Chapter 62
The strange phenomenon surged to the top of the trending topics list and remained there for a long time. I stared at it blankly for a while, then Hua approached me from behind, curiously examining my phone: "Bro, what are you looking at?"
It was really impolite of him to call me by my name directly last time. So I made a deal with him: unless he looks older than me, he can't call me that. He held back for a moment, and then he really did.
I asked, seemingly out of the blue, "Is your home really the same as what you described at the beginning?"
Hua frowned, seemingly reluctant to bring it up, but still said unwillingly, "Actually," he hesitated, "we don't have a clan. We have no home, we are wandering animals. We live in the fox's shrine, which is why we call ourselves from the raccoon dog clan."
"Qingyu?" I asked in surprise. "Did he let you in?"
“It was a fox who had absolutely no connection to him, but it was indeed him who took us there,” Hua said. “When we were just born, the fox found us and, since it couldn’t find our parents nearby, it took us away.”
"He's actually quite kind," I remarked.
“He never cared about us again,” Hua complained. “We had to live on our own; he never came back to see us.”
"Do you want to find your own kind?" I asked. "Go home and find out who your parents are. Maybe they didn't abandon you on purpose, but came back thinking you had been eaten by foxes."
Silence fell. He walked around to face me and knelt down. He looked up at me, his beautiful eyes reflecting my face. His face was expressionless, yet the very lack of expression made what he didn't express all the more intense.
Black hair, black eyes. In the azure blue, my image is very clear.
I reached out and stroked his hair; it was so soft and smooth. He had a bob haircut, and he looked adorable when he swept his bangs back.
He held my wrist affectionately, letting my hand gently touch his cheek beneath his. His eyes were half-closed as he said lazily, “We are already very happy. Our parents think the same way I do. We don’t need to search anymore, there’s no need. Just like you always say, tomorrow, tomorrow will be another day. We are always living a new day, so we no longer look back on yesterday.”
Indeed, they seem to have completely forgotten about home. Furthermore, I can't guarantee that their parents are as I've described. And it's possible they've already chosen to forget about those two children, now have new sons or daughters, and are still happy, not needing either of them.
I didn't say anything more. Hua came closer to me and rested his head on my lap. I stroked his hair like I would a cat's fur, until he came over and called us again. The guy who had always been the older brother, who had always taken on all the screaming children during Hua's previous episodes, had never complained at my insistence.
His mint-green eyes always held a smile, and he never showed annoyance or annoyance when facing me. Is it possible for someone to maintain the same emotion forever?
I waved to him, and he hesitated for a moment before slowly walking over. Although I really wanted to stand and hug him, which would give me more parental authority, Hua was still on my lap, and I couldn't just send him away. So I wrapped my arms around his lower abdomen, using my waist as a back, and gently patted him.
"Brother Qinghe...?" His voice was tense. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," I said. "I just heard what Hua said, and I hope you'll always feel happy in the future. You don't find that strange, do you?" I joked. "Like a parent who just had a fight with you two when you were going through your rebellious phase suddenly making amends?"
“Brother Qinghe always makes these kinds of jokes.” Then he said helplessly, “Don’t worry: Hua and I feel the same way. In your caresses and embraces, we only feel happy.”
*
I worriedly told the two children to take good care of themselves, to look for my bank card if they couldn't find money, and not to go out to work if they didn't want to, but to find a job before running out of money, or they'd starve. I smiled and waved to them, and their two identical faces waved back, promising to take good care of Hua. Hua then pulled me aside and whispered to me that he always did more work when we were doing chores. I patted his head, feeling a rare sense of relief.
The landlady was just coming out to pour water into the drainpipe shown in the crack of the cement road when she saw me and greeted me. She asked if I was up a little late today, and I said I only had two classes in the morning, the third and fourth, and I just needed to get to school before 10 o'clock. Two little girls' dolls were hanging on the tree by the door. I remembered that my dog at home hadn't sunbathed yet, and I'd completely forgotten to mention it, but as long as he sees them again, he should be able to tell for himself. The security guard generously shared his second half-price milk tea with me. "You have to order two cups to get a free drink, it's so annoying," he complained to me. I smiled and complimented him, "This is my first time trying this flavor, it's delicious."
