Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Shen Juanjuan huddled in the corner, about to drift off to sleep when the door suddenly opened from the outside. He squinted at the silhouette backlit by the light, and though his mind was still foggy, he immediately pulled off the cardboard sheet covering him and slowly sat up.

Ten minutes later, Shen Juanjuan was seated at a small table in the cafeteria, with two steaming sweet potatoes in a bowl in front of him and a bowl of radish soup.

—It wasn't just clear broth; there were three large pieces of radish in the soup.

With his right hand, Shen Juanjuan scooped up radish, while his left hand continuously fed the sweet potato into his mouth. The temperature in the cafeteria was quite high, and his body was warming up, but he still shivered occasionally out of habit.

Manager Chen sat across from him and asked, "Are the sweet potatoes good?"

"Two! Two!" Shen Juanjuan nodded vigorously, put down the spoon, and held up two fingers, eager to express his joy: "Two!"

He gave Manager Chen a grateful smile and flatteringly said, "Manager Chen, you're so nice." Then he drew his neck in and chuckled, "Can you catch me again tomorrow? Can you lock me up again?"

Manager Chen sighed, "Drink some hot soup, drink more, don’t talk."

"Okay, I'll drink the soup."

After finishing dinner, it was only eight o'clock. When Shen Juanjuan returned to the boys' section on the first floor of the dormitory, he saw children carrying basins moving back and forth in the hallway, some running naked back to their rooms, looking as if they had just taken a bath.

The manager struck the wall with a ruler, loudly and sternly: "Everyone go take a bath. There will be an inspection later. If anyone hasn't washed, three strikes with the ruler!"

Shen Juanjuan entered the dormitory and saw everyone undressing. Tang Yuanyuan and a few others were already completely naked, rushing out with their basins.

"Shen Juanjuan, you’re back?"

"Hurry up and undress, we're going to take a bath. There's hot water now."

"Shen Juanjuan, hurry up, we're going to take a hot bath."

Shen Juanjuan responded with an "Oh," and waited for those few to rush out before slowly walking back to his bed. He turned to look at Lin Duozhi, who was sitting on the opposite bed taking off his pants: "Are you going to wash too?"

Lin Duozhi moved slowly: "I don’t want to wash, but if I don’t, I’ll get beaten."

"Ah, I hate bathing the most."

"The manager said there’s hot water, so we have to bathe."

Shen Juanjuan grumbled, "Why can’t there be no hot water? Why does there have to be hot water? Cold water is much better."

Reluctantly, he took off his cotton coat, removed his tie, and put it in his pocket. But when he tried to take off his T-shirt, he got stuck at the collar and had to ask Lin Duozhi for help.

"Lin Duozhi, help me take off my shirt."

Lin Duozhi, who was already naked, was squatting by the bed: "Wait a moment."

"What are you doing?"

"I’m smelling my black blob."

Shen Juanjuan walked over and squatted down, peering under the bed with his head covered by his shirt. Lin Duozhi reached out to block him: "You can’t see."

"Have you not eaten any yet?"

"I’ll eat them slowly later." Lin Duozhi paused: "Right now, just smelling is enough."

"I only have three left, so I’ll eat them slowly too."

The manager started knocking the ruler again, urging them. Lin Duozhi quickly helped Shen Juanjuan take off his T-shirt. Both of them shivered as they picked up their basins and rushed to the bathroom.

In the middle of the dormitory corridor was an iron gate dividing the boys' and girls' sections. The bathroom was next to the iron gate, with a nearly two-meter-high wall separating the boys' and girls' sides.

The boys' section was steamy and crowded with naked children. After entering the bathroom, Shen Juanjuan and Lin Duozhi headed straight for the corner near the door, where they found their classmates. They all huddled together to wash.

Shen Juanjuan originally wanted to rinse off quickly and leave, but the manager shouted from the doorway: "There will be an inspection later. You must wash thoroughly before returning to your dormitories."

"Ah..." Shen Juanjuan sighed.

There were only five communal bars of soap in the boys' section, and they had to wait until the older students finished lathering themselves before it was their turn. Shen Juanjuan and the others huddled under the faucets, listening to the older students laughing and shouting.

Separated by a half-wall, the girls’ side was also chattering non-stop. Somehow, the older students on both sides started arguing.

"You stinky men, your smell has drifted over here."

"How dare you call us stinky? How many heads did you shave today? Probably more than ten, you lice queens!"

"Stinky men!"

"Lice queens!"

Suddenly, a basin of water was splashed over, pouring over the heads of the nearest older boys.

"The lice queens attacked!"

"Counterattack!"

"Revenge!"

The older boys grabbed their basins and splashed water back, and the girls on the other side didn’t back down, splashing basin after basin of water over.

The manager was nowhere to be seen, and both sides fought harder, turning the wall into a waterfall. The middle schoolers soon joined the battle, with the older students splashing water and the middle schoolers fetching and passing basins of water. Only the younger students, caught in the crossfire, screamed and hid in various corners.

Shen Juanjuan and his friends were already in the corner, now crouching against the wall, closing their eyes and wiping the water from their faces while shouting randomly, "Psychic barrier! Psychic barrier!"

The battle continued until the managers returned. Although someone was supposed to be punished, the managers were lenient, perhaps understanding that they hadn’t used hot water in a long time. They only made the older students stand in a row and gave them a mild scolding.

After washing, the younger students left the bathroom one by one, allowing the manager to inspect them, wave them through, and then let them leave.

