Chapter 28: Little Zhou is Ignorant
"Alright, that's it for today." Nairn stretched, looking like he was "clocking out." "I've taught what needs to be taught and arranged what needs to be arranged. The rest is up to you."
As he spoke, his figure began to become somewhat ethereal.
Seeing this, Klein hurriedly spoke up: "Senior, wait!"
"Something else?" Nairn stopped and raised an eyebrow at him.
"It's nothing major..." Klein hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's just... can I still come to you for advice in the future?"
He was now completely won over by this fellow countryman senior, wishing he could follow behind him and learn every day.
However, Nairn's answer stunned him.
"Forget it, you should come to my place less often in the future."
What?
Come to your place less often?
Klein felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, chilling him to the bone instantly.
He stared blankly at Nairn, his face full of shock and confusion.
Is this... being disliked?
Why?
Did I do something wrong?
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Klein's mind.
Is it because I came to visit today without bringing a gift?
He suddenly remembered the jokes about "social etiquette" he had seen on the internet in his previous life.
Visiting a leader's home required bringing cigarettes, alcohol, and fruit; visiting a friend's place couldn't be done empty-handed... Heaven knows, in his previous life, he was just an ordinary corporate slave. After graduation, he joined a company and lived a simple life commuting between two points every day, never having much contact with so-called "officialdom culture" or "Chinese etiquette."
Was Nairn Senior not an ordinary person before? Perhaps due to his status, he placed special importance on these rules?
Because I came empty-handed, does he think I'm ignorant of social graces and not worth befriending?
The more Klein thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and his heart immediately sank halfway.
He opened his mouth, wanting to explain that he didn't do it on purpose, it was just... he was really poor and hadn't thought of it.
But the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back down.
Wouldn't saying this now make his EQ seem even lower, like he was just making excuses?
For a time, Klein stood there at a loss, feeling so embarrassed he could use his toes to carve out a palace Above the Gray Fog.
He even began to reflect on whether he had asked too many questions just now, appearing too eager for quick success.
Or was it that he performed too stupidly, making the senior feel that he was a piece of rotten wood that couldn't be carved?
Just as Klein was overthinking and his internal monologue had already staged a tragic drama of the year, Nairn's voice, tinged with a bit of playfulness, rang out again.
"What are you thinking about?"
Nairn looked at Klein's dejected expression, like a kitten that had been abandoned, and almost couldn't help laughing out loud.
This guy's imagination is way too strong.
"I told you to come to my place less, not because I dislike you," he explained with amusement.
"Then why is it?" Klein asked cautiously, afraid of hearing an answer that would break his heart.
Nairn didn't answer directly, but instead pointed a finger upward and then pointed at the ground beneath their feet.
"We have a better meeting place, don't we?"
He said leisurely, "If there's something, we can just meet Above the Gray Fog. It's safe, private, and no one will disturb us."
Safe, private.
Is that so?
Klein instantly remembered the time in the apartment when Nairn pointed one finger to the sky and one to the ground.
So that's what it meant!
He doesn't dislike me! He thinks meeting in the real world is unsafe!
Klein's heart suddenly flew from the bottom of the valley back to the clouds, and his whole being came alive.
Right! Why didn't I think of that!
Nairn Senior's identity must be extremely mysterious, and since he knows so many secrets, he must have many enemies or watchers.
Frequent contact in the real world would indeed be very easy to expose.
Especially now that I've joined the Nighthawks, there might be the eyes of the Church watching me.
If my negligence brought trouble to the senior, that would be terrible!
Senior is so cautious!
Having figured this out, Klein's respect for Nairn went up another level.
Look at his awareness of secrecy! This anti-reconnaissance ability!
Then think of himself, still foolishly thinking about visiting more often; he was simply a greenhorn!
"I understand, Senior! It was my lack of consideration!" Klein said with a face full of shame.
"It's good that you understand." Nairn nodded with satisfaction, feeling that talking to smart people saved effort.
He glanced at Klein, feeling that today's "teaching" was about enough, and there was no point in staying longer.
"Alright, then I'll be going first. Familiarize yourself with the environment here slowly."
After saying that, Nairn waved at Klein as casually as saying goodbye to a friend.
Then, under Klein's gaze, his figure... just like that, out of thin air, directly and instantly... vanished.
No light door, no decomposing into spots of light, no sign of being "sent" down.
He just... logged off.
Like playing an online game and, when he didn't want to play anymore, directly clicking the "Exit Game" button.
The whole process was crisp and clean, without a hint of fanfare.
Above the Gray Fog, silence returned once more.
Only Klein was left, sitting alone on that high-backed chair belonging to "The Fool," dumbfounded.
He... how did he... how did he log off directly?!
Klein's brain buzzed, completely short-circuiting.
He froze for several seconds before reacting to what had just happened.
Nairn, without the consent of him, the "Lord of the Gray Fog," had left Above the Gray Fog on his own!
What does this mean?
This means Nairn doesn't need him to "pull" or "kick" people at all! He can come and go as he pleases!
This Gray Fog Space, which he thought was his exclusive domain, was like a back garden to Nairn!
Then... then during the first Tarot Club meeting... Klein suddenly remembered the scene that day.
Nairn was enveloped in crimson light and, like everyone else, was "pulled" up.
He had thought at the time that Nairn was also a "lucky one" he had accidentally chosen.
Looking at it now... that guy... that guy was acting from beginning to end!
He had entered on his own initiative!
That bewildered expression of "Who am I, where am I" back then was all faked!
He even used a "Holy shit, what's your problem" to break the silence and intentionally guide the topic!
Klein felt his cheeks burning hot.
He remembered how he had acted profound by answering "An attempt," how he had hosted the meeting with such gravity, and how he had smugly thought he had successfully fooled everyone... Looking back now, his performance at that time, in Nairn's eyes, was probably like a child wearing an adult's suit and trying hard to imitate an adult's speech—naive and ridiculous.
He... he must have been laughing his head off internally back then!
An indescribable sense of shame surged into his heart, making Klein wish he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
But after the shame, what surged into his heart was an even stronger emotion.
That was... being moved. He really... I'm so touched I could cry.
Nairn Senior, despite clearly possessing the authority to come and go freely Above the Gray Fog, had cooperated with his performance from beginning to end.
He didn't expose him, didn't mock him, but instead guided him step by step, taught him the Acting Method, planned his future, and even took the initiative to offer to be his "shill" at the Tarot Club to help him build the atmosphere.
Everything he did was so that he, the "lead actor," could better stand at the center of the stage and play the role of "The Fool" well.
What painstaking effort this was!
Klein sat blankly on the high-backed chair for a good while.
He suddenly felt like letting out a swear.
This fellow countryman was simply... too good to him.
So good that he didn't even know how to repay him.
In the end, all emotions dissolved into a long sigh, dissipating into the boundless gray fog.
He looked at the empty palace and, for the first time, did not feel lonely or afraid.