Chapter 19 Nina

Watching Nina skip lightly up the stairs, Duncan was momentarily confused, scratching his head with a puzzled look. "What's that kid grinning about..."

Then he heard the voice of old Mr. Morris coming from beside the counter: "Frankly, you're quite different from what I imagined, Mr. Duncan."

"Different?" Duncan raised an eyebrow. "And what was your impression of me?"

As he spoke, he came around from behind the counter, hung the 'Temporarily Closed' sign on the door, and pulled a chair up next to the counter—after confirming that the other man was a visiting teacher and not a regular customer, it was inappropriate to make him stand.

"Thank you," Morris nodded his thanks, sitting down and looking at Duncan with a gentle, refined smile. "I haven't met you, but I've heard about Nina's family situation from certain channels. Forgive my bluntness, but according to the rumors I heard, Nina has an uncle who is an alcoholic, a gambler, and prone to violent outbursts. The child lives in a terrible home environment, so much so that she has almost no friends at school—the other students don't really want to associate with her."

Duncan was in the middle of making coffee, and his movements paused for two seconds when he heard Morris's words before he slowly finished what he was doing. He brought two cups of coffee back to the counter, pushing one towards the old man. "I hope you don't mind that all I have here is the cheap stuff—the best coffee in the lower district is about this good."

He sat down opposite the old man, each holding a steaming cup of coffee. The old dagger sat between them, but for the moment, their attention was elsewhere.

"Strictly speaking… those rumors are true," Duncan said slowly. "I was sick for a while, well, seriously ill—when painkillers didn't work, I could only rely on hard liquor to numb the pain. It was a decadent time, and unfortunately, it coincided with Nina's critical years of adolescence. Now it seems that it has affected her more than I thought."

Morris carefully observed Duncan, and after a long while, he spoke thoughtfully: "Is that so? But I don't get the feeling you're someone who has just emerged from decadence—more like a gentleman who has never fallen into it, and has always been positive and optimistic. The quick wit and humor you display when talking to people don't seem like the traits of someone influenced by alcohol."

As he spoke, he took a sip of the coffee, making no comment on its taste, but as if mentioning it casually, he said, "I think I'm a pretty good judge of character."

"Maybe I just adjusted my mindset quickly," Duncan laughed, his tone particularly frank—he had to admit that the old man was indeed a good judge of character, but he believed that even the sharpest eyes couldn't see the secrets within his shell, so he wasn't worried at all. "Nina is almost an adult, and I'm her only guardian. I have to show some sense of responsibility."

"…In any case, it's a good thing for that child," Morris said, giving Duncan a deep look. "She's at a crucial stage in her studies. Although many people say that graduating from public high school only leads to screwing bolts in a factory, they always overlook one thing: knowledge itself is a valuable asset. It will always show its meaning one day in your life, and that is often after you no longer have the chance to return to school."

The old man shook his head as he spoke. "It's a pity that most of the parents I've dealt with don't agree with this—their attention is focused on getting their children to graduate and find work as soon as possible."

Duncan immediately felt a sense of kinship when he heard this: He was familiar with what the old man was saying! He used to say similar things to his students or their parents when he was a teacher, but no one listened to him…

But he quickly suppressed this "meeting of minds" feeling, and after considering his current situation, he shook his head slightly:

"Because this is the lower district, Mr. Morris—your views are indeed wise and insightful, but most people here really need to pay off last month's bills as soon as possible. You can't say their vision is not long-term because of that."

"That's true. Many people actually want to look further ahead, but the high walls of life always block our view of the distance," the old man sighed. "I'm sorry, I've been immersed in books for too long, and I always overlook the practical problems in life… You are a very thoughtful person. It seems that some of my worries are unnecessary."

"Worries?" Duncan frowned. "Speaking of which, has Nina been having any problems at school recently? Have her grades been dropping?"

"Her grades have always been good, but recently… she has been somewhat absent-minded," Morris said, choosing his words carefully. "She daydreams in class, sleeps during self-study, and gets distracted during lab experiments—last week in chemistry class, she even set the lab table on fire. This has never happened before… at least, it has never happened with her before."

The old man paused, then added, "Her grades on the tests from the past two days haven't dropped, but if this continues, it's hard to say what her grades will be like when she graduates—although the options available after graduating from public high school are indeed limited, assembling machines in a factory in the lower district is still different from maintaining steam cores in a church in the upper district. As Nina's guardian, you should take this seriously."

"Nina has been frequently daydreaming and getting distracted in class lately?" Duncan frowned. "She hasn't mentioned anything about this to me…"

"Girls her age certainly won't tell you too much," Morris shook his head. "At first, I thought it was because something had happened at home, or that her 'alcoholic uncle' had done something recently that affected her state at school, which is why I came to make this home visit, but now it seems… that's not the reason."

Duncan didn't speak for a moment, simply recalling whether Nina had shown any unusual behavior in front of him in the past few days, recalling Nina's daily routine. After a few seconds, Morris asked, "You're the one who knows her best. Has the child been acting unusually lately? Like not getting enough rest, or being unwell?"

Duncan thought for a long time, then could only spread his hands. "…I'm ashamed to say, I can't think of an answer."

He couldn't think of an answer—he didn't even know Nina a week ago! How would he know what changes there had been in the child compared to before?

Morris didn't seem surprised by Duncan's answer, probably because he had lowered his expectations for "Nina's uncle" based on rumors before he came, so he just said habitually, "You should pay more attention to her—especially for girls of this age, mere material support is not enough."

When Duncan heard this, an idea immediately popped into his head: "Could she be in love?"

Frankly, this idea was somewhat based on Zhou Ming's experience as a teacher…

But when Morris heard this, he gave a slightly strange expression, looking at Duncan with an odd gaze. "That's an all-girls school…"

Duncan thought for a moment, then said with a serious face, "All-girls schools are still possible."

Morris's eyes widened slightly.

The old scholar, who was always absorbed in academics, was greatly shocked!

"Ahem, well, I was just saying it casually," Duncan saw the old man's reaction and knew that this topic might be a little too advanced, so he quickly coughed twice to break the awkwardness. "I'll have a good talk with Nina… She should be willing to talk to me."

"Ah… oh, of course," the old man finally reacted. He still seemed to be immersed in some kind of shock, and even his speech felt slower. "From what I know… Nina is a very frank and honest child. If you talk to her properly, she shouldn't be too resistant."

Duncan nodded. "Is there anything else? Has Nina been acting strangely at school in any other way recently?"

"Other than being absent-minded, distracted, and listless, nothing else," the old man thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I actually came today mainly to talk about this matter, and to understand her real family situation… By the way, speaking of this, Nina's parents died because of…"

"The accident eleven years ago," Duncan said. "The official records have the event, the chemical plant leak in Sixth Street."

"So that's how it was," the old man sighed. "I remember this accident. At the time, my daughter and I happened to be near Cross Street. The chemical plant leak made a lot of noise, and the affected people even rushed to the edge of the upper district… The post-incident investigation also said that many cultists were taking the opportunity to cause trouble that night, and that they had sabotaged the chemical plant…"

Duncan's heart moved, and he casually said without revealing anything, "Was there also a big fire in the lower district that night?"

"A big fire? I don't remember any big fire," Morris frowned. "Are you mistaken?"

"…It seems I was mistaken," Duncan pressed his forehead and said with a smile. "I really should stay away from alcohol."