Lin Ting stared blankly at Duan Ling, momentarily doubting if she had misheard him.
Duan Ling had a sex addiction?
Since when, and why?
Duan Ling said nothing further.
He passed by her and went into his room to change out of the wet clothes.
The house returned to silence, but inside Lin Ting, a storm was raging, impossible to calm.
She didn’t even go to the bathroom, immediately pulling out her phone to search for information about sex addiction.
Lin Ting had only ever heard of sex addiction but thought it was far from her own world and had never looked into it carefully.
After all, most people treated it as someone else’s problem; she had been one of them.
Because it was late at night, the internet was slow, and the webpage took a while to load.
The first line read: Sex addiction is a psychological disease.
She frowned.
Was there really something wrong with Duan Ling’s mind?
They had grown up together.
Lin Ting always thought Duan Ling was mentally healthy.
Apart from his unusual hobbies—he liked to watch bloody movies and read anatomy books—it wasn’t like liking these things made someone mentally unstable.
Lin Ting continued reading.
She learned that long-term psychological repression could also cause sex addiction.
In just two minutes, she skimmed through the entire webpage, put away her phone, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, built up her resolve, and walked to his door, intending to call him out and ask.
Duan Ling had been her friend for over ten years.
If he was having physical and mental problems, Lin Ting couldn’t just ignore it; she wanted to help however she could.
Before she could knock, the door opened.
Duan Ling had already changed clothes and looked mostly the same as usual, except for a lingering flush on his face—a rare trace of vulnerability.
Lin Ting awkwardly rubbed her nose, trying not to look under his clothes.
She shook her phone: “I just looked up what you mentioned earlier.”
She didn’t say the words “sex addiction” directly.
He stared at her without blinking.
“So, what now?”
Her expression was serious, as if he had a grave illness that was difficult to speak of, but she still asked: “Do your parents know about this?”
Duan Ling answered honestly: “They don’t.”
Indeed, it was hard to tell elders about this.
Many still think psychological diseases are fake and incomprehensible.
Lin Ting was different—they were the same generation, more open-minded and understanding.
“You only told me?”
“Yes, only you.” His voice was soft and gentle.
Lin Ting felt touched.
It seemed Duan Ling trusted her deeply.
After she caught him, he confessed everything to her.
She wouldn’t betray that trust.
If he didn’t want others to know, she would definitely help him keep it hidden.
She asked again, “Have you seen a psychologist yet? If not, I can go with you to the hospital tomorrow.”
Playtime could wait.
Accompanying him to see a psychologist was more important.
Duan Ling looked down at the shadow on the floor and said, “No need. I can control it myself.”
Lin Ting was skeptical, “Can it really be controlled?”
The internet said it’s best to see a psychologist early for counseling.
She advised, “You know, you shouldn’t avoid treatment just because it’s uncomfortable.”
He insisted, “I’m not avoiding treatment. I really can control it.”
She hesitated a few seconds.
“Alright, but if you ever feel unwell, you have to tell me. If you don’t want to go alone, I’ll go with you.”
Duan Ling glanced at the time but didn’t answer directly.
“It’s late. You should go to bed.”
Lin Ting refused to let him dodge the question.
She placed her foot against his door to stop him from closing it, “Promise me first, or I won’t leave.”
She had read that if sex addiction was left untreated, it could cause other physical problems.
Just after she first searched about sex addiction, a related news headline popped up: someone once couldn’t bear the torment of sex addiction and jumped to their death.
That showed how distressing it could be.
That was why Lin Ting was so worried.
Duan Ling looked into her eyes, moved his hand on the door handle slightly, and said, “I promise you.”
“No half-hearted promises.” Lin Ting stared at him, her gaze full of doubt.
She emphasized again, “If it gets worse, you have to tell me and go to the hospital with me. Otherwise, if I find out, you’re doomed.”
Duan Ling smiled faintly, “I’m not making light of you. Don’t worry. Take your foot away, or you’ll get it caught in the door, and then I’ll have to pay medical bills.”
