How Did Things End Up Like This?

Lin Xinluo moved quickly, taking off her coat and draping it over both of them. Since the group had yet to be fully interrogated, they couldn't leave for the time being, so they went into a nearby shop to shelter from the rain.

The owner had already been sent away to avoid trouble, so the only people inside were those who had come in out of the rain.

Luo Ningsang brought over a stool and pressed Shen Yu down onto it. Then he seized his bandaged wrist without mercy, fixing his pitch-black eyes on him. He said nothing, seemingly waiting for Shen Yu to explain himself.

Shen Yu instinctively looked away and downplayed it. "I just accidentally knocked it against something. Bro, shouldn't we talk about Yuan Qingshan first?"

He pointed at Lu Xianchang, who was playing dumb. "Xian-ge gave me a tracker, and I put it on him. Let's hurry and catch him before they notice!"

Lu Xianchang kept his eyes lowered. "Don't worry. I've already sent someone to fetch my computer. He won't get out of Ancheng."

Seeing that Lu Xianchang couldn't be counted on, Shen Yu turned a pleading gaze toward Lin Xinluo. But her eyes were full of disapproval too, and she began questioning him. "How did this happen? Lu Xianchang, how could he get hurt on your turf?! You can write the report this time!"

She took the opportunity to pass the troublesome task off, only for him to meekly agree.

Lin Xinluo's expression froze.

She looked Lu Xianchang up and down. His expression was so unnatural that it would have been strange if she hadn't noticed something was off. She didn't miss the flash of guilt in his eyes, either.

She leaned closer, only to be pulled outside.

Lu Xianchang no longer looked guilty. He let Lin Xinluo scrutinize him openly and without hesitation.

Lin Xinluo raised an eyebrow. "Something up?"

Lu Xianchang sighed and said leisurely, "Of course."

He told Lin Xinluo everything about what had happened with He Lin at the Jinglan Imperial Residence.

After listening, Lin Xinluo first looked He Lin up on her phone and asked Lu Xianchang if she had the right person. When he nodded, her face filled with murderous intent. "I'm going to kill him."

Lu Xianchang hurriedly stopped her. "Wait, wait, wait! Calm down. Lu Changfeng has already sent people over. He should be on his way to the hospital for emergency treatment by now. Do you want someone's death on your hands?!"

Lin Xinluo said, "That works too."

Lu Xianchang said, "?"

Lu Xianchang grabbed her wrist. "Be reasonable!"

Lin Xinluo couldn't break free. Suddenly, she understood the despair Luo Ningsang had felt facing Bai Xiaofan at the Police Bureau: the helplessness of knowing someone posed a threat to a person you cared about, yet being unable to do anything about them. Simply because they hadn't actually committed a crime, you couldn't convict them or stop them based on their words alone.

What she had said at the time had been so righteous.

But who could predict the moment an accident would happen?

She gave a bitter laugh.

"Then what should we do?"

They couldn't stay by Shen Yu's side every moment... hire a bodyguard?

Lu Xianchang leaned close to her ear and whispered something. Lin Xinluo stared at him, her eyes widening in disbelief. She was speechless for a moment, and only after a long while did she find her voice again. After a pause, she said, "Are you... sure the boss won't beat you to death?"

"Don't worry. The people we found are all trustworthy. What could possibly go wrong?"

Lu Xianchang patted his chest in assurance.

"Think of it as giving Xiao Yu a warning, letting him see how dangerous the world can be ahead of time."

Lin Xinluo said, "You mean how dangerous you can be?"

Just then, the officer sent to fetch the computer arrived with an umbrella and Lu Xianchang's personal laptop bag. On seeing him, the officer jogged over and handed it to Lu Xianchang under the eaves.

The two turned to head back inside.

Inside the shop.

After the two left, the officers sheltering from the rain sensed the oppressive mood Luo Ningsang kept giving off and each found an excuse to leave the room. After all, there was more than one place nearby to shelter from the rain, but only one Luo-brand air conditioner.

In the end, only the two of them were left.

