Chapter 61 An Exception: One shouldn't meet someone too stunning when young. ...
In mid-November, Kailin's project was successfully completed, with results exceeding expectations. Kailin was very generous with the settlement and made payments promptly, finally easing her tension.
With the funds in hand, he renovated the studio and gave Dou Miao and Lin Yu a short vacation, which also gave him a chance to rest.
I received Ning Duyun's call on a cloudless morning.
Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, so bright it was almost blinding. When a voice, both strange and familiar, came from the other end of the phone, Ning Jiu was startled for a moment.
Her memories of this aunt are still from when she was very young. At that time, the family was poor, but Ning Duyun was a top student. She passed all the tests with her grades and finally won a scholarship to study at the Florence Conservatory of Music.
She is indeed very outstanding. Because she went abroad at a young age, she had fewer and fewer opportunities to meet her family in person after she became an adult. Later, she established herself in Beijing and was so busy with work that she had almost no free time. Her contact with Ning Xuan gradually turned into video calls across the screen.
This phone call was completely unexpected.
"Is it a little wine?"
Hearing Ning Duyun's voice again after nearly three years, Ning Jiu's tone revealed surprise that she couldn't hide.
"Auntie, is there something you need from me?"
Ning Duyun called this time because she genuinely wanted to discuss something with Ning Jiu. There was a high-profile psychological research project in Beijing that required the development of an assessment and intervention model supported by big data. She had heard that Ning Jiu, in her collaboration with Kai Lin, had processed complex data clearly and efficiently, perfectly matching the needs of their project, so she immediately thought of Ning Jiu.
Besides this, Ning Duyun actually had another reason. This year is her first time coordinating the most representative New Year's Concert in Beijing as the overall person in charge, and she hopes that Ning Jiu can come in person, partly to discuss the possibility of cooperation, and partly to witness this extraordinary moment in her life.
“Xiao Jiu, I sincerely hope you can come, whether it's because of that psychology project or this concert.” On the other end of the phone, Ning Duyun’s voice softened a bit, carrying enough solemnity and sincerity, “I would be very happy if you could come to Beijing.”
After hanging up the phone, Ning Jiu gazed at the flowing traffic outside the window, thought for a long time, and finally decided to go.
There are many reasons involved, but the deepest one, and the one I least want to mention, is probably the subconscious avoidance of a certain person.
The flight from Shanghai to Beijing landed through the clouds. Ning Jiu disembarked with the crowd and saw a very capable-looking woman standing at the arrival gate from afar.
Wearing a dark gray, fitted coat with clean lines, paired with simple black high heels, Ning Duyun waved casually almost at the same time Ning Jiu looked at her.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you,” she said, half-jokingly, as she took Ning Jiu’s luggage. “Perfect timing, I’ll treat you to our first stop in Beijing.”
Stepping out of the airport, I was immediately enveloped by the sounds and sights of the city. Elevated highways stretched out in layers, traffic flowed like a river, huge advertising screens on the streets flashed incessantly, and the station announcements mingled with the footsteps of the crowd, the air carrying the dry chill of early winter.
Compared to the small bridges and flowing water of Jiangcheng and the dazzling lights of Shanghai at night, the traffic here is more orderly and spacious, with a relaxed atmosphere and a self-contained order amidst the hustle and bustle.
This was the first time she had felt the city's real and distinct pulse so closely.
This is the city where he lived as a child.
The thought flashed through Ning Jiu's mind, and she immediately frowned in annoyance.
From autumn to winter, nearly two months had passed since they last met. During this time, neither of them took the initiative to contact the other. But why did he think of that person again on his very first day in Beijing?
My original intention for coming here was exactly the opposite.
Ning Duyun's apartment in the city center is right next to the Jingyuan Concert Hall. As the car entered the city, she casually brought up the project she had mentioned on the phone earlier. The husband of one of her colleagues happens to be a psychology professor at Peking University, specializing in psychosomatic medicine, and is currently promoting a psychological intervention project on somatization reactions.
These types of projects require a large amount of clinical questionnaires and behavioral data to support them, especially to transform subtle fluctuations in patients’ sleep, heart rate and stress levels into quantifiable indicators, and then to use models to capture potential psychological patterns and triggers. The professor’s team has expertise in both theory and clinical practice, but they have always been unable to handle large-scale data.
“Professor Jiang had some contact with Kailin recently and heard about your data processing methods from them,” Ning Duyun turned his head and looked at Ning Jiu through the rearview mirror. “When he mentioned you, I was initially a little surprised, but after I saw the results of those data processing myself, I realized that this was something that a student who had just entered the field could not have accomplished. Xiao Jiu, you are really great.”
