Teacher Lu

In the little restaurant with a smoke-blackened facade, a few scattered customers sat eating.

Lu Xin slowly picked at the vegetable noodles in front of him with his chopsticks while glancing toward the counter inside the restaurant.

Behind the greasy glass display, two plump chickens roasted to a golden brown hung dripping with oil. Their contours rose and fell, brimming with temptation. Every inch gleamed slickly, as if the skin beneath their pores were oozing the most primitive desire. They seemed to be teasing Lu Xin shamelessly, bit by bit, inch by inch, stimulating the impulse in his heart that he could no longer suppress and tormenting both his body and mind...

When was the last time he had eaten meat?

Lu Xin could barely remember anymore.

Although many restaurants now sold meat, the prices were outrageously high.

For example, each of these two roast chickens cost more than seventy yuan. Even a single drumstick cost twenty yuan...

Twenty yuan!

Normally, Lu Xin would not even look at them, but he had recently made quite a bit of money and was feeling somewhat inflated.

Thus, although he kept warning himself not to think about such luxuries, he could never quite suppress the hook tugging at his heart. His eyes kept drifting toward the glass display, leaving the vegetable noodles in front of him utterly tasteless...

"Ugh..."

After struggling internally for more than ten minutes, Lu Xin gave up resisting.

At last, he slowly rose to his feet, stiffly shuffled over to the glass display, and stopped in front of it.

"One chicken drumstick!"

He forced the words out.

Then, for the sake of his dignity, he added, "A small one!"

"Coming right up..."

The owner behind the glass display seemed to be laughing at how Lu Xin had finally succumbed to temptation and fallen before the two trump cards he had laid out. He cheerfully weighed a drumstick on the grease-coated electronic scale, then announced the price: "Seventeen yuan fifty..."

Lu Xin returned to his seat with the drumstick wrapped in oiled paper and slowly dipped it into his vegetable noodles.

That way, the broth and noodles could pick up some of the chicken's oil and juices.

Lu Xin took half an hour to finish the meal, then walked out with a heavy sense of guilt.

Suppressing the pain in his heart, he spent a coin to board a bus. After swaying along the entire way, he arrived in front of Crimson Moon Elementary School in the eastern part of the city.

Seeing that Lu Xin had returned so quickly, the old guard in the security booth glanced at him but said nothing. He merely lowered his head and continued reading the newspaper. Lu Xin, meanwhile, walked into the elementary school like he knew the place by heart and arrived in front of its only classroom.

He peered inside and saw more than a dozen children seriously copying the multiplication tables written on the blackboard.

Lu Xin looked around but did not see Teacher Lu. He had no idea what she was doing.

After thinking for a moment, he took out the thick paper bag he had tucked against his chest and stuffed it into the rusty mailbox.

Once he had finished, he glanced back, then, while the old guard was not paying attention, plucked another handful of flowers and placed them on top.

Then he sighed in relief, lightened his steps, and prepared to leave.

"Lu Xin!"

Suddenly, a gentle, clear voice rang out behind him.

Lu Xin's body stiffened. Pretending not to hear, he walked quickly toward the gate.

"Lu Xin, stop!"

The voice behind him sounded anxious and was rapidly drawing closer.

Lu Xin immediately quickened his pace, walking faster and faster. In no time, he had already left the school grounds.

"Uncle Sun, stop him..."

The voice shouted from behind him, but when the old guard in the security booth heard it, he simply turned a page of his newspaper at his leisure.

"Don't run..."

The voice grew increasingly frantic.

But how could she possibly catch up with Lu Xin? He heard it fading farther and farther into the distance.

"Ow..."

Just then, a cry of pain rang out, followed by the sound of a wheelchair crashing into something.

Lu Xin was startled and hurriedly turned around.

He saw Teacher Lu sitting in her wheelchair, calling out "Ow" while forcefully slapping the chair to imitate the sound of a collision. At the same time, she wore a faint smile and looked toward Lu Xin, who had turned around, appearing rather pleased with herself.

When their gazes met, Lu Xin knew he had lost. He could no longer escape.

Teacher Lu then rolled her wheelchair slowly over to him and looked up at him.

At this point, Lu Xin could only look at her. Teacher Lu had a lovely oval face and soft hair tied into a fresh ponytail at the back of her head. She wore a pale yellow hoodie printed with a cat lying on its back and rolling around, along with jeans and a pair of spotless sneakers. Compared with the gloomy tones of this world, she always seemed bright and warm.

"Are you bullying me because I have to move on two wheels and can't outrun you on two legs?"

When she reached Lu Xin, Teacher Lu glared at him angrily, her tone somewhat sullen.

"No, no. I didn't hear you just now..."

Lu Xin could only explain with an awkward smile. Then he tried to walk around behind her and help push the wheelchair.

"So you're saying my voice was too soft?"

Teacher Lu caught Lu Xin's hand and led him back in front of her, continuing to look up at him.

"Of course not..."

Lu Xin scratched his head awkwardly and pulled his hand back from her grasp.

"All right, enough about that. Did you bring me money again?"

Teacher Lu glanced back toward the mailbox and asked, "How much this time?"

"It's not much..."

Lu Xin answered awkwardly, unwilling to talk about it directly.

"It's only been a few days since you brought money last time. And why did you bring so much then?"

Teacher Lu's expression grew serious, even stern, as she looked into Lu Xin's eyes and asked in a low voice:

"Did you go and do something bad?"

"..."

"Hmm?"

Lu Xin took a moment to react before realizing why she was asking.

He hurriedly shook his head and explained, "No, no..."

Teacher Lu looked him up and down suspiciously, her expression suddenly turning shocked. "Are your kidneys still there?"

"Of course they are. Both of them!"

Lu Xin froze for a moment, then hurriedly said, "I just found a part-time job recently. The boss is very generous and gave me a subsidy!"

Teacher Lu's brows drew together. "Is that boss's head stuck in a door? Why would they give you so much money?"

Lu Xin thought of Chen Jing's attractive head. It did not look as if it had ever been caught in a door, so he could only shake his head and say, "No. You don't need to worry. I really haven't done anything bad. This part-time job pays quite well, and it's especially legitimate. The headquarters is in Main City. My base salary alone is more than five thousand a month, and there are plenty of additional subsidies. What I brought over is only a small portion..."

Teacher Lu listened, her face showing some surprise. Then she suddenly asked, "Did you join one of the wilderness-clearing teams outside the city?"

Lu Xin hurriedly shook his head. "No. Don't worry, it's very safe..."

He hesitated inwardly, wanting to tell Teacher Lu about it. But he remembered that the documents had stated that, unless absolutely necessary, he was not allowed to tell outsiders about the Special Pollution Cleanup Department, lest it cause unnecessary panic. In fact, even people at Qin Ran's company who had been caught up in Special Pollution Events for one reason or another would sometimes have their related memories erased.

Teacher Lu, meanwhile, studied Lu Xin's face carefully.

There was nothing on Lu Xin's face that suggested anything to worry about.

Then she slowly nodded and said, "I believe you. Just don't go and do anything bad..."

Lu Xin nodded. "I definitely won't. I remember what the Old Director said!"

Teacher Lu fell silent for a moment, then said, "All right. Push me back inside!"

Lu Xin obediently moved behind her, pushed her wheelchair, and slowly headed back into the school. When they passed the security booth, the old guard inside chuckled, turned another page of the newspaper, and even deliberately raised it to cover the smile on his face.