Chapter 292: Chapter 285: A Gentle Needle Chapter 292: Chapter 285: A Gentle Needle Zheng Tan’s private room was not frequented, yet was cleaned daily, and sometimes new decorations and trinkets were discovered.

Zheng Tan wasn’t interested in those small items, nor did he pay much attention to them. On the other hand, Ermao picked up this and that, muttering about finding time to go to the Pet Center to see if there were similar toys to buy for Heimi.

After making the rounds, Qin Tao said, “Playing here sure has its own charm. Pity there are only two men in the room… Oh, three men, Heitan counts as one.”

“It’s a pity cats have a strong territorial instinct and won’t allow strangers to enter at will,” Ermao said with the tone of a cat expert.

Zheng Tan inwardly scoffed. He really didn’t care about calling Meiniu over to liven up the atmosphere, really!

After ordering some stuff, Ermao stopped beating around the bush, as he needed to find out what exactly had happened to Qin Tao.

“You know, even if you don’t speak now, I could quickly find out if I wanted to,” Ermao said.

To help Qin Tao keep calm and clear-headed, Ermao, unusually, had not ordered alcohol. The coffee table was laden with tea and iced water.

After downing a glass of iced water, Qin Tao pinched the bridge of his nose, sighed deeply, and briefly explained his situation.

The signs started around two months before, or perhaps earlier, but Qin Tao realized something was amiss roughly two months ago. He knew his temperament was changing, prone to happiness and anger, impulsive, and sometimes he blew up over trifling matters. Due to his inability to control his emotions, he got into fights more frequently. Often the punch was thrown before his brain could process what was happening, and the words he said were, in retrospect, nonsensical as if his brain had short-circuited.

Because of Qin Tao’s behavior, his family became increasingly disappointed in him. Even before, Qin Tao hadn’t had the best reputation, and with the addition of this more negative side, life became even harder.

The “period of reflection” imposed on Qin Tao was triggered by an altercation at a family dinner organized by one of his elders, who had invited some industry friends and notable individuals, along with their unmarried children, to mingle and see if there were any sparks. Some had come specifically for Qin Tao, but unfortunately, because of a dispute that erupted between Qin Tao and another guest, which landed the latter in the hospital, Qin Tao was forced to reflect. Had it not been for someone breaking it up, it might have been worse or even life-threatening.

This deepened the disappointment of Qin Tao’s family, and many parents brought their daughters and added Qin Tao to the blacklist, considering him too dangerous for his violent temper and tendency to resort to physical violence.

A number of somewhat famous individuals were in attendance, and because of Qin Tao’s actions, the hosting elder lost face, causing a significant outburst post-event, which also resulted in a scolding for Qin Tao’s parents. Consequently, Qin Tao was ordered to seriously reflect on his actions.

For a while, some of those who disliked Qin Tao spread rumors that he was on drugs, and even though those claims were later managed by Qin Tao’s father, some people still believed Qin Tao was either mentally disturbed or on drugs. Qin Tao’s father even arranged for a drug test to be done, which came back negative. Though it cleared Qin Tao’s name, he felt humiliated to have been forced to undergo drug testing, and in a rage, he destroyed everything he could smash in the house.

Qin Tao’s father even planned to confine Qin Tao for a thorough examination, but upon hearing this, Qin Tao fled, turning his back on the “reflection” and returning to Chuhua City.

Qin Tao had suspected that someone was sabotaging him, although he could never quite find the evidence.

Probably the iced water made his head clearer and, being with only Ermao and Zheng Tan, Qin Tao didn’t feel as on edge, and he seemed more relaxed. However, as he spoke of those events, Zheng Tan could discern the repressed emotions in Qin Tao’s voice.

“At the time of the drug test, they didn’t find anything else?” Ermao asked.

Qin Tao shook his head, “I had blood tests done myself, passed them to people to check. They said something about my bodily functions being somewhat disordered, but that could also be due to my emotions.”

“But you still suspect someone has it in for you,” Ermao stated affirmatively, not as a question.

“Indeed, how could I, normally such an optimistic and carefree person, undergo such a drastic change in character out of nowhere? I might play hard, but I’m not without vigilance,” Qin Tao paused, glancing sideways.

Zheng Tan watched him quietly, meeting Qin Tao’s claim of vigilance with silent irony. Who was it that got tricked by a phone call and ended up beaten to a pulp at the normal university back then?

“Cough, most of the time my vigilance is quite high,” Qin Tao, evidently recalling the earlier incident, revised his statement with some embarrassment and continued, “When I first felt something off with my mentality and emotions, I paid attention to my diet, but I didn’t find anything unusual. Whatever I ate, others ate too.”

“They even made me see a psychiatrist, but I know I’m not sick. Everything I’ve consumed, all the cups of tea, have been examined, with no issues found.”

Other friends besides Ermao had helped Qin Tao investigate, friends who were absolutely trustworthy and wouldn’t betray him. Even the cups and food used by his girlfriend in Mingzhu City, with whom Qin Tao had intimate relations, were checked without finding anything out of the ordinary.

“Sometimes I even suspect I have a psychological issue,” Qin Tao said, rubbing his face harshly, self-deprecatingly.

