Consciousness

The room was silent. Liang Shining's entire expression was dazed.

He instinctively blurted out: "No, shifu. There are many, many people who like you. Really. Like me........"

Before he could finish, he suddenly heard Ying Huai cut him off, almost flustered: "Alright, I know. Thank you, little disciple."

Liang Shining froze for a moment. He looked up and saw Ying Huai half-leaning against the headboard, smiling calmly at him: "Get some rest early."

Liang Shining's voice cut off abruptly.

He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Only now did he suddenly realize that Ying Huai had not actually believed a single word he had just said.

—And had even, bit by bit, personally prevented himself from clinging to the last trace of hope.

This made Liang Shining inexplicably think of what Yu Wu had told him that day about Ying Huai's "will to live."

Liang Shining's hands at his sides trembled uncontrollably.

Ying Huai seemed to have anticipated Liang Shining's reaction.

His chest felt tight. He let out a silent sigh, but his face still wore a warm, easy smile: "It's already very late. Mr. Liang, do get some rest early. Tomorrow........"

Before he could finish, he suddenly saw Liang Shining step forward two paces and silently sit down beside Ying Huai's bed.

Ying Huai was startled. He looked up, somewhat at a loss: "What are you doing?"

"I'm sleeping with shifu tonight." Liang Shining said quietly.

Ying Huai: ?

He couldn't quite process where this was going for a moment: "Why........"

Before he could finish, he saw Liang Shining suddenly turn over and get out of bed again.

A flash of loss passed through Ying Huai's heart. He instinctively reached out to stop him, but the next second forced himself to quickly pull his hand back.

—Liang Shining must be angry.

Ying Huai closed his eyes briefly and let out a silent sigh.

He could vaguely guess what Liang Shining had been about to say, but the panic in his heart had made him instinctively cut Liang Shining off.

—This was for the best.

Ying Huai curved his lips, but his chest felt so tight it almost ached.

He clutched his chest and gasped twice, but his breathing only grew more rapid.

The dull pain he could normally endure completely now seemed to spread through his whole body in an instant. Ying Huai gripped the fabric over his chest desperately, and after a long moment finally couldn't bear it. He half-leaned out, his hand trembling as he reached for the Medicine Bottle beside him.

The next second, a faint "meow" came from the doorway.

Ying Huai looked up in confusion, and the next second felt something furry flash past him.

Liang Shining set down Bouquet and quickly walked to the bed. He half-held Ying Huai in his arms, took out the medicine from the side, and swiftly fed it to him.

"Why did you suddenly feel unwell?" Liang Shining asked quietly.

Ying Huai shook his head.

He hadn't quite processed it. Lying in Liang Shining's arms, he stared blankly for a few seconds, then instinctively said: "Didn't you just leave?"

Liang Shining glanced down at the person in his arms, and vaguely realized something.

His voice gradually softened, and he laughed lightly: "Of course.......not."

He gestured for Ying Huai to look toward the foot of the bed: "I carried him over."

Ying Huai's gaze followed.

He stared, somewhat stunned, at Bouquet padding back and forth across the room meowing, and said in a daze: "You........"

"I carried Bouquet over, to keep shifu company while sleeping."

Liang Shining said quietly.

In his mind surfaced what Yu Wu had finally said to him that night when Ying Huai had been drugged.

"Teacher Liang, your beauty calculates everything too precisely." Yu Wu said slowly.

"He roughly predicted how long his body's maximum limit could hold out. Once he made it to the day his purpose was fulfilled, everything could end."

Yu Wu took out a piece of paper and formed it into a closed ring: "So in his life right now there is only himself and his own affairs. He actively rejects anyone who tries to intervene."

"But his heart is too soft."

"You can force yourself, bit by bit, into his life." Yu Wu looked up at Liang Shining.

He picked up the paper ring in his hand, gently twisted one side, and formed a Möbius strip.

"Let these things become habits in his life, and then form loops, one after another."

Yu Wu placed the Möbius strip gently into Liang Shining's hand: "This way the loop can keep going—Ying Huai is the same."

The person in the bed didn't know what Liang Shining was thinking.

He looked up in confusion, and Liang Shining came back to himself at the same moment.

He slowly carried the person and laid him back down on the bed, and before Ying Huai could react, swiftly lay down beside him.

Ying Huai's body instantly went rigid.

