Chapter 2 Slime

"Snail?" Wen Lingxi was taken aback.An image of a snail, a mollusc slowly crawling on a leaf, comes to mind.

Xu Jingxian's eyes were fixed on her son all the time.At this time, Jiang Yao was still oblivious to everything the outside world was talking about.

It seems that he is safely rooted in the soil in the glass cover, and everything outside has nothing to do with him.

"You mean... tinnitus?" Wen Lingxi frowned.In the field of their mental illness, it is not uncommon to have tinnitus or even auditory hallucinations.

What's more, Jiang Yao suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and he always said that he would hear another person talking to him.

"No, it's not tinnitus, nor is it an auditory hallucination." Xu Jingxian's tone is very sure, perhaps she has been observing for a long time, "The 'snail' he said is different from the sound I heard before. That willThe voice that spoke to him came from inside him, not with his ears. But the snail... he said there were snails living in his ear, and he said he could hear that slimy voice every night."

Wen Lingxi imagined again in his mind.

A soft snail wriggling two soft tentacles.The slippery body dragged out long mucus, crawling sticky in the ear canal...

He couldn't help shivering.

"How long has this been going on?" Wen Lingxi tried to look more professional and reliable.He asked in a deep voice, "Did you take him to the ENT department for an examination?"

Xu Jingxian's answer was that it was checked and everything was normal.

Jiang Yao's mother is a retired ballet dancer and his father is a scholar.Both came from well-educated and well-off families.

Therefore, as soon as Xu Jingxian discovered Jiang Yao's abnormality, she took him for a comprehensive examination.

The result of the inspection was that nothing suspicious could be found.

Whether it is the head, facial features, or any possible related blood test indicators, Jiang Yao has checked them all.

Physiological lesions can basically be ruled out.

"And, besides the sound of the snail crawling..." Xu Jingxian remembered something, and her face became a little subtle, "Some strange... mucus began to appear on his body."

"Slime?" Wen Lingxi asked almost subconsciously, "Could it be snail slime?"

"I don't know much about snails, but... I think so."

Almost every time Xu Jingxian finished speaking, she would turn her head and look at her son worriedly.As if she was afraid that Jiang Yao would disappear under her nose again.

This is also a post-traumatic response.Back then, she just missed her son's disappearance in her own yard, which dealt a big blow to Xu Jingxian.

"It's as if a snail has really crawled on him...Sometimes when I go to wake him up in the morning, I will see some dried mucus on his face and eyelashes. There are also some dried mucus on his clothes and pillows......But how is this possible... There can't be snails in our house..."

Xu Jingxian became agitated as she spoke. She covered her face with her hands in pain, and murmured almost nervously, "I have closed all the doors and windows...the aunt at home has cleaned all the corners, there is no waySnails...how could there be..."

——This is already a forced performance under excessive self-blame.

Wen Lingxi judged calmly in his heart and responded professionally.

He calmed down Xu Jingxian's emotions first, and then took Jiang Yao for further examination.

In their mental health center, there are a series of professional scales and examinations for mental patients.These are things that cannot be done in ordinary general hospitals.

In order to prevent Xu Jingxian's anxiety from further aggravating, Wen Lingxi entrusted her to his assistant, and planned to give her an explanation after the full set of examinations was completed.

Yet the final conclusion is puzzling.

Jiang Yao's condition is even better than in the previous visits.

His autism is improving, and his social skills are gradually improving—just as Wen Lingxi concluded when he talked with him alone at the beginning, the sub-personality that Jiang Yao developed after returning from hermitism is helping him recover from the glass of autism.Come out of the hood.

After a round of examinations, when Wen Lingxi brought Jiang Yao back to the consulting room, Xu Jingxian, who was waiting on the sofa, jumped up again like a frightened bird.

"How?" Xu Jingxian couldn't wait for a moment, she stretched out her hand and pulled her son to her side, as if an old hen was protecting a chick—even though the person standing in front of her was not a terrible natural enemy, she still thought reflexivelyKeep your son by your side.

Such an overprotective reaction confirmed Wen Lingxi's speculation more and more.

... I'm afraid, this time, it's not Jiang Yao who has the problem.It was Xu Jingxian herself.

Wen Lingxi sighed secretly, but it didn't show on his face.

He decided to follow Xu Jingxian's words and see if he could find out the reason why the retired ballet dancer became so groggy.

"Has the mucus you mentioned been sent to the hospital... or has it been tested in the laboratory?" Wen Lingxi knew that Jiang Yao's parents were well-connected and knew many friends from all walks of life, "Are you sure it's snail mucus?"

"No... there is no way..." Xu Jingxian's eyes became blank, she slowly shook her head, "The mucus will dry up and disappear soon, especially in the sun. So whether you wipe it with a cotton swab or directly put it onSending over clothes and pillows, there is no way to test...they can't detect anything."

Sure enough, Xu Jingxian had tried everything before coming to the mental health center.

Wen Lingxi thought for a while, then asked again: "Have you ever tried to let him sleep in another place? For example, in a clean guest room, or in a hotel outside..."

