‘From the sound of it, Mr. Miao was conscripting him, not just taking him in for a talk or a mental evaluation.’

Yan Feifan asked tentatively, “Professor, are you conducting another psychiatric experiment?”

Mr. Miao said with a grim expression, “This is more important than an experiment. From now until tomorrow morning, you’re staying here.”

“As for your other work, I’ll go arrange your leave…”

‘The old man was advanced in age, deeply experienced, and quite domineering.’

‘Besides, as a senior psychiatrist and the head of the department, his own mental state was… ‘

‘In short, no one in the hospital dared to cross him.’

Yan Feifan decided to play along for now and see how things developed.

“No problem, Professor. My time is yours to command from now until tomorrow morning.”

Yan Feifan agreed readily, then gestured toward Yu Suye.

“Professor, my colleague, Yu Suye… Her appointment with Dr. Tan is soon. What should we do?”

Mr. Miao beckoned, and a tall, burly male nurse from the first-floor lobby, about six-foot-three, strode over.

The psychiatry department had the highest ratio of male nurses in the entire hospital, and most of them were strong and well-built.

They often needed to restrain violent psychiatric patients, and someone with a weaker build simply couldn’t handle the job.

“You, take these two to see Dr. Tan.”

“Afterward…”

Mr. Miao pointed specifically at Yan Feifan, instructing the large male nurse, “Bring him to my office.”

“If he tries to run, you know what to do, right?”

The large male nurse chuckled, flashing a set of pearly whites. “Don’t worry, Mr. Miao. No one gets away from me…”

Under the large male nurse’s supervision, Yan Feifan and Yu Suye headed up the stairs to the second floor.

“Su Ye, I’ve really gotten myself stuck here just to accompany you.”

A faint smile appeared on Yu Suye’s previously tense face. “I won’t let your good intentions go to waste,” she said. “I’ll be completely open and honest with Dr. Tan.”

Tan Qiu was a high-level expert the psychiatry department had recruited from abroad, specializing in behavioral analysis and psychological counseling.

She was said to be thirty-six years old, but she looked closer to thirty—a brilliant woman blessed with beauty, a great figure, and a refined air.

What’s more, she was single.

However, many of the older, single men her age at the Affiliated Hospital only admired her from afar, never daring to make a move.

They were simply intimidated by Dr. Tan’s talent.

‘She’s an expert in behavioral analysis. After marriage, you’d never be able to keep any secrets. She might even use a little mental suggestion or hypnosis on you now and then. You’d end up slaving away for a lifetime.’

Since they had an appointment, Yan Feifan and Yu Suye were easily shown to Dr. Tan’s office.

The office, at least fifty or sixty square meters, was decorated in a particularly warm and inviting manner. Even the air held a light, pleasant fragrance.

‘Yan Feifan felt an impulse to lie down on the comfortable-looking couch and have a nice, deep chat with Dr. Tan, who had her hair in a bun that revealed her long, slender neck.’

“Dr. Tan, this is my colleague, Dr. Yu Suye. She’s a rising star from the Su Family in Jingcheng, here for advanced training.”

“She’s here because she’d like to…”

Before Yan Feifan could finish, Yu Suye took over, saying, “…discuss my kleptomania.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Yu Suye felt a weight lift from her mind and body, as if she had just unlocked an invisible shackle.

She looked at Yan Feifan and said, “There, Feifan. Now you don’t have to worry about me hiding anything from Dr. Tan, do you?”

Yan Feifan declared righteously, “Su Ye, I have complete faith in you. I purely came along to make the introductions.”

“Alright, I won’t waste any more of your precious time.”

“Goodbye, Dr. Tan…”

When Yan Feifan left Dr. Tan’s office, he saw the large male nurse was still standing guard outside.

He sized up their respective builds, noted the man’s unblinking, vigilant gaze, and completely abandoned any thought of escape.

Yan Feifan obediently followed the large male nurse to the director’s office on the third floor.

The office layout was quite simple.

A dark desk and chair, a sofa set and coffee table for guests, and an all-business atmosphere.

Yan Feifan didn’t stand on ceremony, walking directly to the sitting area and taking a seat on the sofa across from Mr. Miao.

“Professor, if there’s something you need, just give the order!”

