"Ah, what are you doing?" The middle-aged woman was both shocked and angry, reaching out to pull Lin Yu. She didn't quite understand the situation and was afraid that Lin Yu's actions might harm her daughter, causing trouble.
"Sister, believe in him, he is a divine healer. He is using traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture. Even if it doesn't cure, it won't cause harm," Zhang Xinran was quick to intervene, catching the attention of the middle-aged woman. However, she was stretching the truth as she had no clue if Lin Yu could actually diagnose and treat patients. It was just instinctive to defend him.
"Lin Yu, please don't make a big mess that you can't handle. I don't want to be implicated if things go wrong," she silently prayed.
Meanwhile, Lin Yu swiftly inserted the needles, his other hand gently patting the back of the girl's head, softly commanding, "Release!" He refrained from using traditional Chinese methods like kneading, twisting, or rubbing, for the sake of speed. Acting peculiarly in public could attract a crowd, which would be troublesome.
In reality, his acupuncture with steel needles was a facade. He was employing elemental energy to treat the girl's condition.
As he uttered the command, a mysterious occurrence unfolded. A faint black mist slowly rose from the needles.
The color of the mist was subtle, hardly visible without a close look. However, both the middle-aged woman and Zhang Xinran were close enough to see it distinctly. Both were dumbfounded, utterly astonished at the unexpected turn of events.
Observing the dissipation of the faint black mist from the hollowed steel needles and the vanishing gloom in the girl's eyes, Lin Yu quickly withdrew the needles. It was a magical sight, akin to a magician performing tricks.
Effortlessly retrieving the needles, he gently massaged the girl's head, seemingly stimulating acupoints. Internally, he infused a surge of elemental energy, grounding her and guarding against any external interference to prevent a recurrence of such an incident.
After a while, he finally released her, smiled faintly, and said, "All is well."
The middle-aged woman couldn't wait any longer. She rushed over and embraced her daughter, repeatedly asking, "Nini, dear Nini, tell Mom, are you okay? Do you feel better now? What do you feel?"
The girl's eyes had regained their clarity. She appeared vivacious, "Mom, I feel like things are truly different now. My mind is clearer, and I don't have the same fears as before. It's like a window has opened in my heart, letting in a rainbow of sunlight."
"This child, she's quite expressive." Lin Yu shook his head, unable to suppress a chuckle. It felt as though he was listening to modern poetry.
"How could you have confused my daughter? Why is she speaking so erratically? You've harmed my daughter..." The middle-aged woman, who was usually unaccustomed to her daughter's present speech, began to panic, thinking Lin Yu had caused damage to her daughter's mental state.
"Mom, what are you doing? This gentleman is a good person, he's helping me. Even though I don't know how it works, I know he has no ill intentions and has helped me immensely. It's not fair to speak of him like that," the girl grabbed her mother's hand, casting her a glance, charmingly but firmly expressing her thoughts.
"Good heavens, she's actually being coquettish? Moreover, she's never been this talkative before... just answers in single sentences," Zhang Xinran was utterly dumbfounded. How could Lin Yu's treatment affect someone's personality? It was nothing short of miraculous!
Lin Yu, standing calmly aside, smiled without saying a word. In fact, what he did was merely to dissipate the girl's built-up pent-up frustrations and aggression due to adolescence—some teenagers tend to be rebellious, irritable, and overly sensitive. Their expressions might vary, but the underlying emotional turmoil was similar. Having traversed that phase himself, Lin Yu understood the struggle.
"Daughter, it seems you've really changed..." The middle-aged woman gazed at her child in astonishment, tears glistening in her eyes. Every parent loves their child and worries about them. However, seeing her child transform from silent and withdrawn to lively and adorable, her mind was at ease. Long-term silence had made her fear that her child might develop depression; such worries were no longer necessary.
"Now, I've always been like this. It's just that you've always been busy with work and earning money. Most of your questions to me were about homework and studying, making me reluctant to talk to you. But now, I feel much better. I no longer feel anxious, and suddenly, I seem to truly understand the love in your nagging and reminders. I won't be annoyed with you for not talking to me in the future," the girl said while removing her glasses.
"Oh, my child, why did you take off your glasses? With more than 500 degrees, can you see clearly without them?!" The middle-aged woman kept sniffing, shaking her head. However, seeing her daughter remove her glasses, she couldn't help but chide her.
"Mom, the treatment by this gentleman seems to have had an effect. Wearing glasses is really uncomfortable for me. Surprisingly, without them, I can see everything clearly. Unlike before, when everything was blurry. Look, the words on that sign over there are very clear to me now: 'Chu Chi Wine Shop,' and the phone number below is 13596876541, right? I couldn't see anything without my glasses before; everything was just a blur," the girl pointed at an advertisement across the street.