But Liang Shining didn't do anything, just tucked the blanket around Ying Huai and said quietly: "Sleep, shifu."

Bouquet, who rarely got to enter the bedroom, circled twice at the foot of the bed, then finally mewed in relief, lay down at the foot of the bed beneath it, and lazily didn't move anymore.

"Why did you carry him in?" Ying Huai finally found something to ask.

"Nothing." Liang Shining said, his eyes half-closed, lying flat beside Ying Huai.

Just as Ying Huai thought he would say nothing more, he suddenly heard Liang Shining's slightly low voice: "I just wanted shifu to know that there's one more person in this room who likes shifu."

Ying Huai was stunned.

He had just turned his head when he suddenly felt his eyes grow hot.

Liang Shining gently placed his palm over Ying Huai's eyes, and finally said in a low voice: "Goodnight, Ying Huai."

Ying Huai keenly noticed that Liang Shining had not called him "shifu" at the end.

His heart gave a small jump, but before he could think it through, his weary consciousness sank bit by bit into the heavy darkness, carried by the steady warmth of that palm.

·

When Ying Huai woke from his heavy, muddled dream the next day, his mind was still a little foggy.

His heart was beating irregularly, his hands and feet were still a bit numb, but unexpectedly they didn't have the usual cold feeling.

Ying Huai clutched the clothes over his chest and panted for a while, still feeling somewhat unwell.

The light around him was dim, and Ying Huai couldn't see clearly.

He felt stifled and stuffy. He propped himself up on the bed to sit, but the next second felt his wrist lightly tighten.

"Shifu's awake?" Immediately after, Liang Shining's slightly hoarse voice came from beside his ear.

He must have just woken up, but instantly registered Ying Huai's condition.

Liang Shining sat up at once, switching on the bedside lamp while reaching out to half-cover Ying Huai's eyes, helping him lean slowly back against the headboard.

Ying Huai held the medicine in his mouth, enduring a wave of dizziness in his head.

The familiar warm touch before his eyes came, and last night's memories belatedly resurfaced in his mind.

Ying Huai let out a silent sigh.

He had thought he would have a hard time falling asleep last night, but after Liang Shining said those words, as if by some strange magic, he quickly lost consciousness.

"Good morning, shifu." Liang Shining skillfully finished measuring Ying Huai's heart rate and blood oxygen, and said softly, "Want to sleep a bit more?"

Ying Huai's heart had poor blood supply, and normally after being woken by Liang Shining he had difficulty immediately coming out of his groggy state, so Liang Shining would usually stay and let him sleep a bit more.

But Ying Huai quickly shook his head.

—He was afraid that if he nodded even slightly, Liang Shining would lie back down with him.

But Liang Shining seemed to have read Ying Huai's thoughts, and suddenly turned over and got straight out of bed.

"Shifu sleep a bit more, I'll go make breakfast for shifu first." Liang Shining said quietly.

He helped Ying Huai lie back down again. Ying Huai's mind was still foggy and he hadn't reacted, instinctively reaching out to grab Liang Shining's arm, and accidentally touched a certain spot.

He heard Liang Shining's low muffled groan, and the tips of his ears instantly flushed red: "You........"

"It's nothing," Liang Shining drew a light breath and said calmly, "What shifu said before—normal morning phenomenon."

He stepped back two paces, suddenly thought of something, and turned to look at Ying Huai again: "Does shifu need my help?"

The teaser and the teased had completely swapped roles from last time, and Ying Huai nearly choked.

His face was nearly cooked through, and he blurted out: "No need!"

He had a feeling Liang Shining was somehow different, but couldn't for the moment adapt to this change.

Ying Huai clenched his teeth, and couldn't help saying: "Can you not........"

"What's wrong?" Liang Shining turned calmly.

Ying Huai took a deep breath and simply turned over and lay back down.

Liang Shining's low laughter came from behind him, and after a while, Ying Huai again heard Liang Shining speak seriously, just like last night.

"Good morning, Ying Huai."

·

Because of the matter with Song Fengyi, their Variety Show had been the subject of intense online public opinion these past few days.

Some netizens began to enumerate every rotten thing Song Fengyi had done, and started guessing who was actually protecting him from behind.

Ying Huai had originally planned to go find Song Fengyi again today, but was suddenly stopped by Liang Shining.

