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Chapter 52: You’re different from others, and that’s great.
The next morning, Tang Cuo was unusually late.
When he reached the crisis office, he coincidentally encountered Gao Tianyue, who impulsively decided to check attendance on the first day of the month. As a result, Tang Cuo got caught.
“Tang Cuo, oh Tang Cuo…” Gao Tianyue didn’t finish the sentence. Upon seeing Tang Cuo’s terrifying dark circles and haggard face, the critical words were swallowed back into his stomach, turning into inquiries. “What happened to you?”
“My sister, something happened.” Tang Cuo said, “Sigh, love…”
He was not specific in his words, and Gao Tianyue thought it must be some confidential matter about Tang Xing’s love life. Having watched the siblings grow up together, he knew how close they were and couldn’t bear to pry further. “Forget it, just go inside.”
Tang Cuo entered the office in a daze and sat silently at his desk. Bai Xiaoyuan was busy working, and her sand cat became the office’s inspector. Seeing Tang Cuo motionless, it walked up, raised its paw, patted his face, and reminded him to get into work mode.
Following Xie Zijing’s example, Tang Cuo grabbed the cat and wiped his face.
Yesterday, Tang Xing talked to him about many things regarding Meng Yu, and his intuition made Tang Cuo cautious: Meng Yu was not the ideal partner for his sister.
The most important point was his special human identity.
Meng Yu was an underground person.
After finishing the college entrance exam years ago, Meng Yu and his friends planned to go play on the outskirts. They passed by a settlement of underground people where a surface collapse happened. Many underground people were forced to drill to the surface, and Meng Yu and his friends were infected with the petrification virus.
Fortunately, Meng Yu’s immunity played a role, and there were not many signs of skin hardening on his body. The only hardened areas were concentrated on his abdomen and ears, which were not easily noticeable in normal circumstances. Those were softer parts of the skin, but as he aged, despite being controlled by medication, the petrification virus still slowly expanded in those areas. Behind the wig-covering spots on Meng Yu’s head, his ears were already full of hardened and cracked traces. Meng Yu didn’t give up his hobbies, but practicing and performing would damage his hardened skin and muscles, not in a light way.
Tang Xing and Meng Yu met last year. Tang Xing worked in the Finance Department of the Special Management Committee, and the finance department was busy. After overtime, a few girls often gathered to chat and vent about the frustrating aspects of work and annoying people. They heard that the Atlantis Bar in the Wangdu District had fantastic pole dancing performances, so the girls agreed to meet there on the weekend.
Unfortunately, on the day of the meeting, there was a rear-end collision on the road leading to the Wangdu District, and several girls were stuck in traffic, leaving only Tang Xing to arrive on time. To her surprise, Atlantis was closed that day. She wandered outside the bar, feeling uneasy, and released her Pacific parrot. The parrot perched on her shoulder, vigilantly observing her surroundings. After a moment, it made a low sound and flapped its wings, signaling something.
The bar’s door opened, and a tall boy half-poked his body out, staring blankly at Tang Xing.
At that time, Meng Yu wasn’t wearing makeup, but he had on high heels, a women’s dance costume, and a wig in his hands.
He invited Tang Xing into the bar and explained that the bar was closed for renovation this week. Disappointed, after Meng Yu treated her to two drinks, he enthusiastically jumped onto the stage, saying he would perform a special dance for her.
It was on that night that Tang Xing fell for Meng Yu. Afterward, she frequently sneaked into Atlantis Bar just to watch Meng Yu’s performances. Not many people were willing to hang out with her in the Wangdu District during that time, and coincidentally, Tang Cuo had just moved out to live elsewhere. Tang Xing enjoyed her solitary moments.
Meng Yu also recognized her. After each performance, he would take her hand and walk through the crowd, chatting for a long time in the dressing room. After the bar closed, Meng Yu would escort her out of the Wangdu District, just like the first night, or even take her home.
Tang Cuo never expected that during the time he rented a place away from home, his sister would have someone like this by her side.