Mr. Miao set the medical file he was reading on the coffee table and said coldly, “Yan Feifan, you little rascal. You’ve been deliberately avoiding me for a long time. Is it because you know you have a problem and you’re too afraid to face me?”

“Of course not!”

Yan Feifan’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly defended himself. “Professor, I’ve just been incredibly busy.”

“First, I was working with Mr. Qi in Diagnostics, then studying under Mrs. Qin, and now I’m also with Mr. Wang.”

“I’m so busy I can’t squeeze out a single free moment.”

After a brief pause, Yan Feifan added evasively, “Besides, if I knew I had a problem and was avoiding you because of it, wouldn’t that just prove the problem is under control and hasn’t affected my rational judgment?”

Mr. Miao snorted. “Rational judgment?”

“In my opinion, that Qin Ying and Wang Chuan should both be here for a full day of mandatory psychological counseling every week.”

Yan Feifan feigned surprise. “Professor, are Mrs. Qin and Mr. Wang’s issues really that serious?”

“Qin Ying can no longer perform surgery and even attempted suicide over it! And Wang Chuan has been carrying the weight of his daughter’s situation for more than ten years.”

Mr. Miao shot back, “You tell me, Yan Feifan. Do you think they could possibly be psychologically healthy?”

Yan Feifan gave a sheepish laugh. “Professor, how could I possibly judge something like that?”

“You’re the authority on the subject.”

“Everything I know about mental illness comes from the single semester you taught us. I don’t even have a layman’s grasp of it.”

Mr. Miao snorted.

He sized up Yan Feifan and said slowly, “A few days ago, under the pretext of discussing you, I had a talk with Qin Ying and Wang Chuan separately.”

“I was surprised to find that their mental and psychological states were far better than I’d anticipated.”

“And I’ve confirmed it: you are their miracle cure.”

Mr. Miao continued, “Yan Feifan, although you’ve stayed away, I’ve been keeping a close eye on you.”

“Over the past month or so, you’ve been thriving, to say the least.”

“Your medical expertise and practical skills, compared to before, haven’t declined at all. In fact, they’ve taken a quantum leap forward.”

“Yan Feifan, your foundation was already excellent. Another leap forward of this magnitude should be nearly impossible.”

“How did you do it? Did you truly have some kind of breakthrough?”

Yan Feifan played dumb. “It was a breakthrough, Professor.”

“After I woke up from the coma, I found my memory and comprehension had improved, and my senses became much sharper.”

“My guess is that the accident and subsequent coma somehow unlocked my brain’s latent potential, leading to a genuine breakthrough.”

Mr. Miao studied Yan Feifan for a moment before saying slowly, “To this day, the human brain remains the most mysterious organ. We understand less than one percent of it.”

“What you’re saying isn’t entirely impossible…”

“Alright, let’s get to the real reason you’re here.”

After a pause, Mr. Miao said with a grave expression, “Yan Feifan, I need you to help me determine if a certain individual is malingering—faking his mental illness!”

Yan Feifan was completely taken aback.

“Professor, you’re the expert in this field.”

“If even you can’t make a determination, how could a total amateur like me, who knows next to nothing about it, possibly succeed?”

Mr. Miao sighed. “My intuition tells me he’s faking it, but I don’t have any concrete evidence.”

“This man… he’s truly formidable.”

He went on to explain, “The man is a highly-educated intellectual, a researcher at a certain institute.”

“A year and a half ago, he suddenly lost his temper and beat his eleven-year-old son, and beat him quite severely.”

“Afterward, he started seeing a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with persecutory delusion.”

“From that point on, he began receiving regular psychiatric treatment, and his condition was considered relatively under control.”

“He had occasional flare-ups, but the symptoms were always mild…”

“Until one month ago…”

Mr. Miao said with a heavy sigh, “The man came home unexpectedly and killed his wife, along with the lover she was having an affair with.”

“His defense attorney claims the murders were caused by a major episode of his persecutory delusion and is demanding an acquittal.”

Mr. Miao pushed a stack of files across the coffee table toward Yan Feifan. “All the evidence suggests he was, in fact, experiencing a major delusional episode at the time.”

“However, I have my suspicions…”

“I suspect this calculating, forbearing man began laying the groundwork for that very day a year and a half ago…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep