I Faked My Death—Now I Have to Tame the Crazy Men I Left Behind-Chapter 21 - 19: A Mutual Rush to Sickness

The car entered the campus, but it couldn’t drive into the dormitory area.

Fortunately, the rain was letting up, so the two of them could walk back under an umbrella and walk off their meal.

Mia Grant walked while stealing glances at the value above Felix Sinclair’s head.

’He seems very calm tonight.’

’There haven’t been any obvious fluctuations, at least none that I’ve seen.’

On the way back, she analyzed the situation carefully and came up with a rough idea.

The things that triggered Felix Sinclair’s blackening were, in all likelihood, related to his younger brother, Ian Sinclair.

For instance, that time when they reunited and she mistook him for Ian.

’He seems particularly concerned about my relationship with Ian.’

Back in high school, she and Ian were in the same class, while Felix was in the classroom next door.

Felix was first in their year. Back then, she’d liked to stick to him not just to win him over, but largely for tutoring.

She had been away from high school for too long and was hoping to get into a good university. So, every time class ended, she would go find Felix to ask him questions.

True, his personality was as lifeless and strait-laced as an old cadre, making him difficult to talk to. He even had a sharp tongue sometimes, thinking she was dumb.

Compared to him, she really was dumb.

She had also secured an early admission spot, but it was nothing compared to Felix’s.

If she was the hardworking type, then he was a born genius.

Fortunately, he was a very good "teacher." He could always spot her problems at a glance and would patiently and precisely tutor her using the method that suited her best.

One time, she was held up by Ian.

The bell had just rung for the end of class. Before she could even get up, Ian, who sat in the back row, yanked her deskmate out of his seat and then plopped down himself, sprawling like he owned the place and blocking her way.

"Excuse me, I need to get out."

"Where are you going? You dash out the second class ends. Look at you, is your mind even on your studies anymore?"

"...You’re not one to talk."

If Felix had said that, she would have accepted it. But what right did Ian have?

A slacker at the bottom of the class was lecturing her, of all people.

"I don’t study because I don’t want to, not because I can’t."

"It’s so strange. Who is it out there that you’re so desperate to see?"

"I’m going to see your brother."

"What do you want with that old fossil?" He propped his cheek on one hand, his elbow on the desk. He turned to the side and lifted his chin arrogantly. "I’m playing basketball against No. 2 High this weekend. Come watch."

"I’m busy."

"I said this weekend!"

"I know. And I’m saying I’m busy this weekend."

"You..." He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her. "Don’t tell me you’re going to see my brother again this weekend."

"Yeah, we made plans to do homework at the library."

"..."

"Hurry up and move. I have a problem to ask him."

"Nope." Young Mr. Sinclair stretched out his long legs. "If you don’t agree to watch me play, I’m not letting you go see him."

Seeing that the bell for the next class was about to ring, she relented helplessly. "Fine, fine. But I can only watch for a little while. I already promised your brother."

"Deal. As long as you show up." A corner of Ian’s mouth lifted into a smirk.

She went next door and found Felix’s seat with ease.

Felix stared at her for a few seconds. "Did a teacher want to see you?"

She was very late.

"No. It’s your brother’s fault. He insisted I go watch him play basketball this weekend."

The sound of him explaining a problem to someone nearby paused for a moment. He tightened his grip on his pen. "You agreed?"

"Yup."

"But I’ll just watch for a little bit. We can just push our library time back an hour this weekend, that should be fine..."

Before she could finish, she saw him gently put down his pen. "I have something on this weekend. You don’t need to come."

—

’So there were always signs. I just never noticed, or maybe I didn’t want to care about such trivial matters.’

’Back then, I was busy studying, keeping my guard up against my parents from the Grant Family, and planning to fake my own death...’

’I was stretched thin, trying to be in several places at once. How could I have had the time to worry about them?’

’It was the same with the other male leads. It sounds a bit scummy to say, but I was generally only responsible for winning them over; I didn’t have time to worry about their mental states.’

’If only I’d noticed anything sooner, I wouldn’t have ended up in this situation where they’ve all completely ’blackened’.’

’These male leads... you can’t find a single mentally stable one in the bunch.’

’Sooner or later, I’m going to pack them all up and ship them off to a mental hospital.’

Felix Sinclair was not a man of many words. Most of the time, Mia Grant would be the one talking, while he served as a competent listener.

Mia chattered all the way. He, in contrast, was a man of few words; the number of words he’d spoken could be counted on one hand.

Tired of talking, Mia stopped and stole a glance at the rock-steady value above his head.

"What is it?" Felix noticed her gaze was fixed on the top of his head.

Mia was curious. "I’m just wondering, didn’t you get early admission to the university next door? How did you end up at Jynsia U?"

"It’s all the same."

His tone was casual.

’Oh.’ His answer was exactly what Mia had expected. "Then..."

She smiled slyly. "Why is Ian Sinclair here too?"

"I remember he was supposed to study abroad. How did he end up at Jynsia U as well?"

"..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Mia narrowed her eyes, observing the value above his head.

DING—

It ticked up by one notch.

!

[...] The system was dumbfounded and screamed, [HOST, ARE YOU INSANE?!]

’I’m conducting an experiment. I need to confirm my theory.’

’The experiment proves it. He really does care about everything I say about Ian.’

’Discover the rules, then exploit the rules.’

’I’ve finally figured this game out!’

The system was speechless.

’It’s fine. It only went up one notch, so it’s still safe. The bar isn’t full yet.’

’Otherwise, I wouldn’t have dared to test him.’

"I’m not sure," Felix said, looking straight ahead, seemingly unaffected.

Mia let out a meaningful "Oh" and continued to stare—

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and stopped, turning to look at her.

"You care that much?"

"Not at all. I’m just curious." Mia put on a sincere expression. "With his grades, he actually managed to get into Jynsia U. I’m starting to question the university’s prestige now."

His expression did not soften.

After a long moment of staring at each other, he uttered a few words in a cryptic tone: "Perhaps it was for you."

"Me?" Mia crossed her arms and let out a pfft of laughter. "How is that possible?"

’I never said I was going to Jynsia... eh?’

A memory suddenly flashed through her mind.

Right before the college entrance exams, the school had them write down their dream university on a piece of paper and submit it anonymously.

At the time, to mislead the Grant Family, she had kept saying she wanted to stay at a school in Jynsia. So what she had casually written down that day... was it... really Jynsia U?

She wasn’t entirely sure.

’Even if it was Jynsia U, how would Ian have known?’

’All the slips of paper were mixed together. Did he sneak into the office and look through them?’

’If that’s how Ian found out which university she’d chosen...’

’Then what about Felix?’

’His appearance at Jynsia U was definitely not a coincidence.’

’But sneaking into an office to steal something... a model student like him wouldn’t do something like that, would he?’

’No.’ Mia sucked in a sharp breath.

’Considering the shared psychosis between those two brothers, it wasn’t impossible at all!’