Chapter 56: The Death of Zhuang Dong Was Suspicious

While Lu Yuan was attempting to enter his dream, Wen Ke was on her way to the psychological clinic.

"I hope I can fall asleep."

Lu Yuan lay on the bed and closed his eyes.

As it turned out, before ten o'clock at night, it was not easy for Lu Yuan to fall asleep.

His insomnia symptoms still persisted, but because of the uncanny dream world, his insomnia was forcefully eliminated at ten o'clock every night.

Even so, Lu Yuan could feel that his insomnia had weakened significantly.

Previously, he had to rely on sleeping pills to barely get some rest. Now, merely lying in bed and counting sheep for an hour was enough to induce a hint of drowsiness.

This was already much better than before.

Lu Yuan took a moment to check the time.

He had been lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling and counting sheep for an hour, yet the time was still only seven o'clock in the evening.

There were still three hours left until ten o'clock.

Lu Yuan could not help feeling a surge of excitement.

Given his current level of drowsiness, if he continued to count sheep for another hour, he might actually fall asleep—two hours earlier than ten o'clock.

Just at that moment, a knock sounded at the door of the psychological clinic.

The previously silent clinic had been filled only with Lu Yuan's breathing, but now, the knocking outside shattered all the quiet, echoing through the entire establishment.

Lu Yuan's drowsiness vanished completely in an instant.

Staring at the ceiling, he had a strong urge to curse!

After taking a whole hour to cultivate his sleepiness, it was all wiped out by this sudden knock on the door.

"Whoever is outside, you had better have a genuine emergency."

Lu Yuan rolled off the bed.

Opening the door, he saw the visitor, though he was not particularly surprised.

In this City S, very few people knew Lu Yuan's address; most of them were from the police station, and among the police officers, the one who visited him most frequently was Wen Ke.

"Captain Wen, why are you here again?"

Lu Yuan's tone was less than welcoming.

If he had just persevered for another hour, he would have been able to fall asleep. Not only would that have secured the reward from the television, but it would also have allowed him to head to Mingzhi Primary School before the three-day deadline expired.

Now, interrupted by Wen Ke, his schedule was delayed once more.

Wen Ke naturally sensed the edge in Lu Yuan's voice. Casually brushing past him, she stepped into the clinic, taking in the layout while teasing, "Not happy to see me?"

Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned.

Quickly composing himself, he smoothed out his expression and put on a natural look. "Apologize for that. I was just about to fall asleep, so I'm a bit grumpy from being woken up."

"Sleeping?"

"This early?"

Wen Ke looked quite surprised.

It was only seven o'clock in the evening.

For a young man like Lu Yuan, this should merely be the beginning of the nightlife.

Without a trace, Wen Ke swept her gaze toward the bed in the exact center of the clinic. Previously, that spot had been occupied by a sofa, but now it had been replaced by a large bed.

There were traces of someone having slept on it.

Both the quilt and the sheets bore obvious indentations, proving that Lu Yuan had not lied—he really had been sleeping just moments ago.

Lu Yuan poured a cup of hot water for Wen Ke. "I don't like wandering around outside alone at night. Whenever I have nothing to do, I just go to sleep early."

Wen Ke nodded.

"What brings Captain Wen here?"

"Is it still about Zhuang Dong from earlier today?"

That was the only possibility Lu Yuan could think of.

Wen Ke gazed directly into Lu Yuan's eyes. His gaze was exceptionally calm, showing no trace of abnormality. A qualified psychological counselor was not only a blessing to patients but also the bane of the police.

The psychological resilience of a counselor far exceeded that of ordinary people, making it extremely difficult to detect flaws when such individuals lied. Even veteran police officers who had handled cases for years might struggle to distinguish truth from falsehood.

Wen Ke could read nothing in Lu Yuan's eyes.

This indicated that Lu Yuan was someone adept at concealing his inner thoughts.

Fingering the teacup, Wen Ke said softly, "Lu Yuan, can I trust you?"

Lu Yuan did not answer immediately. He met Wen Ke's gaze directly, and for some reason, he saw the shadow of Tang Wen overlapping with Wen Ke.

Though he had not thought of Tang Wen in all these years, ever since he began interacting with Wen Ke, memories of Tang Wen surfaced in his mind with increasing frequency.

Gradually, Lu Yuan found himself viewing Wen Ke as Tang Wen.

Subconsciously, Lu Yuan blurted out, "Tang Wen, you can always trust me."

The moment the words left his mouth, Lu Yuan instantly snapped back to reality.

How could he have mistaken Wen Ke for Tang Wen!

Wen Ke wore a look of utter astonishment. Hearing the name of her deceased friend spoken by Lu Yuan, she didn't know how to react for a moment and even forgot what she had intended to say next.

An awkward silence fell between them.

After a long while, Wen Ke asked, "Your relationship with Wenwen was... very close?"

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment before giving a soft hum. "She helped me a lot during our university days. I am very grateful to her."

That was the truth.

Tang Wen was a good person.

Yet it seemed that good people rarely lived long lives.

Tang Wen was one such person.

And there was another person like that as well.

Wen Ke had no idea that Lu Yuan and Tang Wen's relationship was so close, yet she had never once heard Tang Wen mention Lu Yuan's name.

Of course, it was also possible that Tang Wen's kindness extended to everyone, not just Lu Yuan, and that the people who had received her help were numerous—Lu Yuan merely being one unremarkable face among them.

To Tang Wen, helping Lu Yuan might have been as casual and ordinary as encountering a stray cat on the way home from school and tossing it a bit of food.

Perhaps Tang Wen herself never imagined that on some seemingly ordinary day, she would help Lu Yuan as she always did, and pay for it with her life.

"Wenwen loved helping people."

Wen Ke recalled some past events.

Tang Wen was a thoroughly wonderful girl. Had she not died in that accident, she would likely have become an outstanding psychological counselor by now.

Lu Yuan did not know how to respond.

Wen Ke did not know that Tang Wen's death back then was tied to Lu Yuan. Had she known, she most likely would not have been able to sit down and chat calmly with him now.

Wen Ke was not someone who liked dwelling on sorrow. Quickly gathering her emotions, she looked at Lu Yuan with a serious gaze. "Lu Yuan, since Wenwen helped you, I choose to believe you are a good person."

"Please give me an honest answer!"

"Does Zhuang Dong's death really have nothing to do with you?"

Wen Ke knew it was highly inappropriate to ask so bluntly. Even if Lu Yuan were involved in Zhuang Dong's death, hearing such a question would naturally make him try to distance himself from it.

Lu Yuan saw absolute sincerity in Wen Ke's eyes.

In a trance, he thought of Tang Wen once more.

That girl's eyes had always been filled with innocence, gentleness, and warmth, completely devoid of scheming or calculation, wearing her thoughts openly on her face.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Able to be close friends with Tang Wen, Wen Ke was evidently a genuinely good person as well.

After a long silence, Lu Yuan slowly spoke, "Zhuang Dong's death has nothing to do with me."

Wen Ke let out a soft "Mn."

Before she could speak further, Lu Yuan added, "However, I know there is something fishy about Zhuang Dong's death."