Chapter 25
Although these puppets were obtained legally, the system was still related to supernatural events, and Pei Zhao felt inexplicably guilty.
After seeing the police off, all four looked tired. Especially Bai Zhou, the hostility on his face made people afraid to approach him.
Pei Zhao had no choice but to comfort him: "That man might not be mentally normal. How is Lan Ji? Why don't we go to the hospital to check it out?"
After he finished speaking, he thought that Bai Zhou probably didn't know what the hospital he was talking about was, so he explained, "It's a place to see a doctor."
Lan Ji raised his hand and pinched the back of Bai Zhou's neck, then waved to Pei Zhao with a slight apology, "No need, Your Highness," Bai Zhou said "hmm".
Lan Ji laughed and continued, "This matter is a bit strange. The Enlightened Ones seem to be very suspicious. Could you please check it out?"
Bai Zhou's expression remained gloomy when he heard this, but it looked much better than before. He just looked up at Pei Zhao and asked, "Want to check?"
Pei Zhao's expression changed slightly, and he seemed uncertain. Zhou Yuli also looked at Pei Zhao. He had just felt that Pei Zhao's reaction was wrong - after spending some time together, he knew that Pei Zhao was smart, but he was definitely not sharp enough to conclude that his wife had been murdered from just two sentences from a man.
This is too much like a preconceived experience...
Thinking of what Zhou Ran had said about Pei Zhao's high school years, Zhou Yuli thought that Pei Zhao didn't want others to mention it, so he just wanted to change the subject, "Why don't we go eat first..."
"We need to investigate." Pei Zhao's gaze was fixed. Although he was looking at Bai Zhou, his eyes were filled with another emotion.
Zhou Yuli didn't understand it, and Bai Zhou didn't understand it either.
Lan Ji stood up and took Pei Zhao's hand, "Well, let's investigate." He was very familiar with that expression. When he had just learned about the deeds of the eldest prince whom he had always admired, he had seen the same expression in his eyes in the mirror countless times.
Disappointed, angry.
·
Investigation should start from clues.
The only clue at the moment is the puppet woman in a wedding dress.
Four people sat in a circle with a puppet in the middle.
"This wedding dress..." Bai Zhou said.
"It's just an ordinary wedding dress." Pei Zhao replied.
"This crown..." Lan Ji said.
"It's just an ordinary crown." Pei Zhao sighed.
"This appearance..." Zhou Yuli thought.
Pei Zhao narrowed his eyes, "Hmm..."
Bai Zhou and Lan Ji glared at him together: "Double standards!"
Pei Zhao blinked innocently and said, "No, it just occurred to me that since the man said the puppet looked exactly like his wife, why not start from the appearance? Zhou Yuli, you are really the smartest!"
As he spoke, Pei Zhao pinched the back of Zhou Yuli's neck in praise. Only Bai Zhou noticed that Zhou Yuli blushed and squinted his eyes as if he understood something.
Just do it. As for finding people by appearance, Zhou Ran's family is engaged in technology research and development, and they happen to have facial recognition technology.
After explaining the whole story to Zhou Ran, the man readily agreed: "It's good to investigate it thoroughly. My brother made a little gadget for me to try out before. I think this one can meet your needs."
Zhou Ran transferred the software on his phone to Pei Zhao via the computer. After Pei Zhao downloaded it, a purple round face logo appeared on the phone interface with a line of small words underneath.
Who are you [trial version].
"Thank you, Zhou Ran. If this matter is investigated, I will definitely give your brother a banner."
Zhou Ran looked at the hung up call and scratched the back of his head: "Isn't this the clue I provided? Why are you sending my brother away..."
But, there is no hope for the silk banner.
Facial scanning will only record facial data that has been registered on a certain software, and the face of this puppet may not be found by facial recognition because the original owner has never registered it.
The first step of the investigation was blocked, and everyone felt a little frustrated.
As night fell, there was a curfew in the dormitory building, so Pei Zhao and Zhou Yuli had to go back first.
"Is it really okay for you two to guard the store here?" Before leaving, Bai Zhou and Lan Ji said they wanted to stay in the store, and Pei Zhao was worried.
"Don't worry, we're going to renovate this place. The shelves in the front can hold more puppets, and we'll separate a lounge in the back. Lan Ji is going to open a new media account and post some information about puppets to make it easier for everyone to make reservations and purchases. We'll also be able to contact customers in advance, and it would be best if we can screen out the psychopaths like today." Bai Zhou said with a smile.
Pei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, "Having you here really helps me a lot."
Lan Ji shook his head: "It was you who helped us. I never thought that I could meet His Highness in another world."
Maybe this is the miracle of love.
Pei Zhao thought for a long time and finally took the wedding dress puppet back. On the way back, Pei Zhao felt a little lost.
"Zhou Yuli, do you know why my mother went crazy back then?"
As far as Zhou Yuli could remember, Pei Zhao had never mentioned his family situation to him. But at this moment, he felt that Pei Zhao needed more listening than asking questions. Zhou Yuli asked, "Why?"
Maybe it was because the night wind was a little cold, Pei Zhao sniffed and said, "Because of my dad."
He looked up at the night, and saw a bright crescent moon hanging in the dark sky. "My father is a very old-fashioned man. He hopes that both my mother and I are well, but he is also a man who does not know how to love. He has the final say on all matters at home, big or small, and he eventually drove my mother crazy."
He said, then shook his head, "Actually, it was me who drove my mother crazy."
Pei Zhao stopped walking as he spoke, and Zhou Yuli stood beside him and looked at him.
