Chapter 1076 - 809: How Can I Not Go to School? (2)
Nan Zhubin blinked his eyes. After a week, he had a general understanding of some of Jingwei’s situation.
There are two types of therapist appointments, one reserved for old patients and the other released online for new patients to grab.
For the new patient appointments, they are basically snatched up within seconds.
[Only Doctor Wen mentioned there’s an appointment available two weeks later.]
[Otherwise, you can only rely on luck to see if any patients cancel their appointments last minute, so you can slot your visitor in.]
This situation is purely a matter of luck.
[But Teacher Nan, your visitor contacted me this afternoon. He hopes to have a consultation on Monday because he feels it’s urgent.]
The transfer failed, but the visitor himself has a strong desire for consultation.
Nan Zhubin pondered for a moment and then resigned to the situation for now.
...
The next day, Monday.
With a "click," the sign-in room’s door opened, and the substitute teacher hadn’t arrived yet.
Nan Zhubin went ahead and wrote down the available consultation times for today. The first time slot, starting at 8, was still open. Jie Nianzhou had an appointment slightly later in the morning.
So, what to do before the consultation starts?
Before Nan Zhubin could think, a shout of "Zhuren" came from not far away.
Turning to look, it was the familiar senior standing at the entrance of the Director’s consultation room.
The broadcast promptly came to life with a mechanized voice.
[Please, number 1, go to Consultation Room 1.]
There was a target.
Nan Zhubin quickly headed toward the consultation room, simply nodding a greeting to Director He. Almost as soon as he sat down, the called patient and their family also entered.
...
The first to enter was a girl, wearing a summer school uniform from a middle school. Nan Zhubin couldn’t tell which school it was; he wasn’t very familiar with the local schools in Beidu.
Following behind should be her mother, looking to be in her forties, with very dark, rough skin. She was wearing a faded floral short-sleeve top and dark capri pants, with flat sandals on her feet.
When she began to speak, Nan Zhubin could detect a slight accent, but it wasn’t particularly strong. It was the kind of accent where someone who’s lived in the countryside for a long time hasn’t fully adapted after moving to the city.
"Hello, Director He. We’re here to trouble you again."
Judging from this introduction, the patient appeared to be here for a follow-up visit.
In the observation clinic, no one could preview the medical history of Director He’s patients beforehand, so everyone relied on guesswork regarding the patient’s situation.
The girl sat down first, with her mother standing beside her, clasping her hands in front of her.
Director He turned on the computer screen, using his usual opening line: "How have you been recently, young lady?"
"Not very well." The girl shook her head directly in response to the question.
"I’ve been feeling bad recently, felt bad once I go to school."
This response prompted everyone in attendance to glance at the girl’s mother. She stood to the side, her dark and deeply lined face showed no expression, and she remained standing, her gaze shifting between her daughter and Director He.
Dr. He moved the mouse slightly: "The last time you came here was more than a month ago, right? Have you been taking your medications on time?"
The girl didn’t look up, staring at the back of her hand: "I’ve been taking them consistently. The dosage hasn’t changed since last time, and my condition hasn’t changed either."
"What kind of discomfort are you experiencing?"
"Headache, nausea. It starts the moment I enter the school, sometimes even at the school gate... It’s worse during class, but I’m fine once I get home."
Dr. He glanced at the girl, then at her mother, taking a deep breath.
As she typed on the keyboard, she asked: "When was the last time you felt uncomfortable?"
"Last Friday," the girl quickly answered. "I just feel uncomfortable inside the school. As soon as I go in, it’s uncomfortable... Now, it’s basically intermittent. Like if I feel terrible on Monday, I take Tuesday off to rest, and then go back on Wednesday..."
Director He looked at the girl: "Are you still persisting with going to school this way?"
"I go." The girl’s voice dropped, "I have to go."
"Oh dear, oh dear..." Director He suddenly sighed heavily.
Nan Zhubin saw her begin to scroll through the girl’s medical records.
"Look at you. You’ve been coming to see us for three years now, since middle school, and now you’re in high school. You’ve been on medication, undergoing treatment, even doing psychological consultation."
Director He glanced at the girl’s mother, then at the girl, almost as if complaining: "But your situation hasn’t really improved much, has it? You still feel uncomfortable going to school as you always did."
The girl nodded, her face full of discomfort.
Nan Zhubin glanced at the patient’s mother, who still showed no expression, just blinking and shifting her gaze around.
He was quite curious about how Director He intended to handle this situation. Psychological issues related to adolescents and academics are often less about the adolescents themselves and more about the parents.
"Oh, oh." Nan Zhubin heard Director He intentionally sigh twice.
Then, almost jokingly, Director He said to the girl, "So how about we just stop going, okay?"
The room was silent for a second.
The girl raised her head, as if she hadn’t heard clearly: "What?"
"Let’s stop going to school," Director He repeated.
Not only the little girl, even Nan Zhubin wanted to confirm what he had just heard.
Can such a thing be said so easily and lightly?
The girl was incredulous, "I stop going to school?"
"Exactly." Director He said, "See, with your condition, going to school is putting too much pressure on you. You’ve been balancing academics and treatment for the past few years, and it’s just been temporarily stable. When the pressure of the college entrance exams comes, who knows what could happen."
"To put it another way, you can’t study properly under these circumstances. Instead of feeling unwell at school, it’s better to step out and consider other options."
Nan Zhubin blinked again, was Director He seriously analyzing this matter now?
Can this... really be said?
"Can I really stop going to school?" The girl blinked, looking at her emotionless mother and then at Director He.
"Of course you can, why not. You’ve finished your compulsory education, and no one says you must be in school anymore," Director He stated matter-of-factly.
"Then I won’t go!" the girl exclaimed cheerfully.
All the interns, including Nan Zhubin, simultaneously leaned back slightly, then immediately leaned forward once more.
"Alright, I’ll start reducing your medication this month. Go home and see if anything is causing discomfort," Director He said. "It’s a gradual process; just because you won’t be going to school doesn’t mean you can immediately stop taking your medication."
"But I’m optimistic about the future. Once you’ve completed the withdrawal procedures, you can have more time to adjust your state, then slowly think about what to do next—do you want to do psychological consultation?"
The girl glanced at her mother: "I don’t think it’s necessary."
"Alright, then we won’t do it," Director He said.
Then, as if everything was decided lightheartedly, the printer started working, and the prescription was printed out.
Director He quickly stamped it and handed it to the girl’s mother: "Take this to get your medication."
The mother didn’t speak, silently accepting it.
The girl glanced at her mother, and then at Director He.
"Then I’m going," the girl said.
"Mhm, go get your medication," Director He nodded.
"I’m really leaving, and I won’t be going to school anymore."
Director He nodded: "Mhm, go ahead."
The girl stood up and took big strides out.
But only three steps away, her pace began to slow, becoming a saunter, then hesitation.
She stopped completely about a meter from the door.
"I’m really leaving, I’m really not going to school anymore?"
Director He nodded.
The girl stood there for a moment.
Her mother, holding the prescription, started gathering her things, preparing to leave.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, the girl dashed back, snatching the belt from her mother’s hand with a smack, and sat back down in front of Director He’s chair.
"Can I stop going to school? How can I not go to school?" the girl’s voice was full of confusion.
"Why can’t you not go to school?" Director He countered.
"Then, if I don’t go to school, what will I do?" the girl asked, "If I quit now, talking about university is out of the question, I don’t even have a high school diploma."
"How can I not go to school?!"
Watching this scene, the observers in the back blinked.
They anticipated a reversal.
But they hadn’t expected—this.