Gathering, Ex-Girlfriend

Inside an office in the administration building.

After roughly grasping the situation, the middle-aged officer from the Public Security Bureau closed his notepad and nodded. "I have a general understanding of the matter now. You two have worked hard."

Though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was far from tranquil. He had not expected that the various rumors of anomalies circulating over the past year were actually true.

Xie Chong waved a hand. "It's nothing. You are the ones who have had the hard work."

Cooperating with the Public Security Bureau made the cleanup process significantly easier, especially in a densely populated area like a school. It also saved him the trouble of writing up reports.

"Also, I'll have to trouble you to help cover up his situation."

As he spoke, he patted Shen Qing on the shoulder.

"Understood." The middle-aged officer nodded, then looked at Shen Qing and extended a hand. "Wang Yu. Young man, your marksmanship is quite precise."

"Shen Qing. Thank you for the compliment."

Shen Qing reached out to shake his hand.

The moment their hands clasped, the middle-aged officer's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Coming from a military background, he had instinctively wanted to test Shen Qing's strength, but it felt as if he weren't gripping a hand made of flesh and blood, but rather a piece of warm steel that wouldn't budge an inch.

The middle-aged officer released his grip without changing his expression.

It was no wonder a student could become a member of a special department and even resolve an anomaly mission single-handedly.

Not only had he remained calm throughout, but his marksmanship—hitting the heart with all three shots from behind, while the target was moving, according to the scene analysis—was exceptional.

Even in the military, that would be considered a high level of skill.

If not for the fact that the other party's status was already set—with a promotion to a deputy section-level position waiting for him—he would have been tempted to poach him.

The commotion at the administration building soon subsided.

The cordon was removed around one in the afternoon. As the Public Security Bureau personnel withdrew, several police cars drove away with Wu Yu's body, drawing no particular attention.

Although, the news had already spread among the students.

"Did you hear? A murderer died over at the administration building."

"Why did I hear someone hanged themselves?"

The versions of the story grew increasingly absurd. Chen Chen sat at the entrance of the administration building, staring at his phone; Shen Qing still hadn't replied to his messages.

"Assisting in solving a case? A commendation?"

He muttered to himself, thinking of the middle-aged officer's words earlier and the relationship between Shen Qing and the "professional" who had arrived later. His mind was a mess.

A figure suddenly blocked the light in front of him.

Chen Chen looked up and squinted. Against the backlight, Shen Qing's smiling face looked no different than usual.

He paused for two seconds, then asked skeptically, "I recall someone saying they lost their meal card in the building? So why were you running toward the back of the administration building?"

"You saw that?"

Shen Qing wasn't flustered. After all, so many people had seen him walk out with Xie Chong that denying it would be pointless.

He spread his hands and made up a casual excuse. "I guess I have to tell you the truth then.

Didn't I say I smelled something foul earlier? I noticed it on that murderer. Even in May, he was dressed so heavily, so I just acted on impulse and followed him out of curiosity.

You know me—I can't sit still, I'm a bit hyperactive."

"Who could have guessed a murderer would be hiding in the school, though?" Shen Qing added.

"Really?" Chen Chen remained skeptical.

"Of course it's true."

Shen Qing sat down beside him, draped an arm over his shoulder, and changed the subject with a tone of obvious smugness.

"But your buddy is pretty impressive, right? I assisted in catching a criminal. The Public Security Bureau is even coming back later to give me a commendation."

As he spoke, he suddenly looked a bit regretful. "It's just a shame that because it involves the school's reputation, they won't be giving me a public commendation."

"Tell me, what a great chance to show off in front of everyone that would have been."

"Tch, show-off."

Chen Chen curled his lip and didn't press further. If Shen Qing wasn't saying anything, he surely had his reasons.

Besides, he had already guessed that Shen Qing was working with that "professional," and that the food delivery job was just a front.

And as for assisting in the arrest—that "professional" hadn't even been inside for five minutes, and there hadn't been a sound.

