Chapter 240: Grudges

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.

Chen Jun Nan irritably turned his head and stared straight at Han Yi Mo.

Ever since they had entered this classroom, this man had been staring at him, making him feel extremely uncomfortable all over.

Now that everyone else had lain down to sleep, Chen Jun Nan decided to have a frank talk with the man in front of him.

"What the hell are you looking at?"

Han Yi Mo furrowed his brow deeply and lowered his voice. "Are you playing dumb? I should be the one asking you—what exactly are you up to?"

"I'm not sure I understand." Chen Jun Nan shrugged. "Aren't we just getting ready to sleep?"

"Sleep my ass..." Han Yi Mo muttered under his breath. "You..."

Han Yi Mo gritted his teeth, as if he had something to say, but there were too many people around.

"Come with me!"

Han Yi Mo opened the classroom door and stepped into the hallway.

A moment later, Chen Jun Nan followed him out.

"What's up? You planning to fight me one-on-one?" Chen Jun Nan slowly rolled up his sleeves. "You might not be up to it—I could end up beating you to death."

"Chen Jun Nan, right?" Han Yi Mo said irritably. "You know how much I want to kill you..."

"Kill me? For what?"

"Because you've made my life a living hell!"

"Is it that serious?" Chen Jun Nan sighed after hearing this. "It's not that big of a deal."

"You..." Han Yi Mo looked furious. "Back there with everyone around, I gave you face and didn't call you out... What's your real purpose for coming here with us? Are you planning to keep causing trouble?"

"What purpose could I have?" Chen Jun Nan looked at Han Yi Mo with some confusion. "Do you live by the sea or something? You're acting like you have authority over everything."

"I..." Han Yi Mo frowned, feeling his anger about to boil over.

"Besides, I don't like the way you're questioning me." Chen Jun Nan shook his head. "What gives you, a guy who spreads rumors online, the right to interrogate me like some cop?"

This remark startled Han Yi Mo.

"You... How do you know that?"

"Hah." Chen Jun Nan raised an eyebrow. "So that's what's going on—you don't even remember who I am anymore? No wonder you're bold enough to challenge me here."

"What...?"

"Old Han, I'm not doing any better than you." Chen Jun Nan said with a helpless smile. "Over these seven years, it's been you then me, back and forth—we old buddies are in pretty much the same boat..."

"Bullshit!" Han Yi Mo grabbed Chen Jun Nan's collar. "My situation is all your fault! Because of you... I've been stuck for these seven years!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Chen Jun Nan asked. "Don't you feel like a superman? Knowing everything about that day inside out?"

Han Yi Mo slowly released his hand, his expression full of pain.

"Chen Jun Nan... You're a madman, but I'm not..." Han Yi Mo said, trembling slightly. "To keep myself from going insane... I've had to keep myself busy with all sorts of things..."

"Oh?" Chen Jun Nan couldn't help but laugh. "So, what's your job now? A forum moderator? A game commentator? A community admin? Or some other weird gig?"

Han Yi Mo didn't want to answer that question.

"Chen Jun Nan, I just hope you won't cause any more trouble..." Han Yi Mo turned to look at him. "This time, we really have a chance to escape... Qi Xia—don't you think this man named Qi Xia is like a savior descending from the sky? He'll lead us out..."

Hearing this, Chen Jun Nan's expression changed.

He had thought he and Han Yi Mo were in the same situation, but Han Yi Mo was actually worse off.

What did he mean by "this man named Qi Xia"?

Had Han Yi Mo forgotten about Qi Xia?

It was impressive that he had held on without even remembering Qi Xia.

"A savior, huh?" Chen Jun Nan nodded. "You're right—Old Qi really is like a savior. Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble."

"Really...?" Han Yi Mo looked at Chen Jun Nan with doubt.

"Yeah, what happened before won't happen again."

Han Yi Mo nodded, thought for a few seconds, and then turned back to the classroom.

Watching him walk away, Chen Jun Nan felt a twinge of guilt.

For everyone here, Zhong Yan Zhi Di wasn't scary, Sheng Xiao wasn't scary, and the game wasn't scary.

What was scary was giving up.

Chen Jun Nan glanced out the window, shook his head, and was about to return to the classroom when he noticed a figure in the shadows.

It was Lin Geng.

"Hey..." He smiled slightly. "What do we have here? Some beauty sneaking around, listening in on us guys talking in the middle of the night?"

"I'm sorry..." Lin Geng stepped forward into the light. "Though I feel a bit apologetic, I have to admit I was deliberately eavesdropping."

"Hey, you're straightforward about it." Chen Jun Nan's words were flippant, but his gaze was cautious. "So, why were you eavesdropping?"

He knew this young woman was unfathomable.

She had appeared right when Qi Xia showed up the second time.

At that moment, when Chen Jun Nan saw Qi Xia, he thought he was losing his mind and couldn't help but smile desperately.

But to his surprise, the Qi Xia in front of him was real, not a hallucination.

In that case... who was this young woman?

Someone who could appear at will in other people's interview rooms... Could she be an ordinary person?

"Chen Jun Nan, I just wanted to confirm your motives." Lin Geng said. "I need to know what side you're on, so I can decide if we're going to fight each other every round or work together."

"What about your motives?" Chen Jun Nan asked in return.

"I need to follow Qi Xia to find a way out."

"Why are you so sure that following Old Qi will get you out?" Chen Jun Nan looked at Lin Geng with a smile.

"I can't say..." Lin Geng stared at Chen Jun Nan just as cautiously.

Lin Geng knew that this man retained a lot of memories—his "hui xiang" was easily triggered and might even include events from seven years ago.

From that perspective, every time this man "initiated the substitution," it wasn't because of her "activation."

He was volunteering for it.

"Fine, if you won't say, then don't." Chen Jun Nan nodded. "My purpose is simple—I at least need to get Old Qi and Old Qiao out."

"Then our goals overlap a lot." Lin Geng nodded. "I hope you're not lying."

"Don't worry, I'm not like Old Qi."

Lin Geng nodded ambiguously.

"By the way, I'm Ji Dao Zhe Lin Geng. You really don't remember ever seeing me before?"

"Nope."

Lin Geng nodded and walked away.

Chen Jun Nan looked out at the night scenery, saying with a puzzled expression, "What's Ji Dao Zhe even mean? I've been stuck in that room all these years without coming out... I had no idea Zhong Yan Zhi Di had changed so much."