Rhodes Island's Psychologist

Ch 112: I Didn't See You

Before Lin Yie knows it, he finds himself on the ground with four pairs of eyes staring down at him.

"Pineapple Bun, can you see me?" Nightingale asks, waving her hands in front of Lin Yie's eyes.

"You suddenly collapsed, did you hit your head?" Hibiscus asks in a concerned tone.

"He just fell down, no big deal. No way he got hurt from that." Lava remarks to her sister.

Shining asks, "You spent more time in her dream than mine. Did you see Nearl? What was it like?"

Lin Yie feels disoriented, from the continuous bombardment of questions, before he can even gather himself. He also feels a slight pain on the back of his head, which might have been caused by his fall.

Dammit, that never happened before. What was different this time?

"Miss Nearl is fine," Hibiscus speaks up, drawing Lin Yie's gaze, as she takes out the monitoring report. "All readings are normal. It was just you, Dr. Lin. You suddenly collapsed, just after we detected large fluctuations in your heart rate."

"So, what did you see in Ms. Nearl's dream?" Lava demands, her eyes showing hints of interest, "What was so exciting, that it made your heart race?"

Lin Ye doesn't even bother to correct the weird way demons talking. He grits his teeth, as he looks at Shining, "You killed me again."

Shining is stunned: "Me? But weren't you in Nearl's dream?"

"Then, why were you and Liz in her dream?"

Nightingale tilts her head, "I was there too?"

Lin Yie takes a deep breath, before proceeding to describe the dream in detail, mainly focusing on the two individuals present, Shining and Nightingale.

After listening to his recounting, Shining seems to fall into deep thought, but Nightingale doesn't seem to remember the event.

"That's incredible," Shining murmurs, just loud enough for Lin Yie to hear, "How did that become her most unforgettable memory?"

"Was that your first time meeting her?" Lin Ye asks.

Shining nods, "I had just left Kazdel with Liz, and we met Nearl in a small town. Um, we met her in a tavern, a very messy place, if I remember correctly. I actually didn't want to go there, but someone led Liz there when I was buying food in the market."

"Was Nearl there?"

"Yes. The Nearl in the past and the Nearl you know are completely different people," Shining looks at the sleeping knight and whispers, "Even though Kazimierz had renounced her knighthood because of her infection, Nearl still chose to protect Liz in that situation. Since then, we have become companions, and it was after meeting us that Nearl became the "Radiant Knight," once more. Maybe it was because she finally found someone to protect..."

Lin Ye contemplates on what Shining just said.

Originally, he thought that his ability would only help him enter nightmares made of people's most painful memories, like Nightingale's underground prison, Shining's battlefield, and Chen Sir's empty streets. But Nearl's dream was quite different. Of course, being beaten and insulted by thugs isn't something worth bragging, but relatively speaking, it shouldn't be as painful as having her knighthood renounced, right? But rather than witnessing that, he saw her encounter with Shining and Nightingale.

The "Radiant Knight" renounced by Kazimierz met Shining and Nightingale after losing basically everything. It wasn't about despair or embarrassment. It was about hope and salvation. That means, he can enter dreams that aren't necessarily nightmares. They can be good... like Nearl's?

As Lin Yie thinks about the new finding, Nearl slowly rouses from her induced slumber.

She rubs her head, trying to banish the lingering sleepiness, "How long was I out?"

"Not long," Shining sits down next to her, "What was your dream?"

Nearl purses her lips, "Not a bad one.", pointedly avoiding Shining's gaze. She turns towards Lin Yie, "I don't think I saw you."

Lin Yie shakes his head, "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Your dream was already full of light.

"Really?" Nearl stood up, "Then, how are the results?

Hibiscus replies, "Your condition was very stable."

"In other words, it's just Liz herself?" Nearl looks at Shining, a trace of worry flashed in her amber eyes.

"Then, it's my turn now." Hibiscus gives the report to her younger sister Lava, "With me and Lava, the sample size should be large enough. Dr. Lin, you may begin."

Lin Yie nods his head and looks at Shining.

"What is it?"

Lin Ye points at Hibiscus and Lava and asks, "Are you going to appear in their dreams and kill me again?"

"Maybe."

"Do you remember how many you killed in the past?"

"You might as well ask how many meals I've had in my life."

"..."

"Just kidding," Shining shakes her head, "I only met Hibiscus and Lava after joining Rhodes Island, so don't worry."

Lin Yie rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything.

Then, Hibiscus lies down and takes the pills.

"Pineapple Bun, you can go again," Nightingale says.

"Shut up..."

Lin Ye walks to Hibiscus's side and holds her hand. At this moment, Lin Yie can't help but doubt his career. He's supposed to be a psychologist, but he keeps feeding his patients sleeping pills before their treatments. What kind of psychologist is this?

Then, he enters Hibiscus's dream and spends half an hour in there.

By the time he re-emerges from her dream, Lin Ye falls into thought again.

"How was it?" Shining asks.

Lin Ye looks at her incredulously, "I didn't see you."