That's Pure Slander

"So you're here to investigate Jiang Lian?"

There were now four figures squatting with their backs to the flower bed—oh, and one sitting.

"Yes, to be precise, we're investigating the cause of his death." Shen Yu turned to meet Xu Yao's shining eyes.

"? You..."

Xu Yao pressed her palms together. "Please, you have to take me with you."

Xu Shenzheng flatly refused. "Why would a student like you get involved in this?"

Xu Yao gave him a strange look, as if he were a country bumpkin. "For the thrill, of course. Solving a case, hello?! The mystery novels I usually read can finally come in handy."

Xu Shenzheng: "?"

It was his first time hearing someone put courting death that way.

"Besides, Shen Yu is the same age as me, right? Do I have to drop out of school before I can do this?" Xu Yao looked thoughtful, and seemed ready to act on the idea.

Shen Yu interrupted her thoughts. "It's different."

Xu Yao tilted her head in confusion. "What's different?"

Shen Yu gave a couple of smug huffs. "I have a detective brother. You don't."

Xu Yao: "..."

Xu Yao silently moved a little farther away from him.

She suspected that when this guy lost his memory, he had lost his brain along with it.

"All right, if there's anything you want to know, why not ask me?" Xu Yao stopped fooling around. "When it comes to connections at this school, if I claim second place, no one would dare claim first."

Shen Yu didn't stand on ceremony. "Do you know Bai Xiaofan?"

"The Bai family's youngest son? He's involved in this?" Xu Yao was surprised.

"Yeah, and Ji Jingxing too."

Xu Yao thought for a moment. "There really is something."

"It was probably around lunchtime last Tuesday, right there in the cafeteria. Ji Jingxing brought two people and cornered Jiang Lian. He said some pretty nasty things, so I won't repeat them. Bai Xiaofan stepped in and got Jiang Lian out of it. Ji Jingxing got slapped across the face. It caused quite a stir, but word only spread around the school."

"Nothing else?"

"No. Even people in the same grade but different classes hardly see each other, let alone people who aren't even in the same grade."

"Do you know why Ji Jingxing cornered Jiang Lian?"

"There are loads of versions: love turned to hate, love stolen at swordpoint, the substitute rising to the top... So many. Which one do you want to hear?"

Shen Yu's mouth twitched. "It's a real shame you're not going into journalism."

Xu Yao's eyes lit up. "How did you know I wanted to study journalism?"

Shen Yu put on a serious face. "I can read minds."

Xu Yao burst out laughing.

In a shadowy corner.

Luo Ningsang had returned from looking around, bringing along copies of the files on the people involved in the case from the records room. Seeing the unfamiliar figure squatting beside Shen Yu, he lurked at the corner of the wall. "Who is she?"

Lu Xianchang: "Isn't it obvious? Xiao Yu's new friend."

Luo Ningsang: "Why is a new friend so close to him? Doesn't she know about Xiao Yu's condition? Xu Shenzheng and Lu Yanjin are two useless pieces of trash."

Lu Xianchang: "...?"

"But I think this version is the closest to the truth." Xu Yao slowly began her tale. "It was a dark and windy night. Jiang Lian had just gotten off a late shift and was walking home along the street when he happened to run into a drunk Bai Xiaofan. They went to the same school, so how could he just stand by and leave him to die?"

"And so this encounter became the turning point in their fates. Bai Xiaofan began paying attention to Jiang Lian, the senior a grade above him. His resilience, his character—all of it deeply moved Bai Xiaofan, causing him to neglect the feelings of his subordinate, Ji Jingxing."

"And when Bai Xiaofan once again stood Ji Jingxing up because of Jiang Lian, a seed of hatred sprouted in his heart and destroyed his reason. When he ran into Jiang Lian in the cafeteria, he couldn't stop himself from attacking him, only to be rewarded with a slap across the face by Bai Xiaofan, who had hurried over."

"Jiang Lian was moved, and he and Bai Xiaofan exchanged contact information. From then on, it became a beautiful tale."

Shen Yu: "?"

Xu Shenzheng: "?"

Lu Yanjin: "."

