"Doctor, did you know… actually I'm a pervert."
Su Tang's hand, which had been filling out the consultation report, paused.
He raised his head. The young girl sitting before him was nervously kneading the hem of her shirt.
A pair of eyes was ringed by heavy dark circles, as if she hadn't slept well for several nights.
Frowning slightly, Su Tang lifted his pen and wrote "suspected avoidant personality disorder" in the medical record.
As he wrote, he sighed inwardly.
Walong had been right—there really are a lot of people with mental problems in Tokyo.
Following his advice, Su Tang had come here to open a private clinic; the moment he opened for business, he received his first patient.
He had to handle this first case well. If he messed it up, knowing how money-grubbing Walong was, getting living expenses from him in the future would be difficult.
Thinking this, Su Tang set down his pen, picked up the thermos on his desk, and poured the girl a cup of hot water.
He pushed the cup across to her. His gentle voice sounded:
"What happened? Why do you have this idea?"
People who can say they're a pervert generally fall into two categories. One is the true, big pervert who no longer cares about worldly views and rules; they might even feel pleased inside when others call them a pervert. The other is the fake pervert.
Among the fake "perverts," some know they're perfectly normal, so they'll say they're perverts without caring, joking to liven up the atmosphere; but there are also those who, because of psychology, experiences, and various reasons, fall into self-doubt and inner turmoil. Such people are often the most tormented and the most likely to develop psychological illness.
At such times, what's needed is a counselor to slowly guide them out.
Perhaps the hot water helped. After taking a shallow sip, the girl seemed to muster her courage and whispered, "I—I'm a leg fetishist."
With that, she bowed her head in shyness.
"Hm?"
Su Tang, who had been waiting for her to continue, froze for a second.
That was it?
Just because she was a leg fetishist, she thought she was a pervert?
The corner of Su Tang's mouth quirked with faint amusement. He said, "If it's only that you like legs, why think you're a pervert? That's quite normal."
"Eh…"
Hearing him, the girl looked up, incredulous and a little delighted.
Meeting her expectant eyes, Su Tang smiled. "To be honest, I also appreciate beautiful legs. The love of beauty is common to us all, isn't it?"
"But… whenever I tell people I'm into legs, they call me a pervert with disgust…"
"At the very least, I'm not, am I?"
Su Tang cut her off, shook his head, and said softly, "Sometimes we don't need to care too much about what others say—living like that is exhausting. And is it not possible that they're simply prejudiced?"
"For example, if we like someone, we have to have a reason, right? But if you say you like her inner qualities, some will call you fake; if you say you like her face, some will scold you for being face-obsessed; if you say you like her figure, you'll be called a dirty old lech."
"In my view, liking legs is essentially no different from liking anything else. At bottom, it's just that everyone's aesthetic tastes differ. So don't doubt yourself because of that. You're normal. You're healthy. Rest easy."
When he finished, the girl's eyes lit up.
As if shedding a thousand-pound burden, she let out a long breath and bowed to Su Tang:
"Thank you."
Hearing her sincere thanks, a slight smile appeared on Su Tang's face.
Saving a lost soul—this feeling was pretty nice.
"By the way, Doctor… you said just now you're also into legs?"
"I do appreciate them," Su Tang admitted forthrightly.
After all, he couldn't soothe the patient and then turn around and feel ashamed about it himself—that would have the opposite effect.
"That's great!" the girl said excitedly. She took two steps back and asked, "Then, Doctor, what do you think of my legs?"
Still seeking a sense of affirmation?
Su Tang chuckled and, obligingly, looked at her legs.
At roughly one meter fifty-something in height, her legs naturally weren't long, but they were very fair and supple. Under the JK short skirt, they stood straight, exquisite like jewels.
To be honest, Su Tang rarely saw such legs in real life. He'd seen plenty in the anime of his previous life—so exquisite they didn't look real.
"Very beautiful."
He spoke truthfully, not stinting in praise.
The girl was very happy. She answered excitedly, "Thank you. Doctor, your legs are beautiful too!"
Uh… Su Tang's expression turned a bit odd.
Though it was a strange thing to say to a man… it counted as a compliment, he supposed.
So he kept smiling and thanked her in return.
He took it as polite words—after all, he was wearing a loose white coat and casual pants; there was no way the lines of his legs were being outlined.
But the girl added, "No, I mean it. Doctor, your legs are the most beautiful I've ever seen on a man—especially set off by those blue shorts…"
Huh?!
Blue shorts?
A look of astonishment crossed Su Tang's face.
What blue shorts? Today was his first day seeing patients, and he'd worn long pants to look formal… Wait!
Yesterday!
Yesterday, before he'd opened for business, living alone, he'd just thrown on some shorts. But… that was upstairs at home!
How did she know? A guess? A random shot in the dark?
Before Su Tang could react to that, he saw the girl bow to him again.
"Doctor, let us exchange legs!"
Steam from the cup of hot water on the desk was still curling upward.
Staring blankly at the girl, Su Tang didn't quite understand what she meant.
"What do you mean… exchange legs?"
"It's simple!" The girl tilted her head and grinned. "Doctor, you're a leg fetishist, and I'm a leg fetishist. You have a pair of beautiful legs, and I have a pair of beautiful legs. If we swap them, then won't we both have two pairs of beautiful legs!"
"Wait, wait." Su Tang didn't even have time to correct her math error. He frowned and asked, "I mean—how can legs be exchanged?"
"Of course they can. Just like this."
Smiling as she spoke, the girl pulled a knife out from her sleeve.
Then she swung it down at her own leg!
Warm blood instantly splattered across Su Tang's face, slid down his jaw onto the desktop, and fell with a thick, steady drip.
Next, he saw the girl raise her head, knife slick with blood in hand, seeming to smile:
"Doctor, it's your turn."
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