Who would study psychology if they didn't have some kind of problem?

Chapter 123 The Family's Gratitude
Is there something wrong?
Nan Zhuren looked at Shen Bing strangely, then glanced at her watch: "Is he a visitor? But there should still be about ten minutes before the consultation starts, right? Did he arrive early?"

At the same time, Nan Zhuren noticed that Shen Bing's expression was somewhat subtle.

The corners of his mouth were twitching, as if he wanted to turn them up but forcibly suppressed them; the corners of his eyes were also restraining themselves from curving—was he forcibly suppressing joy?

[Did something good happen, but he's trying to sabotage me?]

Seeing that Nan Zhuren had misunderstood, Shen Bing seemed to be trying to restrain himself, but finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Teacher Nan, this is great news, fantastic news!" His voice couldn't hide his excitement. "You'll see for yourself when you come out!"

Nan Zhuren raised an eyebrow, pulled out a chair, and walked towards the front desk area.

They saw Lu Jia serving tea to a middle-aged man in a suit.

The man looked unfamiliar, yet his features somehow gave Nan Zhuren a sense of familiarity.

Upon seeing Nan Zhuren, the man in the suit immediately stood up.

"You must be Teacher Nan. I've heard Tingting mention you—she said you're a counselor you can recognize at a glance, even if you've never met in person."

The other person introduced himself: "I am Chen Ting's father."

Nan Zhuren's expression remained unchanged, but he inwardly hummed in agreement.

……

When Chen's father stood up, his eyes were scrutinizing; after seeing Nan Zhuren's face clearly, as well as the contours, lines and features of his face, this expression changed to a kind of appreciation as if he were looking at a famous oil painting.

He recalled asking his wife before he came, "How do I find counselor Nan Zhuren at the Yannuo Psychological Center?" His wife's expression was strange, and she only said, "You'll know when you go see him. He's the most special one among the young people; you'll recognize him at a glance."

He was still very confused at the time.

Now he understood what his wife meant.

If Mr. Chen were twenty years younger, he might have felt some hostility towards Nan Zhuren's face; but now that he has achieved success, he only feels relief and appreciation.

There was also a hint of gratitude.

"Father Chen," Nan Zhuren chose a relatively approachable form of address, "Nice to meet you."

While Chen's father was sizing up Nan Zhuren, Nan Zhuren was also sizing up Chen's father.

Not everyone is Sherlock Holmes, able to read a person pretty well from the first meeting using deductive reasoning.

Fortunately, a reference point to help Nan Zhuren read soon appeared.

"Mr. Chen, I didn't expect you to come all at once."

Howard strode out of the office area, bypassing Nan Zhuren and extending both hands to Chen's father: "You didn't even give me a heads-up. Welcome, welcome."

[A fawning smile.]

The "enthusiasm" in the words exceeded the proper etiquette of a host welcoming guests, conveying a sense of obsequiousness from someone of lower status meeting someone of higher status.

So, is Mr. Chen's father superior to the boss in terms of economic strength or social status?

Nan Zhuren then looked at Chen's father. He scanned Chen's father's expression to confirm the purpose of his visit today.

The smile lingered on the face for a long time and remained steady; it was a social smile.

However, when it was directed at me just now, there were periodic contractions and retractions around my eyes; now that's gone, leaving only the feeling of social etiquette.

Facing Howard, Mr. Chen slightly straightened his back, exuding an aura that set him apart from everyone else in the counseling center.

"I've heard so much about you, Mr. Huo," Mr. Chen explained. "This is a personal matter, and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I don't do consulting or business, so I didn't give you any advance notice. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

“No way! No way!” Howard laughed loudly. The center owner’s voice was very loud, and although the center’s consultation rooms were well soundproofed, Nan Zhuren couldn’t help but frown, worried that it would disturb other clients who were receiving consultations.

