"I don't know why?"
Chloe complained to Little Black Pete, "Since joining the football team, Clark has clearly distanced himself from us. He trusts his coach more than he trusts us, his friends."
"Chloe, didn't you say that as friends, we should be good at speculating and retaining doubts?" Pete waved to a classmate nearby after greeting them, saying, "You're good at speculating, and Clark retains doubts about you. I think you two are pretty compatible friends."
"OK, Pete, you surprised me today. I thought you only remembered your football, women, and comics, but I didn't expect you to know Nietzsche."
"Isn't that normal?" Pete felt slighted. "Just like how occasionally you mention the name of Arthur Paxton, the Laser Man, Chloe."
Chloe tossed her coffee cup into the trash can and asked, "Do you know the second half of the sentence Nietzsche said?"
"What?"
"The second half is: 'Let speculation be your sympathy, but first, you must know if your friend needs sympathy!'"
Chloe said with displeasure, "My speculation just now, including suspecting Coach Watt as the culprit, was to prevent Clark from getting hurt. Of course, not physical harm, but more mental. But clearly, Clark doesn't need my sympathy."
"It sounds like you're hurt, Chloe."
Pete and Chloe walked into the corridor together, squeezing past the crowded lockers.
"Not hurt, just disappointed at not being recognized."
Chloe said at a speed reminiscent of a machine gun, "Principal Mann wanted to investigate the cheating scandal, so the coach burned him to death in the car. He shouted at the players in the office before, probably because someone betrayed him. Maybe the player told Principal Mann about the coach providing cheat sheets for exams, so everything makes sense..."
"Hey, hey! Chloe, I've got something else to do, let's chat later."
Pete interrupted Chloe's endless chatter, patted her shoulder, and ran off to talk to a black girl he had just met.
"Phew."
Watching Pete's back, Chloe sighed in frustration.
Being disbelieved even by friends left her feeling down.
Lost in thought for a moment, Chloe suddenly remembered someone.
Eric Kent!
Unbeknownst to Eric, who was being pondered, his X-ray vision pierced through obstacles and focused on the principal's office.
Inside the principal's office, Principal Morton was discussing yesterday's traffic accident with a reporter.
On Morton's desk sat a heavy ceramic ashtray, which he used to hold pipe tobacco. Eric's eyes could even make out the Rodin's "Thinker" figurine on the ashtray.
"Mr. Morton, I'm sorry about the unfortunate incident with Principal Guan."
The reporter expressed condolences to Principal Morton.
"Yes, it's truly unfortunate!"
Principal Morton cleared his throat, his voice low, "As the assistant principal, Mr. Guan's main job was to develop teaching plans and maintain school discipline. When disciplining students, he always wanted to shape a lovable John Wayne image, but his too-friendly smile always made people feel off."
"As for Mr. Guan's traffic accident, I'm sorry, but I can't provide you with the information you want. Perhaps you should ask the police; they should know more than I do."
Faced with Principal Morton's refusal, the reporter smiled back, "I've already talked to the police, so now I want to talk to you. The police said the person who called was a student at Smooville High School, Eric Kent, I believe."
"Eric Kent?"
Principal Morton frowned, tousling his wistful hair. "Let me think. He's Jonathan Kent's son, right?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Wait until you've been in school for thirty years like me," Principal Morton said with a slight smile, "You'll see a familiar child, and then you'll realize that his father was one of your first students. It's a strange feeling."
"I want to interview Eric Kent, but before that, I need some information about him. Mr. Morton, can you provide me with his 'credit and evaluation file'?"
The reporter, Chris, explained his purpose to the principal directly.
"Credit and evaluation file?"
Principal Morton pondered for a moment. "According to regulations, student records are not publicly available, Mr. Chris."
The reporter, Chris, replied, "Although my profession is a journalist, it doesn't mean I won't keep things confidential. Mr. Morton, I won't disclose any student information. I just want to learn more about Eric Kent before the interview."
Listening in with his X-ray vision on the principal's office, Eric's expression became serious.
The credit and evaluation file not only included personal information such as a student's name, parents, address, and birthday, but also various assessment results of abilities, as well as evaluations from all teachers.
Checking the "credit and evaluation file" was a comprehensive way to understand a high school student.
This reporter wants to investigate me?
Which side's influence?
What's the purpose?
Eric rubbed his chin, lost in thought.
This reporter has quite a few secrets!
And his favorite thing to do is to expose those bugs hiding in the dark.
The day's classes quickly ended, and Eric packed up his things at his locker after school.
"Hey, Eric, can I talk to you?"
A female voice sounded from behind.
Turning around, Eric saw Chloe from the Torch.
Facing Eric's icy expression, Chloe couldn't relax as she did in front of Clark. She coughed and said to Eric, "About Principal Guan."
"Principal Guan?"
"I heard that you made the emergency call at the scene of the accident. I have some clues here. Maybe we can chat and exchange information. Perhaps we'll have new discoveries, maybe we can even find the murderer who killed Principal Guan."
Chloe hesitated to say.
"You've got something wrong, Chloe."
"What?"
Eric's voice carried a hint of indifference. "I have no interest in who the culprit is, nor do I have any interest in so-called detective games."
"But..."
Chloe said, somewhat puzzled, "If we can catch the culprit, we can prevent more people from being hurt."
"Sounds good, but that's not my concern."
After saying this, Eric turned and left, leaving behind a perplexed reporter.
He still needed to investigate that suicidal reporter, so he didn't have time to play detective games with Chloe.
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