Chapter 159: Wang Ying's "Commentary"

"Has Zhang Shen still not woken up?"

This was the first question Chen Rong asked as he stepped into the dormitory.

As Zhang Shen's head teacher, and given that Chen Rong was someone she had urgently called in the middle of the night, Hao Lei immediately replied, "Yes, Principal! Zhang Shen hasn't woken up yet. You see..."

Before Hao Lei could finish, Chen Rong naturally understood what she wanted to say next. However, what he wanted to know more right now was what on earth had happened to Zhang Shen after he left Tao Yang's house that resulted in such a drastic and bizarre reversal of events.

Chen Rong swept his gaze around the room and then said to Wang Ying, "Young lady, were you just about to say something?"

Hearing the principal's question, Wang Ying nodded gratefully and replied, "Yes, Principal!"

Seeing this, Chen Rong prompted, "Then please go on. Hopefully, we can find some clues to the symptoms from what you know."

"Actually, all of this has to begin with the matter of my father being poisoned..."

Wang Ying traced the starting point of the story back to the conflict between her father and Long Si. While Hao Lei and the others might have already been aware of these details, Wang Ying felt it necessary to recount the background since the principal wanted a more comprehensive understanding of the situation.

After finishing this part and seeing that no one interrupted, Wang Ying proceeded to the consequences.

"Today, I saw Zhang Shen go out with the principal, and he didn't return for a long time. Because Zhang Shen had promised to help me find the person who poisoned my father, I kept wanting to get clues from him. As time slipped away by the minute, I eventually called Meng Ran, but Meng Ran also said Zhang Shen hadn't returned yet. Later on, I saw the principal come back alone, and from that moment on, I had a vague feeling that something was wrong."

"And then?"

Hearing this, Chen Rong could clearly sense that Wang Ying had some suspicions.

"Later, I called one of Zhang Shen's acquaintances."

"Were they two girls? One slightly younger, one slightly older, driving a Buick?"

Chen Rong's question was clearly an attempt to match notes with Wang Ying, as he suspected those two young women might be connected to Zhang Shen's mysterious disappearance.

"Yes, yes!"

Just as Wang Ying nodded repeatedly, Hao Lei chimed in, "Principal, you've met these two people?"

In fact, from the principal's description, Hao Lei already knew that one of them was Jiang Muyun and the other was Mu Qiao.

"Yes."

After giving a concise reply to Hao Lei, Chen Rong told Wang Ying, "Go on."

"She told me that Zhang Shen was a scumbag, and that she had already returned and was no longer at the Panlong Restaurant."

"Restaurant?"

Clearly, Chen Rong had not expected the location to shift to a restaurant, which took him somewhat by surprise.

Sensing the principal's astonishment, Wang Ying quickly explained, "Yes, a restaurant. And that restaurant is run by Long Si. So we wanted to sneak into the place to investigate, but we never expected..."

As she spoke, Wang Ying's voice was already choked with tears. It was obvious she realized that Zhang Shen's current situation was precarious. Seeing her like this, the principal quickly comforted her, "Don't worry, young lady. Please continue, you don't need to worry about Zhang Shen's matter."

With a sob in her voice, Wang Ying continued, "When I found out that Zhang Shen had walked into that restaurant, and that Jiang Muyun and Mu Qiao had already driven away, I quickly asked them to pick me up at the school and begged them to take me to Panlong Restaurant. Later, we saw Zhang Shen right at the entrance of the restaurant."

"What was Zhang Shen's condition at that time?"

From Chen Rong's perspective, since they had already seen Zhang Shen at the restaurant entrance, his condition at that exact moment was crucial.

"Just like he is now, except that back then Zhang Shen was still relatively conscious. At least he could open his eyes, speak, and recognize the people in front of him. But now..."

Hearing this, Chen Rong and everyone else understood that Zhang Shen had already been showing abnormal signs right after coming out of that restaurant. What they couldn't fathom was why no necessary emergency measures had been taken right at the start, leading to such a long delay before anyone realized the gravity of the situation.

"Principal, Zhang Shen is going to be alright, right?"

"Rest assured!"

In truth, the reason Chen Rong hadn't walked right up to Zhang Shen was that he could already sense that Zhang Shen's breathing was somewhat normal. Thus, while listening to Wang Ying's account, he was also waiting for someone. Although he didn't have a miracle cure on hand at the moment, offering verbal comfort was still necessary.

Just as Chen Rong was patting Wang Ying on the head, his cell phone suddenly rang. Perhaps due to the exceptionally heavy atmosphere in the room, even the ringtone sounded somewhat urgent.

Though Chen Rong had already guessed who was calling, the moment he glanced at the caller ID, his expression shifted slightly. He immediately answered the phone.

"Hello!"

"Listen to me, Principal Chen, if you manage to save this student, you have to leave him to our hospital. Just based on the fact that this kid cured my allergy, I want him on my team right now."

When Tao Yang learned over the phone that the very Zhang Shen who had previously operated on him was now lying unconscious, he immediately drove over to the school. The reason Chen Rong had sought out Tao Yang was because Tao Yang's family had been studying medicine for generations, particularly herbs and poisons found in the wild. Naturally, Tao Yang had been dealing with medicinal plants since he was a child.

"That's easy to discuss, but you'd better hurry up and deal with the urgent matter first."

From Chen Rong's point of view, any extra words right now were a waste of breath; getting Tao Yang here so Zhang Shen could open his eyes was far more practical.

"Of course I know it's urgent, but at least let me into your school first!"

Hearing Tao Yang say this, Chen Rong realized that the school gates must have been locked long ago.

"Old friend, don't rush. I'll call and have them open the gate right now. Remember, come straight to Building D, 4th floor."

"Hurry up then!"

Shortly after, Chen Rong hung up and called the security guardhouse at the school entrance. On the other end, upon receiving the principal's order, the gates were quickly swung open.

Tao Yang drove straight to the dormitory building Chen Rong had specified. The moment he stepped out of his car, he noticed that the building before him was pitch black, save for a single room on the fourth floor where the lights were on.

Tao Yang instantly realized that this must be the dormitory room Chen Rong had mentioned.