Chapter 302

Zheng Tan's private booth isn't used much, but someone comes to clean it every day, and sometimes they even find some newly decorated little trinkets.

Zheng Tan had no interest in those little trinkets and didn't pay them much mind; instead, Er Mao fiddled with this and that, muttering that when he had time he should go to the pet center to see if there were similar toys to buy for Hei Mi.

After looking around, Qin Tao said, "Coming here to have fun also has its own charm. It's a pity there are only two guys in this room… oh, three guys, Hei Tan counts as one."

"It's a shame cats have such strong territorial instincts; they won't just let strangers in." Er Mao said in the tone of a cat expert.

Zheng Tan complained inwardly. He really didn't care at all about calling over a pretty girl to liven up the atmosphere, really!

After ordering some things, Er Mao stopped beating around the bush; he now had to figure out exactly what was happening to Qin Tao.

"You know, even if you don't say it now, I'll be able to find out soon enough." Er Mao said.

To help Qin Tao become a bit more sober and calm, Er Mao unusually didn't order alcohol; the coffee table had only tea and ice water.

After downing a cup of ice water, Qin Tao pinched his brow, let out a long sigh, and briefly explained his situation.

The signs started two months ago, perhaps even earlier, but Qin Tao only realized something was wrong about two months ago. He knew his temperament was changing—he became easily happy and angry, prone to impulsiveness; sometimes he would fly into a huge rage over trivial matters, and because he couldn't control his emotions, his fights with others grew more frequent; often, before his brain could react, his fists were already swinging, and afterward, when he recalled what he'd said, he felt he must have been out of his mind.

Moreover, because of Qin Tao's behavior, his family grew increasingly disappointed; his original impression on many people wasn't optimistic to begin with, and now with this added negative side, life became even harder for him.

The "reflection period" mentioned by Qin Tao's cousin began when one of Qin Tao's senior relatives hosted a banquet, inviting some industry friends and notable figures, as well as some people bringing their unmarried children to mingle and see if any matches could be made. Originally, some people had come specifically for Qin Tao, but unfortunately, at the banquet Qin Tao got into a minor altercation with someone and beat him up badly enough to send him to the hospital. If it hadn't been for someone breaking it up, the other party would have been much worse off, possibly even in mortal danger.

This made Qin Tao's family even more disappointed; many people who had brought their daughters began blacklisting Qin Tao, seeing him as a hot-tempered person who resorts to violence. He was simply too dangerous.

At the banquet, several somewhat notable figures were watching; precisely because of Qin Tao's incident, that elder lost face, flew into a great rage afterward, and even scolded Qin Tao's parents. Consequently, Qin Tao was ordered to reflect seriously.

For a while, people who disliked Qin Tao spread rumors that he was taking drugs; even though Qin Tao's father later dealt with those rumors, some still thought Qin Tao either had a mental problem or was taking drugs. Qin Tao's father also had someone administer a drug test on Qin Tao, and the result came back negative. Although it cleared Qin Tao's name, he felt his dignity was insulted; having been forced to take a drug test at his age enraged him so much that he smashed everything breakable in the house.

Qin Tao's father even planned to lock Qin Tao up for a thorough check-up, but upon hearing the news Qin Tao fled, turned around, and went back to Chu Hua Shi for his "reflection".

Qin Tao had also suspected that someone might be harming him, but he had never found any evidence.

Probably the ice water calmed his mind a bit, and besides, only Er Mao and Zheng Tan were present, so Qin Tao felt less tense in his heart and his mood relaxed a little; however, when talking about those matters, Zheng Tan could still hear the repressed emotion in Qin Tao's words.

"When they did the drug test back then, didn't they find anything else?" Er Mao asked.

Qin Tao shook his head. "I myself also had blood drawn and sent for testing; they said my bodily functions were somewhat disordered, but that could also be due to emotions."

"But you still suspect someone is scheming against you." Er Mao said. It was an affirmative statement, not a question.

"Indeed, I'm such an optimistic, carefree person—how could my personality change drastically for no reason? Although I love to play and go wild, I'm not without vigilance." Saying this, Qin Tao paused and glanced to the side.

Zheng Tan looked at him quietly, responding to Qin Tao's earlier remark "not without vigilance" with silent sarcasm. Back when they were at the teachers' college, who was the one who got lured over by a phone call and beaten up until his face looked like a pig's head?

"Well, most of the time my vigilance is still strong." Qin Tao obviously recalled that incident, felt a bit guilty, corrected himself, and continued, "At first, when I sensed my mindset and emotions were off, I paid attention to my usual diet, but I never found anything unusual; the things I ate, others ate as well."

"They also had me see a psychiatrist, but I know I don't have that illness; I had people examine all my tea cups and food, and there was nothing wrong."

Besides Er Mao, Qin Tao also had other friends help investigate; those people were completely trustworthy and would not betray Qin Tao. Even the tea cups and food used by his girlfriend in Ming Zhu Shi, with whom he had been intimate, were checked, and no abnormalities were found.

"Sometimes I even feel like I have a psychological problem." Qin Tao rubbed his face hard and said self-mockingly.

If it were confirmed that Qin Tao had a mental issue, he would thereafter find it harder to get by, since aside from his parents, the elders in the family wouldn't give much help to someone with a mental problem—at most they'd pity him and give him a little money. Only those with prospects receive strong support; even if Qin Tao had previously acted like a spoiled rich kid, he'd at most get a few scoldings, but a mental issue would see him directly cast into the cold palace and put under close supervision.

