4237 The Other Side 206

"It doesn't matter, does it, Mommy, if you stayed by my side through it?" he asked carefully, tugging gently at her sleeve. "Just once, please?"

Yun Shishi looked hesitantly at the boy, then back at Alice.

Alice put her hand over her heart and expressed earnestly, "Don't worry, I definitely won't cut up Youyou. I'm just going to dig up Gong Fan's shadow by examining his sleep pattern and through trance hypnosis."

Yun Shishi hesitated again, then finally nodded with difficulty. Alice had not expected her to agree, and was stunned when she did! She had initially expected to be rebuffed again, but the woman actually agreed! She was stunned for a long time before snapping back to her senses.

Yun Shishi said solemnly, "I trust you because the boy trusts you, too."

"Yes, I understand. Don't worry, I won't let you down."

…

Sleep monitoring didn't require complex equipment. Alice secured a sleep monitor from the headquarters and hurriedly returned that night with it.

Inside the room, she instructed the boy to lie on the bed, and then put a sleep-monitoring headrest on him. When she turned on the power, his brain waves were displayed on the compact screen.

"What's this?"

"This is your brainwave."

"So, what's the theory, based on sleep monitoring?" The boy suddenly realized he wasn't asking the right question. "Why do you want to monitor my sleep?" he asked again.

"I'll be able to pinpoint many problems from the frequency of your brainwaves during your sleep. You can tell a lot from the details of the frequency."

Alice said to the boy, "Get some sleep!"

"I can't sleep just yet."

Alice was stunned. "Your mommy said you usually sleep at this hour!"

"But it's very uncomfortable to wear this instrument!" The boy fiddled with the device on his head and frowned. "It's falling off."

Alice made another careful adjustment for him. "How about this?"

"That's better."

Yun Shishi entered the room quickly, and the boy's eyes lit up when he saw her. "Why don't you let Mommy tell me some stories? That way, I might be able to sleep."

"You don't have to make a point of telling bedtime stories. Just shut your eyes. I want to monitor the quality of your sleep, including the extent and duration of your sleep," Alice said.

The boy lost interest and told her earnestly. "Usually, Mommy tells me bedtime stories. I'll feel uncomfortable if that doesn't happen."

"It means you rely too much on your mommy. Can your mommy tell you bedtime stories for the rest of your life?" Alice said, nudging him urgently. "Close your eyes and sleep!"

The boy gave an old-fashioned sigh at that, and closed his eyes briefly. He lay down and stared at the ceiling. Then he closed his eyes briefly and squinted, but there was no sign of sleep.

Alice asked, "Don't you want to sleep?"

"Yeah, I can't sleep." The boy mumbled something. His eyes were closed, but his eyelids were twitching..

"Relax." Alice turned back to the monitor. On the screen, the frequency was bouncing wildly, suggesting that the boy's mind was racing.

No wonder he wanted Yun Shishi to tell him stories. His attention would be focused on her storytelling voice. Instead, he would enter a trance and slowly fall asleep.