Meng Yu did not hide his identity from Tang Xing. He was honest about it the first time they met. That night, he didn’t wear a wig while dancing, exposing the hardened and cracked skin behind his ears under the spotlight. Tang Xing was not surprised or nervous; she was captivated by Meng Yu, continuously applauding and cheering for him.
After knowing each other for half a year, Meng Yu confessed his feelings to Tang Xing.
He had worried that Tang Xing wouldn’t accept him and strategically kept telling her that he only dressed in women’s clothing when pole dancing, looking like a normal man otherwise. However, Tang Xing didn’t care at all. After Meng Yu confessed to her, her main concern was only one question: “If we kiss now, will I be infected with the petrification virus from you?”
Recalling the past, Tang Xing chuckled while holding her textbook. Tang Cuo was shocked, beads of cold sweat forming. “What if he said you could get infected?”
“Then I’ll kiss him first and go buy some medicine.” Tang Xing didn’t take it seriously at all. “I’m already a special human with chromosomal mutations. If I get infected with the petrification virus, would I become the first guide underground person in the country?”
Tang Cuo: “…”
Tang Xing: “Don’t you think it’s quite a valuable research topic?”
In contrast to Tang Xing’s calmness, Tang Cuo was extremely fearful, to the point where he couldn’t sleep well for a whole night. As his previous rented house was taken back by the landlord, he had to return home and live with Tang Xing. On a sleepless night, Tang Cuo made the decision to remind and supervise Tang Xing while studying for exams, making the effort to temporarily limit her close contact with Meng Yu.
Especially after he found out that Meng Yu was actually one of the four leaders of the Black Battalion in the Wangdu District.
“Tang Cuo, are you familiar with the four leaders of the Black Battalion in the Wangdu District?” Qin Ge, who was buried in paperwork, suddenly looked up and asked.
The sand cat, held by Tang Cuo, was diligently patting his face, looking serious, much like Bai Xiaoyuan.
Tang Cuo snapped out of his thoughts, “I know some of the people inside, but I wouldn’t say I’m familiar.”
In the Wangdu District, the largest number of special humans were underground people, followed by semi-zombified humans, and then werewolves and sentinel guides. These four types made up all the members of the Black Battalion. To ensure fairness and democratic decision-making, each type of special human had to elect a leader. In the end, the Black Battalion had four leaders, and Meng Yu represented the underground people.
The Black Battalion maintained order in the Wangdu District and was trusted by the people. Although conflicts often arose between underground people and semi-zombified humans, the relationship between Meng Yu and the representative leader of semi-zombified humans was quite good.
“The representative of the semi-zombified people is Ling Siyuan, the owner of the Atlantis Bar,” Tang Cuo said. “He’s very low-key and is trusted and loved by semi-zombified people.”
Qin Ge nodded, “I see.”
Tang Cuo suddenly remembered that, except for himself and Tang Xing, the others seemed unaware that Meng Yu was a man. Thinking about Qin Ge’s brother, who was infatuated with Meng Yu, Tang Cuo felt a bit sorry for him.
At this moment, Qin Ge was also pondering the matter of Jiang Xiaochuan and felt like his head was about to explode.
Last night, Xie Zijing returned to his home, and Jiang Xiaochuan stayed at Qin Ge’s place. Qin Ge decided to talk to him about Atlantis and Meng Yu.
He originally didn’t plan to tell Jiang Xiaochuan that he already knew the real purpose of his visit to Atlantis, wanting to preserve a bit of precious dignity for the young man in the budding of spring. However, Jiang Xiaochuan ended up confessing his infatuation with Meng Yu in a straightforward manner. By the end of the conversation, Qin Ge only knew one thing: Jiang Xiaochuan was deeply in love with this dancer, who was at least ten years older than him, calling it his first love.
“I love a perfect woman; what’s wrong with that?” Jiang Xiaochuan said it stubbornly. Qin Ge almost forgot about his making a search and rescue robot for him, nearly raising his hand to slap him.
It’s really challenging to discipline kids. Qin Ge now feels that his rebellious teenage years were exceptionally short and that he was quite easy to manage.
