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

Chapter 208 So Many Ifs

Nan Zhuren could not possibly have missed such an anomaly.

"what happened?"

The visitor's emotions were a bit too intense.

When he said this, Nan Zhuren slowed down his speech and lowered his voice appropriately.

His concern was like an invisible hand, gently soothing the visitor's emotions.

It helped her recover to the point where she could speak again.

"I...regret it."

This time, Nan Zhuren didn't go in to push things forward; saying a few words to soothe her emotions was enough.

The visitor sobbed a few times, seemingly wanting to cry, but gritted his teeth and suppressed his emotions.

But her emotions weren't relieved at this moment; they were merely postponed.

Cheng Hui became somewhat resolute, as if she was determined to finish what she had to say.

This is not just a narrative, nor does it resemble a confession.

It's more like... a confession.

"We...changed later."

"Becoming impatient."

Thoughts and experiences that have never been shared with anyone before, once a certain point is reached, the rest becomes something that must be said.

At this point, even if Nan Zhuren wanted to stop it, it would be very difficult.

Of course, Nan Zhuren didn't want to call a halt either.

“The three of us created a small group chat, and we would talk about random things every day, or make some... sarcastic remarks.”

"We're all wondering and complaining. Why did it have to be our roommate who got depression? Why do we have to spend so much effort taking care of her?"

“We…we clearly have no obligation or responsibility.”

"Her parents care about her so much, how could she develop depression?"

"She has such good grades, how could she have depression?"

"She used to always greet people with a smile, she wasn't averse to socializing, and everyone liked her. Why would someone like her have depression?"

"Could it be that she's trying to get attention, or something else entirely?"

Nan Zhuren lowered her eyes.

“We are still helping her, watching over her, and taking care of her. But her tone, her actions, and so on, I think they may... no, not ‘may,’ they have definitely changed.”

Nan Zhuren opened her mouth, but then closed it again. It wasn't the right time to intervene with any words.

At this point, letting the visitor finish telling their story is the best form of healing.

"Later, she said the school found a psychology professor to treat her illness, and we all breathed a sigh of relief."

"Because sometimes we think, 'When will this end?' — Now it looks like it will end soon."

Cheng Hui sobbed hard.

"Later on, she started smiling more often again, became more proactive in her work, and sped up her pace."

"It feels like things have become similar to before, or even the same."

Cheng Hui paused for a moment, and this time the pause lasted an unusually long time.

“Until one time, her father came to take her to that psychotherapy session—her parents always accompanied her to therapy. Generally, she wouldn't come back until the next day after she left.” “So we all breathed a sigh of relief and went to do our own things. I remember very clearly that I was video chatting with a senior student that day when a QQ message suddenly popped up. I accidentally scrolled past it without acknowledging it.”

"After I finished chatting, my roommate suddenly came to me and asked if I had received her message, because all of my roommates had received it."

"I didn't have time to see... Waaah... It was at this moment that the counselor suddenly called and told us... that something had happened to her, something terrible."

Cheng Hui's self-repression seemed to have reached its limit.

She hugged her upper body, almost curling up. At the same time, her body swayed back and forth involuntarily, and her back slammed onto the sofa with a "thud" sound.

Each one is heavier than the last.

"At first I didn't believe it. Then I realized it seemed like she had just sent me a message. I looked—"

"She sent me a sun and a smiley flower emoji. There were two words after it."

Cheng Hui looked up, staring intently at Nan Zhuren, blinking hard, and gritting her teeth.

He forcefully uttered two words: "'Thank you'."

……

The moment those two words were uttered, the strength that had sustained Cheng Hui's narration was completely exhausted.

She broke down in tears, like a flood that had been held back by a dam finally collapsing, and the outburst was unstoppable.

Nan Zhuren pushed the tissues on the table toward her, waiting for her to calm down little by little until she was able to speak again.

Nan Zhuren's inner feelings were also complex, bordering on sorrow.

Whenever faced with stories of client death, counselors invariably have one thought in mind—

[There was clearly a chance.]

Clearly, there were so many opportunities.

First, it is known that the direct cause of Chen Jie's eventual suicide was drug abuse at Lin Lilin's psychological clinic—if only his parents hadn't entrusted their daughter to him so readily simply because Lin Lilin was a psychology professor at Jiang University.

Secondly, Chen Jie's counselor did not handle Chen Jie's situation properly, and easily told her three roommates about her situation, with the sole aim of "not committing suicide"—if the counselor's behavior had been more "psychological" and focused more on Chen Jie's actual condition, it would have been better.

Furthermore, Cheng Hui and her roommates did not receive proper guidance and acted merely as "roommates" rather than as "guardians" of the patient, resulting in numerous oversights—it would have been better if they had received proper training.

And initially, after Chen Jie was diagnosed, she returned to school just a few days later, out of the sight of her family, and was only cared for by an unprofessional counselor and irresponsible roommates—if only they had taken it seriously from the beginning…

[Emotional readjustment]

Nan Zhuren cut off her wandering thoughts and returned to a more rational state.

But the case before him was closely related to him, and there was a visitor with intense sadness in front of him.

Having just regained his senses, Nan Zhuren couldn't help but begin to empathize again.

Fortunately, the level of empathy is not deep, and this level of empathy is arguably the most suitable state for counseling.

"We cannot change the past. All we can do is focus on the present and the future."

It's unclear whether Nan Zhuren was saying this to Cheng Hui or to himself.

"Regarding this story and your friends, you just said your feelings are regret and self-blame, is that right?"

Cheng Hui nodded.

"Sometimes I think, if only we had paid more attention to her, cared more about her, and been more patient..."

"Or rather, I accompanied her to the consultation that day, or even prevented her from going to the consultation..."

"Will the outcome be different...?"

(End of this chapter)