The First Signs of a Conspiracy (Part 2)

Master Wang's Stir-Fry was a Shandong-style stir-fry restaurant on the snack street near South Capital University of Technology. Its dishes were very authentic, and since three of Sun Cheng's dorm mates were from the north, they often ate there.

Because the internet speed was unbearably slow, Sun Cheng left his computer on and ran out of the dorm.

By the time he arrived, it was right around the dinner rush. He looked around the restaurant and, seeing that Fourth Brother had not arrived yet, picked a conspicuous table and sat down.

It couldn't be helped. His phone was still in the Decepticons' world. In modern society, trying to find someone when you went out without your phone was truly difficult.

"Ready to order?"

The moment Sun Cheng sat down, a server came over with a menu.

Since he did not have much money left on him, he only ordered four dishes—one cold dish, two vegetable dishes, and one meat dish—then stopped.

Not long after the cold platter was served, Sun Cheng, who had been staring at the entrance, suddenly lit up. When he saw a slightly chubby young man wearing black-rimmed glasses walk in, he hurriedly stood and called out, "Fourth Brother, over here..."

The slightly chubby bespectacled man was called Li Meng, and he was also one of Sun Cheng's friends from their old dorm.

Li Meng nodded at him in greeting, then walked over and sat across from him. "Why is your phone switched off again whenever I call you?"

"I was in a bad mood last night. I downed two bottles of Little Su in the dorm and smashed my phone!" Sun Cheng had no choice but to use that excuse again.

Li Meng glanced at him but did not press further. After all, they had been roommates for years, so he knew roughly how much Sun Cheng could drink.

After sitting down, they chatted idly for a few minutes. The dishes soon arrived, and Li Meng was rather impatient by nature. After taking a few bites, he could not wait any longer and asked directly, "You asked me out at this hour—you aren't trying to get me to transfer you some money to fix your phone first, are you? It's already the middle of the month. I can scrape together three or five hundred for you, but I really don't have any more than that!"

So he had assumed this invitation was about borrowing money!

Sun Cheng had wanted to tease him like before, but borrowing money from acquaintances could easily hurt a relationship, so he directly shook his head. "Nothing like that. I'm not fixing my phone for now. I'll get it fixed in a few days."

Though he had phrased it tactfully, Li Meng seemed to understand. After calling a server over and ordering two bottles of beer, he wore an enlightened expression. "Your birthday's in a few days. I get it—your sister's coming, right?"

At the mention of Sun Cheng's sister, undisguised envy filled his face.

"Man, people really are born to different fates. Look at you—you have an older sister. I have not one but two older sisters. But your sister has a good personality and cares about you. She comes to see you every few days and never misses your birthday. Look at mine... sigh, forget it!"

After complaining, he looked up at Sun Cheng, only to find a forced smile on his face.

Li Meng was somewhat surprised and was just about to ask more when Sun Cheng spoke first. "Let's not talk about that. By the way, Fourth Brother, you didn't tell Eldest Brother or Second Brother about meeting me, did you?"

"What, we're just having a meal together. Are you afraid they'll find out?" Li Meng replied, somewhat displeased.

But seeing Sun Cheng stare at him with a serious expression, he finally frowned and answered, "Eldest Brother had class this afternoon. He wasn't back when I left. Brother Kun did ask me about it, but I only said I had plans with a friend. What? Did you guys have a falling-out?"

"Not exactly. I just have some suspicions."

Sun Cheng had thought it over before deciding to reveal something to Li Meng. They had spent years together, and he knew Li Meng's character fairly well. He knew the man could keep a secret and was loyal. Back when all four of them still lived together, the two of them had been inseparable every day.

The beer arrived, and the server opened the bottles for them. Li Meng poured him a glass and passed it over, looking at him with half-belief and half-doubt as he waited for him to continue.

Sun Cheng took it and drank a mouthful before continuing. "Do you remember how my computer kept crashing? The day before yesterday, I had an expert take a look. Someone had planted a Trojan horse on my computer..."

"Huh?" Li Meng clearly had not processed that yet.

Sun Cheng had no choice but to continue. "The Trojan came bundled with the operating system. Yes, the XP system Second Brother gave me..."

Li Meng was in the middle of pouring himself a drink. At those words, his hand trembled, and he spilled some beer.

