Bad Dog
"Our conversation lasts about an hour. During this process, if there is a topic that makes you feel uncomfortable, you can ask me to pause or change the question. Everything depends on how you feel."
The psychologist held a notebook and pencil in his hands, leaned forward slightly, looked at Zhou Min casually, and made a listening gesture.
"Can you describe your recent state?"
Zhou Min's eyes drifted upwards, and she made a gesture of reminiscing. In fact, she was indeed reminiscing.
When facing interrogation, what body language should you use to make the other party believe that you are telling the truth?
She wanted to raise her hand to touch her chin, but was worried that this small action would be redundant, so she looked to the lower left side instead, and at the same time slowed down her speech, pretending to be choosing her words carefully.
"I've recently felt a peace I've never felt before. My life used to be so busy, and it's really rare to have this opportunity to calm down."
As if she had thought of something, she smiled slightly, looked up at the psychiatrist, and continued, "This should be a good thing for those potential victims, right?"
The psychologist looked at Zhou Minsen's smile and, considering what she heard, her hand holding the pen unconsciously tightened a little, but her professional ethics made her maintain a decent posture.
She calmed herself down and continued, "From your expression, it seems that you haven't had a good rest recently. What caused your sleep disorder?"
"I've been having a lot of insomnia lately." Zhou Min rubbed his thumb across the knuckles of his other hand, saying distressedly, "Maybe it's because I haven't heard anyone else's wailing in so long. I always feel a little empty inside."
As soon as she finished speaking, she leaned forward suddenly, seeking approval from the psychiatrist. With a deeper smile on her face, she lowered her voice and said, "Just like some people need to listen to lullabies before going to bed, can you understand how I feel?"
Seeing her sudden movement, the psychologist leaned back slightly out of consideration for his own safety. After hearing her words, all the questions he had not yet asked were stuck in his throat.
After a moment, the psychologist realized that this was not the usual pattern. The person in front of him was not actively seeking psychological counseling, so it was naturally impossible for him to open his heart easily.
Combining the patient's medical records, she made a final attempt: "From the first time I met you, I could feel that you are a kind person. Is there anything in your answer just now that you hope I can further understand? Are these words protecting some important feelings of yours?"
Hearing this, Zhou Min slowly put away his smile and said apologetically, "Doctor, I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous. I didn't mean any harm."
Just when the psychologist thought she was finally willing to have a proper conversation, Zhou Min spoke again.
"But...what follows is my malicious intent—"
Zhou Min looked directly into the doctor's eyes, cracking his knuckles with his hands alternately while moving his neck. As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up from the sofa and suddenly rushed towards the psychologist.
The doctor felt something was wrong when Zhou Min looked directly at him. He stood up and ran towards the door, while trying to comfort Zhou Min with words: "Ma'am, don't get excited. If you don't want to talk, we can make an appointment next time." After that, he hurriedly opened the door and rushed out.
Looking at the psychologist's fleeing back, Zhou Min regained his composure, touched his nose guiltily, turned around and sat back on the sofa.
This is the third psychologist he has seen this week and the seventh session. Why hasn’t Zhou Yiting given up yet?
She knew that although Zhou Qiting hated her, he really did what he said. After she said "Save me" that day, Zhou Qiting responded and would definitely keep his word.
So it was not surprising that she received psychological treatment.
Zhou Min originally wanted to accept it obediently, but when he sat opposite the psychologist, he realized that he had no way of saying even a word about the past to a stranger.
Therefore, Zhou Min initially just dealt with the psychologist with continued silence. The two previous doctors were also tactful and left helplessly after three meetings without getting any information from him.
But as time went by, Zhou Min gradually felt irritated, but the irritation was not because of the continuous psychological treatments, but because she had not seen Zhou Yiting for a week.
Did Zhou Qiting rest well afterwards? Did she eat well?
What did she do yesterday? What is she doing today? What will she do tomorrow?
His curiosity about Zhou Qiting kept growing, and it kept repeating in his mind every day, making Zhou Min uneasy.
Yesterday she couldn't help it and shamelessly asked the servants about Zhou Qiting's whereabouts, but all the replies she received were "I don't know".
She turned to ask the bodyguards, but not only did they all act as if they were facing a great enemy and refused to say anything, but their tone of voice also contained a hint of sarcasm when they answered "it's inconvenient to disclose".
Is it really necessary to be so defensive? Right now, she is just a frail, unarmed prisoner who has just recovered from a serious illness!