"Shifu has other things today." Liang Shining looked at the food supplement in the bowl, more than half still remaining, frowned, and set the bowl back down.

He glanced at Ying Huai, quietly took out his phone, dialed Song Si Lan's number, and then abruptly hung up.

Ying Huai didn't notice Liang Shining's "little move."

His motion to stand up paused, and he raised his head somewhat baffled: "What thing?"

"Didn't shifu make an appointment with Yu Wu last week to go see him today." Liang Shining deliberately set his phone on the table and spoke calmly.

Ying Huai's expression suddenly stalled.

His peach blossom eyes flickered slightly; he suddenly raised his head and curved his eyes at Liang Shining: "Then I'll go find Song Fengyi first, and after that's done I'll go find Yu Wu—is that okay?"

Ying Huai's calculations were very well laid.

Song Fengyi's side, because of all the public opinion lately, wasn't behaving well in there either; arranging a meeting required many complicated procedures, and basically once everything was done, it would be nearly evening.

Although that would still be within Yu Wu's working hours, Ying Huai had once overheard Song Si Lan mention that Yu Wu had been leaving early these past few weeks, just to intercept him after work.

And Liang Shining didn't know about this.

He half-leaned on the table, happily waiting for Liang Shining to walk into the trap on his own, but no sooner had his words fallen than he suddenly saw a bowl reappear in front of him.

Ying Huai was startled, and quickly dodged back: "I already ate a lot just now, look for yourself."

"Shifu only ate a little; the rest was all pressed flat by you with a spoon." Liang Shining directly exposed his trick.

Ying Huai's eyes dodged for a moment; he was just about to argue a few words when he suddenly heard Liang Shining speak unhurriedly: "It's fine if shifu doesn't want to eat."

Ying Huai instantly raised his head.

The next second, the phone Liang Shining had set on the table rang in response.

Ying Huai subconsciously turned his head, and saw the name "Song Si Lan" displayed prominently on the phone screen.

Ying Huai instantly shrank back guiltily.

He unconsciously lowered his voice: "Why is Song Si Lan suddenly calling now........."

"Don't know, probably coming to ask about shifu's situation." Liang Shining picked up the phone and glanced at the food supplement on the table.

"Since shifu happens to think the current food supplement amount is too much, I can mention it to Doctor Song and have him adjust shifu's daily food supplement amount."

Liang Shining spoke unhurriedly: "But if Doctor Song happens to ask whether shifu ate the food supplement on time today, whether shifu went to see the Psychologist........"

As he spoke he was about to press the answer button, but the next second, saw Ying Huai directly reach out to grab his phone: "No need!"

Liang Shining slightly raised his arm and curved his lips: "Or then, shifu comes with me to find Yu Wu now, and we make up the part missed this morning in the evening."

"I'll cover for shifu with Doctor Song; shifu comes with me to find Yu Wu first, then find Song Fengyi—deal?"

Ying Huai gritted his teeth.

The strange-tasting thing in front of him, he really couldn't eat another bite; if Song Si Lan found out, there would inevitably be another round of nagging.

He took a deep breath, and finally nodded: "Okay."

Liang Shining laughed softly.

He unhesitatingly hung up Song Si Lan's call, and turned to prepare today's cat food for the fat Bouquet.

"Then shifu rests a bit; I'll send shifu over in a bit."

He looked down at his phone, and as expected, a message from Song Si Lan appeared.

Song Si Lan: [What's wrong? Is Ying Huai not cooperating with treatment again? Do you need me to come over?]

Liang: [No, Doctor Song has already done very well.]

Liang: [Thank you Doctor Song for your help.]

Song Si Lan: [?]

·

Yu Wu had opened his own Psychological Counseling and Treatment Center, not far from the Hospital where Song Si Lan worked.

When Ying Huai arrived, he saw the dignified director of a psychological counseling center, having moved a stool to sit on the steps, gazing expectantly outside.

"Oh, the beauty came right on time today." Yu Wu spotted Ying Huai and the others at a glance, and spoke cheerfully.

Ying Huai glanced in the direction Yu Wu was looking, and sure enough saw the Hospital where Song Si Lan worked.

He looked at Yu Wu thoughtfully for a few seconds, and smiled: "Is Doctor Yu playing the waiting-for-wife stone here?"

"What nonsense, isn't this waiting for the beauty." Yu Wu patted his behind, and cheerfully stood up to walk inside.

