Deep Sea Embers

Seeing Nina running up the stairs briskly, Duncan didn't understand what was going on for a while, but scratched his hair in confusion: "What is this kid laughing at..."

Then he heard Mr. Morris's voice coming from the counter: "To be honest, you are very different from my impression, Mr. Duncan."

"Big difference?" Duncan raised an eyebrow, "What's your impression of me?"

As he spoke, he walked out from behind the counter to hang the "temporary break" sign at the door, and then moved a chair and placed it next to the counter - after confirming that the other party was a teacher who came to visit his home and not an ordinary guest. , it is obviously not appropriate to let people stand again.

"Thank you," Morris nodded and thanked. After sitting on the chair, he looked in the direction of Duncan with a gentle and elegant smile on his face. "I have never met you, but I have heard about Nina's family from some sources. Situation. Excuse me, but from the rumors I heard, Nina had an alcoholic, gambling and violent uncle, and the child lived in such a bad family atmosphere that she even had few friends in school - other students I don’t want to deal with her.”

Duncan was making coffee aside. After hearing Morris's words, his movements subconsciously paused for two seconds, and then he finished his work slowly. He returned to the counter with two cups of coffee and pushed one of them to the old man. : “I hope you don’t mind that this is the only bargain I have here—the best coffee in downtown is about this level.”

He sat down opposite the old man, each holding a cup of steaming coffee, and the ancient dagger was placed between them, but it was obvious that neither party's attention was on it for the time being.

"Strictly speaking...these rumors are all true," Duncan said slowly, "I had an illness before, well, a more serious illness - when the painkillers didn't work, I could only rely on strong alcohol to numb it. Nervous, it was a decadent time, and unfortunately it also happened to be a critical few years in Nina’s adolescence, and it seems like it had a more serious impact on her than I thought.”

Morris observed Duncan carefully, and after a long time he said thoughtfully: "Is that so?" But I feel that you are not like a person who has just emerged from decadence - but more like a gentleman who has never fallen into decadence and has always been positive and optimistic. Your wit and humor when talking to people are not like those who have been affected by alcohol. Impacted.

As he spoke, he took a sip of the coffee in the cup and did not make any comments about the coffee. He just seemed to mention casually: "I think I can read people pretty accurately."

"Maybe it's just that I adjust my mentality quickly," Duncan laughed, his tone was particularly calm - he had to admit that this old man did see people very accurately, but he believed that no matter how accurate his eyes were, he couldn't see the secrets in his body. , so there is no panic at all, "Nina is almost an adult. I am her only guardian. I have to show some sense of responsibility."

"...Anyway, this is a good thing for the child," Morris glanced deeply at Duncan, "She is at a critical stage of her studies, although many people say that graduates from public high schools can only work in factories. Bolts, but they always ignore one thing: knowledge itself is a valuable asset, and it will always suddenly show meaning one day in your life, and that is often after you have no chance to return to school.”

The old man said, shaking his head: "Unfortunately, most parents I have dealt with do not agree with this - their focus is on letting their children graduate and find jobs as soon as possible."

When Duncan heard this, he suddenly felt friendly: He knows what the old gentleman said! When he was a teacher, he often said similar things to his students or their parents, but no one listened to him...

However, he quickly restrained his "meeting peers" mentality. After thinking about his current environment, he shook his head slightly:

"Because this is downtown, Mr. Morris - your views are indeed wise and farsighted, but most people here really need to pay off last month's bill as soon as possible, and you can't blame them for that. Not long-term enough.”

"It's true. Many people actually want to look farther away, but the high walls in life will always block our sight further away," the old man sighed. "Sorry, after soaking in books for a long time, I always... You will ignore the practical problems in life... You are a very thoughtful person, and it seems that some of my worries are unnecessary. "

"Worried?" Duncan frowned, "Speaking of which, did Nina have any problems in school recently? Her grades have declined?"

"Her grades have always been very good, but recently... she has been really absent-minded," Morris considered the words. "She was distracted in class, fell asleep during self-study, and was distracted during experimental classes - last week's In chemistry class, she even set the lab bench on fire. This has never happened before...at least it has never happened to her."

Speaking of this, the old man paused and added: "In the test two days ago, her grades did not show any decline, but if this state continues, it is difficult to say what her grades will be when she graduates. ——Although the options after graduating from a public high school are indeed limited, assembling machines in a factory in the lower city is still different from maintaining a steam core in a church in the upper city. As Nina's guardian, you should pay attention. "

"Nina has been distracted in class lately?" Duncan frowned, "She never told me about this..."

"A girl of this age will definitely not tell you too much," Morris shook his head. "At first, I thought it was because of something going on at home, or what her 'alcoholic uncle' had done recently. It affected her state at school, so she came to do this home visit, but now it seems...it's not the reason. "

Duncan didn't speak for a while, but carefully recalled whether Nina had behaved abnormally in front of him in the past few days, and recalled Nina's daily routine. Morris asked after a few seconds: " You are the one who knows her best. Has the child had any abnormalities recently, such as not having enough rest or being in poor health? "

Duncan thought for a long time and could only spread his hands: "...I'm ashamed to say that I can't think of an answer."

He couldn't think of an answer - he didn't even know Nina a week ago! How could he know that the child had changed recently compared to before?

Morris didn't seem too surprised by Duncan's answer. This was probably because he had lowered his expectations for "Nina's uncle" based on the rumors before he came, so at this time he just said habitually: "You She should be given more attention - especially for a girl of this age, material support alone is not enough."

When Duncan heard this, a thought suddenly came to his mind: "Is she in love?"

Frankly speaking, this idea is more or less based on "Zhou Ming's" experience as a people's teacher...

After Morris heard this, he showed a strange expression. The old man looked at Duncan strangely: "That's a girls' school..."

Duncan thought for a while and said with a serious face: "A girls' school is also possible."

Morris opened his eyes slightly.

This old gentleman who has always been obsessed with academics was greatly shocked!

"Ahem, okay, I'm just saying casually," Duncan knew as soon as he saw the old man's reaction that the topic might be a bit over the top, and he quickly coughed twice to break the embarrassment, "I will talk to Nina carefully... …She should be willing to talk to me.”

"Ah...oh, of course," the old gentleman reacted at this moment. He seemed to be still immersed in some kind of shock, and his words seemed to be slow, "As far as I know...Nina is a very frank and honest person. She is a very honest child. If you tell her carefully, she won't be too resistant. "

Duncan nodded: "Is there anything else going on? Is there anything else wrong with Nina in school recently?"

"It's nothing other than being distracted and in a trance," the old man thought for a moment and shook his head, "I came today mainly to talk about this matter, and to learn about her real family situation... By the way, Speaking of which, Nina’s parents are because…”

"The accident eleven years ago," Duncan said, "is officially documented as a chemical plant leak in Sixth Street."

"So that's it," the old man sighed, "I remember this accident. My daughter and I happened to be near the Cross Street neighborhood at the time. When the chemical plant leaked, there was a lot of noise. The affected people even rushed to the upper city area. On the verge of... The subsequent investigation also said that many cultists took the opportunity to cause trouble that night, and they also destroyed the chemical plant..."

Duncan's heart moved, and he said calmly and casually: "Did there be a fire in the Lower City that night?"

"Fire? I don't remember any fire," Morris frowned, "Are you remembering it wrong?"

"...It seems I misremembered," Duncan pressed his forehead and said with a smile, "I really should stay away from alcohol."