Chapter 3 - The Psychiatrist Saw Through Her

The water running in the shower stopped.

Moments later, the foggy glass door opened to reveal a tall man who was completely naked—save for a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair still dripping.

Water rolled down his slender neck, passing his broad chest, defined abs, and finally disappearing into the Apollo’s belt visible under his snatched waist. 

He was finally free of the stench from his experiment earlier.

The man must have spent all his days in the laboratory, for his skin was a sickly pale from the lack of sun. However, it was clear from his well-trained body that his health did not suffer from his working habits. He seemed lean, but power was hiding in every one of his firm muscles.

He took his time drying his hair with a towel. The full-body mirror behind him reflected his back.

A piercing splash of black ink stained what was supposed to be the same sickly pale as the rest of his body. The ink was deposited into his skin, one needle at a time, by some tattoo artist. He paid the price of blood and pain to receive a swooping crow, its wings wide and claws ready to attack.

The crow is the bird of the plague, the messenger of death, and most of all, an ill omen.

The crow on the man’s back seemed even more wicked than the myths would suggest. Its intense gaze glowed faintly a blood red. Its claws seemed sharp enough to disembowel any living creature.

Such a grotesque tattoo was unthinkable on this pale body. The giant jet-black feathers almost seemed like the wings of the devil sprouting from the man’s back.

The most incredible part was the final piece of clothing the man put on. The jacket was a sacred white. He was a doctor, a profession whose practitioners were often called “angels in white”.

An angel marked with the messenger of death. It was a bizarre image shadowed by danger.

The man removed the last of the moisture from his hair with a blowdryer. He put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, softening the aggressiveness of his chiseled features and making him appear mellow and refined.

No one would believe such a massive change in aura was possible just from hiding away those piercing amber eyes.

Just then, his phone rang. The screen showed the name “Lin Xiusong”.

“Wait in my office. I’ll be there in five.” The man said coolly.

After ending the call, he took out some accessories, including a watch, cufflinks, and a tie, from a drawer, and took his time to put them on neatly.

Five minutes later, he showed up in front of his office as he had said.

Lin Xiusong, who had been pacing back and forth in the hall, rushed to greet him, her voice raspy with worry, “Mr. Yi, my sister and the bodyguards are in your office. Can we talk somewhere quiet?”

The refined gentleman opened the door to the neighbouring office without much thought.

“Please have a seat.” He took the main seat and crossed his slender legs with grace.

“Thank you for making the time.” Once her worries had passed, tension and fear showed up on Lin’s face involuntarily. Everyone said Yi Ling was amiable, refined, and a model gentleman, but only she knew that only a black heart could be found in his chest.

Recalling the past, Lin lowered her head and avoided his gaze.

She was forced to be his father’s lover for several years. That geezer loved torturing people, and her body was often covered in bruises and wounds. But she had no choice. Her sister was badly ill and needed money. Their house had been sold by their relatives without their consent, and they couldn’t get it back.

Then, Yi Ling found her and told her what to do.

After that, Yi Ling’s father died of a heart attack. His mother lost her mind and got locked up in a madhouse. None of those who had once bullied, schemed against, and outcast him met a fortunate end.

On the other hand, Lin rode his tailwind. She started her own fashion brand and entered the ranks of famous entrepreneurs.

Despite being older than the young man by a decade, she still felt nervous around him.

“Let- Let me tell you about my sister.” Lin swallowed hard and continued, full of regret, “I protected her too well. She had no idea how evil people can be.”

She had seen enough evil in Yi Ling. No man had been able to trip her up all these years.

“Her boyfriend is a scumbag. He’s a cheater and a freeloader. All he does is play video games and go to bars. Once he was out of money, he’d go to my sister. Not only did she dole out rent money and buy him expensive gifts, but he hit her whenever he was in a foul mood.”

Lin had to calm her swelling anger before continuing. “He never held back. Once, he slammed a stool over my sister’s head. She had to get stitches and lie unconscious for several days. I was furious and forced them to break up. I took my sister home and locked her up. Guess what her response was?”

She took out her phone and opened a clip of surveillance footage with shaky fingers.

In the video, a young lady banged against the wall and yelled to the camera, “Sister, let me out. I want to be with Haowei! I can’t live without him!”

The young lady was banging against the wall with all her might. The loud crashes and the splats of blood on the wall made for a horrific scene. A few more impacts and her head could just split open, but all she could care about was returning to her boyfriend, even at the cost of her own life.

She wasn’t lying when she said she couldn’t live without him.

Watching the video made Lin grit her teeth.

Lin breathed a heavy sigh and continued. “I had to let her out after that. But to think that scumbag dumped her and chased her out. It’s ridiculous. He’s living at my sister’s place and chased her out after dumping her.”

The older woman let out a low sneer. Her face was grim and her teeth gritting, as if she was ready to tear that scum apart.

Yi Ling had been listening quietly. He never interjected, and his expression remained welcoming and soothing. Had Lin not seen his heartless side, she would’ve been able to draw a calming strength from him.

