CHAPTER 409: CHAPTER 402: CHOICES

[Jiaping Psychological Consultation Center], Reception Room.

Chang Ming picked up the glass in front of him, seemingly observing the tea leaves inside with keen interest, as if trying to determine the quality of the stuff.

But he couldn’t tell.

Chang Ming considered himself someone who had tasted good tea.

Due to his exceptional ability, Chang Ming had previously served in a role similar to an assistant to a leader, so he had made tea for them.

Fine tea.

That tea was reportedly expensive, and his leader only brought it out when entertaining other leaders. But because the leader didn’t understand tea, they only drank the first brew, and the rest was quietly poured into Chang Ming’s bottle to take home and enjoy secretly.

Perhaps knowing its price, or knowing it came from the leader, Chang Ming at the time found that tea tasted exceptionally good.

However, at this moment, drinking the cup of tea prepared by the psychological consultation center for guests, he unexpectedly found the taste surprisingly pleasant.

Still, no matter how much Chang Ming examined the tea leaves in the cup, he couldn’t make anything out, because he actually knew nothing about it.

In truth, he wasn’t really looking at the tea leaves.

He was glancing, seemingly inadvertently, through the teacup at the other side—Lu Jia.

And the two children in front of Lu Jia.

A boy and a girl, likely siblings, they appeared to have an age difference of about two or three years, both of elementary school age.

Yet, they lacked the liveliness and energy typical of their age, instead sitting quietly in their seats, sipping plain water, each reading a comic book.

Very well-behaved.

Such well-behaved children must spare their parents a lot of troubles, right?

Chang Ming thought to himself.

Then, Chang Ming saw the little boy touch his sister’s head and ask Lu Jia:

"Sister, when is Dad coming out?"

Lu Jia also patted the little boy’s head and glanced at her watch.

It had been forty minutes since Li Minglu’s consultation began, theoretically this session could end at any moment.

"Very soon," Lu Jia said softly.

Having been a receptionist at the psychological consultation center for a long time, seeing well-behaved and cute children naturally made Lu Jia happy.

But Lu Jia also knew that the reasons why children become well-behaved are varied.

So after confirming there would be no other visitors soon, she came to the reception room to accompany the children.

This was also the process that should be followed for underage visitors.

These two children were Li Minglu’s, possibly today just happened to be a day to play with the children, and because Li Minglu had enough trust in the consultation center, he brought them along.

After the consultation, he could immediately take them to a restaurant or amusement park, cherishing every minute spent together.

However, despite Lu Jia’s comforting words to the children, the brother was not quite satisfied.

He glanced at his sister next to him and lowered his voice: "Sister, Dad says he comes here every week. Are you and Dad friends?"

"What’s up?" Lu Jia smiled and asked.

"So, do you know what’s really wrong with Dad now?"

Lu Jia was taken aback.

"Dad has changed, Mom didn’t at first, but lately she’s changing too. I think I know what happened..."

"I asked Mom what’s wrong; she just told us not to worry about adult matters..."

Upon hearing the brother’s words, the sister beside him pouted, as if about to cry, her big eyes blinking at Lu Jia, expressing expectation.

Clearly, these two children are extremely intelligent. Generally, children at this age don’t have this kind of insight; it might take a few more years for them to understand and realize that the family is undergoing significant changes.

But though the children are smart, their experience and knowledge are still insufficient to comprehend the changes around them.

Thus, they can only clumsily attempt to explore in their own way.

Faced with the children’s questions.

Lu Jia, although her insight had improved after working at the psychological center for so long, still hadn’t reached a professional level of communication skill.

If it were an adult, she could fend them off with a bunch of ethical guidelines, but facing a child...

She was at a loss.

Chang Ming observed all of this.

He indeed had extensive experience dealing with minors, usually interacting more with teenagers, but elementary school students were not unfamiliar to him.

Just as Chang Ming was adjusting himself, preparing to step in and help out.

Click—

The reception room door opened, revealing Li Minglu’s face.

The painter first smiled at Lu Jia, saying "Thanks for the trouble."

After receiving a polite refusal, he led the two children away.

Lu Jia breathed a sigh of relief but was then somewhat worried for the children’s future.

When she turned back, Chang Ming was already examining the cup and the bland tea leaves inside from a different angle.

"Director Chang, do you want some more water?"

"Ah... what?"

No matter the small interactions inside the reception room.

On the other side, after finishing the consultation with Li Minglu.

Nan Zhubin returned to his desk, his gaze blank for a while, seemingly lost in thought.

But in just two seconds, his eyes regained their spark.

He then got up and headed towards Weng Pinting’s office.

Knock knock knock—

"Come in."

Upon seeing Weng Pinting.

The first thing Nan Zhubin said was:

"Sister Pingting, I’m planning to transfer Li Minglu’s case. Can you help me see who here is capable of taking it?"

...

Inside the office.

After hearing Nan Zhubin’s words, Weng Pinting instinctively curled her lips.

Mind you, she and Bai Qinghua—now joined by Chonghui—had long wanted to persuade Nan Zhubin to move to Beidu.

It was only because Nan Zhubin was reluctant to leave his cases, and out of respect for the psychological consultation and Nan Zhubin, that they allowed him to stay in Jiangdu till now.

Now, has this little junior finally come around?

Despite feeling pleased inside, Weng Pinting was curious about what prompted the shift in Nan Zhubin’s thinking.

As his boss and supervisor, she also needed to understand the specifics.

"Does Li Minglu have any new issues?"

Nan Zhubin nodded.

He first briefly told Weng Pinting about Li Minglu’s situation.

After Weng Pinting showed a thoughtful expression, Nan Zhubin sighed.

First of all.

"Concerning Li Minglu’s current situation, it involves too many real-life circumstances, some of which exceed my capabilities."

This was the first time Nan Zhubin admitted his limitations.

However.

A competent consultant should objectively assess their own abilities to determine the match between themselves and the visitor’s issues.

"Currently, Li Minglu’s real-life situation mainly focuses on family. Besides the marital relationship, there’s also parent-child... I don’t have much experience in this area."

Nan Zhubin sighed.

Two characteristics of people in psychology: one is to use intelligence to compensate for emotional intelligence, the other is to use knowledge to make up for experience.

Outstanding consultants in their twenties can handle consultations for visitors in their thirties and forties.

Because no matter how varied the visitor’s issues—emotional problems, family conflicts, interpersonal relationships, personal development, etc.—they all seem to tie in with "life" and "age."

Yet consultants can uncover the essence, bringing them down to their professional fields, converting them into universal "cognitive problems," "emotional problems," etc.

Then solve them with abundant knowledge and ample case experience.

But Li Minglu’s case is different now.

If it were truly a psychological issue in the "parent-child" domain, Nan Zhubin also had considerable knowledge reserves.

For instance, "Developmental Psychology," "Educational Psychology," covering the psychological development characteristics of children at different stages, the problems they face, and the problem-solving methods are extensively described.

Combined with case support, the childless Nan Zhubin could confidently tackle issues in family education and parent-child relationships.

But as mentioned earlier, the issues between Li Minglu and his children are more focused on "reality" than "psychology" now.