Shen Yu's gaze wandered as he tried to find an excuse to escape too.

Luo Ningsang's voice came from above him, thick and nasal. "...How did you get hurt?"

Oh no.

He couldn't be crying again, could he?

Shen Yu shuddered. He really didn't understand how Luo Ningsang, a grown man and one of Ancheng's top detectives, could cry so freely every time he saw him.

He looked up and, sure enough, saw that Luo Ningsang had a straight face, his expression blank and deadly serious. Yet his eyes were red, and bean-sized tears streamed continuously from their corners, dripping onto his collar and soaking it.

"I accidentally..." knocked it against something.

"Don't lie to me."

"...I pinched myself."

Shen Yu lowered his head.

Luo Ningsang's hand stiffened around his. He gave him a rather cautious look. "Why? Were you feeling down? How about I have Sister Luoluo take you somewhere you want to go later? Or, if there's something you want to eat, she can take you there."

Shen Yu didn't answer.

Luo Ningsang clearly thought he had hurt himself because of a psychological problem. That explanation was far better than the real one: his Everyone's Favorite Buff had attracted a perverted homosexual who had drugged him, and he had pinched himself while resisting the drug.

So Shen Yu lowered his eyes, pretending to be depressed and unwilling to talk to him.

Naturally, Luo Ningsang took that as confirmation.

Luo Ningsang grew anxious, but Shen Yu himself refused to see a psychologist. After thinking it over, there seemed to be only one person who could just about be said to have some connection with him.

Wen Wenyu.

The two of them had talked about who knew what in a room together. In any case, when they came out, Shen Yu had dropped the matter of him revealing his location, and they had added each other on WeChat.

Luo Ningsang was curious, but he wouldn't pry into Shen Yu's private affairs.

But surely it would be all right for Wen Wenyu to invite Shen Yu out to have a look at a school under a legitimate pretext?

Yes, Luo Ningsang no longer wanted Shen Yu following them. He had previously wanted to keep him under his watch, but the people they dealt with weren't people someone Shen Yu's age should be around, so he planned to send him back to school.

A new school, of course.

It was also very close to the agency, only two streets away.

Ancheng No. 3 Middle School.

Wen Wenyu was quite well known, and several schools had invited him to serve as a psychological counselor. Ancheng No. 3 Middle School was one of them.

Perhaps if Shen Yu spent more time with people his own age, he wouldn't be so closed off.

Having made up his mind, Luo Ningsang stopped pressing the matter. Instead, he brought over a stool and sat beside Shen Yu, wiped the tears from his face, and rubbed the top of Shen Yu's head.

"If you don't want to talk, then don't. I won't force you. Tell me whenever you're ready, okay?"

His tone was almost pleading.

Shen Yu was surprised. He had thought Luo Ningsang would keep an even closer eye on him.

"...Okay."

He gave a soft murmur of assent.

Luo Ningsang added, "Go back to school in a few days. I found you a new one. Do you want to start over in your first year of high school, or join the second year?"

Shen Yu froze.

What?

Luo Ningsang, what the hell are you talking about?

"You want me to start studying from scratch??" Shen Yu raised a trembling finger and pointed at himself.

"You don't have to study. Just go there and meet people your own age, make some friends and so on."

Luo Ningsang thought his tone was very gentle.

Shen Yu refused in no uncertain terms.

But it was no use.

"If you don't want to go to morning study, you don't have to. I'll talk to the teacher. If you don't want to eat in the cafeteria at noon, I can have someone pick you up to eat with us. You don't have to attend evening classes either. Oh, and of course, you can take time off whenever you want, but you need to tell me. Anyway... you have to go to school."

Luo Ningsang settled the matter.

Why hadn't I thought of it before?

Shen Yu spent all his time with them, facing murder cases every day. It would be strange if he were in good mental health. Wouldn't spending more time with people his own age and opening up a little be more effective than seeing a psychologist?

Shen Yu said, "..."

Maybe I should just tell him what happened?

How did things end up like this?

How did I end up having to go to school!!

Agony.