Although They're Mentally ill, They're Extremely Easy to Comfort - Chapter 44

Today, Qiao Bo’er also prepared a table full of sumptuous breakfast.

Ling Xi, however, had no appetite. She sat obediently at the table, listlessly waiting for the “crazy woman” to eat with her.

Qiao Bo’er hung up the phone, made an OK gesture, and lovingly patted her on the head: “I spend all my time helping you find excuses to skip work, so you always have to compensate me with something as a token of your sincerity, right?”

Ling Xi narrowed her eyes and displayed a silly smile. Hearing Qiao Bo’er’s demanding question, she immediately became alert and dragged her chair away to create distance: “What kind of improper thing are you thinking about now?”

Qiao Bo’er peeled a boiled egg for her and placed it on her plate, explaining casually: “Don’t be nervous. Just promise to have breakfast with me every morning from now on. That’s not too much to ask, is it?”

“You’re a grown adult and you still need someone to accompany you to eat? Aren’t you childish.”

Ling Xi chided. Qiao Bo’er immediately linked her arm, rested her chin on Ling Xi’s shoulder, and seized the opportunity to act spoiled: “When two people eat together, my appetite is a little better, and I can also supervise you to eat breakfast. Isn’t that nice…”

Ling Xi lowered her gaze to look at Qiao Bo’er’s face and involuntarily swallowed.

To be honest, Qiao Bo’er in this casual outfit today was more tempting than when she wore exquisite makeup paired with luxurious designer suits. Who could resist a stunningly beautiful woman with such a friendly and innocent appearance?

It was simply a wolf in sheep’s clothing, devouring the silly Ling Xi bit by bit, having a complete hold over her.

Qiao Bo’er was not shy. She faced Ling Xi directly, even raising her eyebrows to meet her gaze, without blinking. Her eyes seemed to be asking—”Since you like staring at me so much, why not just date me so you can stare all day long?”

Ling Xi blushed, buried her head, and muttered: “Although you bully me, you also take care of me. This weird relationship gives me a lot of burden.”

After speaking, she poked the slippery egg with her chopsticks, but couldn’t seem to pick it up no matter how hard she tried.

Putting down her chopsticks, Qiao Bo’er asked uneasily: “Why do you feel burdened?”

“Because I can’t figure out what kind of relationship this is… You ignore my rejection and constantly find ways to appear in my life. This kind of relationship is not normal.”

Qiao Bo’er pursed her lips. The sumptuous meal in front of her suddenly became flavorless. She thought for a moment and looked back at Ling Xi, with a faint smile: “Let me tell you a story, do you want to hear it?”

“A happy one or an unhappy one? I don’t like ‘bad endings’ (BE).”

“It hasn’t reached the ending yet, so I don’t know if it’s a BE or a ‘happy ending’ (HE).”

“Oh, so it’s a serialized story…” Ling Xi was like a curious child. A few words could easily shift her mood, and her eyes were clear and slightly naive: “Then tell it. I’ll listen to see if it’s exciting.”

Qiao Bo’er picked up a slice of toasted bread, slowly spread blueberry jam on it, and seriously pondered where she should start the story.

“Ding dong—”

A sudden ring of the doorbell interrupted her just as she was about to speak.

Ling Xi put down her bowl and chopsticks, looked at Qiao Bo’er in confusion, and got up to walk to the living room.

Displeased by the unexpected interruption, Qiao Bo’er crumbled the slice of bread in her hand, a gloomy cold light reflected in her eyes. It seemed today was not a good time to tell this story.

The sound of pleasant chatter grew closer. When the visitor appeared at the door, he enthusiastically greeted Qiao Bo’er first: “Yo, General Manager Qiao is here too.”

Qiao Bo’er turned around and nodded to Xiao Mo in an obligatory response. Xiao Mo happily walked to the dining table, scanned the full table of food, and very naturally pulled out a chair: “Perfect, I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“Then you’ve come at a good time, General Manager Xiao. Let’s eat together,” Qiao Bo’er generously brought the plate containing the breakfast pastries over to Xiao Mo.

