The Foolish Bookworm of the Aristocratic Boys’ School chapter 111.1

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Chapter 111: Going to the Outer District part 1

However, Wen Rong’s cruise ship plan was disrupted anyway.

As if to help him alleviate the awkwardness of rejecting Leon, Zhou Xie’s call came in right on time.

Wen Rong thought that if Zhou Xie said “Did you do it?”, he would immediately hang up and block him.

“The photos are processed. I think you should come see them yourself.”

Luckily, it wasn’t that.

Wen Rong glanced at Leon. Leon smiled. “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Xie keenly sensed something on the other end and asked, “Are you with Leon?”

“Mn.”

“You can let Leon lead the way. He knows where Li Ao’s dorm is.”

Li Ao’s dorm was upstairs from Senior Leon’s, almost diagonally across. One faced south, the other north. Upon entering, Wen Rong felt a blast of cold air.

The room was pitch black, without a speck of sunlight or any lights on.

Yet it was bright.

This place was more like a cyberpunk world. Various oddly shaped machines were wrapped in colorful lights. On the desk, four long, curved screens illuminated the obvious dark circles on Li Ao’s face.

Wen Rong wasn’t quite adapted to this environment. In his understanding, looking at electronic products with the lights off was bad for the eyes.

Click—

Senior Leon had walked to the door at some point and turned on the light.

Li Ao raised his hand with difficulty to block it. “Can you turn off the light? It’s too glaring.”

“It’s too dark, can’t see clearly.”

Zhou Xie also said, “Turn on the light. Let’s look at the photos first.”

Li Ao looked at Leon, then at Zhou Xie, thinking You guys never asked me to turn on the lights when looking at stuff here before. Out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently glimpsed Wen Rong, who still had a frown between his brows, and suddenly understood.

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Oh, the light was turned on for Wen Rong.

Why not turn it off for me?

Li Ao’s brain spun extremely fast: Of course, it’s because you have no status!

“Where are the photos?” The person with the highest status spoke.

Li Ao, unwilling and aggrieved, opened the processed photos.

Overexposed, the photos floated with an eerie whiteness. Li Ao zoomed in and used the mouse to indicate the lower part. “The photo was taken lying on the ground. These vertical black blocks that are easy to mistake for photo damage are actually legs.”

“According to my cousin’s analysis, these legs, with obvious muscle traces and a certain thickness, should belong to men.”

Seeing that the person with the highest status had no intention of speaking, Li Ao continued to move the photo. On the far right, he circled a round shape. “This block is black. My cousin and I guess it should be a head. Judging by the undulating shadows, these legs are surrounding a woman’s body.”

Wen Rong frowned slightly.

Li Ao skipped to the next photo. “This is the clearest of all the photos. A group of people squatting under a wall. The silhouettes make it hard to distinguish male from female, but there are big ones and small ones, likely adults and children.”

Leon asked, “Are there any other photos?”

“Even if I process the other photos, they won’t be clear.”

To prove he was telling the truth, Li Ao quickly scrolled the mouse, going through all the photos.

Scrolling to the bottom, he looked back to see the three of them lost in thought.

The air was too quiet, quiet to the point of being eerie. Li Ao began to feel uncomfortable.

“Cousin?” He looked at his cousin.

Zhou Xie: “Check the phone owner using the phone number to confirm the authenticity of these photos.”

Leon added, “I’ll also ask a friend if there’s a machine to restore the photos.”

Wen Rong: “…”

The four briefly dispersed from the computer. Zhou Xie and Leon were making calls. Wen Rong found a chair and sat down, quietly gazing at the blurry photos.

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Ten minutes later, Zhou Xie brought news from the other end of the line. There were too many cases in the Outer District. Just the descriptions of imprisoned women and children formed a thick stack of unsolved files; it was difficult to confirm which case the photos involved.

Li Ao also found that the phone number was bound to the ID of a deceased old lady, which clearly didn’t match the voice Wen Rong had heard.

