"It's quite good..."
"I've always felt that this is pretty good for me..."
Suddenly muttering, Pei Wen didn't even know what he had said.
It wasn't until he heard a few people asking questions that he snapped back to reality.
"It happened right after I graduated. I thought I could really make a splash, but reality sent me from heaven to hell in an instant."
"My graduation thesis, which had just passed its defense, was reported for plagiarism before I even left the school..."
"I was so confident at first, I thought it was all nonsense. After all, that thesis was the result of months of not eating or drinking properly."
"Then, even the things I had just researched were directly labeled as stealing others' labor, academic misconduct..."
"After running around for several more months, I finally realized how ridiculous it all was. The mentor I had never doubted was the one who instigated everything from the beginning."
As he spoke, Pei Wen's eyes turned red.
By the time Pei Wen finished his story, Liang Yunfei and the others had already guessed most of it.
It was just that the truthfulness of this incident was yet to be verified.
As soon as Pei Wen started recounting his story, Zhou Yi's mind began to race.
By the time Pei Wen finished, she had a rough idea of what had happened.
However, she needed to ask a question to confirm her thoughts.
"Mr. Pei, may I ask, is your mentor's name Li Wei?"
After regaining his composure, Pei Wen looked a bit surprised. "How did you know?"
Zhou Yi took a sip of water and said calmly, "I saw it on the TV news. It was being broadcast for a while..."
Upon hearing this, Pei Wen forced a deeper smile. "Isn't that the truth? He's achieved fame and success."
But what about him?
He was like a rat crossing the street...
Anyone who knew him would want to stay far away, even spitting as they left, to show their righteous indignation...
"Pretty sister, what are you talking about?"
The Xiao brothers were confused. They looked around and couldn't figure anything out...
Liang Yunfei reminded them, "Take out your phones, you'll know if you look."
In fact, as soon as Sister Yi spoke, she had also made a connection.
She had heard about the incident that had caused a stir online.
It was just that she hadn't expected it to be like this...
"Pei Wen, don't you have any evidence?"
"Heh..."
"I did, originally. A fellow student, we were good brothers, but I never expected him to..."
Pei Wen couldn't continue.
In this life, friendship was all for naught!
Back then, that guy couldn't pass the exam no matter how hard he tried, and it was Pei Wen who helped him.
Even after getting admitted, he had no abilities, and it was Pei Wen who helped him extensively, otherwise he would have dropped out long ago.
Who would have thought that in the end, he would turn around and bite the hand that fed him...
In an instant, Pei Wen's emotions got the better of him. Not only did he become listless, but tears streamed from his already red eyes.
It seemed he hadn't reached the depths of his sorrow until now.
Pei Wen thought of his aging parents again, and his sorrow turned into despair.
They had suffered for most of their lives, only to have a son like him. They thought he would be successful and they could enjoy their old age, but who knew...
"Brother Pei..."
For a moment, Liang Yunfei didn't know what to say.
She had never experienced such a situation and truly didn't know how to start.
Zhou Yi beside her remained calm.
The two young brothers, having just read the news online, felt a surge of righteous anger after hearing what they had heard.
"Brother Pei! You should go up and slap them!"
"Yeah, I think that Li what's-his-name has a face that looks like a good person!"
"You should show them who's boss!"
"Right!"
"Don't you two think it's too simple? But where do I have the ability for that?"
Xiao Yuyun pulled his chin. "Big brother! You don't even know how to hit someone?"
"..."
Were these two little rascals just causing trouble?
"Hitting someone? Can't you two use your brains a little!"
Isn't that like trying to hide something by drawing more attention to it, willingly inviting more ridicule?
"I... At first, when I was very angry, I did think about it, but later I found out I really couldn't win..."
"..."
Alright, she had been thinking too much...
As the saying goes, even a cornered dog will leap over a wall. No matter how good-tempered a person is, there are times when they want to punch someone.
"So, you plan to continue like this forever?"
She originally only wanted to understand Pei Wen's "strangeness," but now she was concerned about his life.
"What else can I do?"
"I guess my life will be like this forever. People say it's better to live poorly than to die well, but what's the difference between that and being dead?"
If it weren't for the sliver of belief he still held, he probably would have ended up in a trash can somewhere...
"But in the library, I clearly noticed you still looking at those books, and you could recall anything related to them offhand..." Liang Yunfei was puzzled. This was clearly someone who didn't want to give up, so why was he so defeated now?
Lingering on?
"Yes... but what can I do if I'm not willing to give up?"
In his current state, no one would hire him for a job. Even for a menial position, as soon as they asked about his situation, he would be inexplicably fired within two days.
He had thought about getting away from it all, going abroad or to some unknown place, but reality was that he couldn't leave.
His elderly parents were already so old, following him away from their hometown. Perhaps before they even left C City, they would...
But given the current situation, they probably wouldn't last much longer. The neighbors pointed fingers all around. Living like this for too long was no way to live.
He was actually considering either persuading his parents to leave, or simply preparing a burial plot for their family of three...
Although Pei Wen exuded an aura of despair, the others could still sense a glimmer of hope within him.
"Mr. Pei, that's not the right way to think."
"You have to believe that justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent!"
"If all else fails, you can come and work for me!"
Zhou Yi looked at this fallen man and felt a genuine desire to help him.
Although she hadn't verified it, she trusted her own judgment.
If she was wrong about this matter, it meant this person was too good at pretending, and he deserved to pick up trash for the rest of his life.
"No!"
It had to be said that upon hearing this offer, Pei Wen was happy.
But then he thought about his current situation. If he actually took the job, the coffee shop's business would likely be ruined.
It was just that no one could recognize him in his current state. If they did, he might not even be able to sit here.
So, suppressing his longing, Pei Wen refused Zhou Yi.