“You can still laugh.”
Only then did Lin Ting reluctantly believe him and withdrew her foot.
“Do you know why you’re like this?” She asked.
He was studying medicine.
Although he was just in university, he could use the medical resources around him to find out the cause.
Duan Ling knew the reason.
In middle school, he had bought a surgical knife and casually caught geckos and mice, cutting them open to observe their anatomy.
When watching movies, seeing people die with blood spurting made him excited.
Gradually, he realized he enjoyed killing.
But that was illegal and unacceptable to his family—and to Lin Ting.
So he repressed his nature.
Repressing and repressing, at fifteen he developed sex addiction.
At the time, he didn’t know why.
Only after exposure to medicine and psychology did he confirm the cause—excessive repression of his killing instincts caused physical and mental problems.
Duan Ling said, “No matter the cause, as long as I can control it, isn’t that enough?”
Lin Ting didn’t fully agree, “That may be, but maybe knowing the cause could help cure it?”
The best solution was seeing a psychologist, but Duan Ling didn’t want to, and she couldn’t force him.
“Fine. If you don’t want to find out now, then don’t. But if you need anything, come to me. I’m always here.”
She adjusted the waistband of her falling pants and went back to her room, not wanting to disturb him.
Back in her room, Lin Ting didn’t immediately sleep.
The drowsiness had disappeared because of Duan Ling.
She searched online for what sex addicts should pay attention to or how to ease symptoms.
In the end, she summarized notes on her phone: exercise more; improve nutrition, avoid spicy and greasy foods; keep a cheerful mood.
Looking at her notes, she thought the advice was very general—suitable for ordinary people and for patients alike.
But there was no denying that as long as you did those three things, you could stay healthy.
Unfortunately, very few could.
Lin Ting stayed up all night.
The next day, she woke up with dark circles under her eyes, looking like a national treasure.
She went out to brush her teeth and wash her face.
Duan Ling was up earlier and had prepared breakfast.
The fragrant noodles steamed, tempting her appetite.
Lin Ting walked over to the table and asked, “Let’s go running at the Campus every night from now on?”
They would run around eight o’clock every evening and finish by nine.
He would return here from school, and she would go back to the Dormitory.
“Why suddenly want to run with me?”
She blinked innocently and lied, “I want to lose weight. Running helps with that. You know me—I’m a three-minute enthusiast. I need someone to keep me company and supervise me.”
He smiled slightly, “Okay.”
Lin Ting picked up her chopsticks, ready to eat, but Duan Ling reminded her, “Remember to take a photo.”
“Oh right, I almost forgot.” She snapped several pictures and sent them to the Group Chat.
Lin Ting: “Duan Ling made noodles, super fragrant, super delicious.”
Jin Anazi: “?”
Jin Anazi: “Duan Ling can actually cook noodles? Wait, it’s only 8:30 in the morning. You went to see him so early? Or did you spend the night at his place instead of going back to the Dormitory?”
Lin Ting: “You know it rained all night yesterday. I couldn’t get back.”
Jin Anazi: “Oh. You deserve to be stuck outside because you knew it was going to rain and still didn’t go back earlier.”
Jin Anazi assumed Lin Ting knew it would rain yesterday and helped Duan Ling pack his things, planning to return to school in the afternoon, but she stayed until evening.
Lin Ting: “I don’t know if that was good or not.”
Xie Qinghe: “@Lin Ting, don’t listen to Jin Anazi. He’s all bark and no bite. Safety first—if you didn’t risk going back in the rain last night, you did the right thing. Besides, you had Duan Ling and Xinning with you at the house.”
Lin Ting: “Xinning had something yesterday and didn’t come. I was alone. But Duan Ling didn’t have much stuff; packing was easy.”?
Xie Qinghe didn’t reply further.
Duan Xinning sent a sticker of a black cat wide-eyed and obediently sitting as if being scolded.
Xinning: “I don’t know why Senior Sister asked a freshman like me to come help, but I really couldn’t say no QAQ.”
