Chapter 212: Remember to Come Back
Chapter 212: Remember to Come Back
Since he was going to the Main City in just one day, Lu Xin made good preparations.
He didn’t actually have much to pack for himself.
He had two sets of clean clothes for changing, both washed very clean but worn for a long time.
After gathering his toiletries—one toothbrush, one toothpaste tube half-used, one bar of soap, one towel—his bag only bulged out a little. Everything packed together simply, ready to be picked up and left at any moment.
As for the combat suit, combat boots, and other gear issued by the Special Clean-up Department, there was a special flat box to store them in.
He didn’t need to ride his Motorcycle over; Lu Xin planned to leave it at the Guard Bureau and find someone to watch it.
With these tasks done, the remaining matters were naturally simpler. First, request leave from the company.
He had asked Han Bing earlier; she said the meeting would last three days, but to be safe, he should prepare for seven days.
Lu Xin understood what she meant by “safe”—his Second Stage matter would likely be resolved as well.
So, he found Director Liu and reported it to him.
…Director Liu’s reaction of pleasant surprise was something Lu Xin hadn’t expected at all.
…He not only approved Lu Xin’s leave but even specified it was paid leave!
…The Director was such a nice person.
The second matter was to visit the Red Moon Orphanage.
He hadn’t seen Teacher Xiaolu since returning from the last trip out of the city.
This time, he’d be staying in the Main City for about a week, so of course, he had to inform Teacher Xiaolu, in case of any urgent matters where she couldn’t find him.
Riding his Motorcycle to the Orphanage near the Guard Bureau, Lu Xin slowly walked upstairs.
At the corner of the third floor, he encountered the Grandpa Security Guard sitting on his small stool reading a newspaper.
Looking up from behind his newspaper, the old man glanced at Lu Xin, nodded slightly as if he hadn’t seen him, and went back to reading. His body instinctively leaned a little further inward. Lu Xin saw a small potted plant placed against the wall behind him now, a single, lonely little flower blooming pitifully inside.
“Huh?”
As Lu Xin ascended, two children playing marbles on the stair landing looked up. Seeing Lu Xin, their little faces immediately broke into mischievous grins. Before Lu Xin could say anything, they whooshed upstairs, yelling as they ran, “The boyfriend is here!”, “The boyfriend is here!”…
“Oh dear…”
Lu Xin’s face flushed bright red. Seeing they had dropped a marble near his foot, he picked it up and put it in his pocket.
He wasn’t planning to give it back.
Walking towards Teacher Xiaolu’s office amidst a group of little faces watching him like spectators, Lu Xin entered. It was his first time here, but the kids’ stares clearly showed him the way.
Teacher Xiaolu was eating from a lunchbox. Seeing Lu Xin enter, she set it down. Lu Xin stole a glance: stewed winter melon and tofu mixed with a bit of rice, identical to what was left in the kids’ basin outside. However, the kids’ bowls had visible bits of meat, while Teacher Xiaolu’s lunchbox contained only winter melon and tofu.
……
“Why did you come today? Don’t you have work?”
Teacher Xiaolu smiled, turning her Wheelchair. She casually picked up a book and covered the lunchbox.
“I’m going on a business trip tomorrow, so I took the afternoon off today.”
Lu Xin explained with a smile, glancing around the small office.
“Going on a trip again?”
Teacher Xiaolu seemed slightly surprised. “Where to?”
“Well, not exactly a ‘trip’, just going to the Main City for about a week.”
Lu Xin explained with a smile: “The Main City is very safe.”
“The Main City…”
Lu Xin thought she’d be reassured, but unexpectedly, upon hearing this, she seemed lost in thought. She didn’t look happy, didn’t ask how Lu Xin suddenly had a chance to enter the Main City, and instead fell into a pensive silence.
“The Main City has lots of things. Anything you want me to bring back?”
Lu Xin broke the silence, asking with a forced smile.
