Dangerous Personality - Chapter 3

Beep.

Beep beep.

The rain continued and the road was still crowded.

Chi Qing and Ji Mingrui were the only ones in the car. The former calmed down and removed his gloves, feeling uncomfortable with the rain droplets on them.

Ji Mingrui had a good attitude and didn’t complain about the traffic jam. He glanced at Chi Qing’s gloves and said, “You finally took them off.”

Chi Qing asked, “Do you have disinfectant?”

“No…”

“Alcohol tablets work too.”

“I don’t have those either.” Ji Mingrui replied. “Be glad I even have a box of tissues in my car. I’m a man!”

Ji Mingrui delivered the box of tissues.

The split second he did, the distorted voice roasted: [Chi Qing is so troublesome. Serving him is like serving my father!]

Chi Qing was at a loss.

The traffic lights flickered. Across from the crossroad was the neighborhood Granny Wang lived in. The doors into and out of [Haimao Neighborhood] were tightly shut. The guard in charge of seeing the cars passing in and out of the neighborhood was sitting inside his room napping.

It was thundering and lightning outside. The lightning struck through the sky and brightened the pitch-black sky for a split second. The inconspicuous corners were also shone on and its bright light fell upon a puddle of scarlet red blood. The blood was diluted by the rain water and it slowly flowed down the sewer following the road. The scarlet red bloodwater flowed along.

A dead cat whose stomach had been cut open was quietly lying in the shrubs. Its eyes were widened and its furs were soaked wet, mixed with mud and fresh blood. Its furs were standing up straight just like a hedgehog.

Inside the car.

Ji Mingrui heard a rumble in his ears and said, “Why is the rain getting bigger and bigger?…”

He turned to say, “Oh right, do you have time tomorrow? My mother said she hasn’t seen you in a long time. Tomorrow’s the weekend. She made dumplings and wanted you to come over for lunch.”

Chi Qing passed the box of tissues back. “I don’t have time.”

Ji Mingrui grabbed it. “Work?”

[What work could he have? I haven’t even seen him take part in acting. I can’t find him on Baidu Baike either. I don’t get it. He had such a high score on his college entrance examination and could go to any universities he wanted to. Why did he insist on going to a film academy? It’s one thing if he really enjoyed it but it didn’t seem like he liked acting.]

This was one of the ten mysteries within Ji Mingrui’s life.

He thought Chi Qing would be successful doing anything else. His college entrance exam score was so high that it was mind-boggling. Yet, he chose show business and it only went down from there. He didn’t even get a chance to display himself. It was really bewildering.

Chi Qing heard Ji Mingrui’s inner thoughts but he couldn’t respond.

Ji Mingrui wasn’t the little girl doing her homework on a bench. He wasn’t as young and naive to believe that telepathy existed in this world.

Pitter-patter.

The rain droplet fell against the car window. The red taillight from the car ahead shone over. But the rain droplets were too many and the field of view in front of them became blurry.

—”You reject touches.”

—”Your emotions are different from ordinary people.”

—”It’s hard for you to feel pity, fear, happiness, or sadness.”

—”I don’t know why nor do I know how to fix the problem…The only suggestion I have for you is for you to try and be aware of these emotions. Even if you’re just acting the emotions out. You’re in highschool now right? If you have time after school, you can try to go to some acting classes.”

It was the first psychiatrist Chi Qing seeked. He was a very friendly middle-aged man. He already forgot his psychiatrist’s appearance but he still remembered the extremely strong southern accent.

Ji Mingrui received no response after a while so he waved his hands in front of Chi Qing. “Hey, what are you thinking?”

Ch Qing said, “I was thinking about if you were just roasting me.”

“Am I that sort of person?” Ji Mingrui rubbed his nose feeling guilty and shifted the topic, “…So what are you going to do tomorrow.”

Chi Qing snapped out of his trance and glanced at the windshield swaying back and forth. “I need to go to the hospital tomorrow.”

Ji Mingrui asked, “You’re sick?”

Chi Qing hummed in agreement. “I’m going to get my mysophobia treated.”

Ji Mingrui was confused.

It was his first time hearing that mysophobia could be treated.