Ying Huai curved his eyes: "Tomorrow Song Si Lan is coming over to examine me."

"If Doctor Yu calls me 'beauty' one more time, for the next month, I'm afraid I'll really only be able to erect a waiting-for-wife stone at your hospital entrance."

Yu Wu choked.

He glanced glumly at the person with the half-smile, and resignedly quickly changed his tune: "I was wrong, Teacher Xiao Huai is generous—surely you can't bear to watch me turn into a stone, right?"

Ying Huai curved his eyes noncommittally.

Yu Wu led the person into the room, reached out and tapped his watch twice, gave an offhand nod to Liang Shining outside, and reached out to close the door.

"Alright, now please trouble your Teacher Liang to wait outside for a bit."

Yu Wu raised his head and curved his eyes at Ying Huai: "Teacher Xiao Huai isn't worried, right?"

Ying Huai stood in place and looked around, then smiled lazily: "What would I have to worry about—could Doctor Yu possibly take advantage of us being separated to do something improper to us?"

"Of course not." Yu Wu laughed.

"I'm a doctor; I've sworn the Hippocratic oath."

"But I feel like Teacher Ying seems to distrust me quite a bit." Yu Wu slowly walked up to Ying Huai and stood.

He watched the person in front of him with great interest.

There was an obviously comfortable recliner in the room, but after Ying Huai looked around, he didn't walk over to it, instead going straight to the window, half-leaning against the wall, looking at him sideways.

It was a posture that looked very relaxed, but by the window he occupied one of the only two positions in the room that could connect with the outside, and standing sideways made it easy to conceal his condition at any moment.

——Yu Wu could clearly judge that Ying Huai was currently in a state of guardedness.

This state, when Ying Huai had just entered the Hospital, Yu Wu had sensed it once.

Ying Huai didn't speak.

He crossed his arms, stared at Yu Wu for a few seconds, and suddenly laughed: "Doctor Yu is overthinking."

"I'm just thinking........the first time I met Doctor Yu, what exactly did Doctor Yu do to me."

What Ying Huai was referring to was that time he had suddenly fallen ill.

He still didn't know exactly what Yu Wu had done, but from that day on, the situations of dreaming about his past life while in a deep sleep had indeed decreased significantly.

Yu Wu laughed: "Very simple—it's just the most common shallow-level Hypnosis."

"I guided you to do a simple sorting of your memories from that period—don't worry, I didn't go into the specific content, just dimmed the most painful part of those memories."

Yu Wu made a gesture: "You can understand it as pressing that most painful part of the memory down to the very bottom."

No sooner had his words fallen than he watched Ying Huai suddenly laugh.

"Is Doctor Yu joking with me?"

Yu Wu was momentarily stunned.

He was somewhat surprised that Ying Huai would have this reaction: "You don't believe it?"

"Of course I believe in Doctor Yu's medical skill," Ying Huai half-leaned against the wall and slightly shook his head, "I just don't believe in this Hypnosis thing."

Yu Wu raised an eyebrow.

Hypnosis treatment was already a relatively common technique in psychological treatment; although it wasn't as miraculous as movies made it out to be, basic methods like guiding the subconscious could still be done.

Last time his Hypnosis on Ying Huai had gone unusually smoothly—although that was because Liang Shining was present.

But generally speaking, for a first Hypnosis to reach that degree, the patient's subconscious acceptance of Hypnosis must not be low.

Yu Wu stared at Ying Huai thoughtfully for a few seconds, and suddenly spoke: "Does Teacher Xiao Huai feel the room is cold?"

Ying Huai shook his head: "It's alright."

"I feel Teacher Xiao Huai's breathing is a bit heavy," Yu Wu crossed his arms, poured a cup of water from the table, gently tapped the cup wall twice, and handed it to Ying Huai, "Do you feel any chest tightness?"

The temperature of the glass cup slightly burned Ying Huai's fingertips.

His attention wandered for a moment, but the next second, heard Yu Wu suddenly speak again: "Maybe the room heating isn't enough; if Teacher Xiao Huai feels uncomfortable, you can try adjusting your breathing."

Ying Huai's breathing subconsciously slowed a bit; he shook his head: "I'm fine."

Being stared at by Yu Wu helplessly, he somewhat amusedly raised his eyes: "I'm not questioning Doctor Yu's professional ability."

