Du Ruoxin rode in the car driven by Trevor to the psychological center.
Kristino had not yet arrived.
He was late.
The assistant poured Du Ruoxin a glass of fruit juice. As she drank, she stared out the floor-to-ceiling window at the bustling street.
"Hi, Ruoxin." The psychologist came to find her after finishing her session with the previous patient.
Du Ruoxin turned and smiled, greeting, "Dr. Kornberg."
Kornberg glanced at her and got straight to the point, "You seem preoccupied. What are you thinking about?"
Du Ruoxin curved her lips bitterly. "What else could it be?"
Besides her elder brother, who else would she worry about?
Two months ago, Du Ruoxin had cajoled and tricked her brother into seeing a psychologist with her.
That night, he had lost his temper, which was rare.
It was also the first time in many years that he had gotten angry with her.
They had a cold war for three days.
After three days, he found her and said he was willing to see a psychologist, but with two conditions.
1: Every time he went, she had to accompany him.
2: If he was fine, she had to accept him.
Du Ruoxin thought for a long time and agreed.
As long as he went, as long as the psychologist could change her brother's unhealthy thoughts, she would do anything.
Whether he could be cured was not Du Ruoxin's primary concern.
The most important thing now was to get her brother to accept treatment!
If he got better, everyone would be happy. If not, she could go back on her word. Anyway, she was a woman, and she had done things like breaking promises and reneging on agreements before, and her brother could do nothing about it.
She had even argued with him and lost her temper.
Kristino always wanted to take advantage of her, always wanted to hold her hand, and touch her waist.
To prevent her brother's unfriendly thoughts from growing wildly in his mind, Du Ruoxin, like a frantic shrew, had cut her wrist with a knife, smashed her arm with a hammer, and threatened to jump into rivers and seas.
Finally, Kristino compromised, promising to agree to anything as long as she didn't hurt herself.
Du Ruoxin, at the cost of "self-harm," achieved a phased victory: her brother would not have improper thoughts about her, or at least would not express them, and would maintain a distance of one meter from her.
Hey, if she had known earlier that "hurting herself" could make her own brother nervous and scared, she would have done it last year!
No, she should have done it eight years ago!
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so terrified of him, running away for years and living in anxiety for years.
But it wasn't too late.
Du Ruoxin had found a way to control her brother, and their interactions were no longer as awkwardly unbearable as before.
He kept a meter away from her, and she kept a meter away from him.
They were still loving siblings.
At least, that's how Du Ruoxin saw it.
But—
The frustrating part was that Kristino knew she was very resistant, defiant, and distant towards him. Whenever they met, he would stare at her with the most mournful and hurt eyes.
He didn't get angry, didn't play tricks, but just gazed at her pitifully with resentful eyes.
Du Ruoxin felt a sense of guilt.
Every time she saw her brother's hurt, repressed, and pained expression, she felt like the most wicked person.
Kristino must have practiced!
He must have practiced in front of the mirror to master "the most melancholic, the most sorrowful, the most expressive, and the most unbearable" gaze.
Otherwise, why would she feel a little uncomfortable looking at him?
Alas—
She used herself as a pawn to control her brother and prevent him from acting recklessly.
Her brother, in turn, used her sibling affection, that unbreakable family bond, to control her thoughts.
How could she break this stalemate?
The psychologist listened to Du Ruoxin recount her troubles, her eyes flickering. "You can't bring yourself to be harsh anymore?"
"What, have you developed other feelings for him?"
For example, love?