The Devil Doctor's Spicy Love-Chapter 382: First step

A few days had passed by and by this point, Jia was itching to go back to work. But with Mingshen’s strict instructions, she wasn’t allowed to. But it also wasn’t like her days were going unfulfilled. Through Mingshen’s trusted connections, Jia had finally agreed for mental health counseling.

Though she vehemently resisted this idea at first, Mingshen gave her no choice. Her feelings had spiraled out of her control and bottling them would only make her more miserable. It was in his position as a doctor that he compelled her to take help.

Today was Jia’s first session with her doctor but she stepped out an hour later more tired and fatigued than ever.

"Will this really work...?" She muttered to herself.

The doctor was calm and patient with her the entire time, gently nudging to talk about her, yet she couldn’t find the strength to delve into her own life. The session was practically filled with uncomfortable silence on Jia’s part.

"I just wasted her time. I should really tell Mingshen that this won’t work."

"Patience."

Jia looked up, her eyes slightly widening upon meeting Yang Cheng, who was calmly standing with his hands behind his back.

"Uncle? You are here too?"

"Hm. Had some work so dropped by."

He then stared at her and quietly said, "Untangling your burdens and emotions is never easy. Your counselor knows this. She wouldn’t be mad at you."

Jia awkwardly bit down on her lip. "I-I don’t think this will..."

"First sessions are always like that," he said, unfazed, "Counseling is not just a one day medicine to be taken. It’s a process. You have to be patient."

They slowly walked along the hospital’s corridors where all the staff, doctors and nurses alike, immediately greeted him with respect and attention.

"What did you think of the doctor?"

"Oh yes. Dr. Tian was very friendly and approachable," she smiled, albeit embarrassed. "I d-don’t think she thinks the same way about me though..."

She felt a wave of embarrassment once again, thinking back to how closed off Jia was towards the doctor.

"She is not judging you," he said with a tone of finality. "Unlike the doctor who would have heavily judged Mingshen and me in the past."

Jia blinked. "Mingshen and you?"

They stopped and Yang Cheng stared ahead.

"Yes. We needed counseling once upon a time."

Her lips slightly parted in bewilderment. She couldn’t believe that there was a point when Yang Cheng and even Mingshen needed counseling.

"But doctors are the worst patients. Our counselors suffered a lot. Mingshen was seventeen, close to becoming eighteen at that time. Being a teenager makes you very impatient. He gave up half-way."

Jia was unsure of how to respond. She found his gaze staring at a nurse from the pediatric department wheeling out a NICU unit with a baby comfortably wrapped inside it and crying out heartily. The baby’s cry emanated joy and liveliness in the air.

He calmly withdrew his gaze and looked back at her. "Compared to us, you are doing good."

Jia remained silent. On the outside, the Yang family seemed the happiest like any other family in the world. But it seemed like even they couldn’t escape a tragic fate.

What could have happened...

She wished she could know but she understood Yang Cheng’s side. Just how there was the pain she found it hard to share it with others, Yang Cheng held his own. She felt a hand on top of her head and looked up to find his gentle gaze.

"It’s all in the past now. I could tell you if you want to know but I think..." he slightly tipped his head, "Mingshen needs to tell you more than me."

"Mingshen?"

"He needs to reach out to someone. He has a lot of things unresolved in his heart. I had Bingqing and Bingqing had me. Of course, Mingshen had us both. But he shut us off," he said plainly without much expression.

Mingshen’s snarky face came to her mind. Behind that ever so smiling and cheery expression that was the death of everybody, she didn’t know that an inexplicable pain lay beneath it too.

"Do you want to eat ice cream?"

Her daze broke and she blinked at him rapidly. "Ice cream?"

He nodded.

She beamed. "Of course! I was craving for something sweet."

"Let’s go then."

An invisible arrow struck her heart.

Ah, I understand why Aunt fell for him so hard. He is so cute!

Now if only Mingshen had even 1% of that cuteness...

But on the flip side, she shuddered imagining a cute Yang Mingshen.

L-Let’s not dwell upon it...

Yang Cheng placed a giant glass of an ice cream sundae in front of her to which she drooled.

"Yummy!"

Yang Cheng watched her for a moment and nodded in satisfaction.

Jia looked up and coughed. "Uncle."

He looked up and raised his brow.

"I have a request. If you could..can you please tell Mingshen to let me go to work?" Her throat felt dry as she asked.

"No."

"..."

"But Uncle, I can manage my sessions and work. It won’t be a problem at all!"

"No. Your mind needs rest."

"Uncle, it seriously needs work," she was close to crying.

"That’s because it has become your defense mechanism. You have gotten too used to work. That’s what Mingshen is doing. A change and balance is necessary in your life at this point," he remained firm.

Jia felt defeated. His tone made it all very clear that convincing him was no longer an option. Like father, like son. But an idea struck her.

"Can I at least gather some information about the case?"

"Information?"

"Yes. Currently, the She cult’s case that I am investigating led us to know about a sex worker from Huayuan who disappeared thirteen years ago. She seemed to be connected to one of the bigger political families like maybe...the Zhuo and Hou families. I wanted to ask if you know anything about them at a closer level."

"I know a little bit."

"Can you please tell me? Maybe something could help the case. Like..oh, yes! For starters, I heard that you used to be the Hou family’s doctor in the past but then suddenly, you refused to visit there anymore."

"Of course, I did."

"Why? Aunt said you never told her about it."

"She didn’t need to know," a biting frost settled in his other calm eyes.

He put the ice cream spoon back and looked at her.

"I used to visit the Hou villa for the youngest son’s treatment."

"Youngest...Hou Jielun?"

"Yes."

"What was his illness?"

"Erectile dysfunction."