Chapter 39 The Weight of a Secret: Two People with Hidden Motives...

Liang Siyu drove smoothly away from the country club, quickly bought food at the McDonald's drive-through window, and parked by a pine forest.

This is the driveway behind my grandmother's house. It's usually deserted and very quiet, but there's a small clinic within a five-minute drive, which is enough to handle simple emergencies.

He opened the car door, and the girl in the back seat was still lying there helplessly. He had just put a baseball cap on her to block her vision, and now it also concealed her expression.

"Ada, can I take your hat off for you? Or would you like some hot chocolate?"

He took out the hot chocolate and placed it in front of her. A few seconds later, he heard a soft "hmm".

He took off his hat, carefully helped her up, and brought the hot chocolate to her lips.

She took a small sip, but the straw for this hot drink was too thin for her to suck up.

He unscrewed the lid, tested the temperature, and handed the cup over, saying, "It's not hot anymore, you can try it."

She took a few small sips, then suddenly gagged and spat the contents of her mouth back into the cup.

She was still gagging, but hadn't vomited anymore. She looked tired and her eyes were red.

He quickly removed the hot chocolate and gently stroked her back. Yes, there was bottled water. He grabbed a bottle. "Would you like to rinse your mouth?"

She shook her head, suppressed the sweet taste in her throat, took a few breaths, and reached out to open the car window.

She leaned against the window, felt a gentle breeze, and reached back to ask for a bottle of mineral water.

He unscrewed the bottle cap and handed it to her. She gently rinsed her mouth and spat out of the car.

He pulled her back into his arms and tried to adjust his position to make her more comfortable.

The wind carried the scent of pine needles and earth, and she slowly felt her chest loosen up; she even began to hear the chirping of birds.

She gently grasped his arm: "Ned, you're feeling better."

He let out a long breath, only then realizing his polo shirt was sticking to his back. He tugged at the hem and looked down at her: "Want some more water?"

She pressed her forehead: "No need."

He took out some fries: "Would you like two fries? These have no flavor."

How could he forget that when the nervous system is disordered, the digestive system will also be disordered, and tasteless food is the first choice?

She nodded and ate a few without any problems.

"I want to go downstairs for some fresh air." She felt completely weak, her body and mind felt alien, like a phone that had lost internet access and couldn't refresh the page.

"Okay." He thought to himself, keeping a close eye on her health and coming back as soon as possible if things got bad.

He came around to open the door for her: "There's water on the floor, let me carry you down."

It was from when she rinsed her mouth. She blushed and hugged his neck.

He took two steps forward and put her down: "Are you alright?"

He didn't dare let go. After severe stress, patients usually feel a burning exhaustion, feeling tired, weak, and slow to react.

She leaned against his chest for a few seconds to catch her breath before standing up straight, taking his arm for support, and slowly walking a few steps, feeling somewhat recovered.

He put his arm around her waist and held her elbow as they walked a short distance along a path into the pine forest.

The ground was covered with thick pine needles, and each step made a slight "crunching" sound, like a warning of stepping on secrets.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of pine and the earthy smell of dew. She felt her head, which had been stuffed with cotton, finally lighten.

She remembered, they went out for brunch, to a coffee shop... the White Manor...

Her legs went weak and she almost fell.

"Be careful." He quickly grabbed her upper arm to steady her, then immediately reduced the pressure.

He carefully observed her expression, afraid that his grip might frighten her again, and cautiously suggested, "Are you tired? Let's go back."

"Mmm." She avoided his gaze, her eyes darting around, glancing at the ground, nodding hurriedly, and then leaning into his arms.

He breathed a sigh of relief, carried her back, and placed her back in the back seat.

“Take a break, I’ll be right by the car, I’ll make a call,” he instructed. “I won’t leave your sight, call me immediately if you feel unwell, okay?”

"I know, I know." She began to wonder, what exactly happened to her just now? Was it really low blood sugar?

Liang Siyu called his mother and said that Ada had a headache and wasn't feeling well, so he took her directly back to New York and also called a taxi for Cohen.

Xu Aida looked out the car window and saw that he was far away, so she couldn't hear who he was talking to on the phone.

Suddenly, he looked up at her, their eyes met, and he smiled. She was so startled that she shrank back, like a groundhog scorched by the sun.

