The Sickly Villain Only Wants to Survive

94

After Shao Ming went upstairs, Zhu Tong was left alone in the living room. He felt extremely anxious, wishing he could dash upstairs to eavesdrop.

But he didn't dare to. Instead, he sat quietly, staring blankly at the system interface.

Since entering the house, whether before or after meeting his grandfather, the favorability value had not changed at all.

There shouldn't be a problem, right?

He trusted Shao Ming and believed in his grandfather, but why did he feel so uneasy?

If Zhu Tong could see the wall of photos in the room upstairs, he would likely understand the source of his discomfort.

Shao Ming walked stiffly into the room, thinking that the class president's curse had truly come to pass.

You always have to pay for the trouble you cause.

As the saying goes, "Those who flaunt their love will die young," and he was currently experiencing a rather peaceful social demise.

It turned out that when Old Master Cheng said he "knew," he genuinely knew.

In fact, he had known for quite some time—long before Zhu Tong confessed over the phone.

Shao Ming prided himself on being more psychologically mature than his peers and being adept at reading people, yet he found it impossible to gauge this elderly man.

As he approached the sofa, Cheng Qingsong glanced at him and casually said, "Sit."

"..."

Shao Ming didn't hesitate or act overly coy; he sat down beside the old man.

Cheng Qingsong held the remote control, casually flipping through a series of photos without a trace of guilt or embarrassment about invading someone else's privacy.

These photos included those he had sent to reassure Zhu Tong and many others taken from various angles by different people, each capturing an ambiguous moment.

Shao Ming had often wondered how he and Zhu Tong would appear in the eyes of those with ill intentions, but he never expected to see those moments presented to him in this way.

The photos were indeed well taken.

"When was your first physical contact with him?"

The unexpected question startled Shao Ming, and he replied as calmly as he could, "What do you mean?"

Cheng Qingsong clarified, "I mean physical contact."

Shao Ming let out a breath of relief and answered honestly, "The day after he transferred, he developed allergies from the dormitory environment and caught a cold. I took him to the school infirmary."

At that time, Zhu Tong had even had a fever.

Cheng Qingsong then pulled up several more photos, taken from more straightforward angles.

Shao Ming was puzzled but still focused on looking at them.

Familiar scenes began to appear.

There was the time he took Zhu Tong to the hospital after he had been injured by Xiang Chuan.

Then there was the time Zhu Tong hurt his foot, and Shao Ming rode his bike to take him back to the hotel.

And there was the instance of Zhu Tong's gastric bleeding, when he had carried him to the hospital.

Suddenly, Shao Ming realized something and tilted his head slightly, "You..."

"Why didn't I let anyone take care of him when I clearly knew he was in trouble?" Cheng Qingsong continued.