I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

However, compared to the last time Zhou Man and her family of four, along with Xiao Qingxuan, came over, there were some differences in front of the church this time:

At the church entrance stood two men dressed in black, looking like bodyguards or security guards.

Seeing Zhou Man standing there, one of them stepped forward and said, "Excuse me, ma'am, this facility is under maintenance today. Please visit another place."

Zhou Man put her sunglasses back on. "I was introduced by Ding Ling."

The security guard who stopped people had obviously been instructed to do so; he immediately stepped aside, made a "please" gesture, and said, "Please come in."

Zhou Man went inside, looking around as she went.

The last time they came, they didn't come in; they just watched from outside for a while, laughing and joking, and then left. So this is her first time coming in.

The interior scenes are basically a replica of St. Borobudur's Cathedral, but the details and textures are somewhat rough.

Because of "maintenance," there was no one inside at the moment, except for Zhou Man, who was walking quietly inside the empty church.

As they walked to the confessional, Zhou Man sat down, took off her sunglasses, and looked at the iron bars and black curtain in front of her. She was very satisfied with Ding Ling's arrangements.

This method of "confession" did indeed satisfy her desire to keep her identity a secret.

Ding Ling probably chose this place instead of other churches because other churches might be harder to clear out, while this place, being a commercial establishment, should be easier to clear out.

Zhou Man was thinking about it.

As if they had heard someone approaching, a man's voice came from behind the curtain.

"Hello there."

Zhou Man regained her composure and replied, "Hello."

The other person asked, "May I ask how I should address you?"

Zhou Man thought for a moment, and for some reason, she suddenly thought of Shen Kang's funny online name - "aaa Building Materials Wholesale General Manager Wang".

"Just call me Ms. Wang."

The other party said, "Okay, Ms. Wang. I've heard from others that you need a completely anonymous listener who can provide professional advice without needing to meet in person. I think our current environment is perfect. You don't know me, and I don't know you. I can't even tell how old you are from your voice. Apart from the fact that you are a woman, I know nothing else."

The other person smiled.

"So, if you have anything to say, feel free to say it."

Instead of immediately saying what she wanted to say, Zhou Man suddenly asked the other person, "Who is looking for you?"

"A friend of mine."

"What's your name?"...

After asking a series of questions, Zhou Man finally confirmed that Ding Ling was indeed reliable in her work—Ding Ling had gone through several layers of connections to find this person, who was completely unaware of who his real employer was.

Once she was sure it was safe, Zhou Man spoke up.

"I'm here on behalf of a friend to ask this question."

A warm voice came from behind the curtain, "Hmm, your friend, has something happened to her?"

The church was very quiet. Occasionally, some sounds could be heard from the amusement park rides in the distance, but they were blocked by the thick walls and closed doors, and by the time they reached Zhou Man's ears, they had become a layer of vague background noise.

Zhou Man stared at the patterns on the iron railings for a long time. The curtain opposite was black; she didn't know what it was made of.

Then he took a deep breath and said, "Yes."

"She has an adopted son, in the legal sense, but there's not much affection between them."

"Um."

"My friend adopted him for personal reasons; it was more of a partnership."

"Um."

"After spending some time together, we found that... the collaboration went quite smoothly."

"Is the collaboration going smoothly?"

"Yes, this adopted son is very sensible. He never causes her any trouble and handles everything himself so she doesn't have to worry. Sometimes, he even lends a hand and helps her out."

"That sounds like a really good kid."

"Sometimes he's really annoying. He's clearly trying to help my friend, but he insists on saying he's doing it for his own benefit. He also argues with my friend all the time, which really annoys her."

"Ha ha."……

The other person didn't seem like a professional psychologist; rather, they seemed more like a straight man or an ordinary friend.

Unlike in movies and TV shows, the other party did not talk eloquently or analyze the situation for the patient.

But Zhou Man felt comfortable, just like chatting with a good friend she didn't know at all.

In addition, in this environment, she didn't know the other person, and the other person didn't know her, which allowed her to say some things without much restraint.

As they talked, they finally got to what Zhou Man wanted to say.

"...My friend recently discovered something—her adopted son seems to be in a relationship."

