Of course, Chen Rui was not hearing Li Younan’s name for the first time.

Though she had always studied out of town and had little chance to visit Li Younan’s house, their mothers had such a good relationship, and her own mom often mentioned her best friend, incidentally bringing up Li Younan.

However, her mother and Li Younan’s mom were the same type of women; when talking about others, it was just pure chatting, telling interesting stories without comparing people, mostly aiming to keep the conversation lively.

Besides, Chen Rui herself was the "model child" in others’ eyes, so her mom would definitely not say things like "that brother Li Younan is so amazing, you should learn from him."

Overall, she didn’t have a deep impression of Li Younan, just a few simple labels that were somewhat memorable.

Li Younan was a boy who lost his father at a young age, slightly older than her, but Chen Rui could never call him brother.

He was raised by just his mother, which frankly was quite pitiful.

His academic performance was good; he attended a prestigious university in the country, and for quite a while after graduation, he developed his career in Shanghai.

The latest news she heard about him was a brief remark from her mother before her visit, that he quit his job in Shanghai and supposedly went on a road trip, but the details weren’t elaborated.

This was all Chen Rui knew about Li Younan.

Chen Rui never labeled a stranger or made judgments based on hearsay about what kind of person someone was.

But before meeting Li Younan, her mind naturally outlined a simple sketch of him... the kid who grew up with his mother might have some feminine qualities... maybe?

However, upon meeting Li Younan, her preconceived notions were completely overturned.

Li Younan couldn’t be described as rough or exuding male dominance, but he certainly had a sunny, handsome presence and quite an amiable demeanor.

When Li Younan offered to make her a bowl of noodles, she agreed, albeit a little shyly.

These days, her appetite had not been great. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

In the afternoon, when her mom invited Li Younan’s mom for a meal, she barely ate a few bites before losing interest.

Even now, she still didn’t have much of an appetite, but reason told her she should eat something; otherwise, her mother would be worried.

As it happened, when Li Younan was eating that bowl of noodles, an unusual appetite stirred within her, which startled her a bit... it had been quite a while since she felt this way.

So when Li Younan went to cook the noodles, Chen Rui’s mother glanced at her with a hint of surprise and delight in her eyes.

Noticing her mom’s glance, Chen Rui felt a bit guilty.

She had made her mom worry.

Around the beginning of the semester, Chen Rui realized there might be a slight problem with her mental state.

Before entering university, her life had been smooth sailing, and she had strict expectations for herself, though these weren’t imposed by others; they were a benchmark she set for her own life.

After arriving in the United States, the entirely new environment and many cutting-edge fields required a lot of adaptation and posed many challenges.

Her high standards and strict demands on herself were a double-edged sword; on one hand, they helped her forge ahead, overcoming numerous difficulties, whether it was socializing and mingling with local students or tackling academic challenges.

But on the other hand, things were a bit different...

At the beginning of the semester, she was only experiencing frequent insomnia.

But as time went on, the situation not only didn’t ease but gradually worsened in other areas.

Often after leaving the dorm, she would constantly fear she hadn’t locked the door or left the faucet running, frequently turning back to check even after walking some distance away.

Only after repeatedly confirming that the water and electricity were off and the door locked, would she go back downstairs.

Every time she attended class, she desperately hoped to sit in the same seat as the previous day.

This was difficult to achieve at university, and so she often dashed to the classroom just to secure the seat she had previously occupied.

Additionally, she found herself increasingly indulging in immersive thought; sometimes, while conversing with friends, a thought would seize her mind, completely absorbing her attention, causing her to ignore everything happening around her until her friends called her name, jolting her back to the present.

Shortly before returning home, she discovered she might have developed a bit of obsession with cleanliness, washing her hands numerous times each day.

After sorting through these peculiar behaviors... she felt a bit of anxiety—she might indeed exhibit some symptoms of anxiety.

After consulting a psychologist, she was told she did show some signs of anxiety disorder.

If such mental issues are detected early, they can be corrected, but if left unattended, they might develop into more severe terms like paranoia or schizophrenia.

While the psychologist didn’t convey the consequences so severely, Chen Rui herself couldn’t help but overthink.