At this point, Yixiong's words left a different impression than the previous one. Shanquan had to admit that there was some truth in his friend's words.

"So, this is like what we call intuition, instinct or hunch. Sometimes people feel something is going to happen but cannot explain it. This is because their conscious mind does not take the information they get as a threat. But the subconscious picks it up and then analyzes it according to the person's context and life experience. The subconscious will send out some kind of signal, that is the result of the analysis. It is captured by the conscious mind as an instinct or hunch. "

Yixiong's explanation this time really makes Shanquan consider the possibility that yesterday he entered and got out of that mall twice.

Yixiong apparently still hasn't finished explaining his theory. He added again. "You often suppress your emotions. Suppressed emotions do not disappear just like that. It could possibly appear in other forms. When our conscious mind suppresses an emotion that we feel is unnecessary, maybe our subconscious accepts that 'unnecessary' emotion well. In certain circumstances, with the help of the subconscious, that emotion could resurface. I feel introverts people like us may have a much more active subconscious than those extroverts. "

This kind of opinion, I can't argue with it!

"But of course there are other plausible explanations," Yixiong seemed eager to talk this time.

"It's possible that the person I saw yesterday leaving the mall was someone else who looked like you. That could happen. Our neighbors here also often mistake me for you. So maybe I also mis-recognize people. Moreover, before, I had seen you looking for something or someone inside the mall. Well, when I saw a figure that looked like you a few minutes later, my brain automatically associated the figure I saw as the same person I saw before. So my brain came to the conclusion that the one who rushed out of the mall was you."

"So you're saying that Dage was in that restroom for a few hours?" Yiren's tone sounded unsure.

"Right. That's just one possibility."

"Then why didn't the firefighters or bomb disposal find Uncle Shanquan in that restroom toilet?" Yingyue frowned.

Yixiong stroked his chin. "It's a very hidden restroom. As far as I know, it's rare for anyone to go in there. The one who happened to use that restroom is usually people who are lost inside the building. So maybe the officers thought no one was inside. Also, the probability that someone would set up explosives in a place where people hardly ever visit is extremely low. So I guess it's possible that they never really checked every inch of that restroom."

"Or maybe they indeed went into the restroom but didn't find anyone there," suddenly Yiren continued Yixiong's words.

"How could they not find Uncle Shanquan in there?" Yingyue's face was so serious. Shanquan smirked. He realized the girl did not know that Yiren often joked in such situations. So there was always the possibility of Yiren throwing out strange theories that were absurd just to tease other people.

"Maybe, at that time, Dage was sucked into another dimension. So the officers didn't find him there. After a few hours, Dage was thrown back into this dimension."

That's right! The messed-up talk is finally out!

Yingyue gawked at Yiren's perfunctory explanation. Shanquan was sure that such remarks were completely beyond Yingyue's expectations. Yingyue's facial expression at that time was intriguing. She looked annoyed and confused. Shanquan wanted to laugh, but he knew he couldn't. He didn't want to hurt Yingyue's feelings. The girl had only just gotten to know them, so she probably didn't fully understand the sense of humor of the middle-aged men living in this house.

It turned out that Yiren was still talking again. "It's also possible that at that time an extraterrestrial abducted Dage for research or scientific experiments. After a few hours they put Dage back in the toilet again. Aren't there some stories about alien abductions? The kidnapped people reported they were not aware of what was happening to them. There were always a few hours missing from their memory. They experienced lost time."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Conspiracy theorists must be happy with the explanation Yiren just put forward. Yixiong smiled broadly at that. He snorted, shaking his head.

And it turned out that Yiren still had another theory. "Or it could be that the spirits over there were hiding Dage from the eyes of others. So other people couldn't see him even though Dage was actually still there!"

"Do you mean ghost?" Yingyue screamed.

"There are rumors that the mall was built on top of an ancient burial site. Maybe some curious spirits are not satisfied. So they haunt some parts of the building. I've heard several mall employees tell about ghost sightings there."

Supranatural story fans would welcome Yiren's last theory.

"It's okay. Don't scare the little ones," Yixiong said with a laugh.

Yingyue pouted. She got up from the couch and walked out of the living room.

"Where are you going?" Yiren asked.

"Bathroom," Yingyue replied curtly.

Yiren laughed at hearing Yingyue's answer. It seemed that this middle-aged man was overjoyed to have managed to make Yingyue show a sullen face.

"Don't joke too much. Later if she gets angry, won't we also be in trouble?" Yixiong advised Yiren while turning on the television.

"I was just joking," said Yiren.

"Miss Liuchiou doesn't know that weird sense of humor of yours yet. So you have to slow down to joke like that." Yixiong was still staring at the television screen. He seemed to have found the show that caught his attention so much. He glanced over at Shanquan. "What do you think of, Dage?"

Shanquan didn't look at Yiren at all while Yixiong and Yiren were conversing. But that didn't mean that Shanquan wasn't paying attention at all to what was going on. "I think Miss Liuchiou needs a little time to understand each one of us' temperaments. So indeed, we all have to be able to hold back. Don't act impulsively."

"Alright! Next time I'll be more careful." Yiren then also got up from the couch.

"Want to go to the kitchen? Please bring me some drinking water as well," said Yixiong.

Shanquan glanced at Yixiong. His friend seemed really focused on the program being broadcast on television. That was a bit out of the ordinary. Not many television shows could make Yixiong seem hypnotized into ignoring other things.

"No. I want to go to my room," answered Yiren. "Isn't every day we have to move things little by little to the subway station? So, now, it's better I just prepare the things that I will take to the subway station tomorrow."

"That's a great idea," said Shanquan. "Yixiong, what do you think?"

Yixiong turned around. "That's right Dage!" This time Yixiong looked at Yiren. "I'll catch up with you in about fifteen minutes. Now, I still have something to discuss with Dage." Yixiong then turned off the television.

"Okay!" Yiren smiled. "I'm going to my room first."

Shanquan smiled. It turned out that Yixiong wasn't really interested in the television show he had just watched.

After Yiren went into the room, Yixiong shifted his seat so that he was now sitting right next to Shanquan. Shanquan didn't know what Yixiong was going to say. He guessed that it still had something to do with Yixiong's previous explanation. Even Shanquan was still thinking about those words. If what Yixiong said was true, then it would mean that his health condition was much worse than he had initially expected. It could also mean that Shanquan's health problems were not just physical problems but other things as well.

Shanquan felt Yixiong knew what he was thinking. He knew that as a friend, Yixiong was often worried about him. Shanquan admitted he was suppressing too many emotions. This was definitely not good for health.

Yixiong patted Shanquan on the shoulder. "You'd better have a complete health check. You shouldn't just ignore this. We're not young anymore. So this is very important."

Shanquan nodded. "But I don't think it's just me. We all need health check-ups."

Yixiong smiled. "We have to find some time for that. Later, when everyone is here, we'll talk about this again."