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

Chapter 623 Bai Qinghua: Did I recruit a Leonardo da Vinci?
Watching Nan Zhuren's departing figure, Bai Qinghua's research group fell silent for a while.

After a long pause, Chonghui turned to Bai Qinghua and asked, "Teacher, is Zhu Ren alright?"

There was no answer; Bai Qinghua remained silent.

After a long pause, Bai Qinghua finally spoke: "Zhu Ren looks... his facial muscles are loose, and he seems very tired. Also, his pupils seem a bit unfocused, and he doesn't seem to be able to concentrate."

Weng Pingting then added, "His body felt very weak, even somewhat paralyzed. He would subconsciously seek out sitting or standing postures like 'crawling' or 'leaning,' which was a subconscious way of conserving his energy and looking for opportunities to rest."

Chonghui was taken aback, then hurriedly said, "Yes, yes... He's been very quiet today, and his speech and movements seem much slower than usual. I'm really worried about his condition..."

Shi Qianqian was taken aback for a moment, then racked her brains and said, "He's been eating candy and drinking water... He's unconsciously regulating himself and replenishing his energy!"

The four of them, one after another, analyzed the whole picture of Nan Zhuren's behavior just now.

Then, Chonghui and Shi Qianqian looked at their teacher and senior sister again, seemingly wanting their mentor and senior sister to make a decision on whether or not to intervene.

Bai Qinghua was still pondering, seemingly uncertain about something.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "But... he doesn't seem to have any cognitive decline issues. His language and logic are still quite fluent, and he doesn't have any micro-expressions that express negative emotions... Could it be that none of the ten visitors he had today poured out anything negative to him? That doesn't make sense..."

Weng Pingting nodded in agreement: "There is no fatigue in terms of empathy. Although his expression is not very lively, the overall fluctuation is still healthy. Theoretically, even if he is not subjected to negative emotions, he should still be affected by the frequent empathy during psychological intervention... But, everything seems normal."

Bai Qinghua nodded: "Unless he doesn't empathize during consultations, but that's obviously impossible."

Given the radical consulting style that Nan Zhuren has previously demonstrated, anyone with even a slight lack of empathy would not have been able to do it.

Moreover, compared to the bizarre and varied psychological counseling cases she usually deals with, Nan Zhuren is now intervening with rescue workers, medical personnel, and workers in disaster areas. These groups are more likely to evoke empathy from counselors.

Bai Qinghua and Weng Pingting exchanged a glance.

Ultimately, they were completely baffled.

“Dahui, make a note of this. You can study your junior brother’s situation later.” Bai Qinghua decided, “He can always empathize but not let his emotions deplete… Whether Zhu Ren has some kind of self-regulation method or he is just naturally gifted… it’s all worth studying.”

Chonghui's eyes lit up.

"However, no matter what, although his emotions and cognition are still normal, his exhaustion is undeniable." Weng Pingting smiled slightly. "I guess he won't be able to take it anymore tomorrow, and his efficiency will drop immediately."

Bai Qinghua nodded: "I will keep a close eye on him. Da Hui, you guys also need to be careful. This project has a long time span, so you need to allocate your energy and physical strength reasonably, and don't end up causing trouble for others."

Chonghui and Shi Qianqian immediately nodded in agreement.

Chonghui simply said, "I'll finish my work here today, then go back to sleep so as not to disturb him."

Bai Qinghua readily agreed. He even worked overtime for a while tonight, staying in the room to answer any questions Chonghui and Shi Qianqian had.

When the master and disciple returned to their lodgings late at night, Nan Zhuren had already fallen into a deep sleep.

"Dahui, be quiet when you get up tomorrow, don't wake him." (whispering)

"Okay, teacher." (Very quietly)

Bai Qinghua was alright, but Chonghui stayed up all night yesterday, only managing a short nap in the morning before throwing himself into a fast-paced interview in the afternoon.

Soon, only the faint sound of breathing could be heard in the room.

In Nan Zhuren's dream therapy room.

【月度目标：1个月内完成“心理咨询”10小时（10/10），完成后进行1次“心理能力培训”】

[This month's goals have been achieved]

You have received [psychological skills training]

[Energy recovery speed +1]

……

The next day, Chonghui's precise biological clock woke him up.