Shen Yu helplessly clapped his hands over his ears, unable to imagine what he had just heard.

If Jiang Lian heard this, he'd probably crawl out of his grave even after death and swallow this bunch of rumor-mongers whole.

"That's pure slander." Shen Yu gave his final verdict. "We have things to do, so we'll be going."

Ignoring Xu Yao's attempts to make them stay, the three greased the soles of their feet and fled.

After escaping back outside the school, Xu Shenzheng and Lu Yanjin took off their jackets and left them at the security booth. Shen Yu's jacket was his own, but wearing a school uniform outside the school drew too much attention, so he folded it and placed it on his lap. He also took off his cap; it was a little stuffy.

Yes, Shen Yu was back in the wheelchair, sitting comfortably.

The man himself found it saved him a lot of effort.

"It's 2:43. It's almost time. Why don't you go wait over there?" Xu Shenzheng suggested.

Shen Yu had no objection.

Lu Yanjin pushed the wheelchair in that direction.

Wherever Shen Yu pointed, he went.

He was a super-obedient, cold-faced big dog.

"Let's get something to eat first."

Xu Shenzheng had just started back when he turned a corner and ran straight into his own boss.

Xu Shenzheng: "!"

"Why are you here?... Were you following us?"

Lu Xianchang waved a hand. "Don't make it sound so bad. It's called a strategic concealment operation."

"You don't trust that friend of yours?" Xu Shenzheng looked at Luo Ningsang in confusion.

"What friend? That's the psychological counselor the captain found for Xiao Yu. Our boss said we can't let Xiao Yu face what happened that day directly. We have to guide him gradually, in a gentle way, like a steady stream that flows on and on," Lu Xianchang explained.

Luo Ningsang nodded seriously. "Things have improved a lot lately, but we can't let our guard down. If psychological problems aren't handled properly, they can follow a person for life."

"If you ask me, you'd be better off having a proper talk with Xiao Yu. If you get caught, leave me out of it." Lu Xianchang distanced himself from the matter. "I still want to be Xiao Yu's Brother Xian."

Luo Ningsang: "Tsk."

Xu Shenzheng stuck out his rear and began secretly observing too. Then he sounded a little resentful. "Then why did you tell me to come back? Shouldn't I be by Xiao Yu's side looking after him?!"

Luo Ningsang and Lu Xianchang both looked at him and shook their heads.

Xu Shenzheng: "...What's that supposed to mean? You think I'll mess it up?!"

Lu Xianchang: "I didn't say that."

Luo Ningsang: "Hurry up and follow them. They're moving on."

Xu Shenzheng was hurt. "You bunch of cold-blooded, heartless people."

"Boss, one jianbing guozi, please. Add an egg! Add spicy strips! Add crispy crackers!"

Unlike the sorrowful atmosphere around Xu Shenzheng, things were very cheerful on Shen Yu's side.

Lu Yanjin: "No spicy strips."

Shen Yu: ...not smiling.

The stall owner looked at the young man in the wheelchair. His eyes were lowered and his mouth turned down; paired with that beautiful face, he looked even more heartbreakingly fragile, as though life held no hope if he couldn't have spicy strips.

Shen Yu tried to use his good looks to act cute. "Boss, just a tiny bit, please."

The owner couldn't help feeling a surge of pity, but the rule against feeding spicy food to a patient, carved into his genes, was at work. He changed what he was about to say and firmly refused him. "Listen to the grown-up."

"I'll give you an extra egg."

But that couldn't fill the emptiness in Shen Yu's heart.

Like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, he sprawled bonelessly in the wheelchair, watching the owner work the spatula.

"Boss, one jianbing guozi, with spicy strips and chicken tenderloins."

A gentle voice sounded beside Shen Yu.

"And add an egg."

"Sure thing. Hang on, yours is next," the owner replied.

Shen Yu turned to look. A dark green suit set off a tall, straight figure. His dark brown hair was neat, a gold chain on his glasses shimmered with flecks of light, and a pair of purple eyes lay hidden behind the lenses, deep and unfathomable.

He seemed to notice Shen Yu looking and turned his head, his pale purple eyes curving. "Hello."