Xie Shu was shoved into the storage room so abruptly that he hadn’t even had time to react before the door slammed shut behind him.

He turned around, bewildered, staring at the closed door with an expression that could only be described as dumbfounded.

Fortunately, the light in the storage room was still on, allowing him to see his surroundings clearly.

The whole thing had happened so suddenly that Xie Shu was left in a daze, unable to comprehend why Ruan Nianxi had pushed him into the storage room.

He reached out to open the door, intending to ask Ruan Nianxi what was going on.

Yes, he was the only one in here.

After pushing him inside, Ruan Nianxi had closed the door without coming in herself.

He tried to pull the door open but found it locked from the outside.

Xie Shu: “…”

What is she doing?

With the door locked and no one else around, and with poor cell reception, he could only try calling out to Ruan Nianxi.

“Ruan…”

“Why are you here?”

A voice from outside interrupted him before he could finish.

“Just passing by,” Ruan Nianxi’s voice responded.

“Mr. Ruan, do you know this student?” Another unfamiliar voice chimed in.

Mr. Ruan?

Uncle Ruan?

Xie Shu stopped speaking and strained his ears to listen.

“Yes,” Ruan Qin nodded.

The school leader, hearing that Ruan Qin knew the person, immediately became interested and wanted to inquire further.

“Mr. Ruan, and this student are…”

“You all go ahead, I’ll have a private chat with her and join you shortly,” Ruan Qin cut off the school leader.

Ruan Qin made his stance clear, and it would be impolite for the school leader to stay and ask more questions, so they had no choice but to leave first.

Once they were out of earshot, Ruan Qin continued speaking.

“How have you been adjusting to school life recently? Any difficulties?”

Ruan Qin was referring to her social life. As for her studies and daily life, they, as parents, had no worries. Ruan Nianxi had always excelled academically, and they knew she wouldn’t be lacking in anything.

Since childhood, their only concern had been her social interactions. She had always been reluctant to make friends, especially after causing trouble in her second year of high school, which made her even more resistant to socializing. They were at their wits’ end.

Moreover, after dealing with her school issues and bringing her home, they found that their precious daughter had become… inexplicably erratic in both speech and behavior.

She claimed that someone was out to get her, that someone wanted to steal her things, and that she needed to fight back and deal with those people.

At first, they thought she was just throwing a tantrum over the school calling them in, and tried to comfort her, but she pushed them away, throwing things at them if they got too close.

They didn’t understand what was happening, but as parents, they were deeply worried and immediately called the family doctor.

After a long “conversation” with her, the doctor diagnosed her with paranoid personality disorder.

According to the doctor, her condition was already severe, with intense delusions of persecution, even suspecting her own parents and refusing to let anyone get close as a form of self-protection. Moreover, such a condition doesn’t appear suddenly; it develops gradually over time.

They were stunned because their daughter had always seemed perfectly normal, except for her aversion to socializing.

They had always thought her reluctance to socialize stemmed from childhood bullying and never considered it might be a mental health issue. After all, she had made some friends, including Xie Shu, so they never suspected a psychological disorder.

Upon learning the truth, they spent a lot of time and money, even taking her abroad for treatment, but there was no improvement.

She still didn’t trust anyone, refused to socialize, but constantly clamored to return to school.

Her contradictory desires baffled them, but they couldn’t let her go back without being cured, so they kept her abroad.

Unable to return, she shut herself in, still refusing to socialize or cooperate with treatment.

The doctor warned that if this continued, she might develop autism or depression, making it even harder to treat.

Mental illnesses are unpredictable, and as parents, they were even more worried.

One day, while chatting about the past, they thought of calling Xie Shu, since their daughter had always been close to him. He might know something.

Why had she been so stable and normal before? What had triggered her outburst at school?

They had initially investigated the school incident but found nothing. Busy with her illness, they gradually overlooked it.

Discussing it again, they both felt something must have triggered her that day.

They tried contacting Xie Shu but couldn’t reach him.

They then contacted his parents, who said he was away for training and was usually unreachable during the week.

Just as they were about to hang up in disappointment, Ruan Nianxi, who had been shutting herself in, came out…

She approached them without any resistance, took the phone, and started talking to Xie Shu’s parents, asking about him…

She behaved completely normally, with no oddities in her tone or pace.

But as soon as the call ended, she reverted to her previous state…

Having been in business for years, they could read between the lines. It was clear why their daughter had returned to normal.

Though it seemed absurd, their subsequent experiments confirmed their suspicions.

As parents, they felt helpless. To help her live a normal life and prevent autism or depression, they had to impose external pressure to maintain her social interactions and encourage her to strive for normalcy.

This method might seem harsh or inconsiderate, but it was effective. It kept her socially stable for years, and she even cooperated with treatment, improving significantly.

Despite this, Ruan Qin still worried about his daughter. After being away on business for a while, he couldn’t help but ask about her school life upon his return.

“Everything’s fine,” Ruan Nianxi replied calmly.

“I’ve been busy lately. How have you and your mother been getting along?”

“Fine.”

“You…”

“The lecture is about to start, you should go.”