Chapter 213 Epilogue - New World Arc (Part 10)
Lin An glanced at the moon overhead.
"A very round moon," he said. "What's that poem again? 'On every festive occasion, one misses their loved ones even more.'"
Yu Qingzhou calmly pointed out: "You're talking about the Double Ninth Festival."
Lin paused for a moment: "Is that so? It seems that's the case."
He then shrugged: "Aren't they all pretty much the same? Whether it's the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Double Ninth Festival, they're essentially festivals, and the essence of a festival... is probably that."
"What?"
"One of the concrete manifestations of how human groups give special treatment to things in order to express specific emotions."
Compared to Lin An's enthusiasm, Yu Qingzhou's reaction was much more subdued.
“That’s a real mouthful,” he said.
"Simply put, it's an excuse," Lin An added, seemingly resigned, then held up a finger and asked seriously, "So what exactly is an excuse, Xiao Yu?"
"..."
Yu Qingzhou did not answer, perhaps because the scene before him briefly stirred up distant memories of the past.
If you ignore what the other person is wearing at the moment, and just look at the bright-eyed boy under the moonlight, smiling and chatting with you.
It's just like a very ordinary scene in student life on campus.
But that's not the case.
He and Lin An were not classmates, and even this ordinary template of campus life was obtained from relevant literary and film works.
While her peers were still enjoying campus life, Yu Qingzhou was arrested because of the exposure of serious crimes she had committed in the past.
However, because he was still young at the time of the incident, and the gimmick of a teenager avenging his mother garnered a lot of sympathy, he was ultimately granted a death sentence in the online trial open to the public.
He may be spared the death penalty, but he cannot escape punishment.
After that, Yu Qingzhou was transferred to a specialized agency for monitoring and correction.
It was there that Yu Qingzhou received the designation E025 and spent what could only be described as a long adolescence. Every day was a monotonous, repetitive routine: labor, study, discipline...
Sometimes, Yu Qingzhou would forget the passage of time and have the illusion that he had never left that place since he became conscious, and that all his memories of the outside world were just delusions based on books.
To be immersed in a stagnant, mundane daily routine.
Yu Qingzhou didn't complain, but this submissive attitude gradually aroused the dissatisfaction of those in the same situation in the same ward.
They were all around the same age, mostly between thirteen and fifteen.
It's the age when hormones are at their peak.
Even when facing regulators, they have to put on a submissive and obedient demeanor, but in private, they constantly make grand pronouncements.
The talk of blowing up the prison, the promise to teach a certain disgruntled guard a lesson sooner or later... Over time, Yu Qingzhou became an outcast among this group.
Because he didn't resist, and he wasn't even bothered to repeat a perfunctory slogan.
Are there really that many staunch rebels?
--not necessarily.
Even if people don't really agree with it, they're always willing to offer a harmless slogan on the surface.
Because there's no way to escape.
It is precisely because they cannot escape that they can shout those slogans with a clear conscience, without worrying about the corresponding consequences, whether they succeed or fail.
Yu Qingzhou remained silent for the same simple reason: he really didn't want to go out.
Because even if we went out, there wasn't anywhere better to go.
His parents had long since passed away, and his mother's relatives had never wanted to take him in in the first place, and after the incident, they completely cut ties with him.
Here, life may be monotonous and hopeless, but there will also be no disappointment.
At least that's what Yu Qingzhou thought at first.
His silence was interpreted as a silent opposition, and in some people's eyes, it evolved into an undisguised provocation.
The nightmare began...
Initially, it was some verbal slander and slight physical contact, such as suddenly tripping him, slapping his face, blocking his way, knocking over his plate with his arm, etc., which were extremely low and childish behaviors.
Later, it gradually escalated into real violence.
For a while, the bruises on Yu Qingzhou's face never faded.
If any of the guards asked, those guys who were throwing punches at each other the night before would put their arms around Yu Qingzhou's shoulders and answer for him with a grin, saying, "Reporting to the guards, E025 accidentally fell while getting up to use the bathroom at night."
Discipline wouldn't really care; they'd just give a couple of instructions about the consequences and that would be the end of it.
To put it bluntly, this place is monitoring people who are on the verge of death. They should be grateful to be alive, so why are they being so petty?
"...Human rights? Are those brats even human? How dare they demand such ridiculous things? Do they think life imprisonment is just a figure of speech? They're social scum who've committed all sorts of serious crimes, and thanks to those saints, they get to eat and drink for free here, and all they do is cause me trouble every day... If you ask me, we should have sent them to the lab earlier... It's such a waste of so much food..."
This was the sound of a guard and someone else complaining on the phone that Yu Qingzhou overheard once when she was sent to the infirmary.
Yu Qingzhou wasn't particularly surprised by the content of the complaints; most disciplined individuals seemed to share similar sentiments.
Just ignore that kind of trash talk.
Yu Qingzhou was taken aback by the sudden conversation. He looked up and met the beautiful eyes and eyebrows of the school nurse peeking out from behind her white mask.
Because I had been looking down the whole time, I hadn't noticed that the other person's eyes were actually emerald green.
Is she mixed race...?
In a place that has long been filled with black, white, and gray, suddenly seeing such a splash of color can actually make your eyes sting.
Why do you look so silly?
The woman spoke again, her voice not particularly gentle, but strangely warm and welcoming.
It's like a conversation that would happen between ordinary strangers.
Yu Qingzhou finally confirmed that the voice she had just heard was not her imagination, but why did the other person say these things to her?
He couldn't understand it.
He could understand his roommate's malicious bullying and the discipline's indulgence and inaction, but he couldn't understand such a sudden act of kindness.
But Yu Qingzhou quickly realized that the other person's name tag indicated that he was an intern.
So you're a student about to graduate, here to experience the job?
Then this strange attitude is not surprising, since the other party does not belong to this place.
Unlike the life she would spend being controlled by these so-called "social scum," the woman before her was free.
Freedom, what a wonderful word.
It sounds as beautiful as the other person's name.
Shen Yingxue, Yu Qingzhou tried to say that name in her heart, and then silently memorized it.
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