Dr. Ou’s Psychotherapy - Chapter 3

Fantasy and Depth

On Monday morning, Yi Zhize was in his office dealing with his work.

An Rong knocked on the clear glass door before pulling it open and walking straight in: “Barrister Yi, what are you working on?”

Yi Zhize raised his eyes from his papers, “Good morning.”

An Rong was Yi Zhize’s partner and friend for many years.

She was dressed in a stylish and beautiful manner without losing her dignity, had a cheerful and confident personality, was intelligent and eloquent, and was well known in the legal and political circles of A City.

It’s rare to find someone who can be friends with Yi Zhize because of his indifferent temperament and his refusal to let people in.

However, An Rong has managed to do so, and often defends Yi Zhize in the circle, saying: “Our Mr. Yi has good looks and talent. He has a high-calibre reputation, and is called the flower of the high mountain, so he’s very valuable, you know? He’s still single, so if any of you have a suitable match, can you introduce him?”

At this moment, An Rong had just finished a case and won the lawsuit. She was in high spirits and said to Yi Zhize, “I’ve won another case! I’m 999 cases away from catching up with you!”

Yi Zhize knew that she was deliberately exaggerating and smiled lightly, “Congratulations.”

“Thanks!” Looking at his state, An Rong guessed that he didn’t want to make small talk, so she wisely got down to business: “You have a visitor, and he’s waiting for you. I’ve come to remind you, in case you’ve been busy and forgotten again.”

Yi Zhize looked at the time, “There are still 10 minutes before the appointment time, I won’t be late.”

An Rong shrugged, “I know you are always on time.”

When Yi Zhize arrived at the reception room on time, he didn’t expect to see Ou Tingyun here at all.

He took a closer look at the visitor’s information again; the registrant was Du Wenkang, the legal representative of Sihai Hospital. The entrusted case was a dispute over patent rights, intellectual property rights, and reputation rights.

He instantly realised that the holder of the patent was probably Ou Tingyun and that Du Wenkang was just the head of the hospital.

When the two parties met, Du Wenkang took the initiative to introduce himself, “Good morning, Mr. Yi. I am Du Wenkang from Sihai Hospital and this is Dr. Ou Tingyun.”

A playful smile hung on Ou Tingyun’s lips as he whispered, “Mr. Yi, nice to meet you.”

In order to facilitate the cooperation, Du Wenkang did his best to flatter him, “Dr. Ou Tingyun is the chief physician of the hospital affiliated to the medical university, and a professor at the medical university! One of the most authoritative figures in the psychology field in City A!”

Yi Zhize’s smile was light: “Professor Ou, nice to meet you.”

Du Wenkang bragged again, “Director Ou, the man in front of you, Yi Zhize, is no ordinary person either. If you ask around in the legal circles of City A, there is no one who can overshadow him in terms of ability and looks.”

Ou Tingyun offered him his hand: “It’s better to see him than to hear about him. I’m impressed by his style.”

Yi Zhize reached out to shake his hand, “You are too kind.”

The case was clear: Ou Tingyun’s latest treatment patent for eating disorders had been transferred to Du Wenkang of Sihai Hospital. Recently, Du Wenkang had discovered that a competitor had stolen this patent without permission and wanted to commission Yi Zhize to sue him.

After the discussion, it was already time for lunch.

Du Wenkang offered to treat the two of them to lunch.

Yi Zhize was going to refuse, but because of Ou Tingyun, he changed his mind on the spot: “Not for lunch, but for dinner.”

Du Wenkang asked, “Does Director Ou have time in the evening?”

Ou Tingyun kindly said, “I’ll do what Yi Zhize says.”

The news that Yi Zhize had agreed to have dinner with his client immediately spread throughout the office. This was an unprecedented first!

An Rong immediately ran to Yi Zhize, “Yi Yi, I heard that you agreed to have dinner with the client from Sihai Hospital? You weren’t possessed, were you?”

Yi Zhize: “No.”

An Rong immediately breathed a sigh of relief: “So it wasn’t a promise, they did everything they could to spread the word blindly.” (Angel: The promise used was 答应, which it the title of female eunuchs and palace maids in the Ming Dynasty. I believe the author was making a joke about being possessed by one of them and they agreed to the dinner.)

Yi Zhize: “I didn’t get possessed.”

