The Versatile Master Artist

Every quarter, Mr. Jean Arnou would send a cheque of one hundred thousand New Zealand Dollars to Dr. Jin Anqing’s private clinic, no matter the weather.

As a reward.

Regardless of its actual effectiveness, Dr. Jin Anqing would conduct a psychological assessment for Tony every Saturday.

”Does he seem anxious? Does he have a noticeable aversion to external sounds or changes in lighting? Is there any sign of throwing things...”

Since Tony has communication and intellectual barriers, he cannot communicate normally.

Therefore, Dr. Jin often chooses to ask the caregiver, the Filipino maid, or the gardener about Tony’s life-related matters.

Each time, he would take out some colorful illustrative pictures, connect his iPhone to the room’s Bluetooth speaker to play some music, and stare long at Tony’s dull gray eyes, observing any eye evasion. He even brought a small harmonica for Tony to play random notes.

Based on experience, he compiled all the patient’s reactions into professional investigation forms and feedback reports.

Even though the effectiveness of these data is limited, like peeking into a small room through a thick curtain.

Yet these accumulative disease analyses still amount to thousands of pages.

Gu Weijing untied the string on the brown paper bag, and the pages poured out.

He held all of Tony’s assessment reports from recent years in his hand, as there were simply too many data files.

Gu Weijing had just gone out to the local print shop, spending ninety thousand Myanmar Kyat to print all these data and reports at hand for easy perusal.

”What do you need my proxy artist to do now?”

Gu Weijing was browsing through this information.

Mr. Tree Sloth had already inquired: ”Dr. Jin, using illustrations to treat autism is a first for us. You are the expert on psychological issues, please arrange our work content. Whatever Lady Detective Cat needs us to draw, we are happy to cooperate.”

”This is a very incorrect view. To improve our work efficiency moving forward, please note, there is a viewpoint that must be corrected in advance.”

”If what we are doing now is described as a precise surgery, then the main surgeon would be Lady Detective Cat, my role is at most just that of the male nurse responsible for holding tools and wiping sweat.”

Dr. Jin Anqing crossed his hands.

He placed his arms on the desk surface, leaned slightly forward, and swept his gaze over the cartoon virtual images of the two animals on the computer screen.

”So the correct saying should be—this therapy’s design content is not about what I need you to do, but what Lady Cat... let’s call you Lady Cat instead, what you need me to do.”

”I don’t quite understand, you are Tony’s attending psychologist.”

Gu Weijing stopped his actions upon hearing.

He looked at the camera in confusion: ”I am completely unfamiliar with the field of psychological therapy. I personally have no related academic background, not even knowing where to start.”

Mr. Tree Sloth suggests he take on this task.

Getting the friendship of great artist Mr. Jean Arnou is, in any sense, a precious opportunity, hence he came.

But without clear instructions.

What should he, this layman, be drawing?

”Lady Cat, many people have a misconception, treating psychological counseling and therapy as a mysterious blind box, like a kind of magical witchcraft capable of manipulating the mind.”

”A depressed patient full of pain steps into my office, sits down after knocking, forty-five minutes later, leaves a check of a thousand US Dollars as a fee for the wizard’s spell, and exits humming a tune, transformed into a cheerful new soul that has undergone the blind box’s cleanse.”

”And I—”

Dr. Jin Anqing pointed to himself with his fingertips: ”And I am the one with profound insight into human nature, the one who makes all the magic happen. In the eyes of outsiders, even a casual ’hmm’ or a yawn from me is laden with deep Zen meaning.”

”Isn’t that the case?”

Gu Weijing was curious.

Psychologists are still quite rare in Myanmar.

The country is incredibly poor, with inadequate healthcare coverage.

Most people are reluctant to go to big hospitals for treatment even if they have a high fever.

Mental health issues, in the social consensus around him, seem more like the trivial afflictions only wealthy young men and women from developed countries have the leisure to worry about.

Just tough it out if you’re feeling down.

Even if a massive mental blow is sustained, Myanmar residents often resort to religious consolation according to ethnic habits.

In a Buddhist country, burning a stick of incense costing a hundred Myanmar Kyat in the temple, and bowing on the mat, is much more affordable than seeing a psychologist.

The profession of a psychologist, in Gu Weijing’s inherent perception, remains quite high-end and full of mystery. Dr. Jin’s description was very precise.

”Of course not. In contrast, this is a very classic stereotype.”

”Every time a new patient starts consultation, I explicitly tell the patient that I am simply an ordinary person.”

”If you want to add an adjective, then compared to most untrained people, I am more experienced, patient, and skilled at listening. But I am still an ordinary person, not a hypnotist from ’Now You See Me’ who can manipulate people like puppets.”

”Those people who see me as a wizard should really see my embarrassing state in divorce court.”