Chapter 35: Teacher Xiaolu
Chapter 35: Teacher Xiaolu
Inside the small restaurant where the storefront was blackened by cooking fumes, several diners sat sparsely scattered.
Lu Xin slowly picked through the bowl of plain noodles and vegetables before him with his chopsticks, while casting glances towards the counter at the back of the eatery.
Behind the counter’s greasy glass cover hung two plump chickens roasted to a golden crisp, glistening with oil. Their curvaceous forms were utterly tempting, every inch of glistening skin seemed to ooze the most primal desire. They seemed to tease Lu Xin with abandon, bit by bit, inch by inch, provoking the impulse tormenting his heart and body that was already impossible to suppress…
Just when was the last time he’d eaten meat?
Lu Xin could barely even remember the answer to that question.
Though quite a few eateries nowadays offered meat dishes, the prices were absurdly high.
Take these two roasted chickens, for example. One cost nearly seventy yuan, while a single chicken leg alone would set him back twenty…
Twenty yuan!
Normally, Lu Xin wouldn’t even glance at them. But having earned a hefty sum of money recently, he felt a bit inflated.
And so, while his mind warned him against such extravagance, he couldn’t seem to shake the little hook inside him. His eyes kept drifting back to the glass cover. The plain noodles and vegetables in front of him tasted utterly bland…
“Sigh…”
After struggling internally for over ten minutes, Lu Xin surrendered.
He finally rose slowly, stiffly shuffling his feet until he stood before the glass cover.
“One chicken leg, please!”
The words came out with difficulty.
Then, to preserve some dignity, he added, “A smaller one!”
“Coming right up…”
The owner behind the glass seemed to mock Lu Xin for ultimately succumbing to the temptation and falling before these two “King Cards” the shop displayed. He cheerfully weighed a leg on the grease-covered electronic scale and announced the price, “Seventeen yuan, fifty cents…”
Lu Xin carried the chicken leg wrapped in oiled paper back to his seat and slowly submerged it into his plain noodle soup.
That way, the broth and noodles could absorb a bit of the greasy flavor.
……
……
It took Lu Xin a full half hour to finish his meal. He emerged feeling deeply guilty.
Suppressing the sting in his heart, he spent another coin to ride the bus. It rocked and lurched its way to Red Moon Elementary School in East City.
Seeing Lu Xin return so soon, the old man in the security booth glanced at him but said nothing, merely lowering his head back to his newspaper. Lu Xin walked into the school compound, familiar with the route, and made his way to the single classroom building.
He peeked inside and saw over a dozen children diligently copying the multiplication table written on the blackboard.
Lu Xin looked around but didn’t see Teacher Xiaolu. He wondered where she could be.
After a moment’s thought, he pulled out the thick paper envelope he had tucked inside his jacket and stuffed it into the school’s rusty mailbox.
Once done, he glanced back, made sure the old security man wasn’t looking, plucked a handful of flowers from a nearby bed, and pressed them on top of the envelope.
Feeling relieved, he turned to leave with light steps.
“Lu Xin!”
A soft, clear voice suddenly sounded behind him.
Lu Xin’s body froze. Pretending not to hear, he quickened his pace towards the gate.
“Lu Xin, stop!”
The voice behind held a note of urgency and was rapidly getting closer.
Lu Xin immediately sped up, walking faster and faster, soon stepping out through the school gate.
“Old Sun, stop him…”
The voice behind shouted loudly. The old man in the security booth heard it but merely flipped his newspaper over unhurriedly.
“Don’t run…”
The voice grew increasingly frantic.
But how could she possibly catch up to Lu Xin? Her shouts grew fainter as he pulled away.
“Ouch…!”
At that moment, a sound of distress erupted, accompanied by the noise of a wheelchair hitting something.
Lu Xin startled and whirled around.
He saw Teacher Xiaolu sitting in her wheelchair. She was calling out “Ouch!” while simultaneously slapping the wheelchair hard to mimic the sound of a collision. A faint smile played on her lips as she looked back at Lu Xin, who had turned around, seeming quite pleased with herself.
The moment their eyes met, Lu Xin knew he’d lost. Escape was no longer possible.
Xiao Lu then rolled her wheelchair slowly towards Lu Xin until she was in front of him and looked up.
Lu Xin had no choice but to look back at her. Teacher Xiaolu had a lovely oval-shaped face. Her soft hair was tied back in a neat ponytail. She wore a pale yellow sweatshirt printed with a picture of a cat rolling lazily on its back, faded jeans, and clean sneakers. Against the world’s dreary tones, she always seemed so bright and warm.
“Are you bullying me because I move on two wheels and can’t catch up to your two legs?”
Arriving in front of Lu Xin, Teacher Xiaolu gave him an angry glance with a somewhat depressed tone.
“No no, I didn’t hear you just now…”
Lu Xin had to awkwardly smile and explain, then wanted to walk behind her to help push her wheelchair.
“So you’re saying my voice was too soft?”
Teacher Xiaolu grabbed Lu Xin’s hand and led him back in front of her, continuing to look up at him.
“No…”
Lu Xin somewhat awkwardly scratched his head and withdrew his held hand.
“Alright, forget about that. Did you send me money again?”
Teacher Xiaolu turned around to glance towards the envelope’s direction and said, “How much is it this time?”
“Not much…”
Lu Xin awkwardly responded, very unwilling to directly discuss this matter.
“It’s only been a few days since you sent money last time, and last time how did you send so much?”
Teacher Xiaolu’s expression turned somewhat serious, even sternly looking into Lu Xin’s eyes, whispering:
“Did you do something bad?”
“…”
“Hmm?”
Lu Xin reacted for a moment before understanding why she was asking that.
He hurriedly shook his head and explained: “No no…”
Teacher Xiaolu looked at him skeptically, sizing him up, her expression somewhat shocked: “Are your kidneys still in you?”
“Of course they are, both are still there!”
Lu Xin was stunned for a moment, then quickly said: “I just recently found a part-time job; the boss is very generous and gave assistance!”
Teacher Xiaolu frowned: “Did the boss get hit in the head by a door? Giving you so much money!”
Lu Xin thought about Chen Jing’s good-looking head, which didn’t seem like it had been hit by a door, so he could only shake his head and say: “No, don’t worry, I really didn’t do anything bad. This part-time job pays quite a lot, and they’re very formal. The Headquarters is in the Main City. My base salary every month is over five thousand, with many additional subsidies. What I brought over is just a small part…”
Teacher Xiaolu listened, her expression somewhat surprised, suddenly saying: “Did you join the Scavenger Team Outside the City?”
Lu Xin hurriedly shook his head: “No, don’t worry, it’s very safe…”
He hesitated inside, wanting to tell Teacher Xiaolu about this matter. But he remembered what the document said: unless absolutely necessary, one should not tell outsiders about matters of the Special Contaminant Cleanup Division to avoid causing unnecessary panic. Moreover, even people in Qin Ran’s company who were involved in Special Contamination Incidents due to certain reasons sometimes had their memories erased.
Teacher Xiaolu looked seriously at Lu Xin’s face, examining it carefully.
She could not see anything worrisome on Lu Xin’s face.
Then she slowly nodded and said: “I believe you; you must not do those bad deeds…”
Lu Xin nodded: “Definitely not, I remember the Old Dean’s words!”
Teacher Xiaolu was silent for a moment, then said: “Alright, then push me back!”
Lu Xin obediently went behind her and pushed her wheelchair, slowly walking toward the school. When passing by the Security Booth, the old man inside chuckled, turned the newspaper in his hand to the other side, and deliberately lifted it to cover his smiling face.