At this point, Ning Duyun's tone became warmer and more intimate: "You can stay at your aunt's house while you're in Beijing. My house happens to have a guest room, which isn't luxurious but is spacious and quiet enough for you to rest."
Before Ning Jiu could refuse, the car had already turned into the city center, and the tall building of Jingyuan Concert Hall came into view, next to Ning Duyun's apartment. After settling in briefly, Ning Duyun turned on her computer and connected her to a video call with Professor Jiang.
On the other end of the screen, Professor Jiang, wearing metal-rimmed glasses, looked focused as he gave Ning Jiu a general overview of the research direction they were currently pursuing.
“Most of the somatization reactions we encounter are caused by intense emotional fluctuations,” he said. “For example, sudden separation, long-term depression, the death of a loved one… These psychological shocks often cannot be resolved directly and will manifest as insomnia, chest tightness, or more serious physical symptoms.”
As Ning Jiu listened, she couldn't help but recall some cases she had encountered before. She had some understanding of the basic treatments for this type of illness, but she hadn't expected it to be studied in such detail and depth.
After expressing his concerns, Professor Jiang smiled, his tone sincere.
"There's a special exhibition on somatization and the mind-body relationship at the Kyoto University Mental Health Center this weekend. I sincerely hope you can come and see it; it might give you some inspiration for understanding this topic."
The special exhibition he mentioned was not simply an academic lecture, but rather a combination of clinical case presentations and interactive experiences.
Over the weekend, Ningjiu strolled through the exhibition hall, where data walls displayed patients' sleep curves and heart rate fluctuation charts. By comparing the changes in indicators of different individuals before and after emotional trauma, one could intuitively see the different traces left on the body. These statistics, presented digitally, were far more impactful than textual descriptions.
While casually flipping through a research poster, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar name in the signature section.
My hands suddenly stopped moving, and I heard two visitors whispering to me.
"Hey, look, Liu Qingman's name is actually on this display board."
"It really is her. No wonder it's in the exhibition; she's one of the best in the field of emotional trauma and somatization symptoms."
"She's in Singapore now, right? She's with a whole multinational team integrating clinical samples of somatization symptoms from Southeast Asia, and they're supposedly quite influential."
"Tsk, as expected of her."
Listening to the discussion around her, Ning Jiu was surprised to find that Liu Qingman's research focused on somatization reactions.
The connection between the name and the field left her momentarily stunned.
Just as she was lost in thought, a gentle laugh rang in her ears. Professor Jiang walked over, shook her hand, and said, "Xiao Jiu, it's so great that you could come. I was just about to introduce you to a rising star in the field of psychology who is equally outstanding."
Ning Jiu looked up and followed his gaze; it was Chen Poyao.
When their eyes met, the two smiled at each other, and Professor Jiang quickly realized that they knew each other.
"Looks like I don't need to waste my breath introducing her." He nodded with satisfaction. "Po Yao performed very well in Yaoxing's summer project before, and recently she has also been interested in studying this direction in depth. The reason for inviting her here is that I hope you can talk more and combine your strengths. Maybe there will be some unexpected sparks."
Chen Poyao also intends to study in the direction of somatization?
Ning Jiu met her gaze, somewhat puzzled but said nothing.
The exhibition came to a close as the lights slowly dimmed. She put away her pen, closed the notebook filled with dense notes, and prepared to take a taxi back to Ning Duyun's apartment.
As Ning Jiu stepped out of the exhibition hall, night had already fallen, and the streetlights cast dappled shadows. Ning Jiu was tidying up her bag when she suddenly noticed a shadow falling beside her.
I was slightly taken aback, turned my head, and was caught off guard by a pair of familiar and bright eyes.
Chen Poyao slightly tightened the strap of her bag on her shoulder, let out a soft breath, as if she had made up her mind, and asked Ning Jiu.
"Want to talk?"
-
The two arranged to meet at a quiet Western restaurant nearby.
The lighting was soft, and small green plants were placed by the window, creating a relaxed atmosphere.
Ning Jiu casually flipped through the menu and ordered a strawberry mille-feuille with black tea.
As soon as the dishes were announced, Chen Poyao couldn't help but smile, a hint of amusement appearing in her eyes.
"You still like sweets, just like before."
Ning Jiu was stunned, her memories being pulled back to the past.
"Now that you mention it, it seems people's tastes are indeed hard to change. What about you? Do you still prefer lighter flavors?"
"Yes, my taste hasn't changed."
Chen Poyao spoke those words in a calm tone, meeting Ning Jiu's gaze.
