Chapter 2: I Cherish This Sincerity

Mr. Zhang felt as if he was about to spit blood. The more he listened, the angrier he became, almost to the point of death. The most infuriating part was that everything Lin Xiao said was true. Indeed, lies do no harm; it is the truth that cuts deepest.

He decisively steered the conversation back to business. “Mr. Lin, may I ask how much it will cost to remove this segment of my memory?”

“Thirty thousand. That’s a fixed price.”

“Thirty thousand…” Hearing the price, Mr. Zhang’s heart sank. At this moment, he was financially strained and could hardly afford such a sum. Yet Lin Xiao’s price was quite reasonable, considering it was a high-tech procedure in the realm of the mind. The cost was much lower than Mr. Zhang had anticipated, making it difficult to negotiate further.

He hesitantly asked, “Is it possible to pay in installments?”

“Installments? No need. I will pay the full amount at once. Please wait a moment.” Lin Xiao replied.

Under Mr. Zhang's astonished gaze, Lin Xiao walked to his desk and opened the safe beneath it. Inside were three stacks of neatly bundled bills, which Lin Xiao took out in full. At that moment, he felt a sting of pain—giving away all his funds at once would leave him penniless again. But he did not hesitate; absolute sincerity was necessary.

Lin Xiao picked up a pen, quickly jotted down a few lines, then returned to the table holding the money.

Thud!

The thick stacks of bills made a solid sound as they landed on the table.

“You can count it. It’s exactly thirty thousand,” Lin Xiao said with a smile.

This scene utterly confused Mr. Zhang. “Shouldn’t I be the one paying you?”

Lin Xiao said, “I must be honest with you—this memory is extremely valuable to me. The benefit I gain far exceeds these thirty thousand yuan. This is all the money I have. If I had more cash, I would pay you extra, but for now, I must ask you to accept this modest sum.”

Modest? If this is modest, what isn’t?

Staring at the thick pile of bills, Mr. Zhang felt his worldview shift. “Is there really someone who wants to experience my memories?”

Could anyone actually like such bitter, unhappy memories?

Lin Xiao didn’t answer directly but smiled and said, “If you have no further questions about the terms, please sign this contract.”

Mr. Zhang took the contract Lin Xiao handed him and immediately froze.

Indeed, it was just a thin sheet of paper.

In his experience, contracts were always long and tedious, making it hard to muster the will to read them carefully. Yet if you didn’t, you worried about hidden traps. Worse, even if you tried to read them thoroughly, the dense information and technical jargon only offered superficial reassurance.

But the contract Lin Xiao handed over was only a single thin page.

Simple, just a dozen or so sentences clearly outlining the subject of the transaction, the amount, and each party’s rights and obligations—straightforward and easy to understand.

In less than a minute, after reading the contract, a thought arose in Mr. Zhang’s mind:

This boss is truly sincere!

Looking up, Mr. Zhang immediately noticed the plaque behind Lin Xiao: “Utmost Truth and Sincerity.”

Sure enough, the name fit the nature.

He quickly signed his name on the contract, as if afraid Lin Xiao might change his mind.

The contract was made in duplicate. Lin Xiao took one copy and put it away, then rose from his seat and stood behind Mr. Zhang.

“Mr. Zhang, I’m about to begin removing your memory as agreed. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready!” Mr. Zhang closed his eyes and nodded.

Lin Xiao no longer hesitated. Placing his right hand on the back of Mr. Zhang’s head, he closed his eyes as well, linking their mental worlds.

In an instant, his consciousness immersed once more in the sea of Mr. Zhang’s memories.

Before him lay countless fragments, like endless reels of film weaving together Mr. Zhang’s life.

Within those scenes were laughter, tears, struggles, and helplessness.

Deep within the sea of memories, a marked segment slowly surfaced—that very past Mr. Zhang wished to forget.

The memory was precisely cut away by an invisible pair of scissors, detached from the long river of recollections, and silently merged into Lin Xiao’s consciousness.

The entire process took mere moments, and Lin Xiao had already completed the memory extraction.