The image he presented was overly gentle. A small upward curl of his lips could brighten anyone’s day.

But Lin didn’t even dare to look at him. She could only struggle to steady her own breathing and forced out the next words. “I thought that was the end of it. I thought my sister could slowly move on. But that didn’t happen. She started self-harming. Cutting herself until she was covered in blood. Then, she would take pictures and send them to that scumbag. To let him know she couldn’t live without him.

“That piece of garbage didn’t feel a tinge of guilt. He even encouraged her to die. Did you know? He even told my sister, ‘If you love me, then die for me. I can only believe you if you die.’ He said he was hurt badly and couldn’t trust any woman. So, to heal his emotional wound, my sister really attempted suicide. Once, twice, three times. Sleeping pills, hanging, and charcoal. She filmed every attempt for that filth.”

Lin’s eyes became red and swollen, her voice trembling with fear. “I saved her time and again, only for her to try to prove her love once more. I was spent. And I was terrified! I was worried that I would miss something and she would actually die. I had nightmares every day, ones filled with her blood.”

She was gazing at her open hands, eyes full of horror.

She swallowed once more before continuing. “Then, as if convinced by her sincerity, that asshole made up with her. I actually let out a sigh of relief. Can you imagine? I was fucking watching her walk into a minefield, and felt relieved! He drove me insane, too!”

Her open palms tightened into fists. Her words were filled with contempt.

Her bloodshot eyes stared straight at Yi Ling as she voiced her demand slowly yet firmly. “Mr. Yi, please erase my sister’s memories. Or make up a new memory. So she can forget about that scumbag completely.”

She knelt to him without hesitation and begged, “Mr. Yi, please save my sister. She would die if this continued. That man completely destroyed her!”

Yi Ling reached out, as if to help Lin up, but didn’t touch her. He shifted his crossed legs to the side, as if to avoid her prostration, but didn’t move out of the way.

His manners and gentleness were merely a facade.

He lowered his gaze to the crown of her head and spoke lightly, “Your sister has been emotionally manipulated. I won't erase her memories, since that would damage her brain. I'll provide therapy for her. Meanwhile, you must keep a close watch on her. Don’t let her contact that man in any manner. No meetings, texts, or calls. Nothing.”

“Alright, I understand. I will keep an eye on her.” Lin nodded her head eagerly. Her tense expression relaxed visibly.

Her sister could be healed as long as Yi Ling was willing to help. When it came to mental manipulation, he was second to no one.

The pair finished their conversation and headed out.

On the other side of the wall, the little crow, or should we call her Wu Yaya, had taken off her shoes and was lying comfortably in a lounge chair. She placed her hands over her stomach. Her eyes darkened as she rubbed her belly back and forth.

There was no question what Lin Xiuzhu’s sister was talking to the psychiatrist about. What else other than Lin Xiuzhu’s suicidal antics for her boyfriend?

What the two in the other room didn’t know was that Lin Xiuzhu was no longer a complete person.

After getting pregnant once again, her boyfriend, Yu Haowei, said to her, “Why are you such a bitch, getting pregnant so easily? Count for yourself how many times I’ve knocked you up! How about this: get rid of your womb along with this baby. Then, I’ll believe you actually love me. We’ll get married as soon as you’re out of the hospital.”

Lin Xiuzhu really believed him. She found an underground clinic and had her uterus removed along with the baby inside. That was the fourth time she had an abortion.

She was still bleeding when she stepped out of the clinic. It was her blood mixed with her baby’s blood. She called Yu Haowei to talk about getting married, but what she heard was his grunting along with another woman.

She had heard that grunting countless times already. She had even heard it as an intruding outsider. She should have been numb to it already.

But in that moment, as she stroked her bloody, emptied belly, she felt hatred for Yu Haowei for the first time. This hatred washed over her powerfully and endlessly.

Wu Yaya scrunched her face as she was reminded of this memory. Her pink tongue licked her gum and poked around in her cheeks. It was as if she could still taste the bitterness from it.

Even a little crow like her knew what it meant for an unwed female to lose her womb. It was already too late. Yu Haowei had utterly and completely ruined Lin Xiuzhu.

A tall, handsome man stepped into the office as Wu Yaya was lost in her thoughts.

They say the eyes are the windows to a person’s soul. Yi Ling was especially skilled at studying people’s eyes.

Before opening the door, he expected a pair of lifeless eyes, as if nothing could stir them anymore. Or perhaps a pair of cold eyes, as if even the last embers have turned to dust. But he saw neither.

What he saw was a pair far too spirited. They were lively, bright, and clear. The young lady had a pale face and a frail body. Her exposed wrists were covered in marks of self-harm. Both her physical and mental states should be terrible.

And yet, from those eyes alone, Yi Ling knew the situation was different from what he had learned just now.

Yi Ling turned around immediately and called to the woman waiting outside. “Come and take a look.”