Well, that was quite a disaster.
The thought ran through his mind as Lin Ye chuckled to himself. Like most things in his life, nothing seems to go as he planned. It did not even take Snow 10 minutes to figure out that it was him, Lin Ye, that was under the helmet. He did not really know what to say to her. After all, she was his cat in her previous life that he took care of.
Still stupid to even be saying that. He really didn't know how long it would take to make that statement feel just right to him. Maybe even never.
Lin Ye smiled at the confused-looking woman in front of him. That was the best he could do for now after all.
For Snow, she was in the same boat as him now.
She never thought that she would meet that mysterious psychologist again like this. This man single-handedly changed her life. He cured her of the nightmare that had haunted her. However, those nightmares were replaced with something else.
Memories. About a man that took care of her. Of how he genuinely loved her, even more than himself sometimes. She noticed in her dreams that the man was sick, needing to take his medicine daily.
Although she was trying to find him for more than a year now, the way she found him was not what she expected.
Him interviewing her was not her idea of how their reunion would happen.
So now, dumbfounded by all of this, she just stared at him confused.
"…"
"…"
Seeing that she was not going to answer his question anytime soon, Lin Ye racked his brain to find something to talk about.
"Are you still mad at me for using drugs on you?" Lin Ye hummed.
"… Sorry?" Snow's brow twitched when he mentioned this to her, "What do you think?"
"Yeah, you're mad," Lin Ye nodded, "In my defence, I was still new to all of this… psychology work and all that."
"So the first thing that you thought to do to make me go to sleep was to drug me?" Snow asked sharply, "Can't you just ask me to go to sleep?"
"As I said, I was still new to this," Lin Ye explained himself, "And would you even consider going to sleep with a stranger in your room?"
"..."
From her silence, Lin Ye got his answer.
"It still does not excuse you drugging me," Snow fired back.
"… I can agree with that," Lin Ye helplessly nodded at her, "What can I do to pay you back for doing that?"
"Explain," Snow did not waste any time and told him, "How did you cure me?"
Although her tone was sharp when she asked this, Lin Ye wasn't bothered by it. In fact, he was interested now.
"So, you're cured now?" Lin ye let out a relieved sigh, "Good to know."
"Don't try and change the subject!" Snow lightly slammed her hand on the table, "Answer the question."
Lin Ye hummed and was thinking now, racking his brain at what he was going to say to her.
"I went into your dream and realised that you were my cat that I took care of in my past life. Then I realised now why you were having these nightmares. It was due to me traumatising you when I died in front of you. Nothing weird or stupid I assure you."
Nothing weird or stupid, my ass.
Lin Ye cursed himself in his head as he thought about all of that. If he said all of that to her, she would definitely believe him. She would even ask him to go find a psychiatrist with how crazy that all sounded.
He needed a new and better excuse.
"I did not do much," Lin Ye shrugged his shoulders, "I did what any known psychologist would do at that moment. Giving you some medicine and letting you rest. Nothing grand happened."
"…" Snow narrowed her eyes at him, "I do not believe you. You must have done something."
"I don't know what to say," Lin Ye said helplessly, "That was all I did really."
Snow stared at him. Just as she was about to say something, an idea came into her mind.
"… You must be the head of the Psychologist Department, yes?" She suddenly asked.
"… Yes?" He nodded
Technically, he was the head of all departments now but he knew that his main focus would be the Psychologist Department seeing that all of the other departments didn't really need his help.
"If that's the case, I will be joining that department then," Snow said as she folded her arms around herself, "That way, I can learn what you did to me that day, as well as learn who you really are."
"…"
This girl.
Lin Ye really had a headache now.
Just as he was about to say something to her, the door in the room opened.
Both of them looked towards it and saw a woman staring at them, confused.
"Doctor?" Orchid exclaimed, "Why are you taking so long? The line isn't going to shorten by itself, you know."
"Ah," Lin Ye realised that he might have taken a long time talking to Snow, "Sorry about that. Something just happened, that's all. Nothing serious, just a small happy accident."
"Small happy accident?" Orchid turned to look at Yuki and asked with some doubt, "What happened here exactly?"
"Oi," Lin Ye blankly said, "I am offended that you thought I did something bad here."
Snow ignored his comment and said calmly, "The Doctor asked me if I would like to accept the new changes that were happening in the company."
Lin Ye raised his brow but did not stop her.
"New changes?" Orchid was confused, "From what I heard, nothing much changed."
Lin Ye was about to explain, but Snow was not done talking.
"He asked me if I am willing to accept that I pay the accommodation and food needed to live here by using my own pocket."
Orchid was very surprised by this, "When did this start."
