Chapter 85: Chapter 89 Nina’s Strangeness
Watching Nina swiftly run up the stairs, Duncan hadn’t quite grasped what was happening just yet, only scratching his head in confusion, “What’s this child giggling about…”
Then he heard Mr. Morris’s voice coming from beside the counter, “Honestly, you’re nothing like the impression I had of you, Mr. Duncan.”
“Nothing like your impression?” Duncan raised an eyebrow, “What impression did you have of me?”
As he spoke, he stepped around from behind the counter to hang a “Temporarily Closed” sign on the door and brought a chair over to the counter—after confirming that the visitor was a teacher who had come for a home visit rather than a regular customer, it wouldn’t have been appropriate to have him keep standing.
“Thank you,” Mr. Morris nodded in appreciation and took a seat, looking towards Duncan with a gentle, scholarly smile, “I haven’t met you before, but I’ve heard through certain channels about Nina’s family situation. I apologize for my directness, but according to what I’ve heard, Nina has an uncle who’s an abusive alcoholic and gambler, and this has led to a very harsh home environment so severe that she has almost no friends at school—other students tend to avoid dealing with her.”
Duncan was making coffee on the side, and upon hearing Mr. Morris’s words, his actions involuntarily paused for two seconds before he unhurriedly finished his task. He returned to the counter carrying two cups of coffee, pushing one toward the old man, “I hope you don’t mind that I only have this cheap stuff—the best coffee in the Lower City District is no better than this.”
He sat down opposite the old man, each holding a steaming cup, the ancient dagger lying between them, but now neither was paying it any attention.
“To speak strictly… all those rumors are true,” Duncan slowly said, “I fell ill before, well, quite a severe illness—during which painkillers were ineffective, I could only rely on strong liquor to numb the nerves. It was a period of decline, unfortunately coinciding with Nina’s crucial teenage years. Looking back, it seems the impact on her was even more significant than I had thought.”
Mr. Morris observed Duncan intensely, finally speaking thoughtfully after a long moment, “Is that so? But you don’t seem like someone who has just come out of a downfall, it’s more like you’ve never fallen, always been an active, optimistic gentleman, your wit and humor in conversation don’t seem like they’ve been affected by alcohol.”
As he spoke, he tasted the coffee from his cup without passing any judgment on it, merely remarking casually, “I think I have a pretty good eye for people.”
“Perhaps I just adjust quickly,” Duncan laughed lightly, his tone unusually serene—he had to admit the old man indeed had an accurate perception of people, but he trusted that even the most discerning eyes couldn’t see the secrets hidden inside his own shell, so he was completely calm, “Nina’s almost an adult, and I’m her only guardian. I need to take some responsibility.”
“…Regardless, that’s good for the child,” Mr. Morris looked deeply at Duncan, “She’s at a critical stage in her studies. Although many say that graduating from a public high school only leads to turning screws in factories, they always overlook one thing: knowledge itself is a precious asset. It always shows its worth one day in your life, often when you no longer have the chance to return to school.”
The elderly man sighed as he spoke, shaking his head, “It’s a pity that most of the parents I’ve dealt with don’t see it this way—they focus on getting their children to graduate and find jobs as quickly as possible.”
Duncan felt a sense of kinship upon hearing this, “Mr. Morris, I know these words well! I used to say similar things when I was a teacher to students or their parents, but no one listened…”
However, he quickly restrained his feeling of camaraderie, considering the environment he was currently in, he slightly shook his head:
“Because this is the Lower City District, Mr. Morris—your view is indeed wise and foresighted, but most people here really do need to pay off last month’s bills soon, you can’t say their vision isn’t long-range for that.”
“Indeed, many would like to look further ahead, but the high walls of daily life always block our view of the distance,” the old man lamented, “Sorry, being steeped in books all the time, one tends to overlook the practical problems of life… You are a very thoughtful person, it seems my worries were unnecessary.”
“Worries?” Duncan frowned, “Speaking of which, has Nina been having any problems at school recently? Has her academic performance declined?”
“Her grades have always been very good, but recently… she does seem somewhat distracted,” Mr. Morris carefully chose his words, “She daydreams in class, sleeps during study periods, and even gets distracted during lab classes—in last week’s chemistry class, she even accidentally lit the lab bench on fire. Such situations had never occurred before… at least not with her.”
After saying this, the gentleman paused, then added, “In the test a couple of days ago, her grades hadn’t really dropped, but if this state continues, it’s hard to say how her grades will turn out at graduation—though the career options after graduating from a public high school are indeed limited, assembling machines in factories in the Lower City District and maintaining steam cores in churches in the Upper City District are not the same. As Nina’s guardian, you should start taking this seriously.”
“Nina has been frequently distracted during class lately?” Duncan furrowed his brows, “She hasn’t mentioned anything about this to me.”
“At her age, girls definitely don’t tell you much,” Morris shook his head, “At first, I thought something might have happened at home, or her ‘drunk uncle’ had done something recently that was affecting her behavior at school; hence, I came to do this home visit. But now it appears… it’s not for these reasons.”
Duncan did not speak immediately, only seriously trying to recall if Nina had shown any abnormalities in front of him recently, recalling Nina’s daily routine. After a few seconds, Morris asked again, “You are the person who knows her best. Has the child been experiencing anything unusual lately? Like not resting well or not feeling well?”
Duncan thought for a long time, only to spread his hands helplessly, “…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 could he know if the child had undergone any changes recently compared to before?
Morris didn’t seem very surprised by Duncan’s response; he probably had lowered his expectations for “Nina’s uncle” based on local rumors and now simply said habitually, “You should pay more attention to her—especially at her age, mere material support is not enough.”
Upon hearing this, an idea suddenly popped into Duncan’s mind: “Could she be in love?”
Truth be told, this idea was somewhat influenced by Zhou Ming’s experience as a teacher…
However, after hearing this, Morris showed a somewhat odd expression, giving Duncan a strange look, “That’s an all-girls school…”
Duncan thought for a moment, seriously responding, “Girls’ schools are possible too.”
Morris’s eyes widened slightly.
The old gentleman, who had always been engrossed in academia, was greatly shocked!
“Cough, well, I was just speaking offhand,” Duncan quickly realized the topic might be too far-fetched upon seeing the old man’s reaction and quickly coughed to interrupt the awkwardness, “I’ll have a good talk with Nina… she should be willing to speak to me.”
“Ah… oh, of course,” the old man finally reacted, seemingly still immersed in shock, his words coming half a beat slow, “As far as I know… Nina is a very honest and frank child. If you talk to her seriously, she probably won’t resist too much.”
Duncan nodded, “Anything else going on? Has Nina been acting differently at school in any other ways recently?”
“Other than being distracted and spacey, not really,” the old man thought for a moment and shook his head, “Actually, the main reason I came today was to discuss this matter and to get a better understanding of her real family situation… Oh right, speaking of which, Nina’s parents are because of…”
“An accident eleven years ago,” Duncan said, “The official record mentions that incident, the chemical plant leak in Sixth District.”
“I see,” the old man sighed, “I remember that accident; my daughter and I happened to be near the Cross District. When the chemical plant leaked, it caused a big stir; the affected crowd even briefly reached the edge of Upper City District… Subsequent investigations also mentioned that many Heretics were causing chaos that night, and the chemical plant was sabotaged by them…”
Duncan’s mind stirred, nonchalantly asking, “Didn’t a big fire also occur in Lower City District that same night?”
“A big fire? I don’t recall any fire,” Morris frowned, “Are you mistaken?”
“… It seems I am mistaken,” Duncan pressed his forehead, smiling, “I really should stay away from alcohol.”