Chapter 567: Xia Jinyu

Chapter 567: Xia Jinyu

“Act normal,” Wu Chen said, raising an eyebrow.

“Am I not acting normal?” Li Ruobing countered, leaning her face in close so that her breath brushed against his skin.

In truth, by the time she asked, she had already discarded the slightly exaggerated pretense, yet the gentleness remained—carrying that distinctive, sensual allure unique to an aloof, imposing woman when she softened.

This was hardly Li Ruobing’s first attempt at acting coy, but this time she had laid it on just a fraction too thick. When she left the matter of Xia Jinyu alone, she was fine; the moment it crossed her mind, it became pure irritation!

She cared about it entirely too much!

Given her habit of never leaving a grievance unavenged, she should have settled scores with Xia Jinyu long ago.

The reason she hadn’t was that the matter was locked in an impossible knot… She had been seventeen at the time, an ordinary student. Her family had arranged for a psychologist to visit their home for a consultation. After a preliminary evaluation, the psychologist concluded that she needed counseling, shouldn’t resort to violence, and needed proper guidance.

If you recounted that sequence to anyone on earth, not a soul would think the psychologist had done anything wrong!

Consequently, once Li Ruobing achieved independence, if she had marched up to Xia Jinyu demanding an explanation, it would have made her look as though she truly did harbor psychological issues!

Who held onto such trivial pettiness for so many years, only to circle back for revenge?

The two of them hadn’t even met face-to-face! It had merely been an evaluation based on secondary information! Unless one was genuinely unhinged, no one would ever do such a thing!

This created a deadlock where Li Ruobing cared deeply, yet could never confront Xia Jinyu—or even bring the matter up.

In reality, Li Ruobing didn’t care about a mere passing evaluation.

To put it bluntly, countless people had believed she was mentally unstable as she grew up! Independent souls were perpetually targets of gossip; it was par for the course, and Li Ruobing never spared it a second thought! What truly mattered was Xia Jinyu’s stature… and the fact that certain members of the Li family had actually bought into her judgment!

“Normal. Much better now,” Wu Chen smiled.

“So… can you truly make her apologize?” Li Ruobing promptly dragged the conversation back to the crux of the matter. “You should understand what reputation means to her profession, and what her profession means to her entire life! You understand that, right? Do you truly know Xia Jinyu?”

“Xia Jinyu is thirty-three this year, hailing from Shencheng,” Wu Chen rattled off without missing a beat. “Height: 169 centimeters. Her weight typically fluctuates between 50 and 52.5 kilograms, though she looks as if she weighs barely 45. She maintains a long-standing exercise routine, hitting a gym on Gongcheng Road in Modu every Monday and Thursday for an hour of training.”

“Her measurements are 81-57-89. She’s nearsighted; she wears contacts when going out, and round-framed prescription glasses at home or during consultations. Her left eye is at 350 degrees, her right at 375. She takes skincare seriously but wears minimal makeup, and she has kept her hair in a single ponytail for years.”

“She owns six properties in Modu, residing most frequently in a detached home at Lane 58, Nanqing Road, directly opposite Qiguang Park in Xuhui. It’s a self-contained, vintage Western-style villa. Xia Jinyu owns four cars in Modu, driving an older beige BMW 7 Series most often. Given her status, it’s exceptionally understated.”

“Xia Jinyu possesses remarkably low material desires. Aside from real estate, she rarely indulges in luxury spending. She does, however, own an immense wardrobe; most pieces cost a few hundred yuan each, with the most expensive capping out at one or two thousand. A master bedroom in the villa was converted into a colossal walk-in closet.”

“Although she’s thirty-three, visually she looks barely a few years out of university, radiating the aura of a young high school teacher. When she smiles, she appears remarkably approachable; when she knits her brows, she somehow exerts subtle pressure… though she rarely frowns.”

“She—”

“All right, that’s enough,” Li Ruobing couldn’t help cutting him off. “Don’t you think reciting all this makes you sound like some pervert who’s been stalking Xia Jinyu for years? You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Just lightening the mood.” Wu Chen smiled, reaching up to give her cheek a gentle pinch. “You’re taking this far too seriously. Relax.”

Li Ruobing looked at him, paused, and then closed her eyes to draw a deep breath.

Inhale! Exhale!

“All right, I’m relaxed.” Li Ruobing opened her eyes to meet Wu Chen’s gaze.

“She’s a genius!” Wu Chen said with a smile, offering his preliminary assessment of Xia Jinyu.

Li Ruobing… couldn’t deny it!

“As a child, she was an undisputed prodigy, skipping a grade for the first time in fourth grade… At fourteen, she was admitted to Zhejiang University’s School of Business Administration, dropping out six months later. At fifteen, she sat for the gaokao again, gaining admission to Capital University’s psychology department…”

“At eighteen, she earned her master’s degree in psychology from Capital University, subsequently heading abroad to Princeton to pursue advanced studies. Between the ages of nineteen and twenty-one, she hit her academic peak, publishing eleven SCI papers in premier journals such as Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Psychological Review, and Physiology & Behavior…”

“After securing doctorates in both psychology and philosophy, she even took the TED stage, delivering an eighteen-minute address as a young scholar.”