An Rong froze: “Could it be that you have a crush on that guy, Du Wenkang?”

Yi Zhize: “No way.”

An Rong pursued, “Blah blah blah, Du Wenkang like that, indeed impossible. Could it be that you have a crush on Ou Tingyun?”

Yi Zhize’s eyes flashed, “Mind your own business.” (Angel: He said this in English)

An Rong swallowed, her mood uncontrollably excited: her old partner, has the iron tree finally blossomed??

———

That night, at the appointed time, Yi Zhize arrived at the Western restaurant.

But it was only Ou Tingyun.

When he didn’t ask, Ou Tingyun explained, “Du Wenkang had something unexpected come up and couldn’t come, but the meal was put on his tab. Such a coincidence that it was actually Mr. Yi who took my case. What would you like to eat?”

Yi Zhize was only here for Ou Tingyun, he didn’t care about the others: “It doesn’t matter what we eat. It’s only been a day since I left your place and my insomnia has definitely subsided, but the anxiety level is still the same as ever.”

Ou Tingyun added two steaks, some dinner buns, dessert and wine to the electronic order: “You are so thin, you need to eat more.”

“I heard today that you have a patent for eating disorders. Professor, how about trying that patent of yours on me?”

Ou Tingyun smiled, “Zhize, call me teacher, not professor.”

“Does it make any difference?”

“Of course, professor is just my job title. In counselling relationships, my visitors generally refer to me as teacher. Do you have any taboos?”

“No.”

Ou Tingyun finished placing his order and continued where he left off, “Do you have an eating disorder?”

“Not exactly…”

“I see, I think you are referring to the loss of appetite due to the effects of anxiety.”

“En.”

“And even with your insomnia, the root cause is still anxiety.”

“Yes.”

“Anxiety disorder syndromes are divided into panic disorder, generalised anxiety, social anxiety, specific fears, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and stress disorder. Which one do you belong to, Zhize?”

“What you said is so academic, I don’t know, maybe all of them.”

Ou Tingyun opened the red wine: “Have a drink?”

“Okay.”

When the glass was a third full, Yi Zhize pushed back and said, “That’s enough.”

“That’s only a little, how light is Mr. Yi’s alcohol tolerance?”

“En.”

Ou Tingyun clinked glasses with him, “Complex anxiety syndromes are generally more problematic. Perhaps it’s a bit presumptuous to ask, but Zhize, have you ever had a traumatic experience?”

Yi Zhize silently took a sip of his wine: “So what if I have?”

“The only way to get rid of this syndrome is to get rid of the trauma once and for all.”

“Impossible.” Yi Zhize’s tone was calm, “It can’t be done.”

Ou Tingyun looked at him seriously, “Why are you so sure?”

“There is no reason.”

“You have a choice… Trust me.”

Yi Zhize’s eyes were cold: “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have come tonight. But there are limits to trust, and I’m sorry I can’t tell you anything else.”

Ou Tingyun smiled helplessly, “I’m sorry for being abrupt. Let’s not mention the reasons, we can also start directly with the results. There are several therapies for anxiety, would you be interested in trying them?”

“In here?”

“Of course not. After dinner, at my place.”

Yi Zhize was taken aback by this statement; he was self-conscious of their relationship, which did not seem to have reached this level.

How could Ou Tingyun not understand his reaction, but he still deliberately added, “Or, it would be fine to go to your house.”

For the entire meal afterwards, Yi Zhize fell into a distinct silence.

Ou Tingyun was enjoying his dinner while secretly observing, also enjoying himself.

It was only when the meal was over that Yi Zhize made his decision, “Let’s go to your house.”

Ou Tingyun couldn’t help but smile, “Okay.”

His place was in a villa by the sea in A City.

He took the man into the treatment room and closed the door, and the surroundings fell silent.

Ou Tingyun asked Yi Zhize about his preference for music and, with permission, played a soothing piano piece.

For a medical fanatic obsessed with the human psyche, Yi Zhize was a rare and perfect subject for study.

He was like an enigma: sensitive, fragile and tough.

He was also like a locked treasure box. What will be the surprise when he opens it?

Ou Tingyun was looking forward to that day.

He smiled a gentle, harmless smile, “Zhize, do you feel uncomfortable in this environment?”

“No.”

“Good, then shall we begin?”