Return of the Antagonistic Lady Boss

Big Brother threw the card while walking and talking on the phone, and before Feng Manman could say anything else, he went straight out.

Qian had only given Big Brother a heads-up; the rest was all his own performance, just enough to make Feng Manman believe him without letting her take advantage of him in the slightest, as he put it himself.

Even giving her a single cent felt like too much.

Qian was accompanying Big Sister-in-law at the club for a neck-and-shoulder massage, as if nothing had happened.

When the massage was almost done, Qian waved the therapist out. Big Sister-in-law was lying face down on a bed strewn with flower petals, eyes half closed, with no visible change in her expression— even the space between her brows was relaxed.

"Let me tell you a joke, Big Sister-in-law. You know, in the future a lot of beauticians will actually be graduates from my major. After graduation they can’t find a suitable job, so they come work at beauty salons, and they make a pretty decent monthly income."

"Oh?" Big Sister-in-law opened her eyes.

"Feels strange, right? Actually it fits social demand. Most of the women who can afford to come to a place like this have very stable finances and high incomes. What they call beauty and wellness is also about having someone to vent their stress to. If the massage therapist knows a bit of psychology, the communication works even better."

The fees at high-end women’s clubs are never low, and the quality of the staff varies wildly.

"What is there to talk about with a beautician?" Big Sister-in-law didn’t really get it.

She did regular maintenance treatments, but rarely talked about her own matters.

"High-income women don’t want to talk about work once they leave the office. They’d rather find a place to chat about domestic stuff, complain about their mothers-in-law, talk about their kids and so on."

"Listening to you, I think I’ve been living too comfortably." Big Sister-in-law said with a tinge of sadness.

Compared with typical society wives, her life had just been too good.

Her parents-in-law treated her very well, she herself was busy with work, and she rarely got dragged into family trifles. Her two sons were so outstanding there was almost nothing for her to worry about. She didn’t even have the chance to come to a place like this and complain about her family.

"Life springs from sorrow and perishes in ease"— it was because things had gone too smoothly that a woman like Feng Manman could take advantage of the opening.

"There’s nothing wrong with an easy life. Plenty of people want that ease and never get it."

Big Sister-in-law closed her eyes again. She pretended not to hear the deeper meaning in Qian’s words and instead moved her fingers a little, trying to change the subject.

"I don’t know why, but my hand feels a bit numb today. I’ll have to get the therapist to work on it some more later."

Qian narrowed her eyes. The hand numbness had already started?

It was more serious than she’d expected...

This was also why she had come out with Big Sister-in-law this time— she wanted to give her some psychological counseling.

And right at this critical moment, Qian’s phone rang.

"Shuixian, what’s up? Oh, someone wants a consultation with me? What does she want to ask about?"

Hearing Qian on the phone and that it was about work, Big Sister-in-law got up, planning to go out for a cup of coffee and leave Qian the space.

But Qian’s next sentence successfully made Big Sister-in-law stay.

"Post-infidelity trauma?"

As Qian said it, she glanced at Big Sister-in-law.

Big Sister-in-law also stopped moving.

At this juncture, a topic like that was especially sensitive.

"Oh, after something happened, the client started suspecting her husband of cheating even though she has no evidence, and she lacks a sense of security? You’re saying she made several different pieces of close-fitting underwear and checks every day whether her husband has changed clothes outside?"

Qian said one item, then looked at Big Sister-in-law once.

On the other end of the line, Shuixian asked in confusion, "Qian’er, what’s with you today? How come you repeat every sentence I say?"

It really sounded like she was deliberately saying it for someone else to hear. Usually in cases like this, Shuixian only needed to say it once, Qian would respond with a simple "mm" to show she got it, and then just decide whether to take the case or not.

"Speaking of post-infidelity trauma, it’s a trust deficit caused by emotional insecurity. It can bring about emotions like panic and anxiety; in later stages it can even lead to insomnia, palpitations, numbness in the limbs. Some patients also show physiological reactions such as facial flushing. The damage caused by an affair isn’t just emotional; it’s also the loss of a sense of safety."

"Who are you scamming now? Go on, I’ll just listen. Mr Chen, please begin your performance!" Shuixian seemed to understand something and simply gave the floor to Qian, listening patiently.

"To repair the scars left by an affair and fill in the missing sense of security, many people comfort themselves by saying, ’Just think it through and it’ll be fine,’ and tell women to either endure or cut cleanly. But when we encounter problems, the first people we should think of are professionals like us. Even trivial work issues can be brought to a psychologist— why should we have to just endure something as major as marriage?"

"Mm-hmm, your boobs are big, so you’re always right." Right now Shuixian could only play along with Qian.

"Mindfulness-based stress reduction to improve mood can help manage emotions. When you run into a problem you can’t get over on your own, ask for help from professionals, because a lot of people fail to control their reactions when the hurt first happens. Only later, when it has turned into a psychological issue, do they think of coming to us, and by then it’s much harder to handle."

"All right, Mr Chen, I surrender. You can scam people even over the phone. Shouldn’t I be charging you for props? You’re basically using me as a prop to treat someone, aren’t you?"

"No money for you. Just tell your client I’m taking this case, and the price is the same as usual."

Qian hung up and gave Big Sister-in-law a slight smile. "Want to ask what I charge?"

That conversation just now had already made Big Sister-in-law understand a few things.

Big Sister-in-law raised the hand that had been feeling numb. "This—is a psychological issue?"

Just now she’d felt her hand go numb and wanted to get the therapist to massage it again.

Qian nodded. She had come along precisely because she was afraid Big Sister-in-law would have some reaction to all this. An affair is a guillotine hanging over a marriage; this time Big Brother’s "affair" had only been a scheme by Feng Manman and could be considered an attempt that failed.

Big Brother had upheld the bottom line of the marriage, but the whole incident had still dealt a certain blow to Big Sister-in-law. On the surface she’d acted so domineering, but inside she was inevitably shaken— that was a normal reaction.

The sudden hand numbness was a physical response stemming from psychological trauma.

For a woman, changing jobs at thirty or divorcing at forty are major life turning points. Big Sister-in-law certainly wouldn’t divorce, but this incident still made her feel a sense of crisis.

Qian had set things up so that Feng Manman developed what’s called AIDS phobia; as for Big Sister-in-law’s current state, Qian felt it could already be called "divorce phobia."

Because she cared too much, she was afraid of losing it. Feng Manman was afraid of losing her life and health; Big Sister-in-law was afraid of losing her marriage and family.

People are just people, not gods.

"Qian, does this make me very melodramatic? Clearly nothing happened, I still have everything I had, but just because of this bit of uncertainty I feel so upset. Shouldn’t I be stronger?"

Qian hugged her and patted her gently. "Would you tell your patients that they got sick because they weren’t mindful enough or strong-willed enough?"