Twin Fish [Translator]12-16 minutes
Since there hadn’t been any sound in the corridor for a while, the voice-activated lights gradually started going out one by one.
The light coming from the hall was the only source of light. Their shadows stretched longer and longer before finally disappearing into the darkness. U8iQke
Gu Qingchi had relaxed after smoking half of a cigarette.
Xie Luyu stood ramrod straight by his side. Xiao Ke found her way over at some point and called out to them from the end of the corridor.
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Gu Qingchi straightened up. He ran his hands through his hair and pushed back the damp hair in front of his forehead.
As he was brushing past Xie Luyu, Xie Luyu suddenly grabbed his wrist. MSdFDR
Xie Luyu used a decent amount of force. It was just enough strength to keep Gu Qingchi from breaking free but not enough to hurt him.
After applying just a bit of force, Gu Qingchi’s fist opened. In his hand, he held a crumpled, nearly extinguished cigarette. He also had traces of a burn on the palm of his hand.
He pretended to live a normal life. He spent each and every day pretending to be very normal. He would live according to schedule. He would go outside. He would arrange things for himself to do. Over time, however, there were bound to be flaws in his facade. Inside his shell of a body was nothing but rot. A single bump or scrape would reveal the carrion underneath.
Xie Luyu looked at Gu Qingchi. Then, he looked down at his palm. He wanted to ask why he did that but stopped. What was there to say? Gu Qingchi wasn’t stupid. He understood everything. He knew that it was going to hurt. He just couldn’t control himself because there was something even more painful that was tormenting him all the time. He had to exert all his energy just to survive.
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Xie Luyu turned around and called out to Xiao Ke.
“I have something to say to Gu Qingchi. I’ll send him back to you later. You can go back to what you were doing for now.”
Xiao Ke had a pretty good impression of Xie Luyu. Gu Qingchi hadn’t said anything to oppose, so she agreed and left.
Xie Luyu was quite familiar with this already. He dragged Gu Qingchi into a lounge and had Gu Qingchi sit on the sofa. He then pulled out a medicine box from who knows where. 9XkdiZ
Gu Qingchi watched him indifferently. He didn’t seem to care all too much.
Xie Luyu quickly applied medicine to the wound. After that, he wrapped it up with a bandage.
“It isn’t too serious. Don’t let it come in contact with water. It should be fine soon.”
He squatted in front of Gu Qingchi and stared into Gu Qingchi’s eyes. He spoke one word at a time. dW6PJw
“I know you’re trying really hard to live a good life, I know it might be difficult, but I need you to know that, if you’re feeling bad, you can smoke, you can drink, you can exercise, you can lash out, you can do whatever it is you want to do. You have that freedom.”
“However, you can’t find release by hurting yourself. You can’t cross that line. This isn’t just for your own sake. This is also for the sake of those who care about you, for Xiao Ke, for Ye Li, for all of your fans. Do you understand? You have a lot of fans now. They look up to you, watch your movies, copy your style. You have an obligation to guide them.”
Gu Qingchi looked at Xie Luyu. It seemed that he was digesting what was just said. He slowly inched closer to Xie Luyu. While he was still a palm’s length away from Xie Luyu, he turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. After a while, he opened them again.
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Gu Qingchi fell back into the sofa and hummed in response. He agreed.
Xie Luyu had yet to react. TX5GAd
Gu Qingchi continued.
“Would taking medicine and seeing a doctor really help me get better?”
He obviously looked exactly the same as he did before, teetering at the edge of despair. It was as if he would fall apart at any moment. However, Xie Luyu still sensed a sliver of hope within him.
Gu Qingchi would have never taken the initiative to seek help before. He would have let himself descend upon the path towards destruction. GXMzit
Gu Qingchi had never gone to see a doctor before either. It was as though, as long as he didn’t go to the doctor, he would be no different from anyone else.
Xie Luyu immediately affirmed him.
“Of course. Everything’s going to get better.”
His voice was so determined. Gu Qingchi almost felt like he could keep moving forward by virtue of his resolve. pWF4xu
Gu Qingchi wanted to become normal.
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Ye Li wasn’t very surprised when he got the news from Xie Luyu. In fact, he was almost kind of expecting it. Xiao Ke, on the other hand, was completely taken aback. She kept blaming herself for not discovering it sooner.
After offering a few words of comfort for Xiao Ke, Ye Li quickly made arrangements for Gu Qingchi. This line of work was stressful. There were many other artists who also had mental health issues, so it wasn’t anything new to Ye Li. cbWTwd
He and Gu Qingchi immediately made a trip to a nearby hospital’s psychiatric department. Gu Qingchi was then diagnosed with severe depression. Ye Li found it a little hard to accept this. He furrowed his brows and stared at the diagnosis for a long time.
However, the hospital’s psychiatric department was far too streamlined and impersonal. After going there once, Gu Qingchi was reluctant to go there again. Thus, Ye Li began looking for other doctors.
In the end, they picked a doctor recommended by Xie Luyu. He was a well-known psychiatrist, and he had opened his own psychiatric clinic. Everyone called it a clinic, but they didn’t actually have very many doctors. Each and every one of the doctors were well-known in their field, and they had quite a few foreign experts on staff as well. The fees were high, but their consultations were very humane, very personal. A single doctor was only responsible for a few patients. They were famous for their excellent counseling services.
If you didn’t feel well, you could make an appointment with your doctor at any time, even if it was late at night. Ye Li contacted the clinic and made an appointment. HEbBGY
Gu Qingchi insisted on seeing the doctor by himself. The clinic was located in the middle of the city, but it was in a good area, surrounded by villas, greenery, and quiet. Land in such a location was sure to be worth a fortune.
