When Shen Yuqing arrived at the hospital, Song Wangzhuo was still in the emergency room. The homeroom teacher was sitting outside, waiting for the doctor to report on Song Wangzhuo’s condition.
Shen Yuqing walked over, and the teacher noticed him, asking in surprise, “Yuqing, what are you doing here?”
Shen Yuqing replied, “I was looking for Song Wangzhuo earlier, but then I heard from classmates that he was brought to the hospital, so I came to check on him.”
His gaze shifted to the tightly shut emergency room doors as he sat down beside the teacher. “How is he?”
“Still don’t know,” the teacher said, looking utterly stressed. “The doctor hasn’t come out yet.”
He had happened to see the medical staff carrying Song Wangzhuo out, covered in blood the sight had nearly scared him out of his wits. If anything happened to Song Wangzhuo, he was done for.
Seeing the teacher’s nervous state, Shen Yuqing stood up and bought two bottles of water. “Here, have some water, teacher. Just sitting here worrying won’t help.”
The teacher took the water, unscrewed the cap, and gulped down a large mouthful before finally feeling a little better.
He turned to Shen Yuqing and asked, “You’ve been spending a lot of time with Song Wangzhuo lately did he offend someone?”
Given the severity of his injuries, this didn’t look like a minor scuffle. Someone had used a knife.
Shen Yuqing shook his head. “Song Wangzhuo doesn’t talk much in general, and he gets along fine with everyone. I’ve never heard him mention any grudges.”
The teacher’s eyes lingered on Shen Yuqing.
Shen Yuqing cleared his throat. “We’ve been close recently, he’s been tutoring me. That’s why my grades improved so quickly.”
That much was true. Shen Yuqing’s recent academic progress had been noticeable, and the teacher had been quite pleased.
At this, the teacher suddenly remembered something. “Since you’re close to him, do you know how to contact his family?”
With injuries this serious, his family needed to be informed.
Shen Yuqing shrugged. “I think he’s always been on his own.”
The teacher’s mouth opened slightly, understanding the implication. He sighed. “This kid… I always thought his parents were just on some remote planet, but I never imagined.”
He never imagined Song Wangzhuo was an orphan!
As they spoke, the emergency room doors finally opened. The doctor and nurses stepped out, and both the teacher and Shen Yuqing hurried over. “Is he alright?”
The doctor removed his mask. “He’s fine. Fortunately, the wounds didn’t hit any vital areas. They’ve been treated, and he’s been given anesthesia. Once it wears off, we’ll keep him under observation for a few days. If there are no complications, he can be discharged.”
Just as the system had said.
Shen Yuqing’s heart settled.
A nurse spoke up, “Family members, please come with me to settle the fees.”
The teacher quickly said, “I’ll go, I’ll go.”
Since Song Wangzhuo had been injured on school grounds, the incident had already drawn the attention of higher-ups. The school would cover all medical expenses, and any further compensation would be discussed once Song Wangzhuo woke up.
The teacher followed the nurse, while Shen Yuqing asked about Song Wangzhuo’s ward. However, for tonight, Song Wangzhuo would be kept in the ICU for observation and would only be transferred to a regular ward once he regained consciousness. Visiting would have to wait until the next day.
Shen Yuqing thanked them. Since he couldn’t see Song Wangzhuo, there was no point in staying any longer.
He came over to finally set his anxious heart at ease.
Shen Yuqing found the homeroom teacher and relayed the nurse’s words to him. The teacher nodded and said, “You can head back first. I’ll stay a while longer to see if there’s anything else that needs to be prepared. Besides, the police will be arriving soon.”
Shen Yuqing gave a quiet “Mm” before walking out of the hospital.
The air outside was much fresher, the scent of disinfectant completely gone.
He found a pavilion and sat down, taking several deep breaths before finally calming his nerves.
This shock had been far too overwhelming.
The system observed everything clearly and asked, 【Host, are you alright?】
【I’m fine,】 Shen Yuqing replied. 【It’s just that seeing so much blood made me a little uncomfortable.】
The system didn’t know what else to say.
Fortunately, Shen Yuqing asked, 【How are those two doing?】
He was referring to the two perpetrators who had attacked at the school.
The system answered, 【They confessed as soon as they were caught. However, they don’t know who hired them. The phone number used to contact them has been deactivated, and when the police traced the registration details, they only found an elderly person.】
【It seems the mastermind behind this was thoroughly prepared,】 Shen Yuqing said, pressing his lips tightly together.
【Indeed. Who could it be?】 The system couldn’t be sure either. It had already filed a report to the mainframe—such a major oversight would surely result in punishment.
But punishment wasn’t the main concern. What mattered was who wanted the protagonist dead.
Shen Yuqing rested his arm on the back of the chair and said, 【Go confirm whether Song Lejin actually knows Song Wangzhuo’s identity.】
【Host, the timeline for Song Lejin’s knowledge is still.】 The system paused mid-sentence before continuing, 【Understood.】
After a moment of thought, Shen Yuqing added, 【There’s one more thing I want to ask you. Who exactly is the third awakened protagonist?】
【Host, right now, I can’t locate the third awakened protagonist either,】 the system admitted. 【Actually, our primary mission still revolves around Pei Yiyan and Song Wangzhuo. As long as their corruption values drop to zero, this world will return to normal operation. Even if the third protagonist’s corruption reaches 100%, it won’t have any significant impact.】
【I was thinking… could the third awakened protagonist be Song Lejin?】 Shen Yuqing voiced his speculation.
【Impossible!】 The system immediately rejected the idea. 【I’ve monitored him for so long. If he were truly an awakened protagonist, I would have detected fluctuations in his values. But there’s been nothing—absolutely nothing!】
Shen Yuqing exhaled slowly, feeling a headache coming on. 【Alright, I get it. Go investigate first. I need some time to clear my head.】
The system’s indicator light flickered twice before it disappeared.
Shen Yuqing leaned back against the chair, his gaze settling on the edge of the pavilion, where some ancient folk remedies were inscribed.
He wondered what had Song Lejin wanted to tell him the other day? And why had he ultimately said nothing?
He recalled what the waiter had told him that Song Lejin had been secretly targeting Song Wangzhuo all along.
Going further back, Song Wangzhuo had inexplicably been evicted by his landlord, who had mentioned at the time that he had offended someone influential.
Back then, I had hurriedly denied it wasn’t me, but later this benefactor actually intervened again.
Take Song Wangzhuo’s part-time job hunting for example being rejected once or twice would be normal.
But Song Wangzhuo was rejected by nearly every company he applied to. Some would agree one day only to go back on their word the next.
It was obvious someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.
Moreover, just a few days ago, Xiao Zhao mentioned that the landlord had come by, hinting whether he’d offended someone.
For convenience’s sake, Xiao Zhao had handled the rental arrangements initially. Knowing Xiao Zhao was from the Shen family, the landlord had dropped some hints.
Now that Song Wangzhuo was living there, the target was clearly him.
The pieces were gradually coming together, but no matter how carefully he unraveled the threads, the reason remained elusive.
Why exactly?
If, as the system claimed, Song Lejin didn’t know Song Wangzhuo’s identity at this stage, then what was his motive for all this?
It couldn’t possibly be over that trivial incident when they’d first bumped into each other.
What else could he have overlooked?
