Silence.
A long silence.
The sycamore leaves rustled outside the window, and the noise of the cafeteria could be heard faintly in the distance, but those sounds had become blurry and distant when they reached the third floor.
Doctor Liu did not urge.
He just stood there quietly, waiting.
He looked at the child in front of him - there was no expression on the angular face, and there was no panic, no avoidance, and no anxiety that a child of this age should have in his pair of light golden vertical pupils.
There is only peace.
A heart-stopping calm.
A long time.
Zhong Shenxiu opening.
"There's nothing to say."
Five words.
The sound is flat, without any ups and downs.
Doctor Liu looked at him, his eyes still gentle behind the lenses.
"Nothing to say?"
He repeated it again, with just the right amount of curiosity in his tone, "Everyone has their own past, happy, unhappy, interesting, boring. You are only nine years old, so it stands to reason that you should have a lot to say."
He paused, walked back behind the desk, sat down again, folded his hands on the table, his posture was relaxed and casual.
"For example, where did you go to school? What do you usually like to do?"
He asked questions naturally, like an ordinary doctor chatting with students.
Zhong Shenxiu looked at him.
The pair of light golden vertical pupils shrank slightly, like a feline adjusting its pupils in the sun.
Then he withdrew his gaze and looked out the window.
Outside the window is a dark blue night sky, and a few stars have begun to twinkle.
Zhong Shenxiu replied softly:
"I am an orphan. I spent my childhood in an orphanage. It was a boring and boring place, so there is nothing to say."
His voice was very soft, so soft that it was almost drowned out by the wind outside the window.
But Doctor Liu heard it clearly.
Orphanage.
These three words fell into my ears, and Doctor Liu's brows moved slightly.
He looked at the child in front of him - his pair of light golden vertical pupils were still looking out the window, and his angular profile looked particularly cold and hard under the dim light. When he said these words, his tone was as calm as if he was describing today's weather.
No sadness.
No resentment.
No self-pity.
Just a statement.
It seems as if he is talking about something that has nothing to do with him.
Doctor Liu felt a surge of complicated emotions in his heart.
Orphanage.
Many children from orphanages.
Some are sensitive, some have low self-esteem, some are extremely eager for attention, and some wrap themselves up tightly.
But no matter which one they are, their eyes will always reveal something to a greater or lesser extent - shadows of the past, confusion about the future, and longing for a certain missing emotion.
But this kid didn't.
There was nothing in his eyes.
There is only peace.
That kind of calmness is not a disguised strength, nor a deliberate indifference.
But truly... empty.
Like a piece of scorched land, nothing is left.
Doctor Liu was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
"That's it."
His tone was still gentle, without showing any sympathy or pity - because he knew that the last thing a child like this needed was sympathy.
"Life in an orphanage is indeed not easy."
He spoke very softly, as if talking to himself.
Then he changed the subject.
"I watched your game."
Doctor Liu looked at Zhong Shenxiu, with sincere admiration in his eyes behind the lenses, "It's great, it's amazing. One against four, a leapfrog challenge, and you can win so cleanly. I have worked at East Sea Central Hospital for so many years, and I have seen many young Soul Master geniuses, but this is the first time I have seen one like you."
Zhong Shenxiu was still looking out the window without any reaction.
Doctor Liu didn't care and continued:
"But the doctor is a little confused about something."
He paused and his tone became more serious.
"Theoretically speaking, both the orphanage and the junior Soul Master Academy have less practical education. Needless to say, the orphanage is pretty good if it can ensure that the children are fed, clothed and live a normal life. And the junior Soul Master Academy..."
He shook his head slightly.
"Although it's called 'Soul Master', you also know that that place is more about basic education. Soul Power practice, Martial Soul knowledge, basic theory - these things are taught a lot, but there is very little practical training in the true sense."
He looked at Zhong Shenxiu's profile and asked word by word:
"Can you tell me why you are so good at fighting?"
The voice fell.
The room fell into silence.
The sycamore leaves rustled outside the window, and the noise of the cafeteria was faintly heard in the distance.
Zhong Shenxiu is still looking out the window.
Those light golden vertical pupils reflected the deep blue of the night sky and the glimmer of stars.
He was silent for a long time.
It took so long that Doctor Liu thought he wouldn't answer.
Then, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Doctor Liu.
Those vertical pupils were still calm, but Doctor Liu was keenly aware that something was slightly surging beneath the calmness.
"You want to know?"
Zhong Shenxiu asked.
The voice was very soft, but had a strange texture.
Doctor Liu nodded.
"If you want to say it."
He added, "Of course, if you don't want to say it, that's okay. I won't force you."
Zhong Shenxiu looked at him.
In those light golden vertical pupils, Doctor Liu saw his own reflection - a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, wearing a white coat, sitting behind a desk, with a gentle and sincere expression on his face.
That expression was different from Wu Zhangkong's concern.
It is different from the calculation of Gu Yue.
It is different from the curiosity, fear, and alienation of those classmates.
That's real... curiosity.
Curious to know.
Zhong Shenxiu looked at him.
In those light golden vertical pupils, Doctor Liu saw his own reflection - a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, wearing a white coat, sitting behind a desk, with a gentle and sincere expression on his face.
That expression was different from Wu Zhangkong's concern.
It is different from the calculation of Gu Yue.
It is different from the curiosity, fear, and alienation of those classmates.
That's real... curiosity.
Curious to know.
Then, Zhong Shenxiu smiled.
That smile was very weak.
It's so faint that if you don't look carefully, you might even think it's an illusion caused by the lighting.
But Doctor Liu saw clearly.
That was indeed a laugh.
The slightly upward curve of the corners of the mouth affects the muscles of the face, forming a strange, almost mocking expression on the sharp-edged face.
But there was no warmth in that smile.
Those light golden vertical pupils were still as calm as water, without any smile arriving there.
Zhong Shenxiu opening.
"I don't want to say."
The voice was still calm, without any ups and downs.
But Doctor Liu felt that something quietly changed the moment these four words fell.
He looked at those light golden vertical pupils.
Those eyes are looking at me.
Calm.
Focus.
But there is something Doctor Liu has never seen in the eyes of a nine-year-old child.
What is that?
Doctor Liu is searching for the right words in his mind.
Dissatisfied?
No, not just.
Yes...
It's something deeper and sharper.
Like a beast locked in a cage for people to watch, there is something in his eyes when he looks at the pointing people outside the cage.
Doctor Liu suddenly understood.
That is dissatisfaction.
But it is not the dissatisfaction of children with adults, the dissatisfaction of students with teachers, or even the dissatisfaction of the person being asked with the questioner.
That's...
Is that the prey's dissatisfaction with the hunter's classification?
No.
That's...
Doctor Liu thought of some people he had come into contact with.
Those veterans who have retired from the battlefield.
Those who have truly experienced life and death.
The kind of light that flashes in their eyes when they are looked at with sympathy by ordinary people and classified as "patients" by psychiatrists.
That light means--
You don't understand.
You haven't experienced what I have experienced.
You have no right to look at me like that.
You are not qualified to classify me.
Doctor Liu Looking at the nine-year-old child in front of him and the twinkling light in his light golden vertical pupils, an unspeakable shock suddenly surged in his heart.