under the filth

When He Xiu rushed to the studio, the woolen coat and briefcase were already covered with rainwater, and the warm air blown by the air conditioner failed to dissipate the cold moisture on his body. The huge temperature difference between indoor and outdoor made his glasses Covered with a layer of white mist.

Even after living for many years, He Xiu still doesn't like the wet and cold winter.In his memory, whether it is Chengdu or York, winter is always accompanied by a few fine rains, and the rain is always bitter and cold.

"Doctor He, here." An assistant who has been with He Xiu for many years handed the towel prepared in advance to He Xiu, and poured him a glass of warm water, "Should we still go to the nursing home today?"

After receiving the towel, He Xiu wiped the water droplets on his body and bag: "Yes." It was a little cold outside, his lips were a little white from the cold, and even his voice was a little unsteady.

He Xiu wiped off the rainwater on his body, and the assistant took the towel and handed him warm water.After He Xiu took it, he walked towards his office and told her: "If you have other appointments recently, if you can push it back, you can postpone it temporarily. If you can't push it, please let me know first, and I will arrange another time."

"Okay." The assistant came to her senses after habitually responding. This was the first time she heard that He Xiu wanted to postpone other patients' appointments. She paused with the hand holding the pen, "Is it the nursing home?"

With warm water in his mouth, He Xiu gave a vague "um" before saying, "It's a little troublesome, I might have to go there again in a while."

After closing the office door, He Xiu took out the documents from the briefcase and put them on the desk together with his coat.Looking at Tang Cen's photo above, He Xiu took off his glasses and rubbed the center of his brows wearily.

It's more than a little troublesome, it's just terrible.

Although he looks young, He Xiu's qualifications as a psychologist are quite deep.He has met many difficult patients, but he never thought that one day he would be troubled by the physical condition of a patient who tried to communicate with him.

He had read Tang Cen's past medical records, and Tang Qian and the doctor in charge had repeatedly reminded him, but He Xiu didn't know how bad the situation was until he saw it with his own eyes.

Auditory hallucinations, hallucinations, and a long history of depression have worn down Tang Cen's body and spirit, allowing him to lie unconscious on a bed in a nursing home for several months.

He Xiu stayed in the nursing home for nearly two months. In addition to repeatedly trying to communicate with Tang Cen, he also had to calm Tang Cen's emotions when the doctors in the nursing home were treating Tang Cen physically.

The combination of no-progress psychotherapy and extra work made He Xiu feel tired for the first time, but fortunately Tang Cen was not too repulsed to approach and communicate with him.He Xiu felt that if Tang Cen's movement wasn't restricted by his physical condition, maybe he could at least know the general situation in these two months.

He Xiu admitted that it was the first time that he was so eager to know what the patient had experienced.He wanted to know why Tang Cen had tried his best to survive after attempting suicide many times, why he had actively isolated himself from the outside world and would actively respond to him.

Previously, He Xiu thought of giving up countless times, but he never took action, and even turned down other appointments.For He Xiu, Tang Cen's past is no longer just an entrustment from the Tang family and the police, but has become his obsession, even if it seriously violates his professional ethics.

Sitting on the soft chair in the office, He Xiu closed his eyes and raised his head to the ceiling, muttering repeatedly: "Tang Cen...Tang Cen..."

"Buzzing——" He Xiu's cell phone in his coat pocket suddenly vibrated, He Xiu picked it up and saw that the caller showed an unmarked number.He Xiu frowned. He was about to hang up but saw that the number looked familiar. After hesitating for two seconds, he still picked it up: "Hello."

"Doctor He, Mr. Tang... Mr. Tang wants to see you." There was a woman's voice on the other end of the phone, a little anxious and a little happy, and there was a murmur of panting.

He Xiu picked up his coat and put it on his body, while responding: "Okay, I see, I'll go there right away."

"Mr. Tang..." The woman on the other end of the phone wanted to say something, but He Xiu accidentally hung up the phone in a hurry.

Mr. Tang... Tang Qian?He Xiu recalled what the woman had just said, paused for a moment, then pushed open the door of the office, and trotted out of the office under the surprised eyes of the assistant.

No, not him.If Tang Qian was looking for him, he shouldn't have called from the landline of the nursing home, and the woman shouldn't have said that in her tone.

After trotting all the way to the parking lot, He Xiu looked at the black car in front of him, and suddenly grinned softly.The rain had stopped, and the hot air exhaled by He Xiu turned into white mist in the cold air, blurring his vision for a short time.

It's Tang Cen.

The driver standing beside the car opened the door for He Xiu, and He Xiu nodded to him before sitting in silently.

With the sound of the engine starting, the car slowly drove out of the parking lot and headed towards the outskirts of the city.He Xiu, who was sitting in the back row, leaned against the window glass, staring at the receding and changing scenery outside, speechless all the way.

