The doctor on the other end of the phone said, "Mr. Frank, since this has happened, I suggest it's best to have your girlfriend stop taking the medication. Her condition actually doesn't require any medication at all."
"But if she doesn't take it, what if she remembers things from the past?"
Dr. John hesitated and said, "Perhaps she will, perhaps she never will. It's hard to say. But if she continues to take this medication, it will damage her otherwise normal neural system, and the consequences, the consequences are unpredictable..."
"Can you be more specific? What kind of consequences?"
"The most severe consequence... the consequence is that not only will her memory decline, but she will also become senile."
"You mean she'll become an idiot?" Yang Sijie paused and said, "But no matter what, I can't let her regain her memory. I don't want to take that risk. Is there any way to minimize the side effects of this medication?"
Dr. John thought for a moment and said, "Unless you stop taking it, there will always be side effects. As I said, it's best not to take this medication long-term."
"Okay, I understand."
Just as Yang Sijie was about to hang up, Dr. John suddenly asked him, "Mr. Frank, are things between you and your girlfriend harmonious in that regard?"
"What's wrong?"
"Recently, I've met a urologist. Let me know when you're free, and you can go consult him."
Yang Sijie said, "Thank you. I'm not in New York recently. You can send me his contact information first. I'll go see him when I return to New York."
"Alright, I wish you good health." Dr. John hung up first and sent him the doctor's contact information.
He saved the message, put down his phone, opened a bottle of wine, and fell asleep in the study after drinking half of it. He had no dreams that night.
...
The next morning, after her first class, Gu Susu was called to the office by a teacher who was very interested in Eastern culture.
The teacher asked her about her plans for the upcoming holiday.
She only said she planned to go to New York. The teacher suggested she stay and collaborate with the top fashion company, "in," on a fashion feature with an Eastern aesthetic.
Gu Susu knew this was a great opportunity, but she hesitated when she thought of Yang Sijie.
He had come specifically to pick her up. If she didn't go back to New York with him, he would be unhappy. Besides, would he be willing to be apart during the New Year?
Seeing that she couldn't decide immediately, the teacher gave her time to consider, with the reply due no later than the day before the holiday.
After leaving the teacher's office, she kept thinking about how to bring this up with Yang Sijie. Her decision would depend on his reaction.
At noon, she had lunch with Sophie in the school cafeteria.
Seeing that she was distracted, Sophie tapped her plate with her fork and asked, "Susu, what are you thinking about? You haven't even touched your baked potato."
Gu Susu poked at the potato in front of her and said, "It's nothing. Teacher Emma just asked me to do a design feature for 'in' during the holiday, and I'm hesitating whether to accept her invitation."
"Emma is a big name in the fashion industry. If she's inviting you to design, what's there to hesitate about?" Sophie said with envy. "If the design is good, maybe you'll become famous overnight and make a name for yourself in the fashion circle. Don't you want to have your own brand? This is a great opportunity."
"I know, but Sijie wants me to go to New York. I don't want to disappoint him..."
Sophie interrupted her, "Wait, I think this is a bit unequal. Why do you have to go to New York with him, instead of him staying in Paris for you? Think about it, he's so wealthy, it's easy for him to travel back and forth between Paris and New York. If he truly loves you and respects you, he shouldn't make you give up such a good opportunity."
"You have a point, but ever since I lost my memory, he's been my whole world. If I upset him and he ignores me, I don't know what I'll do?" After losing all her memories, Gu Susu was filled with fear and uncertainty about the world. Fortunately, Yang Sijie was by her side, helping her find herself little by little.
She couldn't imagine what life would be like without Yang Sijie, without a past, without family or friends in this vast world.
Sophie looked at her in disbelief and said, "Oh my god, are you afraid of not having anyone around who knows your past, or do you really love him? Anyway, I don't think this is right. You should try to regain your memory as soon as possible, otherwise, it seems like you'll be controlled by him forever."
"It's not like that. He doesn't control me. He's really, really good to me." Whenever Gu Susu thought about how doting and good Yang Sijie was to her, she couldn't help but show a sweet smile.
Sophie couldn't stand her blissful, girlish demeanor and laughed, "I get it. Then you should discuss it properly with him. If you can't do the design with Emma, why don't you introduce me? I'm willing to help her with anything."
"Okay, no problem. Whether I accept her invitation or not, I'll introduce you," Gu Susu promised.
"It's a deal," Sophie happily continued her meal.
But as she ate, she suddenly thought of something and said, "Right, that man we met a couple of days ago who said he knew you, do you think he really knows you, but you just don't remember? That person might know about your past. If we can find him, would talking to him help you regain your memory?"
Gu Susu said with doubt, "Is there such a coincidence? What if he's a骗子 (piànzi - swindler)? Sijie told me to be careful of strangers outside, especially for girls. If you're not vigilant and don't know how to protect yourself, bad things can happen."
Sophie bit her spoon, then thought about the two times she met Qin Tianyi again and said, "I don't think that person is bad. He knows you, but he doesn't want to meet your boyfriend. The way he looked at you... it was like he was always... always fixated on you. Could he be a former admirer?"
Gu Susu could barely remember what the man she met last time looked like and said with a smile, "This... your imagination is too wild. It's better to be careful."
Sophie said "oh," feeling that the man would still come looking for Susu, and they could only wait and see.
...
Qin Tianyi stayed in Paris for a few days and asked local friends to check, but there were no records of Gu Susu having a car accident there.
Xiao Anjing also couldn't find any record of Gu Susu having a major car accident in Lancheng. He was at a loss.
Qin Tianyi decided to return to Lancheng first to personally investigate why Gu Susu had amnesia. If it wasn't caused by a car accident, what else could it be?
He sat on the international flight back to Lancheng, casually flipping through the airline magazine. It featured a story about an entrepreneur who built his empire from scratch, then fell into ruin and lost everything. In desperation, he resorted to kidnapping hostages to threaten his competitors, ultimately meeting a tragic end when he was shot by the police.