There was a detail in Zhang Ju's story — the senior had been confessed to by a girl on his birthday, and after turning her down, he'd gone drinking and singing with his roommates to celebrate.
When
Chen Ge hadn't originally connected the two events, but Zhang Ju's behavior was far too abnormal now, and it had planted an idea in Chen Ge's mind.
Every club member's memory of the summer vacation was hazy — in other words, their memories of that period had been tampered with, and therefore could not be trusted.
Zhang Ju was very familiar with the school and knew the story between the senior and the girl who confessed to him. Most importantly, his face had been burned while singing, which matched what the senior had been doing that night.
Connecting all of these dots, Chen Ge arrived at several hypotheses. First: Zhang Ju was the senior. He had killed the girl — a complete scumbag, a master of disguise and a psychopath.
Second: Zhang Ju was the senior, and the girl had been harmed while waiting for him. He happened to witness the whole thing, but out of fear, cowardice, or some other reason, he hadn't stepped forward to stop the killer. The guilt had eaten away at him ever since.
Third: Zhang Ju was a bystander or a friend of the senior. He had accidentally witnessed the senior killing the girl, but for certain reasons, he had never come forward to testify.
In just a few seconds, Chen Ge had cycled through multiple possibilities. "Despair, malice, and all those 'people' who emit negative emotions are being transported to the East Campus. Zhang Ju probably isn't the killer."
The killer hadn't just murdered the girl — the methods had been incredibly brutal. Someone like that was almost incapable of showing genuine remorse.
"Teacher, can I take this mirror frame with me?"
"Does this mirror frame hold some special meaning for you?" Chen Ge narrowed his eyes and probed gently. "After all, this is property of the anatomy lab. If you just take it, I'll need to inform the teacher in charge here."
"I don't really know why. It's the first time I've ever seen this mirror, but the moment I walked into the anatomy lab, I went straight to the curtains — as if I already knew there was a mirror hidden behind them." Zhang Ju's face was terrifying, but his expression was almost endearing. In Chen Ge's eyes, a kid like this could never be a killer.
He had always been a good judge of character, especially after having encountered so many psychotic murderers.
"All right, but you have to promise me — don't break it or lose it."
"Mm!" Zhang Ju nodded vigorously. In front of Chen Ge, he was nothing more than a kid who had just finished his college entrance exams.
Both hands gripping the mirror frame tightly, Zhang Ju's eyes held a daze laced with a flicker of guilt — it leaked out unconsciously, something he himself hadn't noticed.
Bang!
Chen Ge was talking with Zhang Ju when a sudden crash echoed from the front of the anatomy lab.
He turned to look. Zhu Long had flipped the entire metal examination table upside down.
He wasn't a medical student — he didn't know there was a latch beside the table that allowed it to be adjusted. Instead, he had used brute force to flip it over.
"What are you doing? Damaging school property means you'll have to pay for it." Chen Ge walked toward Zhu Long, who was bent over beside the examination table, his head thrust deep inside its interior.
"Zhu Long?"
The kid, who always looked like trouble, didn't answer. His shoulders were trembling ever so slightly.
"Are you all right?" Chen Ge grabbed Zhu Long's shoulder. Only then did the boy slowly turn his head.