Yu Wu noncommittally shrugged.

Ying Huai took a sip of the hot water in the cup, listening to him tap his watch twice again lightly.

"I just feel that it's hard for a person to so defenselessly 'display' their subconscious to a stranger."

Yu Wu didn't speak.

He seemed to realize something, stared at Ying Huai for a few seconds, and suddenly spoke: "Why does Teacher Xiao Huai feel it's 'display'?"

"Hmm?" Ying Huai somewhat puzzledly raised his head.

"The main purpose of Hypnosis is to guide the person being hypnotized to correctly recognize, process, and then dim their own pain; the Psychologist only plays an auxiliary role—unless the person being hypnotized actively reveals it."

Yu Wu stepped forward slightly, took the water cup from Ying Huai, and tapped it unhurriedly: "What is Teacher Xiao Huai worried about?"

Ying Huai frowned.

He felt something vaguely off around him, but when he tried to look more closely, he felt there was nothing unusual.

Ying Huai took a deep breath. "Nothing."

He lowered his eyes, and casually fiddled with the Hongyu Jewel Pendant at the end of his hair: "I just feel—wouldn't this........be too dangerous."

He raised his head and smiled at Yu Wu: 'Anyway, I can't do it.'

Yu Wu didn't speak.

He stared at Ying Huai's movements, belatedly realizing something.

Ying Huai's demeanor wasn't that of someone who didn't believe in Hypnosis, but rather someone instinctively resisting it without even being aware of it himself.

—It was the first time Yu Wu had seen such a contradictory situation.

He straightened up slightly, watched Ying Huai with interest for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke: 'Then would Teacher Xiao Huai mind—me hypnotizing you once more.'

Ying Huai was startled for a moment.

He hadn't expected Yu Wu to be so persistent.

'I don't mind,' Ying Huai curved his eyes, 'but I remember, the most important point of Hypnosis is that the subject needs to relax first, right?'

Ying Huai raised his head somewhat helplessly: 'This point I find very difficult........'

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw Yu Wu raise his head and unhurriedly begin tapping lightly on his watch.

Ying Huai's attention unconsciously focused there.

He froze for a few seconds, finally realizing what was happening, and instinctively tried to look away.

But for some reason, his originally clear consciousness began to drift vaguely.

'You........'

Ying Huai's breathing unconsciously began to slow, and he didn't realize his expression was gradually becoming blank.

Yu Wu tapped the watch face lightly, one tap at a time, as if casually, watching the person before him whose consciousness was drifting.

'It's fine, the room is too warm, you're just a little sleepy. Adjust your breathing, focus on yourself, don't resist this feeling.'

Ying Huai's arms gradually grew heavy.

The glass in his hand seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. Ying Huai's wrist softened slightly, and the cup in his hand was set down heavily on the windowsill beside him.

His body also suddenly slumped downward with this movement.

This caused Ying Huai's consciousness to suddenly clear for a moment.

His palm barely supported the surface, and amid a wave of dizziness he looked up at Yu Wu, when suddenly he heard a crisp snap of fingers.

The consciousness Ying Huai had barely gathered instantly scattered.

His eyes instantly lost focus, his body swayed violently, and he fell forward weakly.

The next second, he was steadily caught by Yu Wu.

'The point Teacher Xiao Huai just mentioned, I'm not worried about that.' Yu Wu hooked the recliner beside him over with his foot, speaking unhurriedly.

He helped the powerless person slowly lie down on the recliner, and gave a soft laugh: 'The first priority of Hypnosis is to guide the patient to focus on their own emotions and bodily sensations, to perceive the subtle changes within themselves[1].'

'This point—when Teacher Xiao Huai first walked in—was already done very well.'

The person on the recliner sank into his own subconscious without awareness, showing no reaction at all.

Yu Wu took a soft breath.

He watched Ying Huai for a few seconds, gave a light snap of his fingers, and spoke again in a low voice: 'Now, Teacher Xiao Huai can first tell me—why are you so afraid of the Hospital?'

·

Ying Huai felt himself standing in a stretch of darkness.

There was no light in the darkness, no sound, and even the passage of time was void.

But Ying Huai did not feel the usual kind of fear; instead, there was a faint sense of comfort and security.

He sat quietly in the darkness with his arms around his knees, until a patch of light suddenly appeared not far away.

