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

Chapter 305 What are the "must-have" things?

Xu Pengcheng was stunned for a moment after hearing Nan Zhuren's words.

He nodded and repeated, "Yes, I can't touch cake. I hate cake."

It's like repetition, and it's also like emphasis.

Nan Zhuren smiled.

What's the first thing people do when they hear the phrase "I can't touch the cake"?

What kind of person would use the word "cannot"?

Faced with what Xu Pengcheng revealed in his language.

Nan Zhuren pointed it out directly: "It sounds like the 'don't touch' thing about the cake is a forced choice, a choice that someone else persuaded you to make?"

"Moreover, most people can express their attitude by saying 'I can't touch the cake'; but you added 'I hate cake,' which seems to be convincing yourself again after being persuaded by others."

"But this repeated emphasis from multiple angles seems to indicate that your inner thoughts and your verbal expression are not very consistent."

Xu Pengcheng was stunned.

……

Talking to these 16- or 17-year-old high school students can sometimes be quite relaxing.

Compared to figures like Li Minglu, Dr. Chen, and even other university students, a more significant psychological development characteristic of high school teenagers is "lower self-reflection."

These sixteen- or seventeen-year-olds rarely reflect on their own thoughts or look for flaws in their ideas.

In a sense, it is also easy to get stuck on a single point.

However, in the consultation process, as long as the counselor can point out the contradictions in their language, it is easy to get them into a deep thinking state of "sudden realization".

Teenagers simply rarely reflect on their actions, not that they lack the intelligence to do so.

At this moment, Xu Pengcheng was silenced by Nan Zhuren.

By observing Xu Pengcheng's body language and gaze, Nan Zhuren was able to tell that the other party was indeed thinking at the moment, rather than defending himself.

Nan Zhuren waited patiently.

After a long while, Xu Pengcheng looked up and said, "Teacher, you're amazing! Is psychology really that amazing...?"

Nan Zhuren smiled but did not reply. He knew that Xu Pengcheng had more to say than just that.

Xu Pengcheng paused again, and then stammered, "I might, um, still want to eat. But I can't eat, because I'm too fat..."

After reaching this point, Xu Pengcheng stopped and did not elaborate further.

With the conversation moving to this point, Nan Zhuren was finally able to ask the question he had been preparing for a long time, without worrying that the "voyeuristic" nature of the question would frighten the student in front of him.

"Speaking of which, this should be our second meeting," Nan Zhuren said with a smile. "I saw you on the playground when I first came to the school. I think you were training at the time. You're a sports student, right?"

As the topic shifted, Xu Pengcheng's expression became slightly more lively, and his body relaxed a little.

"Yes, we were training at the time. I actually saw you, Teacher Nan, too; you were walking with our vice principal..."

"You seem to be training very hard?"

Xu Pengcheng nodded: "Yes, because I failed the physical tests the last few times, especially the long-distance running, so... I have to train harder."

He added, "That's also why I lost weight."

The words were familiar, the reasons were familiar; Nan Zhuren seemed to have heard similar explanations from Li Mingchen before.

Nan Zhuren asked further, "Is this how you usually do extra training?" "Yes, we wait until everyone else has finished training, and then we run a few extra laps. We don't leave until we finish."

“No.” Nan Zhuren shook his head. “Of course I know what ‘extra training’ is. I’m referring to ‘the form of extra training’.”

Nan Zhuren looked into Xu Pengcheng's eyes, and the tall student suddenly felt uneasy.

The young counselor recalled, "I think there were two classmates chasing after you, right? They seemed to be holding something, like a relay baton?"

Xu Pengcheng avoided Nan Zhuren's gaze.

His language began to become somewhat rigid, no longer like communication, but like reciting lines he had prepared in advance.

"Because our coach requires everyone to finish their practice before they can leave, if I don't finish my extra practice, everyone has to stay with me, so it has to be this way..."

Nan Zhuren frowned slightly; his question had not received a direct answer.

But this avoidance itself is an affirmative answer to Nan Zhuren's closed-ended question.

He then asked, "Do you practice extra exercises every day? Is it always like this during extra exercises?"

Xu Pengcheng paused, and thought for a long time.

The student's subsequent answers were still very fluent, so fluent that they didn't seem to come from the moment, but rather as if they had prepared them in advance.

"I need to pass the physical fitness test, and to pass the test I have to train extra and lose weight. But I don't have the willpower for that, so I have to force myself to diet, and when I'm training extra, my teammates have to keep up with me, otherwise I can't do it alone..."

Nan Zhuren narrowed his eyes, feeling that he had caught something.

How do you feel about this?

"I...I'm very tired, and...I've been very hungry." Xu Pengcheng spoke haltingly, but quickly regained his composure, "But I have to do this, otherwise I won't be able to pass the physical fitness test..."

"Besides seeing them chasing you, I think I also heard them calling you by your nickname, right? Although I don't know what it was."

Nan Zhuren certainly knew.

"..."

Xu Pengcheng opened his mouth, but this time he did not answer Nan Zhuren.

Nan Zhuren softly raised the question on his behalf: "Is this also 'necessary'?"

……

Xu Pengcheng's breathing began to quicken.

He stopped looking at Nan Zhuren and gripped the chair tightly with both hands.

Even though Xu Pengcheng's physique was weak and listless due to prolonged dieting, his current state was enough to make people feel uneasy.

Teachers face risks when dealing with students, and so do counselors when dealing with clients.

Nan Zhuren, however, did not feel uneasy. He even leaned forward slightly to close the distance between himself and Xu Pengcheng.

“You used the word ‘must’ in almost every sentence you just said. And when you used the word ‘must’, your speech was exceptionally fluent.”

"But I don't think those words are important, because they don't contain your own emotions."

“Only when you say you’re hungry or tired can I sense your emotions,” Nan Zhuren said, softening his tone. “Only then can I feel… that those words are what you want to say yourself.”

Nan Zhuren raised the crucial question: "Pengcheng, those things you said were 'must'—were they your own ideas, or did someone else tell you them?"

(End of this chapter)