Chapter 113 The Past

Yan Nian knew very well that this matter of hers could be a big deal or a small one. Since she started working, she has found that it will have a great impact on the quality of her work and her social life.

When she saw Xu Xinrui and Xu Mi saved her phone number, she was even nervous for a long time.

She has not seen a doctor for fear of being criminalized and requiring long-term medication.

Zhou Ran saw hesitation in her eyes and wanted to give up, but now that he had already brought up the topic, it was impossible to back down.

When the movie reached a dim scene, Zhou Ran picked up the remote control to pause it and did not turn on the lights in the living room, so as to prevent her from being completely exposed in the light and revealing her true feelings.

Zhou Ran lowered his head slightly and said softly, "Don't feel embarrassed to say it."

Yan Nian lay on his legs, looking at him blankly with her dark eyes. Thinking carefully, she realized that the time she and Zhou Ran had spent together was not long in total, and she remembered many things better than anyone else.

She did talk about this matter with Zhou Ran, and therefore did not tell anyone else. Even when Mu Chen tried to enlighten her, she carefully hid it well.

Just when Zhou Ran thought he was about to fail, he heard her say "hmm".

Yan Nian thought, if Zhou Ran knew about this, would he think she was being pretentious? Would he look at her and her family differently?

Zhou Ran saw her worry and tried his best to consider her in all aspects: "Don't be afraid, no matter what the reason, I will always stand by you."

Yan Nian still bit her lips tightly and said nothing.

Seeing that she didn't refuse, Zhou Ran thought there was still hope. He held her hand and began to guide her: "Don't you feel like you don't know where to start?"

Yan Nian nodded. She wanted to talk to him and seek help.

Zhou Ran asked gently, "Then do you know when you started to get scared?"

Yan Nian turned her head and buried her face in his left stomach, like a child who had made a mistake and didn't want others to see her face. She habitually said "I forgot" to fool everyone.

Zhou Ran asked cautiously, "Okay, then don't think about this. Did something happen?"

Yan Nian shook her head, as if nodding, and then she sat up on the sofa, looking at him seriously.

Zhou Ran stopped asking and looked back at her.

Yan Nian began to question, holding his face in his hands.

Zhou Ran told Mu Chen about his meeting with him.

Yan Nian didn't look at him, but just nodded. As the saying goes, a doctor must find the cause of the disease before prescribing the right medicine. Zhou Ran chose this time to ask her, and Yan Nian could guess that he must have consulted a professional without telling her.

Yan Nian prepared himself mentally before speaking slowly: "It's about some things from my childhood."

"You still have me. No matter what it is, you will feel better if you say it out loud. Believe me." Zhou Ran stopped disturbing her and just held her hand.

Yan Nian hummed in frustration, recalling what happened at that time:

"When I was little, my mother was very strict with me. She was a very strong-willed person. After I was born, she stopped working for a long time. She took care of me meticulously until I started elementary school. She didn't return to work until I went to school. She didn't allow me to go anywhere except home and school. She never allowed me to have friends of the opposite sex or go to crowded places."

"She would call my teacher every day to inquire about my situation, and even more often on Sundays. She would call home every few hours to ask about my studies. To make her happy, I learned to lie, thinking I could finish all my homework before she got home. However, the consequence of lying was that I had countless homework assignments waiting for me. Until one day, I was exposed. After she found out, she didn't go to work for two weeks in a row and accompanied me to study every day. Since then, I have been very annoyed by phone calls, especially hers."

She became completely afraid of answering the phone from the day Xu Yiqing fired the nanny.

When she was in the first grade of junior high school, on her day off, even the nanny couldn't stand her having so much homework and memorizing so much English every day, so she went to her room to remind her, let her take a rest, and said she would keep it a secret for her.

She told her aunt that she wanted to go out to buy some snacks. Her aunt was quite indulgent towards her, so she had no choice but to agree and go with her because she was worried about her.

As a result, Xu Yiqing called back, but they didn't answer.

She was watching TV and eating snacks when Xu Yiqing came back angrily.

She was so angry that she wanted to fire the aunt, saying that she did not follow the terms of the contract, took her out without permission, and bought junk food. She would deduct half a month's salary from her and called the agency to complain about her.

The aunt pleaded and explained, but it was still useless.

My aunt's family conditions were not good to begin with, and there were complaints. No one dared to hire her at that time. When she was packing up to leave, Yan Nian felt extremely guilty and burst into tears, refusing to let her go. She didn't expect that her willfulness would cause her aunt to lose her job, and she was still deducted wages after working so hard for so long. She begged Xu Yiqing not to deduct her aunt's money.

The soft-hearted she was, the angrier Xu Yiqing became. He forcibly separated them and made her kneel in the room for the entire afternoon. When Yan Qilin came back and saw her, he had another big fight with her.

From then on, Yan Nian became withdrawn and her grades declined, so Xu Yiqing had to resign and stay at home to accompany her.

Later, Yan Qilin secretly told her that he had sent half a month's salary to his aunt and also explained the situation to the agency.

Her grades improved.

Xu Yiqing had been with her for three years, and Yan Nian often watched her in a daze.

I accidentally overheard my grandmother chatting with my uncle, and she said that Xu Yiqing had suffered from postpartum depression. My uncle even talked to her specifically, asking her to understand Xu Yiqing and not to make her angry again.

She had no choice but to swallow all the grievances and agree, giving in step by step.

The phone was Xu Yiqing's way of controlling her, even after she got a cell phone, it was still the same. She couldn't not answer the phone. If she didn't answer the phone, Xu Yiqing would imagine that she had been in several accidents.

Later, the school's New Year's Day event required male and female students to perform on stage together. After Xu Yiqing found out, he took her home and told her not to have physical contact with boys. Then there were more and more rumors about her.

The phrase she heard most often was "This is all for your own good."

Yan Nian said: "My mother loves me very much, but she uses the wrong method."

Xu Yiqing took great care of her and never let her lack anything materially. She had lived a wealthier life than other children of the same age since she was a child, and Xu Yiqing tried his best to give her the best.

She never thought that one day, she would calmly tell Zhou Ran all these things. Yan Nian took a deep breath.

After hearing this, Zhou Ran felt very uncomfortable and held her in his arms, comforting her gently.

No one ever told her that none of this was her fault.

Just as Mu Chen had told him, Yan Nian was not fragile at all and must have tried to overcome it, but had failed.

Yan Nian lowered her eyes, knowing Zhou Ran's purpose. She was a little frustrated: "It's been too long. It's useless. I've tried many times, but I still can't overcome it. It's become a habit."

"Of course, Yanyan, you've tried it many times, which proves that you also want to get rid of your fear, right?"