Teacher Xiaolu shook her head slightly. “No… just come back quickly.”
Lu Xin nodded, then didn’t know what else to say.
Usually, he spoke less in front of Teacher Xiaolu; it was Teacher Xiaolu who talked more.
But this time, Teacher Xiaolu seemed preoccupied, speaking little, and the atmosphere naturally became rather awkward and silent.
“Come out with me for a bit. There’s something I want to discuss.”
Lu Xin thought for a moment, then suddenly spoke to Teacher Xiaolu.
Teacher Xiaolu immediately looked up and glanced at Lu Xin, a smile spreading across her face as she nodded. “Alright.”
Lu Xin considered briefly before pushing Teacher Xiaolu toward the corridor. Staring at the long flight of steps, he paused for a while, then bent down and lifted her into his arms. From behind them, chants of “Hug! Hug!” instantly erupted. Lu Xin’s face flushed, but his hold remained steady. Teacher Xiaolu’s cheeks also reddened as she shot a glare over his shoulder backward.
“Whoosh…”
The jeering rapidly faded, growing much softer.
“Uncle Zhang, if I’m back late, make sure they copy A Madman’s Diary three times during self-study. I’ll check when I return,” Teacher Xiaolu told the security uncle when they passed the third floor.
“Heh, no problem. No need to rush back,” the security uncle replied cheerfully, folding his newspaper before heading upstairs to fetch her wheelchair.
Lu Xin descended first and carefully placed Teacher Xiaolu on his motorcycle’s back seat. Just then, the security uncle brought down her wheelchair. Lu Xin folded it carefully and hung it on the other side of his motorcycle.
That spot originally held a metal box—it seemed to belong to some kind of Mechanical Dog. Since it wasn’t needed for now, he removed it and asked the security uncle to keep an eye on it.
……
……
Slowly starting the motorcycle, Lu Xin drove with Teacher Xiaolu into the streets of Qinggang City.
Though he rode extremely cautiously, Teacher Xiaolu was still nervous, clinging tightly to the corner of his jacket.
They traveled in silence, heading straight toward Qingyan Mountain in the east of the Satellite City.
After arriving, Lu Xin found a spot to park, unfolded the wheelchair, and gently placed Teacher Xiaolu onto it.
As they strolled slowly along the small paths, he remarked, “See how big these houses are? I once went inside one of them. It had so many rooms, a spacious living room that could serve as a classroom. Outside, there’s a garden and even a reservoir. We could dig up the garden to plant vegetables, raise a few chickens…”
“And since it’s far from the West District, fewer people live nearby. It’s… quieter.”
What he truly meant was that places with fewer residents were safer if large-scale Psychic Contamination Incidents occurred. But considering how few knew about Spiritual Contamination issues yet, he avoided frightening Teacher Xiaolu by speaking plainly.
“Oh my, you’ve really changed!” Teacher Xiaolu remarked, her spirits lifting visibly as she turned from the wheelchair to face him with a grin. “You’re actually looking at villas now?”
“I’ve been working hard lately and saved up a little money.” Lu Xin scratched his head, speaking a bit sheepishly. “I already asked someone—houses here might sell for five… fifty or sixty thousand yuan. Pricey, I know, but our orphanage would be so much better off here.”
“Hah—” Teacher Xiaolu caught his hesitation. “Fifty or sixty thousand? Think I’m an idiot? Houses this size…” She paused thoughtfully, then said seriously, “…must cost at least a million!”
“Yeah, yes… something close to that,” Lu Xin admitted with a chuckle. “Just wait till I buy this villa. You’ll move in then, okay?”
Teacher Xiaolu didn’t reply. After a long pause, she finally asked, “Would you… be living here too?”
Lu Xin didn’t know how to answer. He just kept steadily pushing her wheelchair.
Later, Teacher Xiaolu seemed to remember something and asked softly, “Why are you so good to those children lately?”
