Chapter 96: That’s what it means to feel for someone

That was a minor, also his nephew! The boy was clearly at the stage of gender identity crisis, not knowing what to do, yet this old cow dared to take advantage of the young grass’ weakness and ate it clean!

This was a crime!

It was only thanks to Dong Yiming’s countless experiences with even worse cases, where his patients committed even worse acts, that he maintained his calmness.

"Master Hou," he sighed. "That poor boy must be suffering immensely inside."

Hou Yizhen’s back straightened a little. "Explain."

Dong Yiming explained that homosexuals in the country faced tremendous societal pressure compared to the countries abroad due to thousands of years of prejudice brought about by the established culture. "Now, the society is loosening up, but the discrimination is still there. Homosexuals can still ignore it, the real suffering comes from the expectations within the family."

"I don’t have a family."

"Your former nephew has them, that’s why he can feel the pressure, not you."

"..."

Dong Yiming took another deep breath, took a sip of tea, and decided that it was best to portray the boy as pitiful as possible to make the self-centered Hou Yizhen realize just what kind of situation the boy was in.

"Your former nephew, Lin Feng, just went through an incestuous scandal that the entire capital knows about, which even caused several families to break ties. Because of this scandal and the recent limelight on online communities, so many people know who he is now, and even his sexuality has been exposed."

"Right now, he must be feeling tremendous pressure. Anyone could be smiling at him on the surface while talking badly behind his back, and that kind of environment will make him so paranoid that he won’t dare to step out of the house."

"The fact that he is still willing to go to that restaurant means he is trying to be strong and refuse to wallow in his paranoia. He also said that he wanted to learn how to support himself, which is good. He is trying to create his own path, which is commendable. But it also means it’s inevitable for him to hear some sour remarks, and he might encounter some level of bullying."

"If people discover that he has an improper relationship with his uncle—even if you two aren’t blood-related—they will inevitably bring it up. They will say he is just like his father, engaging in yet another incestuous relationship."

To be honest, saying these words was difficult for Dong Yiming. As a psychologist, he was used to framing his words in a positive and encouraging manner.

But this kind of move was needed to deal with this extremely chauvinistic man. He had to do it to trigger the man’s protective instincts and force him to actively put himself in another person’s shoes.

"Your nephew wasn’t just crying back then; he was torn because he actually foresaw the consequences of this taboo bond. Because his feelings for you are real, he looked at the situation objectively and realized how destructive it is—especially since you aren’t even taking it seriously. He is terrified because, to you, this might just be a casual way to vent your desires, but to him, it’s everything."

Silence filled the room for a long time.

Hou Yizhen lowered his eyes, remembering Lin Feng’s pale face and tear-filled eyes during their argument.

Back then, he had only felt offended, believing that Lin Feng had played him for a fool.

Only now did he begin to realize...

Lin Feng must have been hurting a lot.

For some reason, Hou Yizhen felt a tightness in his chest. He frowned and lowered his head, unable to understand yet what was happening to him.

Dong Yiming noticed his reaction. "What’s wrong?"

"My chest feels stuffy," Hou Yizhen replied.

Dong Yiming nodded knowingly. "You care about him, so seeing him suffer makes you feel bad, too. That’s what it means to feel for someone."

...

...

On the way back, the car was silent.

It was still early in the morning. After the appointment with the psychologist, Hou Yizhen thought that he still had time to take care of company matters before lunch, so he went directly back to the company.

Unexpectedly, the traffic was quite heavy, and they had to find a shortcut elsewhere.

The shortcut was through the narrower alleys, and the car had to slowly move through.

Hou Yizhen was silent since coming out of the clinic, even gloomier than usual, that it made the two subordinates in the same car feel trepidation.

They exchanged looks secretly, wondering just what kind of thing was troubling their temperamental master this time.

"Stop the car."

The subordinate driving the car immediately pressed on the brakes.

"Boss, what’s wrong?"

The man did not answer them and instead opened the door and went out.

The other cars hurriedly pulled up, and soon, several large men with muscular physique in black suits filled the narrow alley.

The old people sitting leisurely on the benches immediately became alert and hurriedly went inside their houses, afraid of the sudden appearance of hoodlums.

While peeking out secretly from their windows, they all thought: Which person in the neighborhood offended the gangsters? That person must be in real trouble now!

Hou Yizhen and his group did not know that they had been labeled as hoodlums.

Right now, they were surrounding a group of boys... and a small dog.

It could also be a puppy.

The small dog’s fur was a little long and all knotted and dirty, clearly a stray.

Hou Yizhen did not know what the dog’s original color was, but the color now reminded him of the boy’s soft brown hair, which becomes lighter when under the sun, as if it was almost glowing.

The small dog’s fur was not soft nor glowing, but seeing it pitifully lay on the ground helplessly as a group of boys threw stones at it, Hou Yizhen felt strangely angry and upset.

Hearing the weak and soft whines of the small dog, clearly in pain...

In places he could not see, was Lin Feng also being bullied by others? There were so many people with poor character in the world who liked to bully gentle and kind people.

Just like this group of trash.