Thought Reading (Mind Voice Reading)

The mind-reading ability is the hidden mechanism behind Gu Huaian’s unusual knowledge of Shen Tang’s thoughts and the central secret exposed between them. Because it operates without cameras, recording devices, or any visible object, it turns ordinary domestic proximity into a problem of privacy, trust, and emotional danger. The ability explains why Gu Huaian repeatedly anticipates Shen Tang’s movements and reactions, while also making their relationship impossible to understand on equal terms until its existence is acknowledged.

Definition and First Suspicion

Shen Tang begins to suspect that something is wrong because Gu Huaian behaves as though he has installed surveillance around her. Whenever she wants to leave, he appears unexpectedly, with an accuracy that exceeds ordinary guessing. She searches the house from top to bottom and finds no surveillance cameras or strange devices; she also finds nothing unusual on her own body. The absence of a physical explanation intensifies the mystery. Her frustrated speculation that Gu Huaian might somehow be a tapeworm in her stomach that knows everything she is thinking is comic in form, but it also identifies the true issue: his knowledge seems to come from inside her rather than from anything he could visibly observe.

Gu Huaian’s reaction confirms that Shen Tang’s suspicions are approaching the truth. When her thoughts turn toward the possibility that he has been listening to them, his eyebrow twitches because he believes he has been exposed. The scene creates a layered information structure: Shen Tang does not yet know whether her suspicion is correct, Gu Huaian knows that it is close to the truth, and the reader can see the pressure produced by that imbalance. Her temporary diversion to another thought delays the disclosure, but it does not remove the threat to his secrecy.

Disclosure to Shen Tang

The ability is finally named during Shen Tang’s confrontation with Gu Huaian. After steeling herself, she tells him that she is not the original Shen Tang and asks whether he already knows this. His lack of shock confirms that he has been aware of more than he should have been. When Shen Tang asks whether he can hear her thoughts, the question turns a diffuse pattern of strange behavior into a direct accusation. Gu Huaian pulls her into an embrace and begins to explain, but his assurance that he did not trick her already amounts to an admission.

The revelation produces an immediate physical shock in Shen Tang. Her body turns cold, her face becomes extremely pale, and her heart feels violently squeezed until breathing is almost difficult. The response is not merely intellectual surprise. The knowledge reorganizes her earlier memories of the relationship: Gu Huaian treated her differently from the person described in the book because he could hear what she thought, and his seemingly inexplicable accuracy was the consequence of that access. What had looked like unusual attentiveness is recast as continuous observation of an interior world she believed was private.

Gu Huaian’s Concealment and Its Cost

Gu Huaian has considered telling Shen Tang about the ability before, but he does not know how to raise the subject. His principal fear is that she will become frightened and leave him after learning that he can hear her inner voice. This fear explains his concealment without making the concealment harmless. He withholds a fact that governs how he responds to her, allowing the relationship to proceed while Shen Tang remains unaware of the informational advantage he possesses.

The ability therefore carries two opposing functions. It helps Gu Huaian respond to Shen Tang with unusual precision and contributes to the intimacy that develops between them, yet the same precision makes his behavior appear invasive once its source is known. The secret does not stay confined to a supernatural talent; it becomes an ethical problem involving consent, asymmetrical knowledge, and the difference between being understood and being overheard. Shen Tang’s distress arises not only from the existence of the power but from the long period during which Gu Huaian knew her thoughts while she lacked an equivalent understanding of him.

Recurrence and Relationship Strain

The mind-reading ability remains active after its initial disclosure. Later, while Shen Tang looks through messages, she notices that Zhou Jin has contacted her more than anyone else, moving from anger and complaints to expressions of concern. Gu Huaian cannot restrain himself and cautiously asks who Zhou Jin is. Shen Tang immediately recognizes the source of the question and accuses him of eavesdropping on her thoughts again. Gu Huaian apologizes and says that he cannot control it, emphasizing that he does not want the extraordinary ability either.

This recurrence changes the meaning of the earlier revelation. The problem is not solved simply because the secret has been spoken aloud. Shen Tang’s thoughts remain vulnerable to involuntary access, and Gu Huaian’s inability to control the power prevents them from establishing ordinary boundaries through intention alone. She suddenly regrets staying with him, concluding that if the issue cannot be resolved, she will not be able to live with him without reservations. The ability thus becomes an ongoing condition of the relationship rather than a single plot twist: every unguarded thought can reopen the conflict between emotional closeness and mental privacy.

Narrative Significance

As a narrative device, the mind-reading ability converts inner monologue into an unstable shared space. Shen Tang’s unspoken reactions can influence Gu Huaian even when her outward behavior gives him no evidence, while Gu Huaian’s responses expose knowledge that he cannot naturally possess. The resulting irony depends on readers tracking several mental positions at once: Shen Tang wonders how he knows, Gu Huaian tries not to reveal that he knows, and both must negotiate feelings that are partly private and partly involuntarily transmitted.

The ability also explains the divergence between the relationship’s apparent plot and its hidden emotional mechanics. Gu Huaian’s conduct seems to depart from the book’s established description because he has access to Shen Tang’s actual thoughts, including thoughts that the surrounding characters cannot hear. Yet that access does not guarantee harmony. Instead, the power makes understanding instantaneous while making trust fragile. Its decisive significance lies in this contradiction: it can eliminate uncertainty about what Shen Tang is thinking, but it cannot eliminate the need for honesty, permission, or mutual confidence.