“Should I call that woman again to ask about the situation?” Wen Rong asked.

Zhou Xie: “It’s not convenient to ask over the phone. For this kind of thing, it’s better to solve it on-site. Give me that woman’s social account, I’ll have someone look for her.”

Wen Rong: “Don’t scare her.”

“Mn.”

The brief conversation between the two ended, and the room inexplicably fell into a dead silence.

Perhaps because what the photos displayed was too heavy, everyone’s mood was somewhat affected.

Wen Rong didn’t know what to say to break the silence, so he just sat there.

In this quietness, a thought suddenly spawned in his heart—it was time to go back to the orphanage to take a look.

Maybe that was what President Zhou meant at the time.

He became more and more firm in this idea and made a quick decision. “Zhou Xie, let go of the online public opinion controls. I’ll find a suitable time to return to the orphanage.”

Zhou Xie was typing, but stopped abruptly, his voice raising: “You want to go back?”

“Mn.”

“Don’t tell me you want to go confirm if the things in the photos are real.”

Wen Rong was just about to open his mouth, but Leon spoke before him: “Wen Rong, you are a public figure now. Going back is likely dangerous.”

“Seeing these photos, I feel President Zhou asking me to return to the orphanage might have had other meanings.” Wen Rong looked at Zhou Xie. “What do you think?”

Zhou Xie frowned, a clear solemnity hanging on his face.

Leon: “Then I’ll go with you…”

Zhou Xie: “Aren’t you going to the research base?”

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Leon: “It’s not like they can’t do without me. I can go next time.”

Wen Rong thought for a moment. “Senior, you don’t need to accompany me. Just do your own things.”

Zhou Xie helped argue: “If you go, Shi Ye will definitely want to go too. Shi Ye is about to prepare for the University Tennis League; he can’t get away at all.”

Wen Rong was just preparing to nod in agreement when he heard Zhou Xie say, “I’ll go with him.”

“Ah?”

“I have a lot of free time, and this matter concerns my dad. Is there any reason I can’t go?”

Pfft. Leon let out a laugh, his eyes bright, looking leisurely at Zhou Xie. The meaning was like saying, What are you pretending for?

Zhou Xie turned a deaf ear. “When do we set off? I’ll go prepare.”

“You’d better not go.”

From current appearances, there were potential dangers at the orphanage. President Zhou had already passed away; Wen Rong didn’t want his son to fall into danger too. Moreover, returning to the orphanage was his own business. Wen Rong didn’t want to drag others in too deeply.

Leon seemed to understand his thoughts and asked, “If you don’t let others go with you, what if something happens?”

“Precisely because something might happen, I feel Zhou Xie shouldn’t go with me. If I enter a thieves’ den with him, who will save us?” Wen Rong continued to explain, “If I’m inside the den alone, I believe you guys can rescue me.”

Zhou Xie: “…”

Leon: “…”

“Besides, I’m a public figure now. If something happens to me, the entire Federation will help investigate the culprit.”

Zhou Xie and Leon exchanged a glance and said no more.

The matter was settled just like that. The wind on the Blue Book regarding whether Wen Rong would return to the orphanage lost control, and in just one afternoon, it blew all the way to Floriman Academy.

Walking on the road, people he didn’t know would come over and ask, “Are you going back to the Outer District?”

As if summoning up enough courage, their faces turned completely red.

Wen Rong pretended not to understand, and the other party didn’t even dare to look at him, bowing their heads and persuading silently, “Don’t go back. It’s so inconvenient for you to go back now.”

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The whole world was concerned about his return to the Outer District.

Wen Rong had never considered Lin Jinghang as a person of this world, but this time was strange.

In the evening, a meeting of the entire Student Council was suddenly called. The content was a Student Council schedule he couldn’t make heads or tails of. After finishing the confusing speech, Lin Jinghang specifically asked Wen Rong to stay behind in front of everyone.

In that instant, there wasn’t a single happy face in the office.

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