"But I've recently started to wonder if I'm being too stubborn."
"......"
Ning Jiu sensed the hidden meaning in her words, so she first signaled the waiter to prepare the order. After the waiter had walked away, she simply spoke directly.
What do you want to tell me?
“I am very grateful to you for giving me the opportunity for the summer project, really,” Chen Poyao straightened her back and said sincerely, “This opportunity has brought my career back to life, which was almost suffocating. I really thought that I was just like my parents said, that I was not suitable to work in this industry at all.”
"But after this project, I suddenly felt that maybe I could try again in the future."
“If that’s the case, I don’t think I actually helped you in any way,” Ning Jiu replied quickly. “Planning isn’t my forte, and you already demonstrated that ability when you were in school. If I had to say what I did, it was just recommending you to Li Linda and giving you a new possibility.”
Ultimately, it was your own ability to seize the opportunity and perform exceptionally well that allowed others to see and be convinced.
She was simply stating the facts, but for some reason, Chen Poyao, who had been hesitant just moments before, suddenly became determined, and her voice even choked with emotion.
"After all these years, I still have to admit, sweet wine."
She hadn't used that nickname in a very long time, and when she blurted it out, both of them were taken aback.
“You have a unique, irresistible charm that draws people in,” Chen Poyao’s eyes reddened slightly as she recalled something. “No wonder so many people are attracted to you.”
"To be honest, I was quite jealous of you for a while in high school."
I thought it would be difficult for someone as proud as her to bring this up, but when she actually spoke, Chen Poyao seemed to have put down a heavy burden and felt much more relaxed.
“From a young age, I was the kind of child that teachers and parents always talked about. I had good grades, many talents, and I was able to manage the class very well as a class committee member. Because I was expected to achieve so much from a young age, I also had very high expectations for myself.”
"So even if I like someone, I won't easily show it, let alone say it out loud." She paused, lowered her eyes, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips. "At first, I thought we were the same kind of people."
Ning Jiu understood what she was talking about, and her expression became slightly serious.
“There’s always that one person in your adolescence, the kind of boy who shines throughout your youth. But the one I met wasn’t just dazzling, he was breathtaking.” Chen Poyao’s eyes were somewhat dazed, as if she was still stuck in some distant memory. “From the first time I saw him in junior high school, everyone I met afterward seemed to pale in comparison. Sometimes I wonder, was this kind of encounter lucky or unlucky?”
"That person, whether in junior high or high school, always acted like he would never date. Someone like him wouldn't make an exception easily."
"Song Yunhe probably realized this too, which is why she chose to get to know him first and then slowly get closer when the time was right. But I noticed something was off even earlier than her—"
As Chen Poyao finished speaking, he raised his eyes again and looked at Ning Jiu.
"From which day did he start treating you differently? Even if it was just a very subtle change, it immediately made me very wary."
"Back then, I naively thought that love had a first-come-first-served principle. I knew him before you, and I was no less than you in any way, so it was only right that I should be with him."
She couldn't help but laugh, a smile tinged with bitterness.
"I was very naive back then, but I hope you can understand."
"Do you remember that day at the high school sports meet? When he took the baton from me and sprinted to the finish line to win first place, I could feel my heart pounding so hard it almost jumped out of my chest. It's really hard for anyone not to be moved by such a scene."
"......"
After listening to Chen Poyao's almost self-dissecting confession, Ning Jiu's fingers paused for a moment on the rim of her glass.
"So you still like Qiao Bolin?" she asked Chen Poyao softly. "Was your choice of psychology as your major influenced by this?"
“I have to admit that I did have this mindset at first, probably a rather naive competitive mentality. I always felt that if you can do it, I can do it too,” Chen Poyao admitted frankly. “But after I entered university and actually studied psychology, I realized that it is indeed something worth loving and devoting myself to.”
“Although I still sometimes unconsciously think of him, like when I attended this exhibition…” Halfway through her sentence, her gaze towards Ning Jiu became complicated, “Sometimes I’m also surprised at how decisive you are, even with him in this state, you can still completely detach yourself from it—”
"etc."
Ning Jiu noticed something crucial and frowned slightly.
"What does this exhibition have to do with George Bolin?"
"Don't you know?"
This time, Chen Poyao's expression was even more surprised than Ning Jiu's.
Outside the restaurant's floor-to-ceiling windows, cars stream by, and the water glass on the table sways gently in the breeze, much like Ning Jiu's fluctuating emotions at that moment.
She heard her own tight, trembling voice ring out.
"Know...what?"
