Chapter 35: The Infected’s Performance

Chapter 35: The Infected’s Performance

After finishing his oatmeal, Zhou Jinru threw himself onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep. He didn't wake up until the sounds of commotion from outside reached his ears. He glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand—it was past five in the morning. Students were arriving one after another, gathering in groups of three or five at the school gate to chat, while others bought breakfast from the stalls.

He put on his clothes, opened a drawer, and found some loose change. In the corner, he also discovered a love letter, though he had no idea which student it belonged to.

He opened the door and looked across the street. Just as Old Qin had said, the breakfast stalls were already set up. Many students were sitting at tables, eating and chatting, while some even pulled out their homework to copy.

"How come it's not Old Qin opening the gate today?" someone asked curiously.

Others had hearts in their eyes. "I don't know, but who cares about Old Qin? This young man is so handsome."

"Forget it, you don't stand a chance. Look at his physique; he must be a star on the sports field."

"You're annoying! I'm just dreaming—it's not like that costs money."

Zhou Jinru rubbed his temples, which were throbbing with a dull ache. Even after sleeping for a while, the exhaustion hadn't faded. He wasn't sure if this was a side effect of actively using his sanity.

He walked straight to the breakfast stall, scanned the menu pasted on the counter, and took out five coins. "One bowl of vegetable wontons."

An elderly man wearing a tattered military overcoat stood hunched over a boiling pot. He glanced at Zhou Jinru and dumped a porcelain plate full of wontons into the boiling water. Before long, the wontons floated to the surface, tossing and turning amidst a flurry of bubbles.

Old Dong rasped in a gravelly voice, "You’re a new face, kid."

"I'm here in Lungmen for work. I stopped by to visit Uncle Qin; haven't seen him in many years."

Old Dong didn't reply. He scooped the wontons into a bowl and pushed it toward Zhou Jinru. "Here you go. Eat slowly, it’s hot."

As he sat at the table, the warmth from the food began to seep into his body. He listened to the conversation of the students nearby.

"Did you hear? The Outer Ring is under martial law. Rumor has it there was a gang fight and people died; even the L.G.D. was deployed."

"That serious? When did it happen?"

"Last night. My uncle passed by on his way to work and took pictures."

"Do you think it will affect the concert at our school tonight? They shouldn't cancel it, right? The stage is already built. It would be a shame if they called it off now."

"I don't think so. After all, some of the performers were selected from the Infected community. Those poor people won't pass up any opportunity to interact with normal society."

...

After finishing his meal and wiping his mouth, Zhou Jinru walked nonchalantly past the students. When he reached the security booth, he saw Old Qin pedaling up on his bicycle, arriving fashionably late. Sitting on the back seat was a Sarkaz woman whose curvaceous figure was still evident despite her winter clothing.

Old Qin said with a hint of awkwardness, "This is Ms. Liu from our school. She missed her bus, so I brought her along since I was passing by."

Ms. Liu reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears and removed her fluffy earmuffs. Her pair of alluring eyes lingered on Zhou Jinru, scanning him up and down before she smiled faintly. "And this is..."

"Oh, I'm Uncle Qin's nephew. I'm in Lungmen for work for a few days, so I thought I'd drop by to visit the old man. Haven't seen him in years; I've really missed him."

Zhou Jinru lied without a blush or a flutter of his breath. He took a subtle look at both Ms. Liu and Old Qin, then called out, "Uncle, hurry and open the gate. Don't let the students wait too long; it's freezing out here. If they catch a cold, it's no good, and with their heavy workload, it's hard to make up for missed classes."

"Yes, yes, look at my memory."

Old Qin slapped his forehead and went into the booth to grab the remote. Ms. Liu narrowed her seductive eyes and reached out to Zhou Jinru. "You must be A-Guang, right? I've heard Old Qin mention you. You’re truly a fine young man."

"My uncle just likes to talk. When I was a kid, I was dark and short, so my classmates called me 'Shorty'."

Zhou Jinru shook her hand briefly and pulled it back calmly, laughing it off as if he were oblivious to the subtext in Ms. Liu's words.

"I'm going to prepare my lesson slides. See you later."

Ms. Liu swayed her slender waist as she followed the students into the school. Zhou Jinru turned around to find Old Qin staring at him with a knowing, half-amused look.

"Uncle, I heard the Outer Ring is on lockdown and I can't leave. I'll stay here for a couple of days, and I'll pay you for the lodging later. This won't cause you any trouble, will it?"

Old Qin tucked his hands behind his back and said dismissively, "No matter. Just stay here. You can take over my night shift anyway. I’m on good terms with the school administration; it’ll be fine."

"Got it. I'm going to catch up on some sleep; last night really wore me out."

Seeing that the matter was settled, Zhou Jinru chuckled and walked into the security booth. Behind him came Old Qin’s teasing voice: "That’s enough to wear you out? You’ve got a long road ahead of you."

...

He slept until he woke up naturally. Zhou Jinru opened his eyes, climbed out of bed, and felt refreshed and incredibly comfortable, save for his stomach, which was growling with hunger. Old Qin was nowhere to be found in the booth, but he didn't mind; he grabbed some money and went out to find food.

It was dusk now. He had slept through the entire day. The setting sun cast his shadow long across the ground. Across the street, the breakfast stall had switched to selling fish balls. Two students sat at a table, glancing curiously at Zhou Jinru before returning to their conversation.

"Jie, do you think tonight’s concert will go smoothly?" asked the student who looked like a ginger cat. Zhou Jinru couldn't determine the student's gender from their appearance, but the voice suggested a young woman.

"Your worry is groundless. Just because the band is made of Infected doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them. Music is indifferent, and Lungmen has already done the publicity—Originium disease is not contagious."

The white-haired youth named Jie was eating fish ball noodles, speaking with his mouth full.

"I know that, but I still find it hard to accept. There are plenty of people who think like me. I'm afraid there might be a riot. After all, the Infected community was established specifically to separate them from normal people."

"Huaihu, have you thought about A-Cheng? The reason he dropped out was because his father accidentally became Infected and was expelled by Lungmen. Even though they found new work in the Infected community, their income was halved. It’s not enough to support the family, let alone A-Cheng's tuition. People like them deserve more attention, not to be chased away like vermin. That’s why the Reunion movement..."

"Alright, alright, you're right, I can't argue with you."

The student called Huaihu raised her hands to stop Jie from continuing. She quickly finished her noodles. "Let's go inside; the concert is about to start. Let's not miss the opening. It's rare for us to see a pop singer perform here."

Watching the two leave, Zhou Jinru ate his delicious fish balls at a leisurely pace. Old Dong’s cooking was truly exceptional. He figured he wouldn't miss anything even if he went a bit later, and besides, he wanted to see the true attitude of the people of Lungmen toward the Infected.