Restrictive Zone

RA 18 - Princess

"Do you really want to know?" Zheng Mingyi asked.

"Why, is it some kind of top-secret information?" Jiang Chijing raised his eyebrows.

"Not at all," Zheng Mingyi smiled. "Because some people were just asking for a beating."

"Such as?"

Zheng Mingyi didn't appear to mean to delve into the topic, but seeing that Jiang Chijing was still waiting for his continuation, he quietened for a moment. In the end, he exhaled, relenting, saying, "Such as those who laugh at me and call me illiterate."

In all honesty, this answer did surprise Jiang Chijing somewhat. He asked, "But you can read, right?"

"Yeah, it's just hard." Zheng Mingyi said. "The strokes form differently in my eyes than it does for most, but it isn't that I can't read at all."

Dyslexic people had different spatial awareness than regular people did, which also allowed them to think better on their feet. However, it was difficult for thought processes to be judged, whereas being 'illiterate' tended to leave a more striking impression.

Per Jiang Chijing's understanding, normal adults wouldn't mock others as illiterate to their face. Recalling that Zheng Mingyi was a high school graduate, he guessed, "Did you beat up your classmates?"

"Yeah," Zheng Mingyi said. "So I frequently transferred schools. I was what the teachers would call a stereotypical 'academically poor' student.

Jiang Chijing abruptly thought of a saying—advise magnanimity and the heavens will strike you down. Humans were not interconnected in their joys and sorrows. Without having walked in someone else's shoes, yet advising them to be tolerant and magnanimous as if it was only natural, was extremely boorish behaviour.

He didn't have any grounds to criticise whether Zheng Mingyi's method was right or wrong, but under the present circumstances, he still said, "Prison has a rather unique environment, try to refrain yourself if possible."

Zheng Mingyi chuckled softly, saying, "I've said this before, I'll listen to you, Officer Jiang."

Compared to Jiang Chijing's sternness, Zheng Mingyi's tone was relaxed, making Jiang Chijing feel like he was being too nosy, fretting over something that wasn't his business. At this moment, Zheng Mingyi spoke again. "Speaking of, Officer Jiang, since I've let you listen to my stuff, shouldn't you let me hear yours too?"

"I have a very normal background," Jiang Chijing said.

His family was decently well-off and his parents had a good relationship. Though he had a more intense curiosity than average, he was still very clear of where the boundaries lay.

"Don't you have any special hobbies?" Zheng Mingyi asked.

Jiang Chijing's guard abruptly rose. He was willing to wager that Zheng Mingyi hadn't just casually put forth this question.

Flipping from passive to active, he calmly looked at Zheng Mingyi, saying, "Don't you know?"

Zheng Mingyi gently arched an eyebrow, obviously surprised that Jiang Chijing would respond in this way. Dense interest congealed in his eyes, and the corners of his lips curved up slightly. "I'm not sure."

From the looks of it, he wasn't completely exposed yet.

Classic Zheng Mingyi style; Jiang Chijing had learnt it from him. Deliberately showing a little bit of a tail, luring the other onto the hook, then fishing out the information he wanted to know from the other's mouth.

Huh, he didn't think that this move would actually work so well.

Jiang Chijing glanced at his watch. "It's about time. You can go back first."