Bai Qinghua looked at Nan Zhubin and spoke the conclusion for him: "From one extreme to the other, is it an 'unstable interpersonal relationship pattern'?"

Nan Zhubin nodded: "If this was just a one-time thing, it'd be fine, but if Li Lingling's previous life was roughly the same, then it's pretty much set. This could even be categorized under the 'potential self-harm impulse' in the 'unsafe sexual behavior' domain."

Nan Zhubin looked at Bai Qinghua and said, "This is the 'bad news'... one of them."

Obviously, Nan Zhubin saw even more.

This was one of the main reasons Bai Qinghua assigned Nan Zhubin to handle Li Lingling instead of directly intervening himself.

The teacher refilled the apprentice's tea, signaling him to continue speaking.

"When I mentioned the medical disturbance incident, Li Lingling indeed did not show any [fear] reaction."

"But her emotional baseline is below the average level, in a [negative emotional] state," Nan Zhubin said seriously. "While chatting with me, she would occasionally unconsciously touch her wound."

"Based on my observations, this is quite similar to [regret] or even [nostalgia]..."

Upon hearing this analysis, Bai Qinghua's expression also turned serious.

Feeling [regret] and [nostalgia] about the medical disturbance incident? What is she regretting, and what is she doubtful about?

"You mean she actively stood out during the medical disturbance incident, even actively seeking a certain degree of injury?"

Upon hearing Bai Qinghua's summary.

Nan Zhubin nodded: "You weren't there at that time, so you didn't see Li Lingling's reaction on the scene, but I did—she actively rushed forward to grab the knife. Moreover, her movement was initially aimed with the idea of 'wrapping' the knife with her body, showing no sign of the avoidance that normal people should have towards bodily harm."

"To be honest, before that old man lost control, Li Lingling could have completely blended into the crowd and let the more advanced and experienced doctors take over the situation."

"But she didn't. Not only did she not back off, but she even engaged in a highly intense argument, if not a quarrel, with the old man—from this perspective, her emotions also showed a kind of instability regardless of the occasion."

Bai Qinghua nodded, pondering over the combination of "actively seeking accident" and "emotional instability."

Li Lingling's situation was indeed beginning to develop in an unforeseen direction.

"And then, I also performed a period of [Dream Interpretation] during the consultation," Nan Zhubin continued.

"[Dream Interpretation]?" Bai Qinghua raised an eyebrow.

A bit surprised, but not too unexpected. The upper and lower limits of [Dream Interpretation] techniques are vast. An undergraduate student could conduct basic dream interpretation by looking at a dream symbolism guide—but the dream interpretation conducted by Nan Zhubin was undoubtedly more advanced than that.

Interestingly, although Nan Zhubin is Bai Qinghua's nominal "direct disciple," Bai Qinghua has not actually taught Nan Zhubin much, merely providing a platform for him to conduct consultation.

Conversely, Bai Qinghua kept discovering new shining points in Nan Zhubin and having problems solved by him.

Nan Zhubin briefly recounted the general dream description of Li Lingling to Bai Qinghua.

He then began focused analysis: "In her dream, she considers herself a nurse, but lacks cognition of her attire and cannot clear her image in the dream. And when I asked her to confirm this, her reaction was unusually vigorous."

"I also suspect that her repeated mentioning of 'little girl' and 'missing patient record' in her dream are actually about herself—but even without verifying this guess, the reaction mentioned above is quite typical."

Bai Qinghua summarized promptly: "Identity confusion?"

Nan Zhubin nodded, then emphasized: "Just a hypothesis."

Nan Zhubin continued: "And then in the latter part of her dream, her alternating body state between falling and floating is also very typical."

Bai Qinghua summarized again: "A strong pursuit of something, but also a worry of imagined abandonment, or that the pursuit might not meet her expectations, hence feeling uneasy?"

Nan Zhubin nodded again: "And the overall atmosphere of the first half of her dream is very monotonous, even—"

Bai Qinghua sighed: "—empty."

Nan Zhubin sighed along.

At first, the characteristics extended from Liu Jiahang's situation had multiple directions.

But after Nan Zhubin supplemented so many features, the focal point of Li Lingling's problem could be basically clarified.

Nan Zhubin looked into Bai Qinghua's eyes and said slowly: "[Borderline Personality Disorder]."

...

[Borderline Personality Disorder] belongs to the realm of [Abnormal Psychology], primarily characterized by extreme instability in emotion, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior, along with significant impulsiveness.

People with this personality disorder have a strong and irrational fear of abandonment, which drives them to perform many extreme behaviors, resulting in immense pain and distress in interpersonal relationships.

According to the fifth edition of the American [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders] (DSM-5), the diagnosis of [Avoidant Personality Disorder] usually includes significant manifestations of at least 5 out of the following 9 criteria:

1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. They are extremely sensitive to subtle changes in relationships, feeling utterly abandoned just because a friend is late in replying, triggering intense emotional and behavioral reactions.

2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships, characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. Someone deemed a perfect idol today might be completely devalued and regarded as detestable due to a minor setback tomorrow.

3. Identity disturbance. They are unclear about who they are, what they want, and what their values are. Career goals, friend types, and sexual orientation may frequently change.

4. Impulsiveness in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging, such as excessive spending, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating, unsafe sexual behavior, etc.

5. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self-mutilating behavior. However, such behaviors are not genuinely intended to harm themselves, but to alleviate unbearable emotional pain or to feel "real" pain to combat numbness.

6. Emotional instability due to a pronounced emotional response.

7. Chronic feelings of emptiness. Feeling empty inside, as if nothing is there, isolated from the world.

8. Inappropriate and intense anger or difficulty controlling anger. May exhibit temperamental outbursts, persistent anger, or repeated physical conflicts.

9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms. Under stress, they may become suspicious, feel unreal, or lose contact with reality.

In colloquial terms, the manifestations of [Borderline Personality Disorder] can be summarized in three characteristics.

Emotionally—there's almost no buffer zone, the sensitivity to emotional pain is several times that of ordinary people.

Relationally—relationships with people and things are "black or white," with no "gray" buffer zone.

Self-perception—there is no stable core, not knowing who they are, requiring external evaluations and relationships to define themselves.

...

Nan Zhubin rubbed his brows: "Although she has a 'feeling of emptiness' in her dream," how long the 'emptiness' lasts is still unknown, so one cannot make a hasty conclusion."

"Identity confusion—the point is only briefly presented in the dream, and it's unclear how significant it is in her life."

"However, the other points... they seem to fit."

Nan Zhubin sighed: "In general, there is such a tendency. I still need more information for verification. And in this regard, it might require your help to gather some information from the hospital where she works."

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