Ji Mingrui said, “Medicine is really advanced now…but I’m not sure if they could treat your mysophobia.”

On the next day, the thunderstorm that had lasted for two full days finally stopped but the pavement was still wet. The early winter weather felt a bit cold. At the end of the street, a personal psychiatric clinic had opened business really early. The fees in this clinic were abnormally high. The appearance of the clinic made it reasonable to charge thousands just for consultation.

The overly glamorous decorations made the lounge look really empty and icy. Even if there were some stuffed animals in the reception area, it didn’t change the icy nature.

This was Chi Qing’s first time here.

He had gone through several psychiatrists. His most recent one lasted a year or so. When his last therapy ended, the psychiatrist said helplessly, “Mr. Chi, I might not be able to help you. Why don’t you check out the other clinics? Maybe the other psychiatrists could help more.”

“It’s been a year and I still can’t find the root of your mysophobia.” The psychiatrist smiled bitterly. “We’re not even familiar with each other. Look, you’re still wearing gloves in front of me. You never took them off. You don’t trust me.”

“Hello.” The receptionist at the new clinic wore a robotic smile. After seeing Chi Qing’s appearance, her smile became sincere. “Mister, do you have a reservation?”

It wasn’t raining today so Chi Qing didn’t wear a jacket, just a thin black wool sweater. The receptionist had trouble maintaining her smile after hearing his indifferent and emotionless voice. “Psychiatrist Wu, 10am.”

The receptionist searched on the computer and then said, “Mr. Chi Qing right? Please wait at the guest lounge for a while. Psychiatrist is in the middle of a consultation. We’ll notify you once they’re done.”

There were two other women besides a cat in the guest lounge. The two were together. One was crying while the other was comforting the other woman. “Don’t be too upset. Look at how cute this cat is.”

As if the cat lying on their sofa could understand the human language, it placed its chubby paw on the crying woman’s hands and softly meowed.

The woman gradually stopped crying. She reached over and gently patted the cat’s head.

Other than the wide sofa the two women were sitting in the guest lounge, there was another empty seat across from them. Another cat was lying there.

The woman sobbed quietly only to see the man who just walked into the guest lounge stop in front of the empty seat. He expressionlessly lifted the cat occupying the empty seat with his black gloves. The cat immediately started struggling once lifted in the air and meowed furiously.

Both were cats but they were treated differently.

It felt like Chi Qing was carrying a lifeless object. He asked the staff, “Can you take this cat away?”

The staff was pouring water for him when they heard this. “Ah, hello. Is there…something wrong with the cat?”

They carefully selected the cats for the clinic. These furry and cute animals could soothe the patients’ emotions and could help to some extent. It was beneficial towards recovery.

Chi Qing let go and the cat landed in the staff’s arms. “I don’t need it. It’s in my way.”

The staff was at a loss.

The two women were speechless.

The cat that was disliked had no words either.

The staff carried the soft cat in their arms, unable to understand why someone wouldn’t like cats. They told themselves: this is a psychiatric clinic. The people here all have some issues.

There weren’t many people in the morning coming for consultation. After the reception finished receiving the patients, they started chatting.

When talking about the former patient who requested consultation, their tone turned rather lively. “…Mr. Jie had complimented my outfit.”

“He only praised your outfit, not you.” The other said, “He heard me cough and told me to pay attention to my body. He was concerned for me.”

The two pitied Mr. Jie. “How could he have a mental issue?”

“…”

The third receptionist was a bit older. She looked at the two and said, “If you guys are interested in him, I can sound out his opinion when he leaves Psychiatrist Wu’s office.”

Chi Qing had been waiting in the guest lounge for about ten minutes. The receptionists stopped talking about “Mr. Jie” and called his number. “Mr. Chi, you can go in now. Psychiatrist Wu’s office is the last room on the left side of the corridor.”

Psychiatrist Wu had a pretty good reputation in the industry. He obtained many awards at a young age. Apparently, he was gentle and elegant, a pleasant face.

Chi Qing didn’t care though. He chose him because of what he wrote on his blurb: he had successfully cured patients who had trouble communicating their emotions.

