Tao Yu sighed helplessly. "If you won't take it, then rest early."

Yue Linze nodded. After watching her take her medicine, they both lay down in bed.

As soon as the lights were off, Tao Yu rolled into his arms. Yue Linze tried to push her away, but she clung to him, refusing to let go.

"Be good, let go." Yue Linze frowned.

Tao Yu closed her eyes. "No, you're too cold. I'll warm you up."

Yue Linze had been under cold water for nearly three hours, his entire body stiff. He hadn't wanted to eat earlier because his hands were numb and he couldn't hold the chopsticks.

Now, with Tao Yu's warm body pressed against him, he finally felt a trace of warmth.

Neither of them spoke. After a long silence, they drifted off to sleep.

Later that night, Tao Yu tossed and turned from the heat, half-believing her fever had returned. She struggled awake, only to find the person beside her burning up.

Tao Yu jolted awake, quickly turned on the light, and called the housekeeper. The housekeeper immediately summoned the family doctor.

After the doctor administered an IV, Yue Linze slowly regained consciousness.

Seeing the fever had subsided, the doctor gave a few instructions and left.

Tao Yu memorized them all, then looked at Yue Linze with a complicated expression. Yue Linze calmly met her gaze.

The housekeeper looked back and forth between them. Though still worried about Yue Linze, he felt like a third wheel and discreetly left.

When they were alone, Tao Yu sighed. "My fever today was an accident. It had nothing to do with you. Why do you care so much?"

He cared so much that he resorted to self-harm to alleviate his guilt. She had always known Yue Linze was obsessive, but she hadn't realized it was to this extent.

"You're mine. No one can hurt you, including me." Yue Linze said firmly, a flicker of madness in his eyes.

Tao Yu stared at him, suddenly grateful this wasn't the real world and that she didn't have such an obsessive boyfriend in her actual life.

The idiom 'too much is as bad as too little' held profound meaning. It could summarize all existing emotions. Love was a beautiful thing, but if it crossed the line too far, it became terrifying.

"What are you thinking about?" Yue Linze asked.

Tao Yu shook her head, burying her face in his chest with a hint of grievance. "But this isn't fair. I was already uncomfortable being sick, and you made yourself like this too. Now, not only is my body suffering, but my heart is aching as well."

Yue Linze was silent for a long time, then looked down. "You feel bad for me?"

"Of course. Who else would I feel bad for?" Tao Yu's voice was laced with pity, but her eyes were clear.

This time, Yue Linze's silence stretched even longer. Just as Tao Yu was drifting off to sleep, he finally said softly, "I understand."

Tao Yu briefly woke up, then quickly fell back asleep. In the last second before she completely lost consciousness, she hazily wondered, What does he understand? Probably that next time he punished himself, he needed to hide it from her.

The events of that night were like a pebble dropped into a calm lake. Ripples formed, but soon the surface returned to its tranquil state, as if nothing had happened. And Tao Yu's 'dog leash' returned to her wrist the next morning.

From that day on, she was never allowed to leave the house again. Every time she expressed a desire to go out, Yue Linze refused without hesitation.

She knew clearly that Yue Linze wanted to keep her like a caged bird, meticulously cared for. She tried her best to understand this and worked even harder to please him.

However, her mission remained unaccomplished. Yue Linze's rage, like a brand on his heart, showed no signs of disappearing. Gradually, Tao Yu grew anxious, her aversion to the chain on her wrist intensifying. The psychological self-soothing she had practiced seemed to be losing its effectiveness.

Despite her inner resentment, she maintained a pleasant facade, continuing to appease and pamper Yue Linze, fulfilling his every request, hoping to resolve this situation quickly.

However, a month passed, then two, and Yue Linze, aside from occasional strolls in the yard, never allowed her to step outside the Yue family estate.

This was the longest and most agonizing time Tao Yu had spent in a patient's mindscape. Like a prisoner, she was confined to the house, seeing almost no one but Yue Linze, yet she had to pretend to be happy.

Her suppressed emotions finally erupted one day when she accidentally discovered the TV plug. Out of curiosity, she turned on the television and saw familiar images on the screen.

She froze, then recognized the room as the one she had stayed in when she first arrived. The screen was divided into multiple frames, meticulously displaying every detail of the room.

A chill ran down Tao Yu's spine. Back then, Yue Linze hadn't developed feelings for her, yet he had already started monitoring her. She had changed clothes and showered in that room, and she couldn't be sure whether Yue Linze had watched those recordings.

She had to leave this world, she must. If the main personality gave her a chance, she would treat a different alternate personality. Once the others were successfully treated, she would ask the doctor to personally handle this world.

Tao Yu stared at the images on the screen, her fingers trembling, certain she was developing psychological problems. If she stayed in this world any longer, she feared she would lose herself.