Chapter 108

After Su Momo recovered, she went to the police station to give her statement. She identified Qi Fang and Qi Fen sisters as her kidnappers, and her statement matched the sisters' confessions. The case was considered closed.

New Year's Day was approaching quickly.

This was Mu Mian's first New Year in Jiangzhou City. Chen Xue and the others insisted on taking Mu Mian to the square for the New Year's countdown. Even Zhang, who had a leg injury, came with his crutches.

The square was very lively at night, with various colorful lights flashing and beautiful, grand fireworks exploding in the sky.

There were far too many people in the square. Sounds came from all directions, making Mu Mian tense. She frantically tried to avoid people who were getting too close to her.

Fang Rui loosely embraced Mu Mian, shielding her from the surging crowd.

"Mu Mian, let's leave this place."

"But I promised Chen Xue and the others that we'd count down together."

"Then come hide in my arms."

"Okay."

Mu Mian reached out and hugged Fang Rui's waist, burying her head in his chest.

Fang Rui was stunned for a moment.

"Fang Rui, help cover my ears."

"Alright."

Nearby, Zhang winked at Chen Xue and whispered, "See? My method worked, didn't it? They're hugging now, aren't they?"

Zhang got cocky and nearly fell when he lost his balance on his crutches, but fortunately, Chen Xue caught him.

"Chen Xue, I'm steady now. You don't need to hold me so tight."

"I know."

Wang also hugged his girlfriend, "Shu, I have social anxiety. There are so many people, I'm scared."

"..."

After the New Year's countdown event, Fang Rui drove Mu Mian home.

Through the car window, Mu Mian saw Shen Xiyin and Lin Sen walking hand in hand on the sidewalk. Colorful fireworks occasionally exploded in the sky, illuminating the entire night and her sister's radiant smile.

It had been a long time since Mu Mian had seen her sister smile so happily. Her sister used to love smiling. When Mu Mian was still not very responsive to others, her sister would smile brightly at her every day.

"Fang Rui," Mu Mian's voice sounded a bit dejected.

"What's wrong?"

"I might have to face a lonely old age sooner than expected," Mu Mian sighed.

Her sister's friends had warned her before that one day her sister would start a family with someone else, and there would be no place for her in that family. So she had to learn to be independent and take care of herself.

Sigh, she might be all alone in the future. But Mu Mian didn't like loneliness; she didn't want to grow old alone. She thought that if worst came to worst, she could negotiate with her sister and Lin Sen to let her sleep on the floor in their new home. She would only take up a tiny bit of space and promised not to disturb them.

Fang Rui also saw the couple outside the window. Not long ago, he had been mocking Lin Sen for his breakup, but unexpectedly, within just a few days, Lin Sen had won Shen Xiyin back.

"Mu Mian, you won't grow old alone. Didn't you say you'd stay with me?"

"Yes, but what if you get a girlfriend too? Normal people like you will all get married."

"I can marry you in the future."

Another huge firework exploded in the sky, illuminating the entire night.

"That's not possible. We autistic people can't get married. My former therapist said so. This is what she told the parents of another autistic patient," Mu Mian imitated Ms. Mischel's tone, "'If even you as parents can't love her unconditionally, how can you expect another man to love her, take care of her, and not abandon her? You're not fulfilling her love, you're just trying to get rid of a burden.'"

"She's wrong."

"Fang Rui, you should believe the therapist's words. Ms. Mischel is the most authoritative autism therapist."

When Mu Mian got home, she found that Shen Xiyin hadn't returned yet. Mu Mian sat on the sofa, feeling a bit angry. Why didn't her sister tell her she had a boyfriend?

She was so tight-lipped, she wouldn't have told anyone. Did her sister plan to elope with Lin Sen and abandon her?

Mu Mian saw that everyone was sending New Year's greetings in the WeChat group. She also sent a carefully edited greeting, then decided to share this gossip she had discovered herself.

Mu Mian: [Shocked.jpg] Let me tell you all a little secret, it seems Lin Sen has a girlfriend now. He won't be growing old alone. Guess who his girlfriend is?

Chen Xue: Remove the "it seems." Mian Mian, you actually think this is a secret? [Face palm.jpg]

Zhang corrected her: Mu Mian, why are you still calling him Lin Sen? You should call him brother-in-law now.

Mu Mian: ... Why do you all know about this?

Chen Xue: Comrade Mu Mian, you should reflect on why you didn't know about this.

Mu Mian: No one told me...

Mu Mian: @Fang Rui Did you know too? Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Fang Rui: Yes.

Zhang: Did this need to be told? Couldn't you see it with your own eyes? Haven't you noticed that Lin Sen has been smiling radiantly every day for over a month now, which seriously contradicts his usual cold demeanor?

