companion ghost

"Doctor Ning." In the courtroom, a handsome Asian man stood up. The well-tailored black suit perfectly outlined his figure, making his shoulders wider and his legs longer.The witness he questioned also happened to have an oriental face, but he was much softer than him, with a calm and gentle face, "Can you tell the jury what relationship you have with the victim Klein Reid?"

Ning Yuan smiled at the twelve jurors on the left: "I'm Mr. Reid's counselor, and I started treating him about a year ago."

"Then, have you diagnosed Mr. Reid with a mental illness?" Shen Lie continued to ask.

Ning Yuan nodded: "Of course, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, which is what we often call PTSD."

Shen Lie walked in front of him, his dark eyes looked at Ning Yuan, and Ning Yuan also looked at him, his nervous mood gradually eased: "During the treatment, Mr. Reid confessed everything to me, including whether he is Mental illness because of being sexually assaulted by the defendant - Vincent Osterley."

Ning Yuan keenly saw a slight smile on the corners of Shen Lie's brows and eyes, knowing that he should have answered well, he felt more relaxed.

Shen Lie asked again: "Doctor, can you confirm that Mr. Reid suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the defendant's sexual assault?"

"100% sure." Ning Yuan answered simply and neatly, "Mr. Reid can't sleep at night, and the flashbacks are all scenes of being sexually assaulted. He can return to normal work after two courses of psychotherapy. Hypervigilance to same-sex touch ... all typical of PTSD."

"Thank you, there is no other question." Shen Lie nodded slightly to the judge, and patted Ning Yuan's hand on the table in the blind spot of others.

After Shen Lie finished speaking, the defense lawyer sitting on the right side of the defendant Vincent Osterley also stood up. This time the defense lawyer was a black man, tall and strong, wearing a suit but compared to a lawyer More like a bodyguard, invisibly exerting tremendous pressure on people, Ning Yuan was small in stature, sitting in front of him like a chick.

The defense attorney stood up, buttoned the skirt of his shirt, and asked the first question: "Dr. Ning, are you a counselor assigned by the Homicide Squad of the Manhattan Police Department in New York City?"

Ning Yuan frowned slightly in his heart, but only nodded slightly on his face: "Yes."

The defense lawyer asked after receiving an affirmative answer: "Then do you know that the group you belong to had an investigation and accusation against my client nearly two years ago?"

Ning Yuan opened his mouth, remembering that he was still a soul body at that time, theoretically he shouldn't know, but...

"I know." Ning Yuan said calmly, "Klein told me that everything started with that case. He was deceived by your client in that case. Your client clearly did all this but told him that he was innocent— —”

"This has nothing to do with this case," the defense lawyer said loudly. He didn't expect this seemingly gentle doctor to give them a slap in the face at this time. "Next question, the last time the doctor targeted my client. Your team lost the case, and now you are sitting here as a witness who accuses my client of rape, is it mixed with personal selfishness and biased?"

"Objection!" Shen Lie stood up, his eyes slightly cold, "Malicious speculation!"

Before the judge decided whether the objection was valid or not, Ning Yuan replied indifferently after being astonished: "Defense lawyer, when the last accusation you mentioned happened, I hadn't entered the homicide unit as a counselor. There is no conflict of interest with the defendant. As for why I am sitting here as a witness, it is because Klein, the victim of sexual assault by your client, approached me for help, that's all."

The defense lawyer smiled slightly, and was not surprised by Ning Yuan's words: "What a coincidence that the so-called rape victim just found a police psychologist who had a conflict of interest with the so-called rapist for psychological counseling."

Ning Yuan frowned, Shen Lie didn't sit down at all: "Objection!"

Ning Yuan saw a complacent look on the defense lawyer's dark face: "I withdraw, there is no other question."

Ning Yuan crossed the top of the defense lawyer's shiny head and met Shen Lie in front of him.

six months ago

Fifth Avenue Psychology Clinic

The door was opened roughly, and Ning Yuan held two cups of coffee in his hand, and knocked the door open with his body. He smiled apologetically at the person in the room who turned around because of surprise: "Sorry to scare you, my assistant I don't know where I am busy, so I can only bring coffee by myself."

The people in the room also smiled back, their light purple pupils were very gentle, they walked over and took the coffee in his hand, and put it on the table: "Where is it, I'm not made of paper, so I can't be so easily scared."

This person was Klein who came to Ningyuan Clinic for psychotherapy.

After a year of treatment, Klein's current progress is very gratifying.He no longer has the nightmares at the beginning, and he has a little tolerance for physical touch. He is no longer as sensitive as before, so that even Ning Yuan would cringe and tremble when he accidentally touched his hand.You can even take the initiative to talk about being raped by Vincent, and it is no longer necessary for Ning Yuan to spend more than half of the consultation time to persuade and guide him to recall his memory.

Ning Yuan sat opposite Klein across the table, and said, "You haven't been here for a long time, and the last time you came was a month and a half ago."

Klein looked down at the steaming coffee, and said softly, "I haven't had a nightmare for a long time, and I haven't thought about it for a long time, so..." He shrugged, "I think I'm strong enough , so I was wondering, could this be the last consultation between us?"

Ning Yuan was not surprised at all when he heard the words. The time interval between Klein's treatment ranged from a week to two weeks to a month to a month and a half. He had already thought that Klein would end this psychotherapy course.

Ning Yuan has always given Klein a gentle and kind feeling. He did not expect that this time Ning Yuan asked him a question straight to the point: "When was the last time you slept without putting a gun under your pillow?"

Klein was silent.

The reason why many people dislike psychiatrists and dislike psychological counseling is that they feel that in front of psychiatrists, they have nowhere to hide what they think and do, and he is the same.

Ning Yuan sighed, no longer as sharp and mean as before: "I know what you think, you think that if you had a gun by your side that day, nothing would happen. But what you are doing now is meaningless, that day has passed Now, what's the use of sleeping with ten pistols on your head every day?"

Klein stared straight at the coffee cup without making a sound.

But Ning Yuan looked at him, he was no longer the defense lawyer of the young and handsome man when we first met, but after a year, he seemed to have changed from a sharp diamond full of edges and corners to a handful of shapeless shards crumbs.

Ning Yuan leaned forward and reached out to hold his shoulder: "The best way is not to force yourself to forget, but to force yourself to face it. I know it's difficult, but this is the best way."