Chi Qing walked to the office and knocked on the door.

The door wasn’t closed.

He opened the crack of the door. A casual voice rang as if they had just woken up and their tone bleary, “Enter.”

There were two chairs in the consultation room. There was a deck chair that was in the partitioned-off area and a nude sofa chair with an aromatherapy machine next to it.

The man was sitting on his office chair and he did seem to be sleeping. He leaned back, his legs raised on the desk carelessly, and a book covering his face. The book cover was [Personality Psychology]. The man’s neck seemed to be extended in this position. What attracted attention was the collar of his shirt. He didn’t even button it up. It revealed a lot of his collarbone.

The shirt from this brand was really expensive.

He moved the book on his face when he heard someone coming in. He had a handsome face as expected from his behavior.

The out corner of the man’s eyes were raised and he casted a side glance. For a moment, he thought he was looking at his ex-lover.

In short, he was far from the words “elegant and gentle.”

The man placed his legs down and poured a cup of warm tea for Chi Qing. He talked to him as if they were familiar. In a rare yet repulsive tone, “It’s been raining for the past two years. Don’t you feel cold wearing this little?”

Chi Qing wanted to say: what does this have to do with you?

But he was here for a consultation. He should cooperate with Psychiatrist Wu despite him being a bit off from what he expected.

Chi Qing endured this and pushed the cup of tea back. “I’m not cold and I’m not thirsty either. I don’t need warm water.”

The man didn’t mind either. He lazily moved back and tapped his desk. He wore a thin ring on his right hand but it didn’t make him look feminine. Instead, it made him seem sentimental.

The man said, “It’s good that you’re not cold. I’m afraid you might get a cold later on. Are you here for consultation?”

Chi Qing said, “Why else would I be here?”

He chuckled. “You have quite the attitude.”

Chi Qing stopped him from this unnecessary conversation. “Can we start?”

Psychiatrist Wu didn’t say anything. He reached over and moved the [Personality Psychology] away, revealing the file underneath.

This was Chi Qing’s first time here. There were only a few words on the file. It was the initial conclusion the psychiatrist received of his patient through the reservation appointment made and the online conversation.

The psychiatrist conservatively filled in: the patient…has a rather indifferent personality under the illness column.

“Indifferent personlity? There’s more to this. You have mysophobia. Since you came here and sat down, you’ve been in this alert mode. There are cats in the guest lounge, yet you didn’t get their furs on you. Besides mysophobia, you don’t really like to be near animals.” The man’s fingers caressed the paper. It might be because of his face but it made him look rather frivolous when he was flipping through the pages. “…Just how serious is your mysophobia?”

Chi Qing was used to observing a person by collecting material evidence. He had been suspicious of this “psychiatrist.” This was a high grade clinic but even so, the psychiatrists here shouldn’t be able to afford to wear such a luxurious shirt. But the other party started talking and dispelling his doubts.

Chi Qing said, “Very serious.”

The man’s gaze landed on Chi Qing’s gloves momentarily before saying, “To the point where you don’t let people touch you or even come close to you?”

Chi Qing said, “You can try.”

Anyone with ears could tell the meaning behind “try.”

Yet, it was as if the man was ignorant. He got up and moved closer to Chi Qing. He passed the desk and minimized the two’s distance.

Up until he stood up did Chi Qing notice he was really tall.

There were only two steps between the desk and Chi Qing. Before he could react, the collarbone he saw earlier was magnified in front of Chi Qing. The man had a deep collarbone and it made him appear quite flirtatious.

“Fine.” He tugged his lips and said, “I’ll try.”

Damn.

If this was a treatment method, Chi Qing felt like his issues had been alleviated to some extent because he was feeling really irritated.

Chi Qing let go of his folded hands on his legs. The man had already figured out his movement in advance. He held Chi Qing’s wrist with one hand and said, “Don’t overreact.”

Then the man’s fingers slowly moved up Chi Qing’s wrist and he pressed his fingers on the edge of the black gloves. He wanted to tug th gloves off without warning. “Mr. Chi, that’s not how consultation works….Relax, if you keep wearing the gloves, it won’t matter if you sit here for the next three hours.”