When it was time to get off work in the afternoon, Bai Xiaoyuan only lifted her head from the mountains of data. Conducting “sea area” testing for the agency was much more challenging than the high school entrance exam, and just organizing and classifying various data files for processing was enough to give the other three in the department, who weren’t good at handling such matters, a headache. Bai Xiaoyuan shared this workload. Because some department personnel couldn’t show up at the crisis office, Xie Zijing spent the whole day running around different departments, arranging suitable rooms for testing. Tang Cuo cooperated with Bai Xiaoyuan in handling the paperwork, and Qin Ge’s phone kept ringing with a continuous stream of questions to answer.
By the end of the day, Bai Xiaoyuan and Tang Cuo were exhausted, and Qin Ge’s voice had become hoarse.
“The special human skills competition next year will also involve ‘sea area’ testing, coinciding with the high school entrance exams. We really have too few people; there are only four of us,” Bai Xiaoyuan muttered to Qin Ge. “Can Director Gao arrange more manpower?”
Qin Ge shrugged, then picked up his phone again. This time, the caller was Cai Yi.
Cai Yi was responsible for coordinating the testing work with Qin Ge from the Special Management Committee. After discussing work, Cai Yi hesitated in his words, “Uh… Qin Ge, do you remember what we talked about last time?”
Qin Ge: “I remember. Whenever you’re free to come, I can make time. Don’t delay too long; chronic insomnia and anxiety are also serious.”
Cai Yi agreed and arranged to come tomorrow for the “sea area” patrol.
When Qin Ge looked up, he saw that Bai Xiaoyuan and Tang Cuo had already left the office with their backpacks. “Fishing at work, then going to the gym to fish,” Bai Xiaoyuan said to Tang Cuo. “What’s wrong with you today? You’ve been absent-minded all day.”
Tang Cuo didn’t directly answer her question, “Fishing… What’s wrong with fishing? Fishing makes me happy!”
He was then playfully kicked out by Bai Xiaoyuan.
Today, Jiang Xiaochuan went to a class reunion, so Qin Ge simply went to Xie Zijing’s house. Xie Zijing returned home after 8 PM, and the two of them had a quick dinner with takeout, starting to lament about the difficulties of life.
Xie Zijing didn’t seem to be in a good mood. Both he and Qin Ge were lying on the floor near the French windows, with their hands and feet spread out, staring blankly.
“Let’s find time to go mountain climbing again,” he said. “Both Lion and I really want to run around.”
Qin Ge nodded, “I guess my younger brother will come back after the junior high school entrance exam results are out. Next, we’ll need to fill out college applications, and we need the guardian’s signature.”
Xie Zijing embraced his shoulder, and the two exchanged a long kiss. The rabbit leaped from Qin Ge and landed in Xie Zijing’s arms. Xie Zijing stroked its fur and smiled slightly.
Qin Ge planned to take advantage of today’s free time to check on Xie Zijing’s “sea area” again. He hadn’t given up on finding a way to restore the “sea area” that was destroyed for Xie Zijing during this time.
There were no significant changes in the “sea area,” except that the posters in the room were becoming increasingly explicit. Qin Ge looked at the poster of himself and thought that Xie Zijing was constantly thinking about these things in his mind.
He didn’t dislike it. In fact, he found it somewhat intriguing, but sometimes he felt awkward expressing it directly to Xie Zijing. Xie Zijing had the tendency to become ecstatic whenever he found a weakness in Qin Ge, and if he knew Qin Ge’s thoughts, it might intensify even more. Qin Ge thought that indulgence should be moderate.
Entering the passageway beyond the wardrobe and stepping into the outer part of the room, Qin Ge saw a figure standing on the ruins.
Xie Zijing’s self-consciousness was still wearing a school uniform, gazing into the distance from the continuous rain towards the glowing place. Qin Ge walked through the foul-smelling stagnant water, gradually approaching him.
“This ruin used to be a city before.” 18-year-old Xie Zijing said, “I’m curious about what it looked like before.”
Beams and bricks were the only remnants of its former appearance. But if it was a city… Qin Ge thought he could probably guess what place it might have been.
