Crack

Xia Chong sat there on the sofa in a daze for a long time before he finally came to his senses.

"Shopkeeper, do you mean that I myself am also a half - person?"

Chen Miemie shook her head. "I think the word 'also' is inappropriate. There's no such thing as a half - person in the world, even in a dream."

"Then what do you mean?"

"Don't you understand yet? Those two half - persons are both parts of you. One is the genius you were in school, and the other is the mediocre you in the association now. Time and reality have split you into two halves.

You're not afraid of the half - persons because they are you. How could you be afraid of yourself?

Your repulsion and pursuit stem from your denial and envy of your past self.

Xia Chong, this is not a nightmare.

Accept the different sides of yourself. Stop running away, stop ignoring the other half of yourself. Be brave and let the two half - persons meet and merge into one, and regain your whole self."

Without Chen Miemie having to say more, Xia Chong emptied the cup of tea in one gulp.

"Shopkeeper, thank you. I understand.

However, there's a big difference between understanding a principle and putting it into action.

Even if I've recognized myself, I still have to go back to the association and face the situation where I'm clumsy and make slow progress. I'll still feel depressed then, won't I?"

Chen Miemie nodded, waved her hand, and the [Mindless Pot] floated up to refill their teacups.

"In this world, true polymaths are rare. For most people, it's already a great blessing to discover their talents in a certain field. Since your talent lies in theoretical research, why not focus on this path?"

"But what about the association?"

"The association never forces its members to fight. It won't make a difference if you're not there. If you can become a big shot in the theoretical circle, you'll still do well in the association.

Moreover, if you really want to leave the association, isn't the method well - known to everyone?"

"You mean?"

"Right. In the Sealed Library, if you can become the president of the Association Alliance or one of the six great scholars, to ensure fairness in your high position, you have to leave your original association."

Xia Chong showed a look of lack of confidence on his face.

Even though he was called a genius in school, he knew that those were just child's games. In terms of academic research, he was still far from being a great scholar.

"Xia Chong, it's natural to feel pressured. Most successful people didn't have a smooth journey. They've all endured countless pressures and setbacks in private.

You have talent. If you can find your clear direction, you're already ahead of countless people. This so - called pressure is actually your good fortune."

Xia Chong took another deep breath and smiled. "I understand. I know how to face this so - called 'nightmare', or rather, the 'dream of regaining myself'."

Chen Miemie also smiled. "Good. It seems your first problem, the 'nightmare', has been solved. Next, it's about your multiple dreams within dreams.

Regarding the first problem, do you remember when this situation started and when it got significantly worse?"

Xia Chong frowned and thought carefully.

"It started right after I graduated from school. I remember this very clearly. The first time, I was so shocked when I woke up that I almost wrote a suicide note in case I couldn't wake up later. But I'm a bit fuzzy about when it started to get worse."

"How long has it been since you graduated?"

"A little over a year."

"How much more? Be more precise."

"One or two months more."

"You've been in treatment for over a month this time. That means the serious dream - within - dream situation occurred exactly one year after your graduation."

Xia Chong nodded. "Yes."

Chen Miemie stared into Xia Chong's eyes. "Do I still need to guide you? Tell me what significant thing happened to you at this time point."

After thinking hard for a while, Xia Chong still couldn't come up with an answer. "No. If I have to mention something significant, the big group hunt in the association was half a year ago. There hasn't been anything particularly special happening to me recently."

Chen Miemie tapped her finger on the table. It was one of her habitual little movements.

"Tap, tap, tap~" The sound of her finger was very rhythmic.

Frankly speaking, after just a short part - time stint as a psychological therapist tonight, Chen Miemie deeply felt that it wasn't a job for just anyone.

Her clients not only had symptoms but also problems like carelessness, unconsciousness, and shame. Sometimes, it was even difficult to find the problem, let alone solve it.

Fortunately, Chen Miemie had done her homework in advance and came prepared tonight.

"Xia Chong, do I really have to remind you? You have two friends. Tell me, why didn't your other friend, Shi Buyi, one of the 'Three Musketeers' from school, come to see you during your hospitalization?"

"He didn't come because I insisted that Fei Liang not tell him. He doesn't know!"

"So, why did you insist on not telling him? What are you afraid of this time?"

"I, I'm not afraid. I just don't want to cause trouble..." Xia Chong started to stammer.

"Xia Chong, do I need to be more explicit? Exactly one year after graduation is the time to select the annual advanced individuals in the bus driver industry. Shi Buyi, who had worked hard for a year and was supposed to be an advanced individual, quit his job at this crucial time."

Xia Chong's eyes widened. "Shopkeeper, how do you know that!"

Chen Miemie didn't explain.

"I'll repeat one last time. I'm treating you. You need to trust me. Tell me about what happened between you and Shi Buyi."

Xia Chong's lips moved. His teeth tightened and loosened in his mouth several times.

"Shi Buyi is my best friend. We were playmates before we went to school. Fei Liang joined later.

I lived in the [Four Seasons Orphanage] when I was a kid. Shi Buyi wasn't an orphan. He lived on the same street as me. We met by accident and played in the mud together bare - buttocked since childhood."

Chen Miemie made an "mm - hmm" sound. "I know, Nuanyu Road."

"Yes. At the beginning, because I was an orphan, I didn't have good food or clothes, and I didn't have any toys either. I was a bit introverted and inferior. Shi Buyi was like an older brother, leading me to integrate into the group of kids on the street. He shared his toys with me and secretly brought me delicious food from home.

Later, we went to school together.

I soon showed extraordinary talent, while Shi Buyi was the opposite. He was very hard - working but seemed clumsy and learned several times slower than ordinary people.

I was several times faster than ordinary people, and he was several times slower. The gap between us suddenly widened.

We were together all the time. Kids can be so mean - mouthed, and the rumor of 'the genius and the dunce' spread. Shi Buyi was very sad.

As the 'older brother', he was very competitive. He actually didn't like studying, but in order to prove himself, he started to study late at night.

Unfortunately, at that time, we were just kids. When we were stubborn, all we could do was work hard without finding good methods. The result of hard - working blindly wasn't great.

Soon, his grades didn't improve, and Shi Buyi even fell ill.

Actually, it wasn't a serious illness. But I was very young at that time and thought it was extremely serious. I even thought he was going to die.

I didn't know how to help him improve his grades, but I knew how to protect him from the hurt of gossips.

From then on, I started to "hate studying." My grades plummeted, and I became the bottom student in the class.

Chen Miemie interrupted, "Wait, are you saying that your poor grades, love for play, and aversion to learning were all an act?"

"Yes. I pretended to have poor grades and asked Shi Buyi to tutor me and explain knowledge to me. In fact, it was me guiding him to master knowledge through the way of explanation. It was me tutoring him."

"Did you 'tutor' him all the way to become the top student in the school?"

"Shopkeeper, actually, at the stage of children's knowledge, it doesn't really come to the point of competing with natural talent. As long as one masters the methods, forms good habits, and builds up confidence, anyone can learn well.

I was so 'stupid' that Shi Buyi had to explain the key and difficult points to me several times. And he himself was very hard - working, so he learned very solidly."

"Did your teacher know that you were pretending?"

"Which teacher?"

"Teacher Kong Rong, who taught your class."

Xia Chong looked puzzled and said, "Shopkeeper, are you mistaken? There was no teacher surnamed Kong who taught our class."