Lin Ting sent a sticker back.
Duan Ling pushed the chili sauce she liked toward her and said, “Stop chatting. The noodles are getting soggy.”
She put down her phone and ate.
Lin Ting kept her word.
Every night she ran with Duan Ling at the Campus, sometimes they’d have lunch together at the Cafeteria.
Roommates had caught them a few times and mistakenly thought he was her boyfriend.
Each time, Lin Ting would explain, and Duan Ling stood silently beside her.
After running for over a month, Lin Ting didn’t know if Duan Ling’s condition had improved, but she noticed her own appetite had increased a lot, and her skin had improved.
Indeed, exercise made people younger.
That weekend, they met up with Jin Anazi and others.
As soon as they saw her, Jin Anazi asked if she had gotten hyaluronic acid injections.
Lin Ting gave him a good scolding: “I’m naturally beautiful.”
Jin Anazi bent over and pretended to vomit.
While eating, someone ordered spicy crayfish.
Lin Ting said to Duan Ling, “Don’t eat crayfish.”
Crayfish were delicious but belonged to spicy and greasy foods.
Jin Anazi put on plastic gloves and sneered, “Why can’t he eat crayfish?”
She glared at him, “Mind your own business.”
“He can eat whatever he wants.”
Lin Ting: “You’re so nosy.”
Jin Anazi peeled a crayfish.
“If you cared so much, I’d think you were his girlfriend.”
Duan Xinning put a crayfish Xia Zimo peeled into her mouth.
After swallowing, she urged them, “Enough arguing. Eat quickly. Afterward, we still have to watch a movie.”
Lin Ting thought for a few seconds and picked up a crayfish, putting it into Duan Ling’s bowl.
“If you want, you can eat a few, but don’t eat too many.”
Duan Ling peeled a crayfish and put it back in her bowl and said, “You eat. I won’t.”
She didn’t think much and ate it.
After eating and watching the movie, it was still not dark.
Jin Anazi and Xie Qinghe needed to catch a ride back to their schools.
Xia Zimo and Duan Xinning continued their date.
Lin Ting returned with Duan Ling to his house.
She wanted to borrow a book from him that was out of print.
He was supposed to bring it before going out today to give to her, but he forgot.
So Lin Ting planned to pick it up and read it tonight at school.
As soon as they got to Duan Ling’s house, he said he needed to make a phone call and told her to look for the book on the bookshelf first: “It’s on the sixth shelf.”
“Okay.”
Lin Ting watched him walk to the balcony to make the call.
Once he closed the door, she couldn’t hear what he said—the balcony door was more soundproof than the bathroom door.
She withdrew her gaze and went into the room to find the book.
The sixth shelf was a bit high; she had to stand on tiptoe.
As she grabbed the book, a box also placed on the sixth shelf fell down.
The box lid hadn’t been closed properly, and everything inside spilled onto the floor.
Lin Ting saw photos of herself and little gifts she had given Duan Ling before.
She was shocked.
If there were only one or two solo pictures of herself, she wouldn’t think much.
But there were at least hundreds in that box.
Why did Duan Ling keep so many pictures of her?
Could it be… did he like her?
Her heart was in turmoil as she picked up the photos, put them back in the box, closed the lid, placed the box back on the shelf, and acted as if she had found nothing, clutching the book as she hurried out of the room.
Coincidentally, Duan Ling had just finished his call and came inside from the balcony.
“Found the book?”
“Yes.” Lin Ting’s expression was normal but she never met his gaze.
“I have something urgent to deal with. I’m leaving first.”
“Should I walk you back to school?”
“I’ll go back myself.” Lin Ting opened the door and left as if fleeing.
Duan Ling returned to his room and leaned casually against the wall, looking at the box on the fifth shelf of the bookshelf.
He had deliberately left it there for her to find.
It was time to change their relationship.
He took the box down, looked through the photos one by one, and gently stroked the image of Lin Ting on top.