Chapter 59: A Lesson on Love

Chen Yuheng did not intend to go to work today.

In his eyes, the PR crisis that RK was facing now was not worth a mention. In its 10 year history, he had weathered through all kinds of storms and upheavals to arrive at their current level of prestige. The business had all the resources required—the scale, the finances, the network—to hold its own. If the company could not even manage this fiasco, then it was not qualified to be where it was now.

He recalled Pei Lijun’s warning when he met her at the club the last time. It looked like she had some prior knowledge of this. Still, he was her business competitor and there was nothing wrong with her not alerting him in the first place.

Huaxin had gotten that Director Xu into their camp. This recent drama was just the beginning… There would be more coming soon.

He naturally had his men to worry over such issues. There was no need for him to handle this personally.

After breakfast, he left Gu Anbao at home and left the house on his own.

Within the CBD area, surrounded by high-rise buildings, the man parked his car and walked into one of the tall complexes. He took the elevator up till it stopped at his desired level with a ‘ding’ sound.

The receptionist politely asked him if he had made a prior appointment.

Frowning slightly, he replied, “Nope. Will I have to wait long?” He really did not know that this required an appointment. Usually, he would ask his secretary to handle this, he hardly knew the nitty-gritty.

If I need to make an appointment before I can see the doctor… He was starting to have second thoughts about this.

It was just that he was suddenly desperate for an answer. And the person who could answer him best should not be associated with his industry in any way. This person needed to have the professional knowledge as well, to give him the most logical, most accurate, and most impartial reply.

Someone who looked like an assistant poured him a glass of water and led him to the waiting area.

As he sat down, his heart was still hopeful and yet, at the same time, he felt ridiculous about coming here.

He actually came here to see a psychiatrist…

The phone rang at the receptionist’s table. She answered the call and replied courteously, “How are you, this is Meng Bei Psychiatry… Don’t worry, tell me slowly.”

After a pause, she added, “… Eh, I see. We have seen several similar cases like your son’s. The main cause is because they are overly-immersed in the virtual world due to the need to escape oppressive pressure from work and life. This leads them to develop feelings for the virtual characters. This is commonly seen… Don’t worry, his infatuation is only temporary. When this happens, as his family, you need to help him to rebuild his confidence so he can return to reality. Don’t exert too much pressure on him. For a more substantial discussion, please bring your son to our clinic to see Dr. Meng. This will be more effective as well.”

Although he knew very well that she was not talking about him, nevertheless, it made him ponder over his current situation.

And the more he thought about it, the worse he felt.

The advice only made him more irritated. He had no lack of confidence… and what did she mean by returning to reality? He had never left the reality in the first place…

“Sure, I’ll put down your appointment for 2 pm tomorrow afternoon, is that okay for you? Yes, your son must come personally…”

He could not listen anymore and was about to get up and leave when someone called him from behind…

“Chen Yuheng?”

Startled, he looked over his shoulder to see a genteel man walking out from one of the rooms. The latter held a stunned expression on his face, too.

“… Meng Kuncai?” He was able to recognize the person as well.

…

Meng Kuncai was his classmate from alma mater. However, they had only shared the same faculty in their first year. His classmate subsequently switched to another faculty in the second year and they had lost touch since.

He did not know which faculty this classmate had transferred to. They were not close, only being classmates for a year. For one thing, this classmate left a lasting impression on him because of his poor result in calculus. In fact, his calculus result was so dismal, the bottom in class and the kind which trailed a distal record from the second-to-last, that Ace had commented that it was a miracle he had got into Moreland University of Technology.

From the look of things, he reckoned this former classmate should have transferred to a faculty related to psychiatry…

Nonetheless, they were still classmates from the past, and the fact that they had bumped into each other again after returning from their studies overseas went to show that they were rather fated.

The two of them went into the exclusive meeting room inside the clinic, and Meng Kuncai poured him a cup of coffee.

He surveyed the interior. The room was decorated to give off a warm tone, with soft reclining seats, a sofa, and cushions scattered around. This was probably to help his guests feel more at ease…

He returned his gaze back to the doctor and asked, “Why did you change your name?”

“The first half of my life wasn’t smooth so the fortune-teller helped to change my name for me.” The man said as he gave a smile. “And indeed, after changing my name to Meng Bei, my life has become much better. Besides, this name is easier to remember.”

“That’s true,” Chen Yuheng took a sip of the coffee.

Still wearing a smile on his face, Meng Kuncai, who was also Meng Bei, studied him with interest before asking, “So, tell me. What prompted a visit from the honorary CEO of RK. Have you run into any problems?”

He did not know where to start. It might have been easier if the person facing him was a stranger, but it turned out that it was someone he knew…

His ex-classmate saw the change in his expression and being in this field for some time, he could read people well. As such, he gave a nonchalant smile and remarked calmly, “You don’t have to tell me the issue. Just take this as a casual conversation between two long-lost classmates.”

Since he was already here, keeping silent would appear pretentious, to say the least.

“I’m facing a little problem… in regards to matters of affection.”

“Affection?” Meng Bei tilted his head. “There can be romantic affection, or affections concerning kinship or friends… which one are you referring to?”

He held the coffee in his hands, and after twirling the cup, he replied as he hung his head with a perplexed expression on his face. “Is there a possibility that these kinds of affection are so intertwined that it is impossible to judge which is the real feeling?”

“It’s possible,” his classmate answered crisply, and then he continued, “But it is extremely rare.”

He lifted his eyes to look at the psychiatrist.

His classmate shrugged his shoulders with a smile. “It’s just like a typical TV drama series where the male or female protagonist questions their feelings toward the other party. The moment he or she questions the possibility, this is an indication that he or she has fallen in love with the other party. There is no confusion over that.”

Furrowing his brows, he retorted, “But we aren’t living in a drama series.”

Meng Bei walked steadily to the other end of the sofa to take a seat. “From the biochemistry standpoint, love is made up of three interconnected, and yet distinctly different, biological system-controlled components.”

He wrote the word ‘three’, with his finger in the air, and told Chen Yuheng, “These are sexual desire, attraction, and attachment.”

“Sexual desires are controlled by sex hormones. Our physiological impulse is primal where there’s a surge in the hormonal secretion in our body, thus leading to a desire to have affectionate contact with those we like, such as holding hands, hugging and kissing.”

The man recalled the pair of ears that he caressed repeatedly every day, and how he would subconsciously hold her hands, touch her… the desire to kiss her, and even that kind of dream…

“Attraction is regulated by dopamine and 5-serotonin. Whenever we see the person we like, the dopamine level will rise causing excitement and joy. 5-serotonin will then drop, leading us to please our loved ones tirelessly.”

He would be very happy whenever he saw her. And despite his lack of interest in the entertainment facility, he had accompanied her to sit through a whole day of ferris wheel and roller coaster rides…

“Attachment is regulated by neuropeptide oxytocin. The more time the two spend time together, the more comfortable and secure they feel with each other, and the more reluctant a person will want to leave the other party.”

Regardless of time, in and out of office, he had her by his side. Even while she was charging her battery, he wanted her to be within his range of vision…

His heart sank deep… and lower than ever.

—

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