For some reason, her heart was pounding wildly. She pressed her chest and remembered that she seemed to be wailing before she fainted. Her face turned pale instantly.

What happened? It's just seeing the wedding venue, why is she acting so dramatically, even fainting from crying?

What will he think? Will he think she has some kind of mental problem?

She could use nightmares to cover up her fear of flying, but what about this? Was she going to continue lying and say that she dreamed the building was on fire?

If this continues, he might actually start to think she has schizophrenia and is suffering from paranoia.

Liang Siyu saw her clutching her chest again from afar, and quickly hung up the phone and returned home.

"What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

Did she remember something? Or is she having another arrhythmia?

"It's nothing, it's nothing." She quickly shook her head, a blush of embarrassment spreading across her face.

"Maybe it's too stuffy." She made up an excuse, but then suddenly realized that the car window was open.

He acted as if he hadn't seen it, and echoed, "Oh, right, I'll turn on the air conditioner right away."

However, he first opened the back door, draped the blanket over her again, and touched her cheek.

"Go back to sleep for a while, I'll wake you up when we get home." He put the baseball cap back on her.

They were almost in Queens, and a long line of cars was forming as they headed into the city. Liang Siyu frowned, instinctively reaching for the radio, but then stopped—she was still asleep in the back.

After enduring the stop-and-go traffic, on the RFK Bridge, an SUV suddenly cut in from the right. He slammed on the brakes. Damn it! What a brute!

She was startled when she saw it in the rearview mirror, but thankfully the seatbelt worked.

Liang Siyu suppressed his anger and softened his voice: "It's okay, baby, it was just a sudden stop. Go to sleep."

When he finally returned to the side street of the Upper West Side and smoothly parked in his own garage, he felt that his patience had almost completely run out—driving in New York could drive even a saint crazy.

However, when he gently opened the car door, he felt his heart soften infinitely.

"Ada, wake up, we're home."

Last time, he carried her directly back to the bedroom, but when she woke up, she was clearly a little scared of this sudden change of location.

He slowly carried her through the garden, even stopping to let her touch the roses on the archway to make sure she was fully awake, before going inside and placing her on the large sofa.

"Would you like some juice? Or a banana?" He opened the refrigerator.

"Juice, please." Xu Aida felt no hunger at all, but her rational mind told her she needed to replenish her energy.

She slowly sipped her small bottle of juice, secretly watching his expression.

He was on the other side, quickly downed a bottle, and started typing on his phone.

Is he checking medical information again? He probably just made up a story about low blood sugar to fool her. Is he suspecting she has other health problems?

Liang Siyu is writing an email to the liaison officer, saying there is an emergency medical situation and asking him to reschedule tomorrow's experiment to the day after tomorrow. He also offers double compensation to the two participants as an apology.

Tomorrow, within 24 hours of the stress event, he absolutely cannot leave her alone at home.

Fortunately, there are only two participants left in the first round. He can go to complete the experiment alone on Tuesday, and she can rest at home this week.

After finishing that, he looked up and saw that the juice in her hand was still almost full, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.

"Is the juice too sweet? How about some soda crackers?"

"No, no." She hurriedly took a big gulp.

"Slow down, don't choke." He hurriedly reminded her, remembering that she had choked on her cereal last time.

She slowed down, struggling to resist the urge to retort. She wasn't a child, nor was she stupid; did she need him to remind her like that?

But deep inside, a little bug crawled out and said sarcastically, "What do you think? Your behavior today is hardly that of a normal person."

No! No! She's not the kind of fragile girl who bursts into tears easily. Maybe it's just low blood sugar causing memory lapses; she didn't suddenly burst into tears.

He's just concerned about her health; don't overthink it and scare yourself.

She drank her juice while trying to comfort herself.

After finishing a bottle of juice, she managed to regain some strength: "Shall we go upstairs? I want to take a shower."

Without hesitation, he leaned over and tried to hug her again.

"No need, I can walk by myself." She leaned back slightly and gently pushed his shoulder.

He hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand instead: "Okay, I'll help you."

She leaned on it gently, but she couldn't get up on her own. He pulled her forcefully, and she felt an irresistible force that pulled her out of the sofa.