Ying Huai froze for a moment.

He stood up somewhat reluctantly, and walked blankly toward that patch of light.

The next second, the scene around him suddenly changed.

Ying Huai looked around and found himself sitting in the center of a consultation room.

Across from him, a doctor who appeared to be quite advanced in age pushed up his Glasses and looked down at the results of his EEG and various other tests.

[There are moderate depressive tendencies, and a mild stress response from psychological trauma, but at present inpatient treatment is not yet needed.] The doctor looked up at Ying Huai.

[I'll prescribe some medication for you first, combined with one cycle of psychotherapy. Once this cycle is over, come back to the Hospital for a follow-up.]

Ying Huai nodded passively.

His eyes drifted to the spring-like scene outside the window, and his empty gaze flickered slightly.

—He finally remembered when this was.

This was from his previous life, after Ying Qi had his accident, when Ying Huai had his first mental breakdown and went to the Hospital to see a Psychologist.

—It was in that year, when all things came back to life, that he lost his brother forever.

Ying Huai watched the doctor across from him open and close his lips saying something, but Ying Huai could no longer hear what he was saying.

He vaguely sensed something, and a thought of resistance flickered through his mind for an instant, but his body was numb and could not move at all.

He could only watch as, in the blink of an eye, the scene before him suddenly shifted once more.

He knelt quietly in Ying Qi's mourning hall.

The people around him came and went in a steady stream; some paused briefly before him, but more of them silently walked around.

The next second, a voice full of fury came from behind: [Unfilial son! You still have the nerve to come back!]

Ying Huai kept his eyes lowered, kneeling silently in place, saying nothing.

Father Ying came up from behind leaning on a Cane, and brought the Cane down viciously directly on his back.

A sharp pain shot through his back, and Ying Huai's heart gave a heavy thump.

A violent pain suddenly exploded from his chest; he could hold on no longer, his body swayed for an instant, and he suddenly tilted and fell.

His vision went dark, and he gasped for breath a few times, gritting his teeth as he pushed himself back up.

[Where were you when your brother's accident happened? Where were you when he was being resuscitated at the Hospital?] Father Ying gritted his teeth.

Ying Huai knelt silently in place.

It wasn't that he wasn't there; he had been hiding far away in a corner the whole time, unwilling to face.......the person whose life hung in the balance inside the Resuscitation Room.

[You've utterly disgraced the Ying Family—now go back to the Ying Family this instant.] Father Ying took a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth.

Ying Huai's body swayed.

He suddenly spoke in a hoarse voice: [Brother's accident happened, and the first thing Father thought of wasn't finding the real culprit for him, but how to tie me back home?]

Father Ying was stunned for a moment.

He suddenly choked with rage: [How can you still be so unrepentant—don't force me to really lock you up at home—]

But Ying Huai had already braced his body and was staggering outward.

A blinding brightness suddenly assaulted him from outside. Ying Huai walked forward with lowered eyes, and suddenly collided with someone.

Ying Huai's vision instantly went black.

A refined, anxious voice came from in front of him, and Ying Huai's body swayed.

He tried hard to open his eyes, but found that the consciousness he was barely holding on to began to gradually dissipate along with this darkness.

By the time he woke again, he had already been locked inside a 'Sanatorium'.

—He had thought his father was joking; he hadn't expected his father to really lock him up.

But Ying Huai, now reliving this memory, faintly sensed that something was not right.

·

Inside the treatment room.

Yu Wu looked at the pale-faced person on the recliner, his own expression faintly solemn.

He had just been guiding Ying Huai to reconstruct those painful memories in his mind.

He had been trying to mobilize the positive elements within Ying Huai's heart, to re-understand the memory scenes from that time, and thereby weaken the stimulus response to those memories.

The duration of emotional response shortened, no longer experiencing negative emotions intensely for long periods[1].

The earlier parts had all gone smoothly, but the moment he tried to get Ying Huai to recall what specifically happened inside the 'Sanatorium', Ying Huai's entire being suddenly began to resist.

—This reaction was very similar to Ying Huai's initial guardedness.

Yu Wu had no choice but to quickly terminate the memory regression, and with great effort, soothe Ying Huai's emotions once again.

But today's treatment could only end here.

Yu Wu pressed his brow, bent down and whispered something in Ying Huai's ear, then suddenly snapped his fingers again.

