Located on the fifth floor in the neuropsychiatry clinic, the doctor settled back into her chair, putting down her glasses. "What you're experiencing is actually quite common," she said.

"So, I actually left my body and spent some time in another space... a parallel timeline...

or something like that?" Qi Yue asked from the recliner. The doctor smiled.

"Yueyue, the fact that you can speak of such things shows how deeply this dream is troubling you," she remarked. Qi Yue sat up, catching the key word in the doctor's speech.

"So, it's still just a dream hallucination?" she said, pressing her fingers to her temple. "But if I hadn't experienced it firsthand, how would I have learned traditional Chinese medicine's 'observation, listening, inquiry, and pulse-taking'?" "That's exactly what I'm getting at.

Don't you ever feel, when arriving at a place, a sense of familiarity, as if you've been there before? Or when someone says a particular phrase in conversation, or in a certain scene, it feels like you've already lived through it?" the doctor said, leaning back.

Indeed, Qi Yue nodded. "So, our brains deceive us," the doctor said, pointing a finger toward her head.

"They are incredibly powerful, capable of remembering so much, but also quite clumsy. They pile up everything they remember in a messy heap, to the point where they don't even know which memory is which, until something suddenly jostles it, and some of it tumbles out..." "You mean, I actually experienced these things, I just forgot them," Qi Yue stated.

"Often, dreams and these so-called familiar, lived-through scenes are memories from our childhood, triggered when the brain experiences a stimulus, resulting in a feeling of missing context or reflection," the doctor confirmed, nodding. "But I genuinely never studied traditional Chinese medicine extensively," Qi Yue frowned.

"I only took a few elective classes in school, and later looked up some things for my report on TCM injections..." "But you still had exposure, didn't you?" the doctor countered. Qi Yue knitted her brows.

"There's no way my brain could just pull this level of skill out of nowhere and make me this proficient," she argued. "Some people take a fall, wake up speaking multiple languages, or suddenly become painting prodigies.

It's not you who is proficient," the doctor chuckled, tapping her own head. "It's the human brain that is powerful." Qi Yue rolled her eyes.

"Besides, are you really that proficient?" the doctor asked curiously. Qi Yue touched her earlobe.

"Not entirely. Occasionally, I misdiagnose.

After all, I learned from them for such a short time..." She paused as she spoke the word 'them'. Those vibrant people...

Were they truly not real? Were they merely fabrications of her brain based on past memories?

"Yes," the doctor confirmed, tapping the desk for emphasis once more. "Yueyue, your brain sustained an injury, and developing these after-effects is entirely normal.

What you need to do is clearly distinguish between reality and dreams, and brighten your own eyes." Qi Yue laughed. "Fine, I get it.

I won't descend into woo-woo spirituality from now on, seeking ethereal past lives and karma. I, Qi Yue, need to earn a living first," she declared.

"Wrong," the doctor corrected, shaking a finger at her. "Finding a man is the most important thing." Qi Yue burst into laughter.

"However, while I know your self-control is strong, you still need three more sessions of therapy," the doctor continued, ripping off a prescription. "I’ll give you a friend's rate." Qi Yue accepted it with a smile and glanced at it.

"Don't pick up these medicines at the pharmacy. I'll call my contact; they’ll deliver them to you," the doctor added.

This way, she avoided anyone knowing she was taking medication. Qi Yue thanked her with a smile.

"I'm leaving now," she said, her joking manner gone, and closed the door behind her as she walked out. Watching her leave, the doctor paused, picked up the phone on her desk, and was just about to dial when the door was abruptly shoved open, startling her.

"Don't tell my father," Qi Yue warned. "Otherwise, I'll tell the father of your child about that bonus you secretly kept last time!" "You're ruthless!" the doctor exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up.

Only then did Qi Yue smile and genuinely leave. She looked down at the prescription in her hand, shaking her head with a self-deprecating smile.

Someone brushing past her noticed her and stopped abruptly. Qi Yue didn't see and continued walking forward.

"Dr. Qi," Peng Jiahai called out.

Qi Yue finally turned back. "Dr.

Peng," she replied with a slight smile. Peng Jiahai said goodbye to his colleague and walked over, glancing in the direction Qi Yue had come from, pointing with a hint of confusion.

"Work matters, just work matters," Qi Yue smiled, crumpling the prescription haphazardly and tucking it into her white coat pocket. Peng Jiahai clearly saw it but naturally said nothing.

A silence fell between them for a moment. "Are you...

heading to the outpatient clinic?" Qi Yue asked proactively. "Oh, no, I just finished a consultation; I'm heading back to the ward," Peng Jiahai replied, stepping forward.

Qi Yue fell into step beside him. "That steak at your place last time was excellent," Peng Jiahai remarked.

"Where did you buy it? I've been here so long and still haven't found one I actually like." "That’s because you didn't ask me sooner," Qi Yue chuckled.

"It wasn't at the supermarket, but at the market in the back, the innermost shop. Tell them I sent you, and they'll give you a 20% discount." Peng Jiahai laughed.

"Really?" he asked. "You'll know when you try," Qi Yue replied.

