Chapter 24: A Repressive World
Lu Zhiyin didn’t sleep any more, and after a simple wash-up, she felt it was about time. She put thirty yuan in her pocket, placed her schoolbag on her legs, turned off all the lights in the room, and then left the house.
“Achoo… Achoo…”
As soon as she left home, the cold wind blowing in her face made her sneeze uncontrollably. Her head ached more and more, and her spirit grew more and more listless.
For the past two days, she really hadn’t slept well.
“…”
Rubbing her nose, Lu Zhiyin touched the wound on her forehead again.
The wound was still very obvious. She couldn’t see her face clearly without a mirror, but she figured it didn’t matter.
She slowly crossed the road and arrived at Leng Qing Qiu’s house.
Leng Qing Qiu had probably woken up too, as Lu Zhiyin could see a light through the gap in the door.
At the same time, she could hear footsteps from inside the house, but in the cold morning wind, these footsteps were almost completely masked.
“…Are you awake?”
After a moment of silence, Lu Zhiyin pursed her lips and knocked on the door. She was always so timid. She couldn’t help but wonder if she could really win over the female leads with such a terrible personality.
“Hm? Zhiyin? What’s wrong?”
Before Lu Zhiyin could figure anything out, Leng Qing Qiu opened the door.
She was wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt and school uniform pants.
Her hair was neatly done, and she showed no signs of fatigue, likely having already washed up.
“Um, yes. That… group chat… I wanted to ask, do you want to go to school together?”
She didn’t dare to look closely at Leng Qing Qiu’s face. After the nightmare last night, she was even more afraid of Leng Qing Qiu.
Looking at her shy childhood friend standing before her, Leng Qing Qiu raised an eyebrow.
“Come in first.”
Leng Qing Qiu moved aside and returned to her own sofa. Lu Zhiyin chose to obey her and slowly entered the house.
On the coffee table, the bowl and chopsticks used for the meal last night were still there, and next to the bowl was her neatly packed schoolbag.
Leaning on the sofa, Leng Qing Qiu narrowed her eyes. She reached out and touched Lu Zhiyin’s shoulder.
“Zhiyin, you got the money. What are you going to do next? Continue to give money to Qin An for nothing?”
Bringing up a topic Lu Zhiyin didn’t want to discuss, Leng Qing Qiu opened her eyes and looked at Lu Zhiyin with some interest, as if curious about Lu Zhiyin’s upcoming answer.
“…”
Being stared at like that by Leng Qing Qiu made Lu Zhiyin uncomfortable. She always felt that if her answer wasn’t satisfactory, she would be in trouble. In reality, she wasn’t in such a dangerous situation at the moment.
As for the future… who knew what the future held?
“I won’t give it to her anymore. I want to save money to buy a new phone. Otherwise, nothing is convenient without one. Lately… I’ll just avoid her.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Zhiyin heard rustling sounds around her.
Lu Zhiyin turned her head and saw Leng Qing Qiu dressing herself in her school uniform.
Putting on the school uniform and zipping it up, Leng Qing Qiu reverted to her harmless appearance at school.
Having seen Leng Qing Qiu’s true face, Lu Zhiyin certainly didn’t find her harmless.
Lu Zhiyin just clutched the corner of her clothes, saying nothing.
After getting dressed, Leng Qing Qiu put on her backpack and took hold of Lu Zhiyin’s wheelchair handles.
“Let’s go, let’s go to school together.”
Smiling, Leng Qing Qiu seemed unfazed by what had happened last night. She wouldn’t apologize for using Lu Zhiyin as bait. Lu Zhiyin knew this very well.
Head bowed, Lu Zhiyin let Leng Qing Qiu push her out of the house.
“Achoo…”
As soon as they stepped out, Lu Zhiyin sneezed again.
Her cold seemed to be quite serious.
“Are you sick? Let’s go to the infirmary later. The medicine there doesn’t cost money.”
Behind Lu Zhiyin, Leng Qing Qiu suggested this while pushing her forward.
She knew very well that money was important to Lu Zhiyin now. If she asked her to go to the hospital, Lu Zhiyin would definitely refuse, right?
Thinking this, Leng Qing Qiu shook her head.
When they reached the breakfast stall they passed yesterday, Leng Qing Qiu stopped and bought a pancake, just like yesterday.
“…”
Lu Zhiyin touched the thirty yuan in her pocket and looked at the food in Leng Qing Qiu’s hand. She was a little hungry. Fortunately, she had money on her and didn’t have to go hungry like yesterday.
“…Boss, can I have two steamed buns?”
Scanning the various breakfast items available, she saw that a pancake, the same kind as Leng Qing Qiu’s, cost five yuan. Buns were two yuan each, and fried dough sticks were one and a half yuan each. Looking around, steamed buns were the cheapest.
Taking two yuan from her pocket and handing it to the female boss, Lu Zhiyin felt a bit emotional as she took the plastic bag-wrapped steamed buns.
Once upon a time, she wouldn’t have thought about saving money. Living comfortably at home and relying on her parents, she didn’t know how difficult it was to earn money.
After taking the steamed buns, Lu Zhiyin and Leng Qing Qiu continued walking towards the school.
The girl in the wheelchair, dressed in a clean school uniform, nibbled on the steamed buns bit by bit, looking quiet and obedient.
By the time they reached the school gate, Lu Zhiyin had eaten all the steamed buns.
Although the steamed buns had no flavor, they were undeniably filling.
Patting her abdomen, Lu Zhiyin looked at the trash can not far away.
She glanced back at Leng Qing Qiu.
“I’m going to throw away some trash.”
As she spoke, Leng Qing Qiu released the handle and watched the white-haired girl gradually move away.
“…!?”
Arriving at the trash can, Lu Zhiyin lifted the lid and was about to throw the plastic bag inside when her body stiffened.
Her pupils dilated, and her body began to tremble as if she had seen something terrifying.
Inside the trash can, Lu Zhiyin saw a curled-up boy’s body.
He was emaciated, his clothes ragged, his skin covered in dirt. Swarms of flies buzzed around the boy’s corpse, making a loud noise.
A faint stench filled the air, not the smell of garbage, but the smell of decay.
The plastic bag in her hand slowly fell. Lu Zhiyin’s face turned pale. She kept backing away, but in her shock and fear, she couldn’t stabilize her wheelchair.
Fortunately, Leng Qing Qiu noticed Lu Zhiyin’s abnormality in time. She walked up and steadied Lu Zhiyin’s wheelchair.
Leaning over the trash can, Leng Qing Qiu also glanced at the boy’s corpse.
Unlike Lu Zhiyin’s reaction, Leng Qing Qiu appeared unfazed.
She closed the lid of the trash can and then, as if nothing had happened, pushed Lu Zhiyin towards the school.
“Probably a beggar who starved to death, or maybe he was beaten to death? There’s no need to be so scared. Such things are quite common in the city. Don’t you know how chaotic this city is?”
Her tone remained extremely calm as Leng Qing Qiu pushed Lu Zhiyin through the school gate and towards their classroom.
