The game's heroine has come true? The aloof school beauty is in tears.

That day, Xu Zhixiao listened to many stories in Lu Yuan's hometown.

The story of Lu Yuan's childhood.

"That damn son of a bitch was born and then abandoned. The couple had a huge fight and got divorced, and I don't know where they went. They dumped the brat on me when he was three, leaving behind a mountain of debt."

"I thought I wouldn't be able to support him, but I never expected that the brat could actually manage, and he's even tall and strong."

"The villagers couldn't find the father, so they blocked his door every day, demanding repayment of debts..."

Xu Zhixiao listened to these words and nodded silently.

A series of turbulent waves involuntarily surged within me.

She said, "Does your grandson know what his parents' situation is?"

"He asked me before, and I didn't know what to say, so I just said I didn't know. He never asked again after that. But there are rumors going around in the village every day, so he must have some idea."

"One last question." Xu Zhixiao took a deep breath, her expression slightly tense: "Is there a family history of mental illness?"

"no."

Grandpa Lu shook his head, giving a very definite answer.

After hearing this sentence.

Xu Zhixiao understood everything.

She didn't stay to continue the conversation, but left instead.

He then found an opportunity to be transferred to Nanjiang, in an attempt to find Lu Yuan's whereabouts.

But they couldn't find it; it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

One day, while calling out patient numbers in the clinic, she suddenly heard a familiar name.

The reunion happened on such an unexpected morning.

A morning when no one was prepared.

Wearing a mask, Xu Zhixiao's mind raced as she tried to organize her thoughts, but for a moment she didn't know what to say.

Ultimately, I could only proceed with the standard procedure: "What symptoms do you have?"

She felt that Lu Yuan would definitely be able to recognize her voice.

But it didn't.

Lu Yuan just wanted to get a diagnosis to confirm whether his "hereditary mental illness" had been cured.

She was puzzled.

Until she heard Lu Yuan's inner thoughts.

He said, "Doctor, I often feel like I can't distinguish between reality and fantasy."

Tell me about it.

"I'm a really good fighter."

"How far can it go?"

"Invincible. I feel like even if a Transformer came, I could take two of its wheels apart."

Just from hearing that one sentence, Xu Zhixiao knew what was going on.

It's definitely just wishful thinking.

Because everyone's first childhood fantasy is "being invincible".

More importantly, Xu Zhixiao was already certain at this point.

Lu Yuan forgot about her.

But she still wanted to hear what Lu Yuan had to say next.

"Sometimes I feel like my life is like playing a video game."

"That's a good thing; a gamified lifestyle makes people feel relaxed."

"It's not easy at all. Only by treating life like a game can I give it my all."

Lu Yuan clenched his fist.

that moment.

Xu Zhixiao suddenly remembered the pile of broken game consoles at Lu Yuan's house.

Some stories shared with Grandpa Lu.

Grandpa Lu said that when he was a child, Lu Yuan would, like other children, pick up a broken stick and whittle off a lot of vegetable leaves.

Even when he was squatting in the yard eating, he was still muttering about the game.

When he first started working in town, Grandpa Lu asked him if he had been bullied.

He said no.

Because he wiped his nose and said he was completing a game task, the boss gave him a reward of fifty yuan.

Therefore, with the help of Grandpa Lu, Lu Yuan's narration, and Xu Zhixiao's extensive clinical experience.

She reconstructed the most difficult psychological event of her life.

First, the origin of the disease.

When young Lu Yuan faced abandonment by his parents and a life of poverty, he began to become obsessed with games.

This is the beginning of countless children going astray.

In fact, the vast majority of children who start out as superstars do not become superstars as the news media eagerly reports.

They went to prison not because of a lack of discipline or proper education, but because of a lack of discipline and proper education.

Lu Yuan, immersed in the game, created a heroic narrative for himself.

Everyone's fantasy begins with "being exceptionally good at fighting".

Because this is the most primal desire for struggle hidden in human genes.

She wondered if little Lu Yuan had ever fantasized about becoming a superhero, killing those violent debt collectors, or even engaging in some antisocial, bloody, and cruel acts.

She felt that Lu Yuan had thought about it.

This even reminded Xu Zhixiao of the famous "Killer Brother who hates apologizing afterward" on the internet.

But in reality, Lu Yuan did not embark on that path of crime.

Because the fantasies he created seem more like an attempt to fight against emotions, a feeling of self-abandonment.

