It seemed that summer had arrived, with the air carrying a hint of sultry heat.

The man’s body temperature was noticeably higher than the girl’s, enveloping Su Heng in his warmth, causing her own body temperature to rise. In just two short days, this was already the second time she found herself lying in his arms. Both times, it had been initiated by him, though neither seemed to align with her preferences.

To make matters worse, this time, she was even treated like a dog.

As her thoughts returned, Su Heng gazed at Zhou Lingxing’s face, which was just inches away. His sharp, well-defined features seemed etched into his calm expression. She couldn’t help but get lost in his looks, feeling her mouth go dry.

The comment she had seen on Weibo earlier flashed through her mind, and cautiously, she snuggled closer to him. With such beauty right before her, wasn’t now the perfect time to take advantage?

Slowly, she lifted her head, as if wanting to get closer to his face. But because of the height difference, no matter how much she leaned in, she could only reach his chin.

Su Heng frowned. If she’d known earlier, she wouldn’t have thrown the pot—squatting by the bed would have worked better. But she didn’t give up. She used all her strength, inching her way upward.

Halfway through her effort, Zhou Lingxing seemed to sense the little creature’s intention in his arms. With one swift motion, his large hand lifted her to his level, and in a deep, restrained voice, he said, “Stop fooling around.”

His tone was both controlled and sober.

Startled, Su Heng stared at his still-closed eyes, trying to figure out whether he was awake or not. Instinctively, she held her breath, afraid to disturb him.

After a moment, she realized something was off. Wasn’t she here to wake him up?

She sat still for a full minute, confirming that Zhou Lingxing hadn’t fully woken up yet. Relieved, she dared not move any further, choosing instead to admire his beauty up close, feeling a small sense of satisfaction.

“Forget it,” she thought, “just looking is pretty nice too—low risk, high reward.”

Unexpectedly, as she continued to stare, her own eyelids began to droop.

In the last second before she lost consciousness, she wondered:
“Why do I always get sleepy as soon as I nestle into his arms?”

Zhou Lingxing was awakened by the sharp ringing of the phone.

The ringtone wasn’t as loud as the clattering pot from earlier, but it persisted relentlessly, pulling him from his slumber. Annoyed, he frowned and opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the sight of Su Heng’s peaceful sleeping face.

He smirked at himself, but just as quickly, the smile froze on his lips as if something had come to mind.

A tingling numbness spread from the arm pinned beneath her body. He could even see the tiny, transparent hairs on her face, and the intense realism made him realize—this wasn’t a dream.

Even though he was certain it wasn’t a dream, the feel of her in his arms was so irresistible that he couldn’t help but tighten his embrace.

Soft and surprisingly comfortable—so much so that he didn’t want to let go.

The phone on the nightstand continued to ring, over and over, until it finally disturbed Su Heng as well.

Zhou Lingxing felt her body stir slightly in his arms, and the next moment, the girl opened her eyes.

Her clear, bright eyes, framed by slightly curled lashes, blinked twice. With a natural expression, she pouted her rosy lips and asked, “You’re awake?”

It was as if she was expecting a kiss.

Zhou Lingxing abruptly let go and sat up in bed, turning his head awkwardly to the side.

If this went on any longer, they wouldn’t get out of bed all day.

Su Heng rubbed her eyes, seemingly unaware that anything about this situation was unusual. Her expression was as calm as ever.

“Why didn’t you answer the phone?” she asked.

Zhou Lingxing snapped out of his thoughts and immediately picked up the still-ringing phone.

“Hello, Dad.”
“We’ll head over now.”
“Okay.”

With just a few words, the call ended. He turned back to look at Su Heng, his dark eyes deep and serious, carrying an intimidating presence—but also a hint of something unspoken.

Ending the call succinctly, he turned his gaze back to Su Hang. His eyes were heavy, giving off an air of authority, but the grip on his phone revealed that he wasn’t as composed as he seemed.

“Why are you in my room, and on my,” he paused, “bed?”

Su Hang touched her nose. “I came to wake you up.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “You came to wake me up in my bed?”

The girl shot him a cold glance and countered, “Do you keep dogs?”

As soon as the word “dog” was mentioned, Zhou Lingxing suddenly recalled vague fragments. It seemed he had indeed been disturbed in his sleep, and he thought he saw Su Hang. At the time, he felt poisoned too deeply, instinctively thinking it was just a doll causing a ruckus. No wonder he thought something was off about the sizes and shapes…

Su Hang gleaned the answer she wanted from Zhou Lingxing’s expression and continued, “You dragged me onto your bed, thinking I was your dog, and told me not to make a fuss.” Her expression remained calm as she added, “Now that I’ve explained, I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

She turned to leave, giving him no chance to respond.

Zhou Lingxing felt a hint of redness creep into his face but then thought it was strange. Why didn’t she just get up or keep waking him up? Instead, she fell asleep herself???

*

The two remained silent as they made their way to the hospital. It was only upon arriving at the office door that Zhou Lingxing slowly spoke, “I’ve briefly informed my dad about your situation, so I won’t go in.”

Su Hang hesitated for a moment. “Will you wait for me?”

Zhou Lingxing smirked, “Yeah, I’ll wait for you.”

Only then did the girl open the door and enter.

