Wen Wenyu

Ancheng No. 7 High School.

The counseling room.

The room was furnished quite neatly. A desk occupied almost half the space, a leather sofa faced the door, and a few small shelves had been stacked against the wall near the window to serve as a temporary bookcase. The only touch of green in the entire room came from a small potted plant its occupant had brought in.

It sat beside the windowsill, its leaves sharply outlined and its stems standing upright. Its helmet-shaped flowers drooped modestly, their cool blue-purple hue giving them a serene elegance.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Come in."

A gentle, warm voice carried through the door.

The door opened, and before the visitor even came into view, a string of pleasantries reached the person inside.

"You must be Dr. Xie's junior. You're young and accomplished indeed! Barely in your twenties, and already a leader in the field of psychology in this country. The younger generation is a force to be reckoned with! Hahahahaha."

A middle-aged man in a black suit stood beaming at the person behind the desk. His tie was immaculate, and even his hair had been fixed with wax and gel.

"An undeserved reputation, that's all."

The person behind the desk stopped writing. His hand was so pale it was almost translucent. Following it upward, the first thing to catch the eye was his dazzling pair of glasses with their gold chain. Behind them were pale purple eyes. His hair was dark brown, half tied up and half falling loose over his shoulders. A white shirt and dark green suit jacket made him look aloof and melancholy, though his gentle voice made up for it.

"Yes, yes. I don't know what's gone wrong at the school lately. We've eased the pressure, stopped the extra classes, and I've even made sure they attend PE so they can go out and get some fresh air, but nothing's worked..." The middle-aged man wore a mournful expression. He was the principal of No. 7 High School, and lately three students had jumped from buildings.

He had sealed off every route to the rooftop and locked the windows on the upper floors, stopping just short of nailing boards over them. Yet somehow they had still managed to climb in and jump. It was enough to make him think he'd seen a ghost.

And that wasn't all. Two more had slit their wrists in the dorms, scaring him into taking people to search the rooms. Fruit knives, carrot knives, whatever they were, anything sharp was confiscated!

Maybe he should give them a break.

He gave them three days off, then checked on everyone when they came back.

Two more had slit their wrists at home.

Principal: "..." I really am out of options.

Everyone at the school, whether teachers, directors, the principal, or even the students, was treading on eggshells, terrified that without realizing it they might say something wrong and the person opposite them would promptly give them a demonstration of a life slipping away.

They died just like that.

Everyone was on edge.

The principal had begged everyone he could and finally managed to make a connection with Xie Shuyang, who had sent his junior over.

"Pick a time tomorrow, and I'll give a lecture."

The principal was still waiting for him to continue when he saw that the man had already looked away and picked up his pen again. He was clearly dismissing him.

"Couldn't you do it today? There's nothing much happening this afternoon anyway."

"I have an appointment this afternoon."

His tone was as gentle as ever, but for some reason the principal detected a chill in it.

He kept smiling. "Ah, all right."

He left the room.

Outside the window, the sunshine was pleasant, and a gentle breeze stirred the drooping purple flowers. From this angle, the triangular nameplate on the man's desk was clearly visible, its three characters stamped in gold.

Wen Wenyu.

"Wen Wenyu?"

The three of them, who had put on school uniforms and slipped into No. 7 High School, were squatting beside a flower bed. Shen Yu had finally freed himself from that wheelchair, though sitting in it really was comfortable. So he had left it outside the school and would get back in it when they went out later. Hehe.

Shen Yu felt his new phone vibrate and looked down at the message Luo Ningsang had sent him.

"Who's that?"

Xu Shenzheng likewise waved a hand, unable to answer a single question.

Lu Yanjin had always been a man of few words. Silence was golden.

The three put their heads together, but still couldn't come up with an answer.

Luo Ningsang (Bro): He's a friend of mine. He just got back to the country today, and we'd arranged to meet up for a meal. You know I've got some things to handle here, so you go in my place. It's settled.

Shen Yu: Isn't that a bit hasty..

Luo Ningsang (Bro): Just stay for a little while. I'll come over as soon as I'm done, so I won't leave you alone with him for too long.

Luo Ningsang (Bro): Oh, right. Once you're done investigating, have Lu Yanjin go with you. Xu Shenzheng can come back.

Luo Ningsang (Bro): Three this afternoon, at the Tea-Tasting Coffee Shop across from No. 7 High School.

Looking at the "Bro" in parentheses, Shen Yu suddenly remembered how, when he was saving Luo Ningsang's contact, Luo Ningsang had refused to let him use his full name and insisted on changing it to "Brother Ningsang." He had even lied and said that was how Shen Yu used to have him saved.

...That's too embarrassing.

In the end, they had compromised on the current name.

Luo Ningsang had stood off to the side, sighing and saying things like how the child had grown up, wasn't close to his brother anymore, and had started worrying about his image.

As Shen Yu recalled it, the tips of his ears reddened slightly again.

Tap, tap, tap.

Shen Yu: Okay.

He wanted to say something else but didn't know what to type, so he unconsciously typed two characters. Just then, Xu Shenzheng leaned over, wanting to see what the two brothers, Shen Yu and Luo Ningsang, were talking about. How were they still chatting after all this time? His legs were about to go numb from squatting.

As luck would have it, he bumped Shen Yu's arm, and Shen Yu's fingertip touched the send button.

Shen Yu: Brother.

Luo Ningsang replied instantly: I'm here.

Shen Yu didn't even have time to unsend it.

Luo Ningsang (Bro): What's wrong?

Shen Yu whipped his head around and pointed at Xu Shenzheng. "You..."

Xu Shenzheng looked puzzled. "What? You two seemed to be having a good chat. Don't like me looking? Then I won't."

As he spoke, Xu Shenzheng shuffled to the side, but he couldn't suppress the amusement that was practically spilling out of his eyes.

Shen Yu pressed his lips together. "I've decided I won't call you Brother Zheng again this week."

Xu Shenzheng's world came crashing down. "Don't, Xiao Yu. I was wrong."

Lu Yanjin offered a frosty assessment: "You brought it on yourself."

Meanwhile, in the shadow of a teaching building not far from the three of them, Luo Ningsang stared at the word "Brother" on his phone screen, grinning as though he'd won a five-million-yuan jackpot.

Lu Xianchang was thoroughly unimpressed. "That grin is ugly. I suggest you go to a hospital for plastic surgery. And stop showing off in front of me. It's just 'brother,' isn't it? It's not like Xiao Yu has never called me that."

"No, no, no. It was 'Brother,'" Luo Ningsang corrected him. "It's not the same as 'Bro.'"

Lu Xianchang: "..."

Ding—

Luo Ningsang hurriedly checked his phone.

Shen Yu: Nothing.

It was from a special contact, right at the top.

And there was another message below it.

Lin Xinluo: The Bai family sent someone to bail Bai Xiaofan out.

Luo Ningsang's smile vanished. "Keep an eye on them. I'm going to have a look around."

Lu Xianchang: "OK."