Bruce put lettuce into his mouth for the first time, but he only chewed mechanically and spoke in the same mechanical tone:
"The next trap was even more obvious. You deliberately created a weakness for me—Harley, as a child. You knew I was sympathetic toward children, whether she was a good child or not."
"When Harley said she needed to see you, I should have been suspicious. Most likely, you told Mrs. Miller something—for example, to come here at an appointed time to collect the medical records. That was why Harley came here at that time. It wasn't a coincidence at all. It was another trap."
"And then there was your second conversation with Valentine." As Bruce reached this point, Schiller tapped the plate with the tip of his knife again. Bruce fell silent, and Schiller said:
"What you failed to notice was that he deliberately acted polite and patient. Did you think he was lowering your guard? No. He was using another method to emphasize how different he was from me, heightening your sense of unfamiliarity and putting psychological pressure on you."
"Everyone has a professional side and a personal side. When people bring their professional side into their personal lives, it puts pressure on friends and family. But when they bring personal habits into their work, it can also make others feel unfamiliar and confused."
"During the second class of your junior year, when we debated 'the stimulation of novelty and the pressure of unfamiliarity,' what exactly were you doing?"
Staring into Bruce's eyes, Schiller said, "You got every easy question wrong and ignored every difficult point."
"You got every multiple-choice question wrong and left every essay question blank. Bruce, answer me—what exactly am I supposed to do to pull you out of this sea of academic suffering???"