There was a pretty girl at the front desk. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and she looked a little bit like a student. Her hair was tied into a braid behind her head, swinging back and forth. She cheerfully greeted everyone that walked into the clinic. Even though Gu Qingchi looked rather strange in his hat and his mask, she never revealed even the slightest sign of suspicion. Upon seeing Gu Qingchi, she immediately offered to share her cookies with him. Even after being rejected, she was still as smiley as ever. The girl was enthusiastic but not awkward. She even sat down with Gu Qingchi for a while after helping him check his appointment.
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“Head inside. It’s the room at the very end. Are you afraid of cats? I can escort you if so. We’ve got this fat cat that likes to run around in there.”
Gu Qingchi declined. Although it was a clinic, the interior decor was actually rather cozy. There were potted plants placed here and there. Gu Qingchi soon reached his destination. Just as he was about to knock, the door opened and a man walked out of the room. Gu Qingchi was over 180 centimeters tall, so he wasn’t short. However, this person was even taller than Gu Qingchi, somewhere around 190 centimeters. 0LHdiN
The man moved his body to the side and apologized. His voice was low and gravelly.
Gu Qingchi suddenly stiffened.
The other party was a little puzzled. He spoke with some concern.
“Are you alright?” Hk0jzu
Gu Qingchi shook his head. He walked in the room, and the man walked out.
The two of them crossed paths for just a brief moment.
As the door was closing, the man found himself looking back for some inexplicable reason.
Gu Qingchi had also turned his head. His side profile could vaguely be seen. His eyes were lovely, the corners tilting upward. His eyes were charming, but the gaze in his eyes was cool and emotionless. The two of them locked eyes with each other. They maintained eye contact until the door shut. vy7d1h
The man’s heart throbbed for some reason. He couldn’t help but feel that those eyes were somewhat familiar. However, they weren’t supposed to look like that, so cold and so hollow. Rather, they were supposed to be smiling and full of light. He shook his head and walked out with the document in his hand.
The girl at the front desk saw him and greeted him. He came here frequently, so the girl at the front desk was already familiar with him.
“Gu Xie, did you get your mother’s medical report? I really liked the cookies that she brought me last time. Don’t forget to thank her for me!”
Gu Xie revealed a small smile. He and Mrs. Gu both liked this girl quite a bit. GDSphU
“Alright. She still wants to know why you won’t call her auntie. Last time, she kept muttering about how distant it sounded to call her Mrs. Gu.”
The girl looked rather conflicted. She was genuinely troubled.
“Ah? No way! Mrs. Gu’s so pretty. I can’t bring myself to call her auntie.”
As she continued speaking, her attention began to shift. She happily started to share her new discovery with Gu Xie. VEyZFR
“We just had a patient come in. His eyes were seriously pretty. I think he looked a little bit like Mrs. Gu. He’s probably very good-looking, and his surname was also Gu. However, Mrs. Gu will always be the most beautiful. If only she had a daughter. She would have someone to inherit her good looks then.”
She truly felt that it was a pity.
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Gu Xie helplessly bid her goodbye. Once he was in his car, he couldn’t help but think about the person he’d just run into at the doctor’s office. He’d even lost some of his earlier cheer over the improvement in his mother’s condition.
Meanwhile, Gu Qingchi sat in front of the doctor. He took off his mask. He was clearly in a low mood. A1Y8Fz
The doctor didn’t ask Gu Qingchi to undergo any tests or ask any questions. Gu Qingchi had already undergone a professional examination with the psychiatric department at the hospital. The doctor already had those results. This saved him a lot of effort. Tests and examinations were an essential part of the treatment process. However, the way things were now would make it a lot easier for him to gain Gu Qingchi’s trust.
He didn’t demand Gu Qingchi to trust him or make friends with him either. That was something only a novice would do. Most people weren’t going to trust a person they just met, so why would he ask a patient to do so?
Especially when the patient was likely to be more sensitive and more vulnerable than your average person.
Approaching a stray cat took time and patience. 3hL54U
He chatted casually with Gu Qingchi, the conversation jumping from topic to topic. He seemed to just talk about whatever came to mind. He tried to avoid asking too many questions. After all, he didn’t want Gu Qingchi to clam up on him. If he had to ask questions, then he would bring up his own situation or even poke fun at himself. If he observed even the slightest avoidance or abnormality from Gu Qingchi, he would immediately change the subject.
“I noticed that you seemed to have made eye contact with Gu Xie …”
The doctor spoke slowly.
Upon hearing the name Gu Xie, Gu Qingchi suddenly clenched his hands, which were resting on the seat. ryP0Cd
“Gu Xie is a serious person. I don’t really like to make eye contact with him, but you’re pretty brave. You don’t mind this kind of nonverbal communication, right?”
The doctor didn’t hesitate to praise Gu Qingchi.
Gu Qingchi relaxed his hands once more. He responded in earnest.
“There are times when I don’t like it.” odKGVH
By the time this meeting ended, Gu Qingchi’s reluctance to see a doctor had been reduced by a lot. The conversation had been so incredibly comfortable. He was almost looking forward to the next meeting.
After the doctor saw him out, he returned to his seat and quickly scribbled something down.
Finally, he let out a sigh.
“He’s just like Mrs. Gu. They’re both very sensitive people.” pDoAes
Translator’s Note:
The last line suggests that Gu Qingchi may be genetically predisposed to developing depression. Of course, genetics aren’t the only factor for determining whether someone will end up having depression, but it can suggest that, under certain circumstances, a person may be more likely to have depression, and, in this case, the circumstance is transmigration.
Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.