“Originally, she intended to develop her career overseas, but due to personal reasons, she chose to return to China at twenty-three, becoming the youngest associate professor in the history of Modu University’s psychology department. Capital University had extended an offer as well, but their terms weren’t as generous, and she personally preferred living in Modu, so she chose to teach there.”

“Her transition into becoming a ‘psychologist’ was entirely coincidental. She once provided counseling to a scion of a prominent family who had long harbored suicidal tendencies; a single forty-minute consultation convinced him to abandon the idea of ending his life… That single incident made her an overnight legend in elite circles!”

“Coupled with her dazzling pedigree, she instantly became one of the highest-paid psychological consultants in the nation. Those who sought her services were exclusively high-ranking officials and corporate titans. She employed two billing structures: either an hourly rate per session, or a flat fee contingent upon a full cure.”

“As far as I know, her minimum hourly consultation fee starts at five hundred thousand yuan, with no ceiling… Those wealthy enough to retain her don’t care about a few hundred thousand or a few million; they are more than willing to pay a premium.”

“As for her flat-fee arrangement, her record… She once flew to the capital and stayed for half a month, walking away with thirty-nine million yuan. Her patient on that occasion was… someone you should have heard of!”

Wu Chen met Li Ruobing’s eyes as he spoke.

“Mm… I know,” Li Ruobing nodded. It was the granddaughter of a top-tier power broker who suffered from crippling depression. The condition had progressed far beyond the reach of mere counseling, requiring a strict regimen of antidepressant medication.

For years, she had found no relief.

Until Xia Jinyu intervened. Word had it that she took the girl away, refusing to permit anyone to follow—not even drivers or bodyguards. She drove the car herself, taking the girl on a half-month journey.

What they discussed during that time remained unknown to the outside world.

Yet when the girl returned, her entire disposition had transformed. Her appetite returned, she spoke far more, and she seemed to begin opening her heart.

Afterward, the girl continued her antidepressant medication for another three months and recovered completely!

There was something undeniably magical about Xia Jinyu—something bordering on terrifying! Li Ruobing had heard plenty of accounts. Psychologists were inherently adept at observing and dissecting people, capable of seeing through human nature to a degree; yet someone at Xia Jinyu’s level could no longer be adequately described merely as a “psychologist.”

Li Ruobing had perpetually dismissed Xia Jinyu as a fraud…

In truth, she simply couldn’t swallow her indignation!

She believed Xia Jinyu had fundamentally misjudged her back then! Deep down, she couldn’t deny Xia Jinyu’s achievements in psychology, whether evaluated from an academic standpoint or through tangible results! Xia Jinyu had been wildly successful, and that stature would only expand over time!

At thirty-three, Xia Jinyu was already recognized as an authority in the domestic psychology community. Countless people were eagerly waiting for her to publish her magnum opus on psychology.

…

Xia Jinyu had once addressed this during an academic interview, stating that she was indeed writing a book on psychology—that she had been writing it continuously—yet it would only be published posthumously.

“Originally, psychological consulting was merely her side pursuit.”

“Associate professor at twenty-three, full professor at twenty-five, doctoral supervisor at twenty-six… After serving as a doctoral supervisor for just a single semester, she resigned from Modu University. She had intended to cut ties completely, but under the university’s desperate pleas, she retained her professorship title while shouldering zero teaching obligations and attending at most two academic conferences a year. Modu University offered staggering concessions just to keep the premier face of their psychology department.”

“Following her resignation as a doctoral supervisor, she shifted the entire gravity of her life onto her practice as a ‘psychological consultant’! The side pursuit became her primary career.”

“She began keeping a low profile, accepting cases exclusively through personal referrals. Her daily life became strictly regimented: meals, writing, fitness, consultations… To this day, she sees clients only once a week, and her appointment ledger is already fully booked into next year.”

“Those who have crossed paths with Xia Jinyu in recent years say she has grown increasingly perceptive, increasingly clear-sighted, as though capable of piercing through all things. At times, she projects the aura of someone entirely free of worldly desire. Some have even remarked that she carries a Buddhist nature, suggesting she might see through the illusions of the world and become a nun one day.”

“Everything I’ve said is accurate, isn’t it?” Wu Chen asked, turning to Li Ruobing.

“Mm… yes!” Li Ruobing nodded. What Wu Chen had laid out aligned seamlessly with her own knowledge and the rumors she had heard. “So you truly believe you can drag someone like that into serving as your little assistant? A woman of negligible material desire, an internationally renowned master of psychology—and you intend to challenge her? Aren’t you afraid of being seen through completely?”

Li Ruobing wasn’t questioning Wu Chen’s competence; it was a genuine inquiry.

Wu Chen was a master of psychological manipulation, but his absolute strength lay in information dominance. On the purely psychological battlefield, could he truly outmatch Xia Jinyu? Or was this poised to be… a clash of titans?

Wu Chen smiled and shook his head, offering no direct answer to her question. Instead, he said, “No! What I said wasn’t entirely correct!”