“I actually only replaced one of the less important sedatives with a multivitamin.
“So the problem was never that the dosage was too low. The problem is your cognitive dissonance.”
Ignoring the instant chill that settled in Jiang Yuan’s eyes, Song Ming’an continued word by word,
“You want to get closer, but you keep forcing yourself away. That causes you tremendous pain, so you came to me asking for a higher dosage.
“I told you I increased the dosage and gave you a psychological suggestion. You stopped restraining yourself so desperately and allowed yourself to get a little closer. Instead, your condition improved.
“I’m sorry, Jiang Yuan, but I have to be responsible for my patient. You really cannot increase the dosage any further.
“Forgive me for making the decision on my own, but it seems we may have found a better balance.”
Silence filled the air, broken only by Jiang Yuan’s rapid breathing.
He was enduring it, instinctively rejecting every word Song Ming’an had said.
“There is no other way.”
After a moment of consideration, Song Ming’an replied,
“Then perhaps you can try maintaining the current situation.
“You’re far too strict with yourself. You deny every one of your own actions so desperately that it only makes things worse. But maybe if you give yourself a little room to breathe, at the very least, things won’t deteriorate further.
“The human mind is like a bow. You’ve drawn yours too tight. If it snaps and the backlash comes, I can’t guarantee what state you’ll end up in. I hope you’ll consider my advice based on your actual circumstances.”
He said no more. Having spoken his piece, he fell silent and deliberately slowed his breathing. He knew Jiang Yuan was both intelligent and rational enough.
Time drifted slowly through the stagnant room.
After an unknown period, Song Ming’an stood up.
“That’s all for now. There’s no need to change your medication. Don’t force yourself. If anything happens, tell me immediately. I’m leaving.”
Until he walked out of the house, he heard no response from Jiang Yuan.
Much later, the man slumped on the sofa finally moved.
He slowly rose to his feet. His tall frame remained elegant, but his shoulders drooped slightly.
Step by step, he walked into the hidden room inside the study and closed the door behind him.
There was no bed inside.
Wrapped in a blanket, he curled up in the corner.
Tonight, he wanted to sleep there.
It wasn’t the weekend yet, but Yan Sui couldn’t wait to go home.
With her small backpack on her shoulders, she greeted Echo’s manager and set off once again along the familiar road home.
She had money now, but she still refused to take a taxi.
In fact, she deliberately slowed her pace.
When she first walked out of the school gates and failed to feel that familiar sensation, she was slightly disappointed.
But soon enough, darkness descended.
The small path she chose became increasingly secluded, and fewer people remained around.
Then the feeling returned.
In an instant, every hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
Just as before—
Intrusive.
Sticky.
Impossible to escape.
And—
Restrained.
Very restrained.
Its presence was strong, yet it carried no malice.
That only made her curiosity grow stronger by the day.
Her fingers brushed the small folding knife in her pocket.
Excitement spread from her heart to her fingertips.
Her little leather shoes crunched across the thick layer of fallen leaves.
When she reached the section of road where she had once been harassed, she sat down on a roadside bench and pulled out her phone.
The night breeze was cool.
Moonlight swayed through the shadows.
She searched for information about the murder case and discovered there had been no updates.
The most recent report was still the official announcement requesting public tips.
The comments below read:
“Serves him right. He harassed my girlfriend before.”
“There’s plenty of evidence of his sexual harassment. As for his death, I think it was suicide.”
“Scum like this doesn’t deserve to waste public resources.”
She could sense a hint of comment moderation behind those remarks, but none of them were wrong.
With no new developments, the young girl felt slightly disappointed.
She really wanted to know what kind of person could carry out such a clean and beautiful killing method.
Feeling that gaze upon her again, she stretched lazily and stood up before continuing on her way.
But when she passed an unmonitored alley with no one around, she suddenly turned and walked inside.
This was the alley where the harasser had been killed.
It had been sealed off for a while and had only reopened recently. Nobody dared walk through it anymore.
A garbage pile sat not far away.
The body had been discovered nearby.
She felt the gaze disappear and curled her lips into a smile.
The alley wasn’t long.
Both sides were blind spots.
Which meant that if anyone wanted to see what was happening inside, they would have to expose themselves somewhere within the alley.
There were no streetlights.
She concealed herself in the darkness.
Everything around her was deathly quiet.
Yan Sui could hear only her own soft breathing.
She was patient.
But the other party seemed even more patient.
Several minutes passed without any movement.
The girl finally kicked an empty can with all her strength.
Bang!
The sharp noise ripped through the silence and echoed throughout the alley.
As though she were saying—
I’m right here. Don’t you want to see what I’m doing?
A faint sound of breathing finally surfaced beneath the can’s fading echoes.
Yet when she listened closely, it was impossible to tell whether it was really there.
Her smile widened.
She skipped twice through the alley.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Her footsteps sounded as if something were chasing her.
Then—
“Ah!”
A girl’s scream suddenly pierced the night.
The very next second, hurried footsteps and suppressed breathing came rushing from one end of the alley.
It worked.
Yan Sui’s pupils contracted.
Pressing her back against the wall, she held her breath.
A dark figure charged toward her.
The moment he appeared at the entrance, Yan Sui lunged forward and drove a fierce kick into his abdomen.
“Ugh!”
The tall figure was caught off guard.
He doubled over slightly and let out a pained grunt.
Yan Sui reacted instantly.
Taking advantage of that brief pause, she rushed forward. As her kick swept toward the back of his knee, she reached to grab his arm.
Yet the man’s pain tolerance was astonishing.
He merely staggered instead of dropping to his knees.
Then he reacted quickly and retreated, breathing heavily.
Yan Sui narrowed her eyes.
Without hesitation, she pulled out her folding knife.
A flash of cold steel.
The blade slashed forward and clearly pierced his body.
She heard another restrained gasp.
Still not fighting back?
The man only retreated and never advanced, as though his sole intention was to escape.
Yan Sui had not expected this situation.
She stared at him, trying to make out his features beneath the baseball cap and face mask.
Unfortunately, the lighting was too poor.
The man ran fast.
Growing anxious, she thrust the knife forward again.
As he barely managed to block it, she caught sight of pale hands and knuckles covered in fine cuts.
She tried to catch up.
But his legs were simply too long.
After only two steps, she knew it was hopeless.
Panting heavily, the young girl felt annoyed.
What kind of person was this?
Faced with a deadly threat, and he still refused to fight back?
If it came down to pure physical ability, she had no chance of gaining any advantage.
Her original plan had been to use a few dirty tricks once they started fighting.
Capturing him alive would have been ideal.
If she accidentally killed him, it could still be argued as excessive self-defense.
But now?
He had been stabbed twice by her…
And then fled in panic?
Her dark eyes stared at the direction in which he had escaped.
The shadow had long since disappeared.
Blood dripped from the blade of her folding knife onto the ground.
His blood.
The girl rubbed a finger across the stain before slowly walking out of the alley, deep in thought.
It wasn’t a complete loss.
His hands.
His build.
For some reason, they felt strangely familiar.