Chapter 267: His Hidden Condition 2
Qi Qingyao never expected Lu Yan’s problem to have originated this way. Once a handsome young boy as delicate as a flower, then violated by an old lady using drugs! It left a very severe psychological trauma, making him afraid to eat with others and leaving him with a strong aversion to unfamiliar drinks. It was no wonder Pei Fengtang was surprised when he asked to stay for a meal in Heir Pei’s attached mansion back then.
Thinking about this issue from a different angle, if she had still been an underaged young girl and was maltreated that way by some old man, she probably would have PTSD toward men in this lifetime too.
Qi Qingyao could not find it in herself to laugh.
At that moment…
She began to sympathize with Lu Yan wholeheartedly.
She was silent for a moment before she finally said, “This is called post-traumatic stress disorder. ”
Lu Yan clutched the tea bowl, startled. “You didn’t laugh at me.”
Qi Qingyao gave a dry laugh. “If you weren’t so uncomfortable when with physical contact, I would actually like to hug you now and console you a bit. And I mean the sincere kind!”
Lu Yan, “…”
Dong Jing had nagged his ears off like an old mother yesterday. He had listened to all of it and then asked someone to make a plaque overnight. Then, he came to Qi Qingyao on his own initiative.
If she really was related to Su Hexiao…
Then she should be able to treat him.
She did not roll her eyes at him after he had shared the facts about his unbearable past. Neither did she look at him with disgust. Her attitude was very sincere. Lu Yan was a little surprised.
He had thought that he would first suffer a round of ridicule before they could communicate normally with further talk.
Qi Qingyao pouted and said, “I said a lot of things at the banquet yesterday… I was wrong. But you can’t blame me. I didn’t know about your past.”
“I don’t blame you,” said Lu Yan.
They fell into a state of awkwardness once again. Qi Qingyao drank some tea and picked up a walnut cookie. However, she did not eat; she just stared at it.
She was thinking about how she should go about treating this problem.
Lu Yan could not help himself and opened his mouth to ask, “Are you not a doctor?”
“Yes.” Qi Qingyao nodded faintly.
Seeing that she was saying nothing particularly helpful, he could not help but feel confused. “Do you not know how to treat me?”
Qi Qingyao still said nothing.
In a small gloomy voice, Lu Yan swore, “You quack! ”
Qi Qingyao did not know whether to laugh or cry at being cursed at. She waved her hands and said, “It’s not that I can’t, it’s just that you… I hope you don’t mind me asking, but that old lady… was she ugly?”
Lu Yan’s face instantly turned pale, as if he had suffered another severe mental shock.
Qi Qingyao quickly raised her hand in a gesture of surrender. “Alright, alright. I won’t ask anymore.”
Lu Yan coughed lightly and said, “About this, you can’t tell anyone. I don’t want anyone to know.”
Qi Qingyao replied, “Even if I was a shameless woman, I won’t belittle your privacy. Besides, you are my patient. It is my responsibility to keep your secrets.”
He felt some hope at her words. Lu Yan asked joyously, “So it’s curable?”
Qi Qingyao replied casually, “There is nothing incurable about this problem. This is just post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Lu Yan was in disbelief. “It’s really curable?”
Thinking for a bit, Qi Qingyao said carefully. “It will be a bit troublesome. I reckon we’ll need a long time to deal with it.”
Lu Yan pressed, “And how do we deal with it?”
Qi Qingyao asked suddenly, “What do you think of my looks?”
“Passable.” Lu Yan answered after mulling over it for roughly five minutes.
Qi Qingyao was not offended by his answer. She raised her eyebrows and fixed him with a lascivious smile. “Do you have any particular thoughts about me?”
“No.” Lu Wei shook his head.
Qi Qingyao’s lips twitched. She immediately felt at ease and said leisurely, “It’s good that you don’t have any thoughts about me. In that case…try holding my hand?”
After saying that, she stretched out her hand and extended it toward Lu Yan.
Lu Yan looked at the outstretched hand but did not have the desire to grab it. He even thought about backing away a little— that dark night from many years ago seemed to be creeping into his mind again. Qi Qingyao noticed the change in his expression and immediately withdrew her hand.
Lu Yan stood up and walked to the side. Determined that Qi Qingyao would not be the first to act this time, he considered for a moment before taking the initiative to grip her hand for one second… two seconds… three seconds. About five seconds later, Lu Yan could not bear it anymore and ran to the flowerpot at the door, then clutched the garbage bowl beside it.
“Blergh-”
“I know it must be uncomfortable, but does this happen when you take the initiative to make contact?” Qi Qingyao was actually a little shocked.
Qi Qingyao rubbed her chin in speculation and said, “It looks like we have to take things step by step.”
She had to go and prepare a one-hundred-day plan later!