They chatted like this as they entered the elevator. Qi Yue's father, who had been held back by Huang Ying, finally stepped out of an office.

"Xiao Huang, why are you holding me back? What exactly is wrong with Xiao Yue?

Why is she suddenly visiting neuropsychiatry?" he asked. "Oh, Uncle, please don't worry too much.

She's fine; she's just too lonely," Huang Ying said brightly. "Look, look, isn't this great?

She’ll be fine very soon." Qi Father shook his head and smiled. "You child," he said, then looked toward the direction Qi Yue and Peng Jiahai had gone, frowning slightly.

"It’s just, Dr. Peng..." "He's a good person, isn't he?

I looked into it; his family background is very respectable," Huang Ying quickly assured him. "But isn't he planning to work abroad soon?" Qi Father inquired.

"So what? It's just a plane ticket.

Besides, Xiao Yue could manage abroad just fine. She had that spot last time too, if it hadn't been for your suggestion that she..." Huang Ying stopped herself mid-sentence.

If it hadn't been for Qi Father's suggestion last time, Qi Yue wouldn't have given up studying abroad to go to the countryside, which resulted in the accident... That was a painful spot for Qi Father.

"Uncle, look at me. I speak without thinking.

I didn't mean it like that," Huang Ying quickly apologized. Qi Father smiled and comforted her.

"Let the young people handle their own affairs," he said. "No matter where they go, it's enough to know that she is well." Life continued, simple yet full.

No one asked Qi Yue about her visits to the neuropsychiatrist. She made sure to see the doctor during her lunch breaks; since their relationship was good enough, any excuse was acceptable.

Qi Father also pretended not to know, only secretly checking in with the doctor regularly. "...She is much better," the doctor said, flipping through the records.

"Uncle, you know Yueyue is a very self-disciplined person." Qi Father nodded. "I really worry about any lingering effects.

Ever since she woke up, her whole demeanor has been slightly off, her emotions consistently strange," he said, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Uncle, don't you already know if she has any after-effects?" the doctor smiled.

"For physical ailments, I can be certain and treat them, but for psychological ones..." Qi Father shook his head, still confused. "But she just lay there quietly for so long; how could there be any psychological issues?

A trauma from the accident?" The doctor shook her head. "It was just a fall.

Yueyue isn't the type to let one setback ruin everything," she smiled, crossing her arms as she thought. "I suspect it’s still about relationships.

Her..." She looked at the empty chair where Qi Yue usually sat during sessions, eyes closed, swaying slightly. "Her expression carries deep sorrow, a sense of...

longing... and grief.

I see these emotions often; they are almost always related to relationships—things or people they cannot let go of," the doctor continued. Both thought of one person and then shook their heads simultaneously.

"She and Jianfeng started when they were in university; it's no wonder she can't let go," Qi Father murmured. "I originally thought Yueyue was more open-minded..." "The women who appear the most open are often the ones who get stuck on relationship details.

They smile in public but weep in private, and they absolutely refuse to let anyone see their wounds. They are better off than those who cry and make a fuss, at least they purge their emotional garbage," the doctor explained.

Both sighed. "But she's much better now.

Isn't Yueyue finally willing to start a new relationship?" the doctor added with a smile. "Dr.

Peng?" Qi Father shook his head. "It hasn't quite reached that point." "It will come gradually.

At least Yueyue hasn't rejected him," the doctor said. "It means she's willing to let go of the past, and that's good." Qi Father nodded.

"Has her therapy concluded?" he asked. The doctor organized the patient files and nodded.

"She's been rotating through the emergency room for the last six months; she’s been too busy. She hasn't had any major issues, so I told her not to come in deliberately.

I'll keep monitoring her regularly," she said. "The election for the 'Top Ten' is starting; Yueyue might have a chance." "Don't count on that.

She was sick for so long, and she hasn't even been back at work for a full year," Qi Father argued. "This isn't a competition based on who has worked longer," the doctor laughed.

At that moment, Qi Yue was in the thick of her busiest time. If there was one place that was the most chaotic, it had to be the Emergency Room, running day and night.

Accompanied by the wail of a siren, green-clad emergency medics wheeled a patient in. The take-out meal box Qi Yue had just received had to be set aside.

"...Male, thirty-five, trauma for one hour... in shock..." "Blood pressure 70/30 mmHg, heart rate 110..." "Dr.

Qi, the X-ray and B-ultrasound rooms are completely full right now; we can't wait," the resident doctor reported after several phone calls. "The Chief of Orthopedics is currently in surgery and can't be pulled away either..." Qi Yue didn't move from her spot, acknowledged with an 'Mm,' and reached out to gently touch the patient's leg.

"Dr. Qi?" everyone present asked instinctively, unsure of what she intended to do.

Qi Yue carefully palpated the patient's body, point by point. "...Tibia fracture..." she stated.

"Huh?" Everyone around her froze. What, what?

She could diagnose a fracture just by touching him a couple of times? I am rushing the writing pace, truly worried about not finishing by the end of the month.

Fortunately, the rhythm feels right, and the plot is lining up for a brief meeting around the Mid-Autumn Festival. Please excuse any excessive wordiness.

RS