Shen Juanjuan didn't wash his back; he found it too difficult to reach around. But when the supervisor made everyone turn in circles for inspection, Shen Juanjuan preemptively spoke up: "If there was a student from another class—someone else, not me—what if they didn't wash their back? Could you tell?"

The supervisor looked at Shen Juanjuan expressionlessly and pointed toward the bath area. "Go wash again, and make sure your back is clean."

"Oh."

At night, the lights in Shen Juanjuan's dormitory were already off, but the children were still excited, whispering about the water fight earlier.

"Tang Yuanyuan said, "Water was about to splash us, so I used a mental barrier to block it all."

"Mental barrier!" Shen Juanjuan held his palms in front of his chest. "I used one too."

"Ling Duozhi whispered, "Mental barrier!"

Other kids whispered, "Mental barrier!"

Chen Hongliang whispered, "Mental barrier!"

The supervisor's voice echoed down the hallway. "Chen Hongliang from Room 16, everyone else is quiet, but you're still making noise. One demerit."

Chen Hongliang immediately shut his mouth.

Lin Duozhi suddenly asked, "Shen Juanjuan, you didn't come to the cafeteria for dinner. Are you hungry?"

"Not hungry. I ate a lot." Shen Juanjuan perked up and held up two fingers. "I had two sweet potatoes, two! And I drank carrot soup with three big pieces of carrot... Look, this big!"

"Wow, why did you get to eat two sweet potatoes and three big pieces of carrot? We only had one millet cake for dinner, and it was terrible." The children who had been lying down now propped themselves up, their eyes shining brightly in the dark.

Shen Juanjuan fell into deep thought. "Because I was being punished, right? Those being punished get to eat more."

The children in the dormitory fell silent for a moment, then one of them asked enviously, "How can I get put in detention too?"

"I want to be put in detention too."

"I do too."

Chen Hongliang chimed in, "Me too."

"Chen Hongliang from Room 16, you're not only not sleeping but also disturbing others. Get dressed and come out here! Stand in the hallway for half an hour!" The supervisor's voice sounded again from outside.

Scared, Chen Hongliang immediately closed his mouth, lay still on the bed, and grabbed the side rail.

"Go to sleep properly, no more talking," the supervisor warned once more without insisting on him coming out.

Tang Yuanyuan stared at him. "Chen Hongliang, maybe if you stand there long enough, the supervisor will let you eat sweet potatoes and carrots."

Chen Hongliang quickly threw off his covers and started getting dressed.

As Chen Hongliang hopefully went to stand in the hallway, the other children stopped chatting and closed their eyes to sleep.

"What are you going to think about tonight before you fall asleep? I'm going to think about a big drumstick," Lin Duozhi whispered, audible only to Shen Juanjuan.

"I'll think about a big bun." Shen Juanjuan turned over and changed his mind. "No, I'll think about my brother... My brother probably ate two big sweet potatoes and a big bun and is already asleep."

Chu Ya lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. In the quiet room, only the ticking of the wall clock could be heard. He glanced at the clock; it was already nine o'clock, but his father, Chu Chengyu, hadn't returned home yet.

He got up, tied the belt of his robe as he walked down the stairs, and saw his mother, Qin Qin, sitting on the sofa in the living room winding yarn balls.

Qin Qin swiftly wound the yarn ball, and the loop of yarn in front of her floated in mid-air, as if an invisible person was holding it for her.

"Dad hasn't come back yet?" Chu Ya asked.

"No, today's meeting must be important," Qin Qin said, putting down the yarn ball. "Are you hungry? You didn't eat much for dinner. I can heat something up for you."

"Not hungry."

Chu Ya walked to the sofa, picked up the floating loop of yarn, and placed it on his wrist. As he moved his arm, a chair suddenly lifted off the ground and floated behind him.

Without looking, Chu Ya sat down, and Qin Qin continued winding the yarn ball. Mother and son chatted casually.

"Can you sense what your quantum beast is yet?" Qin Qin asked.

Chu Ya shook his head slightly. "Not yet."

"Don't worry. I only saw mine when I broke through. During the differentiation period, I would think about raccoons every day, so naturally, my quantum beast became a raccoon. What kind of quantum beast do you want? Do you visualize its form every night before bed?"

Chu Ya never told his parents what kind of quantum beast he wanted, and now he just pursed his lips. "I've visualized it every night."

"You're quite tight-lipped, which makes me even more curious," Qin Qin laughed.

"What is your quantum beast doing?" Chu Ya changed the subject.

Qin Qin glanced at his side. "It's pouring you some water."

Chu Ya took the cup floating in mid-air, thanked the air, and said, "Today, on my way home, I could see the vague forms of other people's quantum beasts, but I've never seen Mom's raccoon or Dad's blue tiger."

Qin Qin smiled faintly. "Soon, you'll be able to see them."

"Okay."

Mother and son fell silent. Qin Qin glanced at the time, a hint of unease in her expression.

"Today's meeting must be important. I didn't dare call Brother Chu, but I couldn't reach Vice Officer Yun or Gu Lin either."

"They might be in the meeting too," Chu Ya comforted her.

"That's true... but why am I feeling so anxious? It feels like something big is about to happen." Qin Qin put the yarn ball on her lap. "Why is it so hot in here? Is it going to rain?"

Chu Ya said, "I'll open the window to let some fresh air in."

Chu Ya got up to push open the window, but he did not feel even a hint of wind. The air was damp and hot, like sticky glue coating his skin and nostrils, feeling not much better than inside the room.

Lightning illuminated the sky, casting a bright glow over the area. He looked at the distant planting buildings, flickering in and out of darkness, and said to Qin Qin, "Indeed, a heavy storm is coming soon."