Qiu Miao: Mr. Gu’s hand towel is a really good prop

Wang Ge felt a chill as Gu Wenye stared at him closely. He coughed lightly, touched his neck subconsciously, and asked, "General Gu?"

Gu Wenye came back to his senses. He retracted his gaze and looked at Wang Ge, asking, "Did you not notice anything unusual last night? Was there anything wrong with your body?"

Wang Ge shook his head in confusion. "Everything is normal. Why do you ask that, General Gu?"

Gu Wenye did not elaborate. He did not want to cause panic before he was sure what happened to Wang Ge. After all, it was a bit scary to see two bruises on his throat, the most vulnerable part of his neck, and then disappear out of thin air.

"Oh, it's just that something like that happened yesterday, so I wanted to ask about your physical condition. Do you need to talk to the principal and take a day or two off?" Gu Wenye curled the corners of his mouth and said silently, covering up the thoughts in his mind.

Wang Ge grinned, forced a smile that was not very funny, and said, "General Gu, please don't worry too much. I'm fine."

Gu Wenye nodded slightly upon hearing this. He patted Wang Ge's arm and said, "Don't stress yourself out. No one knows who is responsible for what happened back then." He paused. "I don't mean to shirk responsibility for you. It's just that your self-punishment like an ascetic monk now, does it have any meaning or help for Fu Yangsheng's situation? Fu's family thinks you are the murderer, so they hope you live like hell. But in fact, you and I, the principal, know the real mastermind behind this. It has nothing to do with you. The person who should be punished is still at large."

Wang Ge lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly, "Besides this, I don't know what else I can do to make up for my failure. That was a child with great potential, but he was ruined under my care. General Gu, you won't understand this feeling."

Gu Wenye was silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke, "Do you think I don't understand your feelings?"

He gave an ambiguous smile and shook his head slightly. Wang Ge felt that at this moment, the young general in front of him seemed to have suddenly changed a lot. Gu Wenye looked at Wang Ge and calmly called out one name after another. Wang Ge was very familiar with these names. These were all outstanding graduates of this academy and were also excellent soldiers with great potential in their eyes. They were sent to the battlefield but never came back.

"These people are all my soldiers. Under my command, I led them to win battle after victory, but I couldn't bring them back. They are the sacrifices that make this planet so stable. It's because I can't protect everyone. This feeling of being powerless and watching my beloved subordinates die one after another under the enemy's guns and spears, believe me, no one understands it better than me." Gu Wenye said. Wang Ge found that Gu Wenye was so calm when he said this. His heart tensed a little, and he suddenly realized that this former student in front of him had already experienced a battle even more terrible than him.

Wang Ge moved his lips twice and uttered two dry words, "Sorry."

"I'm not saying this to get your sympathy or apology." Gu Wenye waved his hand and said, "You need to let go of this emotional baggage. There are some things you can't do, but there are some things you can do. Do something meaningful instead of self-punishment."

Wang Ge was in a daze for a moment. Gu Wenye didn't say anything else. He turned the wheelchair and walked around among the students who were trying to operate the mecha. He whispered a few words of encouragement and left.

On the other side, Qiu Yanping followed the old principal to find the gardener's address. It was a small house, standing alone between two apartment buildings, which seemed particularly out of place.

Outside the door of the small house was a gate that looked like a fence, with a few bunches of nameless red buds crawling on it, entangled with the open latch. It seemed that no one had been in or out for some time.

The old principal was still searching for the doorbell on the wall hidden by the climbing vines, while Qiu Yanping had already pushed open the bolt and walked in.

The old principal stood there for two seconds, then uttered a soft "oh" and hurriedly followed.

This low house has not been occupied for a long time. When the door was opened, a cloud of dust was raised, mixed with a cold wind, which made the old principal wave his hands and cover his mouth and cough twice. Qiu Yanping frowned slightly and looked around. The furnishings in the low house were very simple, with a table, a chair, and a bed. Apart from that, there was nothing else. He saw everything at a glance.

The old principal exclaimed, "It seems that the gardener has moved to another place."

Qiu Yanping responded nonchalantly. He didn't think he could find the man here, he just wanted to look for clues.

Although this low house faces south, it still exudes a gloomy and cold atmosphere.

If it weren't for the fact that it was noon and the sunlight was shining directly in through the door, the whole room would be pitch dark.

Qiu Yanping walked straight into the room, first swept around the bedside, then with his palm facing down, he shook off the dust as if inadvertently, then turned his palm over, and a strand of ash like something flowed into his sleeve along his palm.

"Since we can't find that gardening master, Mr. Qiu, how about I recommend another one? They are all well-known in the industry." The old principal stood outside the door and spoke in a slightly raised voice. He probably felt that the house was too dusty and dark, so he was timid and did not go in. He just stayed outside where the sun could shine.

Qiu Yanping ignored the old principal. He paused and his eyes fell on a dot of dark red on the edge of the table. He half-knelt down and his gaze moved down to the chair leg covered with a layer of dust. He rummaged in his pocket and took out the towel that Gu Wenye had lent him in the morning. He pursed his lips and thought that no matter how dirty it was, he would just wash it clean before returning it, and Gu Wenye would not know. Thinking of this, he used the towel to wipe off the thick layer of dust, and the dark red of varying shades sprayed on the chair leg like ink splashes.

Qiu Yanping paused as he was wiping the dust with a towel and narrowed his eyes slightly.

It's blood.

"Mr. Qiu?" Without hearing Qiu Yanping's answer, the old principal asked again. He poked his head inside slightly, wanting to see what Qiu Yanping was doing.

Qiu Yanping stood up neatly, walked to the door and said briskly, "Okay."

"W-what is good?" The old principal didn't react for a moment.

"You asked me to recommend another gardener, and I said yes." Qiu Yanping got the information he wanted, so he patiently accommodated the old man's poor memory and repeated it again.

The old principal said "Oh", squinted his eyes and smiled like an old fox. He nodded and said, "I'll find a contact method for you later." This is a favor from Mr. Qiu that he got for free, so he must grasp it well.