Jian Xie bit into a piece of bread, closing the door while slinging his backpack over his shoulders.
It was all because of Qin Zhuo’s vague words that he felt uncomfortable and unconsciously wasted some time… hopefully he won’t be late for school.
“Jian Xie… Good morning.”
Suddenly, a faint voice came from behind him, the speaker appeared a little timid. “Are you going to school?”
“……”
Jian Xie heard the sound and turned around just in time to see the person behind him staring intently at him without blinking.
As soon as their eyes met, the other person blushed and bit his lower lip. He was still wearing the faded school uniform that Jian Xie had seen that night, with “West City No. 2 Middle School” written on it. Additionally, there was a thick bandage over his eyes, suggesting he had been injured.
They were neighbors.
He even noticed water droplets on the other person’s clothes, as if they had accumulated from standing outside the door waiting for him all night.
Jian Xie said, “Your wound is bleeding.”
Upon hearing this, the neighbor’s eyes widened, and he immediately covered his face with his hands, but some redness still showed through his fingers.
“…… I-I’m sorry.” His face turned red.
“It’s okay.” Jian Xie locked the door and prepared to take the stairs, casually asking, “Aren’t you going to class?”
Although he was in a hurry, anyone who saw his neighbor standing in front of his door at such an ungodly hour would have stopped to exchange a few polite words.
The neighbor looked at and stammered, his face turning red. “I-I’m sick and have been staying at home. There are many online courses available for self-study. Of course, I’m not saying I don’t go to school… I just want to say t-thank you for your concern. I’m very happy to see you.”
After spouting a bunch of meaningless nonsense, he saw Jian Xie’s back already at the corner of the staircase, and as he was about to disappear, he finally mustered up the courage to add one last sentence.
“Jian Xie, I saw the news yesterday. Did you go to subway station No. 6?”
That was what he really wanted to ask.
Upon unexpectedly hearing these words, Jian Xie stopped in his tracks, raised his head, and looked at his neighbor with a hint of confusion in his beautiful amber eyes.
What… he was in the news?
Seeing that exquisite face turn toward him, the neighbor felt his heart pounding wildly.
Huuu…
“It’s dangerous at school, on the subway, on the main road, and even in the neighborhood…” He lowered his head to avoid Jian Xie’s gaze and muttered in a low voice, “Because there are many of my ‘friends,’ bad ‘friends.’ They are really annoying. I don’t want to play with them. They will hurt you…”
A statement that sounded somewhat mystical.
The neighbor looked up and glanced at Jian Xie with a hint of expectation. “So, can you please not go out? It’s safe here.”
However, something unexpected happened. Jian Xie actually smiled at him.
The neighbor was stunned.
He stared intently at his face.
“Thank you for your concern,” Jian Xie said, “But I have to go to school. Let’s talk next time.”
The neighbor nodded blankly, probably not even understanding what the other person had said, just responding out of habit.
Soon, the other person’s back disappeared from his sight.
It wasn’t until then that the neighbor realized what had happened. A wave of sadness and melancholy swept over him, and an indescribable anger made him tremble all over.
…So, basically, you didn’t take what I said to heart!
He already said it’s dangerous outside. Why can’t Jian Xie just be an obedient friend and stay within his sight instead of running around everywhere, making him worry… making him completely unable to eat normally…
After a moment of dead silence, the neighbor took a deep breath, and resentment crept onto his face, making his handsome features look coarse and terrifying.
Be patient, Jian Xie will become our friend.
After waiting for ten minutes, he slowly moved to the window and stared down until he was certain that Jian Xie’s figure had come and gone, completely leaving the building. Then, the neighbor’s faint voice drifted over, causing the entire floor to be enveloped in a stifling heat wave.
“Are you all hidden well? Today, I’m going to start going upstairs and knocking on every door.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his legs began to melt, turning into black pus, leaving only his hands writhing as he crawled upward toward the upper floors.
The entire building fell silent and the air stagnant, with only the sound of elbows hitting the floor echoing throughout.
……
【Your neighbor.】 Qin Zhuo spoke lazily. Relying on the fact that ordinary people at school couldn’t see the black fog, It acted recklessly, pulling Itself out of Jian Xie’s shadow and reaching out to tuck his hanging bangs behind his ear.【Do I need to remind you?】
Jian Xie’s mind raced as he quickly wrote something, answering expressionlessly, “I know he’s strange.”
