Li Yan immediately understood. Yurong knew about his connections with Yu Xiaodi and Qiao Huanxuan, and needless to say, she also knew how close he was to Wen Qianyi and Huang Ying. A friend of hers died, making her sad—did he have the nerve to say he was jealous?

He gave a bitter smile. "Sorry! I really have no right to say I’m jealous. Actually, that’s not what I meant. I just wanted to find a topic to get you out of this mood."

Hearing this, Zhang Yurong was a bit amused and exasperated, then shook her head and sighed, "You’re overthinking it! I didn’t even think that far. This just means you have too many romantic debts and feel guilty." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"..."

"I wasn’t trying to satirize you. I was actually trying to say that yesterday, when your friend hurt his leg, your mood was affected all day, and you were down and unusual all night. It’s normal for me to be sad when a friend of mine dies, isn’t it? You know... Sun Hui, right? It’s only been a year. I, on the other hand, have known Liu Yuyang since my school days. Knowing he’s dead, if I laughed, clapped my hands, or acted indifferent, wouldn’t you find me too cold-blooded?"

"..." Li Yan was left speechless, but seeing her serious expression, it was clear she had already detached significantly from her previous mood. His objective was somewhat achieved.

Unfortunately, Yurong hadn’t entirely pulled herself out of that mood. She leaned on his shoulder again, sighing softly: "Last year at the Prince Hotel, I was in close proximity to a gunfight and death, but the environment was different then. The people dying weren’t near me, nor were they people I knew. But now Liu Yuyang... he was someone I knew, someone I saw not long ago, and now he’s gone forever... When you think about it, life really is fragile!"

Though Yurong made a valid point, the death of a long-known friend could indeed be a cause for immediate sorrow. But from Li Yan’s perspective, her relationship with Liu Yuyang was more of a long acquaintance without much deep interaction. Even after listening to that recording last time, despite the principle of not speaking ill of the dead, she should have only been briefly lamenting, not overly saddened by Liu Yuyang’s passing.

Unable to divert her mood, he tried probing further to see if there were any unresolved issues in her mind.

"Did his death trigger some kind of association for you?"

"..." Yurong was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Maybe... Last year, no, it should be the year before last, my dad was seriously ill and almost... During that time, my family and I lived under immense pressure. I not only had to manage the newly-taken-over company but also constantly worried that my father could... My parents are the people closest to me, and when they were on the brink of life and death, it touched me deeply and left a lasting impression. Last year was relatively good as my father’s condition improved. But now, finding out an acquaintance is gone..."

"Did it bring back memories, making you feel oppressed?"

"Yes."

Li Yan fully understood her feelings. In his words, not resolving such issues would create a Heart Demon!

It’s a profound psychological state formed in specific circumstances that creates a pattern in the consciousness and memory. When similar situations arise, this state is reactivated. Not only sadness or oppression but also tension, fear, excitement, and joy can create similar emotional patterns, resulting in subconscious self-reinforcing suggestions.

For example, many athletes perform exceptionally well on sports fields where they’ve previously succeeded, especially where they first achieved excellent results. They often say it’s their lucky spot, or they perform best there. In truth, it’s an emotional pattern where the familiar environment and atmosphere evoke a state of mind where they previously excelled, giving them more confidence and a quicker transition to peak performance. It’s a subconscious process of positive reinforcement. Conversely, where they first experienced major setbacks, there’re more negative associations, leading to greater pressure and repeated failures, which are harder to overcome.

This applies to fields, competitions, and opponents.

Zhang Yurong’s emotional slump today was partly due to a friend’s death but primarily because it was news delivered by her father! At the moment of learning about the death, her subconscious had already connected her father’s voice with the death information, hence reliving the psychological state of when her father was critically ill.

Li Yan had a deep understanding of this. After killing someone for the first time, especially a training partner, a nightmare shadowed the survivors. At the quietest moments, it was easy to slip into that indescribable, shuddering state. Those brutal training sessions and cold-blooded tests were akin to school exams, overcoming their psychological state through repetition!

Li Yan held Yurong, pondering over her negative emotions rooted in the fear of losing her father, something that can’t be overcome by having Zhang Tianyi experience multiple illnesses. It could only be resolved through understanding. (To be continued. To find out more, please log in to www.qidian.com. Support the author and legitimate reading!)