Chapter Fifteen: Treatment (Part One)

  Memory is one of the proofs that someone has ever lived in this world, yet her memories are like they're repeating and turning into another direction. In the vast expanse of illusions, there are countless threads of memory, each connected to a person, but she can't find the thread she should be pulling on.

  Because every thread should have its original length, and the only factor that determines the length is time. So, although that thread exists, at this moment, when Gu Huan Lian faces someone who shouldn't be recognized for more than a decade, she is indeed bewildered.

  Fortunately, the silk threads in past memories, no, the silk threads that belong to someone should be the strings of a zither, sharp enough to cut people into pieces. The deep pain hidden in the wounds still exists.

  She knew that his eyes had an icy chill like ice crystals. At the same time, she also knew that if his eyes were filled with tenderness and locked onto someone, it would be a kind of profound and enchanting depth.

  She just didn't want to face those eyes. It had nothing to do with courage, yes, when they reunited, she had already decided that it would be best if they could be strangers. If not, then he and she would just be people who met by chance and parted ways, like the vast majority of people in life. A brief reunion, followed by eternal separation.

  Moreover, the voice in her heart warned her not to sink deeper into that gray whirlpool, and not to repeat that heartbreaking feeling...

  "Little girl? Girl? Are you asleep?" The concerned voice was filled with warmth.

  The little girl leaning against the glass window slowly opened her eyes, and the sunlight outside made her squint. The black pupils under the sunlight had a faint glaze of tears and laughter. "Horses can sleep standing up, camels can sleep standing up, but humans can't. Unfortunately, I'm human, so I guess I won't be able to master this skill in this lifetime. Of course, if you can master this special skill, I wouldn't feel the slightest surprise."

  "I told you, this little girl is not only sharp-tongued but also quick-handed!" Another voice chimed in, filled with thick sarcasm.

  "Is that so?" Gu Huanli smiled lightly, then looked out the window with great interest. The green grass and trees, the bright sunshine filtering through the dense foliage, chasing each other, winding streams dotted among them, completely away from the hustle and bustle. "Although being in the hospital is a very unpleasant thing, but this hospital gives people a feeling of... serenity."

  His long legs were slightly bent, and he leaned against the wall with his eyebrows raised. "If it is, then it is; if not, then it's not. The word 'like' is too ambiguous."

  Is that so? Gu Huanli smiled mockingly with her back to them, and a fleeting image flashed through her mind. It was just a flash. Now, what she should be worried about is her unlucky foot, as well as the wounds on her wrist, arm, and lower back, which were healing one by one. After all, she's a girl, and a girl who loves beauty, those scars will eventually turn into faint marks, which isn't a good thing for her.

  "Little girl, it's time for your psychotherapy session now. We'll send you to the consultation room." Ye Qinglan pushed over a wheelchair from the side and then directly picked her up, who was struggling constantly, into the wheelchair, just like what he had done in the past twenty plus days.

  "I'm just having a nightmare, do I need to see a psychologist every day?" Gu Huanli was really being driven crazy by the leisurely Ye Qinglan and Luo Yichen. Shouldn't they be going on vacation or continuing their sketching during summer break? Why did they have to spend every day at the hospital, watching her do physical therapy, watching her rehabilitate, watching her see a psychologist...

  "Your problem is that you don't want to have nightmares, so you don't sleep every night." A soft and charming voice accompanied by long red fingernails tapped on Gu Huan's forehead. In front of Gu Huan appeared a beautiful woman about 27 or 28 years old. "Unless you've been abused and are always in a state of fear, otherwise, for someone as young as you, insomnia is completely impossible."

  It's really spot on!

  Her long eyelashes fluttered, and Gu Huanli smiled slightly. "But all the tests I've taken show that I'm a physically and mentally healthy, optimistic, cheerful, and resilient eight-year-old girl with strong adaptability, right?"

  "This is another question that puzzles me." The beautiful woman gave a slight smile, and under the sunlight filtering through the white gauze window, her beauty was even more radiant. "Lovely little sister, where did you learn the standard answers to these psychological tests?"

  "Ah......" Taking a deep breath, Gu Huanli's eyes sparkled brightly, her hands clasped together over her chest, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Auntie, does that mean I can go home now?"

  "Auntie?" The beautiful woman's eyebrows twitched twice at the words, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "Gu Huanli, I've told you before, you can call me Jinghua sister or Su Jinghua, just don't call me Auntie! I'm not that old yet!"

  "Jinghua... Auntie... Don't you think that not acknowledging old age is actually a kind of pathological mental illness?" Gu Huanli smiled with deep meaning and said slowly, "Because everyone will get old, yes, one day, we all will, get old."

  "I told you not to call me Jinghua Auntie!"

  "Sister Su."

