The Versatile Master Artist

”Cannot avoid it, nor can it be covered up.”

Gu Weijing slightly frowned, ”Could you say it a bit more plainly?”

Dr. Jin Anqing pondered for a moment, ”When people confront scenes etched deep into their souls, they immediately revert to their childhood selves.”

”For example, if a father always uses a certain phrase to insult his son, the son will feel anger and inferiority when he hears that phrase. Or if a little boy was raped by a clergy member when young, even if he grows up to be a 200-pound heavyweight boxer, his first reaction upon hearing church bells would still be trembling and wanting to flee.”

Dr. Jin sat up straight.

”I just gave a few examples. Conscious reactions aren’t necessarily caused by negative emotions. In Tony’s case, we can view the cat ’Amy’ as a beautiful conscious reaction.”

”It was during Jean Arnou’s busy career rise at the time. I even concluded after years of treatment and follow-ups,” the doctor slowly voiced a long-held hypothesis, ”that perhaps Amy’s marks on young Tony were deeper than those left by his father, Jean Arnou.”

”What’s wrong with that?” Gu Weijing asked.

”Nothing wrong, just like the saying goes, the most obvious solution is often the hardest one.”

Dr. Jin curled his lips, ”The keyword ’Amy’ is so obvious, meaning countless people before you have already tried countless ways to reach Tony’s heart through the image of ’Amy.’ Perhaps using an Amy-shaped plush toy, or looking for another Scottish Fold cat... I can give you many similar examples.”

”The later the doctor takes over, the worse it is. You can roughly understand it as drug resistance addiction? I wonder if Lady Cat can catch what I’m saying. Psychological therapy also has durability. Each failed attempt makes the next one harder. The more you try to replace Amy now, the higher Tony’s guard becomes.”

”The best way would have been to find a replacement for Amy’s image in Tony’s heart right after her death. Or just raise several cats from the start.”

Dr. Jin Anqing’s voice carried regret, ”His first or second psychologist might have had the chance to do this, but not thirty years later today. The opportunity had actually slipped away when I took over the treatment.”

”We aimed to enter Tony’s heart by replacing Amy, but this pet resides in the deepest, most inaccessible part of Tony’s heart... So it all became a sort of black humor paradox.”

Mr. Tree Sloth suggested, ”What if instead of replacing Amy, we use Amy’s fairy tale image through artistic creation to enter the patient’s heart?”

”Of course, of course, you would think of doing that. But, not to dampen your spirits,” Dr. Jin chuckled lightly, ”Have you read ’Greenfield Miracle’?”

”You mean Eliza?”

Jean Arnou’s most renowned fairy tale illustration collection tells the story of a group of wild animals adventuring in the forest.

It wouldn’t be wrong to call it a comic.

But every page is so beautifully drawn that it could stand alone as artwork. Among the main crew is a gray Scottish Fold cat named ’Eliza.’

”Eliza is based on Amy, isn’t she?” Mr. Tree Sloth’s voice brimmed with detective-like revelation.

”That’s right, how could Jean Arnou, as Tony’s father, not think of this idea?” Dr. Jin exhaled, ”This illustration collection warmed the hearts of countless children worldwide, except for the one child Jean Arnou most wished to reach.”