Chapter 502: A Day of Departures and Memories

This is a crucial moment that demands our full attention.

When Lu Xin saw that Teacher Xiao Lu had agreed, his face lit up immediately. Considering the children in the yard and the old security guard, he smiled at her and said, “No rush, get ready first. I’ll go find a vehicle.”

Saying this, he stepped out, hopped onto his motorcycle, and sped down the narrow lanes.

He soon arrived just outside the High-Speed Train Platform, at a bustling street corner where an array of motorcycles and minibuses jostled like a chaotic stew, each vehicle queued tightly, waiting to scoop up incoming travelers and take advantage.

Lu Xin revved his motorcycle up to a minibus and asked, “How much to go to East Side?”

The driver, cigarette dangling from his mouth, poked his head out, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Lu Xin’s motorcycle.

He flashed three fingers and replied, “Ten bucks.”

Lu Xin immediately objected, “Aren’t you usually charging two per person?”

The driver shouted, “First, we normally charge three per person. Second, with that bike of yours, I can’t just let it go free!”

Realizing the situation, Lu Xin responded, “I’m hiring the whole vehicle.”

The driver glanced him up and down and called out, “Hiring the entire bus?”

After quickly calculating the capacity, Lu Xin said, “Exactly. And we’ll need at least two of them.”

“Oh dear, Boss…”

The driver cheerfully pushed the door open, alighted, and asked, “How long do you need them?”

Lu Xin explained, “Just to drop off at East Side near Baichi. I might even need a return ride.”

The driver replied, “That’ll be a hundred. I’ll call my buddy—he’s got another vehicle. Two vehicles, two hundred.”

“Two hundred?”

Lu Xin thought it was pocket change and was inclined to agree without protest.

But out of habit, he said, “How about this: two vehicles for a total of a hundred bucks.”

The driver agreed, “Alright.”

Lu Xin was momentarily speechless.

In that instant, he felt as if he’d been overcharged…

The driver shook his head while getting back on the bus and muttered, “If I were riding a bike like that, I’d never bargain.”

Lu Xin found it odd; as if his bike was now the one being undervalued.

Soon, two minibuses rolled up with Lu Xin, arriving at the doorstep of the Orphanage. Grinning, he walked in.

Teacher Xiao Lu was already waiting in the yard, pushing her wheelchair.

A cluster of children clutched apples in their hands with extra tucked in their pockets, munching noisily while they stared wide-eyed at the two minibuses that had just arrived, a mix of curiosity and nervousness over the unknown ahead.

Teacher Xiao Lu, visibly nervous, asked, “Are we really going?”

“Will we… be able to come back?”

“…”

Lu Xin chuckled and said, “We’ll likely return today, but even if we don’t, it’s not a big deal.”

“It’s just some old stuff—we can…”

“Collect it later.”

“…”

Teacher Xiao Lu seemed a bit at a loss, but after glancing at Uncle Guard, she nodded.

Before long, the children filled both minibuses, and Lu Xin loaded Teacher Xiao Lu and her wheelchair into one, with Uncle Guard joining in as well. Then, he took the lead on his motorcycle, guiding them eastward.

Once the group left the noisy downtown behind and entered a quiet villa community, everyone grew silent.

The pristine buildings and meticulously maintained roads evoked a sense of leaving behind the High-wall City.

It was hard to imagine that within the cramped, bustling, oppressive high wall, there could be an area as expansive and beautiful as the wilderness.

“This is it.”

At the destination, Lu Xin parked his bike, handed the driver fifty bucks upfront, with the remaining fifty to be paid upon the return.

He then asked, “Boss, is this place yours?”

The driver accepted the fifty without protest, then, eyes wide, whispered while staring at the villa,

“Mm.”

Lu Xin’s single word carried pride, swagger, joy, and a hint of boasting.

“Incredible.”

The driver mused, “If I lived in a place like this, I’d never haggle over fares.”

Lu Xin shot him an annoyed look.

Did he mean that Lu Xin was betraying his own villa?

…

…

Leading a group of timid children and a surprised Teacher Xiao Lu, Lu Xin arrived at the villa. He took out the keys, unlocked the large iron door, and revealed a spacious, quiet courtyard with a generous vegetable garden, a neatly kept lawn despite it being winter, freshly transplanted fruit trees, and installations like a swing set and seesaw.

The children, upon seeing the courtyard, showed expressions mingling curiosity with trepidation.

“Can…”

One child nervously asked Lu Xin, “Can we play?”

He laughed and reassured, “Absolutely. Play to your heart’s content.”

Lu Xin then warned, “But no breaking the windows.”