Amidst the gossip and rumors circulating in the village, a large amount of negative information was conveyed, such as "Your parents don't want you" and "You're a discarded burden."

It will subtly seep into Lu Yuan's ears.

A fragile childhood is clearly unable to withstand the devastation of such acts of violence.

So he chose to stop asking his grandfather where his parents had gone, and to stop worrying about the debt collectors who blocked his door every day.

Because he created a game setting for himself.

"My parents died in a car accident, and we're struggling with debt because of financial difficulties."

The ingenuity of this setting lies in discarding all negative emotions.

Young Lu Yuan inadvertently discovered a startling secret: "Man's greatest enemy is his emotions and internal conflict."

It's like the regret you feel when you indulge yourself during a period of self-discipline; the envy you feel when you see a Maybach on your electric scooter in the rain after a long day at get off work; the inferiority complex you feel when other children have toys that you don't...

No one taught Lu Yuan how to deal with the emotions in a bad life.

So he figured out a way to accept it.

He will no longer dwell on why his parents were so heartless, why he was abandoned, or why the world is so unfair.

They won't complain or blame others, asking why others can live happily while they have to pay off debts from birth.

Because all of this is just a cold, impersonal game task.

He's the main character!

He has to complete the task, it's that simple.

Why was it completed?

Because in the game world, you get rewards for completing tasks.

As long as you keep thinking about this reward, even the most difficult times will pass.

Lu Yuan sat there by the wall, shoveling rice into his mouth.

They endured year after year until they grew into adulthood.

He endured until he himself realized that he might be sick.

But it's okay, it's just a matter of adding a setting.

"My parents are dead, but they passed on the disease to me."

Because of the long journey, I won't think about why I got sick. Why am I the one who's sick? Why am I so miserable? God is so unfair! What did I do wrong?

Rather, it's genetic; thinking about it won't help.

Is it a disease? I'll cure it and that'll be the end of it.

and so.

Only now can he lie on Xu Zhixiao's lap and fall asleep, snoring.

Second, why is the distance between then and now different?

Xu Zhixiao also extracted a large number of samples for this analysis.

This includes observations of the behavior of Shang Qingya and Lu Yuan.

She witnessed Lu Yuan and Shang Qingya's confession on the playground.

It's clear that Shang Qingya, like Xu Zhixiao, is someone who has been forgotten.

Therefore, she guessed that whether it was Shang Qingya or herself, this was essentially Lu Yuan's "game content".

The appearance of Shang Qingya clearly made Lu Yuan begin to doubt the existence of the game.

He began to show signs of struggling.

In conclusion, it's not that the distance was different in different periods.

The distance in the game is different from the distance in real life.

As a psychiatrist, this situation is not uncommon in the large number of cases she has encountered.

This problem exists in almost all entertainment industry professionals.

For example, comedians automatically switch to an excited state when facing crowds, but often fall into extreme depression when returning to their personal lives.

Even ordinary people can be divided into a state of passion and a state of negativity; they can be excited when playing games and depressed when working.

Third, how to deal with a long journey?

The answer is to let him live in the game and never wake up.

So I witnessed Shang Qingya's confession process.

Then, the appearance of Shang Qingya's father made Lu Yuan suspicious, leading him to ask, "Do you know me?"

She almost immediately called Lao Xu and told him to pretend he didn't know Lu Yuan.

Make him believe that he is indeed living in the game.

...

Xu Zhixiao lowered her head and touched Lu Yuan's face.

She didn't know what Lu Yuan would dream about.

But she went to Daliushu Village many times afterward and heard many stories from the villagers.

About a child's childhood.

Does he dream of being in a village full of willow trees?

Debt collectors blocked his doorway, shouting his grandfather's name, and scribbled humiliating words all over his walls. Neighbors stood on the street watching the spectacle and gossiping. His classmates mocked him for not being able to buy him a remote-controlled race car.

A child who can only stare blankly at an old game disc under a wooden shelf.

Just as it was only after the ancient monkeys looked up at the starry sky that humanity was destined to set foot in the universe.

The same origin occurred more than a decade ago.

Lu Yuan, who was not even as tall as a stool, carried an old Mickey Mouse backpack and wore an old sweater given to him by someone else.

He silently watched everything unfold before him, clenching his fists.

His first fantasy was exactly the same as most children's first childhood fantasy.

He began to fantasize that he was incredibly strong.

"A game?"

Xu Zhixiao's face was covered in tears. She bent down and kissed Lu Yuan on the forehead.

"I'll play with you."

she says.