The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Pei Sui woke up.
Meng Sheng was still fast asleep, breathing steadily.
He tiptoed out from under her neck, then put her hand down from his waist, lifted the covers and went to wash his hands. Just as he finished washing up, the chef arrived, confirmed the breakfast menu with him, and then went to the kitchen to get busy.
The door wasn't closed tightly, leaving a fist-width gap. Meng Sheng woke up to the aroma wafting from the kitchen.
After the basic examinations were completed and the doctor gave some instructions before leaving, the cook brought the prepared breakfast into the ward.
At nine o'clock in the morning, Qiao Na and Minister Zhou came to the hospital to visit her. They were both very happy and relieved to see that she had woken up. They also gave her a report on the progress of the art museum's work over the past few days.
Around 2:30, Yi Jun arrived at the hospital with a woman in her thirties, introducing her as, "This is my friend, psychology professor Ou Xiya."
"This is Mr. Meng, Ms. Meng's brother, and this is Attorney Pei, Ms. Meng's boyfriend."
"This is Meng Sheng, Miss Meng."
During breakfast, Pei Sui mentioned that a psychotherapist would be coming in the afternoon, and she also told her about Yi Jun's assessment of her mental health that day.
She was actually quite surprised and shocked when she heard "mild depression".
She didn't think she had depression, nor did she know when it started.
After exchanging greetings, Ou Xiya led Meng Shixu and Pei Sui out of the ward. After closing the door, she placed a glass of warm water on the bedside table and smiled gently at Meng Sheng, "Ms. Meng, don't be nervous, relax. Let's just have a simple chat, like friends."
Meng Sheng was indeed not nervous now. She smiled slightly and said, "I'm fine, not very nervous. Professor Ou, just ask him whatever you want."
Ou Xiya nodded, not directly addressing the hidden pain in her heart, "How did you feel when you woke up this morning? How were you feeling?"
...
The conversation inside lasted for about an hour. As soon as Ou Xiya came out, Pei Sui and Meng Shixu stood up from the sofa, took a few steps forward to greet her, and asked with some concern and urgency, "Professor Ou, how is it?"
Ou Xiya gestured for them to sit down first, and then sat down next to Yi Jun. "Mr. Meng, Attorney Pei, I think Yi Jun has already told you about Miss Meng's initial condition. It is consistent with Yi Jun's judgment: mild depression. It is probably because of this fainting that her depression has now reached the critical point of moderate depression."
In the past hour, Ms. Meng and I didn't discuss the case or her inner pain. We just chatted casually about gossip, entertainment, and interesting anecdotes. Ms. Meng has a cheerful personality and is very self-consistent; she's not the type to give up when faced with darkness. She struggles and strives to face the light. But it's precisely because of this that it's easy for people to forget the unhealed wounds in her heart. However, it's often those who are like this who are the most deeply wounded.
"I don't know if you've heard of 'smiling depression.' The assessment of this condition requires a systematic evaluation by a psychiatrist. In short, the symptoms of smiling depression are that the person is cheerful and lively in public, but when alone at night, they will switch to a new personality and fall into a state of depression and pain that they cannot extricate themselves from. Ms. Meng is showing this tendency now."
I think she has suffered a lot of emotional blows over the past two years, and they have been continuous, repeatedly crushing her lifeline and leaving her in despair and loneliness.
Meng Shixu's expression froze for a moment.
Having only heard Pei Sui briefly recount Yi Jun's words, he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and heartache instantly overwhelm him.
Hearing the therapist say these words to his own ears, he suddenly felt suffocated.
It's hard to imagine the despair that the cheerful, lively, spoiled, and tearful little girl experienced after her mother's death.
She was well protected by her parents and him since she was a child. Even when she saw a stray dog, she would feel sorry for it. She even adopted two dogs, but unfortunately, the stray dogs only stayed with her for four or five years at most.
As she grew older, she came to understand the pain of death and separation. She stopped adopting animals and instead sent stray dogs she encountered to specialized organizations. Her parents wanted to protect her kindness and compassion, so they donated a large sum of money to animal welfare organizations in her name every year.
After graduating from high school, she started donating on her own.
The word "depression" sounds very distant, let alone "smiling depression".
Indeed, her mother's unexpected death was already a huge blow to her. Later, Shang Boyu cheated on her, her best friend betrayed her, and even her mother-in-law, who had always seemed to love her dearly, was ready to betray her at any moment.
In this protracted divorce battle, she exhausted herself and finally managed to escape, only to learn that her father had cancer, and then that Ning Weiwei was the murderer of her mother.
Even he, a grown man, found these facts hard to bear, but what about Sheng Sheng?
Her back was so thin and frail, yet she bore so much on her own. He couldn't even imagine what would have happened if she hadn't had someone like Pei Sui by her side, someone who helped her plan and cared for her. Her already fragile heart would have been more than just cracked.
The current psychological assessment no longer classifies the patient as borderline moderate depression.
Or they might not find out until they discover she committed suicide or find her lifeless body.
He really failed as the eldest brother.
Despite being so much older than him, he spent most of his time abroad and was completely unaware of his sister's health condition.
Pei Sui felt a heavy weight in his heart and was extremely upset. He had actually prepared himself mentally long ago, but after hearing these words, he still felt that he was not mentally prepared enough.
Just as an eerie and somber silence fell over the living room, the door to the ward was suddenly pulled open.
Meng Sheng walked out from inside.
She made almost no sound, but Pei Sui seemed to sense something and subconsciously looked up. When he saw her come out, he was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly got up and walked over, supporting her arm with one hand and putting his arm around her waist with the other.
She frowned slightly and asked, "Why did you come out?"
"I'm practically going to get moldy from lying in bed all the time. I need to get out of bed and stretch my muscles. Besides... I heard what Professor Ou said just now. This concerns me, and I'd like to hear his solutions."
She walked to the coffee table, smiled and nodded to Ou Xiya and Yi Jun, then looked at Meng Shixu with gentle eyes, "For the sake of my family's concern, and because I don't want you to continue to worry about me, I should live well. Since I'm sick, I should get proper treatment. I will definitely cooperate."
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