He looked up and saw that he was the only one left in the room.

"...Did I oversleep? Why didn't anyone wake me up???"

I picked up my phone and saw that the clock showed the time as 7:45.

Chonghui glanced at his phone screen, then at the empty room.

If I'm fine and haven't overslept—then what's wrong?
While Chonghui was still confused and pondering.

"Senior brother, you're awake."

Nan Zhuren pushed open the door and looked up at Chonghui's sleepy eyes with a bright and energetic expression.

"I brought you breakfast." Nan Zhuren waved his hand. "Teacher got up very early and was dragged to a meeting by Senior Sister. Senior Sister Qianqian just got up and said she still needs to organize yesterday's data later."

“She contacted the medical team and said that considering the patients’ rest, they couldn’t collect data too early,” Nan Zhuren said. “So why don’t you lie down a little longer? After all, you stayed up so long yesterday and had a very busy work schedule during the day.”

Chonghui paused for a moment.

In his line of sight, the morning sunlight shone thinly through the gaps in the curtains, and the moist air filled the entire room as Nan Zhuren opened the door, with a faint fragrance emanating from it.

Nan Zhuren almost blended into this vibrant background, full of youthful vigor.

Feeling the hazy sleepiness creeping into his mind, Chonghui slowly lay back down on the bed.

"Then I'll take another half hour of nap..."

"Okay, I'll call you then."

On this day, Chonghui completed the data collection from interviews with two rescue team members, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Both rescue team members were in a very weak state, unable to even hold a conversation for long periods, and their cognitive functions were severely impaired. Chonghui spent an exceptionally long time building a counseling relationship with them, minimizing any potential traumatic elements in his conversation.

Even so, the interviewees repeatedly gagging when the data involved "scores".

Therefore, Chonghui had to constantly guide the other party. Fortunately, the interviewee was willing to cooperate, and the nurses nearby also understood the necessity of Chonghui's work at this moment, and they all helped to solve the problem.

And Nan Zhuren—he performed ten psychological interventions today.

That evening, Bai Qinghua and Weng Pingting blinked at Nan Zhuren, who was organizing the files.

"Is it just my imagination? He seems a bit more energetic than last night?"

"Teacher... I thought I was seeing things."

Listening to the teacher and senior sister whispering to each other, Chonghui rubbed his eyes, his mind racing with thoughts.

"Why don't you go to sleep first?" Shi Qianqian patted Chonghui's shoulder. "I'll take care of organizing the data."

In comparison, Shi Qianqian's task during the day was shorthand, which, although mentally taxing, was much better than Chonghui's.

Chonghui naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony with Shi Qianqian.

And so, another night passed.

In the early morning, Chonghui opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the bed next to him—Bai Qinghua was still sleeping.

Before he could look in another direction, the door opened.

"Senior brother, you're awake? I brought breakfast for you and the teacher (whispering)."

“I have to go to work now. There’s a liaison officer who needs to do interventions. He works the night shift, so his schedule is different from most people’s. He’s only free now. I’m leaving right away. Could you please say hello to the teacher and senior student for me? (whispering)”

Chonghui paused for a moment, then tapped his phone screen—[7:06]

On this day, Chonghui only completed one interview.

As the interviews progressed, the symptoms of the interviewees became increasingly severe, requiring multiple pauses, and eventually the interviews had to be conducted in two separate sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Chonghui even had the chance to catch a nap during the interview, and after waking up refreshed, he helped the medical staff coordinate supplies as a porter.

His muscles and strength are widely praised.

When Chonghui returned home around 9 p.m., he happened to run into Nan Zhuren giving a report to Weng Pingting and Bai Qinghua.

"I conducted twelve interventions today, and we just finished. Based on what I organized yesterday, I noticed some minor issues that you teachers might want to keep in mind when developing your own psychological intervention systems..."

Chonghui silently walked to the side, opened his laptop and began to record what Nan Zhuren was saying.

Although he worked long hours today, it didn't consume much of his cognitive resources, so he was still able to do some paperwork.

After a while, he heard his teacher ask, "Zhu Ren... can your body handle this?"

"Oh, the pace is indeed a bit tight. This is the first time I've encountered this situation, so there's definitely some pressure," Nan Zhuren laughed heartily.

