Multiple Personalities

"Hi, Jingqi."

Yang Haotian walked in.

"Haotian, you're back, it must have been tiring."

"Come, let's watch together."

Behind the document was a referral slip.

It turned out that Cong Nanxue had previously booked psychological consultations at school, and Yang Haotian, being the director of the school's psychological center, had access to Cong Nanxue's files.

Shen Jingqi looked at the referral slip in his hand, his brow furrowed.

"A lie?" he muttered to himself, looking at Yang Haotian, hoping to get more information from him.

Yang Haotian sighed, crossing his hands on the table, his gaze hinted at some complexity. "Yes, this is the record from the previous counselor. Cong Nanxue underwent counseling at our school's psychological center for some time, but this counselor noticed some issues."

Shen Jingqi gently placed the referral down, his fingers unconsciously tapping the tabletop. "What issues?"

"During her counseling, Cong Nanxue seemed not entirely honest. The things she talked about sometimes contradicted each other, or her emotional reactions didn't match the content she mentioned. When the counselor tried to point this out, Cong Nanxue suddenly requested to end the counseling."

Shen Jingqi frowned, a sense of foreboding rising within him. "Did she come back here for counseling after that?"

"No, she didn't make any more appointments after that," Yang Haotian shook his head. "We also tried to reach out to her, but her contact information had changed, and we couldn't get in touch with her afterwards."

Shen Jingqi was silent for a moment, thoughts swirling in his mind. Why would Cong Nanxue lie? What was she hiding? Could these lies be related to her disappearance?

"Haotian, can I see Cong Nanxue's previous counseling records?" Shen Jingqi looked up, his gaze resolute.

Yang Haotian hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded. "Okay, but you have to understand, these records are confidential, and you can only view them here, you cannot take them or make copies."

Shen Jingqi nodded, following Yang Haotian to a locked records room. Yang Haotian opened a safe, took out a thick folder, and handed it to Shen Jingqi.

Shen Jingqi flipped through Cong Nanxue's counseling records page by page, growing more and more alarmed. In the counseling sessions, Cong Nanxue seemed to deliberately avoid certain issues, and whenever the counselor tried to dig deeper, she would quickly change the subject or exhibit strong resistance.

"What...what exactly is she hiding?" Shen Jingqi murmured to himself, the doubts and unease in his heart growing wildly like weeds.

Yang Haotian watched from the side, his gaze filled with helplessness. "We don't know either, Cong Nanxue is a very complex child, her inner world is something we have never truly understood."

Shen Jingqi closed the folder, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself. "Haotian, thank you for your cooperation, these records are very helpful to me."

Yang Haotian nodded slightly, "You're welcome, I just hope I can be of help to you."

Shen Jingqi tightly held the thin referral slip, his gaze lingering on the words "possible lies" for a long time.

Afterwards, he noticed the signature of the counselor: Xu An.

Shen Jingqi looked up at Yang Haotian, a hint of urgency in his voice: "By the way, where is Teacher Xu An now? Can I meet him?"

Yang Haotian nodded lightly, a hint of understanding in his eyes: "Teacher Xu is on duty in the counseling room today, I can take you to see him. But, Jingqi, I hope you understand that the content of psychological counseling is confidential, unless we have the explicit consent of the counselee, we can't disclose too much."

Shen Jingqi nodded solemnly: "I understand, I just want to know some basic information."

Under Yang Haotian's guidance, Shen Jingqi walked through a long corridor to an office at the school's psychological consultation center. Yang Haotian gently knocked on the door, and a gentle voice came from inside: "Please come in."

As he pushed open the door, Shen Jingqi saw a middle-aged man sitting behind a desk, his expression gentle, with a kind of indescribable calmness and depth in his eyes. This was Xu An, Cong Nanxue's former psychological counselor.

"Teacher Xu, this is Shen Jingqi, my best friend, and he is now Cong Nanxue's psychological counselor, he wants to understand more about her situation," Yang Haotian introduced.

Xu An smiled and stood up, shaking hands with Shen Jingqi: "Hello, Teacher Shen."

Shen Jingqi nodded gratefully, going straight to the point: "Teacher Xu, I've seen Cong Nanxue's referral slip; it mentions she may have lied. Can you tell me on what basis you made this judgment?"

Xu An's expression became serious, and he slowly sat down, his hands folded on the table: "Teacher Shen, you know, psychological counseling is a complex process, which needs to be built on trust and understanding. When Cong Nanxue first came to me for counseling, she was very cooperative and willing to share her feelings and experiences."

"However, during the sessions, I noticed some inconsistencies. Certain things she described had subtle contradictions in emotional response, timeline, or detail descriptions. I tried to guide her to clarify with open-ended questions, but her reaction surprised me."

Shen Jingqi leaned forward, his eyes full of focus: "What kind of surprise?"

"When I raised these inconsistencies, Cong Nanxue suddenly became very nervous, even somewhat angry. She insisted that she was being honest, that it was I who misunderstood her. Then she abruptly decided to end the counseling, and never appeared again after that," Xu An sighed lightly, a hint of regret in his eyes.

Shen Jingqi was silent for a moment, contemplating in his mind. Why would Cong Nanxue lie? What did she want to hide? How were these lies related to her disappearance?

"Teacher Xu, what kind of issues did Cong Nanxue mainly consult you about?" Shen Jingqi asked, trying to approach from another angle.

"Mainly about anxiety and depressive emotions, as well as some interpersonal relationship difficulties," Xu An replied. "She mentioned feeling lonely at school, having strained relationships with her classmates, and some family pressures."

Shen Jingqi nodded, this information matched what he had previously learned about Cong Nanxue's situation. But he knew, crucial information often lay hidden in details.

"Teacher Xu, did you notice if Cong Nanxue mentioned any special person or event during her consultations? For instance, did she mention someone who made her feel uneasy, or an event that she couldn't forget?" Shen Jingqi asked tentatively.

Xu An frowned, seemingly trying hard to recall: "Special person or event... I remember she mentioned an online friend she met, saying they had great conversations. But she didn't reveal much about this online friend, only that this person made her feel relaxed and able to confide her thoughts."