The visitor pressed his lips together: "I had it several times last month, and the last time... was probably about a month ago."

Nan Zhubin mentally constructed a rough timeline.

A month ago means it happened after the medical disturbance incident, and by then, a close relationship with Liu Jiahang had already been established for a while.

"When you had this dream the last time, can you roughly recall what happened in the days leading up to it?" Nan Zhubin asked further.

"That day, I must have just gone on a date with Old Liu... or maybe it was the day after," the visitor said directly. "That time, we spent the night out together."

Hmm, okay.

Nan Zhubin nodded.

Then he began to try to get to the main point: "What was the content of the dream, roughly?"

The visitor furrowed her brows. This dream, compared to the one she mentioned earlier with the two snakes, was clearly more significant to her.

Thus, her expression was very serious.

But despite this seriousness, the visitor spoke hesitantly, "Uh... uh? Now that I'm consciously thinking about it, I actually can't remember."

"I just remember there was... uh, there was a hospital, a corridor, a train..."

The visitor strained her expression, but after a while, she shook her head, "I... can't remember."

Based on the information the visitor was able to recall, details from the dream couldn't be pieced together, nor could most of the dream elements.

Clearly, this wouldn't work for Dream Interpretation.

However, it's normal for the situation to be like this. Once a person wakes, memories of dreams quickly blur, often leaving just a vague "feeling," like the visitor mentioned about "having had many similar dreams."

Even if the content of the dream is forgotten, the dream can still be known to be "similar" to those previously forgotten.

Nan Zhubin's consultation intuition told him that this dream was very crucial; he didn't want to miss this key point due to the visitor's blurred memory.

He glanced at the wall clock. Without taking away time from the subsequent consultation, they only had a little over half an hour left for today's session.

Not long, but not short.

Enough to attempt something quite bold.

Nan Zhubin, in a probing but also guiding tone, said, "Perhaps we can try a simple psychological relaxation, maybe it can help you recall?"

The visitor looked intrigued upon hearing this.

With the foundation laid by Nan Zhubin's previous analyses of the two-snake dream, she was quite willing to cooperate with other professional techniques Nan Zhubin exhibited.

The visitor asked, "How do we do it?"

Nan Zhubin pointed to the two-seater sofa the visitor was seated on: "First, lie back, find a position where you feel more comfortable."

The visitor had chosen the two-seater sofa upon arrival.

Upon hearing "lie down," the visitor raised her eyebrow.

But she complied anyway.

Nan Zhubin nodded and adjusted his tone to make his voice low and deep.

Then he said, "Good, now, close your eyes, tense your body. Adjust your hands, feet, and torso so your muscles are in the most relaxed posture."

"Now, I want you to follow my rhythm and start deep breathing."

"Inhale deeply, lightly; exhale quickly, heavily."

"Inhale—, exhale, inhale—, exhale, inhale—"

"Very good, now make the exhale also light and slow, but still maintain a faster pace than inhaling."

"Inhale—, exhale..., inhale—, exhale..."

Nan Zhubin observed the visitor's state.

"Now, let your attention follow my guidance, to feel the changes in your body."

"First, it's your arm..."

For first-time consultations for both the visitor and the consultant, directly using relaxation techniques like this carries some risks.

Even though Nan Zhubin unconsciously added Emotion Soothing to his voice, it was no different.

Given the current consultation relationship, just thoroughly relaxing the other party might take almost ten minutes of this phase.

To achieve the degree of "helping recall dream details" that Nan Zhubin mentioned, success might not come until the consultation ends.

But—

Nan Zhubin glanced at the wall clock. Given the limited time, some groundwork was probably enough.

"Okay, next, focus on your ears."

Nan Zhubin suddenly said, "I'll count to three, then you'll hear a snap; after the snap, you can try to start recalling your dream."

"3—2—1—"

Nan Zhubin's middle finger pressed against his thumb.

"—Snap."

The visitor's breath suddenly hitched.

Then it became long and drawn-out.

...

Hiss—exhale—

Hiss—exhale—

Nan Zhubin quietly watched the visitor, watched her relaxing shoulders and legs, watched the visitor's tightly shut eyelids twitching.

Like a true dreamer in slumber.

Nan Zhubin nodded slightly to himself; this time, the Hypnosis Treatment was evidently successful.

Through previous dialogue, ensuring the visitor willingly cooperated, and adding a bit of relaxation training and emotional calming as groundwork.

The only issue lay in the time constraint and the not yet intimate consultation relationship.

But under the technique's engagement, subsequent little issues don't matter.

According to Nan Zhubin's assessment, the visitor's current state wasn't Deep Hypnosis, only Light Hypnosis.

If deeper-level exploration was the goal, about ten more minutes or even half an hour of verbal guidance might be needed.

But, in terms of recalling dreams, it sufficed.

"Li Lingling, can you hear me?" Nan Zhubin said gently.

The visitor's eyelids fluttered.

"I can..."

Though resembling a sleeper, she could still communicate with Nan Zhubin.

Hypnosis isn't sleep. Clinical researchers have specially explored this situation and found that in a Hypnosis state, the visitor's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, responsible for logic analysis, shows reduced activity, while the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, responsible for emotion and introspection, shows increased activity.

This means visitors enter a special "neural dissociation" state, making it easier for them to accept suggestions and directives.

Simultaneously, certain brain regions, including the posterior cingulate cortex, precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal lobule, and bilateral temporal cortex known as the Default Mode Network, also show increased activity.

This part of the brain, typically inhibited during high-demand cognitive tasks, becomes active during rest, executing recall and contemplation tasks.

This can explain, from a neural mechanism perspective, the two behaviors of visitors under Hypnosis:

First, during the hypnotic state, the visitor's concentration doesn't scatter but becomes more focused.

Second, during the hypnotic state, the visitor can recall many previously forgotten things.

These were exactly what Nan Zhubin needed at the moment.

Nan Zhubin took a deep breath, making his tone increasingly steady.

"Alright, regarding the dream you wanted to share with me earlier, do you remember anything now?"

"...Yes," the visitor said, "the dream now feels like... a movie... playing in front of me."

Nan Zhubin slightly curved his mouth upwards, gently guiding, "Good, let's try to bring the movie's playback button back to the beginning now."

The consultant adjusted his wording according to the visitor's description.

"We'll start playing this movie from the beginning, and whatever you see, tell me, okay?"

"Alright..."

Nan Zhubin glanced at the visitor's face and body, noting her current state: "Now, let's begin the playback."

In the silent consulting room, it seemed as though a "click" sound emerged.

The visitor's eyelids twitched violently.

"Uh... I see..."

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