chapter 14 I have a friend

Ring Ring Ring！
"Come in."
Ben Lin pushed open the door and walked into the consultation room.
Sitting on the other side of the desk was a middle-aged male doctor, wearing a white coat and sporting a head of thinning Mediterranean hair—a clear symbol of wisdom.
Ben Lin took a seat on the chair, and the doctor leisurely began, "Tell me, what seems to be the problem?"
"I don't have any problems."
"If you don't have any problems, why are you here?"
"I don't have any problems myself, but I have a friend who has a very serious mental illness."
Upon hearing this, the doctor looked at Ben Lin with a strange expression, and smoothed a few strands of hair on his head with a smile.
"You're not talking about yourself, are you?"
"No, it really is a friend."
"Alright, then tell me about your... I mean, your friend's condition. What are the specific symptoms?"
Ben Lin pondered for a moment. "This might be a bit difficult to describe..."
The doctor smiled. "Then consider yourself as your friend and show me the actual symptoms."
Ben Lin gave the doctor a strange look, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded helplessly.
So, Ben Lin slowly stood up from his seat, and under the doctor's watchful eyes, walked straight to him.
He reached out and buried the middle-aged doctor's head into his chest, his other hand gently stroking the few remaining strands of hair on the doctor's head. His eyes were filled with tenderness as he softly said, "My dear child, Daddy has finally found you!"
Doctor: ".........."
For the next ten minutes, Ben Lin used all his learned skills in persuasive writing, passionately explaining to the doctor that he himself wasn't ill, hence avoided being forcibly hospitalized.
"So, your friend sees everything as if it were their own child?"
"Yes!"
"And they have been crying for a long time?"
"They kept crying."
"They like sitting in the yard, telling stories to the flower vase and the chair?"
"That's right."
"How is their sleep?"
"She doesn't sleep."
"..."
The doctor furrowed his brows. "Your friend's condition is quite severe! I strongly recommend bringing her to our hospital for inpatient treatment."
"Her situation is a bit special, and she doesn't have the conditions for inpatient treatment." Ben Lin spoke helplessly.
He naturally couldn't tell the truth. If he really told the doctor that Nyx, the Goddess of Night, was the patient and was residing in his mind at a mental hospital, he'd immediately receive a notice for admission.
The doctor thought for a moment, his hands beginning to type on the keyboard. "If she can't be hospitalized, then we'll have to rely on medication for now. I'll prescribe some for you, make sure she takes them. If her condition doesn't improve, be sure to bring her to the hospital."
Ben Lin looked somewhat conflicted.
Can medication from reality be brought into his mind?
Ben Lin wasn't sure, but he felt that even if it could be brought in, regular medicine for humans might not necessarily be effective for a deity.
"Doctor, besides medication, are there any other treatment options?"
The doctor thought for a moment before slowly speaking, "Your friend's condition falls under severe delusional disorder. I've seen quite a few patients with this condition. There was a man before who deeply loved his wife. When she died in a car accident, he would often talk to thin air, imagining that his wife was still by his side."
"This type of illness is mostly caused by a significant psychological trauma, with the subconscious mind rejecting reality, creating a false perception of 'she is still by my side'."
"If we can address the root cause from a psychological standpoint and provide some treatment, there's a possibility of improvement. But without medication, it's very, very difficult."
"Medication and psychological treatment, these two work hand in hand, do you understand what I mean?"
Ben Lin nodded thoughtfully.
To address the root cause... but he knew nothing about Nyx's past. He has no idea where to start!
It seems like he'll need to do some more preparation work.
Ben Lin took the prescription that the doctor gave him, but he didn't choose to go and pay for it. Since real-world medication might not work on a deity in his mind, there was no need to spend the money.
Also... these medicines were too expensive!
After leaving the mental hospital, Ben Lin boarded the bus back.
This trip to the mental hospital was still worthwhile. At the very least, it gave Ben Lin a starting point.
To counsel Nyx from a psychological standpoint, he must first have a deep understanding of her. Therefore, Ben Lin walked into the Library of Canglan City.
...
Second High School, at the school gate.
"Hey, look, who's that uncle?"
"Don't know, probably a parent."
"I saw him at the school gate when I entered around seven in the morning."
"I saw him too. He was wearing sunglasses in the morning, dressed in a shirt, holding a cup of coffee against the wall. I actually thought he looked pretty cool."
"Why does he look like a beggar now? His eyes are all red."
"Do you think he's been waiting here since morning?"
"It's already ten o'clock."
"Who knows, oh by the way, did you hear about the two students who were murdered last night on their way home from school?"
"Is it true?"
"Of course it's true. I heard..."
...
On the roadside opposite the school gate, a desolate man sat alone. Cigarette butts littered the floor around him. His silhouette under the streetlamp exuded an inexplicable sorrow.
Sam Zhao flicked the cigarette in his hand, unable to fathom where things had gone wrong.
He had been waiting here since six in the morning, and the sun had nearly roasted him senseless. Yet, he still hadn't seen a trace of that kid.
He had clearly seen the Second High School uniform on him last night!
Could it be that the kid somehow figured out he was coming to confront him and just decided not to show up?
Damn it... his backside is aching.
Supporting himself with both hands on the ground, Sam Zhao slowly got up from the roadside. He casually patted the dust off his pants, pretending not to care.
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Sam Zhao suddenly noticed a casually dressed youth on the opposite side of the road. The youth was strolling along with a few books in hand.
That guy... kind of resembles that kid in build, doesn't he?
Kind of...
Huh?
Sam Zhao froze for a moment, blinking vigorously.
Damn it!
Whoosh!
Without another word, Sam Zhao charged towards the youth like a gust of wind. His eyes were bloodshot, and he wore a fierce, malevolent expression.
However, when he was about twenty meters away from the youth, it seemed that the youth sensed something. His whole body trembled, and then he suddenly broke into a run!
The two of them started sprinting down the street—one in front, one at the back.
At this moment, Ben Lin really wanted to slap him. With so many roads to choose from, why did he have to pick this one!?
Now, not only did he stand up to Nyx yesterday, only to have her dodge him, but now this guy was chasing him again!
Ben Lin's speed, though not slow, was still far behind Sam Zhao's. In just a few seconds, Sam Zhao caught up to him.
Sam Zhao grabbed Ben Lin's shoulder with a vicious grip, sneering twice.
"Kid, here we meet again!"
Ben Lin turned his head stiffly, tilting it.
"Who are you?"
..