Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Four

At around ten o'clock that night, Dai Xi received a long-distance call from Hong Kong. "Hello, Pauline?" "Dai Xi, are you asleep?" Xue Baoling's voice sounded disturbed and sad. As soon as the "Yiyuan" incident came out, Xue Baoling got the news in Hong Kong. When she rushed to Shanghai in a hurry, Li Weilian flew to the United States half a day ago, and Zhang Naichi went completely crazy in the detention center. The two most important men in my life ended their fight with each other in such a tragic way, and also ended the blood connection with her.While Xue Baoling was heartbroken for them, she had to realize again that these two passers-by had really gone away from her own life.

Although the facts have long been in front of his eyes, and he thought he had made a decision, it is still not easy to give up. After wandering in Shanghai for two days, Xue Baoling returned to Hong Kong in a daze, and began to search for Li Weilian's whereabouts through her own channels, but so far to no avail. "I didn't sleep, it's still early. Baoling, what's the matter?" "Daisy, I want to ask about Richard's situation..." "He... is okay. You can come to Shanghai to see him when you have time, the conditions of the hospital here are not bad."

"Is there any hope of recovery?" "... I heard from my father that there is no hope." A long sigh came from the other end of the phone, and when she spoke again, Xue Baoling's voice was a little tense: "Although he... has fallen to this point today, I'm still very sad." Dai Xi was silent.For Zhang Naichi today, is losing his mind happy or sad?Dai Xi felt that she was incapable of making judgments. After a while, Xue Baoling asked again: "Where is William, Dai Xi, do you have any news about him?" "No." Every time I talk to Xue Baoling on the phone, I have to repeat this question and answer. Between back and forth, the feeling of powerlessness and heartache does not decrease but increases.

"Daisy! I...I heard something." "Ah? What's the situation?!" "Daisy, I told you that when William came back from the United States in June this year, he first went to Hong Kong and then returned to Shanghai. I thought he came to Hong Kong to deal with some financial matters, but two days ago my family doctor accidentally said That time, William asked him to inquire about a famous old surgeon, and even made a special trip to visit. I quickly got in touch with the old doctor, and I just finished meeting with him. He said, said..." Dai Xi was out of breath: "Baoling, tell me what's going on!"

Xue Baoling sobbed softly: "It turns out that he was the doctor who operated on William's waist 25 years ago, and William came to him for a review. The old doctor said that William's injury was very serious at the time, so even though 25 years ago The operation was very successful, but as the age grows, the aging and strain of the spine become more and more severe, and William's condition is likely to deteriorate suddenly, and the results of the examination confirm this. William must undergo a new operation immediately, otherwise he will soon die again. He was about to face the danger of being paralyzed. The old doctor also said that he had a particularly good impression of William back then, so he repeatedly told him to take care of himself and live a restrained life, so as to avoid the accelerated deterioration of the injury, but William was obviously not obedient at all. The old man The doctor also said that in view of William's current condition, even if the operation is performed immediately, the result may not be optimistic."

After hanging up the phone for a long time, Dai Xi was still sitting in front of the computer screen in a daze. What did he say? —It is a real disgrace to me to be a man of no use.When I was very young, I read a fairy tale about elephants in Africa. Once they are old and frail or seriously ill, they will take the initiative to leave the elephant herd to fend for themselves. He was in such a hurry to leave Shanghai not to avoid trouble, but to refuse shame. He said again—this time I can still choose to start over and go against the current, but I lack the will and courage. Always facing everything alone, he is still tired after all.

Dai Xi shook her head, no, don't think about it!Now she has something very important to look at - the email that Professor Higgins just sent to Dai Xi. On the second Sunday of my return to the United States, I received a special guest in my laboratory.As soon as Jane arrived in the United States, she started to look for her everywhere, and it went smoothly. It didn't take too long to get her contact information. What's more surprising is that she lives in downtown San Francisco with her husband and daughter. Jane originally planned to pay a visit, but after contacting her, the old lady insisted on visiting my laboratory at Stanford in person, so the two of us could only wait solemnly in the laboratory this Sunday to welcome her.

Mrs. Li, the Aunt Rose in Jane's mouth, this old woman who is nearly eighty years old drove to Stanford by herself.Although I was fully prepared for her beauty and demeanor from the narrations of consultants X and Jane, I still couldn't help expressing my sincere admiration when I saw her. A perfect woman, the years can not detract from her elegant demeanor and demeanor, and her full head of white hair brings out the beauty carved by time.As soon as I saw her, I recognized the pair of eyes that were exactly the same as those of the consultant X. The son completely inherited the appearance and temperament of the mother. This is not a simple similarity, but a deep fit from appearance to connotation. A cool portrait of the soul.Reminiscent of the indescribable and complicated relationship between the mother and child, such a fit and resemblance can't help but make people feel sad, and the subsequent conversations have deepened and interpreted this special feeling from more aspects.

