Su graduated successfully.
Following his plan, he completed his undergraduate, master's, and doctoral studies step by step. When he received his PhD, he was somewhat surprised at how obediently he had delved into academia; he had thought he would eventually lose patience and choose to become a doctor directly.
Perhaps the words Lin spoke to him that day at the concert had played a part.
...Speaking of Lin, the three of them often hung out together after that concert. During long breaks, Su would visit them in Nagazora, forming a classic trio.
However, unlike Su, who pursued further studies, Lin and Kevin did not continue their education after finishing university.
Kevin and MEI officially established their relationship. Kevin became an IT technician; while MEI traveled the world for academic symposiums, he worked overtime. This former athletic prince of the school had actually developed professional health issues...
But compared to Kevin becoming an IT tech, Lin situation was more... baffling? Indescribable? It was hard to find a word for his current state.
He seemed to be deeply mired in the quagmire of romantic relationships.
"Get out!"
Following a sharp feminine shout, Lin was thrown out of a door. He tumbled all the way down the stairs and landed face-first at Su's feet.
Su's eyelid twitched as he looked at his friend, whom he hadn't seen in nearly a year.
Slam!
The door upstairs was slammed shut, meaning Lin would be living in the bleak wind for the time being.
"This really is..." Su shook his head helplessly, essentially used to it. "Lin, why is it that every time I visit, you're being kicked out of the house?"
"I don't know either," Lin mumbled, his face still pressed against the ground.
...
"Thanks, Su. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be eating the northwest wind." Lin sat despondently at a barbecue stall, drinking a beer with a lost soul. "Mobius even confiscated my phone."
But Su had seen this many times. He asked calmly, "So, what actually happened?"
"Mobius said this morning that she smelled another woman on me and insisted on doing a scent identification."
"...And? Did she identify it?"
"Of course not. I showered ten times with body wash beforehand to make sure even the scent of [beep] was washed clean," Lin waved his hand.
"Then why were you kicked out?"
"When I took my shirt off, she saw three different types of bite marks on my neck."
"..."
As expected, this guy brought it on himself.
"Never mind that." Lin skipped the topic with a casual sentence and picked up a fragrant skewer. "Congratulations on graduating. Have you decided where to work?"
"Not... yet, I suppose." Su's furrowed brow didn't relax. He looked down at the skewers but didn't move.
"What? Facing difficulties? It should be easy for a PhD like you to find work. Just find any cancer project, announce you've developed a cure, and organize some press conferences..."
"That's not work! Besides, I want to be a doctor, not earn immoral money!"
After Su's intense critique, he fell silent for a moment.
"So what are you waiting for?" Lin poured some beer into his mouth and asked softly, "Just go be a doctor."
"...What about you? Didn't you say you wanted to be a teacher in a school with only female students?"
As far as Su knew, Lin had become a private investigator after graduating, not a teacher. This was also why he had so many romantic entanglements; a PI interacts with all sorts of people...
"I am one," Lin said casually, spreading his hands.
"Huh? Where?"
"Kivotos."
"..."
Everything was the same; it felt as if they hadn't changed at all. Su let out a helpless yet comforted smile—the kind shared between friends.
After receiving the message, Kevin rushed over from home. The three of them sat at the barbecue stall drinking until midnight, talking about recent worries, interesting work stories, and, of course, the gossip surrounding Lin private life.
The world changes in an instant, but there are always unchanging people and things.
Kevin still couldn't handle his liquor. He always drank in large, joyous gulps, so he was always the first to get drunk.
In the end, only Lin and Su remained, sipping their drinks and chatting. Su's face was flushed from the alcohol, while Lin usual attire made it impossible to tell if he was drunk.
"It's hard to define people as good or bad. As a PI, what I encountered most were people checking for their partner's affairs." Lin stopped drinking beer and brought back a cocktail from the bar next door. He stirred the ice sphere with a spoon, looking at the frost on the glass. "But do you think their hearts were broken by the relationship? No. Most of them... no, everyone I met just wanted a hefty breakup fee."
Su listened silently as Lin spoke in a steady, flowing tone that was easy to get lost in.
"But that doesn't necessarily mean they are evil people who only care about money. Rather, they were clearer than anyone else about the weight of their so-called feelings, leading them to make a decision measured in cash."
"Once a person decides on a path, it's hard to change."
Some might be forced to give up their decisions due to family influence, but that's only because the weight of family is heavier than their own ideals. A person alone rarely has such concerns.
"So... how am I supposed to decide my path forward?" Su whispered his confusion to the bright moon.
"No, Su. You've already decided your path."
Suddenly, Su looked up to see Lin putting down his glass. Lin spoke a sentence Su hadn't expected.
"You've already decided to dedicate the rest of your life to saving others. That's why you would give up your original dream of being a doctor."
"You..."
Su stared blankly at Lin, the man who had seemed a bit different since the first time they met.
"So even in a dream, you made the same decision. Compassion and pity for all are the basic qualities of a good doctor, yet you gave up your dream for them."
Lin seemed to smile, yet his expression remained devoid of any fluctuation. He nodded to Su.
"You've already won the bet with her."
...
Su stood silently in the empty white space, looking at his hands. He exhaled and turned to face the silent Eighth Herrscher.
"You lost."