Eli considers Chise's question — what does he want to know? Well, everything. He is curious, at the same time, he's not going to crash headfirst and ask invasive personal questions.

It's harder than he'd like, Eli deliberates his words and settles for half truth half diplomacy. "I want to know everything you're willing to share, but only as long as you're not uncomfortable."

What Eli theorises is that they have more than a few things in common. He wants to test this hypothesis.