He Ruihua replied, “Personally, I think that’s also part of the strategy. If she had completely forgotten, that would point to a serious disorder. My phrasing is careful here: she remembers, but the sense of guilt doesn’t penetrate deeply anymore. Before, it cut to the bone. Now, it only touches the surface. It stirs her only when the matter is raised or right in front of her. She created for herself over eight years of relative peace—that too is a kind of escape.”
Luo Ren couldn’t refute that. The boiled fish incident had triggered an extreme reaction from her, but it was true—she’d bounced back quickly afterward.
Almost like a rebound.
He Ruihua continued, “Then, the primary identity pushed two secondary identities forward. After that, it became a kind of free competition…”
He tapped the circle labeled “Mu Dai.” “This one won.”
Luo Ren asked, “Why, though? No. 2 seems sharper, more capable.”
He Ruihua nodded. “True. But add a few more adjectives: selfish, self-centered.”
“From the video, you can see it—No. 2 is entirely self-serving, viewing everything from her own perspective, with no regard for responsibility or morality. Humans are social beings. That kind of personality doesn’t sit well with most people.”
Luo Ren recalled the dangerous fight with the giant clam in Wuzhu Village, when Mu Dai had suddenly vanished. Later, he’d followed the sound of a whistle and found her far out at sea.
He Ruihua’s assessment fit: No. 2’s only goal was to get Mu Dai out of danger. As for Luo Ren or Cao Yanhua, who were still in peril at the time—she hadn’t spared them a thought.
Yes, she had rescued Mu Dai more than once. But only Mu Dai. And she always defended herself, firmly, unapologetically, as if responsibility never entered the equation.
He Ruihua said, “But Mu Dai is different. Haven’t you noticed one thing about her?”
Luo Ren said, “She has many qualities.”
He Ruihua smiled faintly. “Mr. Luo, think carefully about your time with her. Don’t you feel she changed over time?”
Luo Ren thought for a moment.
Yes, she had. When they first met, she was sharp, defiant, even combative. But gradually… she had become his girl.
He Ruihua pressed, “Haven’t you found yourself liking her more and more?”
Of course. Wasn’t that natural? The more time they spent together, the deeper the bond. If he had grown to hate her instead, what relationship could have survived?
It was as if He Ruihua had read his mind. “What I mean is—she shapes herself to match your preferences. Mu Dai being pushed forward and overtaking No. 2 wasn’t an accident. She has a talent: she makes the people she wants to like her… like her.”
She makes the people she wants to like her… like her.
The words tangled in his head. Luo Ren repeated them silently, his brow furrowing with anger. Yet when he spoke, he wore a smile.
“What are you implying?”
He Ruihua stayed calm. “I know it’s hard to accept—especially when it’s your lover.”
“Don’t you think she’s especially obedient and sweet, that the more time she spends with you, the more she fits your taste? That she seems to become exactly the type you like?”
“Doesn’t she rarely make you truly angry? And if she does throw a little tantrum, you just coax her and she’s happy again? She doesn’t get jealous, doesn’t cross your boundaries—everything seems tailor-made to your liking?”
Luo Ren was furious, but also found it absurd.
Just then, Huo Zihong spoke gently, “Luo Ren, we’re discussing Mu Dai’s condition. Don’t take it personally. What Dr. He is saying—there were signs even when she was little. There’s a word for it. It might sound harsh, but it describes this pattern.”
She paused, then said, “Appeasement. Deliberate appeasement.”
He Ruihua coughed lightly. “There’s a kind of reptile called a chameleon. It changes color to match its surroundings. Mu Dai’s situation is similar. Depending on who she’s with, her personality shifts. And because these are secondary identities, the shifts can be frequent.”
Luo Ren suddenly reined in his anger. “Go on. Finish what you have to say. After that, I’ll respond.”
His face was grim. He leaned back against the sofa, silent.
He Ruihua glanced awkwardly at Huo Zihong. “That’s the extent of our analysis—our theory of why she showed those abnormalities.”
Expressionless, Luo Ren asked, “Dr. He, they say doctors are supposed to have the heart of a parent. What kind of heart do you have?”
He Ruihua was baffled, not sure why he was being asked that.
Luo Ren said, “I agree with your point about self-preservation. In that environment, she was isolated and helpless. Wanting to save herself by dulling or hiding those memories—that’s understandable.”
“But—”
He chuckled. “Have you heard this story?”
Without waiting, he went on.
“There was once a psychiatric patient with a very strange habit. Every day, he sat in the corner of his room under an umbrella. He wouldn’t eat, drink, or speak. He saw many psychiatrists, but none could help. Everyone thought he was beyond saving.”
“Then one day, a new psychiatrist arrived. He didn’t ask questions. He simply opened an umbrella of his own, sat in the corner beside the patient, and joined him—not eating, not drinking, not speaking.”
“After a few days, the patient finally spoke. He whispered, ‘Hello. Are you a mushroom too?’”
As a psychiatrist, of course, He Ruihua had heard that story. But he still didn’t understand Luo Ren’s point.
Luo Ren said, “You’ve taken a fragment of video and your own interpretations, and built a theory you think makes sense—one even Huo Zihong has started to accept.”
“But have you ever really tried to know Mu Dai? Ever opened an umbrella and sat with her in the corner? Maybe she’s just a harmless mushroom. And yet you’ve painted her as a monster—a chameleon.”
He turned to Huo Zihong. “And you’ve gone along with it. In your mind, every relationship Mu Dai has is reduced to appeasement. With you, with me—it’s all just deliberate appeasement?”
“When you were under suspicion for that murder case, did you know how much she worried for you? After everything you two have shared, you really think there wasn’t a shred of genuine feeling? That it was all just appeasement? What are we, that she would have to appease us?”
Luo Ren could no longer hold himself back. He shot to his feet. “Maybe I’m the one going crazy, wasting my time listening to this nonsense. I want to see Mu Dai. Can someone point me to her?”
No one moved.
After a long while, Huo Zihong finally lifted her weary eyes to him and said softly,
“Luo Ren… Mu Dai has recovered.”
Recovered? What did that mean?
Luo Ren’s frown deepened. He turned toward He Ruihua.
Having just endured Luo Ren’s outburst, He Ruihua’s face flushed red, then pale. Seeing Luo Ren’s gaze, he grew flustered. After a long pause, he finally raised his hand and pointed to the whiteboard—
To the primary identity, the circle is labeled Hidden.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152