Chapter 53: Meeting with the Psychologist

In the hospital, Lin Yiming woke up to find himself lying on a hospital bed, his wrists shackled to the bedframe. Two police officers entered, sitting by the bed and questioning him.

“Lin Yiming, did you kidnap Jiang Huaijin and take him to the basement?”

Lin Yiming anxiously tried to explain:

“No, I was the victim! That child hurt me!”

The police officers didn’t believe him. “A seven-year-old child was able to overpower a man in his twenties? Are you lying?”

“No, it’s true! The child is the one who drugged me. He’s not a normal child, his mind is unbalanced!”

Hearing his outrageous claims, the police officers’ patience ran out.

“You’re truly hopeless! You kidnapped a child and still won’t admit it, trying to blame everything on the child. You’re nothing but scum!”

“It’s true! You must believe me, that child is unusual, he’s not a normal kid!”

Lin Yiming lay in the bed, shouting like a madman.

The police officers, hearing him continue to slander the child, grew angry and left the room, standing in the hallway to discuss what to do next. One officer pointed to a family of three walking ahead.

“Isn’t that the child who was kidnapped?”

Jiang Banyue and Shen Yunhe had brought their son to the hospital for a check-up. The two younger children had been sent to Jiang Banyue’s mother’s house for safekeeping. When they saw the police officers up ahead, Shen Yunhe stopped to discuss the case.

The officer crouched down and asked Jiang Huaijin, “Friend, can I ask you a question? Do you know how the man who kidnapped you was drugged?”

Jiang Huaijin shook his head, “I don’t know, I don’t remember anything.”

Seeing that they couldn’t get any answers from the child, the police officers had no choice but to give up.

“Lin Yiming has now woken up. We will take him back for a thorough investigation, and we will make sure justice is served!”

Jiang Banyue, hearing that the person who kidnapped her son was awake, was overcome with emotion and demanded to see him.

“Where is that scum? I want to see him! I want to ask him why he kidnapped my son, what did he do to deserve such cruelty!”

The police officers were in a difficult position. According to the rules, the perpetrator couldn’t meet anyone before the investigation was complete.

Shen Yunhe stepped forward and stopped her.

“Banban, don’t get agitated. Don’t worry, I won’t let that scum go free. Right now, the most important thing is to take our son for his check-up!”

Jiang Banyue, thinking of her son, quickly walked to his side, gripping his hand tightly, her lips pressed together, trying to suppress the fury in her chest.

Shen Yunhe said goodbye to the two officers and led Jiang Banyue and their son to the examination room. After filling out the forms and finishing the check-up, they returned to the room where the doctor reviewed the test results.

“The child is fine. Just let him rest and everything will be okay.”

Only then did they feel relieved, leading their son out. As they spoke, Jiang Banyue mentioned,

“I wonder if there’s a psychologist here.”

“A psychologist? What for?”

“The child was kidnapped; I’m worried he might be frightened or have psychological trauma. I want a psychologist to help him.”

Shen Yunhe thought for a moment before speaking.

“To see a psychologist, you’d need to go to the psychiatry department, so…”

“Alright, I want to find a good psychologist.”

Shen Yunhe was momentarily stunned. He had thought Jiang Banyue would object to the term “psychiatry.” She was so protective of her child and wouldn’t allow anyone to say anything bad about him.

“I’ll go register for the psychiatry department now.”

After registering, the three of them sat outside the corridor waiting. After a while, Jiang Huaijin’s name was called. They all went inside together. The psychologist was a man in his thirties, wearing a medical mask and sporting black short hair.

“Who is Jiang Huaijin?”

“He’s my son.” Jiang Banyue pushed her son forward. The doctor then asked,

“What’s the situation, please?”

Shen Yunhe responded, “He was kidnapped yesterday. We’re worried he may have psychological trauma, so we want the doctor to counsel him.”

Upon hearing Shen Yunhe’s voice, the doctor was surprised and called out,

“You’re Shen Yunhe! I’m Lan Haizhou, we were high school classmates. Don’t you remember?”

Shen Yunhe furrowed his brow, the name did sound familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. Lan Haizhou took off his mask.

“It’s me, Lan Haizhou. Do you remember now?”

“Vaguely.” Shen Yunhe looked at the face, the more he looked, the more familiar it became.

“It’s you!”

“Yes! This is your son, he looks a lot like you!”

Jiang Banyue was frustrated. She didn’t expect the psychologist to be connected to Shen Yunhe. How would she discuss her son’s psychological issues with him now?

She considered taking her son and leaving, but Lan Haizhou spoke up.

“Why don’t you two step out? I’ll have a private chat with the child.” Not wanting them to misunderstand, he explained, “Usually, this kind of session is not allowed to have anyone else present—just the psychologist and the patient.”

“Alright.” Shen Yunhe turned to Jiang Banyue.

“Let’s wait outside.”

“No!” Jiang Banyue regretted it. “I don’t want to do this anymore; I want to take my son home!”

She grabbed Jiang Huaijin’s hand, about to leave, but Shen Yunhe stopped her.

“Banban, what’s wrong? Since we’re here, wouldn’t it be better to have the doctor check on him?”

“I… I don’t want to, don’t you understand?!”

Jiang Banyue shook off Shen Yunhe’s hand and tried to leave, pulling Jiang Huaijin with her.

“Mrs. Jiang.” Lan Haizhou spoke.

“Your child has psychological issues. It’s best to intervene early. If left unchecked, it could lead to serious problems later.”

Jiang Banyue knew this, but she had reservations. She didn’t want anyone to know that her son had psychological issues. She was afraid he might be labeled as abnormal.

“Banban, let’s just step outside. Let the doctor talk to him, alright?”

Jiang Banyue was conflicted, not knowing what to do. What was best for her son? She looked down at her son, and Jiang Huaijin gave her a small smile.

Lan Haizhou spoke again. “My mentor is a renowned psychologist overseas. You can completely trust my expertise.”

Jiang Banyue hesitated, then looked down at her son.

“Son, do you want to talk to this uncle?”

Jiang Huaijin looked at his mother, then at his father, and nodded.

“I want to.”

“Okay, mom will respect your choice. I’ll wait outside for you, don’t be scared.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Banyue and Shen Yunhe walked out, sitting in the corridor waiting.

Seeing Jiang Banyue pacing anxiously, Shen Yunhe was confused.

“It’s just a regular psychological check-up. Why do you look so worried? Does the child have other problems?”

“No!”

Jiang Banyue sat down, her hands tightly clenched together, her palms sweaty. Would Jiang Huaijin be alright? Would the psychologist uncover Jiang Huaijin’s true situation?