Treating a healthy person like a mental patient—aside from ruining his prospects, Qin Tao's self-esteem couldn't accept that.

As for personal protection, in the view of some of Qin Tao's elders, a person who can't even protect himself, even if you push him forward, will still be dragged down by others. So even if they suspected Qin Tao was being schemed against, they wouldn't get more involved. They can give money and provide people, but if you have money, people, and conditions yet don't use them and still find nothing, what else is that if not a good-for-nothing?

"If we don't find anything before the old man's birthday, I'm doomed." Qin Tao said angrily.

Zheng Tan thought Qin Tao was rather sad; the places he frequents don't have many trustworthy, smart comrades. As for Er Mao and his friends, who are trustworthy and smart, they're not in the same place. Although they occasionally call and chat, Er Mao's older brother is very busy, and Er Mao these past two months has been busy with his love affair; moreover, Qin Tao never mentioned it when he called, so Er Mao and his friends don't know.

"Beast." Er Mao looked at Qin Tao.

"What?"

"Take off your clothes!"

Zheng Tan, Qin Tao: "…"

"What kind of looks are you two giving me? I just want to see if there are any suspicious traces on your body." Er Mao even laughed angrily.

"No needle marks." Qin Tao knew what Er Mao was looking for.

"I know you're afraid of needles, just in case."

Since nothing turned up in food and drink, what about injections?

However, Qin Tao actually hates needles. Very few people know this; from childhood to adulthood, Qin Tao only goes to the hospital due to injuries from fights, and for ordinary colds and such he avoids needles if he can. Even if he's asleep, if you give him a shot carefully, he'll wake up instantly and punch you first. But if you switch to something else like a baton to strike him, this guy can keep his eyes closed and not open them.

A guy who thinks himself tall and mighty can't admit he's afraid of needles. Back when they had mandatory vaccinations in school, Qin Tao would hold his breath and pretend to chat with people to distract himself. He absolutely wouldn't look at the cold, thin needle of the syringe. After each shot, Qin Tao would feel gloomy for a long time. Nowadays few people mention it; even that cousin who doesn't get along with Qin Tao doesn't know he hates needles, otherwise there'd be another thing to mock Qin Tao about.

"It can't be an injection; otherwise I'd definitely feel it, and even if I missed it once, I wouldn't keep missing it every time." Qin Tao said firmly.

If it weren't those monstrous-level experts, with an injection the needle tip would be hard to avoid piercing blood vessels or nerves. Qin Tao is very sensitive to needle tips; Er Mao once even mocked him for this. When they once went together to some club for acupuncture, the practitioner there repeatedly assured them it wouldn't hurt at all, but Qin Tao hadn't even taken two needles before he jumped up and fled to urinate. Moreover, Qin Tao also said, this motive has existed for a long time; it's a long-term process, meaning that if someone really wanted to harm him this way, it couldn't be as simple as one or two needles.

"So I'm annoyed; now I'm gradually losing control of my emotions. At first I could still use self-suggestion to suppress them, but now I can't repress them at all—the slightest spark sets me off." Qin Tao downed another cup of ice water and said.

Qin Tao's intelligence isn't high; back then, both he and Er Mao were the class's underachievers, but Er Mao is strong in crooked ways, whereas Qin Tao is a thoroughbred spoiled rich kid. It's no wonder he could hold it in until now before telling Er Mao.

"Forget it; for now, since I can't figure it out, let's not think about it. I'll have someone look into it later." Er Mao said.

Qin Tao just spent the night directly in Er Mao's booth, not going to a hotel; the next day, when Zheng Tan passed by the third floor, the door was closed, and Er Mao presumably went out to investigate Qin Tao's matter.

Zheng Tan wanted to lend a hand, but in his current state he couldn't help much.

During the day, when no one was home, if Zheng Tan didn't feel like going out for a stroll, he would secretly surf the internet at home, or take a look at some of the adult magazines that Jiao Yuan had hidden.

That day, after Zheng Tan finished looking through the magazines Jiao Yuan had hidden, he glanced at a stack of other magazines placed beside the table; these were subscribed to by Jiao Ba, and Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi would also flip through them from time to time.

Zheng Tan felt like it, so he pulled the topmost one over and flipped through it.

As he was flipping through, Zheng Tan's paw paused.

It was an article about a debate between experts; the so-called debate meant a professional, civilized argument where both sides had reason and evidence.

"Will the Revolution in the Subcutaneous Injection Field Ultimately Triumph?"

Needle-free injection, also called jet injection, refers to using a mechanical device to generate instantaneous high pressure that propels the drug into a high-pressure jet, which penetrates the skin at high speed and diffuses directly into subcutaneous or muscle tissue. The speed of this jet is extremely high, some even exceeding the speed of sound; because it's so fast, people don't feel pain, the injection time is only 0.3 seconds or even less, and the depth it reaches in the body is limited, so it does not produce the phenomenon of traditional needles inevitably piercing blood vessels or nerves, and the stimulation of nerve endings is minimal.

With each revolution in medical injection technology, this needle‑free injector has evolved from the size of a brick‑phone to that of an ordinary pen, but its price is not something the general public can accept, and domestically there are even fewer of them.

Zheng Tan looked at those notes on the magazine, squinting his eyes. (To be continued..)