Me After Meeting You

Amber and Nancy, the two of them discussed their studies and some medical cases for a while when Nancy suddenly asked, out of the blue, “How’s your research on Ian’s illness progressing?”

Amber nonchalantly responded, “I’d like to request that you assign him another doctor, professor.”

As soon as she made her request, she knew there was going to be trouble. Originally, even if she was going to ask that the case be re-assigned, she should have brought up a good reason first before proposing it.

However, now that she had brought it up with a worried tone. Indeed, Nancy clapped her hands together, excited. “He likes you?”

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Nancy laughed. “There’s nothing strange about that. Patients who suffer from mental illnesses find it very easy to latch onto their doctors. As a young pretty woman, it’s actually quite natural for people like you. But it’s not too appropriate if you withdraw from his treatment in the middle of it. You know how particular Ian is. He probably won’t accept a new doctor taking his case.”

Amber lowered her gaze, not speaking.

Nancy asked, “What, is it really that big of a problem?”

“What happened last time caused Calvin to have a misunderstanding with Mr. Axton.”

“Is it just that? Amber, you’re not that helpless of a woman.”

Amber’s heart was shaken. After that, Nancy said something else about being lazy and applying a quick patch. This was the crudest method of solving problems; she was all but admitting that she had no confidence in extricating herself from her problems.

A mental patient’s mind was often a big mess, with particularly strong deviations in their thoughts and actions. When facing such patients, psychiatrists often had to ignore what was right or ethical, because they needed to empathize with their patients before they could accept them on a psychological level. Amber had always been very good at this aspect of being a psychiatrist, and Nancy really hadn’t expected that there would be a time when she too would falter.

Last time, Nancy’s words had only been a reminder for Amber. But this time, when she saw and heard about how differently Ian treating her, Nancy’s question about whether she would consider entering a romantic relationship with one of her patients was actually a reminder in disguise. But the response that she got from her was quite unexpected.

Nancy couldn’t help but caress her forehead. “I didn’t imagine that Ian would be this charming.”

Amber blanked for a moment before realizing that her teacher had misunderstood. However, she had no words to say: she was originally afraid that her presence would influence Ian too much. But now, she was afraid that she wouldn’t have enough strength to see matters through.

She also couldn’t directly mention Ian’s erratic behavior, so Amber could only try to salvage things. “It’s not that-I’m just a bit worried.”

Nancy nodded with an understanding expression on her face. She even gave her some advice. “It seems like you don’t feel particularly strongly about your boyfriend. So, be careful to not randomly choose someone just because you’re being pressured. A matter as important as marriage can’t be rushed.”

Truly, it couldn’t-look at her, she was the model of waiting patiently. In response, Amber said, “I’m not in a rush. I’ve already known him for so many years.”

“Hmm, so you’re childhood sweethearts.” Not letting Amber relax, Professor Nancy added, “But so what? Sometimes, even a childhood sweetheart can’t beat a new contestant. As psychiatrists, we should understand that time alone doesn’t mean very much.”

“Time represents mutual understanding, a deepening of emotions and affections.” Amber was forced to rebut. “We really love each other, and it’s unlikely that we’d be easily replaced.”

Everyone said that one shouldn’t speak carelessly of love, and Amber would soon have to eat her words.

But in that moment, because she wasn’t aware of what would happen in the near future, she had declared her love very calmly. But Nancy only treated it as a last-ditch effort. She gave up on fighting with her any further, instead smiling and saying, “Alright, what you do is up to you. As long as you’re happy, that’s fine. Anyways, emotions are a very small portion of your life, so let’s stop talking about it. Let’s go see your patient instead.”

Amber felt like she had just been steamrolled, but she still took Nancy to see Elly, first taking out her medical reports and her observation diary; it was a habit of hers to record daily observations of each of her patients in a diary.

Her observations were particularly detailed, even including her insight on how their treatments were progressing. Nancy thought highly of this practice, and she had requested that all her future students do the same. But no matter what, Amber’s were still the best.

Nancy’s observation lasted for half the afternoon. She even personally observed Elly for quite a while. In the end, she said to Amber, “I think that your treatment methodology will work, but hospitals care more about efficiency. Luckily, with the way her situation is, she doesn’t have any family members pressuring her to leave the hospital. Thus, you can take your time and observe her while trying to find the best method to treat her. Who knows, you might even make a major finding in our current understanding of this syndrome.”

Amber had never been thinking about any of that. All she wanted to do was her duty as a doctor. What Nancy appreciated about her the most was this quality that Amber embodied: her ability to forge ahead, devoid of selfishness or desire for fame; all her passion rested with her patients.

If not for the fact that Amber had already signed a long-term contract with the hospital, Nancy would have snatched her up for her own laboratory.

And as for Elly, Nancy had previously thought that her illness was too unusual to be studied as a part of a larger set of medical cases.

But after reading through Amber’s observation diary, Nancy became much more interested in the case-not only did Elly suffer from Cotard’s syndrome, but she also had the classic symptoms of autism and depression. As a test subject, she would definitely be a valuable addition to her clinical study.