"I'm not going either," Luo Yi said, leaning against the bed. The pallor had faded from his face a little.
He had been with Zhen Jianren from the start, so naturally, they were on the same page.
The fat man looked at Jiang Cheng with concern.
The situation wasn't looking good for him.
Unexpectedly—
"You've misunderstood," Jiang Cheng said calmly. "No one's going to force you to go to the equipment center. If none of you are willing, I'll go."
The fat man shuddered violently at that.
He immediately looked at Jiang Cheng, almost convinced he'd misheard.
But Jiang Cheng didn't seem to be joking at all.
He sat perfectly straight, his eyes calm as still water. He gave off an air of great composure.
Calm, fearless, and reliable.
He was worlds apart from those who were so skilled at scheming.
No one had expected Jiang Cheng to take the task upon himself. Zhen Jianren and Luo Yi exchanged a quick glance, their faces full of disbelief.
They couldn't figure out what Jiang Cheng was up to.
"Now it's your turn," Jiang Cheng continued. "Who'll go find the woman in charge of the rehearsal?" He turned to look in another direction. "And who'll go find the students?"
A moment later—
"I'll go find that woman," Yu Wen suddenly said. The way she looked at Jiang Cheng began to change. "I know where to find her, and we should be able to communicate with her more easily."
Jiang Cheng nodded. "All right."
Zhang Yinyin and Zhou Taifu were naturally willing to go with her.
Zhou Taifu, especially, even sat up and moved to stand behind Yu Wen.
Ever since Jiang Cheng agreed to take on the task at the equipment center, Zhen Jianren's expression had turned strange.
He couldn't help reconsidering his earlier judgment of Jiang Cheng.
But now everyone's attention had shifted from Jiang Cheng to him, so he could only reply vaguely, "Then we'll look for the students."
"Good." Jiang Cheng stood up. "It's settled, then. We'll split up tomorrow."
He couldn't be bothered to offer some pointless reminder to stay safe. With the sky outside already darkening, everyone returned to their rooms.
"Doctor," the fat man blurted out as soon as the door closed. "What are you trying to do? The equipment center is obviously the most dangerous place, and you actually volunteered to go?"
He couldn't understand Jiang Cheng's decision at all, just as Jiang Cheng sometimes couldn't understand him.
To his surprise, Jiang Cheng leisurely unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and took a small sip. Then he unwrapped a piece of chocolate, broke off a small bit, and popped it into his mouth.
Only after all that did he turn to the fat man and say unhurriedly, "There could be danger where the students are, and where the woman in charge of the rehearsal is."
The fat man's eyes widened. "How is that the same thing?"
"Relax." Jiang Cheng sat on the bed, chewing his chocolate. Then, as if remembering something, he looked at the fat man and said, "If you think it's dangerous, you can join Yu Wen's group."
The fat man flatly refused. He knew the difference between a temporary strong ally and one who'd stick around for good.
Room 405.
Zhen Jianren's expression was so cold it could have dripped water, and Luo Yi wasn't much better.
One stood; the other sat.
Luo Yi in particular looked worried.
He bit his lip, then suddenly stood up from beside the bed and hurled the half-smoked cigarette from his fingers to the floor. "What the hell is Hao Shuai up to? Why would he volunteer to go to the equipment room?"
After a long pause, Zhen Jianren's voice came through. His usual overbearing arrogance was gone, and he seemed to have become the man he'd been at the very beginning.
Refined, meticulous, and utterly fastidious.
"If he did that, he must have a reason."
"What reason?"
"Do you remember what that woman at the rehearsal said?" Zhen Jianren said, not even looking at him. "She said the school leaders would watch the video recording to decide when the next rehearsal would be."
Luo Yi didn't understand what he was getting at.
He only vaguely remembered her saying that.
If Zhen Jianren hadn't brought it up, he would have forgotten entirely.
"What are you trying to—"
Zhen Jianren glanced out the window, his tone carrying an indistinct hint of something. "But no one's come yet."
Like a flash of lightning streaking across his mind, Luo Yi suddenly understood what Zhen Jianren meant.
The school had placed so much importance on this celebration gala. How could they still not have sent anyone to collect the video?
Didn't they need to know how the rehearsal had gone?
And what about the school leaders the woman had mentioned?
"So the school leaders watching the video was all a cover," Luo Yi said. "The real goal was to make us take the video seriously, because we're the only ones who can watch it!"
Zhen Jianren tossed away his cigarette butt and waved his other hand, fanning the smoke away.
His fingernails had clearly been carefully groomed, and they caught the faint lamplight with a soft gleam.
It was hard to imagine that, in a room with two men, someone like the latter would be the one in control.
He stared at the dark green metal cabinet in front of him, casually reaching out with his left hand to slowly open one of its half-open compartments.
There was nothing inside.
He knew that, and showed no surprise.
He simply kept repeating the same mechanical motion.
The action came with an unpleasant scraping sound.
Luo Yi hated it.
But he didn't stop him. All he did was furrow his brow slightly.
It was a habit of the man before him.
Many people made repetitive, pointless movements when they were thinking.
For example, a writer whose ideas had run dry might scratch his head, while a suspect being questioned by the police might keep adjusting his glasses.
Zhen Jianren's habit was to repeatedly open and close cabinet doors or drawers.
Perhaps it had something to do with his past.
But Luo Yi wasn't interested.
At last, the irritating scraping stopped abruptly.
Luo Yi looked at Zhen Jianren intently. That meant the doubts in the other man's mind had finally been settled.
"There are two possibilities." Zhen Jianren's gaze sharpened as he suddenly spoke. "The people in Room 404 have found a clue we haven't noticed yet. It's so important that they're willing to take risks for it."
Luo Yi thought for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "What's the second possibility?"
"The people in Room 404 have reached some kind of agreement with the woman in Room 406." Zhen Jianren glanced at his teammate and continued, "They've started working together."
"Just now... that was nothing more than a little act they put on together."
Luo Yi's pupils contracted violently.
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