Return of the Antagonistic Lady Boss

Chapter 700 - 674: Guilty Conscience or Hidden Meaning?

Liumei followed Qian’s instructions and made a pot of tea. Starting today, Ye Xiaoyu wouldn’t be at home anymore, and with no one to help, these tasks would still need to be done by Liumei and Qian together.

Qian divided the chrysanthemum tea into two cups and began officially brainwashing Liumei.

"I remember you like drinking chrysanthemum tea?"

"I drink some in the summer to reduce liver fire; it also helps clear the eyes and lungs."

"Good, remember the taste of the tea today because this tea will have another meaning for you from now on." This is the start of the brainwashing suggestion.

"I only remember, sis, you wanted to use the microwave to make tea..." This is something she could remember for a lifetime.

Qian cleared her throat gently; she actually wanted to know whom she inherited this incompetent culinary ability from, as it seemed no one in her family was like her. Even Dalong had mastered the skill of cooking instant noodles, adding eggs and vegetables.

Qian felt she shouldn’t bring up cooking; she needed to highlight her strengths and avoid weaknesses.

"Meizi, I want to share a patient’s case with you: she’s suffering from postnatal depression, and the root cause of everything is her husband, a ’phoenix man,’ and her mother-in-law."

"What’s a ’phoenix man’?"

The term isn’t very popular yet.

"A ’phoenix man’ refers to men born into poverty who have struggled to live in big cities. Neighbors see them as golden phoenixes flying out of a chicken coop, the hope that the entire family has worked hard to support. They’re smart, hardworking, know what they want but have an excessively obvious utilitarian mindset. Not all from rural areas are ’phoenix men’; there are ’phoenix men’ in cities as well. Poverty-stricken families can lead certain personalities to become so-called ’phoenix men’; it’s statistically probable."

"Huh? What you’re saying sounds just like Ma Lv."

Ma Lv is Liumei’s recently reconciled boyfriend.

Qian gave a sly smile, "What I’ve just mentioned is their good side. Next, I’ll tell you about the negative aspects." That patient, a woman from a well-off family in the city resembling you, with parents who are college professors, considered urban middle-class. She admired the phoenix man’s struggle and determination, married him despite her family’s objections, and everything since then planted the seeds for her postnatal depression..."

Qian started brainwashing Liumei through storytelling, speaking of stinginess, selfishness, excessive focus on money, endless support for the entire family, overly sensitive, and high-esteem personality...

With such chatter, Liumei’s face turned as pale as a sheet.

The man Qian chose from the case made Liumei think that Qian was talking about Ma Lv, it felt too similar!

Whether it was the overly sensitive self-esteem, the male chauvinism, or the obsession with money and stinginess, how could it be so alike? If Liumei hadn’t previously mentioned her boyfriend to Qian, she’d believe Qian was talking about her boyfriend!

Qian watched Liumei’s reaction closely, silently making a victory gesture in her heart. Her first step in countering the fortune-teller old lady had succeeded. The tricks of the old lady were within Qian’s grasp as well. There’s only a handful of personality types, and based on Liumei’s brief introduction of her boyfriend, Qian could basically determine what kind of person he was and casually used a real-life case to shock Liumei.

"And then, what happened?" Liumei was hoodwinked by Qian, cold sweat dripping, as Qian pushed the chrysanthemum tea towards her, "Drink some water first."

"Later, her mother-in-law came to the city, causing constant conflicts with her due to differences in living habits. The husband kept trying to scheme about the woman’s purchased property, and eventually, after the child was born, she developed postnatal depression and sought me, but I was on a business trip at the time. She couldn’t get an appointment with me and saw another doctor; the treatment wasn’t effective and she jumped off a building. I regret this incident. If I were there, things might have turned out better."

The psychology industry is too chaotic nowadays. Many people ignore everything for profit and squeeze in, with some not formally trained, just receiving short-term training and giving irresponsible diagnoses, thinking a few psychological self-help books qualify them as doctors. They even group psychologist training with that of nannies, delaying many patients. Many patients can’t find formally trained doctors like Qian but encounter those unqualified ones instead, leading patients to believe all psychologists are just talking nonsense without solving any problems.

"Ah..." After hearing about the horrific ending, the image in Liumei’s mind was herself jumping off a building; the sense of substitution was too strong.

"Come, Meizi, drink more, remember the taste of this chrysanthemum tea." Seeing she had penetrated her mind, Qian satisfiedly refilled Liumei’s tea.

Come on, for the phoenix man scheming against someone else’s young girl, Qian had preemptively given Liumei an early eye-drop, making sure they wouldn’t come over and cause trouble!

The next day.

"Qian’er, why are you alone today?" Shuixian sat with Qian at a private restaurant; today, Qian was the host.

"Meizi sent me to handle some business. She and Qiuqiu found a venue they really liked, so I asked them to discuss the prices. Come, taste the food here; Meizi recommended this to me. That girl has a picky taste, if she says it’s delicious, it certainly is."

"They’re discussing prices on their own? You don’t need to go with them?" Shuixian had been here for almost a week, spending every day eating and playing. Whenever Qian had time, she’d accompany her; when she didn’t, Shuixian would swim and work out alone.

The original plan was to stay two days and go back, but for some reason her dad called, telling her to stay longer and keep Qian company. Shuixian treated it as a holiday.

The mastermind behind having Teng Daye call Shuixian was Qian.

"Girls have grown up; it’s time to let them practice a bit." Qian swept a meaningful glance over Mai standing behind Shuixian, making Mai’s back shiver once more.

Feeling that Chen Xiaoqian is too deep, a single sentence seems layered with many meanings.

Is this sentence meant for her two friends, or for Teng Shuixian? Did Mai’s identity get exposed or not?

This problem is something Mai frequently pondered over the past few days.

Qian had Yu Minglang KO Mai yet didn’t give Mai a break, this sensation was like being killed with a blunt blade, slowly torturing—Mai couldn’t take it anymore.

Lost in thought, Mai met Qian’s mocking stare and could only avert his gaze, avoiding eye contact with Qian.

She is the first woman he couldn’t see through in his life.

Qian thoroughly enjoyed this cat-and-mouse game, reveling in the complete experience of playing with a future bigshot; Director Qian was very satisfied.

"Qian’er, has the suspect threatening women been caught recently?" Shuixian asked Qian.

"My Meizi’s information proved very useful; the police have already caught the suspect based on the sketch. That guy thought he was pretty well hidden, but he couldn’t escape our eyes."

This last line was directed at Mai, making him tense up, with an inner scream, "I’m almost being driven to a nervous breakdown by your torment! Is it because he has a guilty conscience, or is Chen Xiaoqian implying something?"