RotA – Chapter 30

Having spent the entire morning in a frantic rush looking for Chai Yuening, Lu Qi, upon hearing she had good news, excitedly gathered everyone in her room at the first opportunity.

Under the warm yellow light, the four people who had poured in chattering from outside loudly invited Chu Ci to join them, sitting in a row beside a small, rectangular coffee table.

They tried to get the firsthand scoop from Chu Ci, but she said nothing, as tight-lipped as a clam.

Since they couldn’t get a word out of the tight-lipped girl, everyone could only wait for Chai Yuening to personally announce the sudden good news.

Faced with their anticipation, Chai Yuening suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, she boiled a kettle of hot water and poured a cup for everyone in the room before finally sitting down across from them.

Lu Qi: “So what’s the good news?”

You Lan: “I heard from that little girl Jing Mu that you guys risked it all to cut the ventilation pipes in the Sixth District. Is the main city giving you a bonus? Don’t forget us when you’re rich and famous, Captain Chai.”

Lao Xiang: “That happened? Shouldn’t the Base assign the captain a big house then?”

Ren Dong: “Does this really require a group meeting? Is there news about Du Xia?”

Chai Yuening took a deep breath, cleared her throat under the four pairs of intensely expectant gazes, and said, “Well, um, uh, it’s just…”

Ren Dong: “…”

Lu Qi: “Um?”

You Lan: “Uh-huh~?”

Lao Xiang: “Just what?”

Chai Yuening subconsciously glanced at Chu Ci. In the end, she couldn’t bear to tell the truth and simply forced a smile. “The Base has found a way to send a distress signal to the Floating City. The outer city’s self-destruct plan has been postponed. If the Floating City can arrive in time to rescue us, there’s still hope for everything!”

The moment she finished speaking, everyone first froze for a second, then varying degrees of joy and hope appeared on their faces.

“That’s great,” You Lan murmured with feeling.

Lao Xiang said that in these god-awful days, there was absolutely no news more worthy of celebration.

He said he wanted to have a few drinks, if they could get their hands on any alcohol nearby.

As soon as he said it, Lu Qi shot to his feet and scampered to the door in a few bounds like a monkey.

“Let’s go, Lao Xiang, we’ll go buy some alcohol!”

The moment the door closed, a light appeared in Ren Dong’s eyes. The corners of her mouth lifted unconsciously, yet they trembled slightly.

Soon, she lowered her gaze and pressed her lips together. In her downcast eyes, it seemed a glint of tears had appeared.

Chai Yuening picked up her glass tumbler, letting the warm steam carry her thoughts far away.

An unknown amount of time passed before the old man and the young man who had gone out returned with several bottles of alcohol and a basket of vegetables. They insisted that drinking required side dishes, then dove into the kitchen to busy themselves.

That day, the room was exceptionally lively.

“Xiang Hongfei, this alcohol you bought is terrible…”

“Just make do, Boss You. We’re all good citizens with no money.”

“Who are you calling out? Who are you calling out?”

“Eat, eat. The alcohol might be bad, but there’s nothing wrong with the food, right?”

“It’s passable…” You Lan said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, then letting out a drunken laugh. “The cooking is decent. If we can make it back to the Seventh District in this lifetime, you all can stop risking your lives topside and come work for me… Lu Qi, you can be a bouncer at my bar. Ren Dong, ah, Ren Dong, you can help me with the books… Lao Xiang, you can just be the cook. At your age, going topside again will break your bones.”

“What about our boss?” Lu Qi asked. “What about Du Xia, and Chu Ci?”

“Bouncers, you can all be bouncers. I won’t shortchange you!” You Lan opened her eyes, propped her chin on one hand, and said lazily, “My place is a mess, people causing trouble every other day… Times are changing. You can’t rely on mountains, you can’t rely on rivers, I have to rely on my own people…”

As she spoke, she squinted at Chai Yuening. “Captain Chai~~ You tell me, you tell me~ hic… Whenever your team needed something, I’ve always given my full support. Are… are we considered one of your own?”

“Yes, yes, of course. But we won’t be your bouncers. Just let us know if you’re in trouble,” Chai Yuening replied with a smile. “As for Lao Xiang, his old bones aren’t what they used to be, but his cooking has always been good. An early retirement to be a head chef at your place sounds fine.”

“Oh, please. Back when your old man was leading the team, I had the steadiest hands, the sharpest aim, and was the best driver of the lot. Even if I’m not as nimble as I used to be, I can still go for another ten years. You little rascals, don’t you look down on an ‘old soldier’ like me. I haven’t even had my fill of driving that new vehicle yet.”

“Pfft…”

In their temporary lodging, everyone sat around the low coffee table.

They ate side dishes, drank cheap alcohol, and chatted idly about everything under the sun.

Everything seemed to have returned to the way it was before, to those carefree days before the danger had descended.

The only pity was that Du Xia wasn’t there, and no one knew if she would be there in the days to come.

The lively gathering eventually came to an end.

The drunken ones left a mess behind, staggering back to their rooms to throw up.

Ren Dong, who hadn’t had much to drink, stayed with the teetotaling Chu Ci to help Chai Yuening clean up the room, which reeked of alcohol.

During the cleanup, the radio, as always, broadcasted things that sounded incredibly reassuring.

The Base never allowed any talk that could incite panic, even when its own high command had once fallen into despair.

If the outer city was saved this time, no one would ever know what a cruel decision the Base, which so loudly proclaimed freedom and hope, had once made.

