Quadruple split.

Chapter 2661 Water Surface

Chapter 2661 Water Surface
And so, although he was indeed a little hungry, He Lei, who had originally planned to cook some noodles and eat them after dawn, was dragged away by Zhou Min to eat.

The two of them first each scanned a readily available rental bicycle and rode to the school gate. Then they took a taxi directly to a Haidilao restaurant that Zhou Min liked. Because it was open 24 hours a day, it was still bustling with people at this time. In other words, the period from midnight to early morning was when its customer traffic was the highest.

Throughout the process, He Lei was basically led by Zhou Min. Although he tried to persuade his senior sister not to spend money, she obviously did not feel that she was spending money. So, based on her strong initiative, the two of them were already sitting in front of the hot pot in the store in less than half an hour.

"Let's skip the pleasantries."

Zhou Min raised the orange juice in front of her and smiled at He Lei, who had dutifully poured himself a glass of water, saying, "Senior sister knows that her abilities are limited, so this time she will rely entirely on you and the mentor."

He Lei nodded vigorously and said seriously, "Don't worry, senior sister. My supervisor has already told me that I only need to make slight adjustments to some of the parts that might be targeted. With the mindset of not seeking merit but avoiding mistakes, I should be able to pass without any problems and it won't affect my graduation or degree."

"Haha, I'm just grateful that I can at least graduate smoothly."

Zhou Min shrugged, took a sip of orange juice, and then listlessly tossed some lettuce into the hot pot. A slightly bitter smile appeared on her lips: "Well, although my supervisor has always been very considerate of my self-esteem, after studying for these past few years, I've come to realize that I'm really not cut out for scientific research."

He Lei almost instinctively waved his hand and said, "Senior sister, you don't need to say that. I think..."

"Do you think I'm very capable? Do you think I have a bright future?"

Zhou Min interrupted He Lei with a wry smile, shaking her head and saying, "Let me put it this way, although our mentor is low-key and averse to trouble, after following him for so many years, I actually know very well that he is just low-key enough. In terms of skill and expertise, he is quite remarkable, isn't that right?"

At this moment, He Lei, who understood Mu Changchun's excellence better than Zhou Min, immediately nodded in agreement and said repeatedly, "Senior sister is right, our mentor is indeed very excellent and very capable."

"But even such a great mentor couldn't bring me out of this mess."

Zhou Min changed the subject and shrugged, saying, "Our mentor may be lazy, but he's actually quite responsible. Some of my senior classmates weren't as close to him as I was, but they still learned a lot from him. As for me, over the years, I wouldn't say I haven't made any progress... well, not really. I'd definitely be good enough to be a lecturer at any university. But to say I've made any progress? Sigh, I even have to ask you, the new junior, to help me revise my thesis."

Upon hearing this, He Lei immediately shook his head vigorously, saying repeatedly, "No, no, no, the thesis was mainly my supervisor's idea. I just used the materials he provided to do some basic, low-tech work."

"Oh?"

Zhou Min nodded and smiled, "Then why doesn't my supervisor let me revise it myself? If it really only requires some basic, low-skill work, it shouldn't be a problem if I do it myself, right?"

Suddenly at a loss for words, He Lei: "Uh..."

"Or rather, those jobs that don't require much skill for you are a completely different story for me. It's like how I can always finish my homework and eat right away, but even if my younger brother tries to study seriously for a while, he'll drive the tutor who comes to our house to help him study crazy."

Zhou Min picked up the serving chopsticks and put a crab ball on He Lei's plate. She said in a light tone, "But now it seems that the gap between you and me is probably much bigger than the gap between me and my younger brother. Sigh, it's all his fault. He gave me the illusion that I was a top student and made me want to be a scientist since I was a child."

"..."

Not knowing anything about Zhou Min's younger brother, He Lei didn't respond. After silently eating the slightly undercooked crab ball, he said seriously, "I think Senior Sister is very good, really."

"Hey, who gave you permission to give me the 'friend zone' card?"

