I Have a Friend

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in."

Lin Qiye pushed open the door and walked into the consultation room.

Sitting at the other side of the desk was a middle-aged male doctor, wearing a white coat and sporting a very sparse, receding hairline that was the very symbol of wisdom.

Lin Qiye sat down in a chair, and the doctor slowly began, "Tell me, what seems to be the problem?"

"I don't have any problems."

"Then why are you here?"

"I don't have any problems, but I have a friend who has a very serious mental illness."

Hearing this, the doctor looked at Lin Qiye with a strange expression, smiled, and smoothed the few hairs on his head.

"That friend you're talking about, wouldn't that be yourself?"

Lin Qiye replied with a serious expression, "No, it's really a friend."

"Alright, then tell me about your... no, your friend's illness. What are the specific symptoms?"

Lin Qiye pondered for a moment. "This might be a bit difficult to describe..."

The doctor smiled, "Then just pretend you are that friend and show me what you do."

Lin Qiye gave the doctor a strange look, hesitated for a moment, and then reluctantly nodded.

Thus, Lin Qiye slowly stood up from his seat, And under the doctor's gaze, he walked directly in front of him.

He reached out his hand, And buried the middle-aged doctor's head in his embrace, With his other hand, he gently stroked the few remaining strands of hair on the doctor's head, His eyes filled with tenderness, He softly said:

"My good son, Dad's finally found you!"

Doctor: "..."

For the next ten minutes, Lin Qiye used all his argumentative essay skills, spewing saliva as he explained to the doctor that he really didn't have a problem, thus avoiding immediate mandatory hospitalization.

"So, your friend sees everything as their own child?"

"Yes!"

"And cried for a long time?"

"She cried the whole time."

"Likes to sit in the yard telling stories to flower vases and stools?"

"That's right."

"How's her sleep?"

"She doesn't sleep."

"..."

The doctor frowned. "Your friend's condition is quite serious! I strongly recommend you bring her to our hospital for inpatient treatment."

"Her situation is rather special, and she doesn't meet the conditions for inpatient treatment," Lin Qiye said helplessly.

Of course, he couldn't tell the truth. If he really told the doctor that the Goddess of Night, Nyx, was the patient and that she lived in the psychiatric hospital in his mind, he would immediately receive a hospitalization notice himself.

The doctor thought about it with a troubled expression and began typing on the keyboard. "If she can't be hospitalized, then we'll have to rely on medication for now. I'll prescribe some medicine for you to take back and give to her. If her condition doesn't improve, you must bring her to the hospital."

Lin Qiye's expression was a bit troubled.

Can medicine from the real world be brought into his mind?

Lin Qiye didn't know, but he felt that even if he could bring it in, medicine for treating mortals might not be effective against a deity.

"Doctor, besides medication, are there any other ways to treat it?"

The doctor pondered for a moment and slowly said, "Your friend's symptoms fall under severe delusional disorder. I've seen many such patients. There was a man who deeply loved his wife, but she died in a car accident. Afterward, he would often talk to the air, imagining his wife was still by his side."

"This kind of illness is often caused by severe psychological trauma, where the subconscious refuses reality and thus creates a false consciousness of 'she is still here'."

"If we can approach it from the perspective of the cause of the illness and provide some psychological treatment, there's a possibility of improvement, but without medication, it's very, very difficult."

"Medication and psychotherapy are mutually reinforcing. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lin Qiye nodded thoughtfully.

Approach it from the cause of the illness... But he knew nothing about Nyx's past, so he didn't know where to start!

It seemed he needed to do more preparatory work.

Lin Qiye took the prescription slip from the doctor but didn't go to pay for the medicine. Since the real-world medication wouldn't affect the deity in his mind, he saw no reason to spend the money.

Besides... these medicines were too expensive!

Lin Qiye, having left the psychiatric hospital, boarded the bus back.

This trip to the psychiatric hospital was worthwhile; at least it gave Lin Qiye a breakthrough.

He would guide Nyx from a psychological perspective, and to do that, he needed to understand her thoroughly.

Thus, Lin Qiye got off the bus at a random stop and walked into the Cangnan City Library.

At the entrance of No. 2 High School.

"Hey, look, who's that uncle?"

"Don't know, probably some parent."

"I saw him when I entered the school gate at over 7 AM."

"I saw him too. He was wearing sunglasses and a shirt, holding a cup of coffee, and leaning against the wall. I thought he looked quite handsome then."

"Then why does he look like a beggar now? His eyes are all red."

"You guys think he's been here ever since this morning?"

"No way, it's almost 10 AM."

"Who knows. Oh, right, did you guys hear? Two students were killed on their way home from school last night!"

"Really?!"

"Of course, it's true. I heard..."

"..."

On the curb opposite the school gate, a dejected man sat alone, surrounded by cigarette butts. His silhouette under the streetlamp was unspeakably sorrowful.

Zhao Kongcheng flicked the ash off his cigarette, unable to figure out what had gone wrong.

He had been staking out the place from 6 AM to 10 PM. The sun had made him dizzy, yet he hadn't seen the kid.

He had clearly seen the No. 2 High School uniform last night!

Could it be that the kid guessed he'd be waiting and just didn't show up?

Damn it... his butt was sore.

Zhao Kongcheng placed his hands on the ground and slowly sat up from the curb, pretending to casually brush the dust off his pants and stretching his limbs.

Just then, his peripheral vision caught sight of a teenager in casual clothes strolling along the other side of the road, carrying a few books...

That guy's build was somewhat similar to the kid's...

Somewhat...

Huh?

Zhao Kongcheng froze and blinked hard.

Holy crap!

Whoosh—!

Without a word, Zhao Kongcheng shot towards the teenager like a gust of wind, his eyes red, looking ferocious!

However, when he was about twenty meters away, the teenager seemed to sense something, trembled, and also took off running!

The two of them then sprinted down the street, one after the other!

Lin Qiye really wanted to slap himself. With so many roads to choose from, why did he pick this one?!

Now look at this. He stood the guy up yesterday, and now the guy was chasing him!

Although Lin Qiye wasn't slow, he was still far behind Zhao Kongcheng. In just a few seconds, Zhao Kongcheng caught up.

Zhao Kongcheng roughly grabbed Lin Qiye's shoulder and sneered twice.

"Kid, we meet again!"

Lin Qiye stiffly turned his head, tilting it slightly:

"Who are you?"