Genius Club-Chapter 28 Psychologist

"I see it this way, Lin Xian."

Gao Yang firmly insisted to Lin Xian:

"Actually, in the field of psychology, I’m just a hack. All those things I told you before, I saw in that Psychologist’s WeChat Moments."

"You remember that Psychologist, right? She was a customer who bought a car from me, and I showed you her WeChat Moments before..."

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

As he spoke, Gao Yang took out his phone, opened the contact information on WeChat, and showed it to Lin Xian.

The photo on the screen was one Lin Xian had seen before: a middle-aged woman in a white lab coat. Her gentle smile, greying hair, and clean, crisp attire made her appear very approachable and comfortable to look at.

"You mean..." Lin Xian blinked his eyes:

"Are you planning to take me to see the Psychologist?"

"Exactly!"

"That’s really not necessary... I’m truly not ill, so you don’t need to worry about me," Lin Xian waved his hand in refusal.

Perhaps from Gao Yang’s point of view, Lin Xian might appear seriously ill, but Lin Xian knew his own situation well.

"Oh come on, what’s the harm in listening! Doctor Liu is a professional!"

Gao Yang opened up a webpage directly, searched for Doctor Liu’s name, and then showed the resume to Lin Xian:

"Look! Doctor Liu’s specialty is the study of the subconscious, dreams, and cognition. Instead of us blindly guessing every day... It’s better to let the expert take charge and clarify everything for you in just a few words!"

"You have to believe in science and authority! Doctor Liu’s consultation fee of 3,000 yuan an hour is a symbol of expertise and authority!"

"3,000 yuan an hour?" Lin Xian stood up directly:

"Why not just rob me?"

"Ah, is it really the time to be worried about money?"

Gao Yang pulled Lin Xian back down with a sweep of his big hand:

"I’ll take care of this expense for you, brother!"

"I only made so much money on the World Cup because of you. For the sake of your psychological health, we absolutely cannot skimp on this!"

"I’ve already made the appointment for you, so let’s get going now!"

...

An hour later.

Gao Yang insisted on taking Lin Xian to Doctor Liu’s psychology clinic.

To call it a clinic was something of an understatement; it was actually a very tranquil lakeside villa, situated not far from the university town amidst a natural scenic area.

"I’ve heard that each standalone villa here costs a hundred million," Gao Yang whispered to Lin Xian: "Psychologists really do make a killing!"

"No kidding, with people like you rushing to throw money at them." Lin Xian was somewhat resigned.

Although he knew that Gao Yang meant well and was worried about him, such fanfare really wasn’t necessary...

"Now that we’re here, Lin Xian, let’s just go in and listen since we’ve already paid," Gao Yang said.

Gao Yang knocked on the door.

The door wasn’t locked, so they walked right in.

The villa’s décor was of a European style; the furniture was all made of natural wood, and there was even a fireplace stacked with firewood up north that added a touch of ambiance.

"Is this Mr. Gao Yang? Please come to this room."

A gentle and graceful voice came from the adjoining room, sounding very comforting, like a gentle stream soothing the heart.

The two pushed open the door to the next room.

It was similarly a large room with a wooden recliner in the center and several neatly arranged wooden chairs in the corner.

The sunlight streamed through the large windows, warming the room’s color palette and making one’s breathing slow down.

In front of the window sat a rosewood desk with Doctor Liu smiling in her chair, looking at Lin Xian and Gao Yang.

Lin Xian studied Doctor Liu... She appeared even kinder than in her photo, like a benevolent grandmother, her gaze filled with care and gentleness.

"Mr. Lin, please lie down on the couch, relax your body and mood, let’s start with a simple chat."

Lin Xian lay down on the couch according to Doctor Liu’s instructions…

He closed his eyes…

He took a deep breath and relaxed his body…

Then they began with simple questions and answers, mostly chatting about basic information.

Age, work, family status, romantic relationships, and such.

Lin Xian answered all these truthfully, after all, there was no need for him to hide anything.

But when it came to questioning about the confusion in his dreams… Lin Xian didn’t disclose everything. Because he felt some things were really not necessary to talk about and he didn’t believe the psychologist could solve his problem.

Doctor Liu chatted with Lin Xian while taking notes in his notebook.

Eventually…

Their conversation ended, and Doctor Liu looked at Lin Xian and asked:

"Mr. Lin, are you certain that you can clearly distinguish between reality and dreams?"

Lin Xian nodded:

"There’s absolutely no problem, Doctor Liu, I never confuse dreams with reality."

"How do you determine and differentiate between the two?"

Lin Xian was really stumped by this question.

Who can’t distinguish between dreams and reality?

Being asleep means dreaming, waking up means reality, does this need any criteria for judgment?

He opened his eyes and slowly said:

"To be honest, Doctor Liu, I’ve never seriously thought about this question. Instinctively, I believe that the time after waking up is definitely the real world, this is common sense, right?"

Doctor Liu smiled:

"Never underestimate this question. Even today, there is no complete theoretical method that can accurately distinguish between reality and dreams, and much of our cognition and judgment actually come from human intuition."

"Especially in dreams, almost everyone is unaware that they are dreaming. Only a very few people, in very few cases… might become aware that they are dreaming. In psychology, we call this a lucid dream."

…

Unaware that they are dreaming?

Lin Xian had never felt this... he was very clear about when he was dreaming.

Because his dreams were too distinctive, endlessly repeating that one day, the moment he stood in that square, he understood he was dreaming.

Lin Xian looked at Gao Yang:

"Do you never realize when you’re dreaming?"

"Of course not!"

Gao Yang answered without hesitation:

"I’m not like you, I’m normal! Normal people don’t realize they’re dreaming unless they wake up."

"Honestly, sometimes the content of my dreams is absurd, like I go back to high school, or sometimes I’m even chased by dinosaurs... but no matter how ludicrous, I still can’t tell that I’m in a dream. Only when I wake up in the middle of the night do I realize I was dreaming."

Doctor Liu nodded, taking notes while speaking:

"Gao Yang is right, most people’s dreams are absurd, like a chaotic montage. Yet, despite this, most people still don’t realize they’re dreaming."

"However, Mr. Lin, your case is that very special one. You not only realize you’re dreaming every time, but you also clearly remember how the dream started each day, and the content of the dream is not exactly absurd, basically indistinguishable from reality."

Doctor Liu put down his pen and looked up at Lin Xian:

"That is a very dangerous sign. Because both worlds are sufficiently real, if one day, you lose the reference points that distinguish reality from dreams... you know very well what will happen, right?"

"At that time, you will completely be unable to distinguish between reality and dreams."