Ling Xi was confused, wondering why Xiao Mo had run to her house so early in the morning.

After the meal, Qiao Bo’er did not intend to stay too long. Before leaving, she took Ling Xi to the electronic lock and instructed: “The user manual is on the coffee table. You can learn how to set up the fingerprint lock. I’ve already set the password; remember it.”

Ling Xi was absolutely unwilling. She had never heard of a host whose electronic lock password was set by an outsider. This was too much!

“You really don’t treat yourself as an outsider. You even take advantage of the password!”

“Less nonsense. I’ll only say it once. The password is 7329.”

“7329? Is that your date of birth?” Ling Xi pondered the meaning of the numbers. Qiao Bo’er gave her an annoyed glare: “Do I look like an old sister who is 49 years old?”

“Plastic surgery technology is so advanced, maybe your calculated age is over 50,” The little troublemaker started to talk trash again when they disagreed.

Qiao Bo’er wished she could press Ling Xi’s forehead and give her a few forceful kisses, but restrained herself because Xiao Mo was present. She maintained her composure and simply said goodbye: “I won’t mess with you anymore. Rest well at home. See you tomorrow.”

Ling Xi walked Qiao Bo’er to the door, determined to be playful: “Bye-bye. I won’t see you tomorrow.”

Xiao Mo was engrossed in watching TV. Seeing Ling Xi return to the living room, he casually asked: “Is she gone?”

Ling Xi lay down completely on the sofa, suddenly feeling restless without work: “Isn’t the studio busy today? Why did you decide to come to my house?”

Putting down the remote control, Xiao Mo opened the coffee table drawer, skillfully pulled out a few medicine boxes from the very back, counted them, and looked at Ling Xi with dissatisfaction: “What’s wrong with you? You haven’t taken these medicines on time?”

Ling Xi glanced at the medicine bottles dismissively, stubbornly resisting: “I’m not sick, why should I take medicine?”

“Not sick? Dr. Bai repeatedly stressed that you can’t stop before the course of treatment is complete. Why don’t you listen? Hurry up and change your clothes. I’ve booked you a re-examination at 10 o’clock.”

Hearing Xiao Mo’s nagging, Ling Xi started rebelliously picking her ears: “Oh… so you came to drag me to the hospital. Dr. Bai this, Dr. Bai that. If the medicine is so good, you take it to her to eat.”

Hearing Ling Xi’s provocation, Xiao Mo angrily threw a cushion at her face: “I can’t believe you. Hurry up!”

Ling Xi slowly dragged her feet back to the bedroom.

Xiao Mo looked at the barely touched medicine in his hand. He covered his face in distress, an uneasy feeling suddenly creeping into his heart—

“Ling Xi… Ling Xi wake up… You bastard, wake up! Yunjin, quickly call 120, Ling Xi is dying…”

“Fortunately, you brought her to the hospital in time. If it had been a few minutes later, her life wouldn’t have been saved.”

“Try not to delay this kind of illness. The patient must actively accept treatment, and the family members must also actively cooperate. Dr. Bai is the Chief Physician of Psychiatry in our hospital. You should arrange for your friend to be hospitalized for treatment as soon as possible.”

Ling Xi wore the same white cotton T-shirt and jeans again. She was too lazy to wash her hair, so she haphazardly put on a baseball cap. She nudged Xiao Mo curiously, calling his name several times before bringing his thoughts back: “Hey, hey… What are you thinking about?”

“Are you ready?”

“Let’s go.”

“You were pretty fast.”

“That’s only because you hurried me!”

Xiao Mo watched Ling Xi pout and make a face. He smiled faintly, gently covered her face with her hat, and sighed: “You weren’t this naughty when you were little. The older you get, the more reckless you become.”

“Tsk, you’re only one year older than me. Don’t act like an old fogey!”

“Let’s go, let’s go. Dr. Bai is very busy. The earlier we go, the better to queue.”

