Chapter 17: Hydrogen Peroxide

Chapter 17: Hydrogen Peroxide

The atmosphere between the two of them had cooled considerably due to the incident that night. Zhou Liao had his doubts, and Ling Yang didn't want him to get what he wanted so easily. He only escorted her downstairs, giving her a quick kiss and touch in the car before leaving. Afterward, Ling Yang didn't invite him up.

Zhou Liao didn’t mind; tonight wasn’t the right time anyway. Fine wine needed time to age and settle, and he wasn’t in a rush. He understood that Ling Yang was playing a game of push and pull with him.

Ling Yang still occasionally sent him messages, and their flirtation continued intermittently. Bai Ling had asked him once if he wanted to have dinner together, but after Zhou Liao declined, she didn’t send any more messages.

After class ended at noon, he and Chen Xian went to the snack street outside the south gate of the campus and ran into Bai Ling. She was with her roommate, and when their eyes met, Bai Ling looked away, seemingly upset.

Bai Ling’s roommate covered her eyes and pulled her onto another path.

"Why are you still looking at him? He's clearly giving you the cold shoulder."

"I wasn't looking... it was just an accidental glance."

"Stay away from someone like him. It’s good you didn’t agree to go out with him. One day he might infect you with something, and you won’t even know where to cry."

Chen Xian watched the two figures, rubbing his chin. "Her roommate looks pretty good, tall and commanding."

Zhou Liao indeed wasn’t focused on Bai Ling, but honestly, she was a decent partner—obedient, honest, and measured. Compared to other women, she lacked strong ulterior motives. Losing her would be a shame, although he initially wanted to take away something Qin Zhan cared about. Now, he felt a bit concerned.

However, this concern wasn’t enough to make him fall in love with a woman of her caliber. He still preferred beautiful women, innocent yet seductive, with curves in all the right places.

"Bai Ling."

Bai Ling stopped abruptly, but her roommate turned around with an unpleasant look and tried to drag her away.

Zhou Liao called her name again, but this time Bai Ling ignored him and quickly left with her roommate.

"Well, now you don’t even need to break up," Chen Xian said, watching their backs with interest.

"I haven’t decided to break up yet. She makes a good shield."

"What do you need to shield yourself from? You’d rather have beauties chasing you."

"Bai Ling is different. She helps salvage my reputation in school. She’s innocent, and we’ve been together for a while." Zhou Liao joked, not caring about Bai Ling’s current mood. "It doesn’t matter; I’ll make it up to her tomorrow."

Chen Xian nudged him with his elbow. "Just don’t get yourself into trouble. By the way, what was the situation when you told me you felt someone following you that night?"

"I’m not sure, but I’ve felt someone following me for the past two weeks. Every time I turn around, there’s no one there."

"Encountered a ghost?"

Zhou Liao glared at him and lifted his gaze, catching sight of Qin Zhan walking out of the information building with a lifeless black backpack. Everyone else was in pairs, making Qin Zhan stand out.

Strangely, Qin Zhan, who used to be invisible, now caught his attention every time he appeared.

"He looks like that ghost."

Chen Xian followed Zhou Liao’s gaze, recognized who it was, and turned away, finding it unlucky. "Maybe it’s him. After all, whoever is following you must have a grudge against you."

Zhou Liao hadn’t considered Qin Zhan before, but now, seeing his figure in a brown jacket, it did resemble that night.

"But it’s impossible. He’s so poor, spending all his time studying and working. Where would he find the time to follow you? Did you check the surveillance footage?"

"I checked the surveillance room the second time I suspected something. I reviewed the parking lot footage, but saw nothing. Some areas aren’t covered by cameras."

"But as computer science majors, what if Qin Zhan knows how to hack into the surveillance system?"

"Can you be any more paranoid?" Zhou Liao couldn’t tolerate Chen Xian’s scare tactics. "Even if he had a hundred guts, he wouldn’t dare follow me. But lurking in sewers fits his personality."

