Chapter 442: Chapter 435: Different Forms of [Avoidance]
——To avoid letting my mother know I’m in counseling, "this is the only time I’m free."
——It’s difficult at night, but because "I sleep with my mother," I endure the discomfort and get through the whole night.
The information collection here is very efficient; in just two sentences, the visitor’s main issues are outlined.
However, besides outlining, filling in details is also necessary.
What if there’s some misunderstanding?
Nan Zhubin thought for a moment and continued to guide: "You’re living with your mom now, right?"
"Yes."
The visitor nodded and continued to enrich the background without waiting for Nan Zhubin to ask further.
"My parents divorced when I was in junior high. My dad, he..." The visitor frowned and pulled a wry smile, "used to always beat me and my mom."
"Mom couldn’t take it anymore on the one hand, and also wanted to protect me, so she divorced... It wasn’t easy for her."
Nan Zhubin didn’t speak, his right hand holding a pen hovering over the record sheet in front of him, his left index finger habitually in front of his lips.
Then observed the visitor’s reactions.
[Body upright, posture unchanged.]
[There are pauses, but the speech is relatively coherent.]
[Less emotional involvement.]
"After the divorce, mom didn’t remarry and worked hard to raise me."
The visitor pursed her lips: "After I graduated from high school, I enrolled at Jizhou University to not be too far from home, and lived with my mom. It made it convenient for her to take care of me, and for me to accompany her."
"My university grades were decent... the teacher recommended I pursue further studies since humanities don’t offer good job prospects... my mom also supported my master’s studies, including later pursuing a PhD... and it was only during my master’s, that I was apart from my mom for a while."
[Eyes unfocused, slight nodding.]
[More pauses in speech.]
[Flickering tightening and relaxation of the brow.]
[As the recollection deepens, emotions begin to appear, seeming very... conflicted.]
"I did my doctorate in Beidu. When I had the chance to stay in Beidu, my mom just moved in with me, helping tidy the house, cook, and whatnot... She’s been working hard..."
Nan Zhubin listened quietly, absorbing the visitor’s lengthy statements.
He didn’t hastily provide any feedback or repeat the emotions revealed in the visitor’s words.
He simply extracted an answer free of bias to his initial question: "So, your mom is living with you now, right?"
The visitor froze: "Yes."
"And you sleep together?"
The visitor nodded: "In the beginning, we slept in separate rooms, but once when she was upset, she pulled me to chat while sleeping, and then we started sleeping together again."
Okay, the details are there now.
In the process of enriching the details, some observations of the visitor’s behavior were made.
However, due to the caution necessary in counseling, there’s more that needs to be clarified.
The counseling relationship with the visitor also needs further construction.
The good news is, although this visitor seems to have some similarities with Nan Zhihao, her willingness to vent is very strong.
When discussing matters, the involvement wasn’t much at the start, but it was followed by a string of genuine emotions.
Although this string of emotions seems quite subtle.
Nan Zhubin selectively extracted some keywords from the visitor’s previous statements, attempting to further stir her emotions.
"You mentioned earlier that you don’t want your mom to know you’re in counseling, so only today’s—this specific time"—Nan Zhubin gestured a cutoff with his hand—"is available for counseling."
"You’re usually spending most time with your mom?"
The visitor nodded: "Yes."
Nan Zhubin thought for a moment and deliberately asked: "If you compare the time spent ’with your mom’ and ’with colleagues and friends,’ which do you spend more time on?"
The visitor indeed seemed a bit awkward as they tugged at the corner of their mouth: "I could say... I don’t really have friends. I don’t interact much with colleagues either, we’ve barely spent time together."
"And interactions with the opposite sex? None?"
The visitor lowered her head even more: "Not much interaction, either. After all, from high school to PhD graduation, I was focused on studying. By the time I graduated, I was already of a certain age, and now I’m busy with work..."
"At this point, most peers have a partner, and they don’t really consider someone like me."
Nan Zhubin raised an eyebrow, casually saying: "’Someone like you’? You’re a university lecturer, with high education, high social status, a stable income."
"..." The visitor first fell silent.
Then awkwardly tugged at the corner of her mouth: "But for this job, it’s something only the person doing it truly knows. I know I’m not someone special. The qualifications and all, it’s just because I didn’t know what else to do back then, so I kept studying, fortunate to have the opportunity to keep learning, and happened to get a teaching position..."
Nan Zhubin nodded slightly, bringing the topic back around, confirming: "So you still spend more time with your mom?"
The visitor nodded, adjusting her posture, responding precisely like a student answering a question in class: "You could say we spend all the time together aside from work. Eating, sleeping, daily life..."
...
Let the visitor take the lead, using their words to gather information.
This process can roughly conclude now.
The visitor did say a lot and provided plenty of information, but her narrative lacked focus—at least focus that’s clear from her perspective.
Therefore, Nan Zhubin needs to personally point this part out.
He began to steer the counseling direction.
"Ms. Lin." Nan Zhubin first flashed a slight smile.
Softening the atmosphere, laying some groundwork.
The visitor also smiled, as if amused, the straight back slightly leaning forward.
"I’ve heard a lot from you just now, but, I have a bit of confusion."
Nan Zhubin stated, unfolding the [Confrontation].
"You’ve talked a lot, and although it’s all presented from your perspective, it doesn’t seem like the protagonist is ’you’."
Nan Zhubin watched the other person’s expression.
[Movement paused, body stiffening—frozen response.]
[Eyebrows raised, indicates [surprise].]
[Then corner of the mouth—raised?]
Nan Zhubin continued: "Of course, there is indeed a part about you, but in most of it, you constantly describe someone else—your mom."
"Even in the few parts where it’s about you, it’s mostly ’your interactions with your mom.’"
This is the first issue.
And there’s a second issue.
"But even though you’ve been narrating, your descriptive language remains very objective, and very much in a written form."
Nan Zhubin described: "It’s like telling someone else’s story."