Zhou Min glared at He Lei with feigned anger, then smiled and said, "Just kidding. I actually think I'm pretty good too. Even putting aside the fact that I was born into a good family, my personality is top-notch. I'm not bragging, but in all my years, I've never been disliked by anyone!"

He Lei, who always felt like he was bathed in a spring breeze when he was with Zhou Min, nodded vigorously and said very seriously, "This is definitely true."

"This is definitely true? So, what you said before about me being quite capable was false?"

Zhou Min winked teasingly, then waved her hand before He Lei could explain, sweating profusely, and said, "Just kidding, just kidding, but if you don't mind your senior sister meddling..."

Zhou Min didn't continue speaking, but stared intently at He Lei, whose expression was somewhat uneasy, clearly waiting for his response.

"of course not."

He Lei answered without hesitation, revealing a gentle smile that, though he looked a little listless: "I'm not good at anything except studying. I would be very happy if you would be willing to give me some pointers."

"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point."

As Zhou Min put beef into the pot closest to He Lei, she said without looking up, "Junior brother, you're giving me a rather unpleasant feeling."

He Lei was immediately startled, and asked with a very frightened expression, "What aspect are you referring to, Senior Sister?"

"Well, should I call it a matter of temperament? Anyway, it's something more like a stream of consciousness."

Zhou Min took another sip of orange juice, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, and said, "I'm not really sure how to put it, but I always feel that you... well, how should I describe it, you seem to be very repressed, but I can't really feel it when I get to know you."

He Lei scratched his buzz cut, looking somewhat confused, and asked curiously, "Does Senior Sister think I might have depression or something?"

"At first I had some doubts, but now it doesn't seem like depression, since that kind of illness is relatively easy to diagnose."

Zhou Min shook her head and hesitated, "But I just feel like something's missing, like... compared to normal people, you seem different in some way."

【? 】

Although he didn't feel that anything was different about him, He Lei still asked, "Should I take some time to go to the hospital for a check-up? Or see a psychologist or something?"

"I think this might be better, like seeing a psychologist or something."

Zhou Min breathed a sigh of relief and said somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was just talking nonsense, but in the end I couldn't even put my finger on what was wrong with it."

He Lei immediately waved his hand and said, "Senior sister, don't say that. I can tell you're concerned about me, although... uh, I really don't think there's anything wrong with me."

"Yes, I also think that no matter how you look at it, you are a very good kid."

While eating fish balls, Zhou Min mumbled, "But I'm a little worried. I feel like if you keep going like this, something might happen. So, just to comfort your overly anxious senior sister, I suggest you go find a psychologist or something to talk to when you have time. If there's a problem, we can resolve it sooner rather than later. If there isn't, we can feel at ease."

"it is good."

He Lei smiled and nodded, saying, "I'll definitely go when I have time."

Zhou Min nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Okay, okay, hurry up and eat. After you finish eating, go back and take a nap. When you wake up, continue revising my thesis. I'll help you make an appointment with the psychologist. I have a friend who does psychological counseling and is quite famous. I'll have him ask him for you later."

"Who then?"

He Lei was stunned for a moment, then asked in bewilderment, "Who?"

"It's that guy!"

Zhou Min blushed slightly, lowered her eyes, and said rather shyly, "The thing I told you about before..."

"Oh, is it the senior you've got your eye on, senior sister?"

"……Um."

"Um, wouldn't this be too much trouble for them?"

"No way, I'll just say I'll go shopping with him to repay a favor, and we can even go on a date while I'm at it."

"So the main purpose was a date?" "The main purpose was to see if my junior brother had any problems!"

"oh oh!"

……

Afterwards, Zhou Min and He Lei chatted and ate, finishing their Haidilao meal in mostly three sentences of casual conversation about "that person".