He slowly recalled their old teacher’s words. “Wasn’t that what the dean always told us growing up?”
“Though young, we embodied hope.”
“As long as we held onto that expectation for civilization, we’d surely return to the life he described—three meals a day with meat, watching movies and listening to music as we please, playing games… without homework piling on forever.”
“Those children today are no different.”
“We should treat them,” Lu Xin murmured softly, “with as much kindness as the dean once treated us.”
Teacher Xiaolu listened silently for a long time without responding.
When Lu Xin noticed her shoulders trembling, he hurried around the wheelchair to her front. Tears he hadn’t caught now streaked down her face. He quickly knelt and asked anxiously, “What’s wrong?”
Teacher Xiaolu wiped her eyes with her sleeve, staring straight into his. “Come closer.”
Lu Xin obliged instantly.
Her eyes reddened as she gazed at him, expression stern. “Truthfully now—what are you doing in the Main City?”
“Just… attending meetings,” he stammered. “Really, nothing unsafe. I’ll be back within a week.”
Teacher Xiaolu fell quiet, then whispered, “Is that true?”
The “Second Stage” flashed across Lu Xin’s mind. Quietly, he decided not to reveal it and simply nodded.
“I’ve known,” Teacher Xiaolu said softly, “that it would come to this.”
Teacher Xiaolu did not say whether she believed him or not. After a while, she spoke softly, “Before, one of your colleagues came to find me. She was nice. I was very worried about what you were doing, but that person made me feel that perhaps they are…”
“‘Are different!'”
“‘So, I don’t want to stop you, just…'”
She suddenly looked up and grabbed Lu Xin’s hand tightly, “You must promise me one thing.”
Seeing her very serious, even somewhat nervous expression, Lu Xin hurriedly nodded.
“‘Don’t shoulder all the pressure yourself.'”
She said softly, “Back in kindergarten, I was the one holding a brick to fight for you, remember?”
Hearing this, Lu Xin couldn’t help but smile on his face.
He vaguely remembered that Teacher Xiaolu in childhood was very fierce. Children growing up during the Cataclysm were mostly like that.
“‘Furthermore, you never owe anyone anything, know that?'”
Teacher Xiaolu said this as her voice gradually lowered.
It could be heard that her voice sounded slightly nervous, but she spoke seriously. Her clear eyes firmly looked into Lu Xin’s face as she said, “You don’t owe anyone, including me. I’ve faithfully recorded the money you’ve sent over these years…”
She repeated with determination, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“……”
Perhaps because Teacher Xiaolu’s eyes were too firm, it made Lu Xin feel slightly dizzy.
He instinctively looked up at the gray sky. At this time, in the southeast direction, the shadow of the Crimson Moon was already visible.
“‘I don’t know what will happen to you in the future, where you will go…'”
A soft and warm small hand held his palm. Teacher Xiaolu’s voice became gentle.
She whispered in Lu Xin’s ear, “But you must always, always remember how to come back, okay?”
“‘You can’t forget us, okay?'”
“……”
Lu Xin’s feeling of dizziness became heavier.
In fact, he didn’t quite understand why Teacher Xiaolu was saying these things to him.
But just as this feeling of dizziness was about to intensify, he suddenly felt a figure approach. Instantly, something soft and slightly moist touched his cheek. Then, as if escaping, the figure quickly pulled back.
“Thump thump.”
Lu Xin’s Heart suddenly thumped. He turned to look at Teacher Xiaolu in surprise, his face gradually reddening.
Teacher Xiaolu’s face was also red, but she pretended to be nonchalant, “This is a kiss from the children. Don’t think wildly.”
“‘I…'”
Lu Xin opened his mouth and wanted to say many things, but what came out was, “Can I kiss you back?”
Teacher Xiaolu’s face turned bright red as she struggled to maintain a stern expression, “No.”
“……”
Lu Xin nodded regretfully, “Alright!”