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

Chapter 173 His unsteady steps were even kind of cute.
Huang Xin watched from behind as Nan Zhuren and Liu Pan struggled with these three questions.

No, there was no pulling or tugging. Strictly speaking, it was Nan Zhuren who was forcibly pulling and dragging.

Huang Xin opened his mouth.

But then, as if remembering something, he swallowed his words. He slowly sat back down in his chair, reverting to his indifferent expression.

……

"You just said you wanted to talk to me, what do you want to talk about?"

As Nan Zhuren spoke, as if deep in thought, he slowly took two steps, turned around, and placed Huang Xin and Liu Pan in his field of vision at the same time.

He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Now his main focus was on Liu Pan, while also keeping a close eye on Huang Xin.

Liu Pan, however, was completely unaware of this.

"Senior Brother Nan, I've actually been wanting to find an opportunity to visit you about this matter for a while now; even if you don't come to see Senior Brother Huang Xin today, I might visit you another day."

Although Liu Pan's speech was disrupted by Nan Zhuren, he did indeed plan to find Nan Zhuren long ago, just as he himself said.

He had already mentally rehearsed countless times how to deal with Nan Zhuren.

Therefore, she quickly returned to the posture she had when she first spoke to Nan Zhuren.

"It's like this, senior brother. I already know about your past, about that accident case—I have to apologize to you here, because this matter is definitely related to me, but I only found out now."

His words were polite and courteous.

"So I can really understand how you feel right now, and what you did before. If the same thing happened to me, I definitely wouldn't be any calmer than you."

Nan Zhuren pursed her lips.

[She used empathy? And self-disclosure, hoping to use this to get closer to me, hmm...]

[Very standard negotiation technique.]

It's very stiff...and a bit immature.

Nan Zhuren watched the other person perform quietly.

"But since the problem has occurred, it definitely needs to be solved. And besides, 'Liu Lin Psychological Clinic' is, after all, part of my family; we almost became family as well."

Liu Pan blinked, trying his best to appear sincere: "So, I was thinking about whether I could make it up to my senior brother."

Nan Zhuren saw Huang Xin at the edge of his line of sight, as if he had sat up slightly and taken a breath.

Nan Zhuren thought for a moment and then cooperated: "How do you want to make amends? Can you do something that Huang Xin couldn't? Can you help me get the files?"

Liu Pan waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, that case is already over, isn't it?"

"...It's over?"

“Yes.” Liu Pan nodded. “I know how hard it must have been for you, as a counselor, to accept something like that; what’s worse is that Teacher Lin then shifted all the blame onto you and fired you. Teacher Lin was definitely in the wrong, but my father was completely unaware of it at the time.”

So you're making a righteous distinction?

Nan Zhuren saw Huang Xin behind him open his mouth, but then hesitated and stopped speaking.

Liu Pan continued, "When I first saw you and Professor Weng giving a lecture at school, I was very happy that you were able to step out of your comfort zone, but now it seems that's not the case."

"Of course—even if you get out of this mess, we're still in the wrong, and we'll definitely have to find a way to make it up to you, Senior Brother Nan."

"Perfect timing! I heard that your company isn't doing too well financially lately, Senior Brother Nan? Are you planning to switch to relationship counseling? It must be quite a challenge for you to become a counselor, right?"

[These were all pre-rehearsed words; they sounded like memorization.] [It seems he really did plan to come find me a long time ago.]

【but--】

Nan Zhuren narrowed his eyes: "How did you find out about the 'Yan Nuo Center'?"

Liu Pan smiled confidently: "The psychological counseling circle in Jiangdu is very small. When the teacher goes to meetings, he often takes me with him. I've run into your boss a few times, and I overheard them chatting."

Nan Zhuren saw Huang Xin behind him looking on with envy, then lowered his head, clearly indicating that he usually didn't have the opportunity to attend such meetings.

Do you think I'd be bothered?

"Of course." Liu Pan nodded after hearing Nan Zhuren's question.

"What's this 'emotional counseling' thing? It's something even lower than psychological counseling!"

As he said this, Liu Pan slightly raised his head.

[His speaking speed increased slightly, and his vocabulary became more fluent.]

It seems that what I'm saying now isn't the prepared script.

"If you really get into that kind of company, you probably won't get many legitimate psychological counseling cases. Even with your abilities, senior, you won't be able to hone your legitimate counseling skills under such circumstances, and you might even regress."

Liu Pan said confidently, "So my suggestion is—to invite you, my senior, to work at our clinic!"

Nan Zhuren raised an eyebrow.

At the same time, he saw Huang Xin sit back down completely, adopting a defensive stance that refused to accept any more information from the outside world.

……

Liu Pan was still memorizing his lines, and Nan Zhuren felt that he must have been preparing for a long time.

“A mental health clinic is a level higher than a counseling center. Our clinic treats real mental illnesses, and even some psychiatric disorders—this is a higher-level platform for you, senior brother.”

"This means that you can access more and more advanced cases, and at the same time, you can earn more consulting fees."

Liu Pan said confidently, "And if you want to further your studies, our clinic also has master's professors from other prestigious universities as consultants. You can enroll under them for a master's degree, or even a doctorate..."

Nan Zhuren waited quietly for him to finish speaking.

After a relatively long pause, Liu Pan looked at Nan Zhuren with expectant eyes, waiting for a response.

Nan Zhurencai said calmly, "And then?"

Liu Pan blinked. His expression was somewhat stiff: "...And then?"

"Yes, what you just said was brilliant; you clearly prepared it for a long time."

"However, my reaction now is clearly beyond your expectations; simply put, it's not in your plan."

Nan Zhuren drew a circle in the air with his index finger toward Liu Pan's face: "Your current expression is called 'panic'—it's a bit like being asked a question during a thesis defense but not knowing how to answer it."

Nan Zhuren looked at Liu Pan: "You just said a lot, about giving me a job and letting me go back to school. But isn't this the life I was meant to have? Giving me back the life I already had, is this the proposal you've racked your brains to come up with that you think will convince me?"

"Besides, you only talked about the part concerning 'me,' what about the others?"

Nan Zhuren said, "For example—Chen Jie. What about her?"

　Happy New Year everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)