Mrs. Li has already known what happened in Shanghai. Although many details have yet to be confirmed, she is extremely worried about the difficult situation of consultant X, and is also very concerned about his current situation. Unfortunately, after the incident, the consultation The reporter X has never contacted her, and even Mrs. Li couldn't guess where he would be. Mrs. Li told Jane and me very sadly that although she and this young son had not been close in the past and had been separated for a long time, after he went to Hong Kong, the relationship between mother and child has improved a lot.In recent years, the family established by consultant x in the United States has become the greatest joy in Mrs. Li's life. Until this April, Mrs. Li often traveled between California and New York with great interest to visit her beloved granddaughter in Long Island isabella.

When she heard the news of the sudden divorce of consultant X, Mrs. Li was very shocked. What made her even more unacceptable was that her son was forced to divorce because of the sex scandal, which ruined his hard-won career for many years.One day in May, when the son came to his mother, Mrs. Li asked him to explain in a rage. As a result, the mother and son had a fierce quarrel that had never been seen in more than 20 years. I never spoke to Mrs. Li again. Speaking of this, Mrs. Li's eyes were red. She said that what she was most reluctant to bear was Isabella, who was not yet ten years old. She had heard about her son's chaotic sex life, but she was very confident in his shrewdness. It's going to get so out of hand.

Jane and I kept silent, waiting for Mrs. Li to slowly regain her composure.Not long after, Mrs. Li really asked about the status of the mental illness of the consultant X with great urgency.Jane had already mentioned it to Mrs. Li on the phone before, and also sent her some simple materials to give her a preliminary understanding of this condition.Taking this opportunity, I gave a more detailed explanation to Mrs. Li, starting from the understanding and evaluation of "sex addiction" in recent years, the development process of identification and treatment in the psychology field, and gradually going deep into the specifics of this mental illness. Symptoms, degree of harm and mechanism of formation are finally my specific diagnosis of consultant X. After Mrs. Li listened attentively to my explanation, she asked me to repeat the paragraphs about her in Consultant X’s self-report, especially the content that she abandoned Consultant X in Shanghai and emigrated to Hong Kong with her husband and two other children.I repeated it as she asked, and Mrs. Li was silent for a long time, but she said something that surprised me. She said——"This is a lie." Mrs. Li said that when the family finally got permission to leave Shanghai, she definitely wanted to take all three children with them.But just as he was packing his luggage and preparing for the trip, the youngest son, the consultant X, who was only 12 years old at the time, proposed to his parents to live alone in Shanghai.Mrs. Li was very surprised, but the attitude of the consultant X was very firm. This little son has always had a cold relationship with his mother, and he has many conflicts with his two brothers and sisters. There is some logic in his sudden request.Even so, Mrs. Li still hesitated to leave such a young child alone in Shanghai. After all, she was her own son.At this time, her eldest son and daughter expressed their opinions. They didn't like this little brother very much, and they didn't want to live with him. Since he wanted to stay, why didn't he let it go.Mrs. Li's husband was deported before Consultant X was born. To his father, this youngest son is a complete stranger, and they have no feelings for each other. In the end, the matter was settled like this, and Mrs. Li's family moved to Hong Kong, leaving only the consultant x.In the next ten years, there was no connection between mother and child except two or three letters and remittances a year.If the consultant X hadn't been sent to Hong Kong for treatment due to injury in 1984, maybe they would never have any contact with each other. "Professor, you said that being abandoned by his mother was one of the important reasons for his mental illness, but I can swear that I never voluntarily abandoned him." Mrs. Li asked with tears, "Why did he lie? Why did he want to abandon him?" impose the guilt on me? Does he hate me very much?" I couldn't answer her right away. Behind the distorted facts are hidden deep psychological motivations, which need to be excavated and verified with extreme caution. "I think it's for my mother-in-law, for me...we..." Jane said, and when Mrs. Li and I didn't notice, she also shed tears quietly. The brief silence was oppressive. The noble old woman burst into tears: "My child, he was so young back then...my poor child...in fact, I have always, always loved him the most..." Mrs. Li's words gave me a better understanding of the heart of the consultant x.It's a pity that even she can't find him now, which makes people worry about him.The only clue so far is that consultant x called daughter isabella about a week or so ago. Isabella told her grandma that her father chatted with her on the phone as always, telling her stories and reciting poems. Isabella especially liked the story she told this time. It was a beautiful fairy tale about the little prince taming the fox. The computer screen turned from bright to dark, and the small blue icon of the screen saver flew for a while, disappearing altogether.The last light in the room was lost, and Daixi didn't draw the curtains when she sat at the desk till now when night fell.Now the faint night light penetrates from the window behind her, and is reflected by the dark computer screen, so that Dai Xi can see her eyes, which are still bright after reading for so long. She read so many lies that smeared his life like a layered oil painting. At the last meeting, he frankly admitted to her that I had been lying.Sure enough, someone stood up now, and the 80-year-old mother said, I am already at this age, and there is no need to deceive anyone.Thus, he changed from being abandoned to actively choosing to reject, the truth is like this, the mother is still defending, but he has been silent. And what about the sweltering hut above Shikumen?The curtains are navy blue, wide and heavy, like a thick curtain, blocking sunlight and air.The teenager was naked and wept in fear under the woman's touch, but after that time, he began to work hard, reciting English novels at length, just to get more caresses from her.Therefore, an American man named Gatsby stepped forward and used his own death to support the teenager's never-ending thirst for orgasm...