"I... My dad told me a long time ago that there are some bad things in my genes." Pei Zhao's mouth was bitter when he brought up the past. "He wanted to take precautionary measures and let me get rid of bad habits early."
Zhou Yuli frowned and couldn't help but guess what the so-called bad things were referring to.
Pei Zhao continued, "I don't know if there have been electric shocks and violence in your world. In that environment, I was forced to change for the better for a short time. I also swore to him that I would never become the kind of person he was afraid of me becoming, but some things are in the genes and cannot be changed." Pei Zhao said, shaking his head: "Dad is a serious person. He will not give up until he sees the result of something he has determined. I did not pass the test, so he left me and mom and left a letter. That letter became Mom's nightmare."
As he spoke, he suddenly felt himself run into a warm embrace. Zhou Yuli hugged him tightly. Before he knew it, he was already in tears.
"Mom went crazy later. She hated herself and said that she was the one who made me suffer. I hated myself too, because I was the one who made Mom crazy. The two of us fought to the death, and in the end, Mom died and I lived." Pei Zhao finished speaking intermittently, having already stopped crying.
Zhou Yuli looked down at the person who was crying silently in his arms. He had no idea that Pei Zhao's past was even worse than his. The mother and son tortured each other, and the father was invisible. Pei Zhao was caught in the middle, unable to live or die.
Zhou Yuli didn't know what to say, so he could only put his hands on Pei Zhao's back and help him breathe smoothly.
But there was always a voice in his heart saying: Please, don't torture yourself anymore.
·
Zhou Yuli carried Pei Zhao back to the dormitory, which scared Zhou Ran.
Pei Zhao was sleepy and tired, his mind was hazy and he couldn't even open his glasses. Zhou Yuli asked Zhou Ran for help. Together, they moved Pei Zhao to the bed. Zhou Ran then asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with Master Pei? You're in a bad mood."
Zhou Yuli's face was not good either. After listening to Pei Zhao's story, his heart ached. But he thought that Pei Zhao would not want him to tell others about his past, so he just said vaguely, "Well, I'm in a bad mood."
Zhou Ran looked worried, looked around, and took a towel from Pei Zhao's desk: "Then I'll go wash a towel for Pei Shen and help him wipe it? You... you've worked hard, my brother, he's like this sometimes, but he's usually quite cheerful."
Zhou Yuli indicated that he was fine, keenly grasped the key words, and asked: "Your name is Pei Zhaoge?"
Zhou Ran was stunned for a moment, and explained: "...When I was a child, yes, but later, hey, you and Pei Shen are good friends, so I told you."
Zhou Ran simply pulled out a chair and sat down. "Pei Shen's father is very strict with Pei Shen. Pei Shen used to be in the same grade as me. He was a genius at the level of a scholar. He was not a tyrant, but a genius!"
Zhou Ran said, recalling: "His academic performance and character are all admirable. Pei Shen's father was our senior class teacher. Senior year is all about reviewing. Someone like Pei Shen, who is a genius at studying, must be heading for a top-notch school. We all thought so. Who would have thought that one day, while we were still in class, his father suddenly called Pei Shen out and started to curse at him."
Zhou Yuli frowned: "Did you all hear it?"
Zhou Ran nodded solemnly: "Although there was a wall between us, I could hear it clearly in the corridor. The curses were very ugly, saying that he had no shame... In short, it was words that had nothing to do with Pei Shen at all."
Zhou Yuli felt as if something was pressing on his chest: "... Yeah."
Zhou Ran's tone became heavier as he spoke: "... Later, they started fighting. We couldn't take care of our classes and went out to stop his father. But after that day, Pei Shen never came to school again, and didn't even take the college entrance examination that year. Half a year later, Pei Shen returned to school, and we, his old friends, all knew about it. I sent him a message... and then I found out that his aunt had passed away."
Zhou Yuli was unable to speak. He held Pei Zhao's hand with one hand, unwilling to squeeze it with any force.
"Before, although Pei Shen was a good student, he was a little dull. He did everything obediently, had his own set of habits, and didn't show his emotions. But half a year later, it happened to be the winter break of my freshman year. When I went back, I felt that Pei Shen had become a different person. It was as if he suddenly had 'humanity'? His whole person was soft and thorny. To us, he was gentler than before, but to outsiders, he was very sharp." Zhou Ran said, and recalled that year. He got off the plane and couldn't wait to go back next door, and saw Pei Zhao arguing with the police who came to the door. His tone was very cold and dull, so unfamiliar that he didn't dare to get close.
It was not until the police left that Pei Zhao turned around and saw him, and his expression suddenly became gentle.
"Zhou Ran? You're back, great."
The memory stops here.
Zhou Ran cheered up, picked up the towel to wet it, and handed it to Zhou Yuli after returning. Zhou Yuli took the towel and carefully wiped the dried tears from Pei Zhao's face.
Zhou Ran watched his movements and continued, "Something bad happened in Pei Shen's family. His aunt passed away in front of him. Fortunately, he got over it. I don't know what happened to his father later. But a lot of things must have happened during the year we weren't together. Pei Shen was often unhappy after that period of time."
Zhou Yuli once asked himself whether it was really that important to not have parental love. The answer is, maybe. In another world, without love, one will become a puppet, but if he also met Pei Zhao in that world, perhaps they would not care so much about the complicated family.
Zhou Ran turned off the headlights and climbed onto the bed. Soon, he began to hear steady breathing sounds.
Zhou Ran thoughtfully left a small desk lamp under Pei Zhao's bed.
"If Pei Shen cries in the middle of the night, help wipe his tears. Don't be afraid of disturbing me." Zhou Ran said to him solemnly.
;
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