When the two came out of the store, the sky was already turning light. At Zhou Min's suggestion, the two, who were still digesting their food, did not take a taxi. Instead, they rented two electric bikes nearby and rode back to school. Although it was late autumn, the weather was surprisingly comfortable. Riding on the shortcut where a few leaves occasionally fell, He Lei, bathed in the sunlight, even felt a little tipsy.

It seems like joy, sorrow, and happiness.

A slightly chilly but not biting breeze brushed against my body. Not far ahead, a senior student, feeling a little guilty for not wearing a helmet, was nervously looking around. I didn't know what brand the shampoo was, but the pleasant scent of it lingered around my nose, making me a little distracted.

A long-lost sense of peace gradually began to spread in my heart, as if the endless tinnitus had been kindly reduced in decibels, and the warmth brought by the sunlight slowly spread on the back of my neck, with a little bit of heat that was not annoying.

In some unknown corner, something even hotter and more irritating, yet never discovered or acknowledged, and repeatedly treated as normal as breathing, has cooled down slightly.

"...!"

The next instant, as if a drowning person briefly surfaced, He Lei felt a powerful wave of dizziness wash over him, a suffocating, pungent, and unfamiliar sensation, like a raging tide threatening to crush him—something he had willingly discarded, something he had never considered reclaiming.

Beep! ! !

The next instant, accompanied by a piercing noise, a sports car, which seemed either in a great hurry, very rich, or desperate for death, sped past on the long street a dozen meters away and roared into the distance.

The illusory tranquility shattered and vanished like bubbles...

That strange, familiar, scorching, annoying, yet natural thing, was locked away again.

That was a dangerous box.

It was a box that even the most professional psychologists couldn't handle, one that had long ago torn He Lei apart, leaving him in a state of collapse without his knowledge.

For a fleeting moment, He Lei truly felt its presence, but then his instincts drove him to forget it deep in his thoughts.

That's the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm; that's the simplest and most direct wisdom.

What's in that box doesn't matter.

The important question is what kind of impact it will have when the contents of the interior are brought back to light in their worst and most horrific form.

Clearly, He Lei didn't want to know.

His rational mind doesn't want to know;
He doesn't want to know his feelings;
His subconscious didn't want to know...
"He Lei!"

In front of the lab, Zhou Min glared at her somewhat dull junior brother next to her and gently poked his forehead: "Staring blankly again!"

"Ah, sorry, senior sister."

Forgetting why he had suddenly drifted off into thought, He Lei smiled sheepishly and then walked into the laboratory side by side with Zhou Min.

Twenty minutes later, Zhou Min, having briefly discussed the direction of her thesis revisions with He Lei, picked up her suitcase and left the lab with light steps. Although He Lei intended to escort her to the school gate, Zhou Min insisted on turning back at the first intersection.

Then--

"You... hello."

At the entrance of Mu Changchun's laboratory, a tall, thin man with glasses, handsome features, and an air of scholarly refinement stopped He Lei and gave him a stiff greeting.

"what?"

He Lei paused for a moment, and only after confirming that the other person was speaking to him did he reply with a somewhat blank expression, "Hello? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No...no, is something wrong? No, I have something I want to ask you."

The man, who seemed just as nervous as He Lei, took a deep breath and asked with an increasingly stiff expression, "Excuse me, are you... Zhou Min's brother?"

He Lei was completely stunned: "Huh?"

The handsome guy with glasses pursed his lips and repeated, "So, you're Zhou Min's younger brother?"

He Lei shook his head: "I'm not."

The handsome man with glasses frowned and asked again, "So, are you a student in this lab?"

He Lei nodded: "Yes, that's me."

The handsome man with glasses tugged nervously at his sleeve and hesitated before asking, "So, what's your relationship with Zhou Min...?"

"Zhou Min is my senior."

He Lei first spoke very honestly, then suddenly widened his eyes and almost exclaimed, "Who are you?!"

"Who am I...?"

"You must be so-and-so—"

"I'm not that person, my name is Liang Fei, I am..."

"My relationship with the senior is just a normal senior-junior relationship. She just treated me to a meal to thank me for revising her thesis."