  "Where on earth did you find this maddening little girl!" Su Jinghua said, collapsing, while using her hand to support her forehead to prevent premature wrinkles. "With her appearance, all the psychologists in the hospital can't save her. In my opinion, it's better to send her to a nunnery, yes, that's right, send her to a nunnery, and then the world will be at peace."

  "Sc... um... bad people... Bad people don't care if others call them auntie or granny." Gu Huanli lazily yawned, completely ignoring the two blue veins that had appeared on Su Jinghua's forehead again.

  "Go out first." Su Jinghua raised her head and said to Ye Qinglan and Luo Yichen, then straightened up, walked to the tea table on one side, pinched a piece of pastry into her mouth, licked her fingers, and every move was full of charm. Hearing the sound of the door being gently closed, she turned around, sat down on the sofa, and her long beautiful legs were sensually crossed, shaking the pink high-heeled shoes on her feet at the same time.

  High-heeled shoes with embroidered flowers and gemstones, and the colored denim fabric on the shoe surface and heel is pleated to form a flower shape. The price of this pair of shoes is probably not cheap. So, being able to stay in a private hospital under the Pu Shi Medical Group, just as a small psychologist, it seems that she really likes this job.

  Gu Huanli was thinking like this.

  "Lier, you really are blessed with good fortune." With a charming and flirtatious tone, Su Jinghua's voice was as sweet as honey when she was in high spirits, adding three more parts of charm. She casually gave her a nickname without caring about the consequences. "Every time they come to see you, they bring either Japanese-style tea snacks or Western-style pastries. Most importantly, these desserts are all carefully crafted by famous chefs. Moreover, each one is made with great attention to detail, making it easy to eat and allowing you to savor many changes."

  "It's you who has a good fortune, Jing Hua... sister." Gu Huanli supported her chin with her hand, looking at Su Jing Hua eating with relish. "These pastries have two-thirds of them going into your stomach, and didn't you notice that among the pastries brought by those two people, exactly two-thirds are your favorite flavors."

  "So, I really don't want to approve your discharge application." Su Jinghua's red lips pouted, with a look of dissatisfaction on her face. "Moreover, given your current mental state, it would be very dangerous if you were to return home."

  Gu Huanli's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Very dangerous? Am I going to go crazy and start slashing people randomly with a knife? Or will I self-mutilate? Cutting my own legs into slices like ham?"

  “Pfft……” The half-mouthful of red tea that Su Jinghua had just drunk sprayed directly out of her mouth. She hastily stood up, brushing off the tea stains on her white coat, although she knew it was a futile effort. This was already the tenth white coat she had ruined this month. "Gu Huanli, I suspect... no, I believe you must have watched too many horror movies in your free time... but that's not reasonable..."

  Gu Huanli took a deep breath, as if to ease that depression, "Why isn't it reasonable?"

  "Before that, why don't we talk about the dream that has been haunting you all along?"

  Gu Huanli knew she wouldn't answer her questions so easily, and indeed, she needed someone to help her resolve her nightmare. After all, hiding in the hospital and not returning to her uncle and aunt's home wasn't a solution, and more importantly, her brother would be back soon. Yes, he was coming back from England again, just to check on her recovery.

  "It's not really a nightmare." Gu Huanli furrowed her brow and said slowly, "I always dream of the sea..."

  "First of all, if you're going to say that you dreamed of a clear sky, surging sea, swaying trees, blooming flowers, rabbits flying with their ears, and a mole prince riding on the head of a pink pig wearing an iron pot...the princess in the castle is losing her hair..." Su Jinghua had long been impressed by Chu Huanli's imagination, she didn't want to listen to any more strange and absurd fairy tales.

  "Hmph." Gu Huanli couldn't help but stifle a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand and coughing twice before composing herself. "Actually, I have many more stories like this, such as the Strawberry Princess and the Yangmei Prince..."

  "Halt!" Su Jinghua crossed her arms and made a stopping gesture with her hands, twitching the corner of her mouth for a few seconds. She said helplessly, "Sai Hai, I don't want to hear about Princess Papaya and Prince Watermelon."

  "It's obviously Strawberry Princess and Plum Prince..." Gu Huanli muttered to herself, looking at Su Jinghua's face which had already turned a sickly pale color. She finally said honestly, "I dreamed that I was painting by the sea, with oil paints. I knew I was painting the daytime sea surface, but there was no sun in the sky, so everything above the sea surface was gloomy, transitioning from white to blue to black."

  Su Jinghua's expression turned serious, "Do you still remember what was on the surface of the sea in your painting?"

  "It's not what's on the sea, but rather what's on the beach..." Gu Huanli said with a smile that curled up at the corners of her eyes and mouth, but to Su Jinghua, this kind of smile heralded the beginning of another fairy tale that would leave her crying and laughing at the same time.