Chapter 20
Doctor Zhen's habit of keeping to himself and his obsessive cleanliness were psychological scars planted during middle school.
Doctor Zhen would not demand that others help him or anything of the sort, but he truly could not control his emotions. He had long since lost any sense of camaraderie with those so-called former classmates.
In fact, Doctor Zhen had studied day and night back then precisely so that one day, he could get into the best university in the country and completely cut ties with everyone at school. Doctor Zhen could barely remember what he had gone through, because most of those memories were unpleasant—except for an unfinished conversation written on a desk.
Chengnan No. 1 High School used small English classes. A class of forty would be split into two groups of twenty during English lessons. Half the students remained in their classroom, while the other half had to go to a designated English classroom.
But the English classrooms were essentially shared. One lesson might be attended by half the students from Class One, while the next might be used by half of Class Two. Just like the computer lab and chemistry lab. When students zoned out during class, most liked to scribble and draw on the desks, and their creations would likely be seen by the next group of students.
You wrote a line, and they replied with one. Back and forth, a youthful story began.
Even in Doctor Zhen's lonely school life, there had once been such a dramatic, youthful story. However, they had not written on the desks, but on the wall behind the radiator. It was well hidden, a secret belonging only to the two of them.
The other person would probably never know that just a few brief exchanges had given Doctor Zhen immense courage and allowed him to keep going.
However, for various reasons, Doctor Zhen had never managed to gather the courage to meet them. By the time they entered their senior year, they had completely lost contact. Yet Doctor Zhen had never truly let them go. He would look at every person he met and helplessly think, You're wonderful, but you're not them.
This was also why Doctor Zhen had initially agreed to attend the Class Reunion. Although he disliked his former classmates, he still wanted to find that person. He did not necessarily have to develop anything with them; he simply wanted to resolve a lingering knot in his heart.
Falling in love with someone did not necessarily mean they had to be beautiful or outstanding.
Perhaps it was simply because they had appeared at exactly the right time.
When he needed them most.
Doctor Zhen had never previously suspected that this person was one of his own classmates, because theoretically, they could only have been a student from another class who came to the English classroom. But he had never found anyone who met the criteria. Later, he obtained some clues that narrowed the scope and led him to his own class.
Zhen Liu, meanwhile, received a hint from the side quest: the person Doctor Zhen secretly loved was likely among the other four suspects.
Although Zhen Liu had rejected this love-brained quest from the start, he had still made a simple assessment of everyone present.
Back then, Basketball Qiao and Second-generation Zhao were both terrible students, the type who would never go to the English classroom. Basketball Qiao spent most of his time chasing his basketball dreams, while Second-generation Zhao skipped school every few days and willingly served as an ATM out in society, surrounded by a group of little thugs who opened their mouths with "Young Master Zhao" and closed them with "brotherhood."
Therefore, the only likely candidates left were Lawyer Jin and Professor Lu.
And after Zhen Liu suspected that Professor Lu's side quest was connected to him, he felt that the possibility of Doctor Zhen secretly loving Professor Lu had dropped to the very bottom.
After all, this was a game that required every character to be linked together, wasn't it?
Doctor Zhen hated Basketball Qiao and Second-generation Zhao, while Professor Lu secretly loved Doctor Zhen. Doctor Zhen was only missing a connection with Lawyer Jin. And that connection would likely be filled by the fact that Doctor Zhen's secret crush was actually Lawyer Jin. They could not really let Lawyer Jin be an Orphan Card, could they?
Besides, only love mixed with hatred could explain the hesitation and choice in the side quest. The quest let the player decide whether or not to protect the person they secretly loved in the end.
Pineapple Head, Student Zhen, had already made up his mind to give up on this relationship.
Over there, Lawyer Jin was still completely unaware, waiting for Basketball Qiao and Second-generation Zhao to explain themselves.
"Yes, I do live here." Basketball Qiao admitted it readily. There was no point denying it anyway; Second-generation Zhao had already exposed him. But this was not a secret he absolutely had to protect in his side quest. "But Second-generation Zhao did not provide the place for me. The victim did. That is why I was always running errands for the victim. I needed something from him."
Lawyer Jin crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Basketball Qiao's explanation did make sense, but—"Then why did Second-generation Zhao help conceal it for you, if he had nothing to do with you?"
"How would I know?" Basketball Qiao's answer was perfectly in character: not much thought went into it.
Second-generation Zhao had listened for a long while, seemingly lost in thought. Now, he finally got a chance to speak. "Ying De had something on me and threatened me repeatedly. One of his demands was that I provide him with a place to stay. At the time, I did not know what he wanted the place for. Of course, now I do. He wanted to use my family's villa to curry favor, while all the benefits, inside and out, went to him. I did not want you to focus on Ying De threatening me, so I only concealed Basketball Qiao's involvement."
"What sort of leverage could a rich second-generation heir possibly have?"
Second-generation Zhao fell silent, wearing an expression that said, "If you cannot find evidence, then I do not have to answer." Lawyer Jin could do nothing about him. Still, even as he asked the question, he knew there were many ways to threaten a rich second-generation heir. Pornography, gambling, and drugs were the most obvious.
After Basketball Qiao and Second-generation Zhao, it was Professor Lu and Doctor Zhen's turn.
When Lawyer Jin faced Zhen Liu, his tone became slightly more normal. After all, it was Zhen Liu who had proposed the theory that the murderer had sabotaged things, and Lawyer Jin was grateful that Zhen Liu had kept him from completely losing his reason. "I have not found much evidence regarding Doctor Zhen, but I suspect his weakness is related to a failed operation or his relationship with patients."