It was more likely that Shen Qing had handled it himself, wasn't it?

Chen Chen shook his head, quickly suppressing the overly wild thought, and stood up to brush the dust off his pants.

"Fine, then you're treating me to a meal. I've been so worried I haven't even had lunch yet."

That part was the truth.

Although the result was just a wasted worry.

To think that a roommate who had lived with him for four years, attended classes, played games, and occasionally skipped lectures together, would suddenly turn out to be someone extraordinary, possibly a member of some special department?

Damn, it was just like reading a novel; why did he feel a sense of excitement bubbling up?

"Fine, I'll treat you." Shen Qing agreed readily.

As the two were heading toward the school gate, they happened to run into Zhou Ming coming out of the office building.

However, his complexion was poor, looking rather pale. Originally, it had nothing to do with him, but since he had some connection to Wu Yuan, he had been pulled aside for a separate interrogation.

"Counselor."

The two greeted him normally. Under normal circumstances, one who has done no wrong has nothing to fear, but Zhou Ming was startled.

He looked at Shen Qing, his entire body visibly trembling.

Not to mention that he had previously tried every possible way to distance himself from Shen Qing, only for Shen Qing to receive a commendation from the Public Security Bureau—now that he had severed ties, Shen Qing had nothing to do with him as a counselor anymore.

This point made Zhou Ming feel very awkward.

Before the interrogation, he had even seen Shen Qing talking to that "professional" through the window, a scene that would take him a long time to process.

It wasn't an interrogative attitude, but a relaxed, equal exchange. But wasn't his student just a delivery driver?

And Wu Yuan, how did a young entrepreneur become a murderer?

How did their identities suddenly flip?

The only thing he was grateful for now was that he hadn't made things too difficult for the other party regarding the employment agreement, even if his attitude had been somewhat arrogant.

"Delivering food is fine. Why would delivering food have no future?" Zhou Ming's voice was dry. "Teacher... apologizes for what happened before."

After saying this, he left almost as if fleeing.

"What's wrong with him?"

Watching Zhou Ming's disheveled retreating figure, Chen Chen asked casually.

Shen Qing shook his head. "Who knows."

Deleting memories would have been the easiest way, but this incident involved too many people, and since ordinary people hadn't realized this was a supernatural event, he left it as it was.

"By the way, when are you free?" Chen Chen suddenly asked.

"What's up?"

"We're graduating soon, and who knows how often we'll see each other after this, so the dorm head and the others want to have one last get-together. They're all free recently, it just depends on you."

"A party?" Shen Qing thought for a moment. "Tomorrow works."

Weekend patrols were on a rotating shift; if there were no missions, they could take a day off.

"But how come I didn't get a message?"

Shen Qing opened his phone and found the group chat named "Single Dogs Club."

The four of them in the dorm had always had a good relationship, and he wouldn't refuse a party, but there was absolutely no news in the dorm group.

"Uh..."

Chen Chen scratched his cheek, his eyes drifting away, and said awkwardly, "We were afraid you wouldn't go. Since we both had to submit our employment agreements, they had me ask you directly."

"The dorm head's girlfriend will be at the dinner, along with her friend, that is..."

Chen Chen didn't continue.

Shen Qing understood.

"You mean Gu Jingshi?"

His tone was calm. "If we're going, we're going. Why are you guys being awkward? We broke up normally; it's not like there's any deep-seated hatred."

In his mind, a girl with a head of vibrant red hair appeared.

Gu Jingshi, his ex-girlfriend, had been high school classmates with him and the dorm head's girlfriend.

"As long as you don't mind."

Chen Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the two of them had seemed so good together back then, they had suddenly broken up out of the blue.

They had never been able to figure out the situation, but since Shen Qing wouldn't say, they didn't feel right asking.

"Still, for two traitors to appear in one dorm, it's a disgrace to our club's reputation!"

The two of them walked out of the school gate, bantering, and parted ways after grabbing a quick bite.

"Remember, see you tomorrow at the University City Commercial Street."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."