He wasn’t stupid.
“But that’s my only house.”
Very realistic.
He wasn’t overly slow on the uptake, so he naturally sensed that the term “social anxiety” couldn’t explain the other person’s strange behavior. But as Jian Xie had said, this was his only home, so even if something seemed off, he had no choice but to pretend he didn’t notice.
Moreover, Jian Xie could sense that his neighbors’ concern for him was genuine.
Apart from that, he felt that his mind was completely occupied with other matters, because he was currently engaged in—
Doing homework.
At eighteen years old, this was the first time Jian Xie had ever failed to submit his homework on time.
Although he narrowly avoided being late, he didn’t realize until he arrived at school that the exercise book in his backpack was completely blank. During this period of time, he had only scribbled a few words before seeing Dr. Li. The several neatly folded papers that had never been touched were out of the question.
Meanwhile, the authorities did not provide a clear response, as even the reports submitted to them could not identify who was responsible. They merely stated that Yu Jinghe had resolved the matter. Cheng Li looked at the various speculations about the incident on the chat forum and felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction, like an insider with inside knowledge.
None of them knew it wasn’t any investigator, but just his recommendee.
Cheng Li suspected that he had been scared out of his wits by Jian Xie’s previous tricks, and wanted others to feel the same as he did…
However, it was unclear what exactly happened between Yu Jinghe and Jian Xie, as the mission report made no mention of Jian Xie’s existence.
But Yu Jinghe wasn’t the type of person who would just take credit for someone else’s work…
The only thing Cheng Li could be certain of was that Jian Xie was far more mysterious than he had ever imagined, and his concerns were ultimately insignificant.
This might be the reason why he did not reply to his text message.
It was better to talk about business.
“Why is it so early?” Jian Xie said, “Does it have to be tomorrow?”
He had originally thought it would take a few more days based on Cheng Li’s statement that night, but he didn’t expect it to happen so suddenly.
And if he remembered correctly, the preliminary exam was in a week…
There were already many big and small exams in the third year of high school, but fortunately, the class had already finished the curriculum, and he was a science student. As long as he knew how to solve the problems, the core of the solution would remain the same no matter how the problem was rephrased. As long as he didn’t lose his proficiency, he would be fine. He just didn’t want to miss the exam.
“I think it might be because of staff reductions,” Cheng Li smiled bitterly, “Who knows? This is what the higher-ups have arranged.”
In fact, he had a vague premonition deep down, but he couldn’t tell Jian Xie about it in detail.
Even the highlighted posts on the forum indirectly reflected these details.
The number of investigators who were dying in the first three zones was simply too high. Even though they had prepared themselves to be expendable, it was still more than the Bureau could tolerate. Now, monsters were appearing with increasing frequency, far exceeding the total number from previous years—and they were even growing stronger.
In the most straightforward of terms, a mission that could have been completed with three people now required five.
Especially when investigators die on missions, it not only gave the monsters more manpower, but also added psychological pressure to those who remain.
…It was a disaster.
Thinking about the task at hand, Cheng Li couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
“Where are you now? Are you free? … I want to tell you some things about the autumn job recruitment in advance. I heard that the format has changed this year.” Thinking of this, he felt a little worried. After all, he was Jian Xie’s recommender. “They say it’s actual combat, but I’m not sure which district it will be in…”
Jian Xie interrupted him directly, “I’m at school.”
He was sitting by the window, so he could see that the flag-raising ceremony on the sports field had ended, and the students were returning to their classrooms along the stairs. He had to get things quickly.
“Wait, where are you?” Hearing this, Cheng Li was a little surprised, “I was planning to go to your house to find you.”
“…” Jian Xie was speechless. “Today is Monday and I’m in class.”
Even minutes before the phone call came, he was still finishing his homework.
Cheng Li: “…”
He froze on the spot.
Why did he always forget that Jian Xie was only eighteen and still in his senior year of high school?
Jian Xie didn’t notice his stiffness and ponderingly said, “How many days does the autumn recruitment take? If I understand you correctly, I’ll have to go to another city—can I take my test papers and textbooks with me? I might have to do some problems there.”
The author has something to say:
Other autumn recruitment candidates: You’re seriously bringing your homework?
Translator Xena’s other works: https://ko-fi.com/xenatl/gallery
– Just click the pictures and the link will show <3′
