Rhodes Island's Psychologist

Ch 106: Nighttime Visit

After Saria left, Lin Ye finished assembling his newly-acquired furniture, alone. What frustrated him was that Ptilopsis just watched him do all the work from the comfort of the couch. Whenever he tried asking her for help, she would immediately enter her "hibernation mode." In the end, all she did was say a few words.

Lin Ye decided to bear it for now since he doesn't want to leave the impression on his new assistant that he's an overly-strict boss, or insensitive if this were caused by her oripathy.

Besides, she's an owl, right? Maybe she's more productive at night.

While waiting for the elevator to arrive, Lin Ye asked Ptilopsis: "Are you going to tell Ifrit or Silence about Saria?"

Ptilopsis shakes her head, "Ptilopsis will not."

"Why?"

"Ptilopsis calculated that such an action would be unproductive," Ptilopsis says. "Dr. Silence has exhibited strong negative reactions to Ms. Saria's presence, and would refuse to allow Ifrit to meet Ms. Saria under any circumstances."

"So what happened between them? Can you tell me?"

"Apologies, you don't possess the sufficient authority to access the relevant information."

Ptilopsis denied him in an impersonal, matter-of-fact tone.

"Fine."

Lin Ye wasn't expecting anything to come out of that request, so her response wasn't a surprise. Now though, he wondered if he should actually relay to Ifrit what Saria told him. For some reason he couldn't quite place, the request sounded rather embarrassing. He couldn't just go and say: "Ifrit, your mom asked me to tell you something," right?

But rather than the little dragon, there's a devil waiting for him right now. Lin Ye picks up the bag of pineapple buns and carries it over to Nightingale's quarters. This time, Hibiscus lets him in.

"Liz woke up this afternoon," Hibiscus says, "But to be safe, you shouldn't stay with Liz for too long, in case she falls asleep and triggers your ability."

Lin Ye nods.

Hibiscus smiles. "Go in then. Liz has been waiting for you."

Lin Ye carefully opens the door and creeps inside.

The curtains are drawn, and the lights are off, casting the room in deep darkness. He can just barely make out the shape of someone on the bed. Lin Ye calls out in a quiet voice: "Liz?"

Liz pokes her head out of her blanket. "Pineapple Bun?"

"Um, are you sleeping?" Lin Ye says, "I can come back tomorrow."

"No, not anymore." Nightingale sits up, and the blanket partially slips off her body, revealing her bare shoulders. "I'm starving."

Lin Ye shakes his head. "I brought some food for you, but you have to get dressed first."

"I'm not wearing anything."

Lin Ye sighs, "Hurry up."

"Oh," Nightingale groggily says. After a while and some rustling, she murmurs, "Done."

Lin Ye turns on the light and blinks a few times to help his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. Then, he sees Nightingale leaning on her pillow.

"How long did you sleep?" Lin Ye asks, "I brought some pineapple buns. You want some?"

Nightingale nods.

Lin Ye walks up to her and sees her clothes are still a mess. A lot of her skin is still exposed. He quickly covers her with a blanket, turning his eyes away for a moment.

He hands her the buns and sits down next to her. Nightingale begins to nibble at her food.

"How are you feeling? Is your body alright?"

Nightingale thinks for a moment before saying, "Hibiscus said I lost weight."

Lin Ye facepalms.

Nightingale says, "Who does Pineapple Bun want to know? The current me or the past me?"

Lin Ye is a bit shocked and pauses, before turning to look her in the eyes. "Did Shining tell you?"

Nightingale nods.

"What did she say?"

"A lot," Nightingale says softly, "She said a girl called Liz is trapped inside my mind, but I don't understand. I'm pretty sure I'm Liz, but I don't remember my past, only my name. Does this name belong to someone else?"

"No, of course not." Lin Ye shakes his head, "That girl is you, or rather, your past, the memories you lost."

"Sis Shining said the same thing." Nightingale says, "That's why I want to meet her."

"You want to meet her?"

Nightingale nods, "If I can."

Lin Ye sighed and put his head in his palm. "It's not that easy. Even if you did get your memories back, it wouldn't necessarily be a good thing. Your past is horrible. Forgetting it doesn't sound so bad."

"Does Pineapple Bun really think so? That's so strange."

"How's it strange?"

"It is."

Nightingale sounds a little stubborn.

"Alright. Alright," Lin Ye gave up. "I agree that it's strange. Just finish your buns already."

Nightingale puts her food down, "I don't want to eat anymore."

"Why not?"

"I want to play."

"Where can you go?" Lin Ye says. "It's evening now."

"Where will Pineapple Bun go?"

"I'm going to train."

"I want to come too."

Lin Ye stands up. "If you're done eating, go to bed early. I'm leaving now."

"No, I want to watch you train."

Nightingale stubbornly grabs his hand.

Of course, Lin Ye is not going to compromise. Her health is a big concern. That, and another reason. He doesn't want Nightingale to see him get his ass kicked. It's for the same reason boys only show girls what they're good at. No beginners would take pride in showing off to girls just badly how they get wrecked.

Therefore, Lin Ye turns her down again.

{Rhodes Island's Pscyologist}

Draft by Demosama

Proofread by Mihjaqtio

Rewrite by Unreality6