Lin Ye couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
Payback? He really did raise Snow, he didn't know if he was supposed to be proud of her or not.
"The Doctor also asked me if I was willing to accept a sixteen-hour workday, with no breaks."
Finally, Lin Ye couldn't take it anymore with her truthful accusations and let out a chuckle.
"I was joking," He waved his hand at the two of them, "And seeing that she agrees with all of them, I got an idea of what she is as a person."
Both women were interested now.
"Is that so?" Orchid hummed, "Mind sharing that with us, doctor?"
"She's stubborn," He answered without much hesitation, "If she wants something, she wouldn't even think twice about anything to get it. And she's loyal as well. Something that the world is lacking nowadays. Good to have one of those with us."
"… You got all of that just from just asking her?" Orchid asked him.
"Yeah," Lin Ye did not really care, "Nothing really that impressive."
Just as Orchid wanted to ask more, she was interrupted by Snow.
"So did I pass this interview?" Snow asked.
"Do you really need to ask or are you doing this just to make yourself feel high about yourself?" Lin Ye sighed and took her resume. He handed it back to her. "Here. Go to the Human Resources office and wait for Orchid there. She will help you after that."
Snow grabbed her resume. When she tried to pull it away from him, she noticed that Lin Ye was not letting it go. She looked at him and saw a conflicted expression on his face. But his expression was shown for only a second before it was replaced with a small smile.
Just as she was about to say something to him, Lin Ye let go of her resume and leaned back on his chair.
"Welcome to Rhodes Island, Operator Snow," Lin Ye smiled, "And thank you for joining Rhodes Island."
"…"
Snow stared at him for a while but his smile did not lessen.
"I want to be in the Psychologist Department," She stated to both of them while her eyes did not leave him, "I will not be in any other department."
Orchid looked at the new recruit in surprise and shock, just as she was about to say something, Lin Ye cut her off.
"Sure," He waved his hand uncaringly at them. "Talk to Orchid about that. I am okay with it."
"…" Snow stared at him but he just kept on smiling at her.
She didn't need to get her answer now. Snow had been patient so waiting a little bit more was something she could do. It's better to understand the place Lin Ye was working in first.
"If that's the case, then I shall go first." Snow gave Lin Ye a final glance before she left the room.
Orchid looked at the slowly fading figure of Snow and went back to Lin Ye.
"Do you know her?" She asked.
The only reaction that she got from him was a sigh.
"You can say that," Lin Ye hummed. A small smile formed on his face, "Maybe from a different life?"
"…" Orchid gave him a quick glance and turned her back to face him, "Whatever you say. Just remember that there are more people waiting for you in line."
"Bring them in then," Lin Ye nodded as he grabbed another resume from beside him.
He looked down at the paper and heard the door opening and shutting in front of him.
"Codename: Weedy?" Lin ye asked himself while reading the resume. Weedy? Really?
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
A bag was thrown to the side of a room.
The man who was responsible for doing that slowly made his way to his bed. His black hair was now messy and his eyelids were getting heavier by the second.
Lin Ye flopped his body, headfirst into his bed, making his pillow lightly jump.
Today really did a number on him. Mentally and Physically
Not only did he have to interview more than twenty people, one of those people was someone that Lin Ye really did not want to see.
Lin Ye turned his body around, now laying on his back whilst staring at his ceiling.
"So, now Snow works here," Lin Ye sighed, "And she wants to join my department. Amazing."
He pulled out his phone and saw the time on it.
"It's late," He swung his hand to the side and flopped it on the bed, "Think later. Sleep now."
With that, he let his eyelids close and drifted into sleep.
"Oi, wake up."
Lin Ye felt his brow twitch hearing that voice.
He slowly opened his eyes back. Although his eyes were now opened, it was still dark. However, he could still see the figure above him, smirking at him. He was lying on the "ground" as he stared at the hooded figure.
"Wakey wakey, 'Friend'" The man's smirk was as annoying to look at as always, "I, your 'best friend', have arrived."
He sarcastically said with a smirk
"… Tch." He did not bother hiding his dislike of seeing him, but it just made him smirk harder. Something that irked him to no end.
Lin Ye pushed himself up to sit and looked around. Sure enough, he was in the place that he dubbed the void.
He looked back at the hooded figure and narrowed his eyes at him.
"What do you want?" He asked. The faster he deals with this man, the faster Lin Ye will not see him.
"Like always, I am here to give you a quiz!" The man's voice was full of glee, clasping his hands together "I might even tell you something if you get it right."
Lin Ye raised a brow at him. Did this man offer him something? That was a first.
Was he in a good mood or something?
Good for Lin Ye then.
"… Fire away then," Lin Ye sighed. He stared at the man as he sat on the floor, not bothering to stand up, "Let's hear your question."