Therefore, Zhou Min's intention of indirectly telling Zhou Qiting that she no longer needed psychological treatment, as well as his own unspeakable desire to attract Zhou Qiting's attention, led him to act so rudely today.
But would Zhou Qiting be disappointed in her after she knew this? Zhou Min began to regret it belatedly, slumping back against the sofa, waiting for the bodyguards to come in and take her back to her room.
-
Sitting at the desk in the study, Zhou Yiting carefully flipped through the few pages of psychological assessment report in his hand.
The person kneeling not far away tensed his arm muscles and maintained the same posture motionlessly in order to prevent the shackles that bound his wrists behind his back from making any noise, while his knees moved stealthily to the side little by little.
Only when her view was no longer blocked by the vase on the table did she relax slightly, as if to stretch her cervical spine, or as if to examine the furnishings, looking up and down, left and right, her eyes pretending to casually sweep over every corner of the study. Only when she paused for a few seconds when passing by Zhou Yiting did her thoughts become clear.
Zhou Qiting was wearing a neatly tailored dark gray suit with a silk white shirt underneath, and it was obvious that he had just returned from the company.
She also seemed not to notice Zhou Min's little action, and read every line carefully. In the end, when she saw the last sentence "It is recommended to consult a criminal psychology expert", she sneered.
She raised her eyes, her gaze fixed precisely on the person who had already moved two steps at the beginning, just in time to catch the other person's peeping that he thought was inconspicuous.
The moment their eyes met, Zhou Min immediately lowered his head, and his ears quickly turned red with embarrassment.
"Come here." Zhou Yiting bent his knuckles and tapped lightly on the edge of the desk twice.
The cold words and crisp knocking sounds were keenly captured by Zhou Min's ears, causing him to shudder in his nervousness. He quickly pretended to be reluctant, crawled forward on his knees, and moved slowly.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Yiting held his chin with the back of his hand and watched her approach him little by little with interest.
It wasn't until Zhou Min finally came to her that she lowered the upward curve of her lips and said in a calm voice: "You did that because you wanted to see me. What are you pretending now?"
Zhou Min, who was being talked about, forced himself to remain calm, curled his lips, and changed the subject: "I just don't want to receive psychological treatment."
Zhou Qiting ignored her evasiveness and said, "If you don't want to receive treatment, you can just have the servant tell me directly."
Seeing that she lowered her head and said nothing, he asked directly: "So, why do you want to see me?"
Why? Zhou Min himself couldn't seem to figure it out.
Is it because of the pair of eyes that are darker than the night that I always think of when the moon rises and the sun sets?
Is it because when the breeze blows on your face, you always remember the gentle breath that once rested on your neck?
Or is it because of this heart that starts beating wildly when it sees you?
After peeling off these appearances layer by layer, all that remains is the word "miss".
But what right do I have to say that I miss you?
All kinds of thoughts swirled around in my throat, disguising themselves as something else.
"Didn't you say you wanted an obedient dog?" She raised her head and looked up at Zhou Qiting. Her light-colored eyes were like clear springs under the sunlight, clearly overflowing with emotions, but empty when she looked directly at him.
"Isn't it normal for a dog to want to see its owner after being locked up for a long time?"
The last trace of smile in Zhou Qiting's eyes faded, and he asked back: "Didn't you say that I can do whatever I want to you?"
"Then why don't you just accept the psychological treatment I arranged for you?"
Hearing this, Zhou Min's shoulders slumped a little, but he still held on and whispered, "They are not you."
"If it were me, you wouldn't have hidden anything, would you?"
Zhou Min fell silent again.
Zhou Qiting knew that the "anything" Zhou Min mentioned did not include prying into her heart, but only meant that he could use any means to retaliate against her, otherwise he would not have answered her questions irrelevantly and remained silent.
Moreover, her mother was increasingly displeased with her efforts to protect Zhou Min. In order to dispel her mother's doubts and to avoid the conflicting emotions she would have when facing Zhou Min, she had not come over for a while.
But the defense he had built up with great difficulty through busy work collapsed in an instant when he saw Zhou Min.
Zhou Yiting sighed helplessly in her heart, but her face was still as cold as frosty. She opened the drawer beside her and took out the collar that she had taken off for Zhou Min with her own hands.
The leather collar felt cold, causing a shiver when it touched the skin on her throat. Zhou Min resisted the urge to swallow and obediently allowed Zhou Qiting to put the shackles on her again.
"Since you want to be a dog so much..." Zhou Qiting's hand stayed above the buckled collar, and his bent knuckles scratched Zhou Min's chin affectionately.
"As you wish, then."
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