If it was confirmed that Qin Tao had mental health issues, it would likely make his life much harder moving forward. Aside from his parents, the other family elders wouldn’t offer much aid to someone with a mental illness, maybe sparing a little money out of pity at best. Those with potential were the ones supported vigorously, and even if Qin Tao appeared wasteful and extravagant, he would typically only be subject to a few scoldings. But having a mental issue would mean being “banished” outright and placed under close surveillance.

Being treated like a mental patient when you’re not one is something neither Qin Tao’s future prospects nor his pride could accept.

As for personal protection, some of Qin Tao’s elders think that a person who can’t even protect himself, even if you push them to the top, will still be pulled down by others. So, even if they suspect Qin Tao has been harmed by someone, they won’t intervene much. They can provide money and people, but if you have resources and still don’t know how to use them or can’t find any evidence, isn’t that just being incompetent?

“If I can’t find out before the old man’s birthday, I’m going to be in big trouble,” Qin Tao said in annoyance.

Zheng Tan felt sorry for Qin Tao, who didn’t mix with many trustworthy and intelligent cronies. As for friends like Ermao, who were trustworthy and smart, they weren’t in the same place. Although they occasionally called and chatted, Ermao’s brother was very busy, and Ermao had been preoccupied with love these past two months. Qin Tao hadn’t mentioned his troubles over the phone, so neither knew about it.

“You beast,” Ermao looked at Qin Tao.

“What?”

“Take off your clothes!”

Zheng Tan, Qin Tao: “…”

“What’s with those looks? I just want to see if there are any suspicious marks on your body,” Ermao said, almost laughing with frustration.

“There’s no needle mark,” Qin Tao knew what Ermao was looking for.

“I know you’re afraid of needles, it’s just to be on the safe side.”

If nothing had been detected in his food and drink, what about injections?

However, Qin Tao really hated needles. Few people knew this; since childhood, he would go to the hospital mainly due to injuries from fighting. For minor illnesses like a cold, he would avoid injections at all costs. Even if you were careful in giving him a shot while he was asleep, he would wake up immediately and punch you first. But if it were something else, like being hit with a stick, he wouldn’t open his eyes unless necessary.

The man, who fancied himself tough and manly, was embarrassed about his fear of needles. During school vaccinations, Qin Tao would hold his breath and pretend to chat and laugh with others to distract himself, never looking at the cold, slender needle of the syringe. After each injection, he would feel depressed for a long time. Now, many had stopped mentioning it, and even his cousin who didn’t get along with him didn’t know about Qin Tao’s aversion to needles, or it would have been one more thing to tease him about.

“It can’t be an injection, otherwise I would definitely have felt it. Even if I overlooked it once, I wouldn’t miss it every time,” Qin Tao said confidently.

Unless it was done by some extremely skilled deviant, injecting with a needle would inevitably pierce blood vessels or nerves. Qin Tao was very sensitive to needles, a fact that Ermao had once mocked him for. Once when they went to a club for acupuncture, the Master assured him it wouldn’t hurt at all, but Qin Tao jumped up and ran after just two needles had been inserted. Besides, Qin Tao said, the problem had been around for a long time, suggesting a prolonged process, which means if someone really wanted to harm him this way, it couldn’t be just a one or two-time affair.

“That’s why I’m frustrated. Now I’m starting to lose control of my emotions. In the early stages, I could suppress my feelings with self-suggestion, but now I can’t hold them back at all. The slightest spark sets me off,” Qin Tao said, gulping down another glass of ice water.

Qin Tao wasn’t very smart; although he and Ermao were both at the bottom of their class, Ermao was clever in a devious way, while Qin Tao was an undeniably spoiled young master. It’s impressive he held out this long before telling Ermao.

“Forget it, if we can’t figure it out now, let’s not dwell on it. I’ll find someone to check into it later,” Ermao offered.

Qin Tao ended up spending the night in Ermao’s private room instead of going to a hotel. The next day, Zheng Tan passed by the third floor and the door was closed; Ermao was probably out looking into Qin Tao’s matter.

Although Zheng Tan wanted to help, he wasn’t in a position to do so at the moment.

When the house was empty during the day, if Zheng Tan didn’t feel like going out for a walk, he would sneak online at home or look through the adult magazines Jiao Yuan had hidden away.

After flipping through Jiao Yuan’s hidden magazines, Zheng Tan’s eyes fell on a pile of other magazines by the table, which Mr. Jiao subscribed to and both Jiao Yuan and Little Youzi would flip through occasionally.

On a whim, Zheng Tan pulled the top one over and started flipping through.

As he flipped, Zheng Tan’s paw paused.

It was a debate between experts, a so-called debate where both sides argue professionally and civilly with reasoning and evidence.

“Will this revolution in the field of subcutaneous injection ultimately triumph?”

Needleless injection, also known as jet injection, is the use of a mechanical device that generates a momentary high pressure to propel the medicine into a high-pressure jet, which travels at high speed through the skin and directly disperses into the subcutaneous or muscle tissue. The speed of this jet is extremely high, some even surpassing the speed of sound. Due to its rapidity, it is painless, requiring only about 0.3 seconds or even less for the injection, and the penetration depth into the tissue is limited, avoiding the inevitable piercing of blood vessels or nerves associated with traditional needles and causing minimal stimulation to the nerve endings.

Medical injection technology has revolutionized several times, evolving the needleless injector from the size of a “brick” phone to that of a normal pen. However, the cost is not widely accepted by the public, and it is even less common domestically.

Zheng Tan looked at the notes in the magazine and narrowed his eyes. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep