Chapter 600: Chapter 186: Minor Breakthrough
The lady boss sighed and looked at Lu Sisi, "Little sister, don’t you want to manage your boyfriend? Aren’t you afraid he’ll exhaust his body?"
Lu Sisi blushed and didn’t know how to answer, hesitating a bit before whispering, "I’ll just stay with him."
Under Chen Yan’s urging, the lady boss reluctantly turned on two computers and then watched as the two sat side by side in front of them.
And just like that, another five days passed!
·
Five days later, Chen Yan left with Lu Sisi again.
As they were leaving, he joked with the lady boss, "The fried eggs were pretty good this time, lady boss..."
The lady boss sighed and then snorted—she had a soft spot in the end and had whimsically fried two eggs in oil while making noodles for him.
"It would be nice if there was fried rice next time."
The lady boss angrily threw a handful of sunflower seeds at him, "Order takeout next time!"
"Takeout uses gutter oil, though."
"Get out, get out, get out!"
·
This time, Chen Yan didn’t take Lu Sisi to a hotel.
Though they could sleep at a hotel, they both had been out for many days and needed to change clothes.
They went home, took a shower, changed clothes, and slept holding each other on the bed.
·
"No way! Xiaoyan! Are you playing games for fun or what?! How fun can this game be? How fun???"
The lady boss’s face turned grim as she saw Chen Yan and Lu Sisi walk hand in hand into the internet café.
Especially seeing Lu Sisi carrying a bag—that clearly contained a change of clothes neatly packed in a plastic bag.
"Are you here to hit the internet café or go on a trip?" The lady boss’s face became a bit stiff.
·
Boot up, start the battle!
Chen Yan quickly sat down and immersed himself in the post-apocalyptic world on the computer.
A day later, Lu Sisi seized the moment when Chen Yan stopped to eat and took him to the restroom, and when they came out, she had changed him into a clean set of clothes.
Leaving Chen Yan to continue gaming, Lu Sisi ran to the counter.
"Um... sis..." Lu Sisi looked a bit shy and whispered, "Can I borrow the washing machine upstairs in your home? I want to wash the clothes he just changed out of."
The lady boss studied Lu Sisi carefully and suddenly couldn’t help but ask, "Did she save your life in a past life?"
Lu Sisi was taken aback, then smiled, her eyes carried a bit of sweetness, "Not in a past life, but in this life. He really did save my life."
"..." The lady boss looked at Lu Sisi speechlessly, finally giving in and waving her hand, "Go ahead, the washing machine is on the balcony at the end of the hallway on the third floor."
With that, she tossed over a key.
·
This time, Chen Yan played games in the internet café for another five days.
·
Nearly two months had passed.
Each time, Chen Yan would stay in the internet café for four or five days.
Four or five days were almost the limit for him to go without sleep—at his current cultivation level, if he could meditate and train, he could, of course, stay up longer.
But gaming is not training, and you can’t meditate while gaming—it’s an activity that exhausts mental energy.
So, over the four or five days, Chen Yan would deplete all his mental energy—completely immersing himself and indulging in his infatuation and obsession with gaming without any restraint.
During that period, Chen Yan also took Lu Sisi home two or three times, but they only returned to change clothes.
Finally, with just a week left till the two months ended...
That night, around 3 AM, Chen Yan, who had been staring at the screen intently, suddenly gently let go of the mouse.
He turned his head to see Lu Sisi had fallen asleep leaning back in the chair, the headphones still on her head, the computer screen playing a romantic show.
Chen Yan’s gaze was clear, and after taking a deep breath, he reached out to touch Lu Sisi’s face.
"...Hmm?" Lu Sisi suddenly opened her eyes and, seeing it was Chen Yan’s hand, exhaled with a smile, "What’s the matter?"
"Let’s rest." Chen Yan smiled, "Let’s go."
"Now?" Lu Sisi was a bit surprised, "We’re leaving now?"
"Yes, now." Chen Yan pulled Lu Sisi up.
At this moment, it had been less than three and a half days since he last walked into the internet café.
·
Immersing oneself in emotion is the first step.
The second step is "emotional awareness."
In other words, one must clearly recognize that they are in this emotional state.
Actually, this is easier said than done!
Mad people never think they are mad.
When a person is in a state of obsession, they never realize they are being obsessive!
Only those who recognize that they are being obsessive have a chance to stop being obsessive!
·
Chen Yan, after being immersed for two months minus seven days, completed the second step.
He clearly realized:
I am in the midst of greed and obsession!
·
Realizing that, the distance to the third step is not far.
·
This time marked a small progress, very small, but a crucial change.
After leaving the internet cafe this time, Chen Yan checked into a nearby hotel with Lu Sisi, rested for a night, but did not return to the internet cafe.
He meditated for a whole day in the hotel, contemplating and savoring some kind of emotion.
Then, he took Lu Sisi back to the internet cafe again.
This time, he was "immersed" for only three days.
The next time he returned to the internet cafe, Chen Yan’s immersion time shortened again, and at the 65th hour, he allowed himself to wake up and paused.
The next time, he took only forty-eight hours.
...
Not only was the time of each immersion getting shorter, but his resting time in between was getting longer.
From initially going back to sleep for a short while and then immediately returning to the internet cafe to battle, later on, he only immersed himself in gaming for a day and a night before pulling back, pausing, and going back to rest for three whole days.
When it had been exactly fifty-three days since the night Chen Yan first walked into the internet cafe.
Chen Yan put down his headphones while sitting on the chair.
He glanced at the time.
Only eight hours had passed since he logged on.
Chen Yan knew very well at this moment that he was still in a state of "greed and obsession."
But he could be very awake — or rather, extremely conscious of his state!
And this recognition allowed him to step into the third step: pause and disengage.
This wasn’t simple "restraint."
Restraint means forcibly suppressing such emotions.
But Chen Yan’s realization required not this kind of forced suppression.
Instead, it required rational recognition and rational disengagement.
Chen Yan found this state very subtle.
It was as if he could observe himself from a third-party perspective.
Detach part of his mind from the state and mindset of immersion, as if the person yelling "let me fight one more round" wasn’t himself.
Viewing his greed and obsession with a calm and rational perspective.
And after disengaging, he could calmly pause.
This kind of realization is different from forced suppression and restraint.
Forced suppression and restraint are interruptions under the influence of willpower or external forces.
Although forcibly suppressed, the emotions in one’s heart wouldn’t be paused. It might even create a counter-reaction.
Just like when you’re having a heated argument with someone, if you’re forcibly interrupted midway — you wouldn’t continue the argument, but the anger in your heart would still be fierce.
Yet Chen Yan’s kind of rational recognition and disengagement allowed him to easily detach himself from the state of "greed and obsession."
Then, calmly pressing the pause button, calmly walking out of that emotion.
"Seems like I’ve made some progress, huh?"
When Chen Yan returned home, he had just finished showering. Standing in front of the mirror, he looked at himself and grinned: "It doesn’t seem that hard, does it."
Well... but on second thought, anger might still be the hardest to deal with.
As for anger, he still wasn’t confident he could comprehend it.
Encountering that kind of bastard who pisses him off, he really couldn’t help but want to physically take them out!
The problem is, he actually had the ability to do it.
·
Chen Yan stood at the bathroom door, towel in hand drying his hair, as he saw Lu Sisi in pajamas propped up on the bed, holding a mobile phone.
The girl’s expression was a bit complicated.
Chen Yan put down the towel, walked out of the bathroom, and came to the bedside.
Lu Sisi put down her phone, looked up, and gave Chen Yan a smile.
But Chen Yan noticed a hint of peculiarity in Lu Sisi’s eyes.
"What’s wrong?" Chen Yan lay down next to Lu Sisi, reaching over to hug her.
"My mom... sent me a message," Lu Sisi said softly.
Chen Yan furrowed his brows slightly: "What did she say?"
"She said she wants to meet me and have a chat."
Chen Yan thought for a moment and said quietly: "I think you should meet her."
Lu Sisi looked at Chen Yan, nodded seriously: "I want you to come with me."
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