Chapter Fifteen: The Truth Revealed

The next day, Yin Nian arrived at the psychology clinic as scheduled.

She still felt uneasy about this place, and her instinctive resistance to hypnosis persisted, but she knew she had to come, had to use hypnosis to recall what had happened that day.

Whether she had hit someone or not, she wanted to know the truth, not remain in this haze.

“How did you sleep last night?” Yuan Yi asked with a gentle smile, pouring her a glass of water.

“It was alright...” Yin Nian replied, but the bloodshot eyes and tired expression betrayed her restless night.

“Did you have nightmares?”

“Yes... but I wasn’t jolted awake. I remembered after I woke up this morning... It was still Granny Yang grabbing my foot, but it wasn’t as cold this time...” Just mentioning the dream made Yin Nian tense.

“Did any fragments of the accident flash through your mind?” Yuan Yi asked.

“Yes... This morning, when I stopped my car by the crosswalk, a sudden headache hit me, and some scattered images flickered through my mind...”

“Any new scenes?”

“I don’t think so...”

“Alright.” Yuan Yi nodded and jotted down notes in his journal. “Have you undergone hypnosis before?”

“No...”

“Let me briefly explain. Hypnosis is a method of communicating with the subconscious through human guidance. Lost or blocked memories are hidden in the depths of the subconscious. Through hypnosis, we can recall specific memories. Does that make sense?”

“I know a little...”

“The whole hypnosis session will be recorded. You can take a copy to watch later. If you feel uncomfortable at any point, you must say so. I’ll wake you immediately. That’s all there is to it.”

Yin Nian nodded, feeling even more nervous.

“Let’s go over there.” Yuan Yi led her to a window-side area, where a black, slanted couch awaited.

He called it Freud’s couch; lying there helped relax the mind and hastened entry into the hypnotic state.

At Yuan Yi’s request, Yin Nian lay down, adjusting herself until comfortable. Yuan Yi began to guide her to relax.

“Your body is very tense,” Yuan Yi said softly. “Is it the environment making you nervous, or is it me?”

“No... I’m just worried about myself...”

“It’s alright. The subconscious doesn’t lie. What’s true is true, what’s false is false.” Yuan Yi smiled gently. “Now, relax your body. Start with your feet. Focus on your soles, slowly relaxing the muscles and nerves, letting them become soft and comfortable...”

Something in Yuan Yi’s voice compelled Yin Nian to follow his instructions. She concentrated on her feet, gradually relaxing, then followed his guidance to relax her calves, thighs, abdomen, neck, shoulders, and face.

Once she had relaxed every part, Yin Nian felt her body loosen, her anxiety and tension ebbing. At Yuan Yi’s request, she counted her breaths, three seconds to inhale, two to exhale, feeling her own presence through her breathing, immersing herself within, instead of being swept up by chaotic thoughts.

Yuan Yi sat on a chair beside the couch, observing Yin Nian’s state, offering reminders and suggestions when needed.

Once Yin Nian was fully relaxed, Yuan Yi began guiding her into hypnosis. He held a small pendulum, swinging it gently before her eyes, speaking softly: “Look at it... Focus entirely on it. Let no other thoughts intrude... Let your eyes follow its rhythm... Left... right... left... right...”

Yin Nian watched the pendulum, her eyes following its swing. Her mind emptied, no thoughts, no emotions. All her attention was drawn to the pendulum.

Psychologists call this state “void.” In such a state, Yin Nian was more receptive to suggestion, more susceptible to hypnosis.

Yuan Yi continued swinging the pendulum, guiding Yin Nian with gentle words.

Hypnosis is a slow, delicate process, not as quick as most people think, nor as miraculous as in film and television. It is simply a way of redirecting attention, temporarily separating consciousness and allowing direct dialogue with the subconscious.

Whether hypnosis succeeds depends largely on the hypnotist’s charisma and rhythm, not just technique. If a strong trust is established between hypnotist and subject, the process is much more effective.

Seeing Yin Nian’s expression relax, Yuan Yi’s voice became smoother, encouraging her: “Very good... you’re doing very well... Slowly close your eyes, try to imagine yourself walking down a spiraling corridor...”

Yin Nian closed her eyes, exhaling slowly.

Yuan Yi controlled the pace of his guidance: “That’s it, very good. You walk slowly down the stairs. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear some familiar sounds...”

He observed Yin Nian’s state as he spoke. “Those are familiar sounds... your conversations with your son, the sound of cars on the road...”

Yin Nian’s brow twitched.

Yuan Yi slowed his speech, lowering his voice: “At the end of the stairs is a wooden door. Slowly push it open... slowly... open the door... You will see yourself ten days ago... It’s a foggy morning, you are driving along a mountain road, taking your son Yangyang on an outing...”

Yin Nian relaxed further, her body soft as cotton, sinking into the couch.

Yuan Yi’s voice suddenly grew steady and commanding: “Three...”

Yin Nian’s head tilted, loose strands of hair falling.

“Two...”

Her breathing became slow and even.

“One...”

A few seconds later, Yin Nian let out a faint sigh.

Yuan Yi set his journal on his lap, took a deep breath. “Yin Nian, can you hear me?”

After a moment’s silence, Yin Nian spoke slowly: “Yes...”

“Tell me, what do you see?”

“I’m driving... I see Yangyang in the back seat, looking out the window...”

“Are you talking to him?”

“Yes...”

“What are you talking about?”

“He’s about to start school. I ask if he wants any gifts, he says no... I want to talk to him about how, in the past two years, I’ve been too busy with work to spend time with him... I know he’s been blaming me...”