"I've tried it, I've tried it all..." Xu Jingxian's speech speed suddenly became faster, she kept shaking her head, chattering in panic and panic, "No matter where I let him sleep, the snail will come... II even tried to keep the lights on all night and stay with him, but I couldn’t hold on to falling asleep every time... It didn’t work for me to drink coffee and take a cold shower or even pinch myself, I would fall asleep every time... CameraThere's nothing there either... that snail is invisible, but it's very big..."

This is a clear sign of a nervous breakdown.

"Mrs. Jiang? Mrs. Jiang!" Wen Lingxi's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly comforted Xu Jingxian.

He patted Xu Jingxian's shoulder lightly, trying to calm her down, and at the same time glanced worriedly at the sofa.

Fortunately, Jiang Yao has fallen asleep.He didn't see his mother's breakdown and loss of control.

Jiang Yao curled up on the sofa, the red seven-star ladybug escaped from his open palm, and was crawling up his wrist little by little.

For some reason, compared to Xu Jingxian's almost crazy performance, the scene of the little ladybug crawling along the boy's arm made Wen Lingxi feel even more terrifying.

He hurried over to catch the ladybug.

However, before the finger touched it, it paused in the air.

Wen Lingxi hesitated for a moment, then turned around and took out a tissue from the desk.Carefully wrap it with paper, and then put the seven-spotted ladybug back on the potted plant.

The seven-spotted ladybug happily crawled into the soil.

Wen Lingxi was inexplicably relieved.

Xu Jingxian's restless and helpless voice came from behind again.

"Doctor Wen, what should I do? How can I save him..."

Wen Lingxi turned her head and saw that Xu Jingxian's eyes were red.Her eyelashes fluttered like a heartbroken swan on a frozen lake.

Wen Lingxi was silent for a moment, and said, "Mrs. Jiang, is your husband at home recently?"

Xu Jingxian shook her head: "He went abroad to attend an academic conference."

Wen Lingxi picked up the disposable teacup in front of Xu Jingxian, went to the water dispenser and added some water for her.

Although Xu Jingxian hasn't had a sip of water since she came here, and the teacup is almost full, the act of adding water can divert her attention and help her relax.

"Then what about yourself? I heard that our figure skating provincial team invited you to guide their training..."

"I've already rejected that." Xu Jingxian shook her head.

"Why?" Wen Lingxi asked.

"Because Jiang Yao can't leave me...he's been so wrong lately..."

Xu Jingxian said so, then turned her head to look at Jiang Yao, and even stretched out her hand subconsciously, trying to hold her son in her arms.

However, Jiang Yao fell asleep on the sofa alone.Curled up and slept soundly.

Xu Jingxian had no choice but to withdraw her hand.She looked at him worriedly and thoughtfully.

All this fell into Wen Lingxi's eyes, which further verified his guess.

The problem was not Jiang Yao, but Xu Jingxian herself.

Jiang Yao's disappearance under her nose back then caused huge psychological trauma to Xu Jingxian's mother.

Although Jiang Yao has come back now, Xu Jingxian has never gotten out of the haze of losing her son.

She believes that her son's disappearance is all her responsibility, so she wants to compensate her son twice and treat him better.

This creates an overprotection.

She was used to her son being by her side every step of the way, so when the provincial figure skating team offered her an olive branch and invited her to be a ballet instructor, she felt a strong sense of guilt.

She felt that she could not neglect her son because of her career.She felt that her son would not be able to leave her.

But in fact, she was the one who couldn't do without her son.

Jiang Yao's autism is improving, and his social skills are improving-this can almost be said to be a miracle, but it happened for real.

Xu Jingxian hopes that her son can live independently like a normal person, but at the same time she is unwilling to leave her son.These two contradictory emotions pulled each other in her heart. The mental pain and suffering, coupled with the long-term accumulated exhaustion, and the interaction between physiology and psychology finally made her have some delusions.

She began to imagine what was happening to her son.She took this as a decisive reason for her to refuse the invitation of the provincial team without hesitation.

When a person is too obsessed with something, that thing may come true in his heart.

...Of course, the above are just Wen Lingxi's guesses.He didn't draw conclusions directly.

He was going to try to help the mother first.

"Have you not rested for several days?" Wen Lingxi stared at the dark blue under Xu Jingxian's eyes.

"Yes, I haven't slept for several days, I want to record that snail...I want to catch it...it's big..." Xu Jingxian murmured.

Wen Lingxi sighed, took out the prescription slip, and wrote down the name of the medicine.

"This is...?" Xu Jingxian was puzzled.

"This is a medicine that can help sleep." Wen Lingxi said.

Xu Jingxian seemed to have realized something.She was alert: "Sleeping pills?"

"No, it's not a sleeping pill, it's just a medicine that soothes the nerves and allows you to fall asleep easily."

Wen Lingxi's smile is kind and convincing.With confidence in his professional ability, people can't help but trust him.

"I hope you can go home and have a good sleep. As for Jiang Yao..."

He turned his head and glanced at the young man curled up on the sofa.

"Give him to me tonight. Just tonight, let the boy stay with his doctor, will you?"