She desperately racked her mind for a solution, and an idea soon surfaced. She quickly interjected, Have your pain subsided?


    A cebo worked by tricking the patient into thinking that the ineffective drugs he had been consuming were real medicine. The goal was to convince the patients mind and body that his condition was improving.


    Li Xiaoxings pain had lightened when he mistook Ji Xinxin for Ji Fanyin, but when he realized that it was all a lie


    Li Xiaoxings muscles suddenly clenched up as the piercing pain in his legs returned with a vengeance. It was so excruciating that he had bit down hard on his lower lip, unable to continue the conversation.


    That gave Ji Xinxin an opportunity to shake off his hand and run out to get Secretary Fan.


    Secretary Fan had been standing guard outside all this while. He nced at his watch in confusion, remarking, You were in there for a long time. I thought the n worked.


    He recognized me. Indignance showed on Ji Xinxins face. Your n idoesnt work.


    Secretary Fan let out a sigh. Maybe your acting was not convincing enough.


    Ji Xinxin stared at Secretary Fan in disbelief as thetter walked past her into the room. She couldnt believe what she had just heard.


    My acting was not convincing enough?!


    Is he insinuating I am inferior to Ji Fanyin both as a person and an actress?


    Ji Xinxin swiveled on her heels to look into the room. The sight of Li Xiaoxing struggling to sit up in bed due to sheer pain sparked a tinge of twisted joy in her.


    There were so many men she could have picked to be her husband, but she chose Li Xiaoxing of them all. But instead of treasuring her, Li Xiaoxing kept demeaning her again and again.


    This was his retribution.


    Secretary Fan tried various ways to contact Ji Fanyin for help, but it was futile. As ast resort, he had no choice but to call a doctor to inject Li Xiaoxing with a tranquilizer. Slowly, Li Xiaoxing slipped into a deep sleep with a frown still persisting on his face.


    This is not a long-term solution, the doctor said with a sigh. Mr. Lis body will not be able to withstand the continued usage of tranquilizers or the searing phantom pain in his legs. Id advise Mr. Li to put aside his work for the time being and receive specialized care at the hospital.


    It took some time for the information to sink in before Secretary Fan answered, That is not a decision I can make.


    The doctor knew about Li Xiaoxings identity and circumstances, so he didnt refute Secretary Fan. He shook his head and asked, How about getting a psychiatrist?


    Mr. Li said thats not required. He knows what he needs.


    Secretary Fan walked the doctor to the door and bade thetter farewell. On his way back, he passed by the living room and saw Ji Xinxin sitting on the sofa in a daze.


    If one were to ask whether Secretary Fan felt sympathetic to Ji Xinxin or not, the answer was No. On the contrary, he even considered buying the book, The Cultivation of an Actor, for her.


    (This is a foundation book viewed to be a necessary read for all budding actors in China.)


    He had seen the rehearsals Li Xiaoxing had with Ji Fanyin before. Thetters acting was exquisite. She yed out not just Ji Xinxins actions and dialogues but her disposition too, creating a resemnce so uncanny that it was nigh impossible to tell them apart.


    Its no wonder why she could confidently charge such a high rate.