At that moment, a rustling sound came from behind. Nan Zhuren didn't need to turn around to guess that the consultants who were "maintaining their brains" in the office area had heard about the special situation and started to gather around.

"Forget about personal matters, Mr. Chen, now that you're here, it's business," Howard continued with a smile.

Without changing his expression, Mr. Chen withdrew his hand, then shifted his position, facing Nan Zhuren again, now sideways to Howard's side. At the same time, the smile on his face changed, becoming more like "Mr. Chen" and more like "Father Chen."

"We're here today mainly to see Teacher Nan," Mr. Chen said solemnly. "We want to express our sincere gratitude."

Nan Zhuren subconsciously responded, "It's my duty, it's my job."

“No, without Teacher Nan’s help, we really wouldn’t know what to do.” Mr. Chen’s attitude was sincere. “We had consulted many counselors before, but none of them saw Tingting’s problem like Teacher Nan did and gave Tingting such dedicated help.”

At this point, the man finally dropped his social expression and became emotional.

“We—myself and Tingting’s mother—were both negligent; we didn’t even know what problems Tingting had.”

“I’ve asked my friends these past few days, and I know that what you did recently, Teacher Nan, must have been very difficult for you… But you did it to help Tingting.”

Looking into Nan Zhuren's eyes, Mr. Chen said, "That's why I had to come here in person to thank you, Teacher Nan. Without you, we really don't know what would have happened, and if that kind of... 'thing' had actually happened, we really wouldn't know what to do."

"You're welcome," Nan Zhuren said again. But the expression on his face finally revealed a genuine smile beyond mere social interaction.

“Yes, that’s what we should do,” Howard interjected, laughing loudly. “Although Yan Nuo has only been established for a short time, all our consultants are extremely reliable.”

His voice was so loud that even Weng Pingting, who was looking at documents in the office area, came running over. The consulting manager stood behind the onlookers with his arms crossed, his brows furrowed, but he didn't go out.

The family's gratitude was received, which is the most precious emotional value for a psychological counselor, but Nan Zhuren still had two doubts in his mind.

"How is your spouse doing lately, that is, Tingting's mother?"

Upon hearing this, Chen's father's expression stiffened noticeably. In that instant, his face released a tremendous amount of information that even Nan Zhuren, with a frame of reference, might have found difficult to process, let alone now.

"It's not convenient for her to come over in person to thank Teacher Nan."

Upon hearing this answer, Nan Zhuren nodded thoughtfully: "Then you must have come here today for something else, right?"

Mr. Chen forced a smile: "Teacher Nan is indeed a professional; how could she tell?"

Nan Zhuren did not answer, but only smiled.

Mr. Chen quickly composed himself: "I came here today mainly for two things—besides thanking Teacher Nan, I also wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to express my gratitude; and then there's Tingting. Such a big matter won't be resolved so easily, and I'm very worried about Tingting's current situation, so I'd like to trouble Teacher Nan to continue to help..."

Howard had been listening the whole time, and when he arrived, he was almost beaming with joy.

He clapped his hands in a self-reproachful gesture, then quickly walked to Boss Chen's side and gestured to lead the way: "We've been talking for so long and we're still at the main entrance. Why don't you come to my office, Boss Chen, and we can talk to Xiao Nan slowly?"

Mr. Chen nodded without hesitation.

He moved his feet slightly and politely gestured to Nan Zhuren that he should go first.

However, Nan Zhuren did not move. Instead, she turned her body to face the opposite direction of Howard and Chen's father.

He took out his phone, pretended to check the time, and then said, "Boss, I have another consultation later."

"...Huh, what?"

“I have another consultation,” Nan Zhuren repeated. “It will be in five minutes. I need to go to the consultation room to prepare now.”

　The update was originally scheduled for midnight, but there was a problem with the backend, and I didn't receive the message that the site was down, so I couldn't send the VIP post. It's quite late.

　　Sorry, sorry
　　
　
(End of this chapter)