I’m here to get Professor Zhong’s signature and seal—and her mother is Professor Zhong’s beloved—she might interfere.”
Yu Zheng glanced at Huo Mian and immediately came up with a solution. “I’ll go knock her out.”
Yu Xiaxing: “...Could you not act like an outlaw? This is China! There are surveillance cameras all along the corridor!”
Yu Zheng raised an eyebrow. “Then what do you suggest?”
Yu Xiaxing looked up at Yu Zhining beside her.
By coincidence, Yu Zhining lowered his head to look at her. A very bad feeling suddenly rose within him. “What are you planning?”
With a perfectly serious expression, Yu Xiaxing said, “You use your masculine charm to lure her away.”
Yu Zhining gritted his teeth. “Yu Xiaxing, are you out of your mind?”
“Exactly. I’m sick, so you should indulge me a little.”
The moment she finished speaking, Yu Xiaxing suddenly reached out and shoved him hard from behind.
Yu Zhining had never expected her to attack without warning. He staggered half a step forward, emerging from behind the corner just in time.
Huo Mian heard the noise and immediately turned around.
When she saw Yu Zhining, her eyes lit up, and delight overflowed from her expression.
“A-Ning, you’re here.”
She was not surprised. Her mother had already analyzed the situation and concluded that he would definitely come.
Yu Zhining stood where he was, cursing Yu Xiaxing and Yu Zheng inwardly.
Just wait. I’ll deal with both of you later.
And yet, on a subconscious level, he was not truly angry. At the very least, she had begun to need his help.
He looked up at Huo Mian and gave a soft “Mm.”
Although he was cursing his younger brother and sister in his head, he still instinctively headed down another passageway.
As expected, Huo Mian followed him.
Yu Xiaxing and Yu Zheng immediately slipped away.
Yu Zhining caught sight of them from the corner of his eye. He turned sideways to block Huo Mian’s view of them and casually struck up a conversation. “I came to find Mr. Gu and the others about the contract.”
Huo Mian’s expression turned troubled. “Although I’d really like to help you, they truly don’t want to waste the rest of their lives at a senior-care center. Life is short to begin with, and at their age, they’re already experiencing the slow process of losing themselves. Why shouldn’t they be allowed a little freedom?”
Yu Zhining silently nodded after hearing this. “I support your point of view, but I strongly object to what you’re doing. From now on, you and your mother should stop living at the senior-care center.”
Huo Mian was stunned. Soon, her eyes slowly reddened. “Why? Just because I support the elderly putting themselves first instead of being someone’s parents? You’re even unwilling to remain friends with me?”
Yu Zhining said, “Stop disguising a business dispute as a moral issue and then trampling me from some supposed moral high ground.”
“You keep encouraging my customers to stop staying at the senior-care center and go out to pursue freedom instead. That’s interfering with the center’s normal operations. It’s nothing but a commercial betrayal.”
“…”
Huo Mian was rendered speechless.
But she still could not let go of her feelings for him, nor could she leave the senior-care center. Otherwise, she would have no place left where she could maintain contact with him.
Her eyes reddened as she shook her head desperately. “A-Ning, your Yu family can’t bully us just because my father is dead! We’re only a mother and daughter left alone!”
“My father did your family a favor! Your grandfather personally said that even if our engagement were called off, the Yu family should still look after me!”
She looked up at him, her gaze growing increasingly cloying. “So no matter what the reason is, you can’t stop taking care of me... You can never stop taking care of me...”
His grandfather had once mentioned to his parents that the Yu and Huo families shared a longstanding connection. After hearing about it, his parents had always looked after Huo Mian.
But Yu Zhining had been young at the time and did not know the details.
“I’ll ask him.” Yu Zhining took out his phone. Without making any attempt to hide it from Huo Mian, he directly called his grandfather.
“A-Ning? What is it?” his grandfather answered.
Yu Zhining went straight to the point. “Grandpa, Huo Mian, Aunt Qin, and I have run into some disagreements over the operation of the senior-care center. I don’t know much about what happened between the previous generation, so I’m not sure how to arrange things for them going forward. Could you tell me directly what Uncle Huo did for the Yu family?”