Her legs went weak, and she almost fell into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist to stop her from sliding down.

“Babe, you’re not feeling well, let me help you, okay?” He picked her up. “Maybe you’ll feel better in two hours, after dinner.”

He walked towards the elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, she couldn't help but ask, "Is it really low blood sugar?"

Is it possible that my low blood sugar hasn't recovered for so long?

He paused for a moment, then quickly said, "That's vasovagal syncope. Plus, you stayed up late recently, so are you feeling a little anxious today?"

"What?" She was a little dizzy and didn't react.

"Vasovagal syncope. There are many causes, such as pain, hunger, weakness, fainting from needles, and fainting from blood. In most cases, due to physiological or emotional stimulation, the patient's heart rate slows down, blood pressure drops rapidly, and the brain is not supplied with enough blood, causing fainting."

He talked on and on, and she quickly went from being skeptical to somewhat believing him.

He inwardly chuckled bitterly, realizing that all his medical training had been used to convincingly commit fraud—it was utterly disastrous.

Forget it, let's leave it at that for now. He doesn't dare to make any rash moves right now.

Back in the bedroom, he prepared hot water, carried her to wash her up briefly, and then had her lie on the bed while he carefully dried her hair.

"I'm going to take a shower. Call me immediately if you feel unwell, okay?" He twirled a few strands of her long hair that had fallen out of her hair around his fingertips.

"Okay, okay, I'm not a child anymore." She pushed him, but her arm was as limp as a cooked hollow noodle.

He deliberately left the bathroom door ajar, so she could call him anytime if she felt unwell.

Soon, the sound of water came from the bathroom. Xu Aida barely managed to grab his phone and searched for "vasovagal syncope".

It's been three or four hours, and I'm still so weak and tired. Is that really normal? When I first woke up, I could still walk a few steps in the pine forest.

"After waking up, you may experience fatigue and dizziness. In severe cases, you may experience forgetfulness, mental confusion, headache, and other symptoms that last for 1-2 days."

As she read the explanation on Wikipedia, she gradually felt reassured. Perhaps he hadn't lied to her; she had simply run out of energy.

Yes, she was just not feeling well. Like someone who occasionally faints from a needle prick, she overreacted to the venue. She doesn't usually act like this.

It's nothing serious, just a random feeling of discomfort, that's all.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and she let go of the phone. Half-asleep, she seemed to be back in that pine forest, her feet sinking into thick pine needles and mud, him holding her elbow...

In the bathroom, Liang Siyu was finally able to relax a little. He rubbed his stiff shoulders and began to recall everything that had happened today.

What exactly triggered this episode? The scenery along the way? The security guards' behavior? The club's architecture?

He had a headache; there were too many "suspects," but none of them had any connection to the plane, making it impossible to speculate.

The only thing he was certain of was that something had definitely gone wrong when he tried to grip her upper arm using a grounding technique.

That one moment terrified her, sending her from a mild state of dissociation to an emotional breakdown.

He was incredibly frustrated. How could he have thought that reading a few pages of DSM would be enough to help her?

That time on the plane, it might not have been because he did anything right; it was entirely due to her thorough preparation.

Today, he ignorantly led her to an unfamiliar place and crudely interfered, directly causing an acute attack.

Moreover, this time it wasn't an airplane or a nightmare; such a sudden attack is far too dangerous.

What if she were alone one day? Or even driving? He dared not imagine what would happen next.

The shower water was warm, but he felt like he had fallen into the Hudson River in the dead of winter.

There's no time to delay; he doesn't dare gamble on the odds and needs to consult a professional psychiatrist as soon as possible.

Also, the word she said at the time had a strange tone. What was it?

He quickly dried his hair and came out.

She had already fallen asleep, but the screen of her phone next to her pillow was still lit up, stuck on the Wikipedia page.

He looked at the description above, sighed, and turned off the white light.

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Author's Note: By the way, I've changed the update time to 11:00 AM this Monday. I only changed the synopsis and forgot to mention it in the author's notes.

I suddenly realized that you readers probably don't check the copy page every day like I do to see if it's been added to your favorites, so you probably didn't see it.

It's so hard for people to escape their own perspective. I'll be more experienced next time. Enjoy reading!