Chapter 22

This time when she left again, Zhong Ruanxing did not stop her anymore.

It seemed like the temperaments of the two siblings were somewhat problematic. Song Shuling's tendency to go astray was very obvious. If one didn't pay attention, she would fall into an abyss thousands of feet deep. With the Song family background, she should have lived a life of splendor. But instead, she was mingling with the filthy rats at the bottom of sewers.

She called Fu Ling, "Get two reliable people to keep an eye on Shuling. Don't let what happened last night happen again."

She didn't know before, but now that she knew, she certainly couldn't just ignore it. Song Shuling was wandering on the edge of danger. Song JinXing took good care of his younger sister, so she should also take good care of his younger sister.

Going astray was not something that happened overnight. To get her back on track would also not happen overnight.

Zhong Ruanxing went upstairs to change clothes and picked out today's CEO outfit in the luxurious spacious wardrobe.

A whole wall of custom-made suits, several large drawers neatly organized with ties, luxury watches, exquisite cufflinks. Every time Zhong Ruanxing looked at them, her hatred for the rich grew. It was just that Song JinXing's style of dressing was very consistent, mainly in dark colors. At a glance, the clothes looked all the same, so there wasn't much to pick from.

If only she could replace all these with women's clothing, jewelry and handbags, that would be awesome.

Ever since she became a man, her desire for shopping had decreased. There really wasn't anything from head to toe that she wanted to buy.

With a sigh, she changed into her clothes and went downstairs. At this time, her phone rang. Zhong Ruanxing glanced at it. The caller ID showed "Dr. Zheng". After switching bodies, their phones had also been switched. These past few days, she had received many personal calls related to work, but this was the first time for "Dr. Zheng".

As Zhong Ruanxing walked downstairs, she answered the call, "Hello?"

The voice on the phone sounded very young, gentle and pleasant, "Mr. Song, good morning."

Zhong Ruanxing also replied, "Good morning."

Just by the voice, one could imagine a gentle face with a smile on the other end, "Mr. Song, it has been one month and three days since your last consultation. I have to call to remind you that it's time for you to come in again."

Consultation? What consultation? Was Song JinXing sick? He didn't mention this when they exchanged information!

Zhong Ruanxing suddenly realized that when exchanging information, he had casually glossed over anything related to his private life. Such as his younger sister, his parents, his personal relationships, and now, his illness. In the days of switching identities, she had sensed more or less from the attitude of others that the real Song JinXing was not easy to get along with.

His employees feared him. His family disliked him. Even his younger sister avoided him like the plague. His social relationships were narrow. His daily life revolved around work. After work, he didn't even have a friend to ask out for drinks or dinner.

He was surrounded by honor, lofty and unapproachable. It was as if he lived in a cloud that was beyond the reach of ordinary people. A true loner.

Previously she didn't feel that way, because switching bodies gave the two the most uniquely intimate relationship in the world. But now when she thought about it, he was just forced to share his life with her. In order for his original life not to go off track, he could only be considerate and tolerant, so that the two unrelated lives could continue to develop in the intended direction.

If not for this serendipitous switch, their lives would never have intersected.

Her previous perception that they were intimate was just her own wishful thinking.

He was not willing to open his heart to her at all. He was still that Song JinXing who went his own way and was hard to get along with.

If one day they switched back, Song JinXing probably wouldn't even give her a glance.

Thinking of this, Zhong Ruanxing's emotions became a little depressed.

But she didn't covet anything from him. She had never thought of taking advantage of this opportunity to seek benefits or resources for herself. She saw this switch as a fantastical adventure, where she could experience a different life. After switching back, she could tell this experience as a fairy tale to her younger sister.

It turned out her previous perception that they were intimate was just her own wishful thinking.

After hanging up Dr. Zheng's call, Zhong Ruanxing took some time to adjust her emotions before calling Song JinXing. She had always been good at comforting herself, and would never let herself get stuck in a corner emotionally.

So when Song JinXing picked up the call, he heard a vibrant voice, "Good morning!"

"... " Hearing her own voice sounding so energetic was a bit creepy. Song JinXing handed his school bag to Zhong You to carry, and saw the nanny Liu Cai off to take her to school, "Good morning."

Zhong Ruanxing asked, "Had breakfast?"

Song JinXing replied, "Had it, braised pig's head meat with vermicelli."

Zhong Ruanxing slurped, "My dad makes the best braised pig's head meat and vermicelli. So yummy, I want to eat it too. I wonder when I can have a mouthful again."

After some small talk, Zhong Ruanxing got to the point, "Dr. Zheng called you to remind you to go for a consultation."

After she said this, she paused. As expected, the other end of the phone also fell silent.

After quite a while, Song JinXing finally spoke, "I was negligent before, I forgot to tell you about this." His voice was very calm. No matter what emergencies happened, he could perfectly control his emotions, "Dr Zheng is my psychologist. He returned to the country half a year earlier than me. We had a doctor-patient relationship abroad."

Zhong Ruanxing listened, and was not surprised. CEOs more or less all have some psychological problems, it's normal!

She probed, "Insomnia? Depression? Anxiety? Multiple personalities? Antisocial?"

"... " Her guesses were becoming more and more outlandish. Song JinXing interrupted her, "Emotional detachment disorder. You can understand it as I am unable to form intimate emotional connections with anyone, and find it difficult to empathize with their joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. The clinical manifestation is emotional numbness, and lack of corresponding emotional responses to any external stimuli."

Even when talking about his own illness, his attitude was still as if the sky was falling and he wouldn't even frown. As calm as if he was reciting a case report.

No wonder.

Emotional detachment, unable to empathize with anything or anyone around him, if this was in a fantasy novel, he would be someone naturally suited to cultivate the Dao of Ruthlessness.

How could she think of cultivating immortality at such a serious moment!

Zhong Ruanxing hurriedly pulled her thoughts back. Knowing about his condition also helped her understand his previous behavior. She was an extremely emotional person, the complete opposite of Song JinXing. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to sever emotional ties with the world. At least in her opinion, it must be agonizing.

But he probably couldn't even feel agony.

His emotions were like a pool of dead water.

Zhong Ruanxing felt a little heartache, "How could this happen? So young, how could you get this illness?"

"..."

You make it sound like I have some terminal illness.

Song JinXing calmly explained, "It's probably related to experiences during childhood. I was sent abroad at a very young age. Apart from nannies and bodyguards, there were no other relatives or friends. I wanted to go back to China but couldn't. Gradually I stopped trusting anyone or anything."

Seven years old, an age where she was still playing with mud.

Having just lost his parents, and then forced to leave his familiar environment for a foreign land, with no one to rely on. Just thinking about it made her feel it must have been unbearable.

Wasn't it said that the most beloved son of the Song family patriarch was the third son? Why then after the most beloved son passed away, could he be so ruthless as to banish his grandson abroad? Was this surviving grandson such an eyesore to him? Even if it was to temper his personality, wasn't this too cruel?

But if he disliked him, why did Song JinXing get appointed by him as CEO immediately upon returning to China despite opposition? Zhong Ruanxing recalled the penetrating gaze of the old man in the ancestral home. She really couldn't figure out what these wealthy families were thinking.

Song JinXing said, "You can just reject him. Our conditions are very different now. He may notice something off. The less people who know about the switch, the better."

Right on point! Distrust of the outside world!

Zhong Ruanxing nodded seriously while opening Baidu to search for the clinical symptoms of emotional detachment disorder.

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