After Ren Dong left, only the Base’s broadcast remained in the room once more.

Chai Yuening locked the door and turned to look at Chu Ci, who was sitting obediently on the sofa. A smile touched her lips. “Why didn’t you drink this time?”

Chu Ci shook her head and answered with a smile, “That stuff makes people feel awful.”

Chai Yuening: “Maybe we should have them buy you some juice next time. It’s sweet, and you won’t feel bad after drinking it.”

Chu Ci: “Is it expensive?”

Chai Yuening: “Much more expensive than water, but isn’t earning money all about living a better life?”

Chu Ci: “I’ve never earned any money before.”

Chai Yuening: “But I have.”

Chu Ci blinked, mercilessly shooting Chai Yuening down.

“No, you don’t. You still owe You Lan a mountain of debt.”

Chai Yuening froze, her brow furrowing slightly.

She was embarrassed for a moment, but then she suddenly remembered something and instantly held her head high, her chest puffed out.

“Didn’t You Lan say it this afternoon? We did something big in the Sixth District. Once the outer city is safe, I’ll go claim credit from the military. I’ll definitely get a huge bonus!”

As she spoke, Chai Yuening skipped lightly to the sofa and plopped down next to Chu Ci, making the whole sofa jolt.

Chu Ci turned her head to look at her. Chai Yuening just raised her eyebrows and promised, “Don’t worry, whatever you want to eat, I’ll be able to afford it!”

With that confident look in her eyes, anyone who knew would think she was talking about buying food, but anyone who didn’t would think she was promising mountains of gold and silver.

Chu Ci gazed at her, quietly gazing at her for a long time.

Finally, her lips curved up into a smile. “Then I’ll have to think hard about what delicious things to eat.”

Chai Yuening nodded and said no more, just silently watching Chu Ci.

Chu Ci was holding a book of poetry, filled with content that a person like her, who grew up with knives and guns, couldn’t get into.

Chai Yuening couldn’t help but grow more and more curious—curious about what kind of past Chu Ci truly had.

Agile, decisive with a gun, never making a sound even when injured, her eyes as tranquil as an old well, as if she had seen all the turmoil of the world, yet she was strangely half-ignorant about this world.

When despair swept over everyone, she seemed to have always been indifferent to the life and death of others, like a bystander observing everything.

But in the end, the one who chose to offer a sliver of hope to those strangers was this very same bystander.

How could such a person exist in this world?

The night deepened. The pocket watch showed eleven-twenty at night.

Chai Yuening washed up and got into bed first.

Not long after, the sound of someone washing up came from the bathroom. A little while later, the light in the outer room was turned off.

Chu Ci pushed open the bedroom door, which had been left slightly ajar, and climbed quietly onto the bed. Chai Yuening shifted inward, making more room for her.

A faint chill slipped into the thin spring quilt, making it hard to fall asleep for a moment.

“Chai Yuening.”

“Hm?”

“Dr. Ge said I look very sad.” In the darkness, Chu Ci spoke softly. “Is that true?”

“It seems so, but not entirely,” Chai Yuening replied in a low voice.

“Back in the Sixth District, I read in a book that human emotions can be contagious,” Chu Ci said, then asked curiously, “Does that mean if you’re sad, I’ll become sad?”

“I…”

“But actually, I think I’m quite happy. I don’t feel the sadness you all talk about.” Chu Ci interrupted Chai Yuening’s reply and said seriously, “If I do, it’s probably your fault.”

“Huh?” Chai Yuening suddenly felt at a loss for words. She opened her mouth for a long time before managing to ask, “How is it my fault?”

“You infected me.” Chu Ci’s tone was very serious, with a hint of grievance. “I was perfectly fine, and then suddenly I wasn’t. You must have infected me.”

“I…” Chai Yuening was at a loss for a rebuttal.

“This isn’t right of you,” Chu Ci muttered. “I’m not even a person, and I didn’t infect you, so how can you harm me?”

Chai Yuening was too stunned to speak.

She should have been sad. At least, the moment Chu Ci asked that first question, she felt she should be sad.

But now she was just a little bewildered.

She realized Chu Ci was genuinely blaming her, her tone aggrieved and unreasonable.

Faced with this sudden, twisted logic, Chai Yuening couldn’t help but fall into a deep thought.

She felt she should probably try to defend herself.

But just as she was about to speak, the person beside her moved again.

“I think I know what sadness is now,” Chu Ci pressed her lips together. “It really is your fault every time.”

As she spoke, she turned onto her side, her back to Chai Yuening, and began to mutter.

“The first time, you brought me into the Base and left me in the Ninth District.”

“The second time, you got me out of that little dark room, only to want me to go back to the Ninth District.”

“The third time, you looked at me with that strange expression. I thought you were starting to be afraid of me.”

“And then there’s these past two days…”

As she spoke, her voice grew quieter and quieter.

So quiet that even though the bedroom was silent and they were so close, the person beside her had to strain to hear what she was mumbling about.

Chai Yuening bit her lower lip, wanting to say something, but then she suddenly heard a soft sigh.

She froze for a second. When she came to her senses, she only heard a whisper as light as smoke.

That was what the unreasonable mutated being whispered to her that night…

“Chai Yuening, be a little happier.”

If you’re not happy, how can I be?

---

Author’s Notes:

Why does everyone think it’s about to get angsty? Isn’t it about to get sweet?

---

If you’d like to read ahead and support me, you can request extra chapters or get the full novel as an EPUB.