It was Xie Zijing’s home, a city that was quiet and leisurely, with various colored roses blooming throughout the city in the transition from spring to summer. Qin Ge climbed up the ruins and stood shoulder to shoulder with 18-year-old Xie Zijing. The distant, glowing place seemed unreachable, like a secret that was open but not approachable, something Xie Zijing couldn’t touch. Or rather, he didn’t dare to touch.
The teenage Xie Zijing pointed to his head and said, “He himself doubted whether the reason he couldn’t remember anything that day was because he killed his own parents.”
Qin Ge immediately said, “No, it’s not.”
Xie Zijing shrugged, “Who knows? This possibility is the most likely.”
Qin Ge said, “… Did he figure this out by himself, or did someone tell him?”
Xie Zijing turned to look at Qin Ge, his eyes somewhat surprised. After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, “Well, I don’t know. But I heard some voices… not my own. Those voices said… You’re guilty; you’re a person born of sin, so you can only enjoy disasters and evil. Don’t talk to people casually, don’t live too happily, you have to always remember that you are broken, disgusting, abnormal.”
“…Do you believe me?” Qin Ge suddenly interrupted his words.
“I believe you.” Young Xie Zijing said, “Because he trusts you a lot.”
The severance between self-awareness and the entity was severe, and Qin Ge knew it was because the two had not communicated effectively for a long time. Xie Zijing’s “sea area” was not a pleasant one, so he preferred to hide in that small room, chewing on the scarce memories of the past with Qin Ge, adding bit by bit to the illusion in the hints of Lu Qinglai. He was unwilling to leave the room and engage in external conversations with his self-awareness.
Qin Ge held the hand of 18-year-old Xie Zijing. He was strong, but also young. His voice and body were in the transition period between adolescence and adulthood, filled with vibrant vitality.
“What is the most destructive thing to a person’s personality?” Lu Qinglai once asked him.
Qin Ge only now realized that Lu Qinglai had already undergone the trial, so he knew the answers.
For a personality built through countless setbacks, affirmations, and the molding of character over the long years with both failures and achievements, what it couldn’t bear was an attack on its essence—a continuous and self-destructive denial.
“You are not good. You are destined to fail. You are always different from others. You are completely abnormal. You are disgusting. No one loves you. How could anyone like you? You are so terrible, so ugly, so unbearable.”
The feet standing on the ground gradually weakened. Eventually, they collapsed.
“Thank you for taking my flowers,” Qin Ge said, looking at Xie Zijing.
Lu Qinglai had imposed self-doubt on Xie Zijing in this sea area.
“Your performance in the skills competition was excellent. Everyone around me admires you. They all say that the champion of the high school sentinel group is handsome and formidable, destined to be an extraordinary figure in the future.”
Qin Ge thought, how much time does it take to destroy a “sea area” and rebuild one? Perhaps no one can say for sure. But between him and Xie Zijing, there were still decades ahead, and he could repeat sincere words to his beloved countless times.
“There are many outstanding individuals in the Western Office. Not everyone can be the most outstanding representative for several years in a row,” Qin Ge said softly. “You are great, Xie Zijing. Your lion is also great. It’s the most formidable and majestic spiritual body I have ever seen.”
Xie Zijing, with the appearance of a young man, stared at him in a daze. The airflow in the “sea area” was changing, and the raindrops became more and more urgent.
“You are different from others, and that’s great,” Qin Ge said. “I like the unique Xie Zijing.”
The entire ruins suddenly vibrated, and the accumulated water on the ground kept bubbling. The 18-year-old Xie Zijing’s eyes reddened, tightly hugging Qin Ge’s shoulders. He didn’t say a word, but the strength in his hands grew stronger. The vibration of the “sea area” became more intense, and it was due to the significant emotional fluctuations of Xie Zijing. Qin Ge couldn’t stay any longer. In the moment before disappearing, he saw the young Xie Zijing gazing at him, revealing the same happy smile as when he received the bouquet at the skills competition.
Qin Ge felt dizzy, but the discomfort was much milder than before. Xie Zijing covered his eyes and curled up on the ground with his back to him.
“…Xie Zijing?”
Xie Zijing didn’t respond; he just shook his head.
“Not feeling well?” Qin Ge was also a bit uncomfortable, quickly pushing him again. “Go lie down on the bed for a while.”
