Chapter 5: Gazing

You are quite fortunate; your depression still falls within the category of psychological illness. And the most crucial aspect of a psychological illness is untangling the knot in one's mind. Of course, different solutions yield different results, but I am pressed for time right now, so I have chosen the fastest method. Qian Cangyi took a sip of soy milk.

"Huh?" Chen Simin stopped. She felt like she wanted to vomit, yet in reality, she had only eaten a few small steamed buns.

"You know, many illusions shatter upon close contact. When people living in illusions lose their anchor, they react in one of three ways. First, face reality and strive to live; second, find a new emotional sustenance; third, despair of reality." Qian Cangyi's tone was extremely slow. He emphasized the first possibility and quickly glossed over the third.

At this point, Qian Cangyi had already conveyed his intentions to Chen Simin. However, due to her prolonged depression, her cognitive abilities had declined, and for a moment, she failed to grasp the underlying meaning of his words.

Of course, there was another possibility: Chen Simin's subconscious was resisting this outcome. When faced with change, many people refuse it because they fear things will take a turn for the worse and cannot emotionally accept the potential failure following the change.

"Just say it directly; I don't understand." Chen Simin kept her head down, her hair draped messily behind her, dark circles hanging heavily beneath her eyes.

"I am taking you to find him." Qian Cangyi looked at Chen Simin and said.

Upon hearing Qian Cangyi's words, Chen Simin paused to think, showing no reaction. Her hand instinctively reached for a steamed bun on the table, but just as she was about to put it into her mouth, the expression on her face suddenly stiffened, and the bun slipped from her hand, dropping to the ground.

"I-I-I..." Chen Simin wore an expression of acute embarrassment and panic.

"Did you never harbor the thought that it would be enough just to see him one last time?" Qian Cangyi pressed further.

"Is there truly no such heartfelt longing in your heart?" Seeing no response from Chen Simin, Qian Cangyi asked again.

"Is life always this hard, or is it only this hard in childhood?" Qian Cangyi turned his gaze toward the street. As time passed, the number of people and vehicles on the road steadily increased.

Chen Simin remained silent, her head lowered. Qian Cangyi noticed tears dripping from her eyes.

"Always this hard." Qian Cangyi answered the question himself. "Well, actually, the age gap between the two of you isn't that vast. Even if it were, it wouldn't matter. Nowadays, older men with younger women are quite common in society. Of course, that is assuming both families can accept this... uh, special... romance?"

As Qian Cangyi's words grew increasingly blunt, Chen Simin buried her head even lower.

"Shall we give it a try? It's getting late. If you don't speak, I will take your silence as consent." Qian Cangyi stood up. "Owner, check, please."

Her depression stemmed from a psychological barrier. He hoped it had not reached the point of rejecting everything entirely. Perhaps after meeting him, they could uproot her inner resistance to the real world.

Qian Cangyi was not as calm inside as he appeared on the surface.

His judgment of Chen Simin's depression was based on his existing knowledge. As evident from his earlier remarks, all his assessments presumed that Chen Simin's physical body had not undergone any anomalous mutations.

Fortunately, his judgment was correct. The severity of Chen Simin's depression, which had nearly driven her to suicide, was primarily due to unresolved psychological tangles rather than neurological pathology.

"I can agree, but what is it that you want?" Chen Simin gradually began to think, recalling what Qian Cangyi had said when they first met.

"What I want is very simple. I need you to return to the 'normal' state that your parents expect of you." Qian Cangyi smiled.

"What constitutes a 'normal' state?" Chen Simin raised her head, her eyes filled with bewilderment.

"You don't need to worry about that; I will arrange it for you when the time comes." After paying the bill, Qian Cangyi took out his phone. This time, he dialed A-biao's number.

"Hello, what is it?"

"I'm taking Chen Simin somewhere and will probably be back tomorrow. Please explain it to her parents for me; I'm worried they won't agree." Qian Cangyi glanced sideways at Chen Simin behind him, noticing she was still in a daze.

"Alright, fine. Where are you going?"

"It's a secret." After hanging up, Qian Cangyi ushered Chen Simin toward the roadside.

...

"Get out of the car, we've arrived." Qian Cangyi called out to Chen Simin.

At this moment, the two were standing in front of a station in a town in a neighboring city. Before coming here, Qian Cangyi had helped Chen Simin change into a new set of clothes and given her a makeover. Of course, all these expenses, including travel costs, would be billed to Chen Simin's parents.

After all, Qian Cangyi was no philanthropist.

"Alright, stop hesitating. I've already made up an excuse to contact the person you want to see. It's not polite to keep people waiting too long." Qian Cangyi gave her a gentle nudge.

They sat in a taxi, both gazing out their respective windows. However, Chen Simin was ruminating on what might happen shortly, while Qian Cangyi was pondering the issue of the Hell Movie's upgrade and the next film.

No matter what, I must start exercising. Perhaps I will encounter even more dangerous situations in the future. Although time is tight and the effects won't be immediate right away, I still need to make some changes. Otherwise, procrastinating until the next time, I might never even begin before dying inside a Hell Movie.

Qian Cangyi thought to himself.

Along the way, the taxi driver attempted to strike up a conversation with the two passengers, but aside from Qian Cangyi offering a few perfunctory replies, Chen Simin did not utter a single word.

He is like a demon, tearing away all my protective layers and thrusting the most blatant reality before my eyes. Whether I accept it or not probably makes no difference to him. Perhaps he simply relishes this process, enjoying this sensation.

Chen Simin thought inwardly.

Regarding Qian Cangyi, Chen Simin had one most intuitive realization: just yesterday, she had still been locking herself away at home, unwilling even to look at the sun; yet now, she had already left her hometown, arriving in an unfamiliar small town to meet the person she yearned for most in the depths of her heart.

Qian Cangyi let out a yawn. Arranging all of this was by no means easy; on the contrary, it was quite exhausting. He still remembered when he had first taken on commission work, he would often be so tired that he would sleep for an entire day straight, because much of the time, he had to monitor his target's condition around the clock.

Eventually, the car stopped in front of a restaurant. After Qian Cangyi paid the fare, the taxi drove away.

Looking at the restaurant's signboard, Qian Cangyi let out a soft sigh and then pushed Chen Simin forward, but she refused to budge.

"What? Are you scared?" This reaction was well within Qian Cangyi's expectations; he had seen many people before who studied day and night for an exam, only to give up right before it began.