“But I can take breaks whenever I can. Basically, I sleep for half an hour every two interventions, and I feel refreshed when I wake up; an hour after lunch, and then a nap after two interventions in the afternoon; I don’t have to conserve my mental and physical energy to keep working in the evening… My head is really dizzy right now, I’m going back to sleep, teacher.”

"Go on, go on." Bai Qinghua and Weng Pingting naturally wouldn't keep Nan Zhuren any longer.

There was a moment of silence in the room, broken only by the sound of Chonghui typing on the keyboard.

After a long pause, Bai Qinghua muttered to himself, "Sleep for half an hour after every...two interventions to quickly restore physical and mental strength?"

Weng Pingting nodded: "That's what he seemed to say."

Bai Qinghua hissed.

"This sounds... kind of like that Da Vinci sleep method?"

……

Legend has it that Leonardo da Vinci, a polymath of the Renaissance period, adopted a special way of sleeping in order to squeeze out more time for work and creation: he would only sleep for 15-20 minutes every 4 hours of work.

In this way, Leonardo da Vinci only slept for about 2 hours a day, and the remaining 22 hours could be used for work.

This is clearly pushing the limits of human physiology.

Normal sleep can be divided into roughly four stages:
Phase 1: The Sleep Onset Period. This is a brief transition from wakefulness to sleep. A person seems to float on the edge of consciousness, the body begins to relax, and the heartbeat and breathing gradually slow down. At this time, a person is easily awakened and may experience sudden muscle twitches.

Phase Two: Light Sleep. During this phase, the individual's body relaxes further, and body temperature begins to drop. At the same time, brain activity slows down, and specific "sleep spindle waves" and "K complex waves" emerge.

The third stage: deep sleep, also known as slow-wave sleep. During this stage, the individual's brainwave frequency is slower, but the amplitude is greater. The body is carrying out major repair work at this time, releasing growth hormone, repairing tissues, and strengthening the immune system. Being awakened during this stage will result in grogginess and difficulty thinking.

Stage 4: REM sleep, also known as rapid eye movement sleep. During this stage, the brain becomes exceptionally active, dreaming begins, and the eyes move rapidly under the eyelids. However, the body is in a temporarily "paralyzed" state. This stage is crucial for integrating memories, learning abilities, and emotional regulation; it is the brain's dedicated maintenance time.

Generally, an individual's sleep progresses through five stages in a non-linear sequence: "Stage 1 → Stage 2 → Stage 3 → Stage 4." A complete sleep cycle lasts approximately 90-120 minutes, and this cycle occurs 4-6 times per night. In the latter half of the night, the deep sleep phase within each cycle slows down, while REM sleep lengthens—in other words, dreaming becomes more frequent.

Some researchers have hypothesized that Leonardo da Vinci's sleep method is actually traceable—by skipping the two preparatory stages of "sleep onset" and "light sleep," and making full use of the two highly efficient stages of "deep sleep" and "REM sleep" for restoring physical and mental function, one can minimize sleep time and maximize working time.

They also gave this sleep method a scientific name: polyphasic sleep. Its core idea is to divide a complete sleep into multiple small segments, thereby significantly reducing the total sleep time and maintaining or even improving energy levels when awake.

……

"But if I remember correctly, the polyphasic sleep method has always been controversial; no one has ever actually achieved it." Weng Pingting blinked, seemingly unsure of her own words. "Even whether Leonardo da Vinci actually slept this way is controversial; it's possible he himself was a practitioner of so-called monophasic sleep..."

Bai Qinghua pondered for a moment, then said, "So... I recruited a Leonardo da Vinci to my research group?"

He looked at Weng Pingting: "Zhu Ren wasn't like this when he first came to Beidu. What about when he was in Jiangdu?"

Weng Pingting looked at Bai Qinghua: "He wasn't like this in Jiangdu. I thought he learned it in Beidu."

The two looked at each other speechlessly.

Chonghui thought for a moment and raised his hand: "Teacher, have you forgotten? Zhu Ren still sleeps at night, although he only sleeps for a little over 6 hours."

Bai Qinghua blinked, then breathed a sigh of relief, as if relieved that science still existed.

(End of this chapter)