Overthinking

Chen Sheng only liked shifting blame, never shouldering it himself, so his mood was gloomy for quite a while, until his superior called inviting him out for drinks.

“I’ve just finished eating! And besides, why the sudden invitation? Drinking’s not really my thing,” Chen Sheng said, holding his phone, puzzled.

He’d attended company team-building events before.

But as for Cao Dahui’s private dinner gatherings, he’d never gone, not even once.

Unlike others, unless there was a patient, Chen Sheng never bothered with his superiors during off hours—whether it was Cao Dahui or any other hospital executive, he treated them all the same… simply ignored them.

Moreover, he remembered that Cao Dahui wasn’t fond of drinking either…

Though curious, Chen Sheng didn’t intend to find out the answer, so he simply hung up.

But soon enough, Cao Dahui called again.

“Is there something at the hospital?” Chen Sheng asked.

“I have something,” came the reply.

“I won’t accompany you drinking, eating, or chatting,” Chen Sheng said succinctly.

“I just got dumped,” Cao Dahui replied, equally concise.

“When did you have a girlfriend?” Chen Sheng was stunned; hadn’t he been single just days ago?

“Forty-five minutes ago.”

“And the breakup?” Chen Sheng was dumbfounded; was romance now timed so precisely?

“Thirty-five minutes ago.”

“Did you just get out of the detention center?” Chen Sheng couldn’t help but ask; a ten-minute romance sounded more like something you’d tell the police.

“She wasn’t wearing her glasses and confessed to the wrong person.”

“The other party likes fat guys too?” Chen Sheng speculated, referencing himself. As a nearsighted person, it was easy to mistake people when not wearing glasses.

If Chen Sheng didn’t wear his glasses, anyone more than three meters away would become indistinguishable, even gender-wise.

“It was that new recruit, Xu.”

“Isn’t Xu as thin as a bamboo stick?” Chen Sheng was astounded. He’d only met Xu once, but the hospital had tailored a recruitment notice for him and even opened a new office, making a deep impression.

“Exactly!”

“This level of eyesight could be considered a disability,” Chen Sheng remarked, since Cao Dahui’s physique and Xu’s were worlds apart.

One was like a concrete utility pole, the other more like an iron rod in a protective barrier along a greenbelt.

Incidentally, a medical journal was preparing to classify severe myopia as a disability.

“So, are you coming or not?”

“No!” Chen Sheng hung up quickly, his spirits instantly lifted, the earlier gloom swept away.

Sharing misfortune only brings others joy!

Stretching his arms, Chen Sheng prepared to put on his gold-rimmed glasses and return to his healing game. But before logging in, he asked Yu Youxin, “Earlier you mentioned that players could have exclusive skills. How do you know if you have one?”

The girl typing furiously behind her keyboard immediately poked her head out, glanced at Chen Sheng, then at her own computer, now black-screened. She desperately wanted him to help fix it, but after a moment’s thought, decided to make something up and brush him off. “Oh, that… You’ll know you have an exclusive skill when you start seeing special effects.”

“Got it, thanks.” As Chen Sheng replied, he noticed the girl wanted to say more. He was about to listen, but suddenly remembered something and quickly interrupted, “Only newbies look up guides online—pros like me just need one glance to know how to clear the game!”

He finished in one breath and hurried to log in, afraid Yu Youxin would persuade him otherwise, and he wouldn’t be able to resist searching for guides…

If that happened, his carefully cultivated gaming expert persona would be gone in an instant.

As an ordinary person, Chen Sheng’s ambitions were humble and insignificant.

After all, bigger dreams—like buying a house outright—were on par with wishful thinking, daydreams, and fairy tales.

So Chen Sheng had long given up such pursuits.

There’s a saying: if your life’s dream is merely owning a house, then perhaps it’s better to have no dream at all.

Meanwhile, the girl faced with her black-screened laptop was left with a dazed expression, muttering, “I just wanted you to help fix my computer… What are you imagining?”

…

As soon as Chen Sheng entered the “game,” he found himself surrounded.

Layer upon layer, no less.

“Are you planning to make dumplings here?” Chen Sheng blurted out. Looking around, everywhere he saw was filled with officers from the Bureau of Public Security.

Many familiar faces.

His words caught the attention of the surrounding officers, who all turned to look at him.

Then came the sound of bullets being chambered.

With so many guns pointed at him—if this were real life, just one would have made his legs go weak.

But here, he showed not a hint of fear, calmly surveying his surroundings, even taking the initiative to demand, “What’s the meaning of this? I haven’t stolen, robbed, or exploited any loopholes to fleece your organization. What gives you the right to point guns at me?”

Hearing Chen Sheng’s full-throated protest and seeing his earnest expression, the officers were momentarily stunned.

They’d encountered tough ones before, but never someone this bold!

At the same time, the interns who knew Chen Sheng couldn’t help but feel a surge of admiration.

To face so many loaded guns without flinching—such courage was rare!

“Chen!” someone called out.

Chen Sheng looked over, unsurprised to see his “tool-man save point,” Intermediate Officer Yan Shidong of the Bureau.

At that moment, Yan Shidong wore a look of profound sorrow, as if mourning a friend fallen from grace. “Chen, why did you kill Ling Shao?”

“I didn’t kill him!” Chen Sheng denied flatly. He’d killed “Ling Tianquan,” not “Ling Shao.”

“We all saw it! Chen, just admit it!” Yan Shidong’s gaze darkened as he continued, coaxing. He and his uncle had discussed this: with Ling Tianquan dead, they had to give an account to the Ling family and their superiors, or not only would his uncle lose his position, even their own lives would be at risk!

Better the other guy die than them; besides, they’d long taken money from Old Feng to avenge his son Feng Yu Hai. Previously, it was just that Chen Sheng’s formidable skills and his return with the deadly, evil artifact from the haunted house had made his uncle want to use Chen Sheng a few more times, postponing any harm and sending him to guard the old mansion.