Lin Sen: @Mu Mian Yes, you should call me brother-in-law from now on. @Zhang Please don't excessively project yourself onto others. If you don't know what this means, please open your browser and search for it.

Mu Mian: Self-projection refers to the externalization of internal psychology, that is, judging others by oneself, projecting one's own emotions, will, and characteristics onto others, imposing them on others, and believing that others are the same. So Officer Zhang's strange smile over the past month can be described as radiant, huh?

Wang: I think "licentious" might be a more fitting description. Hehe.

Chen Xue: ...

Zhang: ...

Lin Sen sent several large red envelopes in the group chat, and then the word "Congratulations" flooded the screen.

When Shen Xiyin returned home, she was carrying a huge gift box. The box was grass green, tied with beautiful ribbons and a bow.

Mu Mian's eyes lit up when she saw the gift, "Sister, is this a New Year's gift for me? I see my name on the card on the box."

"Yes. Mian, Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year."

Mu Mian excitedly opened the box. Inside was a SpongeBob SquarePants themed Lego set, including SpongeBob and his pineapple house.

"Sister, how did you know I wanted this gift?" Mu Mian liked SpongeBob because he always smiled sincerely at others, whether they were normal or not.

Shen Xiyin glanced at the SpongeBob band-aid on Mu Mian's forehead, just smiled, and didn't answer.

Receiving a gift she liked made Mu Mian feel less angry.

Shen Xiyin sat down on the sofa and said, "Mian, your sister has a boyfriend now. You know him, it's Lin Sen."

"I already knew that." Mu Mian eagerly started assembling her Lego set and curiously asked, "Sister, didn't you say you wouldn't marry Lin Sen? Why are you with him now? Are you going to get married?"

Her sister's friends often told her sister that she should get married. Mu Mian thought that for normal people, marriage must be a very important thing.

If her sister was going to get married, she would happily congratulate her, even if it meant she might be alone in the future.

"Mian, I used to think the future was very important. If something was going to have a bad ending, it should be stopped in time and ended. But when you were kidnapped, I suddenly realized that the future is unpredictable and uncontrollable. We never know what will happen tomorrow. All we have is the present. I've always wanted to be with him, so I reconciled with him."

"Will you marry him?"

"I don't know. The future is uncertain, anything could happen. But one thing is certain, your sister won't abandon you. No matter what happens, I'll be with you until you no longer need me," Shen Xiyin's voice was very firm.

"Then you can't lie to me, okay? Deceiving autistic patients is unethical."

Mu Mian breathed a sigh of relief. She had been very worried that if her sister married Lin Sen, she would be abandoned. Just like her hacker friend, whose mother got married and abandoned him. He was very lonely for a while and almost imagined another version of himself to talk to. Fortunately, he later had her as a friend.

Mu Mian asked curiously, "Sister, so do you and Lin Sen have love now?"

Shen Xiyin smiled, "Yes."

Mu Mian's face lit up with excitement, "Then can you and Lin Sen accompany me to the psychology lab at Jiangzhou University?"

Shen Xiyin frowned and asked in confusion, "Why do you want to go there?"

"Sister, I want to study love too. I want to know how the brain of someone in love differs from a normal person's brain. That way, I'll know if I have love or not. Can you and Consultant Lin be my test subjects?"

Mu Mian thought Zhou Junwei's idea of studying love was good, but his methods were too extreme. So Mu Mian designed her own experiment to study love.

"Love is a very complex emotion. It can't be accurately defined by science, nor can it be quantified and studied. It's a combination of many emotional states. Xiao Mian, you can't study love, you can only experience it."

Mu Mian quickly finished assembling SpongeBob and started on the pineapple house. "But other emotions can be studied. Fear, happiness, sadness... these can all be researched. Love must be possible to study too! I think Zhou Junwei is right, all human emotions come from the brain, so by observing changes in the brain, we should be able to see love."

"Xiao Mian, why are you suddenly so interested in love?"

"You and Chen Xue both have love, and the forensic manual Forensic Doctor Cheng gave me has a large section describing love. It seems to be a very important thing. I think I should have it too. Zhou Junwei said that people with autism can have love," Mu Mian said. "But first, I need to know what the definition of love is, what standard needs to be met."

"Xiao Mian, that's not the right order. You need to experience love first, then you'll know what it's like," Shen Xiyin reminded her. "Before encountering love, no one can accurately describe what it is."

"Alright!" Mu Mian finished assembling the Lego set and took a photo. She gave up on the idea of studying love.

Mu Mian sent a message to Fang Rui: [Photo attached] This is the New Year's gift my sister gave me. Isn't it pretty?

Fang Rui: It's very pretty, but don't you think something's missing?

Mu Mian: What's missing?

Fang Rui: Mu Mian, Happy New Year.

Outside, huge fireworks were bursting again, filling the sky with brilliant and dazzling flowers of light.