Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!
Chapter 304 - 302: Beyond Expectations

Chapter 304: Chapter 302: Beyond Expectations

Xu Pengcheng responded instinctively, as if it had been rehearsed: "It’s my own..."

But then his answer abruptly stopped, and he began to breathe heavily.

After a while, Xu Pengcheng seemed to plead with Nan Zhubin: "Teacher, you don’t understand... it has to be this way."

"The physical test is something I ’must’ pass, I ’must’ improve!"

...

The topic was shifted.

This change of topic, along with Xu Pengcheng’s current posture, was already a very clear signal of [defense] even [resistance].

Faced with this situation.

Nan Zhubin chose to take a step back.

"Indeed, I don’t know much about the physical test, maybe I don’t quite understand your situation now, Pengcheng."

Nan Zhubin said, "Let’s continue talking about things related to this emotion experiment."

These two sentences slightly calmed Xu Pengcheng’s emotions.

However, what followed was Nan Zhubin turning on the computer, and the screen prominently displayed the last passage of the [Emotion Induction] experiment, which had elicited the strongest reaction from Xu Pengcheng.

——[When you go to the bathroom, you hear classmates whispering behind your back, they seem to be talking bad about you.]

Nan Zhubin observed Xu Pengcheng’s reaction.

Unlike the state when he first saw this passage. The conversation with Xu Pengcheng just now, although putting him in a [defensive] state, also infused him with enough energy.

At this moment, when Xu Pengcheng faced this sentence again, he no longer reacted as if on edge or wanted to immediately stop the experiment.

And Nan Zhubin, doing so was also a strategic retreat. By circling from another direction, he returned to the issue just raised from another angle.

"When you see this passage, what do you feel?" Nan Zhubin asked softly.

He gently, yet firmly, tried to peel off Xu Pengcheng’s layer of [defense].

This was the last attempt in Nan Zhubin’s conversation today, regardless of Xu Pengcheng’s response, both sides of the conversation had already gained plenty of insight.

Even if Xu Pengcheng had "no reaction," it would also be a form of growth and gain for both of them.

Under Nan Zhubin’s silent gaze, Xu Pengcheng silently looked at this line of text.

After a good half-minute.

"I feel... uncomfortable."

"Somewhat..." Xu Pengcheng paused, "distressed."

[Distressed], a very vague self-description, not even belonging to [emotion].

But it was enough.

Nan Zhubin smiled.

"Why does it feel [distressed]?"

"My teammates, friends, our relationship was really nice. But after I failed the physical tests several times, causing everyone to practice extra with me every day, things gradually changed. They began to give me a nickname..."

"Everyone called it together, at first it was only a few people, later everyone called it."

"Minchao, A-Jia, Junkai, Mingchen..."

Nan Zhubin listened with a smile, suddenly paused.

Wait——

Mingchen?

The young consultant couldn’t help but get unsettled.

He couldn’t help but do an [Emotion Rebalancing] for himself.

-----------------

"Judging by your expression, did you gain something today?"

Chonghui’s voice pulled Nan Zhubin out of his thoughts.

Nan Zhubin looked at his senior brother, the tall man at six-foot-three was approaching with a huge takeout bag.

The workday had come to an end.

After the official evening self-study class ended—specifically at 21:30—Nan Zhubin and his team couldn’t hold on to the students for further chats even if they wanted to work overtime.

After tidying up the equipment, they returned to their residence, beginning to organize the data collected during the day.

"Ah, the gain is okay." Nan Zhubin replied to Chonghui’s question, "The student on my side gave a lot of interesting data, though I’m sure it’s slower in efficiency compared to you, senior brother..."

Chonghui waved his hand to interrupt Nan Zhubin: "I was asking about how your chat with those sports students went—any gain?"

Nan Zhubin calmly unraveled the takeout bag: "You guessed it?"

"No need to guess, is there?"

Chonghui headed to the kitchen, starting to fetch dishes and utensils.

Nan Zhubin watched his actions and tried to stop him: "Senior brother... we ordered takeout, why bother with dishes and utensils, and having to wash more..."

"Don’t worry about it, this way it feels more like a meal!" Chonghui waved a big hand, then brought the conversation back, "In the afternoon, a student chatted with you for nearly an hour, it’s obvious you incorporated counseling into the experiment."

Chonghui set up the bowls, plates, and chopsticks; it indeed looked a bit presentable.

What a pity Lu Jia was still outside helping Weng Pinting, otherwise, she would definitely enjoy this "having a meal at home with Mr. Nan" atmosphere.

"Moreover..."

Chonghui glanced at Nan Zhubin: "Everyone’s like this when they first start a project, right?"

"When we first began studying this field, everyone liked doing ’extra’ things."

Nan Zhubin blinked.

And Chonghui glanced at the table, feeling something was missing. He then patted his forehead, went back to the kitchen and brought out two glasses filled with ice cubes.

"As for this time..."

"At first, I thought to keep an eye on you and let you undertake the project honestly, but later I figured—rather than you secretly chatting with those students, creating unexpected trouble, it’s better to let you talk while working on the project, so I’m psychologically prepared if anything arises."

"And your talent... is strong." For some reason, Chonghui’s shoulders shook, "So I trust you won’t mess things up because of lack of capability."

"If in the end you can’t engage in any meaningful conversation, you’ll learn from the project and be more disciplined; if you do manage to have meaningful discussions... then that’s a good thing."

While listening to Chonghui’s words, Nan Zhubin’s hands didn’t stop: "Then what if I end up not having obtained anything meaningful, and because of the ’extra’ work, the project fails?"

"Then let it fail." Chonghui shrugged.

Surprisingly laid-back.

"Such projects are ’uncommon,’ but not ’so rare’—after all, they’re used to train newcomers."

"If it fails in the end, as long as you learn a lesson from it, and do well on truly important projects in the future, that’s acceptable too."

Seeing Nan Zhubin finally show an expression of surprise, Chonghui grinned, hitting his broad chest with a clap: "Don’t worry, if anything happens, I’ll back you up!"

Nan Zhubin curled up the corner of his mouth as if about to say something.

"Of course, if our senior sister scolds, then you’ll have to handle that on your own." Chonghui added.

Nan Zhubin blinked and closed his mouth again.

Chonghui kept his head down, quickly pouring dishes into plates, serving drinks, and transferring the rice from disposable containers into small porcelain bowls.

Four dishes and a soup. Beef with runny eggs, white cut chicken, tomatoes scrambled eggs, simply stir-fried lettuce, plus a green vegetable tofu shrimp soup.

Two glasses of ice-cold lemonade served extra.

It indeed looked quite presentable.

"Really tough finding a restaurant this late at night." Chonghui sighed.

Then switched the topic: "So, what did you manage to talk about with that student?"

As it stands, eating first... no wait, talking while eating should be fine.

Nan Zhubin nodded and took a seat.

Both he and Chonghui were participants in the project, jointly responsible for data collection, and could follow the standard procedures when facing Weng Pinting, offering more flexibility with confidentiality rules.

"This student’s name is ’Xu Pengcheng,’ his issues are similar to those of the previous student Li Mingchen, yet with crucial differences..."