The person on the recliner trembled slightly.

Immediately after, he suddenly pushed himself up to a sitting position, covered his lips, and began to cough violently.

Yu Wu slowly patted Ying Huai's back, and handed over a cup of warm water: 'Are you alright?'

Ying Huai's body was trembling, and he couldn't hold the cup at all.

His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he suddenly spoke in a daze: 'It's not........not my father.'

Ying Huai covered his lips, coughing as he spoke: 'It was Chu Hongsheng.........'

'—Before, it was Chu Hongsheng who sent me into that Sanatorium.'

Yu Wu was stunned for a moment: 'What?'

Ying Huai closed his eyes.

Father Ying's reaction at the time, though angry, seemed to have faintly known something, as if revealing.......a certain protective inclination.

The "Sanatorium" incident must have been some kind of event, but he hadn't fully traced back all his memories, so he couldn't make a complete judgment.

Ying Huai took a deep breath, raised his head to look at Yu Wu: "........You just hypnotized me?"

Yu Wu nodded, observing Ying Huai's state: "Your receptivity to Hypnosis is very high, but the effect was much worse than I expected. Is there anywhere you're uncomfortable........"

Ying Huai shook his head.

There was nothing abnormal about his body, just a faint sense of fatigue in his mind, but when he recalled those memories again, the pain within them had indeed lessened considerably.

Ying Huai closed his eyes, then suddenly said in a hoarse voice: "Can you hypnotize me once more?"

Yu Wu was stunned for a moment.

He was somewhat surprised: "What did you say?"

Ying Huai took a breath. "When you were hypnotizing me just now, in those memories........I found some different places."

"I need more information."

Yu Wu frowned, a rare note of disapproval surfacing in his tone: "No."

Ying Huai raised his eyes to look at him: "Why?"

Yu Wu crossed his arms, fingers tapping against his sleeve.

"Your current mental state can't sustain another hypnosis. Forcing yourself into the subconscious could very likely lead to a mental breakdown."

Ying Huai frowned: "I'm fine........"

"You're not." Yu Wu let out a cold laugh.

Watching Ying Huai about to argue back, he suddenly reached out and pressed—not too lightly, not too heavily—on some acupoint at the back of his head.

Ying Huai's vision suddenly went black.

He had no time to react before losing consciousness entirely, his body going limp first and pitching straight forward.

Yu Wu released his hand, caught him steadily, and massaged his chest a few unhurried times.

After a few seconds, Ying Huai let out a low muffled groan, and when he spoke again, his voice was suddenly much weaker: "What just happened to me........"

"It's nothing—just qi and blood stagnation. You fainted for a moment, but once it disperses you'll be fine."

Yu Wu helped him lie back down on the recliner, produced a piece of mint chocolate from somewhere, and stuffed it directly into Ying Huai's mouth.

"Liang Shining said you like these. It should make you feel a bit better."

Yu Wu clapped his hands, his expression unusually serious: "Ordinary people basically wouldn't have any reaction to stimulation of this acupoint."

He said calmly: "You weren't aware that you were forcing yourself just now, but this is already your limit."

Ying Huai leaned weakly in the recliner, raised his eyes to look at him, his entire face pale.

Yu Wu knew that Ying Huai being awake at all right now was no small feat.

He sighed, took a blanket from the side and draped it over him, then braced his knees and stood up.

"Sleep for a while first. I'll go call your Liang-laoshi in."

He said in a low voice.

Ying Huai's eyelids were half-closed; it was unclear whether he had actually heard.

Yu Wu turned and walked back, but after only a few steps, he suddenly heard an extremely slow voice from behind him.

"How long........until we can continue."

Yu Wu paused.

"Two weeks."

——Ying Huai's body was in worse condition than he had imagined; he could only extend the interval by another half.

He turned his head and curved his lips at Ying Huai: "But during this period, the better you recuperate your body, the longer the hypnosis can last."

·

The sky outside had already dimmed. Liang Shining sat silently on the sofa opposite the treatment room, staring at the closed door without a word.

The instant Yu Wu came out, he sat up quickly.

"How is Ying Huai?"

He spoke as he was about to walk in, but Yu Wu gently stopped him.

"His body is fine, just a bit weak. He's probably fallen asleep now—go in a little later, or else he'll force himself to stay awake and talk to you when he sees you."

