Hearing Mary's words, Russell raised an eyebrow.
"Moriarty?"
He said, "No one knows what he's been up to. Maybe he's busy celebrating Christmas."
"It feels a bit too early for that kind of preparation, and also too late."
Mary smiled as she spoke.
"Since the Hannigan case, he hasn't shown his face again.
"Thanks to him, sales on Fleet Street have clearly started to decline, and The Guardian has also expressed a lot of dissatisfaction."
"So what should we do? It's not like we can expect Moriarty to work that hard.
Russell shrugged with an expression of complete indifference.
Moriarty is probably going to fail the course — he doesn't care about you at all.
But the truth is, he hasn't done anything for a while.
On one hand, He don't know what to do, and on the other hand, a lot of things have been happening recently...
Fine, I'll find time for it.
Russell thought to himself.
"Hmm... That seems to be the case."
Mary smiled.
"So, where is Billson's killer? Any leads?"
"No, only that he's one of the Professor's subordinates."
Russell shook his head.
"I don't know where he got the information, but he was actually one step ahead of Charlotte.
By the time Charlotte and I snuck in, that assassin was already in position."
"Then why didn't he act right away?"
Mary asked with interest.
"Probably just waiting."
Russell made his guess.
"If Charlotte got tangled up with Billson and she killed him to protect herself, then that assassin wouldn't have needed to expose himself.
Even if he didn't kill Billson, he would have had to find a way to incapacitate him and then contact Scotland Yard.
At that point, Billson was no different from a dead fish to him."
As he spoke, he felt like sighing.
It was just that he hated not knowing who the opponent really was. Otherwise, he would have been honorably discharged while walking at night.
Mary looked at him quietly, then turned to the side and covered the smile at the corner of her mouth with her arm.
The morning classes passed quietly.
Just as Russell and Mary were about to get up, the closed back door next to them opened first.
Russell and Mary were both stunned and turned to look at the door at the same time.
Standing at the entrance were a boy and a girl wearing Imperial College uniforms, holding notebooks and pens.
A trace of nervousness showed on the boy's face, while the girl's eyes shone as if she had discovered something valuable.
"..." Russell looked at the two in front of him with a puzzled expression. "Ladies and gentlemen, do you need something?"
Hearing Russell's words, the boy immediately reacted and said, "Please..."
Excuse me, are you Russell Watson?"
"That's me. No need to be so formal since we're classmates."
Russell nodded and unconsciously glanced at Mary beside him.
The girl had already straightened her back, wearing a perfectly appropriate smile while maintaining a suitable distance, simply looking over with what seemed like curiosity.
—Who are these two?
He looked at Mary beside him.
Mary also shook her head in confusion.
"Excuse me, do you need something?"
Russell asked.
Hearing the affirmative reply, the girl's eyes shone even brighter.
She took a step forward and nearly stepped on the boy's heel, but quickly stopped herself.
"Um, actually, Watson... classmate."
The girl hurriedly opened her mouth and spoke very quickly.
"We're student reporters from Phoenix. I'm Cross, and this is Wilson.
As she spoke, she pointed to herself and her companion beside her.
"We read the report in The Times, so... we'd like to do an interview. Is that okay?"
"Phoenix"..."
Russell was familiar with this name.
This organization was supported by the Imperial College London Student Union. Its nature was closer to a literary magazine or campus magazine than a pure news newspaper.
Simply put, it was the campus newspaper — or something like the campus wall.
Occasionally, students would publish their own poems or propose content for like-minded people.
Russell wasn't very interested.
That was why his first reaction was actually to refuse.
But Cross seemed to have seen through his thoughts and immediately spoke.
"It won't take much time, and we'll also pay compensation. Please give us a chance, okay?"
Hearing this, Russell glanced at her expectant eyes, then looked at the nervous boy behind her, and finally turned his gaze to Mary.
At that moment, Mary was resting her chin on her hand, watching the scene with interest.
When her eyes met Russell's, she simply smiled slightly.
"Don't look at me," she said gently, smiling. "They're the ones asking."
Russell sighed.
"What do you want to interview about?"
He asked.
The moment he finished speaking, the eyes of the two reporters lit up at the same time.
"Just... just a casual chat!"
She hurriedly opened her notebook, moving so quickly she nearly tore the paper.
"Like those cases you mentioned in The Times! And also your collaboration with Miss Holmes!
And——how did you get into Imperial College in just three months!"
She paused for a moment before adding. "Of course, if there's anything you're not comfortable disclosing, we absolutely won't ask!"
"Let me write a few...…"
"Everyone is interested!"
"Everyone is interested."
Russell repeated those words.
"Exactly..." The corners of Cross's face flushed slightly. "It's your relationship with that Charlotte Holmes, and also..."
She quickly glanced at Mary beside him and then withdrew her gaze.
"That's about it."
Hearing this, Mary, who had been watching from the side, furrowed her brows almost imperceptibly.
Russell met the two's enthusiastic gazes, thought for a moment, and then sighed.
"Fine," he nodded. "When?"
"If possible, right now?"
Cross blurted out without thinking.
"If you want to keep it secret, we can go to an empty classroom so no one comes!"
"Then let's go to an empty classroom."
Russell stood up. "Let's get this over with quickly."
The moment Russell stood up, a voice came from behind him, and he stood up at the same time.
Russell stopped walking.
He turned around and met those blue eyes.
The girl stood behind him. Her silver hair softly glowed in the afternoon light, and her expression was perfectly composed.
It was as though she had naturally stood up and was ready to leave together.
But Russell knew that wasn't the case.
Her sudden rise had been almost simultaneous with his.
"Mary Morstan?"
Cross was momentarily stunned and quickly looked back and forth between the two. "You..."
"Together?"
Mary smiled slightly.
"I'm a little curious," she said in a soft, warm voice.
"If it's an interview with Phoenix, you wouldn't mind one more audience member, right?"
Her gaze fell on Cross's face, then moved to Wilson, and finally returned to Russell.
"After all, I'm the only one…"
She paused.
"I also want to know how Russell answers these questions."
…