Challenges and Growth
"Wenqing, where are you?"
"work."
"Let's go talk to Dr. Liu?"
"If you have anything to say, go home and tell me."
"For Xiaofeng's matter, we must make an appointment with Dr. Liu. We will be there at 7 o'clock, please make an appointment with him."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Wan turned to Jiang Heng, Jiang Hui, and Jiang Tao and said, "It's safer to make an appointment with a psychologist. No one can predict what might happen."
Jiang Heng and Jiang Wan arrived at Liu Yixu's consultation room in advance, wanting to understand Wen Xiaqing's situation first.
"I'm sorry, I can't disclose his situation unless he agrees - he is an adult and has his own privacy." Liu Yixu said in a calm but firm tone.
"I understand." Jiang Heng nodded.
"Please rest assured that we have professional ethics for today's joint family consultation," Liu Yixu added, his eyes revealing unquestionable seriousness.
When Jiang Wenqing pushed the door open, the air in the consultation room seemed to freeze for three seconds. His fingertips repeatedly rubbed the cuffs of his sleeves, revealing his unconcealed nervousness. "What's the matter that absolutely must be discussed here?"
"We went to Florence to see Xiaofeng and the children." Jiang Wan's hands trembled uncontrollably as she spoke. Jiang Heng immediately held her hand and handed her a tissue.
Jiang Wan lowered her head, her voice muffled: "Xiaofeng won't come back, the reason... is you."
Jiang Wenqing glanced at his mother and twitched his lips in self-mockery. "Of course it's because of me. I lied to her for the so-called 'greater good'."
Jiang Wan looked up at Jiang Heng, who nodded slightly and continued, "That's one aspect. There's also the issue between you two." He looked at Jiang Wan again, as if seeking support, "Have you...never slept together?"
The air in the consultation room seemed to freeze, everyone frozen. Jiang Wenqing shifted nervously in his chair, his Adam's apple twitching. He kept his head down, not daring to look at anyone, and repeatedly crossed and uncrossed his arms. "When I met Xiaofeng, she was still a minor. I've always considered myself her 'guardian.' Even after we got married, I felt it was my responsibility to take care of her, not to harbor such desires."
"When I'm with her, I have to try my best to control myself. Sometimes I can sense the signals she's sending me, but I always feel... I can't 'bully her.' I think maybe things will get better after she graduates from college."
The only sound in the consultation room was the ticking of the metronome. The gazes of the other three people met silently in the air, full of complexity.
Jiang Heng and Jiang Wan talked in low voices:
"How old were you when we met?"
"About eleven or twelve."
"Almost. Remember the day we got our marriage license?"
"It was during the Chinese New Year in 1979. My second brother was back from winter vacation, so we had a banquet."
"You have a good memory. I originally wanted to get the marriage certificate first and then hold the wedding, but when I got there I realized you weren't even twenty yet."
"Yes, when he came back to register his household registration, my second brother 'randomly' gave us his date of birth - July 1960."
"So you were less than twenty-one when you gave birth to him."
Suddenly, the metronome paused as if it had been stuck. Jiang Heng patted Jiang Wan's arm and said, "Let's go."
"Not talking anymore?"
"What are we talking about? Teach him to tie his wife to the bed?"
"It's all your fault. You always tell him to 'control, control'."
"That's how he restrains himself from those beautiful women out there. Who told him to restrain himself from his own wife?"
Liu Yixu stood up and asked, "Would you two like some water?"
Jiang Heng waved his hands repeatedly: "No, we're leaving."
The door of the consultation room closed heavily behind him, and only Jiang Wan's words "Zhou Yang is with Xiaofeng" hung in the air like a thin needle, trembling slightly.
After the two left, Liu Yixu poured Jiang Wenqing a glass of water and tapped the rim of the glass with his fingertips: "Want to talk about your wife?"
Jiang Wenqing was stunned for half a second, his Adam's apple rolled, and he nodded slightly.
"What do you want me to call her?"
"Xiaofeng." Jiang Wenqing's voice suddenly softened. "Rao Xiaofeng, my first love."
Liu Yixu chuckled: "Before you met Xiaofeng, had you ever thought about what your ideal partner would be like?"
"Well, pretty, good figure, higher education, more stable... that's about it."
"Does Xiaofeng meet these requirements?" Liu Yixu asked.
Jiang Wenqing curled his lips in self-mockery. "Completely the opposite. Barely 1.6 meters tall, with a flat build. Only her eyes..." He suddenly choked up, his Adam's apple rolling violently. "One look and I was captivated. When I met her, she was still a high school student, working part-time at a maternity and baby products store."
Liu Yixu was very interested: "When did you become interested?"
"Just one glance. The way she wore her ponytail and stood on tiptoe to reach the shelves was so funny. She was obviously timid, yet she dared to talk to me. She was both timid and brave." The memory brought gentle ripples to Jiang Wenqing's eyes. "When I saw her, I wanted to get close to her, to hug her, to touch her hair. She loved to laugh and act coquettishly with me, like a clingy kitten. But..." His eyes suddenly lit up. "She's a natural motorcyclist. Standing on the track, she completely changed. Her eyes were full of desire for victory, fierce and focused."
Liu Yixu nodded: "Do you support her racing?"
Jiang Wenqing's eyes were firm: "Of course. She's very good. She participated in three competitions, won the championship twice and the runner-up once."
Liu Yixu exclaimed: "It's so great! Have you seen it?"
"The first time I competed, I was waiting for her at the finish line. When she was announced the champion, she threw herself into my arms, and her scent filled my mind." Jiang Wenqing's voice suddenly broke. "I didn't go the next two times because I was on business trips. Actually, I didn't dare to be home, afraid to face my increasingly strong desire."
Liu Yixu looked him straight in the eyes: "Did you hear what your parents said just now?"
"Well, so?"
"She's your wife, and you're legally married. The desires you mentioned are perfectly normal. It's normal for a person to have desires from time to time, but when it comes to Xiaofeng, it's not only desire, but also love—another way of expressing love, a close intimacy where you're in me and I'm in you."
"A way to express love?"
Liu Yixu nodded heavily: "Yes, it's a way to express love."
"I want to get her and the child back. I miss her so much." Jiang Wenqing said, grabbing at the air with his hands a few times, as if trying to grab something.
Liu Yixu called Zhou Yong and said, "He talked a lot today, and I talked a bit too much too. It's beyond the scope of psychological counseling."
"How is he?"
"A wealthy family will produce a romantic man. This deep love brings him happiness, but also pain."
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