…

Xiao Mo led Ling Xi into the office and greeted Bai Yuan briefly: “Even on a weekday, there are so many people seeking consultation. Dr. Bai, getting an appointment with you is really a hassle.”

With that, he pressed Ling Xi onto the stool beside the desk and patiently instructed: “You honestly tell Dr. Bai about your recent situation. No hiding and no trying to be clever.”

“Oh, I know. You can go out now.”

Watching Xiao Mo leave, Bai Yuan pushed up her glasses and looked at Ling Xi, who seemed to be in good condition, greeting her with a smile: “Your spirit looks quite good, but you haven’t been here for a long time. Your stage treatment is not active at all.”

Ling Xi sat honestly on the adjacent stool. Hearing Dr. Bai’s teasing, she could only give an awkward but polite smile: “Long time no see, Dr. Bai… I feel like my condition is quite good, so I didn’t think about running to the hospital all the time…”

Bai Yuan was good-looking, but unlike Qiao Bo’er and Qin Yun, her beauty wasn’t astonishing. The confident and intellectual temperament she exuded from within was quite appealing. She always spoke softly and had a gentle smile, giving patients a sense of reliable closeness.

Noticing the two dark circles under Ling Xi’s eyes, she asked pointedly: “Have you been taking your medicine on time?”

“Uh… I…”

“It seems you haven’t.”

“Mainly, the few types of medicine you prescribed made me nauseous after taking them. I couldn’t eat anything, and I felt dizzy and weak…” Ling Xi’s voice grew fainter as she tried to argue.

Bai Yuan pulled out a new medical record book and started making notes, continuing to ask: “Then tell me what symptoms you’ve had since stopping the medication.”

Ling Xi rolled her eyes, trying hard to recall, but struggled to figure out what counted as a symptom.

Bai Yuan knew this was a side effect from the treatment a few years ago, so she put down her pen and waited with extra patience.

“Lately, my appetite has been exceptionally good—better than ever before. Everything tastes delicious. It’s just that I keep having nightmares, and I can’t fall back asleep after waking up in the middle of the night. When I can’t sleep, I get headaches, very, very painful ones, like my head is about to explode. It keeps repeating.”

“Did you have one last night too? Are the nightmares frequent?”

“Yes, almost every night.”

Bai Yuan nodded knowingly: “I see your mental state is quite good. Have you encountered anything happy recently?”

Ling Xi furtively glanced left and right, leaned closer to Bai Yuan, and whispered: “Recently, someone has been pursuing me, relentlessly. Why don’t you issue me a certificate for some serious illness so I can scare her away?”

Amused by Ling Xi’s suggestion, Bai Yuan waved her hand: “You want me to violate professional regulations and destroy my own career?”

“Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, and I know. Just help me out.”

“If the person genuinely likes you, they will like you no matter what you are like. Trying to deceive them will not be effective… Moreover, starting a new relationship can have a beneficial auxiliary effect on your illness.”

When the topic of dating came up, Ling Xi’s emotions plummeted like a drop tower ride. She was laughing and joking one second, then suddenly became vacant.

She hunched her back nervously, twitching her head slightly in a somewhat pathological way, and muttered to herself: “No… I can’t. I don’t want to get hurt…”

Bai Yuan observed this, recorded the true symptom in the notes but did not expose it in front of Ling Xi. She wrote out the electronic prescription, printed the payment slip, and handed it to Ling Xi, instructing: “The three medications you were using before had too many side effects, especially since they were for the symptoms at the time. So you must understand that only through regular re-examinations can I adjust the dosage in time according to your condition.

The symptoms of sleep disturbance and headaches/dizziness that appeared after stopping the medication are enough to show that you still need to continue active treatment.

To be safe, I’m changing Paroxetine to Sertraline, keeping Tofisopam, and discontinuing Lorazepam for now. With the reduced dosage, you need to come in for re-examination on time every month during this period. You can’t be willful anymore.

Go get your medicine first. And please call Xiao Mo in for me. I want to discuss with him how to supervise you.”

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