He decisively withdrew from Mr. Zhang’s memory sea, opening his eyes as if waking from a brief dream.

Lin Xiao reached out and patted Mr. Zhang’s shoulder. “It’s done. How do you feel? Is there any difference?”

At these words, Mr. Zhang opened his eyes and, after a moment’s pause, replied, “Although I still know about the event, I can no longer recall the feelings. I feel much better.”

Lin Xiao could only remove the specific memory he had witnessed; he could not erase Mr. Zhang’s entire awareness of his wife’s infidelity.

But for Mr. Zhang, this was more than enough.

Whether Mr. Zhang planned to divorce or endure was not something Lin Xiao wished to inquire.

No one likes their privacy invaded, and his work was already intrusive enough; he needed to restrain his curiosity.

“Don’t overthink it. Go home and rest well,” Lin Xiao said.

Mr. Zhang nodded. “Thank you so much, Mr. Lin.”

He rose from his chair and prepared to leave.

“Wait! You forgot your money,” Lin Xiao called after him.

“Ah! I almost forgot. Mr. Lin, your integrity is truly admirable. You really are not what you seem.”

“…”

Is that really how you use the phrase “not what you seem”?

Lin Xiao felt as if he were suffering discrimination from a handsome man.

After bidding Lin Xiao farewell once more, Mr. Zhang pushed open the door and stepped into the softly lit night.

He headed straight for the bank’s ATM to deposit the thirty thousand cash he had just received.

When he opened the thick kraft paper bag, he found a handwritten note resting atop the bills.

Curious, he unfolded it and saw a message from Lin Xiao:

“Please forgive me for speaking some harsh ‘truths’ today, but I do not wish to take them back.”

Mr. Zhang furrowed his brow. Was today’s ‘stab in the back’ not enough? Was there going to be another cut?

Yet he continued reading:

“What I want to say is that I am not mocking you, nor do I have the right to look down on you.

Besides having a fairly decent appearance, my inner self is just as ordinary—not romantic, not humorous, and lacking in charm.

If we swapped conditions, I too would face a woman’s disdain, perhaps even a worse fate than yours.

We are both ordinary men with unremarkable interiors, but ordinary men can still be confident and believe they deserve a beautiful life.

I hope next time you come to my little shop, it will be because you have so many wonderful memories that you can afford to sell some to me without regret.

Looking forward to our next meeting.”

Reading Lin Xiao’s note, Mr. Zhang felt a deep stirring in his heart.

From his perspective, a handsome man like Lin Xiao saying merely casual comforting words would have felt like condescension.

But Lin Xiao’s words penetrated his soul.

“If we swapped conditions, I too would face a woman’s disdain, perhaps even a worse fate than yours.”

In Mr. Zhang’s mind, Lin Xiao’s handsome face reappeared.

At this moment, the face that once stirred jealousy now seemed much more agreeable.

“No, you are handsome—not because of that face, but because you can say such words. That’s true handsomeness!” Mr. Zhang whispered, holding the note.

Carefully tucking the note away, he looked at the thick stacks of bills in the bag, and Lin Xiao’s words echoed in his ears:

“This is all the money I have. If I had more cash, I would pay you extra, but for now, I must ask you to accept this modest sum.”

Giving me all his money—won’t his shop run into trouble?

After a moment’s hesitation, Mr. Zhang bit his lip, took out a blank sheet of paper, and wrote a message with a pen. Then he placed the note and one stack of bills back into the kraft paper bag.

After depositing the remaining two stacks at the ATM, he returned to the entrance of the “Time Amber Gallery.”

Gently placing the bag into the locked mailbox, he then vanished into the night.

“I hope you can worry less.”

……

……

“Such a pain!”

In his small shop, Lin Xiao sat at his desk, looking troubled.

In front of him lay a ledger:

April 15th, utilities, about 850 yuan.

April 18th, property fees, 423.65 yuan.

Phone bill, office supplies, postage…

Each expense seemed minor but added up to a mountain weighing heavily on Lin Xiao.

It was already April 12th, and the bills were due for payment soon.

Thinking of his current empty pockets, Lin Xiao felt the pressure mount even more.