Her tone carried a trace of sadness. Clearly, she was aware of the distance caused by her lack of communication with her son; if this continued, he would drift further from her, something she dreaded.

When Yin Nian stopped speaking, Yuan Yi prompted, “And then?”

Her tone suddenly grew agitated: “Then... I see something lying in the middle of the road... I slam on the brakes... but it’s already too late... I hit it... It’s a person... an old woman...”

Yuan Yi’s brow furrowed, jotting notes as he asked, “Before you hit her, did you see the old woman lying on the road?”

Yin Nian’s right foot tensed, her voice anxious: “Fog... so much fog... I couldn’t see clearly... she was a gray blur... I heard her cry out... I’m not sure if it was her... I don’t know what happened... I was terrified... When I got out, I saw her lying on the ground, covered in blood...”

Yuan Yi sensed something was off. He recorded details, pondering. “When you got out to check, was she still bleeding?”

“She was... but some had dried...”

“What did you do next?”

“I called an ambulance... but there was no signal on the mountain... so I took her to the hospital myself...”

“Do you remember the towel?”

Yin Nian’s neck stiffened then relaxed. “I remember... It was a birthday gift from my good friend Han Duoduo...”

“Did you use it to wipe the old woman’s wounds?”

Yin Nian made a muffled, strange sound, like a beast’s low growl. She didn’t answer for a long time.

When Yuan Yi repeated the question, she murmured, “I don’t know.”

Yuan Yi rubbed his chin, deciding to approach from a different angle. “Your son Yangyang said you fainted for a while after getting out of the car to check on the old woman. Do you remember?”

Yin Nian shivered as if chilled, her shoulders suddenly clenched, voice trembling: “I think so... but I can’t recall clearly...”

Yuan Yi stood to observe her expression, puzzled. Yin Nian was clearly hypnotized, so why were her memories still so vague? Was the hypnosis not deep enough, not reaching the heart of the event? Or perhaps she really hadn’t seen clearly at the time?

He thought both possibilities likely.

He decided to intensify his guidance. “When you hit the old woman, did you injure your head as well?”

Yin Nian’s brow furrowed, as if feeling the wound on her forehead. After a moment, she said, “Yes... My head struck the steering wheel... The bump on my forehead came from that...”

This information was important. Yuan Yi quickly noted it. Yin Nian had previously said she didn’t know how the injury happened, now she recalled it happened during the accident, confirming a case of memory loss.

Yuan Yi asked, “On your way to the hospital, did you stop to repair the car?”

“No...”

“Did you use the towel to wipe blood from the car?”

Yin Nian fell silent. Just as Yuan Yi was about to ask again, she suddenly said, “I did.”

“Where exactly?”

“The left front of the car.”

Yuan Yi sighed in relief. The blood and paint traces on the towel finally had an explanation. It seemed Yin Nian had indeed hit Granny Yang, then suffered sudden amnesia, forgetting she’d hit someone and mistakenly believed she was rescuing them.

However, Yuan Yi was puzzled. Yin Nian had never fainted before; why did she suddenly do so after hitting Granny Yang? What happened just before she lost consciousness?

He pondered a moment, then followed up: “When you got out and found the old woman, did you check her injuries?”

Yin Nian hesitated before replying, “I did...”

“Were her injuries serious?”

Her fingers trembled twice, body taut, showing a desire to escape—a typical reaction to seeing something terrifying in hypnosis. Yuan Yi quickly soothed her: “Yin Nian, this place is safe. You are safe. No one can hurt you.”

Her mood gradually stabilized, her voice quivering: “She... was dead...”

Yuan Yi was surprised. “Dead? She was already dead?”

Yin Nian’s palm clenched. “I checked her breathing... She had none... Her pale eyes stared at me... I was terrified... I stumbled back, my heel hit a stone by the roadside, I fell to the ground...”

Yuan Yi took a deep breath and nodded silently. At last, he understood why Yin Nian had fainted.

After hitting Granny Yang, Yin Nian got out, checked her breathing, found none, and saw Granny Yang’s white eyes staring at her. Fear-stricken, she staggered back, tripped, and likely hit the back of her head. In the intense emotional shock and physical impact, she lost consciousness—a typical self-protective response, both physical and psychological.

When she woke again, it’s possible Granny Yang had recovered from a brief shock, or Yin Nian hadn’t checked thoroughly the first time. Upon checking again, she found breathing, so she took Granny Yang to the hospital, naturally forgetting the terrifying memory of discovering Granny Yang’s death right after the collision.

Thus, the timeline and logic finally became clear.

Though Yin Nian hadn’t vividly recalled all the events, the details of each moment allowed everything to be pieced together, forming a coherent and logical account.

Yuan Yi glanced at the clock; more than half an hour had passed. The hypnotic session shouldn’t last too long, lest it exhaust the subject and hinder later recovery.

Just as Yuan Yi prepared to wake Yin Nian, her neck stiffened, hands clawed at the air, a muffled sound rising in her throat—she seemed terribly anxious and panicked. When Yuan Yi moved closer, Yin Nian suddenly raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

Yuan Yi was stunned, then realized the hypnotic state had gone awry and needed to be ended immediately. He said firmly, “Yin Nian, when I count to three, you’ll wake up. When you wake, you’ll remember everything that happened during hypnosis—”

“Three.” Yuan Yi placed his hand before Yin Nian’s face, his palm like a lid covering her.

“Two.” Her emotional state visibly eased, though her throat still emitted low, labored breaths.

“One!” Yuan Yi snapped his fingers. Almost simultaneously, Yin Nian’s eyelids quivered and she opened her eyes.