He hurriedly grabbed several tissues and wiped down the table. When he was done, he casually tossed them toward the trash can beside them without bothering to see whether they went in, then leaned his head toward Sun Cheng. "What do you mean? You suspect Brother Kun installed a Trojan on your computer?"

Before he had even finished speaking, his face was full of anger. His eyes seemed to spit fire as he glared at Sun Cheng, and the warmth from earlier had faded considerably. "Third Brother, I know your business venture failed and you lost a lot of money. But even so, you can't take it out on other people. Brother Kun doesn't owe you anything. Which of us doesn't know his family situation? But when you said you were broke and were borrowing money everywhere, didn't Brother Kun gather money from all over without a word and give it to you?"

After saying that, he sat there with a dark expression. He could not even be bothered to acknowledge Sun Cheng. Tilting back his head, he drained the entire glass of beer in front of him.

Sun Cheng had known it would turn out this way. Shaking his head, he did not rush to speak. He drank his own glass of beer with Li Meng before explaining, "I trust Second Brother. But the person who checked my computer is also very close to me. He warned me, so I had to take his words seriously."

"I know you may not like hearing this, but this time, I have no choice but to be the bad guy. I want to ask you something. Since you moved out, has Second Brother done anything unusual lately?"

That explanation obviously did not dispel Li Meng's anger. After all, he, Sun Cheng, and Liu Kun had all been close friends and roommates for years. In the heart of this loyal young man, he may truly have regarded them all as brothers.

But now, Sun Cheng was plainly telling him that he suspected another brother of doing something behind their backs. It nearly made him explode with rage.

Li Meng silently downed another glass of beer. Ignoring Sun Cheng, he picked up several dishes and started wolfing them down, clearly with no intention of speaking.

Sun Cheng knew he was angry, so he could only coax him gently for a while before saying in disappointment, "I knew you'd be angry if I told you. But a lot of things that have happened to me lately are full of suspicious details. I have no choice but to investigate and get an explanation for myself. If you don't want to answer, forget it. I'll keep looking into this. If it turns out I was just overthinking things, I'll personally kneel before Second Brother and apologize to him!"

After saying that, he lowered his head and began eating as well.

Once Sun Cheng fell silent, Li Meng gradually slowed down after eating for a while. A hesitant expression appeared on his face.

After hesitating for quite some time, he finally put down his chopsticks and looked at Sun Cheng. "I hope you're just overthinking it too. But now that you've asked, I do remember that Brother Kun has indeed been acting a little unusual lately!"

Sun Cheng's spirits immediately lifted. He quickly put down his chopsticks and asked, "How has he been unusual?"

"He's been spending a lot lately. He bought several sets of clothes and shoes, and he even got a new Apple 6S. Add it all up, and he must have spent nearly ten thousand in half a month!" Li Meng hesitated before answering, "But he said he'd just received a scholarship, so we didn't think much of it!"

"Would the school hand out scholarships at this time?"

Sun Cheng frowned at him. "Second Brother's grades aren't bad, but they're still some way off from qualifying for a scholarship. That's a lie..."

Li Meng fell silent. He had found it strange before, but he had simply not thought much about it.

Now that Sun Cheng had pointed it out, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. He could not help offering another clue on his own. "...Come to think of it, people have been calling for him a lot lately. Every time he answers, Brother Kun always avoids us and goes outside... Oh, right. Eldest Brother mentioned before that he'd seen Brother Kun eating with those people you applied for loans from. He said Brother Kun might have taken out a loan before to replace his laptop..."

"What?"

Sun Cheng's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly pressed, "When did Eldest Brother see that? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

When his business had first fallen into a cash-flow crisis, he had tried every possible way to seek sponsorships and negotiate partnerships. At the time, he had only wanted to attract investment through his startup project. He truly had not considered borrowing money.

Thinking back now, the first time he borrowed money was when Second Brother and several roommates from the dorm had chipped in to help him. The one who had proposed it was Liu Kun.

Even the campus loans later on—if Liu Kun hadn't brought them up, he never would have thought of them.

Now that he put everything together, Sun Cheng suddenly realized that he had most likely fallen into a trap designed specifically for him from the very beginning.

PS:

The real-world mindset transition arc is about to end. Transformers will return in the next chapter.