Since it was a counseling room, the interior was decorated in soft blue tones, creating a warm atmosphere that made Su Hang relax a bit.

The middle-aged man sitting behind the desk didn’t rush to speak, just smiling as he looked at Su Hang.

Su Hang nodded at him. “Hello.”

Though she didn’t show it, she was taken aback to see that he bore a striking resemblance to Zhou Lingxing.

Zhou Boxiu examined the girl before him calmly and said gently, “Hello, please have a seat.”

Su Hang approached and sat down leisurely, her expression calm and composed, neither servile nor arrogant.

Zhou Boxiu couldn’t help but nod secretly. She wasn’t nervous just because he was Zhou Lingxing’s father, nor did she seem anxious because he was a doctor. Something that many patients over fifty couldn’t manage, this young girl did with such ease.

Either she truly didn’t care, or… it was all an act. But even if it was just a façade, he still held Su Hang in higher regard.

“Ah Ling probably mentioned your situation. Before we begin your treatment, I’d like to confirm something with you,” Zhou Boxiu said with a smile, “You are voluntarily accepting treatment, right?”

The girl nodded. “Yes, why do you ask?”

“From what Ah Ling and I discussed regarding your symptoms, your condition seems to stem from psychological reasons. The most important aspect of psychological treatment is your own recognition. If you have any resistance, the treatment will be less meaningful.”

As Zhou Boxiu spoke, he handed Su Hang a form. “Please fill out this form; do you have ten minutes?”

Su Hang glanced over the form and nodded at him. “Seven minutes.”

Zhou Boxiu shrugged nonchalantly.

What he provided Su Hang was a basic situation survey and a simple intelligence test, designed to determine which psychological therapy to use based on each individual’s IQ and emotional intelligence.

Although he already learned about Su Hang’s abilities from Zhou Lingxing, Zhou Boxiu couldn’t help but doubt the girl’s claimed time.

As if wanting to verify something, he started timing.

At 6 minutes and 56 seconds, Su Hang submitted her answers. Her neat handwriting looked confident on the form.

Zhou Boxiu raised an eyebrow, quickly scanning the responses with surprise. The accuracy rate of her answers was surprisingly one hundred percent.

With exceptional intelligence paired with calm thinking, it seemed that emotional therapy would be ineffective.

Zhou Boxiu sighed inwardly and looked at Su Hang. “Could you tell me about the cause of your illness? When did you first notice that you had this condition?”

The girl smiled gently and recounted the story that had been told just a couple of days ago. However, this time, it seemed that the pain in her head had lessened slightly, and her emotions no longer fluctuated so dramatically. Zhou Boxiu listened quietly to the girl’s story, feeling considerably relieved. The situation wasn’t too severe; there was a high likelihood of recovery if treated now.

“Your situation is much more optimistic than I imagined,” Zhou Boxiu said with a smile. “If you want to completely cure this illness, I need you to do two things.”

Su Heng’s expression became serious.

“First, live in the present. Don’t constantly worry about tomorrow or regret what happened yesterday; focus your mind on what you need to do today.”

“Second, pause your thoughts and feel more. Many psychological obstacles often arise from baseless assumptions. While intuitive thinking is a valuable psychological quality, I hope you can accept unpleasant emotions and no longer deliberately avoid those memories.”

After listening to Zhou Boxiu’s lengthy discourse, Su Heng paused for two seconds. She had resolved to cure her ailment and had prepared herself mentally for the worst, but now it seemed far less complicated than she had imagined.

Zhou Boxiu observed the girl’s reaction and chuckled lightly. “I know what you’re thinking. Do you find it very simple?”

As he spoke, he slowly stood up and walked toward Su Heng. “But for high-intelligence individuals like you, the simpler it is, the harder it becomes to achieve.”

“Firstly, during the treatment, you must not overthink. For professional players, this is already quite challenging.” Zhou Boxiu was still smiling, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Su Heng raised her head lightly. “Are you saying that during treatment, I can’t compete?”

“What I mean is,” Zhou Boxiu shook his head, his voice unusually firm, “you cannot play games during the treatment.”

The girl’s previously calm expression suddenly cracked. “I came here to get better so that I can play games properly.”

Zhou Boxiu stared straight at the girl, his tone unyielding. “This is my minimum requirement for you. You can think it over and give me a response later.”

Since he had decided to help Su Heng recover, he needed to eliminate all unforeseen circumstances; Xu Lian’s situation back then was enough to explain everything.

The air in the room became tense for a moment.

After a long while, Su Heng finally found her voice, dry and hesitant. “How long will the treatment take?”

Zhou Boxiu smirked. “One year.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the office door was pushed open.

Zhou Lingxing strode over with long legs and said casually, “In the life of any normal person, using their brain is unavoidable. Your requirement is unreasonable.”

Zhou Boxiu wasn’t annoyed and maintained his indifferent demeanor. “Didn’t you say last time that she is the commander of your team? Controlling the entire situation is too exhausting; she cannot treat her illness while playing games.”

Zhou Lingxing pondered for a moment before quickly replying, “So as long as she doesn’t command and just follows the procedures, she can play games normally?”

The girl was momentarily stunned but quickly understood Zhou Lingxing’s intention. She was even a bit surprised by his sudden appearance.

Wait a minute, this person…

He wouldn’t have been eavesdropping, would he?