Do Bad People Always Have a Tragic Childhood?

Lin and Qianqi were exchanging words, Qianqi seemed unable to understand Lin's thoughts. He seemed so cold, yet he often gave people warmth. He cared so much about others, yet he could easily doubt his friends.

This guy lied.

Qianqi could conclude that Lin was not good at lying, and his words and actions seemed ridiculous to her.

"Sorry."

Lin's apology confused Qianqi even more. She squinted and asked in disbelief, "Why... why are you apologizing?"

"This is dangerous because if Kevin is the murderer, there's a high chance he'll target you. That's why I asked you to test him," Lin Xingping said calmly. "If you're unwilling, then forget it."

"You seem to already consider him the real culprit. Why is that? What's his motive? Or does his girlfriend have a motive?"

"...I have no idea."

"You—" Qianqi almost laughed out of anger, "Even the most third-rate detective novels would explain the murderer's motive, right? Kobayashi-kun."

"But I... cannot ignore it."

"..."

Ci Lin stood there, yet Qianqi suddenly felt as if he were very far away from her.

It felt as if we were standing in another world.

"I don't know what reason Kevin and May could possibly have for committing a massacre together. Maybe it was a mental pollution incident, or maybe it was something even more incomprehensible, but I can't ignore that possibility, based solely on the reason that 'he's my friend'..."

He's torn.

Qianqi suddenly realized.

He was also hesitant; he wanted to believe Kevin wasn't the murderer, and he even tried to find a reason for Kevin.

Lin was also confused because she didn't know Kevin's motives.

Vill-V told him to doubt everyone around him, and he did it, but for him, doubting the people he should have trusted was so terrifying.

He was unsure if his actions were correct, whether he had made a mistake, and whether he would lose something else.

"..."

Hate.

Qianqi genuinely disliked Lin.

She saw a reflection of herself in Lin, the ideal self she had always portrayed in her past.

A right person.

But why would someone like that appear, and why... would she be the one to meet him?

"Then I'll just be a bad guy."

Qianqi interrupted Lin's mutterings in a suddenly cold and unreasonable manner.

The air seemed to freeze.

The ground beneath my feet became transparent, and the world fell silent.

The lights, like twinkling stars in the night sky, were not bright, but hung anxiously in the heavens, making people feel impatient and restless.

Lin's helmet was lifted up by a pair of hands, forcing him to look up and meet the girl's gaze. This girl, who called herself "Qianqi" and "Hacker," had completely lost the panic she had shown when she saw Lin injured. The Mental Instability she remembered seemed like a joke when applied to this cold and stern girl.

"Since you can't find a reason to doubt your friend, then just play the bad guy. You don't need to feel guilty. It's just that you're bad to begin with, so it's natural for you to doubt everything around you."

Qianqi crossed her arms, looking like a delinquent girl, and sneered as she spoke the "truth" to Lin.

"As long as you believe you are a bad person, you will not hesitate at all. Bad people are capable of anything, so you don't have to force yourself to be a good person and suffer so much."

"I doubt..."

"Because he's a bad person."

"We're conducting a private investigation..."

"Because he's a bad person."

"I'm sending you to face danger."

"Because he's a bad person."

Qianqi chuckled, a beautiful smile spreading across her lovely face, "You see, as long as you treat yourself as a bad person, everything falls into place."

At that moment, it was as if she had removed the mask from her face and become a completely different person.

"I am the bad guy. I hack into networks in various countries, turn the internet upside down, and don't care about human lives at all. I even fooled you completely. I haven't told you the truth more than three times so far." Qianqi made a gun gesture, pointed it at Lin, and a subtle smile appeared on her lips. "How about it? Interested in playing the bad guy like me?"

Lin considered how Qianqi could approach Kevin without seeming deliberate, but he seemed to have underestimated Qianqi's ability to disguise herself.

She can pretend to be a cold hacker or a delicate girl; playing a specific person is not a difficult thing for her at all.

"Hello, do you have a moment?" When she walked up to Kevin with a solemn expression, Lin couldn't tell if she was acting or not.

Even though he lacked emotional fluctuations, he couldn't sense that there was anything wrong with Qianqi.

"... What is it?" Kevin had just finished his investigation and was about to head to the Research and Development Department, gave her a cold look.

From Kevin's perspective, Qianqi is just a hacker that Lin brought back, and Mei just happens to need this kind of talent, so there's no need to care too much about him.

"Lin is injured."

Lin, who was crouching nearby, was watching Kevin's every move through the monitor on Qianqi. After hearing this, Kevin frowned noticeably, but the frown disappeared quickly.

There's nothing unusual about it. If this is acting, then Kevin's acting skills are already on par with Qianqi's.

Kevin should have asked at this point, "What happened?"

"He and I investigated the surveillance center privately, and then we were attacked."

"You? You investigated in secret?" Kevin's gaze turned stern this time, and Qianqi seemed intimidated by his imposing look, shrinking back slightly. "You can't investigate without orders, don't you know that? No, Lin must have known, so did you instigate him?"

"No, no! He forced me to help!"

This sentence is full of helplessness and resentment, as if Qianqi is really dissatisfied with being forced by Lin.

"... Phew... Alright then, do you have any intelligence?"

If Kevin is the murderer, then this statement is a clear test.

Lin was ready to rush out.

Not yet.

"..."

Qianqi's answer silenced Kevin, but soon she threw out a bait.

