My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Chapter 7 - Is It Expensive?

She blinked a few times and Xu Binchen's face returned to his usual sour one as if the whole world owed him ten billion dollars.

Shi Nian's grip of the pen faltered and only then did she realize that her palms were sweaty. She gingerly swapped the pen to her other hand and wiped the sweaty one on her thigh. Luckily no one found out her little gesture.

"How is the progress of your recovery?" Xu Binchen suddenly asked.

She reflexively wanted to write with her left hand but was stunned for a while after realizing that she had no idea of how far her recovery had progressed to. Thus, she could only glance at Doctor Chun, but Xu Binchen had taken notice of her behavior.

"You can write with your left hand too?"

She nodded. [I am ambidextrous, uncle.]

He hummed. "That's convenient."

Shi Nian didn't have time to ask what he meant before Doctor Chun answered on her behalf. "We have conducted two sessions of psychotherapy and today will be the second one. Are you interested in joining?"

What Doctor Chun meant by joining was just waiting outside the room for Shi Nian to finish her treatment. One session could take hours, and judging by Xu Binchen's distorted face and how he couldn't mask his tiredness, Doctor Chun was ready to hear his rejection.

Just that, he had truly underestimated how Xu Binchen's brain was wired. "Good. I will wait for her. After that we will hold another questioning session."

Doctor Chun almost couldn't resist his glare. "I have to remind you Detective Xu that the purpose of psychotherapy is to make the patient release her stress and make her brain feel safe enough for her to break through her defense mechanism. She definitely can't remember that quickly." Unless they held a hypnotherapy session, but Doctor Chun omitted that.

Hypnotherapy sessions should be the last possible method should everything be deemed hopeless. He genuinely didn't want Shi Nian to stress herself out.

"What about hypnotherapy?"

Doctor Chun's veins bulged: "…She isn't ready for it yet."

Xu Binchen directly turned to Shi Nian. "When will you be ready?"

Shi Nian was flabbergasted. She didn't know how to answer and this time, her muteness became an advantage as she was stunned silly by the uncle detective's question.

Honestly, she didn't mind receiving every treatment possible to help the police.

She didn't even know that hypnotherapy could be done for her. The only thing she was worried about was…did mama have enough money for my treatment? Is it very expensive? How hard has mama been working for?

Shi Nian wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible so that she wouldn't burden Qiang Fei more than necessary.

Thus, she wrote in her little board decisively. [Is hypnotherapy expensive?]

Xu Binchen: "…"

[If it's not expensive, then…I should be ready?]

Doctor Chun felt his heart stabbed by a thousand sharp needles. His eyes melted like a spring pool and he patted Shi Nian's head softly. "It's okay, money isn't a problem at all."

Xu Binchen kept on staring at her so intensely that it made her feel so awkward to meet his eyes.

She lowered her head deeper and scrawled. [Do it then, Doctor. Who knows…maybe I will remember something?]

Doctor Chun sighed. "To be honest, I really don't recommend you to do it this soon. There is many implication if the brain is stimulated strongly, your nerves will be affected and there is a huge chance that—"

"Shut it." Xu Binchen snapped harshly. "The patient has accepted the treatment. What are you lecturing about for?"

Doctor Chun grabbed the pen in his pocket tightly in a dead grip and wouldn't hesitate to stab his eyes if he opened his mouth to say something again.

Fortunately, there was Shi Nian between them. She raised the little board high up to her head. [It's okay Doctor. I want to be helpful to the police!] Her expression was anxious, and her light brown eyes darted between Doctor Chun and Xu Binchen, afraid that they would suddenly break out in a brawl in the hospital room.

Doctor Chun took a deep, deep breath and felt that he needed another dose of high blood pressure medicine. "…Very well."

After eating another bowl of bland porridge with a wooden face for breakfast, Shi Nian was brought into the psychotherapy department on the seventh floor.

Doctor Chun and Xu Binchen accompanied her along the way. The way she walked was a little weird, like a penguin who tried to imitate humans. Xu Binchen glanced at her legs and found that one of her ankles was bandaged.

Nurse Zhang supported one of her arms but gave her enough space to walk by herself.

Slowly, they dawdled to the elevator which brought them to the seventh floor.

It was Psychiatrist Yu who received her with a very wide and gentle smile. She looked like an auntie next door who liked to cook her food whenever she was late from work. Shi Nian smiled, her first impression toward Psychiatrist Yu was very good.

"Shi Nian, is it?"

Shi Nian nodded.

