Chapter 692: Startled

Chapter 692: Chapter 692: Startled

Treating illnesses in Traditional Chinese Medicine is, by its very nature, a process tailored to the individual and their specific ailment.

In clinical practice, a doctor encounters a vast array of patients and a wide range of complex situations. Every person’s physical constitution and personality are unique.

This "tailoring to the individual" doesn’t just refer to physiological differences in constitution—such as cold, heat, deficiency, or excess—or sensitivity to medication. It also encompasses a broader range of sociological and psychological factors: the patient’s recent experiences, family environment, financial status, social circle, and even their personal biases and beliefs regarding certain medical systems.

Take a patient like Shen Wen, for example.

Her deep-seated prejudice and aversion to Traditional Chinese Medicine make her a particularly unique and challenging case.

If one were to approach her with a doctor’s authoritative air, forcibly taking her pulse and prescribing herbs, it would only trigger her defiant nature, and she might even throw them out.

When the heart is closed, no medicine can heal it.

Therefore, a doctor must take her unique psychological state into account and adopt an indirect approach.

This is why it’s often said, "Western medicine treats the symptoms, while Traditional Chinese Medicine treats the root cause."

This is because Traditional Chinese Medicine doesn’t just target physical ailments. Often, the root cause of a patient’s illness lies not within the body itself, but in emotional stagnation, family tragedies, changes in environment, or strained relationships.

In other words, when treating an illness, Traditional Chinese Medicine must not only heal the body but also the "mind."

This is what is known as ’healing the mind.’

"Let’s have some tea in the living room for now. My mother will be in shortly, and I’ll introduce you to her, Brother Li."

Cui Guanghui led the two of them to a large leather sofa and instructed the nanny to serve the finest pre-Qingming Longjing tea.

"Mm."

Li Xu nodded, discreetly observing the villa’s interior decor.

The decor was exceptionally tasteful but not ostentatious, exuding the deep-rooted heritage of an old-money family.

About ten minutes passed.

Accompanied by the sound of soft footsteps, Shen Wen entered through the glass doors from the backyard.

She held a pair of gardening shears and was about to head upstairs.

Seeing this, Cui Guanghui immediately stood up and called out in a resonant voice, "Mom!"

Li Xu remained seated on the sofa. Though he didn’t look at her directly, he was watching Shen Wen from the corner of his eye.

He keenly picked up on a subtle detail—

The instant Cui Guanghui called out "Mom," Shen Wen’s body gave a distinct, involuntary shudder!

It was like the reaction of a startled bird at the sudden crack of a gunshot.

Only when she turned and saw that it was her son, Cui Guanghui, did her tense body relax slightly. She then managed to force a smile. "Oh, Hui, your friends are here?"

"Hello, Aunt Shen."

Seeing this, Ding Kaifang immediately rose and greeted her respectfully.

Li Xu stood up as well, giving a slight nod of acknowledgement.

"Hello."

Shen Wen gave the two men a polite nod.

"Mom, this is Ding Kaifang, President Ding. You’ve met him before. And this is Li Xu. They’re both very good friends of mine; we get along great. Since it’s the weekend, I invited them over to hang out and have some tea."

Cui Guanghui made the introductions, following the script they had agreed upon beforehand.

"Pardon the intrusion, Aunt Shen,"

Li Xu said, his tone gentle and his demeanor respectful but not fawning.

"Of course. Welcome to our home."

Shen Wen replied politely before turning to Cui Guanghui to add, "You should all stay for lunch. I’ll have Nanny Lin prepare a few extra dishes to properly host your friends."

"Okay, Mom."

Cui Guanghui replied, then seized the opportunity to say, "Mom, Brother Li heard that you haven’t been feeling well and have been sleeping poorly, so he came today to see how you are."

"I’m fine. I’m just getting older, so I don’t sleep as much."

Originally, Shen Wen hadn’t intended to speak much with Li Xu and Ding Kaifang.

After all, in her eyes, while Ding Kaifang was a successful entrepreneur, he was still of a younger generation. The other young man, Li Xu, was a complete stranger.

However, since her son had said they came specifically to "visit" her, common courtesy and her duties as a host meant she couldn’t just turn and walk away.

She had no choice but to set down her shears and walk toward the sofa in the living room.

"Careful, Mom."

Cui Guanghui hurried forward, carefully helping Shen Wen sit down in an armchair.

Shen Wen was fifty-seven years old, roughly the same age as Ding Kaifang’s aunt.

But thanks to a comfortable lifestyle and taking excellent care of herself, one could easily believe she was in her early forties at first glance.

She wore a simple yet elegant silk house dress, her hair was coiled immaculately, and her every word and gesture exuded a sense of calm and refinement.

However, as Shen Wen approached and sat on the sofa,

Li Xu had been conducting a meticulous "visual diagnosis" of her.

Although Shen Wen wore light makeup, it couldn’t hide the pallor of her complexion peeking through the foundation.

She had heavy bags under her eyes, surrounded by distinct dark circles.

Most telling was her gaze. Though she looked at you, her eyes lacked focus, appearing somewhat vacant and adrift—a clear sign of a dissipated spirit and extreme mental exhaustion.

"I heard from Guanghui that you haven’t been resting well lately, Aunt Shen, so I wanted to come and see how you were doing."

Ding Kaifang smoothly picked up the conversation from the side, steering it toward small talk. "To tell you the truth, my mother also had trouble sleeping for a while. She’d go whole nights without a wink of sleep and was so worn down by it that she became thin as a rail."

The group continued to chat casually on the topic for a while.

Li Xu saw his moment and interjected casually, "Aunt Shen, I thought I heard you say you’ve been having nightmares at night?"

"Yes." Shen Wen sighed and rubbed the space between her eyebrows. "I’m always having nightmares, and I sleep very lightly. The slightest disturbance outside—even a car making a noise downstairs—will startle me awake. After that, my heart pounds so hard I can’t get back to sleep."

"I heard from Guanghui that you had a bit of a scare while you were away, Aunt Shen?"

"I suppose so..."

Shen Wen’s eyes dimmed. She seemed reluctant to recall the experience but still explained simply, "I was on a trip to Sanya with a few close friends. While we were crossing the street... one of them, right in front of me, was struck by an out-of-control car..."

In fact, Li Xu had already learned the gist of the story from Ding Kaifang before arriving.

「This spring.」

Shen Wen had been vacationing in Sanya with her close friends when they were involved in a horrific car accident while crossing the street.

At the time, Shen Wen had been just a step behind—or to be more precise, only half a step.

The car had virtually brushed against her clothes as it flew past, the gust of wind it generated messing up her hair.