The Fragrance of My Hot Patients

Before Chenyang took Nana’s pulse, Angie’s trust in him was only about eighty percent.

His previous analysis of her condition had been spot-on and thorough, but his mention of "yin-yang balancing therapy" had made her highly suspicious.

But now, her trust shot up to one hundred percent, and all her previous doubts vanished in an instant.

Only Angie and their parents knew that her sister had been molested many years ago. They had never told anyone.

Yet Chenyang had accurately described it just from taking her pulse.

This was enough to prove that his skills were far greater than Angie had imagined.

"You’re right. On the night of our sixteenth birthday, our adoptive father got drunk, broke into the bathroom, and almost raped Nana. I heard her scream and ran in, stopping the tragedy before it could happen."

"And I assume your sister’s overall condition started to change from that day on, didn’t it?"

Angie thought for a moment. "She was deeply traumatized that day and became silent and withdrawn for a while, but she seemed to return to normal about a month later. The changes in her condition didn’t really start appearing until about three months after the incident."

"It only appeared after three months?" Chenyang narrowed his eyes and frowned, sensing something was off.

He didn’t press for details, however. He withdrew his hand and asked, "What caused your sister to have such a strong emotional outburst today?"

"This... Do I have to talk about it?"

"Of course. It’s highly relevant to her condition."

"When we were treating her neurological issues before, I also took her to a psychologist. The psychologist said that to help my sister’s condition, it would be best to find something to distract her, something that could bring her joy and positive emotions. I didn’t quite understand, so I asked the doctor for some examples. The doctor thought for a moment and told me that for a patient my sister’s age, things like good food and fun activities wouldn’t have much of an effect. Travel had too many uncontrollable factors. The only truly suitable option was to fall in love.

"But you never know when my sister’s illness might act up, and I couldn’t be sure a real boyfriend would be able to constantly accommodate her moods. So, after thinking about it, I... I pretended to be her boyfriend."

Chenyang was taken aback. "How do you even fake something like that?"

"To put it bluntly, it was the whole online dating routine. I made a new account, pretended to be a guy, fabricated a whole identity, and started pursuing her."

"Something fabricated isn’t real. Didn’t you ever consider that if she found out, it would cause an even bigger emotional crash?"

"I wasn’t thinking that far ahead at the time. I chose this method because I knew my sister had always longed to be in a relationship. And since I know her so well, it took almost no effort to win her over. I wasn’t worried about meeting up or anything, because her illness has given her low self-esteem. She told me a long time ago, during one of her lucid periods, that online dating might be more suitable for her—you don’t have to meet, and it can be filled with all kinds of wonderful hopes and fantasies."

The corner of Chenyang’s mouth twitched. "Put that way, it does seem like it would give her a very positive emotional boost."

"Yes. This fake relationship lasted for six months, and during that time, her episodes became noticeably less frequent."

"Then why did she suddenly have an episode today, and such a severe one at that?"

"After I finished chatting with her today, I forgot to switch accounts. She saw our chat history and realized the past six months have been a lie. All her beautiful fantasies shattered, and her emotions just... she broke down."

"Tsk." Chenyang winced. "Well, that’s a huge mess."

"Why? Does this have a major impact on her treatment?"

"A major one. In my experience, her neurological problems stem from a psychological one. The real root of her illness is a malady of the heart, and there’s a high probability it was caused by the trauma of being molested by your adoptive father. Her low self-esteem originates from there as well.

"Think about it. If you had gone through such a shameful experience, would you dare to easily accept a new relationship? Would you be able to invest yourself in it?"

Angie shook her head without a second thought. "I wouldn’t dare. I’d be afraid they would be disgusted by my past, and I’d also be worried something like that would happen again."

"Exactly. That’s the crux of your sister’s problem. As the saying goes, a malady of the heart requires a medicine for the heart. If this relationship you fabricated were real, and her boyfriend gave her that positive affection, it could have helped her escape the shadow of that incident to a great extent. Once that psychological wound was healed, her neurological issues would only need a bit of supplemental treatment to be completely cured.

"But if that psychological wound isn’t healed, even if I were to use Daoist medical arts to cure her neurological disease right now, it would likely relapse in the future, or new neurological conditions could appear."

"So... what do we do?"

"Right now, there are only two options. First, we find a way to help her move past the shadow of this failed romance and your betrayal as quickly as possible. But I’m afraid that would require some major, joyous event to make it happen."

"That’s too difficult. What’s the second option?"

"While she’s still unconscious, we make the relationship real!"

"Of course! If the fictional boyfriend became real, it would mend the psychological blow she’s suffering. And the affection she’s been longing for would definitely help her recover much faster."

Angie grew excited as she spoke, but after she finished, her face fell. ’It’s a good idea,’ she thought, ’but where am I supposed to find a boyfriend for her?’

’Given my sister’s condition, no ordinary man would agree to it.’

’Hiring an actor is unrealistic, too... This act would have to go on for a long time, and it would cost a fortune.’

In an instant, Angie’s thoughts were in turmoil.

But just as she was at a loss, her gaze inadvertently fell upon Chenyang.

"Xiaochen, the boyfriend I described to my sister in our chats is a lot like you. I can’t find anyone else right now. Could you... could you help me by pretending to be my sister’s boyfriend?"