Don't Lie to Your Therapist—She Already Knows Your Fate

The two of them headed toward the small path Zhang Wenliang had mentioned. The path was narrower, steeper, and harder to climb than the main road.

But having grown up here, they were long accustomed to these mountain trails.

Fruit trees lined both sides of the path, bearing wild fruits that everyone recognized. They were delightfully sweet.

The environment here was clean, so you could pick them and eat them right away.

"These little red berries are extra juicy. We ate them all the time as kids. They fill you up fast."

"Sister Wen Ying, do you think there’s really any hope for my senior’s situation?"

Wen Ying plucked one of the small red berries and popped it into her mouth. "Haven’t you already decided what you’re going to do?"

"But I don’t know the truth, and I don’t have any proof."

"Your senior’s situation does indeed have a story she can’t easily tell. I can tell you about it, but you’ll have to judge for yourself what to do."

There might be minor differences between seeing a photo and seeing the real person, but for Wen Ying, that was a trivial matter.

Her cultivation was more than enough to bridge the gap.

"She’s self-reliant and independent and never liked telling people about her family because she didn’t want their pity. She was such an outstanding girl, but her parents favored her brother from a young age. When they heard she got into Qingbei University, their first thought wasn’t to be happy for her. Instead, they heard that a graduate from a university like that could marry well, and the bride price could buy a house and a car for their son.

"She knew her parents were biased. Sometimes, she even felt like she wasn’t their biological child, though everyone insisted she was. She studied harder than anyone since she was little, just wanting her parents to see her merits. But it seemed they were always looking further ahead—for example, when they looked at her, all they saw was her brother’s bright future.

"This was a constant blow to her, but she refused to give in, proving her excellence time and again. In others’ eyes, she was a genius and a good girl, and she always maintained the facade of a happy life. Everyone, from childhood to adulthood, thought she was sensible and that her parents doted on her. They thought she was happy—that even though her family was poor, her parents’ sacrifice to send her to university was a debt of gratitude she could never repay.

"All the relatives said she had a bright future, that she would give her parents a better life, moving them into a big house to live comfortably.

"Everyone said she was the best big sister, that she could take care of her little brother—even support him financially.

"Everyone has their own dignity they want to protect. I suppose that was hers."

Hearing this, Zhang Wenliang didn’t understand. ’What does any of this have to do with her becoming a mistress?’

’This sounds like the story of a successful, self-reliant heroine.’

"She knew that to change her destiny, she had to stand out and study hard, which is why she pushed herself even harder in university. What she didn’t know is that some parents see their children as possessions, responsible for their every need. She started working part-time as a tutor as soon as she entered university. Aside from her living expenses, every cent she earned was sent home, but it was never enough. Even the prize money she won from a project was sent home immediately.

"Around that time, her brother got into trouble right after his college entrance exams. To protect their son’s future, her parents promised the girl’s family one hundred thousand yuan in hush money. That hundred thousand nearly broke her. But she didn’t give up. The final straw came when her parents, seeing she could actually earn so much money, got the idea to buy their son a car. The young men from the village who worked in the city all came back driving cars, and her brother, of course, wanted one too. Young people can be so vain. So, her parents made up a reason and demanded she come up with over a hundred thousand yuan. But she was already skimping on her own living expenses, eating only four or five yuan worth of food a day. To keep anyone from guessing, she spent all her free time in the library.

"But her parents wanted to give their son the car as a gift for starting university, so they gave her a one-month deadline to produce the money. That’s why she chose that path. She didn’t even like the man. But at that time, she was on the verge of collapse. And just then, he appeared, showering her with care and attention, like a ray of light in her dark and desperate world.

"Even knowing that light was poison, she grabbed onto it and couldn’t bear to let go. You can guess the rest of the story, even if I don’t tell you."

Zhang Wenliang could only sigh. There was nothing he could say.

The answer was both expected and unexpected.

He didn’t know how he was supposed to accept it.

"Wen Liang, you don’t need to overthink it. Everyone has psychological issues to some extent, and she’s no exception. She isn’t a bad person, but she did do something she shouldn’t have. She didn’t deserve to end up like this, but she bears some responsibility for the outcome. Her family, however, is the direct cause of what happened. But because her family took three hundred thousand yuan from the other party, they don’t care about any of that.

"They only feel that she has sacrificed for the family.

"They only see her as their good daughter, their son’s good sister.

"The pillar of the family."

The speechless look on Zhang Wenliang’s face was obvious. "After everything that’s happened, don’t her parents feel like they’ve ruined her? They still want to pile the entire family’s burden on her? She’s not the same person she used to be!"

Wen Ying sighed. "Yes. There are families like that. What can we do?"

"Why didn’t she fight back? Why didn’t she cut ties and leave for good?"

"If your parents treated you poorly and constantly demanded money, would you cut ties with them?"

Zhang Wenliang shook his head.

It seemed he understood something, yet at the same time, he didn’t.

"Since she made her own choice, she has to bear the consequences, whether they’re good or bad."

Wen Ying couldn’t quite describe her own feelings. ’Before, I might have sympathized with the girl, but she herself is largely responsible for the current outcome.’

’She did try to resist, but she was afraid of hurting her parents, afraid they wouldn’t love her, afraid others would see her as an ungrateful wretch. So she endured the immense pressure.’

’Having a child out of wedlock, never being able to see her child again, her reputation ruined... and she still has to be responsible for her family’s future.’

’All because she’s a graduate of Qingbei University.’

’So no matter how much pain she suffers, she has to keep shouldering it all, unable to give up.’

"She... she must have serious psychological problems, right?" Zhang Wenliang asked after a moment’s thought.

Wen Ying nodded.

"If you want to do something, then do it. As long as it doesn’t violate your morals or the law."

Zhang Wenliang nodded. Neither of them spoke of the girl again after that. It was clear they had both made their decisions.

"Near the end of this path, there’s a small cave. I think I fell asleep in there once when I was a kid. My parents gave me a good whooping when they found me. I wonder if the cave is still there."

As Wen Ying and Zhang Wenliang walked along, they were surprised to see someone off to the side, rock climbing.

They weren’t taking the normal path; they had come with gear to scale the cliff.