“I won’t go.” Xie Zijing choked. “What did you say in my ‘sea area’…”
Qin Ge suddenly understood. Lying behind Xie Zijing, he hugged his waist, pressed close to his body, and asked softly, “Did you cry?”
Xie Zijing: “No.”
Qin Ge: “Then why are you covering your eyes?”
Xie Zijing: “There’s sand.”
Qin Ge: “Xie Zijing, I feel uncomfortable.”
After a moment, Xie Zijing turned around and hugged him, burying his head on his shoulder and sniffing. Qin Ge could hear his heartbeat and breath, both rapid and strong.
“I was speaking the truth,” he smiled. “Don’t you like it?”
“…It’s not about liking or not liking,” Xie Zijing said softly. “You could have told me face-to-face. Why say it in the ‘sea area’?”
Qin Ge remained silent, and Xie Zijing continued, “I can’t control myself. I’m too happy, but also sad… I don’t know if this is real.”
“Of course, it’s real,” Qin Ge quickly assured. Lu Qinglai’s influence on him was deeply ingrained, and Qin Ge didn’t believe that one counseling session could solve it. He kissed Xie Zijing’s face, licking away his tears. The long-haired rabbit disappeared, but the lion emerged from the thick mist. It crouched beside Xie Zijing, extending its front paw to embrace its owner intimately.
“Can a lion be so gentle?” The bartender, wiping the glasses, exclaimed. “Lions are usually fierce. We also have lion sentinels in the Wangdu district.”
Francisco looked at Meng Yu gracefully dancing on the stage, then turned to push his empty glass toward the bartender. “My friend is different; his lion can be fierce, but sometimes it’s as gentle as a rabbit.”
The bartender clearly didn’t believe it but didn’t say anything more, wearing a wrinkled smile on his face.
Francisco enjoyed the atmosphere of Atlantis very much. This time, he brought enough money to spend the night. “Another glass, please, boss,” the handsome vampire smiled at the bartender. “Do you have any questions for me? As far as I know, there aren’t many pure-blood vampires like me in the country. I’m willing to answer any questions you have. We can have a back-and-forth.”
Bartender: “Can we use ‘back-and-forth’ like that?”
Francisco: “Don’t be so strict with foreign friends.”
Bartender: “But I’m not the boss. The boss is downstairs, taking orders.”
Francisco was surprised, “You two really look alike.”
“Probably all half-zombie people look similar,” the bartender good-naturedly smiled, gesturing for him to look behind, “There are a few people over there staring at you; are they your friends?”
“I have no friends in the Wangdu district, except for that one.” Francisco pointed to Meng Yu on the stage. “But it’s just an acquaintance, not familiar.”
He was honest in such matters. The gaze of several people behind him was very direct, their eyes lecherously assessing him as if they wanted to strip him of his clothes. Feeling uneasy all over, Francisco asked the bartender, “Can I go talk to your boss?”
“Sure, go ahead.” The bartender nodded. “You can go downstairs next to the emergency exit. Actually, you’re the first vampire that Atlantis has welcomed; we all remember you.”
“It’s Kindred,” Francisco corrected, then jumped off the bar stool, weaving through the crowd towards the emergency exit.
In the emergency exit hallway, people stood in twos and threes, some conversing, others kissing. After searching for a while, Francisco saw the entrance to the basement next to a storage room.
The entrance was slightly ajar, and with his keen vampire sense of smell, he caught the scent of alcohol and some peculiar odor.
The body odor of half-zombies? Francisco shrugged, shouting into the entrance a few times but getting no response.
He pulled open the gate, revealing a staircase leading downward. The basement was dimly lit, and the smell of alcohol and the strange scent became even more pronounced.
“Boss?” Francisco walked down the stairs.
The last few steps were very dark, as if the lights were out and couldn’t illuminate anything clearly. Francisco had strong night vision, and he vaguely saw a person lying face down on the ground.
Surprised, he jumped down from the stairs and said, “Boss?!”
The landing was loud, and the sound-sensitive lights on the stairs immediately lit up.
Ling Siyuan, the owner of Atlantis Bar, was lying on the ground, his neck already broken.
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