While waiting for the food to be served, Meng Zhe remained hesitant to speak, and Shang Lin did not bring it up either, because on the surface, they were all guessing about the puppetry, or even unaware of it.

However, when the dishes and meat were served, Shang Lin suddenly realized that he was somewhat bullying a minor, after all, he was not a minor at heart.

So Shang Lin coughed a little awkwardly before saying, "Eat quickly, you still have to go back to school after you finish eating."

Meng Zhe finally couldn't bear to see Shang Lin suffer any longer and said in a low voice with great apology, "I'm sorry, my father was just desperate to save me. If he hadn't needed to control the puppet, he would have given his own life to save me."

Meng Zhe's words startled Shang Lin. In that instant, he suddenly thought of the original owner's mother. Meng Zhe's father wanted to prolong his son's life, so how could a mother be worse than a father? Moreover, the original owner's condition was much more serious than Meng Zhe's.

Is it possible that the original owner was able to live to the age of twelve because his mother used her own life to extend his life, or even exchanged her life for his? Otherwise, why has she never seen the original owner in the past three years, and why has she had no contact with Old Man Chai?

Meng Zhe almost mustered all her courage, speaking in a low voice before daring to look up at Shang Lin. Seeing him seemingly lost in thought, she quickly explained, "Everything I said is true, you have to believe me..."

"I believe you." Shang Lin quickly regained his composure. "Let's eat first, we can talk while we eat."

Meng Zhe couldn't read Shang Lin's expression, and hearing his calm tone, he felt even more uncertain. He could only sit quietly, waiting for his fate.

Shang Lin hurriedly picked up chopsticks and stuffed them into Meng Zhe's hand. "I believe you won't harm me, and I understand your father's desperate attempt to prolong your life, but I can't agree with his methods. However, people can always find a solution, and we can't expect everyone to think the same way. In any case, we need to be well-fed to have the strength to solve problems, right?"

Meng Zhe looked up at Shang Lin, his eyes instantly reddening, and finally just gave a faint "hmm".

Shang Lin didn't order any drinks, but he ordered a lot of meat and vegetables, which left Meng Zhe speechless. He couldn't help but ask, "Is this enough for the two of us?"

Shang Lin smiled slightly, "Haven't you heard the old saying, 'A half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home'? My godfather always hoped that I would reach that level. Now that I'm in better health, I can work towards that goal."

Meng Zhe paused, "Your godfather treats you really well, even better than some biological fathers."

“Yes, the quality of relationships between relatives is not based on blood ties, but on whether they are sincere when they are together,” Shang Lin said frankly. “I treat my blood relatives no differently than I treat strangers.”

In his past life, Shang Lin was indifferent to family ties—no, it should be said that he was indifferent to all emotions, single-mindedly focused on improving his own strength and the strength of the Yuntai Sect. Of course, this was also related to the fact that he had experienced too many betrayals from his relatives, leaving him disheartened.

Meng Zhe looked at Shang Lin quietly for a while before saying, "You are a person with a story, but I am a little curious. You are so young, even if you are exceptionally talented, you would not have learned such a wide range of things, especially those obscure and difficult ones."

Meng Zhe considered himself to be highly talented, but compared to Shang Lin—no, there was no comparison between them. It was simply unbelievable.

Shang Lin said honestly, "I really can't explain this to you. Just assume I'm exceptionally intelligent."

Since Shang Lin didn't say anything, Meng Zhe didn't intend to pry. As long as the misunderstanding between them was cleared up, that would be fine. After finishing a hot pot meal, the strange atmosphere between the two of them basically returned to normal. However, he still had too many questions he wanted to ask Shang Lin, but in the end, he didn't ask anything.

It was dark when the two left the hot pot restaurant. Shang Lin offered to take Meng Zhe back to school, while Meng Zhe offered to take him home. Shang Lin smiled and said, "My home is right across from the school now, so it's more convenient for me to take you."

Meng Zhe was taken aback. "You rent a place so close to the school?"

Although everyone knew that Shang Lin was a day student, no one asked him where he lived, whether he rented or owned a house. Boys, after all, are not as thoughtful as girls.

“Yes,” Shang Lin said frankly, “that way we’ll be less cold in winter.”

Thinking of Shang Lin's small stature, Meng Zhe nodded, "That makes sense."

As they were talking, the two turned onto the road leading to the school. Just then, a man emerged menacingly from the darkness and hissed, "Hand over the money now, or you'll regret it."

Meng Zhe pulled Shang Lin behind him almost instantly, saying, "We're students, we don't have any money."

The man sneered, "If you don't have money, you'll get beaten up. A beating will make you have it." Without giving Meng Zhe time to react, he pounced on him.

Meng Zhe was also furious. This was simply unreasonable and lawless. He immediately started fighting with the man. Shang Lin hurriedly took out his phone to call the police and quickly explained their situation and location.

Although Meng Zhe was exceptionally talented, he was facing an adult man and was far inferior in strength, quickly finding himself at a disadvantage.

Shang Lin hurriedly put away his phone and went to help. The two of them fought with the man in a chaotic manner and both got injured. They were only rescued when Uncle Hat arrived.

But the man fell to the ground, shouting, "There's a monster! Help me!"

Uncle Hat looked at the two middle school students in their school uniforms, puzzled. Seeing that they were both injured, he told them to call their parents.

Okay, even if they weren't injured, they should still call their parents in this situation. Middle school students are minors, so there needs to be a guardian present. Shang Lin and Meng Zhe cooperated very well, but the man kept saying that there were monsters, that the whole room was full of monsters, and so on.

The police station wasn't far from the No. 1 Middle School, but Meng Fanyu's home was a bit far from the police station, and "Old Man Chai" arrived around the same time as him because of his poor eyesight.

"Old Man Chai" was leaning on a cane and wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, the ones he had gotten from the hospital. They had been gathering dust at home and were only being worn for the first time today.

Because his glasses were prescription, Ji Xiaoyao's eyes were almost unfocused, making him look like a blind person. Shang Lin couldn't help but sigh silently in his heart, "It must have been hard for General Ji."

However, there was nothing that could be done about it. Ji Xiaoyao's eyes were too sharp, not the kind of eyes a man in his fifties should have. No matter how much he tried to restrain himself, it had little effect.

When Meng Fanyu saw his son enter the police station with Shang Lin, his heart sank and his hands and feet went cold. This was...