CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: WHAT IS THE SENSE OF BOUNDARIES?

"I guess I’m living in the moment now."

"I saw a red spot at the corner of your mouth just now and took it off."

Li Baiyu blinked.

"Yes."

"Thank you, senior sister."

Shen Jingqi realized that at this moment, Li Baiyu was in a pure, original state.

She could follow her instincts and act without worrying about anything.

True security does not need boundaries.

Only in states that are not absolutely safe and trustworthy do people maintain a sense of boundaries.

Giving oneself an independent space is both an island and a protective barrier.

For Li Baiyu, Shen Jingqi felt that she didn’t need to emphasize any promises to her; the most important thing was to act.

Perhaps everything was moving towards a better place.

Even if there are countless webs of confusion ahead, they can be untangled.

With a new understanding, Shen Jingqi returned to Li Baiyu’s villa with Uncle Li.

Li Baiyu drew the curtains and held a pillow with ginkgo leaves.

The tactile sensations and scents from her memories and reality intertwined.

In the phone video, Shen Jingqi was wearing a pink cat costume, playing with Tuantuan.

Li Baiyu reached out, caressing the screen.

Live in the moment.

The cells of the human body change and renew every month.

But why does psychological activity carry the weight from birth?

The deepest memories and indelible pain seem impossible to escape.

Li Baiyu realized she doesn’t live in the moment all the time; at least every night, she’s entangled by the past.

During her days in the hospital, her nights seemed to have improved a bit.

But what about after that?

How to get through the long nights year after year, month after month, day after day?

"Senior Sister~"

A gentle call pulled Li Baiyu’s thoughts back.

"I was just thinking about something and didn’t realize I wandered far."

"Were you thinking about me?"

"Just random thoughts."

"It’s quite normal to have random thoughts. The human brain is always active, with thousands of thoughts."

"Then why not stop thinking randomly? But it still happens, uncontrollably."

"This isn’t something that can simply be controlled; it requires training, which is attention training. First, notice when your attention drifts, and then pull it back to the present. Attention drifts away quickly; pull it back to the present again. Repeatedly bring it back."

"Bring it back to the moment thousands and thousands of times."

"Just like knowing your attention will inevitably drift, but we can still return to the moment."

Li Baiyu remained silent for a while.

"Did you hear that?"

"I heard."

"Great! Living in the moment, even if you can’t do it perfectly, it’s okay, take your time."

Li Baiyu thought:

"I suddenly thought of Zhao Xin’an’s report and saw the members of the Sensory Paradise testing team."

"There are two research teams on my side, and Shen University Third Hospital has three people; besides Dean Zhang, there’s a nurse named Qin Si."

"Zhao Xin’an said Dean Zhang only participates nominally, and the main daily affairs are handled by the four of you."

"Yes, that’s right."

"I heard Qin Si is the most beautiful nurse."

"I’ve heard that as well. She mainly partners with Technology Zheng; I wish them a pleasant collaboration."

*snicker*

Li Baiyu found it amusing.

"Today, we experienced the online mode; Nurse Qin usually looks gentle but chose the racing activity. Truly, appearances can be deceiving."

"Oh, she likes racing? Then she should get along well with Technology Zheng; I heard Technology Zheng likes riding."

"Does Technology Zheng usually ride? You couldn’t tell. Did you ever participate in riding, senior sister?"

"I haven’t. Technology Zheng took part in a competition before and requested leave from the lab, so I knew about his riding."

Li Baiyu never thought she’d engage in gossip one day.

It doesn’t seem like a big deal; Technology Zheng liking riding is also a very professional outdoor activity.

She wondered what Shen Jingqi was quietly laughing about.

After a while, Li Baiyu saw Shen Jingqi spread out the yoga mat:

"Senior Sister, I’m going to start practicing."

"Then go ahead."

Shen Jingqi opened the app and entered the advanced module.

Following the guided instructions, she quickly got into the zone.

Some new movements were executed smoothly.

Li Baiyu watched as Shen Jingqi practiced intently, while Tuantuan was busy licking its fur on its own.

When Shen Jingqi finished practicing, she went to freshen up.

Listening to the familiar sound of water flowing, it surprisingly brought a strange sense of peace.

...

After tidying up, Shen Jingqi saw Li Baiyu on the other side of the video, asleep on the bed.

Under her head peeked a corner of the pillow, the same ginkgo leaf pillow she bought for her today.

"Alright, say goodnight to your owner."

Shen Jingqi picked up her phone, addressing Tuantuan.

The small cat Tuantuan extended a paw, touching Li Baiyu’s hair.

After turning off the video, Shen Jingqi looked at the photo of the cake taken today.

The scenes from Sensory Paradise vividly emerged again.

Observer, what is it really?

Sensory Paradise is also one of the observer’s tasks.

Today, she didn’t ask Li Baiyu, but with her intuition, Shen Jingqi felt that Li Baiyu should somehow be connected to the observer.

Also, Li Baiyu’s father could not be found online, and even Dean Zhang couldn’t speak about Li Yuanshin’s situation, which was another mystery.

As soon as night fell, these thoughts emerged.

Shen Jingqi felt her brain spinning at high speed, faster than ever before.

This must be the effect of neural growth.

In the single-player mode of Sensory Paradise, she experienced fainting, fever, headache, and then an exponential neural growth spurt. Qin Si also experienced neural growth, though not as much as she did. But Dean Zhang did not experience it.

Shen Jingqi checked that neural growth is not directly related to age.

With a sense of doubt, Shen Jingqi drifted into sleep.

The next morning, Shen Jingqi went through the routine morning meeting and rounds.

In the morning, Shen Jingqi conducted a psychological counseling session for Liu Yiyi.

Liu Yiyi’s mental blockage had been relieved, and under Nurse Sun’s care and companionship over the past few days, her mental state had made some recovery.

Her weight had increased, and she ate regularly every day.

She could also sleep at night, rarely experiencing insomnia in the second half of the night.

Liu Yiyi’s parents and school teachers were also contacted.

A week later, Liu Yiyi would return to school and resume dance team rehearsals.

"Dr. Shen, is malice in human nature inevitable? How should we face such malice?"

Liu Yiyi widened her eyes, earnestly asking.

"Yiyi, once you understand the world enough, you’ll realize malice is also a form of projection."

"One way to face malice is not to engage."

"Not getting entangled prevents contamination."

"Is this avoidance?"

"No, this is a choice."