Chen Xian was just speculating, harboring some doubt, but he didn’t believe Qin Zhan would actually follow Zhou Liao. After all, Qin Zhan was a penniless orphan, while Zhou Liao, despite being neglected by his parents, was still the sole heir of a wealthy family in C City. Qin Zhan posed no real threat to Zhou Liao.

His slight suspicion stemmed from Qin Zhan’s dark demeanor. What if he wasn’t normal?

"Just joking. You’re not interacting with him anymore, right?"

Zhou Liao didn’t want Chen Xian meddling in his affairs with Qin Zhan, so he didn’t mention his recent visit to the bar where Qin Zhan worked.

"No."

"That’s good. You’re probably overthinking it. Who would dare follow you?" Chen Xian glanced at his phone and widened his eyes. "Forget about it. Tonight’s a treat. Ran Boss said an Aston Martin Valkyrie is available to drive today."

"Really?" Zhou Liao turned his head. "My dad won’t buy it, so I’ve only driven it in Forza Horizon 5."

The weather had rapidly cooled, and hospital corridors were filled with patients waiting in queues or receiving intravenous treatments.

When the nurse saw a familiar face, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. The patient’s elderly relative had been hospitalized for too long, and the hospital had extended the payment deadline, fearing the family would default. Now, she was relieved to see the person appear.

"Here’s the bill for the recent expenses," the nurse handed him the invoice. "The elderly lady seems to be in low spirits, possibly due to loneliness. If you have time, you could visit her."

Qin Zhan looked at the astronomical sum on the bill, showing no emotion. He paid silently without responding to the nurse’s suggestion. Soon, his phone displayed his remaining balance: less than 200 yuan for the month.

"I want to buy two bottles of 30% hydrogen peroxide."

The nurse paused while writing the prescription. "Why do you need such a high concentration?"

"My cousin needs it," Qin Zhan lied without hesitation.

"Huh?" The nurse found it odd but understood given his circumstances. "Actually, 3% is sufficient if used for longer periods."

Qin Zhan shook his head, and the nurse sighed, guessing it might be for cleaning bed sheets. "I’ll ask the director."

After a moment, perhaps after explaining the situation, she gave him a prescription for medical-grade 30% hydrogen peroxide. Qin Zhan thanked her quietly and went to pay at the pharmacy counter.

The nurse watched him leave, unable to resist calling out, "Aren’t you going to visit your grandmother?"

Qin Zhan didn’t respond or turn back.

He returned home with two bottles of hydrogen peroxide and put them away in the cabinet. Afterward, Qin Zhan prepared a cup of instant noodles and turned on his computer. He then plugged his phone’s data cable into the computer, where an unnamed game icon appeared in the top right corner of the screen.

The photo album that popped up on the computer contained a large number of videos and photos. Most of the earlier ones were of his own shredded works, while the later ones were all recordings of one person.

The details of the photos and videos meticulously displayed the locations and times when the other party had appeared. Qin Zhan glanced at the repeated trajectories noted down previously. Tonight, the guy would likely go racing, so there was no need to follow him.

In the past few days, Bai Ling seemed to have had little contact with the other party. In Qin Zhan's records, he only had evidence of Zhou Liao's infidelity, which he packed into a compressed file and did not intend to send to Bai Ling just yet.

After a while, he disposed of the finished instant noodles, separating the wet from the dry, and threw them into the trash bin outside. A stray dog came over to sniff it, and Qin Zhan tossed the last sausage from his home toward it before turning around and heading back inside.

There were eighteen days left in the month, and the remaining money was barely enough for him to survive. There was only a bit of vegetables left in the fridge, but fortunately, the school cafeteria was cheap, and occasionally, the bar provided meals. He currently owed loans from two platforms, using one hole to fill another.

However, after the postponement of the financial aid, both the scholarship and the national scholarship would be disbursed soon, possibly allowing him to repay the loans before their due dates.

At 11 PM, Qin Zhan sat back down in front of the computer. Just as he moved the mouse to the unnamed game icon, his phone vibrated on the side. The call was from an unlisted number, but Qin Zhan knew who it was.

He answered the call, and the voice on the other end sounded cold and distant through the static of the second-hand phone.

"Someone called in sick tonight. Come in to cover the shift."