“That’s what I think, Lin Xian.”

Gao Yang insisted on explaining to Lin Xian:

“Actually, in the field of psychology, I’m just a dabbler. The things I told you before, I saw them all in that ‘psychologist’s’ WeChat Moments.”

“You still remember that psychologist, right? She was a customer when I sold cars. I showed you her WeChat Moments before…”

As he spoke, Gao Yang took out his phone, opened WeChat, and showed Lin Xian the contact information.

Lin Xian had seen the photo on the screen before. It was a middle-aged woman wearing a white coat. Her gentle smile, graying hair, and clean and fresh attire made her look very approachable and comfortable.

“You mean…” Lin Xian blinked, “You’re planning to take me to see a psychologist?”

“That’s right!”

“It’s not that serious… I’m really not sick, so don’t worry about it,” Lin Xian said, waving his hand in refusal.

Perhaps from Gao Yang’s perspective, he seemed to have some serious illness. But he knew his own situation.

“Oh, it won’t hurt to listen! Doctor Liu is a professional!”

Gao Yang directly opened a webpage, searched for Doctor Liu’s name, and showed Lin Xian the resume:

“Look! Doctor Liu’s most proficient areas are research on the subconscious, dreams, and cognition. Instead of us racking our brains here every day… it’s better to have an expert take action, and she’ll explain it to you clearly in a few words!”

“You have to believe in science and authority! Doctor Liu’s consultation fee of 3,000 yuan an hour is a symbol of strength and authority!”

“3,000 yuan an hour?” Lin Xian stood up directly, “Why not just rob someone?”

“Oh, is this the time to be worried about money?”

Gao Yang pulled Lin Xian back down and waved his hand magnanimously, “Your brother will pay for this!”

“I was able to earn so much money this World Cup all thanks to you. For your mental health, we definitely can’t skimp on this money!”

“I’ve already scheduled an appointment for you. Let’s go now!”

…

An hour later.

Gao Yang forcibly dragged Lin Xian to Doctor Liu’s clinic.

Although it was called a clinic, it was actually a very quiet lakeside villa, located in the natural scenic area not far from University Town.

“I heard that a single-family villa here costs 100 million,” Gao Yang whispered to Lin Xian, “Psychologists really make money!”

“Of course, with people like you rushing to give them money.” Lin Xian was really helpless.

Although he knew that Gao Yang was also acting out of kindness, worrying about him, doing it on such a grand scale was really unnecessary…

“We’re already here, Lin Xian. Anyway, the money has already been paid. Let’s just go in and listen!”

Gao Yang knocked on the door.

The door wasn’t closed, so the two of them went straight in.

The interior of the villa was decorated in a European style, with various wooden furniture. There was also a fireplace with a woodpile burning in the north, which was quite romantic.

“Is this Mr. Gao Yang? Please come to this room.”

A gentle and refined voice came from the next room, sounding very comfortable, like a murmuring stream that soothed the heart.

The two of them pushed open the door to the next room.

This was also a large room, with a wooden recliner in the middle and several wooden chairs neatly arranged in the corner.

Sunlight streamed through the large windows, warming the tone of the entire room and slowing down even the breathing.

Doctor Liu sat smiling in a chair in front of a mahogany desk by the window, looking at Lin Xian and Gao Yang.

Lin Xian looked at Doctor Liu… She looked even more amiable than in the photos, like a kind grandmother, her eyes full of love and tenderness as she looked at them.

“Mr. Lin, please lie on the recliner, relax your body and mind, and let’s start with a simple chat.”

Lin Xian followed Doctor Liu’s instructions and lay on the recliner…

He closed his eyes…

Took a deep breath to relax his body…

And then began a simple question-and-answer session, basically just chatting about some basic information.

Age, work, family situation, relationship status, and so on.

Lin Xian answered all of these truthfully, as there was no need to hide anything.

But when asked about the confusion of dreams later… Lin Xian didn’t tell everything. Because he felt that some things really didn’t need to be said, and he didn’t believe that a psychologist could solve his problems.

Doctor Liu chatted with Lin Xian while taking notes in a notebook.

Finally…

The two finished their chat, and Doctor Liu looked at Lin Xian and asked, “Mr. Lin, are you sure you can distinguish between reality and dreams?”

Lin Xian nodded, “I have absolutely no problem with that, Doctor Liu. I never confuse dreams with reality.”

“How do you judge and distinguish between the two?”

Lin Xian was really stumped by this question.

Who can’t distinguish between dreams and reality?

Falling asleep is a dream, waking up is reality. Does there need to be any standard for judgment?

He opened his eyes and said slowly, “To be honest, Doctor Liu, I’ve never seriously considered this question. I instinctively believe… that the time after waking up is definitely the real world. Isn’t that common sense?”

Doctor Liu smiled, “Don’t underestimate this question. Even today, there isn’t a complete theoretical method to accurately distinguish between reality and dreams. Most of our understanding and judgment actually comes from human intuition.”

“Especially in dreams, almost everyone is unaware that they are dreaming. Only a very few people, in very few cases… may realize that they are dreaming. In psychology, we call this a lucid dream.”

…

Unaware that you are dreaming?

Lin Xian had never had that feeling… He knew very well when he was dreaming.

Because his dreams were too distinctive, always repeating that one day endlessly. As soon as he stood in that square, he knew he was dreaming.

Lin Xian looked at Gao Yang, “You never realize you’re dreaming?”

“Of course not!”

Gao Yang answered without hesitation, “I’m not like you, I’m a normal person! Normal people don’t realize they’re dreaming unless they wake up.”

“Seriously, sometimes the content of my dreams is quite absurd. For example, I go back to high school, or sometimes I’m chased by dinosaurs… But even if it’s absurd, I still don’t realize I’m in a dream. Only after waking up in the middle of the night can I realize that I was dreaming.”

Doctor Liu nodded, while looking down and taking notes, and said:

“Gao Yang is right, most people’s dreams are absurd, like chaotic film clips. But even so, most people still don’t realize they’re dreaming.”

“But Mr. Lin, your situation is a very special one. Not only can you realize that you’re dreaming every time, but you can also clearly remember how the dream started every day, and the content of the dream isn’t absurd, basically no different from reality.”

Doctor Liu stopped writing, looked up at Lin Xian, “This is a very dangerous signal. Because both worlds are real enough, if one day you lose the reference point for distinguishing between reality and dreams… you know what will happen, right?”

“At that time, you will completely lose the ability to distinguish between reality and dreams.”