“Oh my…”

The children erupted with excitement, surging into the yard. Some glanced around in wonder, others rushed straight for the swing set and seesaw, and even a little singer bolted like an excited lamb.

Teacher Xiao Lu stood there, astonished, with an expression of disbelief on her face.

Seizing her surprise, Lu Xin gently pushed her inside. Touring room by room, he even showed her how to use the elevator, saying, “With this elevator, you won’t have to struggle when moving between floors.”

He continued, “This is the classroom where you can project slides—no more struggling with chalk.”

Next, he led her to the library. “I’ve already bought a lot of books here, including titles like ‘Top Ten Detective Cases’ and ‘Gruesome Autopsy Chronicles’…”

Then he pointed out the kitchen, “From now on, no more cooking for you—just call in two chefs…”

Finally, he showed her the bedroom, “This is your room, complete with an en-suite bathroom, separate wet and dry areas, and even a walk-in closet…”

“…”

Before Teacher Xiao Lu could fully process it, Lu Xin had already finished touring every corner of the villa.

At last, he pushed her into an office prepared just for her. With large windows offering a view of the entire courtyard, she could see the children wildly enjoying themselves outside, munching on apples and causing mischief.

Some were climbing the newly planted fruit trees, some were pulling weeds from the lawn, and some were even fighting over the swing set.

Looking at this lively scene, Lu Xin felt a deep, heartfelt stirring.

This villa was new, a sight he’d never witnessed before. Yet, in his view, the scene seemed to age into a yellowed memory, merging with flashes of the past.

Perhaps for the first time, Lu Xin realized that the expression on his face matched his inner feelings.

However, as Teacher Xiao Lu faced the view outside the window, her expression began to change gradually.

Lu Xin sensed familiarity, and she did too.

Then, an indescribable terror swiftly crept over her face.

Suddenly, she turned her head in anxiety and blurted, “You…”

Lu Xin didn’t look at her; instead, he gazed out over the courtyard and softly said, “This is the life I dearly miss.”

“Or perhaps, the best life there ever was.”

“…”

Teacher Xiao Lu’s eyes darkened with fear as her tense body trembled.

Using every bit of strength, she finally asked, “You… you remember?”

For two or three silent seconds, Lu Xin remained unresponsive and deep in thought.

Then he lowered his eyes to Teacher Xiao Lu and gave a slight nod.

“…”

Teacher Xiao Lu, as if struck by a sudden force, shuddered violently and almost toppled from her wheelchair.

Lu Xin looked at her reaction, his expression tinged with pain.

His hand twitched slightly, but he held back, not reaching out to help her.

“Earlier, I went to Central City and met Little Nineteen.”

Lost in thought, Lu Xin quietly explained, “Seeing Little Nineteen brought back fragments of memories, though they were incomplete. Later, I experienced something outside the city—a place called Disaster Museum. It has a strange power to pull the deepest, hidden memories back to the forefront…”

“And bit by bit, I recalled everything that had become blurry…”

“How strange…”

He suddenly gave a bitter smile and shook his head, saying, “Before I remembered, no matter how hard I tried, I could never grasp every detail.”

“But once these memories flooded back, I realized it was just that I never wanted to face them.”

“I clearly remember playing at the orphanage, fighting with other kids, catching birds in trees to see if they could still fly after their wings were clipped, and digging up earthworms only to tear them apart so they could never split into separate beings. I even remember ghost stories from places where people died at night…”

As he spoke, Lu Xin’s voice grew low, almost fading away.

He seemed lost in those bittersweet memories, reluctant to revisit the painful past. After a long silence, he continued, “Of course, I also remember how they used us for experiments—how the knife cut into our flesh…”

“I remember when we decided to run away together, only to…”

“…”

Hearing Lu Xin’s almost incoherent murmurs, Teacher Xiao Lu trembled all over. Grasping Lu Xin’s hand tightly, she anxiously said, “I remember too. And then our escape plan failed—they did terrible things to you.”

Her voice rose, almost overpowering Lu Xin’s soft tone, “It was because of them that you…”

Lu Xin quietly interrupted, “So I lost control in an instant?”

“I killed everyone—even though it didn’t bring me any satisfaction, and I twisted an entire building into fragments?”

“…”

“No…”

Teacher Xiao Lu, anguished and remorseful, tears streaming down her face, pleaded, “It wasn’t like that…”

“You were just controlled by them. None of this is your fault…”

“…”

After a long pause, Lu Xin shook his head slightly and said, “You’ve got it wrong.”

“I did it all.”

“I even remember clearly…”

In a hushed tone, he said, “The crisp sound as I snapped your spine…”