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

Chapter 224, Step Two: Activating Desire

Outside the door, Huang Xin stopped, panting heavily.

He was about to rush inside when he heard Nan Zhuren's voice coming from inside.

The voice carried a hint of teasing, a touch of gentleness, a hint of pain as if gasping for breath, and a deliberately crafted ease.

There was no tension or urgency.

[So... they've calmed down and started talking?]

Huang Xin jolted awake and immediately slammed on the brakes, the immense inertia nearly knocking him over.

He then quickly took two steps back, turned around, and while carefully listening to assess the situation inside the room, he also kept an eye on the hallway.

Now, not only can he not go in, but no one else can either!
inside the door.

As Nan Zhuren spoke, she tried to move a little closer to Li Minglu on the sofa.

At this moment, Li Minglu's eyes were fixed on Nan Zhuren, without any reaction.

This disregard for distance made Nan Zhuren afraid to move or test the waters again.

He would rather Li Minglu were a little more agitated and yell something like "Don't come any closer!"

Fortunately, her attention has now been drawn, and she is able to strike up a conversation with Li Minglu.

Let's begin step two.

[Creating recognition and respect!]

What do we agree with? What do we respect?
Nan Zhuren's voice was slow and deliberate: "You know, I always had the same feeling when I faced those visitors before."

Nan Zhuren met Li Minglu's gaze and looked directly at him.

"I feel very uncomfortable."

Nan Zhuren sighed, “I’ve experienced similar discomfort before, but not as badly as theirs or yours. I could barely bear it back then, so I can hardly imagine how you must feel.”

"That's why I feel terrible."

Nan Zhuren still avoided all sensitive words; his voice was very soft and gentle, like the wind.

"I don't think I've ever told you why I studied psychology?"

He asked Li Minglu a question, and then explained to himself, "Actually, during my high school years, due to academic and environmental issues, there was a period when I was particularly...uncomfortable."

Nan Zhuren recounted an experience and added details: "Back then, I would study until 11:30 every day before going to bed, but I would stay awake until 2 or 3 in the morning before I would feel sleepy. When I couldn't sleep, my mind would wander to all sorts of things—my grades that I could never improve no matter how hard I tried, the girl I liked who didn't like me back, and the classmates who always liked to make fun of me."

As he spoke, Nan Zhuren patted his face, as if mocking himself.

"That's right, this face will also encounter many problems."

"Until one time, I started using a utility knife—because we had to open the sealed bags of test papers for our mock exams, so everyone had a utility knife—anyway, I took that utility knife and slashed my wrist several times."

Nan Zhuren rolled up her sleeves and showed them to Li Minglu: "Look, this is it."

As Nan Zhuren swayed his wrist, Li Minglu's eyes moved from side to side.

However, because it was too far away, nothing could be seen clearly.

"Later, when I participated in a mental health survey at school, I completed a questionnaire and received a result of 'mild.' Then I contacted the psychology teacher in our college. During this process, I also developed an interest in psychology, so I eventually chose this major."

The latter half of the above sentence is not important; it's just background information needed for the story.

The important part is the word "mild" in the first half, and all the details used to enrich that word.

The so-called "identity" is "identity" in terms of status!
“At the time, I was only in a mild condition, but I was already in extremely bad pain, and at the same time—” Nan Zhuren said, showing his wrist again, “—I also did this.” Li Minglu’s eyes flickered again.

"So when I'm with you and those other visitors from before, I always feel like I can understand some of your feelings, but at the same time, I find it even harder to imagine what it would be like if the same feelings were really on my shoulders."

As he spoke, Nan Zhuren spread out his palms and gestured in the air to indicate the current situation.

"When the time comes, my choices and reactions will probably be the same as yours and theirs."

In addition to "acknowledgment", it is also necessary to express "respect".

And this "respect" is "respect" for behavior!
Even if this act is suicide!

The purpose of all this is actually similar to that during a consultation: to attract the client's attention, build rapport, and lay the groundwork for the main event later.

Of course, compared to when she was in the consultation room, Nan Zhuren's language was noticeably more aggressive and expansive at this time.

But—as long as it works!
……

Li Minglu lowered his eyes.

Originally, he and Nan Zhuren had been looking at each other.

At first glance, this reaction might not seem like a good sign, but Nan Zhuren was secretly cheering.

[I've started thinking!]

Nan Zhuren breathed a long sigh of relief.

One of the key characteristics of depression is "dullness".

Decreased sensitivity and slower reaction speed are just the basics.

In some ways, they are even somewhat like "human-machine"—the brain issues an instruction, sets a goal, and then stops thinking, leaving the body to carry it out instinctively.

It's like a robot that receives the "go forward" command. Even if it trips and falls, breaking parts, it will still get up and stubbornly continue to move forward according to the preset goal.

Nan Zhuren's words just now perfectly activated Li Minglu's brain, which now has an extremely high threshold.

They pulled Li Minglu out of his human-machine state and injected a new program into his brain, which only had the command "suicide," to make him start thinking.

Now, we've come to the most crucial step.

[Activate your desires!]

Suicide victims typically fall into two categories.

One type is the development of abnormal desires.

Such as the desire to escape or avoid pain, the desire to perform in order to seek attention from others, or simply the curiosity about death itself.

The other is having no desires at all.

—In an extreme state of indifference, with the attitude of "it's okay to live, it's okay to die," after some "rational" thinking, the scales in his heart finally tilted slightly towards "death," and he chose suicide.

If it's the first case, then activate a stronger desire to cover up the original, erroneous desire;
If it's the second type, then try to inject some kind of desire, just like nourishing parched land with lotus leaves, allowing it to radiate even a little bit of vitality.

Fortunately, Nan Zhuren now possesses a decisive power that can be used at this moment.

[Emotional Influence]

Moreover, it has reached the level of [+5].

　Readers are advised not to imitate any of the actions taken by the protagonist in this chapter; leave professional matters to professionals.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)