Jingjing hugged Xiao Qian, speaking in incoherent words. Xiao Qian patted her while analyzing the situation.
The giant poisonous snake could be understood as the man who bought her and violated her, while the smaller snakes symbolized the people who gossiped and judged her with strange looks.
She wanted to cross the blood-red river, but she was stopped. This meant that the other side of the river represented the peaceful life Jingjing wanted.
And the blood-red river should symbolize chastity, but the problem wasâ¦
âThat river, isnât it dyed red by your blood? Did the poisonous snake bite you and make you bleed?â
âIt didnât bite me, it just wrapped around me⦠I was so scared.â
That shouldnât beâ¦
Xiao Qian recalled the girls who had been treated during her past life for being violated. They had dreamt of poisonous snakes, but all of them had been bitten and bled. Why hadnât this one bled?
Xiao Qian felt she was on the verge of finding a breakthrough.
Suddenly, an idea came to Xiao Qian.
âThe man who bought you, did he never touch you?â
Jingjing was first stunned, and then hugged Xiao Qian even tighter until it hurt. She kept shaking her head while tears streamed down her face.
âHe hit me, he ripped my clothes, he wanted to touch me, but I kicked him there, and yet he still touched me! The human trafficker touched me too, it was disgusting! Then he kept hitting me, non-stopââ
Her words were somewhat incoherent, but it gave Xiao Qian a bold thought.
Could it be⦠Jingjing hadnât been raped, just touched?
Xiao Qian analyzed that the girl had been dragged into the car by the human trafficker intending to rape her, as he knew sheâd run out after arguing with her fiance.
There was a difference in price between virgins and non-virgins. The human trafficker prejudged that she wasnât worth much and therefore wanted to rape her, but stopped upon discovering she was a virgin. Jingjing was beaten so badly because she kicked the man!
If this were true, it would be so ironic.
She had tried her best to protect her chastity, probably knowing that her fiance was a so-called Phoenix Man obsessed with a womanâs virginity, but upon her return, he would not accept her, believing she had been violated. His distrust had turned the disturbed Jingjing into her current state.
Thatâs why she had such dreams! Reality and the shattered dreamworld were confused, and her mentality had collapsed!
If this was the case, the poisonous snake should not represent the man who bought her, but the Phoenix Man!
Having found a breakthrough, Xiao Qian hugged Jingjing and said confidently.
âI believe you, I believe you are innocent.â
âYou believe me?â Jingjing raised her tear-stained face, and Xiao Qian helped wipe her tears away.
âYes, I believe you. Iâll help you cross the river!â
This girl had once helped Xiao Qian when the human trafficker tried to lay hands on her, only to be beaten herself.
Now Xiao Qian held her, using all her knowledge to help her.
Only by using her power in the right place could it achieve its true effect. If Xiao Qian had acted like a saint back in the village and taken this girl with her, all three of them wouldnât have escaped. Good deeds must be done within oneâs ability, otherwise, itâs just self-destructive saintliness.
âYouâll help me⦠cross the river? I canât cross it, there are snakes in the river, all snakes! They want to bite me, what should I do?â Jingjing cried into a tearful mess.
Now, every time she closed her eyes, she was surrounded by those horrifying images â all snakes!
âWhat do you usually like?â
âI⦠I like Mashimaro.â
Hmm, since there are snakes in the river, letâs put many Mashimaros in it to crush the snakes. Mashimaro will make the red river clear and clean, then you can swim across by yourself. How does that sound?â It seemed unreliable, but thatâs how dream therapy works.
âBunnies canât beat snakes.â
Little bunnies canât, but what about big bunnies? As long as the river is filled with our bunnies and the water is purified, you can cross, and the snakes will never come back. How about that?â
âBut Iâm so scared, whenever I close my eyes, I can only see snakesâ¦â
Don t be afraid. Come, Iâll guide you into your subconscious. Close your eyes, follow my instructions, and first count a few numbers to relax your breathingâ¦â
What Xiao Qian was using now was what psychologists called dream therapy, meant to change Jingjingâs feelings and perceptions.
She hadnât used this technique since her rebirth; this was her first time.
She hypnotized Jingjing into entering her subconscious, recreating the terrifying scenes from her dreams: the blood-red river and the dense snakes. Jingjing was in immense pain.
But Xiao Qian used a gentle yet firm voice to help her repair the shattered dreamworld.
âWalk along the red river for ten meters, one, two, three⦠then squat down and dig. See the little Mashimaro in the soil?â
âMashimaro doesnât grow in soil.â
Err⦠Boss Qian decided to catch up on various comics after going back. She needed to learn more from Yu Xiaoqiang.
âLook up, look at the tree. On the colorful tree, there are colorful gourds. Do you see them?â
âYes, I doâ¦â
âGo, hold on to a gourd. Open it up! See the Mashimaro inside?â
Sorry, Calabash Brothers, Boss Qianâs knowledge in this area was too limited; she could only mix up domestic animations.
After several unsuccessful attempts, Xiao Qian tried a few more times, unwilling to give up. Eventually, she managed to find Jingjingâs favorite Mashimaro on a swing far away from the river in the forest, but it was only the size of a fingernail.
This little bunny represented her sense of self, which had diminished so much already. The external attacks and her fianceâs unreliability had caused her to lose confidence in herself. Thankfully, she could still find the small bunny, so Xiao Qian encouraged her to use all the happy memories from her childhood to hatch it, excluding all romantic feelings.
Only by strengthening her sense of self to a certain extent would she be able to resist the snakes blocking the river.
The first treatment took two hours, and in the end, the bunny grew only as long as a finger, not enough to crush the snakes. But to have achieved this therapeutic effect was already impressive.
Xiao Qian was relieved that this girl, though foolish in love, had a kind heart. Her parents had provided good family education, so she didnât hate Xiao Qian and didn t reject her. Xiao Qian could complete the subsequent treatments.
At this level of treatment, Dong Yi couldnât do it, at least not now. Boss Qian had to step in herself.
When they came out, it was already late at night. The girlâs parents were waiting outside, and Yu Ming Lang stood straight.
How is it?â When Xiao Qian emerged, the girlâs parents asked eagerly.
âHer emotions have stabilized, and sheâs asleep. I want to talk to you about the next treatment.â
Upon hearing that their daughterâs emotions could be stabilized without injections, the girlâs parents were overjoyed. They would agree to anything Xiao Qian said.
âI know my request might seem excessive, but⦠I want to ask you, for the sake of your child, what price are you willing to pay?â