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

Chapter 401 [Flow State - Beginner]

Over the past month, Nan Zhuren has completed five monthly goals.

The first four of these incidents occurred within a month after the Wang Rui incident ended.

Nan Zhuren initially hoped that the new month would bring some new and interesting tasks and rewards.

What he gained, however, was a trait he already possessed—

—[Emotional soothing ability (voice) +4]

This is the ability he gained when he first achieved his monthly goal.

Although he did not gain any new abilities, Nan Zhuren was still quite satisfied with the situation.

The ability to soothe emotions is a very useful skill for psychological counseling, and this skill has already proven its worth in my previous work and life.

As for the reward for completing the fifth [Monthly Goal], it's rather unlucky—

— [Charm (Eyes) +1]

"..."

To reiterate, excessive charm can cause a lot of trouble in life.

It can cause even more trouble in psychological counseling.

This is one of the reasons why Nan Zhuren hasn't been accepting any additional consultations lately.

Thinking of this, Nan Zhuren sighed and then turned his gaze back to the computer screen in front of him.

You have one [Advanced Psychological Techniques Course] to claim.

Over the past month, the monthly goals have been achieved many times, but the case archive has yet to be completed.

However, this is the normal pace. The healing of mental illness is influenced by many factors, and many illnesses cannot even be eradicated, troubling patients for life like a persistent carbuncle.

"But considering the two cases I have here, Xu Pengcheng should have already recovered..."

Based on Nan Zhuren's assessment during the consultation, and Xu Pengcheng's subjective account.

About a week before the college entrance examination, Xu Pengcheng should have gotten rid of all the negative influences.

Li Mingchen, on the other hand, always seemed to be just one step short.

“There’s only one explanation for this,” Nan Zhuren thought to himself. “That is, Xu Pengcheng’s problem doesn’t actually reach the level of a mental illness like anorexia nervosa; he just has psychological issues related to anorexia.”

This explains why Xu Pengcheng, after recovering, did not bring Nan Zhuren a single case file.

To be honest, if it weren't for the micro-expression analysis revealing that Xu Pengcheng wasn't hiding his behavior, Nan Zhuren, who hadn't noticed anything initially, would have almost thought that the other party had developed some kind of "smiling depression."

“That makes sense. According to the information we collected at the time, Li Mingchen, who had better physical test scores, started dieting to control his weight later than Xu Pengcheng, but he fell from the building earlier than Xu Pengcheng, and continued his anorexia at a high intensity during the month he was resting at home afterward…”

Nan Zhuren made a judgment in his mind.

In this case, Li Mingchen's anorexia nervosa has been cured.

Although Li Mingchen showed a fundamental improvement outside of the consultation, it surprised Nan Zhuren.

Nan Zhuren knew that Li Mingchen usually practiced mindful eating with Xu Pengcheng on their own. It was somewhat unexpected, but also quite reasonable.

Gathering her thoughts, Nan Zhuren focused her attention on the [Advanced Psychological Techniques Training] session in front of her.

You have received [Advanced Psychological Techniques Training]

Please select your area of ​​further study.

[1. Upgrade one of your current techniques.]

[Currently available upgradeable technique: [Micro-expression analysis - Intermediate]]

[II. Learn a new technique.]

Nan Zhuren had already planned out the direction of this advanced technique training.

...He has no need to further study any of his current techniques.

Let's see what Nan Zhuren's main abilities are now.

We won't discuss abilities like [emotional soothing ability], [emotional contagion ability], [nerve reflex speed], [charm (temperament)], and [charm (eye contact)], which are acquired through [monthly goals].

[Micro-expression analysis - Intermediate] is Nan Zhuren's foundation. It's sufficient to handle all situations she encounters; even the most cutting-edge professors in China are astonished by her current micro-expression analysis abilities.

This ability is too powerful in Nan Zhuren's current work and life environment, making it feel like using a cannon to kill a mosquito when dealing with things.

If we upgrade it further, to use a term from online games, it would be "severe damage overflow".

Even at the intermediate level of micro-expression analysis, Nan Zhuren hasn't fully mastered it yet. Further advancement is completely unnecessary.

【Emotional Readjustment - Beginner】- Same as above, perfectly adequate, no need to upgrade.

Nan Zhuren estimates that the direction of this upgraded ability will either be to allow emotions to be adjusted to a custom fixed value, or to reduce the energy consumption when readjusting.

However, Nan Zhuren is now using the "energy depletion" debuff as a positive buff to fall asleep quickly, so he is somewhat reluctant to lose this negative effect due to leveling up.

The ability to quickly fall into a high-quality sleep is a precious skill that people who don't suffer from insomnia won't understand!

Moreover, Nan Zhuren's own emotional management ability is strong enough, and with a "forced composure" switch, he is more than capable of dealing with the current situation.

It's perfectly adequate; there's no need to upgrade.

[Memory Palace - Beginner] - This one definitely needs an upgrade. Nan Zhuren's greatest wish is to be able to stay awake and freely browse through past memories.

However, considering the current performance and upgrade path of this skill, Nan Zhuren estimates that [Memory Palace - Intermediate] can at most allow him to go from "100% memorizing text" to "100% memorizing both text and images".

To reach your ideal level, you need to upgrade to at least the [Memory Palace - Advanced] level.

Should I save up for this advanced psychological techniques course, or upgrade my memory palace to the intermediate level first, since it won't be of much help to me for now?

In response, Nan Zhuren stated—

"Beware of growth traps."

"Instead of acquiring advanced skills that you don't currently need, it's better to see if new skills can fill any gaps in your knowledge."

"Moreover..." Nan Zhuren was confident in himself, "After going to Beidu, there will definitely be no shortage of cases. There will be plenty of opportunities to explore the limits of these abilities."

With this thought in mind, Nan Zhuren stretched out his finger and lightly tapped the computer screen.

You have chosen your area of ​​further study.

You have learned a new technique.

You have mastered the technique [Flow State - Beginner]

[Flow State - Beginner: Actively block out all negative distractions and enter a state of "absolute focus" on the current target of attention. Mental activity in this state will be forcibly maintained at the individual's peak, while physical and mental energy will be consumed rapidly. You can voluntarily exit this state.]

Nan Zhuren's eyes lit up: "Oh, this is great!"

……

dong dong dong-

The sound of knocking on the table woke Nan Zhuren from his dream.

Looking up, one sees Weng Pingting's newly assigned consulting assistant to Nan Zhuren.

However, calling him "Nan Zhuren's assistant" is not quite accurate, because Nan Zhuren rarely consults. After discussions, he now shares an assistant with another consultant.

After all, if I don't want to work, I can't stop others from making money.

"Teacher Nan," the shared assistant said, "the boss wants to see you and asks you to come to his office now."

"Then your visit will be in an hour, so you can start preparing."

(End of this chapter)