Yu Wu said unhurriedly.

Liang Shining's steps halted.

He took a light breath, slightly turning sideways: "How did the treatment go?"

"Did it.......help him?"

Yu Wu looked at Liang Shining's reaction and raised his eyebrows in some surprise.

Liang Shining clearly cared deeply about the things Ying Huai had concealed, but when he spoke, he didn't mention them at all.

"Aren't you curious about what Ying Huai said?" Yu Wu couldn't help asking.

Liang Shining looked up at him: "Can you say?"

"Of course not, that would violate my professional ethics," Yu Wu smiled, "but being curious is still allowed."

"The treatment effect was decent. His psychological trauma is somewhat more serious than I imagined, but his adaptability and stress response are better than I expected."

——Yu Wu had never seen someone on the verge of passing out from dizziness still force themselves to want to continue.

Liang Shining's expression eased somewhat.

The next second, he heard Yu Wu's voice suddenly turn serious: "But I also discovered something rather tricky."

"His response to hypnotic suggestion is very good—both the hypnosis duration effect and the subsequent awakening activity."

Yu Wu took a light breath.

Yu Wu's initial judgment was correct—Ying Huai's receptivity to hypnosis was indeed very high in his subconscious.

"But in the deeper layers of his consciousness, there's a strange resistance to hypnosis."

Seeing that Liang Shining seemed not to fully understand, Yu Wu offered another analogy: "For example, there's a lock in the deeper layers of his consciousness. It can only access shallow memory activity, but once a certain threshold is reached, his body's instincts produce a protective effect that prevents him from probing deeper."

"He must have been hypnotized before—many times." Yu Wu said in a low voice.

"And because of those hypnosis sessions, he's forgotten certain memories."

——That's why Ying Huai responds so well to hypnosis—his brain has already grown accustomed to this kind of consciousness infiltration.

Liang Shining's face subtly changed.

·

When Liang Shining entered the treatment room, Ying Huai was already curled up asleep in the chair.

Even after Liang Shining carried him back home, the person in his arms remained obliviously asleep in exhaustion.

He woke briefly in the middle of the night, but his reactions were still sluggish after waking. He forced himself to sit up in bed for a while before falling back into a deep sleep—deeper than before.

Liang Shining kept him in his arms the whole time, watching over Ying Huai's condition.

Fortunately, all of Ying Huai's vital signs were remarkably stable. Song Si Lan came by to check once in between and also said there was no problem.

"He's probably just too tired, so he's gone into deep sleep," Song Si Lan said quietly.

"This is good for his body. There's nothing to worry about."

It wasn't until the following afternoon that Ying Huai fully woke up.

He looked considerably better overall. After eating, he leaned against the dining table, watching Liang Shining clean out the litter box for the fat Bouquet.

"Come out with me in a bit," Ying Huai said offhandedly.

"Okay." Liang Shining agreed without hesitation.

He asked casually: "Is shifu going to see Song Fengyi today?"

"No," Ying Huai propped his chin up and said lazily, "I'm going to find—"

Before he could finish, a phone suddenly rang.

Ying Huai narrowed his eyes.

He looked at the three characters 'Chu Hongsheng' on his phone screen and said softly: "Never mind."

He reached out and answered the call. On the other end, Chu Hongsheng's refined and gentle voice came through: "Xiao Huai, I heard from Chu Ming—is your birthday coming up soon?"

Ying Huai's breath caught for a moment.

His birthday was on January 1st—the first day of every year—and also the anniversary of his death in his previous life.

Ying Huai didn't speak. On the other end, Chu Hongsheng laughed and continued on his own: "You've been away from home for so long. Ying-xiong has always wanted you to come back. This time, taking advantage of your birthday, we'll throw you a Birthday Party, and you and Ying-xiong can have a proper talk. How about it?"

"Ying-xiong has been talking about you these past few days, but he's too embarrassed to reach out, so let this uncle of yours break the ice for once."

Ying Huai's fingers tightened little by little.

——He knew that regarding Song Fengyi, Chu Hongsheng must have been unable to wait any longer.

Conveniently, he also had many things he wanted to ask Chu Hongsheng.

Ying Huai took a deep breath and slowly began to laugh softly.

"Alright."

"Thank you, Chu-shu, for thinking of me."

"I'm very much looking forward to seeing Chu-shu at the Birthday Party."