John Woo's car was parked not far downstairs. It was a brown business car with black heat-insulating film on the windows, so you couldn't see inside from the outside.
Wu Yusen originally wanted to open the middle door to let Lin Fan get in, but she unexpectedly opened the passenger door and got in. Wu Yusen didn't say anything, got into the driver's seat, and quickly started the car.
Lin Fan didn't want to sit with John Woo, but she was carsick.
As long as you're not driving, riding in someone else's car can make you feel dizzy, ranging from mild dizziness to severe vomiting. The specific symptoms depend on the driver's skill and the condition of the car. Sitting in the passenger seat, where you can see what's going on, might make things a little better.
If it was someone she knew, she might lie down in the back seat and take a nap to alleviate the discomfort. But in John Woo's car, it was impossible to take a nap. She could only focus on the road.
Maybe it's because the sense of unreality is too strong, and deep down in my heart I still have some doubts that this person is a liar.
It was already past 10 o'clock when Wu Yusen arrived. They drove out for a short while, and before they even left the city, it was already 11 o'clock. They didn't know what time it would be when they got on the highway and stopped at the service area to eat. With Lin Fan's consent, they got out of the car and had something to eat first.
I found a fast-food Chinese restaurant that serves small portions and has self-service checkout.
Lin Fan grabbed a portion of ingredients, a bowl of soup, and some rice, then went to find a seat. Wu Yusen grabbed a few dishes, paid the bill, and quickly found Lin Fan. The two of them ate their meal in earnest, without much feeling of alienation.
After finishing their meal, they got in the car and headed straight for the highway. Wu Yusen said, "You didn't eat breakfast either. Is this enough for lunch?"
Lin Fan knew that people who drive for long periods of time shouldn't be too quiet, as they're prone to falling asleep, so he joined in the conversation, "That's enough. I've always eaten little. Normally, I eat twice a day, but sometimes I only eat once."
Wu Yusen looked forward, and the image of Lin Fan appeared in his mind.
Lin Fangao, wearing loose clothes, so the fat on her body is not obvious. A preliminary estimate is that she may weigh 170 pounds. However, based on her current appetite, two meals a day will not be enough to gain that much weight.
"You think I'm so fat and why I eat so little?" Lin Fan guessed what he was thinking.
"No, I'm afraid you'll be hungry." He was really afraid that she would be hungry, John Woo thought.
"The fat on my body is all from taking medicine. You know some medicines contain hormones and will make you fat, right?" Lin Fan said.
"I know." No wonder the flesh on her body looked swollen like steamed buns made of leavened dough, different from ordinary fat.
"Are you still taking it now?" Hormone drugs are not good things. Your body can't stand it if you take them for a long time.
"I stopped taking it a long time ago. The medicine was too expensive and I couldn't afford it. I stopped two years ago, but I haven't lost any weight."
"Is it an antidepressant?" Wu Yusen asked. The investigation materials only briefly mentioned a few items, and these specific circumstances were naturally not mentioned.
"right."
"Are there any other side effects?"
"A lot. For example, I'm in poor health right now, and I get tired after just a little movement. I always feel a lot of noise, and my eyes get tired easily. Sometimes, I just get up, brush my teeth, wash my face, and have breakfast, and before it's even an hour, I'm tired and want to lie down again."
Lin Fan felt that there was nothing to hide, so he could explain it to Wu Yusen clearly to prevent him from thinking he had superpowers. "My memory has also deteriorated. I told you, I always can't remember things."
"Why didn't you continue the treatment? Is it because you don't have the money?"
"It started because I had no money. My medication cost 7,000 to 8,000 yuan a month, and I also had to see a psychologist, so the total cost was almost 10,000 yuan." Lin Fan recalled: "After more than a year of treatment, my savings were gone, and I didn't get better. Instead, I had more and more problems. So I stopped taking the medication."
"I heard that psychiatric drugs must be stopped gradually, otherwise it will be very painful, almost like drug withdrawal." John Woo often comes into contact with people in the psychological team and has heard about this.
"It was quite painful, but the side effects at the time also forced me to continue. At that time, I felt that my body and nerves had reached a certain limit, and the pain kept getting worse."
"Does the doctor agree to stop taking the medicine?" John Woo asked in surprise.
"I didn't ask the doctor. I had no money at the time. I was also in pain, so I simply didn't go to the hospital and just cut it off." Lin Fan said lightly.
Even though John Woo considered himself a tough guy, he couldn't help but look at Lin Fan.
As he said, forcibly weaning off psychiatric drugs is similar to drug withdrawal. As we all know, drug withdrawal is extremely painful. Many people, unable to endure the pain, are unable to quit, and some even commit suicide.
But this seemingly calm girl next to her has actually experienced such pain and seems unconcerned. Is she completely numb or just hard-headed?
"How long did the pain of withdrawal last?" he asked again.
"Maybe one month or two, I don't remember." I was so dizzy during that period that I didn't care about time at all.
John Woo was silent for a moment and thought of a possibility: "Could it be that those sequelae are the result of forced discontinuation of medication? Because of the damage caused by forced discontinuation of medication?" In his impression, the sequelae of drugs did not seem to be so serious. It felt like although the life was still there, the person was ruined.
