Who would study psychology unless they had some issues?!
Chapter 68 - 68 68 The Outsider

68: Chapter 68: The Outsider 68: Chapter 68: The Outsider Nan Zhubin held his breath, planning to expand his advantage steadily.

Wang An suddenly looked up: “You suspect I have a target?

Who is it?”

Wang An’s face was flushed because of facial congestion, a symptom of nervousness, timidity, anger, among others.

At this moment, he should have been speechless.

His eyes were like a trapped beast, yet he did not bow his head for execution; instead, he extended his claws and teeth.

As if triggered by some switch, Wang An began a counterattack that seemed almost reflexive.

Nan Zhubin frowned, realizing something was wrong.

This person’s reaction was somewhat uncoordinated.

A bad premonition began to surface in Nan Zhubin’s heart.

“Who is it, who do you think my target is?” Wang An continued to press.

Nan Zhubin didn’t plan to let Wang An lead him by the nose and was about to speak to continue his questioning at his own pace.

But he saw Wang An take a sudden step forward and slap Nan Zhubin—

“Thud”

A dull sound.

Not a crisp “slap.”

Nan Zhubin maintained a stern face, controlling his expression, while Wang An’s eyes brightened.

Wang An’s hand landed on Nan Zhubin’s side at the jacket pocket.

His hand pressed on a long, hard, metallic-feeling object, making a sound.

It was a voice recorder.

…

[Damn it.]

Nan Zhubin sighed internally.

His original plan was to break through Wang An’s psychological defenses and then use the voice recorder to capture crucial information.

If successful, he could use an upright system to punish Wang An or provide this as a protective charm for Chen Ting to keep Wang An away from her.

But just as Chen Ting said—Wang An, a law student, was too knowledgeable.

Wang An knew the nature of his actions; it was knowingly breaking the law.

He had also made countless contingency plans.

During his initial interactions with Chen Ting, Wang An left no loopholes, except for a slight lapse during the first “confession,” leaving no room for the girl to gather evidence; after Nan Zhubin arranged to meet him alone, he immediately sensed Nan Zhubin’s intentions.

Even Wang An’s sudden clarity after being overcome by psychological defenses made Nan Zhubin suspect that Wang An might have trained himself to regain composure in such adversarial situations.

…

“Mr.

Nan.”

Through a layer of clothing, the experienced Wang An had already determined what was inside.

He squeezed the voice recorder with force, a trace of a smile appearing on his still-flushed face.

“I think there might be some misunderstandings between us.”

He assumed the posture of someone in control of the situation.

Wang An said, “Were you trying to use some lie detection technique from psychology?

Are you worried I have too much influence in this project?

Concerned you won’t get credit for a project initiated by your own company?

Even so, what you said earlier was too much.”

He rubbed the voice recorder forcefully, deliberately speaking loudly: “I heard you used to be a student at Jiang University.

I wasn’t aware that after such a short time, you’d become so street-smart!”

Nan Zhubin didn’t speak; for this meeting, he knew that saying more would be futile.

He quietly watched Wang An’s performance.

“I only heard rumors that psychology students are often unknowingly affected by negative emotions; I didn’t expect you to become such a person.”

Wang An feigned a sigh.

“But to be honest, we law students, like you psychologists, also encounter all sorts of people and see the dark sides of human nature.

I can understand you.

Similarly, I too have some ability to see through people’s hearts, so I know—”

He emphasized his words with a double entendre: “You also don’t want ‘this matter’ to be known by too many people.”

Nan Zhubin knew what the other party meant.

In the context recorded by the voice recorder, “this matter” referred to their current conversation.

But in reality, Wang An’s threat was directed at—Chen Ting.

Nan Zhubin used “Wang An doesn’t want others to know about Chen Ting’s matters” to create the opportunity for this private conversation with Wang An, but now Wang An had grasped that Nan Zhubin also had concerns.

After all, Nan Zhubin’s goal was not to “punish Wang An,” but to “heal Chen Ting.”

If not handled properly, causing Chen Ting to suffer secondary harm, it would be futile even to send ten Wang Ans to prison.

“You know, sometimes I wonder.” Nan Zhubin finally spoke, he said leisurely, “Why can people like you, the perpetrators, always remain so smug, as if you’ve done nothing or everything you’ve done is right; while those you’ve harmed, struggling in the past, are constantly worried and can never free themselves.”

“Harmed?” Wang An’s face suddenly flushed red, “Who have I harmed?!”

[Hm?]

Wang An’s reaction made Nan Zhubin squint his eyes.

He was about to say something.

Unfortunately, by then, Wang An knew he no longer needed to stay.

He glanced warily at the voice recorder under Nan Zhubin’s jacket and turned to leave.

“Bang!” The door was slammed shut forcefully.

Nan Zhubin was silent for a moment, then walked to the side thoughtfully.

The failure of the first contact was not good news.

But it was not fruitless.

Nan Zhubin pulled over a chair and sat down, Wang An’s last enraged expression etched in his mind like a painting.

He meticulously traced the details of that face over and over, transforming the immediate visual impression into an abstract structure, trying to analyze the information within.

“Knock, knock, knock”

The sound of knocking on the door echoed.

Nan Zhubin awoke as if from a dream and looked up: “Is it Xia Tian?

Come in.”

“Things didn’t go smoothly after all…”

He sighed, about to say something, but suddenly stopped when he saw the person outside the door clearly.

“What are you doing here?”

—————–

A few hours earlier.

“Recently, our department has a joint project with the Psychological Consultation Center, suitable for freshmen like you to try out, really adds to your resume.”

“I am the advisor for this project and I’ve saved a spot for you in the group.”

“There’s a meeting at seven o’clock tonight in Room 405, Building Seven.

Remember to go and don’t be late.”

Chen Ting listened to the man’s voice on the other end.

Even though it was somewhat distorted by the medium of the phone, the voice still made Chen Ting feel suffocated.

No, it wasn’t the voice; as long as something was related to Wang An, Chen Ting felt uncomfortable.

At first, it was “teacher,” then “school,” and later even “law,” “man”…

But Chen Ting did not hang up the phone.

She forced herself to face it, knowing she needed to train herself.

“Beep, beep”—

The other end hung up first, and Chen Ting breathed a sigh of relief.

“Wait a minute.”

Chen Ting suddenly realized: “Did he just say a joint project with a Psychological Consultation Center, could it be—Mr.

Nan?”