I feel a distinct unease, unsure of where today will lead. I hope to at least leave a haven of peace for schools, hospitals, residential buildings, or hotels. Humanity needs these.
The girls reappeared, like two fluttering butterflies. The older sister bent down, looked up at me, and said with a grin, "You look so serious today!"
"Is that so?" I smiled. "Is this better?"
"Hmph, more or less," my sister asked me. "How's that little bear? Are you treating it well?"
“It’s your gift, of course I can’t bear to let it suffer,” I said. “You can also guess where it is now?”
My older sister stared at me intently. I calmly looked back, occasionally glancing at my younger sister.
My younger sister always surprises me more. There's something inexplicable about it, but I want to be wary of her.
"It's good that you treat it well." The older sister reached out and brushed the dust off her face. "We were even betting that you, as an adult, would care about it."
What will be the outcome of the bet?
My older sister affectionately hooked her arm around mine, just like she would at home. Then her eyes widened uncontrollably, and tears streamed down her face, her pupils contracting and then scattering as if fleeing. My younger sister stood by, watching.
Ah, I understand.
I gently pushed her hand away, and she quickly wiped the water off her face, looking confused. My sister helped her up.
"I think I just saw something...?" the older sister tried to recall. "It looked like someone was very big, then very small, and kept changing...?"
I smiled and said, "It must be your imagination. You and your sister should go and rest."
My sister led her away. I looked down at my palms for a moment; they felt dry.
I walked as slowly as possible until the commotion made me think I had entered a market. I looked up and saw that the school gate had collapsed, and a broken ginkgo tree lay across the entrance.
The school had also fallen, and many people gathered at the entrance taking pictures. They already knew that every accident had a limited radius, so as long as they stood within a 20-meter radius of the first damaged area, they could ensure their safety. Panic, tension, and uncontrollable excitement filled the air. Reporters rushed to the scene, their cameras flashing. Drones attempted to capture images of the interior. Still, no one wanted to go inside.
I couldn't think any further than to go in. I went around the tree, squeezed through the crowd, some shoving and cursing, others telling me not to go any further, that it was dangerous. My eyes scanned the hands of those struggling to push and shove; the seed's strength wasn't enough to protect everyone. It hadn't grown; it was just a seed, so I had no choice but to get closer. I didn't have much of a sense of belonging to the school community, but Xavier and Tachibana Miki were still inside. They had classes like me, even starting at 8 AM. Would they skip class? Would they?
They would definitely message me if they encountered danger, telling me not to come. How long has this been going on? What kind of situation did they encounter?
Countless whispers entered my ears, and Ward reappeared, his eyebrows curved, a flame flickering in his dark golden eyes. His eyes reflected a burning flame, but I couldn't see where it was happening.
"I heard your question, so I'm here!" Ward said cheerfully. "It's been an hour, but no one has come yet. Your friend is alone and helpless somewhere else, so he's willing but unable to help. Luckily, the students at school are incredibly supportive! Anyone who can contribute is volunteering to fight the monster. Qinghe, are you going in too? It's dangerous there, and you might not even find them."
I understand. His eyes reflected the will to live; the flames were the painful echo of someone on the verge of death. I looked closely at his face, wondering why he was so joyful at this moment. He kicked his legs in the air and said, "I'm also regretful, Qinghe. But you know, I am still the consciousness of the world. They are sacrificing, dying, and that means the world will die a little later because of their stubborn resistance. I don't want to laugh, but I can't control it, Qinghe."
His face contorted into a bitter mix of laughter and tears. Even though he couldn't bear to utter those harsh words, he silently remarked to himself how ugly this ecstasy and grief were. He flew around me, running alongside me on campus, heading straight for the infirmary.
The campus was as silent as the world I'd woken up in the middle of the night. A deathly stillness; I couldn't see anyone resisting. Were they on another front? Had they vanished? I didn't know. Ah, or perhaps only a few were still fighting, while the rest waited anxiously in the classrooms, for resources for the struggle were, after all, limited. I gripped the doorframe of the school clinic, my breath still ragged, and scanned inside. Sure enough, I saw Xavier and Tachibana Miki.
One was reading, the other playing with their fingers, each engrossed in their own activity. They also had bandaged heads and necks, and bellies where the slightest movement strained every muscle. I walked over, trembling, my throat tightening:
"you……"
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