Miss Hua's eyebrows rose: "Are you telling the truth?"
"Absolutely true," Lin Zhiqing affirmed.
But Miss Hua frowned: "Your voice sounds so young, how could you have encountered such a strange illness?"
"Could it be some shameless hussy trying to snatch my marriage, deliberately trying to scare me?"
Her words were laced with probing.
"Miss Hua, what you're saying is rather unpleasant. It's not like every woman in the world revolves around your fiancé," Lu Nanyue couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Hmph, the women in this capital city are all the same." Miss Hua held herself in high regard: "I've only been at my maternal grandmother's home for a month, and I don't know how many pretentious women I've seen."
Lu Nanyue didn't catch Miss Hua's underlying meaning, but Lin Zhiqing did.
Miss Hua didn't trust her.
So, she raised her hand and removed her veiled hat, revealing a hibiscus-like face to everyone.
Miss Hua hadn't expected such an exquisite face to be hidden under the veiled hat. For a moment, she was somewhat dazed: "Miss Lin, what methods do you use for skincare?"
After holding it in for a long time, this was the only sentence she managed to utter.
Lin Zhiqing smiled faintly: "No matter how I maintain my skin, I can't compare to Miss Hua's natural beauty."
She deeply understood one thing: no matter the age, complimenting a woman was always the right move.
Sure enough, Miss Hua touched her own face and revealed a radiant smile: "Miss Lin, your words are so sweet."
Seeing that her "client" had been coaxed into a good mood, Lin Zhiqing finally got to the point: "Miss Hua, do you usually need someone by your side at all times?"
The smile on Miss Hua's face gradually faded: "That's right. Not only do I need them by my side, but I also often can't control myself from holding my maids' hands."
"Even..." She seemed to find it difficult to say, but after seeing Lin Zhiqing's encouraging gaze, she slowly opened her mouth: "Even after nightfall, I need a maid to accompany me to sleep."
"As long as there's no one around, I somewhat lose control of my emotions." She looked distressed as she said these words, clearly very troubled.
Lin Zhiqing timely patted her hand: "You are indeed ill. This isn't your fault. Did you also live in Bianliang when you were young?"
Miss Hua turned the tables, gripping Lin Zhiqing's hand tightly, finally feeling a bit more comfortable: "I grew up in Bianliang, but my parents were always away on business. I lived alone in that huge mansion, it was truly boring."
Lin Zhiqing nodded thoughtfully: "Bianliang has excellent scenery. Do you know of any fun places nearby?"
Lu Nanyue, standing to the side with her arms crossed, was a bit unsure of Lin Zhiqing's approach. Could chatting cure illnesses?
Miss Hua had already been drawn into Lin Zhiqing's topic: "Although I am from Bianliang, I was kept at home since I was young. My father was afraid I'd be kidnapped by child traffickers."
"Not letting me go out was one thing, but the mansion was full of old nannies, and there wasn't a single sister like Miss Lin to play with me. It was truly dull."
As she spoke, she even caressed Lin Zhiqing's hand a couple of times.
Lin Zhiqing nodded: "Miss Hua, you not only want to touch the people around you, but you even want to hug them, don't you?"
"You... how did you know?" Her thoughts exposed, Miss Hua's hand stiffened.
Lin Zhiqing placed her hand between both of hers and gently rubbed it: "Perhaps, have you ever heard of skin hunger?"
"Skin hunger?" Miss Hua and Lu Nanyue spoke at the same time, their brows furrowed in confusion.
Lin Zhiqing nodded.
That's right, skin hunger.
It also has another name, "touch deprivation."
Don't misunderstand, this condition doesn't mean the skin is dehydrated or dry.
Skin hunger is a rather typical condition in psychology.
Simply put, when there's a gap between the amount of touch people desire—such as holding hands or hugging—and the amount of contact they actually receive, they feel skin hunger.
The skin is the largest organ in a person's body, with hundreds of nerve endings. When these nerve endings are stimulated, signals are sent to the brain.
Because this condition is so particular, many people associate it with "sex," but the two are completely unrelated.
Just like a stomach rumbles when it's hungry, skin hunger is the body's way of signaling to the brain that it's not getting enough touch.
Habitually hugging a quilt or a doll while sleeping, or liking to walk arm-in-arm with friends, these are all basic manifestations of "skin hunger."
Of course, in cases of severe skin hunger, the symptoms are much more serious than these basic manifestations.
For example, Miss Hua before them, she was suffering from "skin hunger."
After Lin Zhiqing patiently explained, Miss Hua and Lu Nanyue nodded, seeming to half-understand.
As a doctor, Lu Nanyue was more sensitive to this aspect: "Zhiqing, then why did Miss Hua get skin hunger?"
"Miss Hua's parents were away for many years, leaving her to live and grow up alone. Over time, she couldn't absorb enough affection."
"This affection isn't just positive; there was a lack of negative affection as well. As time went on, she would use touch to feel her emotions and satisfy her brain's emotional needs."
Lin Zhiqing explained the matter clearly in just two sentences.
"What you're saying sounds rather mystical. I've never heard of anyone getting sick from a lack of companionship since childhood." Miss Hua's eyes reddened, but she still sounded somewhat skeptical of this explanation.
It wasn't surprising she reacted this way. After all, this world's understanding of "illness" was limited to the physical body.
"Psychological illness" was a completely foreign concept to the people here. Some people might even have such an illness without knowing they were sick.
If Lin Zhiqing wanted to make money, she had to make everyone realize that just as the body could get sick, the mind could also have problems.
Thinking of this, her expression became serious: "Do you all think that only the body can get sick?"
Miss Hua and Lu Nanyue exchanged a glance. Although they didn't speak, their eyes already conveyed the meaning of "Isn't that so?"
"No, it's not." Lin Zhiqing shook her head: "A person's environment and the emotions they experience can affect their mental state. Over time, the brain can become overwhelmed."
"For example, some children are naturally averse to contact with others, and some people often experience drastic changes in temperament. These are all common psychological illnesses."
Hearing this, Lu Nanyue clapped her hands: "That reminds me of something. The Princess of Huainan had a young son a few years ago, but the young master disliked speaking since childhood and often shouted and screamed, which was rather strange."
Autism... Lin Zhiqing quickly reacted: "This child has closed himself off in his own world and dislikes interacting with others. This is also a type of psychological illness."
"Then how should this kind of illness be treated? It sounds like medicine can't be used," Lu Nanyue pondered, pinching her chin.
Medicine could be used, but that kind of medicine didn't exist in this world.
Lin Zhiqing didn't voice her thoughts but pondered for a moment and rephrased it in a way everyone could accept: "This type of illness cannot be completely cured. However, if someone is there to accompany and guide them, it can be alleviated."
Lu Nanyue nodded thoughtfully.
But Miss Hua, standing to the side, became anxious upon hearing the words "cannot be completely cured." She grabbed Lin Zhiqing's wrist: "What about skin hunger? Can this not be cured either?"
Lin Zhiqing gently patted her hand: "Don't rush, it can be cured."
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