He didn't ask, and the driver didn't explain, but He Xiu had a premonition in his heart that today's meeting could break the deadlock of these two months.What he can know is no longer the thin data on the cold white paper, but the past told by living people.

The car drove straight into the nursing home and stopped in front of the southernmost building.The moment the car stopped, He Xiu opened the door and hurried into the building, not even having time to straighten the folds of his coat.

At the corner of the stairs, He Xiu almost ran into the nurse who heard the sound of the car and went downstairs to check.

"Sorry." This small episode calmed He Xiu down. He retracted his feet from stepping up two steps, straightened his hair that was blown a little messy by the wind, and straightened his coat before walking up slowly. .

The nurse didn't care either, but just remembered the phone call that He Xiu hung up on, and hurriedly followed He Xiu upstairs: "Mr. Tang Cen said he wanted to see you as soon as he woke up today. This is the first time he asked to see someone. We It's not easy to refuse him, and Mr. Tang Qian also agreed, so I called you."

"It's okay." He Xiu pushed his slipped glasses, stopped and looked back at the nurse, "Did he say anything else?"

The nurse shook her head: "No, I just asked to see you several times, and refused to say anything else."

Repeatedly asking to see him?He Xiu was not too surprised that Tang Cen would make such a request, but... He Xiu patted the nurse on the shoulder: "It's okay, you can go to work."

Then he raised his hand and knocked on the door, but no one answered.

Just when He Xiu was about to knock for the second time, the door of the ward was opened from the inside.When He Xiu saw the white hair, he realized that it was Tang Cen's attending doctor.

The old doctor raised his hand to signal him, and He Xiu stepped back half a step to let him out of the way, and then the old doctor squeezed out from the gap that was barely enough for one person to get in and out.He closed the door silently, stood by the door and took He Xiu's hand and whispered: "You know his body, you can only talk for two hours at most, you try to control the time, if there is something in the middle, ring the bell .”

"I know." He Xiu nodded clearly. Although Tang Cen's physical condition has improved in the past two months, after all, the previous situation was too bad, so even if the progress was delayed, he knew that in this kind of matter Don't be too hasty.

The old doctor waved his hand, He Xiucai walked around him sideways, knocked on the door twice, then pushed the door open and walked in.

At this time, the one on the hospital bed was no longer the human skin skeleton lying on his back, but a young man sitting on a soft pillow.He tilted his head to look at the gloomy sky outside the window. Although he still had an IV drip in his hand, at least he looked a little angry.

"Tang Cen?" He changed a little, so He Xiu had no choice but to tentatively call out his name.

Since Tang Cen fell into a coma last time, He Xiu hadn't been to the nursing home for three days because of other things.Even if the nurse didn't notify him, he wasn't sure if something happened to Tang Cen during this time.

The young man on the hospital bed turned his head when he heard the sound, looked at He Xiu who was standing by the door, and smiled slightly: "I'm sorry, Dr. He made a special trip in this weather." With a soft voice, A little limp, but at least not hoarse anymore.

It's just that Tang Cen's attitude was completely beyond He Xiu's expectations.

Although Tang Cen is indeed such a gentle and humble person in the information on the materials and in Tang Qian's description, and the eyebrows and eyes in the photos are also quite gentle, but after such a painful experience, even if there is no major change in personality, he will become somewhat gloomy.

The state of Tang Cen sitting here after waking up once again made He Xiu fall into deep thought. Tang Cen immersed in his own world and Tang Cen after waking up are completely different people.

Seeing that he suddenly fell silent, Tang Cen tilted his head and sized him up curiously, before softly calling out, "Doctor He?"

"Sorry, I was distracted." Tang Cen's voice brought He Xiu back to reality from his contemplation. He took off his glasses and rubbed between his brows. He walked towards the bed with his head down, and lied casually, " When it’s cold, people also become dull.”

He just stared at the floor, but his sight was blocked by the fingers pinching the center of his eyebrows, so He Xiu missed the sudden change on Tang Cen's face when he took off his glasses.

"It's okay, I'm sorry to trouble you." Under the cover of the quilt, Tang Cen rubbed the wrist of the other hand vigorously with the hand on which the drip was suspended from He Xiu's view.His grip strength is limited, and the skin after rubbing is only slightly pink, and there is no abnormality.

There was a small single sofa next to Tang Cen's bed. He Xiu sat down after putting the coat he had taken off on the armrest. Tang Cen also turned sideways and sat on his side.

"I mentioned to you earlier that there are some things that require your cooperation with the police investigation, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for you." He Xiu cleared his throat, and mentioned the old doctor's advice, "But today is only two hours, if there is any Yes, I'll come back tomorrow, okay?"

Tang Cen lowered his eyes and nodded after a while: "I know."

"Then let's begin."