The person behind the curtain asked, "So what was she thinking at the time?"

Zhou Man thought for a moment, then realized she couldn't quite explain it herself: "I don't know, and she couldn't explain it either."

She was the one who wanted to confide in someone, but now that the person has come to her, she doesn't know how to confide in them anymore.

The person behind the curtain remained unhurried, and simply asked, "Did your friend see her adopted son and his girlfriend together at the time?"

"Yes."

"When your friend looked at her adopted son's girlfriend, did he have a kind of 'judgment' on his mind? Something like, 'Is this girl good enough for my adopted son?'"

Zhou Man was taken aback. After thinking it over carefully, she nodded slightly, feeling a little incredulous herself. "It seems so."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she instinctively and forcefully concluded: "This is not normal."

The person behind the curtain spoke gently: "Ms. Wang, I can roughly understand what your friend is worried about because she feels this 'judgment' is abnormal. She may have subtly labeled this subtle, possessive, and judgmental emotion in her mind—she feels it's a kind of transgressive feeling, a feeling that shouldn't exist between an adoptive mother and adoptive son. But in fact, this feeling has nothing to do with the kind of feeling your friend is worried about."

"This is actually an instinctive reaction when one's 'territorial sense' is violated. Your friend and her adopted son, regardless of whether it was initially due to cooperation or something else, have indeed developed a closer relationship after spending so much time together. It's like a father who would willingly place his daughter's hand in another man's, but at the same time, he would 'scrutinize' or even 'be hostile' to that man. This is quite normal."

"No, this is not normal."

Zhou Man shook her head, knowing the other person hadn't understood her meaning. "That little girlfriend is my friend's adopted daughter. She likes this adopted daughter more, so why would she 'scrutinize' or even 'dislike' her?"

"..."

The other party seemed a little surprised.

However, being a professional, he immediately followed up after a brief silence, as if he were talking to Zhou Man, or perhaps organizing his own thoughts.

"Well, it's quite normal for two children who grew up together and aren't related by blood to develop feelings for each other..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Man interrupted him again, correcting a misconception in his words, "They didn't grow up together. My friend only met them on a forum about half a year ago and then adopted them."

"..."

This time, the silence behind the curtain lasted even longer.

After a long silence, he even asked, rather unprofessionally, "What do you mean by 'met on Tieba'?"

This statement seems to be beyond the other person's comprehension.

"We met on Baidu Tieba."

"So, your friend, her adopted son, and her adopted daughter met on a forum, made plans, and then established an adoption relationship in real life?"

Zhou Man nodded first, then shook her head, adding a piece of information.

"That's roughly the situation, but it's not three people, it's four."

"...Do you also have an adopted son or daughter?"

"No, there's also the role of a 'husband.' My friend even found a 'husband' on a forum."

"..."

There was no further movement behind the curtain.

If Zhou Man's eyes could see through the curtain, she would see a slightly chubby man with a ruddy complexion behind it, looking completely bewildered.

……

The man's name was Li Ziming. He was one of the best psychologists in Yangcheng, with good financial conditions and a certain social standing.

Therefore, Li Ziming was somewhat resentful about the fact that someone had gone to such lengths and mysteriousness to invite him over—I usually deal with a lot of big shots, just how big is this big shot that you have to be so mysterious?

He was almost reluctant to accept the offer.

But the other party gave too much.

So in the end, Li Ziming still came over, holding his nose.

At first, he thought the treatment was a bit boring and that it would end soon, and that all this trouble was really painful.

Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better.

The other party actually said that her adopted son's romantic partner was her adopted daughter.

Of course, as a psychologist, Li Ziming has also encountered some such cases.

Not to mention adopted sons and daughters, Li Ziming has also treated cases where his own sons and daughters were in love or even had a relationship.

Compared to those cases, Ms. Wang's situation is nothing.

That's what Li Ziming was thinking at the time.

Then I heard what the other person said next.

I met him on Baidu Tieba...

Li Ziming was a man of considerable experience, but these words still left him momentarily stunned.

What does it mean to meet someone on Baidu Tieba?

Then, what "Ms. Wang" said was like a series of blows, leaving him completely bewildered.

In the end, only one thought remained in my mind.

What kind of family is this?