-
On a rainy night, Ning Jiu returned to Ning Duyun's apartment.
It had started raining heavily outside, and Ning Duyun had made more than a dozen phone calls out of concern, but Ning Jiu hadn't answered any of them.
Just as Ning Duyun was about to go out to look for someone, the doorbell rang. She hurriedly opened the door and found Ning Jiu standing silently outside, her clothes soaked through by the rain.
"Oh dear, with such heavy rain, I should be the one to pick you up."
Ning Duyun was heartbroken and quickly turned around to go to the bedroom to get a change of clothes for Ning Jiu. However, after taking a step, he realized that Ning Jiu had not followed him in.
Because she was afraid that the rain on her clothes would dirty the carpet in her apartment, she preferred to stand outside in the cold wind rather than step inside.
Whether the two are willing to admit it or not, the lack of interaction during their childhood has left their aunt-niece relationship somewhat distant.
Ning Duyun paused, suddenly remembering the phone call Yuan Liangjing had made that afternoon.
She had always thought that Ning Xuan's bar business was gradually getting back on track over the years, and he would take better care of Ning Jiu. Even after hearing that Ning Jiu and Yuan Shu had separated, she went to see the girl a few times out of concern, but each time she met Ning Jiu, Ning Jiu was calm and spoke politely, and seemed to be fine, so she gradually put her mind at ease.
It wasn't until today, with Yuan Liangjing's phone call, that she truly realized how blindly she had let go of her worries. For a period after separating from Yuan Shu, Ning Xuan had lived such a miserable life and taken such poor care of her child. And this most painful period happened to coincide with Ning Jiu's three years of high school.
Ning Duyun dared not imagine how much physical and psychological trauma other children would suffer if they encountered such a change in high school.
Some children are naturally independent and can move forward even in adversity, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be surrounded by love and care like other children.
Ning Xuan overlooked this point, but so did she.
Ning Jiu is who she is today entirely because of herself, and the effort she has put in and the pressure she has endured far exceed that of her peers by many times.
A lump formed in Ning Duyun's throat, and she quickly stepped forward and pulled Ning Jiu into the house from the doorway.
She naturally reached out to take the bag from Ning Jiu's shoulder, then quickly took off her soaking wet coat. Almost subconsciously, she raised her hand to feel Ning Jiu's forehead, her brows furrowed.
"Why are you so cold? Did you catch a chill?" Her gaze fell on Ning Jiu's wet hair and pale face, and her voice carried a hint of undisguised worry. "What happened today? Tell your aunt if you need anything, and your aunt will help you deal with it."
Someone helped to handle it.
These are words I haven't heard in so many years.
For a moment, Ning Jiu was somewhat dazed, her thoughts drifting back to her conversation with Chen Poyao at the restaurant that afternoon.
“I thought that since you’ve known Liu Qingman for so long, she would tell you.” Chen Poyao looked at her with a hint of surprise. “But then again, she has always been professional. Qiao Bolin is her patient after all, and she would never casually mention a patient’s privacy outside of work.”
Liu Qingman, Qiao Bolin, patients.
Ningjiu never imagined that these three words would appear together at the same time.
As if struck by a sudden blow, Chen Poyao hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“At first, I also wondered whether I should tell you. To be honest, I really couldn’t understand why you would leave Qiao Bailin behind. For a while, I even fantasized that if I could go deeper into somatization research, maybe I could help him get through it.” She gave a self-deprecating smile. “But now I understand that I could never help him, because I never held enough weight in his heart.”
"Liu Qingman has her reasons for not telling you. You should also know that, from a psychological perspective, patients who develop somatization symptoms due to excessive emotional fluctuations are more likely to experience a relapse or even worsening of their condition if they come into contact with people who trigger their intense emotions. This is the most basic principle."
Chen Poyao breathed a sigh of relief and turned her gaze back to Ning Jiu.
"But I still think you have the right to know about this, in every respect."
"......"
Recalling her most intense arguments with Qiao Bolin, Ning Jiu had noticed his trembling hands, but she had never considered this possibility.
Having studied psychology for so long, she discovered that the most deeply affected victim of somatization was right beside her.
This realization shocked Ning Jiu, and at the same time, caused a sharp, aching pain in her chest.
-----------------------
A message from the author: Happy National Day, my darlings!
I know the sweet wine is coming soon, I promise...
-
Chapter 60 is locked again for some reason. I've revised it and submitted it for review countless times! Dear reviewer, please have mercy on me!
The next chapter will be updated at 9 PM on Thursday, and it'll be quite long. Berlin is about to start his self-inflicted injury scheme, haha!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