Doctor Chun brought Psychiatrist Yu away and the both of them discussed something with low voices. Nurse Zhang supported her inside the room and made her sit on a comfortable single seat sofa. Xu Binchen didn't hesitate to sit opposite her.

Nurse Zhang smiled. "Wait here for a while okay?"

Shi Nian nodded sensibly.

After Nurse Zhang left, only the two of them remained.

The original quiet room became deadly silent and there was an invisible pressure on the air. Xu Binchen scrutinized her deeply, and she didn't know what was running through his mind. Just…it really felt uncomfortable to be stared at so closely!

She promptly wrote on her board. [Uncle, what's wrong?]

Xu Binchen tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table. "I have been thinking about it since I first saw you. But you are really unlike a sixteen years old girl."

She blinked blankly. [Why?]

"Aren't you afraid to be the only victim of a mass serial killer who escaped alive? That means that it isn't impossible for the killer to come and try to kill you again."

Xu Binchen stared into her eyes, and Shi Nian found that if she ignored the garrish bluish eye bags beneath his eyes, uncle detective's eyes were actually very beautiful and clear. When he looked at you, you would feel like he was able to look deep into your soul as well.

Those eyes…reminded her of her general.

He too, had the same kind of eyes.

She subconsciously bit her lips. [I am not afraid.] Maybe because of that tiny bit of similarity, she found that she didn't feel as awkward as she did in the beginning anymore. As she finished showing the board to Xu Binchen, she even met his eyes head on and gave him a smile.

Xu Binchen didn't talk again even after Psychiatrist Yu returned.

"Alright, Doctor Chun has told me briefly about your situation."

"Are you sure you want to proceed with the treatment?"

Shi Nian was stunned. Psychiatrist Yu as well.

Because the one who threw the last sentence wasn't anyone but Xu Binchen, the one who was so eager to catch the serial killer a moment ago. Shi Nian turned toward him, and found that he was staring at her again.

She nodded briefly. [I am sure.]

"…Good." He then proceeded to step out of the room. "I will wait for you outside."

The door closed behind him and Xu Binchen walked along the hallway toward the open balcony. There wasn't anyone there and he directly took out a pack of cigarettes and slid one to his mouth.

He used the free time to answer his emails and made a few phone calls to inquire about the situation from his comrades as well as reporting his own.

"…yes, that's right. The victim is currently receiving hypnotherapy. If no accident happens, then we will probably get a clue by the end of today." Billows of smoke blurred his countenance and he took a deep inhale of the cigarette. The other end of the call was saying something and he nodded. "Roger, Captain."

The call ended soon.

Xu Binchen spent a few more minutes enjoying the cigarette until it almost burned to its tip, then he threw it to the trash bin. He took the elevator down to the first floor and coincidentally, the canteen opened at that exact moment. The smell of warm rice assaulted his nose and his stomach gurgled.

Only then did he realize that he hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.

Xu Binchen retracted his steps and walked toward the empty canteen. He took his time to finish two bowls of Chicken Rice Set.

After he more or less calculated the time, he then returned to the seventh floor.

When the elevator dinged open, the nurses habitually raised their heads and ready to say their greetings. But upon seeing his face, they lowered their head again and pretended that he never existed. Usually, Xu Binchen wouldn't give them any other glance but this time, he walked toward the station and tapped his fingers on the desk.

The nurse in front of him was stunned. "W—What can I help you with?"

Xu Binchen asked directly. "Where can I find a wheelchair?"

"Wheelchair…" Seeing that sharp handsome face magnified in front of her face made her brain short-circuited and she fell speechless for a moment. "It—It's…on the other side of this corridor. Turn left from here and you will see it."

Xu Binchen nodded and walked away. But he hadn't walked for two steps before stopping and said, "Thanks."

The sight of his tall and wide back was enough to make anyone swoon. And even though the nurse knew that he was an asshole through and through, she still couldn't resist her blushing cheeks after being thanked. His bad boy aura was really irresistible.

He carried the huge folded wheelchair on one of his arms and walked leisurely toward the psychotherapy room. But before he could emerge from the side of the hall, the elevator dinged open and Doctor Chun, Nurse Zhang and two other nurses stepped out— running—swiftly, their faces stiff and gloomy.

Xu Binchen's heart sank and he froze in his tracks.

The nurses craned their necks and whispered among themselves. "What happened?"

He snapped out of his reverie and found himself already running toward the destination he was supposed to walk to. The wind whistled past his ears, and he could catch a piece of conversation from the nurses.

"…seems like one of the patients almost got cardiac arrest."