The man was not annoyed by this, instead, he chuckled.
"So," The man folded his arms around himself. Lin Ye noted they were still the same colour, like the night sky that had stars shining brightly in it, "Can you tell the names of the cats that you took care of?"
Lin Ye's eyes widened at that question. He was shocked and did not know what to say.
After a while of him trying to boot up his own brain, he sighed.
"White, Hope, Storm, Ember," He listed down their names from the first to last cat that he adopted. Each made him smile, "Dawn, Jewel, Angel and Snow."
"Eight, huh?" The man hummed, "So poor little Mira doesn't count?"
"..." Lin ye glared at the man, before sighing, "...You said the cat that I took care of. Mira… she died before I could even give her a name."
"I see," The man nodded, "Good job."
"So?" Lin Ye raised a brow at the man, "What are you going to tell me now?"
"Ah, that. It's nothing important," The man chuckled, "Just a theory on why you threw away your feelings for the Orca to keep memories of people you would never meet again."
Hearing this, Lin Ye's eyes widened. He slowly pushed himself up and stood in front of the man.
"… It's none of your business," He evenly said to him.
"Eh? I made this up in my free time, you know," The man drawled out, "I just want to know it's right from you. That's all."
"…" Lin Ye glared at the man, but he did not say anything. Loathed him to admit this but he was interested in what this man thought of him.
Seeing that Lin Ye was quiet, the man took it as a sign that he can continue.
"Ye, I want to ask you something," The man smirked at him, "Do you know the definition of insanity? Or should I say...Are you sane, Lin Ye?
"… What?" He was confused, "What do you mean by that?"
"I am not surprised that you forgot already. It happened a long time ago. So let me remind you about that fact," The man nodded. He pointed at Lin Ye, "You died."
Lin Ye did not react to what the man said as he stared at him.
"Your soul left your body," The man kept on explaining. He spread out his hand to the void, "Before you were in Terra, you were in this void. You could not see, hear, touch, taste or feel anything. Anyone could, and can go mad by just being in this place for a few minutes."
The man stared back at Lin Ye, "From what I remember, you been in here for a couple of years now. Don't ask how I know of this." The man interrupted Lin Ye when he was about to ask, "Just know that your soul needed to wait for Ying Zhen to die. That is all I will tell you."
"… So, you're saying that I am insane?" Lin ye summarised.
"Well, with how suicidal you are, I won't be surprised if that was the case," The man shrugged.
"I am not suicidal," Lin Ye denied, "I want to live."
"You want to live? I see, by not taking care of your own life?" The man said.
Lin Ye did not have anything to say.
"But don't worry," The man chuckled, "You aren't insane...Yet. Something is keeping you away from that."
"What?..." He asked, confused.
"I ask you of this, Ye." The man stared at him, "What was the first thing that ran through your mind when you were in a situation where you didn't know how to deal with it?"
"… What would my parents do?" He slowly answered.
"Good, good," The man nodded, "You must understand now."
Lin Ye looked confused at the man, and the man sighed.
The man pointed his finger at Lin Ye.
"Those memories. Those waste of storage space for your brain," The man said, "They keep you going. They keep you sane. They keep you alive. They keep your whole. You don't really care for this world, heck, you pretty much hate it in fact." A smirk could be seen under his hood, "Do you know why you are like this? Do you know what you care about?"
"… What?" Lin Ye whispered.
"You believe that you will go back to them," The man said, "That when all of this finally ends, you will be hugging both of them. Such naivety." the man scowled, the first time Lin Ye heard him do that
The man shook his head before he took a step back and smiled at Lin Ye. His blue orbs stared into Lin Ye's black.
"I will leave you with one more thing to think about," The man's voice softened as he raised his hand up, "Is that end possible, Ye?"
"..."
"So what will you choose?" The man smiled at Lin Ye, not the annoying kind that Lin Ye always sees, "To hold on or to let go."
"Which will hurt you less?" The man let out a simple chuckle, "I want to know."
After saying that, he snapped his finger and the void instantly turned white. The last thing that Lin Ye saw was the man smiling at him.
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
The sound of a phone rang in the room. The man that was resting on the bed slowly opened his eyes. With them, they glanced at the phone that was making all that noise. On it, he could see the time. It was morning. Although he slept, the man felt as tired as yesterday.
Rather than shut it off, Lin Ye left it be and looked up to the ceiling above him.
"…"
The memories that happened played in his mind. All the things that man said repeated in his head like a broken record.
Then he muttered something under his breath. A question that he never thought about for a long time now.
A question that he would never ask himself until today.
"… Am I okay?"
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
Draft: Jaq
Proofread: Discord
Edit: Jaq