"Maybe." Lin Fan shrugged. "There's no point in talking about this now."
"So, are you feeling okay now?"
"Now?" Lin Fan glanced at Wu Yusen. "You mean the pain from the sequelae? I'm used to it. I feel like the pain has really lessened over time, I don't know if it's just that my body has adapted to it, and I've just become accustomed to it."
"Still in pain?"
"Why, didn't I mention that just now?" Lin Fan thought for a moment, then seemed not to say anything. "I've been having pain all over my body. I went to the hospital for a checkup, and they said it was neurological. They wanted to prescribe medicine for me, but I didn't take it."
"Is it also because of money?"
"I guess so. Actually, the first time I took it, it didn't work, so I stopped taking it."
"Where does it hurt?" John Woo asked.
"It hurts everywhere. My head hurts, my neck hurts, my arms hurt, and sometimes my heart hurts. Sometimes my knees hurt, and sometimes my whole legs hurt. It feels like there's no place in my body that doesn't hurt." Lin Fan felt like laughing at the end of his speech.
It sounded serious. Wu Yusen frowned and asked, "How does it hurt?"
"Sometimes it's a dull ache, like a muscle inflammation, a dull pain. Sometimes it's a sudden, sharp pain, and the whole person becomes stiff and unable to move, and it takes a while to recover. Sometimes it feels like there's a steel bar pulling at my body."
"The worst thing is the headache. When it's severe, it feels like there's a steel bar going through my temple, hanging from it, and the pain is like the front of my head is being torn apart. I can't even stay awake."
Wu Yusen was at a loss for words. This kind of pain could make even a good person depressed, right? He suddenly understood Lin Fan's depression.
"I also learned a new word, 'migratory pain'. It's very appropriate, isn't it?" Lin Fan laughed softly.
John Woo took a glance and found that the smile was not in the eyes, but more like a helpless compromise.
"So don't you have anything happy happening in your daily life?" John Woo changed the subject.
"I haven't known what happiness is for a long time." Lin Fan said.
"What do you like to eat?" Change the topic if the conversation runs out.
"have no idea."
"No?"
"I used to have that feeling, but later on, I just didn't have that feeling anymore. I used to be happy when I ate something I liked, but now I don't know what happiness is. I'm missing that emotion," Lin Fan recalled. "And most of the time, I can't taste anything. I feel no difference between meat and vegetables. I don't feel hungry either. I just eat a little every day to keep myself from starving to death."
Wu Yusen looked at Lin Fan in surprise. If they weren't on the highway, he really wanted to stop the car and ask for clarification.
This is not normal at all!
Lin Fan felt the gaze from the other side, and she smiled again: "I have changed so much over the years. I am no longer like myself in any way. If the face in the mirror was not familiar, I would have suspected that it was a different person."
Wu Yusen's heart suddenly jumped. Lin Fan might not care, but he worked in the Special Affairs Office and knew very well that such a thing was entirely possible.
If this line of thought continued, Lin Fan's denial of her supernatural powers was correct, because it wasn't her who had them. Her fatigue and pain seemed to have a reason.
But he couldn't say anything yet. After all, he wasn't sure what was going on. If it was true, he didn't know how friendly the other party was. If he said too much, he might alert the enemy.
Thinking of this, John Woo decided not to ask Lin Fan anymore and instead talked about some interesting stories about the Special Affairs Office.
What he was talking about was just some non-confidential gossip, so it didn't matter if he shared it. Although Lin Fan wasn't interested, he still responded intermittently to keep Wu Yusen from falling asleep in the silence.
I don’t know if it’s because the car is good or because John Woo is a good driver, but Lin Fan didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable along the way.
Perhaps because it was a weekend, there were more cars on the road. A journey that should have taken three and a half hours took five hours. Lin Fan was a little surprised when he entered Gaohe City from the toll booth, until the car started and stopped, finally pulling into an old compound.
John Woo unbuckled his seat belt and Lin Fan got out of the car obediently.
Looking around, the courtyard was quite spacious. In front stood an old three-story building with mosaics on its exterior, reminiscent of a 1990s building. The courtyard was surrounded by trees and seemed secluded, with little traffic. Not far away, I looked up and saw an elevated road—I couldn't tell if it was a railway or a highway.
"This used to be the power supply bureau's building. Later, the power supply bureau built a new building and moved away, and we took over here." John Woo said as he led Lin Fan into the old building.
Lin Fan didn't see any signs from outside the door. After he went in, he found that only the facade was old, and the interior had been newly renovated.
The entire wall opposite the main entrance features a mosaic mural depicting a beautiful landscape of mountains and rivers. Beyond this wall is a glass door, revealing the actual office area.
Wu Yusen swiped his work card at the door, and the glass opened with a ding-dong. Lin Fan followed Wu Yusen in and walked to the front desk.
The lady at the front desk saw Wu Yusen come in and greeted him happily: "Wu Te is back?"
"Yes," Wu Yusen replied with a smile, "Give me a visitor card and register it in my name."
"Is it the new person you brought this time?" The young lady looked at Lin Fan curiously.
Lin Fan didn't hear the question, she was staring at the background wall at the front desk in a daze.
There were only a few large golden characters on it, written in extremely tacky language - Ri Ri Hong Trading Co., Ltd.