"However, I haven't found anything yet. Lin has already identified the murderer and is now searching for evidence. He said he won't reveal who the murderer is until he has collected the evidence."

It's over.

Qianqi returned safely.

Lin met her gaze with a smile.

"He doesn't seem to care about your injuries at all."

Chapter 145 Do bad people always have a tragic childhood?

To be a bad person? Is such a ridiculous thing even possible?

"Of course you can. Think about it, if you were the bad guy, you wouldn't have any psychological burden if you monitored Kevin and even took action against this 'hero' after discovering evidence." Qianqi leisurely poured a cola into her mouth, her small, bare toes resting on her desk. She leaned back in her soft chair, looking at the helmeted man who refused to speak, and smiled sassily. "Also, if he's the real culprit, then Mei would be an accomplice, wouldn't she? It would be troublesome to deal with two people at once, and given their influence, the evidence might not even be enough. We would definitely need to sow discord between them."

She sowed discord, separating two loving couples who were also Lin's friends.

"Only bad guys would do something like this, right? You don't need to convince yourself with righteousness or morality. You're just a bad person, so you've adopted the methods of a bad person."

Lin clenched and unclenched his fist, inhaling the filtered air into his lungs, and looked down at Qianqi, who was smiling gently at him.

After "exposing herself," she no longer hid. She was no longer the fearful girl she once was, nor the coldly mocking hacker. Lin could feel her aloofness and cold smile surging forth without reservation.

Spoiled and willful, cold and mean, yet all the more real.

She was giving Lin advice, and Lin didn't refuse. He faithfully played the role of a "villain," thinking about how to get back at his old friend.

The formation of a Villain Alliance seems so easy.

With just a little encouragement, a little whisper, and a little unfounded speculation, coupled with well-intentioned reminders and suggestions, it's easy to lead people in different directions, isn't it?

Of course, Qianqi knew that Lin couldn't really be a bad person, and Lin naturally couldn't commit violence; it was all just to make herself feel better.

Even if your friend is a bad person, it's hard for a good person to hurt them, so just consider yourself a bad person too.

Yes, it was all just to... make myself feel better.

"Oh right, I've been wondering about you three ever since I saw the files. Is there some kind of secret romantic gossip going on between you three?"

Lin looked at her strangely, not quite understanding.

Qianqi counted on her fingers and muttered, "For example, you and Mei knew each other before you met Kevin, but you are an iceberg type with the same personality as her, so you could only watch as Kevin took her away... and so on."

"No," Lin honestly shook his head.

He did know May before he met Kevin, but there was absolutely no romantic relationship between them. It was more like a strange connection between members of a hobby group, who would occasionally discuss topics that were difficult for others to understand.

"Don't be so true to your aloof persona. Tell me more about what's going on between you two. I'm very interested."

Under such high pressure, how could she still utter the word "interested"?

"... The reason I met Kevin was because of Mei."

"Oh~" Qianqi deliberately dragged out the last syllable, making herself sound very surprised, "And then, and then, did you two become friends after a fight over Mei Xian? Or..."

Why must it be Mei?

"A combination of two men and one woman is hard not to make people's imaginations run wild."

"..."

"This is our reporter reporting for you..."

The sound of the news broadcast that my father loved to watch in the early morning echoed in the hall, and the sound of breakfast being served wafted into my nostrils along with my mother's calls. Half-awake, I rubbed my pupils, walked down the stairs, and sat down at the table, picking up a soup spoon, while my mother scolded me, "Did you stay up late again?"

He stared blankly at himself in the soup, his face calm, just like those boring news reports, which are commonplace and indistinguishable.

Ultimately, do people really care about what happens to people who are unrelated to them? Even if most people see or hear about someone else's tragic experience, they'll probably just say something like, "How tragic."

The result is indifference, isn't it?

Counting the stains on the table soaked with soup, and hearing her mother scolding her father for not eating faster, she blankly put the soup spoon into her mouth and swallowed the bland soup.

Was she unhappy? No, no, no. Her parents married with the blessings of both families. She was the fruit of their happiness. Both her father's and mother's families, as well as her parents themselves, doted on her. Her family was also very wealthy. Her parents rarely argued, and her academic performance was quite good.

In addition, she inherited the exquisite looks of her mother and father, and is quite popular among her peers.

Many people envy her; even the most vicious and jealous person cannot find a single flaw in her. Her generous and poised personality also makes people feel comfortable.

If this is happiness, then she must be one of the happiest people in the world...

Is that really the case?

At that moment, she wanted to flip the table in front of her, smear all the delicious breakfast items on the wall, grab a stool and smash the noisy TV to shut up her nagging parents!

Ideally, I'd throw her schoolbag into the stove and burn it to ashes, then storm into the school and mercilessly mock those classmates who usually only dare to look at her with envy but never utter a sound, and have a shouting match! No, I mean, a bloody fight! Pulling hair, tearing clothes! Like a shrew from a TV drama!

Yes, she could do it, and she could do it right now. So she put her hands on the table and vowed to flip the table if her parents said another word or if a news reporter published another boring news story!

She--

"I'm stuffed."

"Hmm? Are you full? Then go to school. Do you need me to take you?"

"No need, Father."

A perfect smile is one that is beautiful and captivating, leaving no trace of darkness in the eyes of others.

Then she picked up her schoolbag and left home.

By the time she realized this hidden aspect of her personality, she had already drifted through more than a decade of an unchanging life.

Whether it stemmed from a monotonous life or from her inherently wicked nature remains unknown.