This actor is full of tricks.

"You like this type of sculpture?" Zhou Yue stopped next to Lin Jue.

"I wouldn't say I like it, but I feel this sculpture is very unique." Lin Jue glanced at the sculpture's name and artist.

[Sculpture Title: The Me Within]

[Sculptor: Bi Zheng, a student at Sanjiang Qingmu Art School]

The me in my heart?

Lin Jue stared blankly at the sculpture's distorted face. It seemed as if there was another self in his heart, always appearing suddenly in the dead of night, negating everything about him and attacking the future he longed for.

"Did you notice anything?" Zhou Yue nudged him with his elbow. "A work of art best reflects the artist's state of mind at the time. What do you think Bi Zheng was thinking when he was carving this piece?"

What was the author thinking?

Lin Jue pondered for a moment: "The artist must have been very depressed at the time. Perhaps life or relationship problems made him feel terrible. He wanted to vent his negative emotions but didn't know where to do it, so he sculpted this work to express his emotions."

"This is his way of venting. He must have been holding it in for too long. His negative emotions have been piling up inside him. If he doesn't let them out, he may develop a serious mental illness."

"Is that what you think?" Zhou Yue smiled and glanced at him, then shook his head: "I think differently from you."

“You made one point that I think is the same as what you said, which is that the author must have encountered some problems in real life and accumulated negative emotions in his heart, but I think he was not venting, but rebelling.”

“He didn’t want to be affected by the negative emotions in his heart. He wanted to defeat them all. He didn’t want to become a puppet of negative emotions.” As he spoke, he pointed to the sculpture’s open mouth: “You see, his open mouth is not for venting, but for roaring in rebellion.”

"So, Yan Hui, you also need to learn to fight back. If you keep giving in to your emotions, one day they will become your inner demons and drag you into an abyss. Only by facing them and defeating them will everything get better."

"What you are facing now may be an unprecedented storm. All you have to do is hold up an umbrella. Even if the umbrella is blown over by the wind and broken by the rain, and your body may get soaked, the sun will always shine after the storm and the dampness on your body will always evaporate."

As Zhou Yue spoke, he kept his eyes on Lin Jue, a hint of seriousness appearing in his usually gentle eyes: "If you can't open your umbrella, you can come and chat with me. You know where the clinic is."

Lin Jue lowered his head. In fact, he knew where his problem lay. It wasn't because he was too tired lately. He probably had depression, a very serious depression that had progressed to the point of somatization.

The illness may have started after his parents passed away. As he faced a life as arduous as a quagmire on his own, the symptoms worsened. Although he kept denying that he was sick, his body did not lie to him.

He often feels tired and inexplicably has difficulty breathing. He enjoys being alone, and all the hustle and bustle of the world seems to be getting further and further away from him.

He couldn't find any way to save himself, like someone walking alone on a dark street, aimlessly with no end in sight.

Now that someone has noticed his problem and is willing to lend him a hand, it's as if a bright light has suddenly appeared on the dark street.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter any words of refusal. He hadn't given up hope for life; he wanted to take the college entrance exam, to get into his ideal university, and to change his current life. "It's okay, it's really difficult at the beginning." Zhou Yue was still understanding. He didn't force Lin Jue to get better instantly: "Take it slow. My clinic has been there for several years. It won't move this year, and there are no plans to move next year. Maybe it will be there for the next ten years."

"Thank you, Dr. Zhou." Lin Jue didn't know how many times he had thanked Zhou Yue. The other party had helped him so much that the simple word "thank you" was completely insufficient to express his gratitude.

"It's alright. I'm a doctor. Since I've noticed your problem, it's my duty to treat you. It's my professional responsibility." Zhou Yue's medical ethics were indeed impeccable. He glanced at the time and didn't continue the topic. "Let's go get something to eat. I even went to a Western restaurant on my blind date earlier. You wouldn't believe how little I could eat. There were only four steaks, each the size of my thumbnail. It wasn't enough to fill me up. I really can't appreciate such fine food."

After making a self-deprecating joke, he asked Lin Jue, "What do you want to eat? Hot pot? Grilled fish? Or some home-style dishes?"

"Hot pot." Lin Jue reached into his pocket. He had just earned a few hundred yuan in the past ten days, enough to treat Dr. Zhou to a meal. Although this was his only savings, it was still less than one-fifth of what he owed Dr. Zhou.

A smile returned to Zhou Yue's face: "Okay, I know a hot pot restaurant that's pretty good, with a really rich broth."

On the way back, Lin Jue looked at his shadow flickering in the car window and made up his mind. He decided to face his problems head-on. When he felt abandoned by the whole world, Zhou Yue reached out to him. He didn't want to disappoint Zhou Yue, nor did he want to disappoint himself.

"Huh? Why are there so many people over there? It looks like someone is injured."

Zhou Yue, who was driving, suddenly spoke up and tapped the brakes, causing the car to slow down gradually.

Lin Jue also noticed a large crowd gathered at the entrance of a residential area not far ahead. He rolled down the car window slightly and could hear a child's shrill cries, along with a man's angry curses mixed with profanities.

“Let me tell you, Aunt Zhou is your mother now, so you’d better show her some respect.”

"You eat my food and use my things, is it so hard to tell you to obey?"

"Hitting the child? How badly is he hitting him?" Zhou Yue stopped his car on the side of the road. As a doctor, he could tell that the child's cries were gradually weakening, as if he was about to be beaten to death.

Lin Jue hurriedly ran over after him, pushing through the crowd. He saw a man punching a little boy in the face. The boy looked about five or six years old. He was knocked to the ground by the man, his delicate and tender face covered in tears. His cries sounded like the mournful meows of a kitten before it died, and were almost inaudible.

Meanwhile, a woman was crying nearby, watching her child being beaten while recounting how the little boy disrespected her when her husband wasn't home.

The area was crowded with onlookers, but no one stepped in to stop them.

Upon seeing this scene, Lin Jue's mind exploded. An indescribable rage filled his chest. Without any hesitation, he rushed forward and kicked the man in the waist, sending him flying three or four meters away.

Was my kick really that powerful?
After kicking, Lin Jue was stunned. He was severely malnourished, much weaker than his peers, and his strength was nowhere near that of an adult. Yet, this kick sent the man flying.

(End of this chapter)