INSIDER Chapter 49

Sunday at noon.

As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, a low cheer erupted in the classroom. The teacher stood at the podium and cleared their throat. “Students, I know you’re excited about having half a day off, but please quiet down for a moment. I just need to take a little bit of your time to finish this problem. It will only take a minute.”

Fifteen minutes later, the teacher put down the chalk. “Alright, that’s all for today,” they said, but before the students could start cheering, they quickly added, “Now let me assign your homework for today.”

Another five minutes passed. The students held their breath as the teacher scanned the room, finally saying, “Okay, class dismissed!”

As soon as everyone stood up, chaos erupted. Zhang Cheng, with his already packed bag, quickly ran to the front row and said to Lu Chu, “I definitely won’t be able to do my homework today. I’m just carrying my bag for show. Li Lan and the others won’t let me copy theirs, so make sure you let me copy your homework tomorrow morning!”

Without waiting for Lu Chu’s response, he bolted out of the classroom.

After waving goodbye to Lu Chu, Qian Wenhao also hurried away.

Soon, the classroom was almost empty.

Lu Chu sighed, “They really are eager to go home.”

That sense of belonging to a home was something he had long lost.

7 slung his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Lu Chu nodded. “Yeah, let’s go. The cafeteria might not be open at noon on Sundays, and there might be limited food. We’d better hurry.”

While eating in the cafeteria, Lu Chu and 7 ran into Zheng Wei. Zheng Wei kept his head down, wearing thick glasses, and quickly finished his meal before leaving the cafeteria.

Lu Chu and 7 exchanged a look. “Something’s not right,” Lu Chu said.

7 handed him a chicken leg. “Don’t worry.”

Lu Chu took a bite of the chicken leg. “Okay.”

After finishing their meal, they returned to their dormitory, where Zheng Wei was already lying on his bed facing the wall, seemingly asleep.

The dormitory had eight beds, with two bunk beds on each side. The room ended with a radiator and a window. Lu Chu and 7’s beds were on the top bunks on the east side, while Zheng Wei’s bed was on the lower bunk on the west side. This arrangement placed them relatively far apart within the room.

The afternoon and evening were free time for students who stayed on campus, as long as they didn’t leave the school grounds, to avoid accidents.

Since Lu Chu was particularly concerned about Zheng Wei, he decided to postpone his plan to thoroughly explore all the classrooms and labs while the school was quiet.

After washing up, Lu Chu climbed into his bed.

Facing Zheng Wei’s direction from the top bunk provided a wide view, allowing him to see clearly. During this season, a light blanket was sufficient for sleeping, which Lu Chu used to cover his chest, but Zheng Wei was wrapped in a heavy quilt, facing the wall with his face almost buried in the covers.

If Lu Chu remembered correctly, Zheng Wei had glanced at him several times before. As he pondered this, he watched Zheng Wei with a probing gaze.

Moments later, it seemed Zheng Wei had indeed fallen asleep. Lu Chu exchanged a quiet “goodnight” with 7 and closed his eyes for a short rest.

.

At 2:20 PM, Zheng Wei got up.

Lu Chu, a light sleeper, heard Zheng Wei getting up and leaving the room, which woke him up as well.

7 had been sitting up, leaning against the wall with a book. He hadn’t slept either. Seeing Zheng Wei awake, he continued reading but put the book down when he noticed Lu Chu was awake too. “Rest a bit more.”

Lu Chu smiled and shook his head. “No need, I don’t usually nap. I’m already refreshed after a short rest. What about you? Why didn’t you sleep?”

In previous “rounds,” Lu Chu remembered that 7 rarely slept, sometimes seeming to stay awake all night.

“I’m not used to sleeping,” 7 replied. “A short rest is enough for me to stay alert.”

In the early days, he had to remain extremely vigilant, with restless sleep or no sleep at all, staying constantly on guard. Eventually, he got used to not relying on long periods of sleep. Later, he became a clearer, no longer needing sleep to replenish energy.

During the recent “rounds” with Lu Chu, 7 had slept more than usual.

When Lu Chu was nearby, he could sleep peacefully, but he restrained himself, still sleeping very little.

In the past, he didn’t sleep because he didn’t need to. Now, he dared not sleep deeply because he needed to stay alert to protect the person beside him.

.

Zheng Wei left briefly and returned, likely having gone to the washroom.

Each floor of the dormitory building had washrooms and toilets at the east and west ends. Students usually chose the one closest to their dorm room. Room 318 was near the middle but slightly to the east, so Lu Chu and his roommates typically went to the east side washroom and toilet.

But Zheng Wei was different. Lu Chu noticed that he always went to the west side for washing up and using the toilet.

This behavior seemed to Zhang Cheng and the others like Zheng Wei simply wanted to avoid them, not even wanting to use the same washroom.

Zheng Wei returned and, after organizing his backpack, left again, probably to study, fitting his diligent student image.

Lu Chu had no reason to follow him, so he decided to explore the school thoroughly.

Heading out to wash up, Lu Chu suddenly recalled something and changed direction from the east side to the west side washroom.

The layout of the washrooms and toilets on the west and east sides was identical, mirrored.

On the west side, the washroom was adjacent to the stairwell. Entering the washroom, one saw two rows of long sinks that could accommodate over ten people at once, more if they squeezed in. By the door were two hot water dispensers. The west side also had a door leading to the toilets, with five cubicles on the west side and four on the east side, the entrance taking up one cubicle’s space.

Lu Chu found a spot to wash up, with 7 to his left.

This dormitory building was one of the older ones at Yucai High School, with some peeling walls and moss in the corners. After washing his face, Lu Chu noticed some pen marks on the wall. This was common, as students liked to write or draw on desks, walls, and even uniforms, leaving messages about their youthful thoughts.

What caught Lu Chu’s attention was the writing on the wall, “I hope we can go to the same high school!”

Lu Chu was surprised. “Did Yucai High School originally have a middle school section?”

7 glanced at the writing and nodded. “There was a middle school section here until about a year ago. Then it was moved to another campus.”

At that moment, another student who had stayed on campus came over to wash up and overheard their conversation. “You guys don’t know? Yucai High School is famous for its high university admission rate. Over time, the school focused more on the high school, and the middle school became less known. Eventually, the middle school was moved to another campus for better management of the high school students.”

“I see,” Lu Chu politely thanked him. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” the student waved it off. “Oh, by the way, this dormitory building used to house both middle and high school students. The middle school was on the west side and the high school on the east, separated by a wooden partition between rooms 322 and 324. After the middle school moved, the partition was removed. You’re in the second year, right?”

Lu Chu nodded.

“That explains it. You guys moved to this building after the arts and sciences division, so you might not know about this.”

“Oh, I have to go,” the helpful student said. “I promised to play ball on the field. Bye!”

“Goodbye.”

After the student left, Lu Chu and 7 also left the dormitory building.

The school was as quiet as during class time, with only a few people coming and going. The field was the busiest area.

Last time, Lu Chu and 7 had walked around the outside of the school buildings. This time, they entered the teaching buildings to observe the internal layout. In one of the ground floor classrooms, Lu Chu noticed some remnants of motivational stickers for the high school entrance exam on the walls, indicating that this was where the middle school students had their classes before moving out.

When they returned to the dormitory in the evening, Zheng Wei hadn’t come back yet. It was almost lights-out when Zheng Wei finally returned with his backpack.

After lights-out, the three of them lay down on their beds. Zheng Wei, as usual, covered himself with a heavy quilt, facing the wall to sleep.

Lu Chu and 7 wished each other goodnight. Lu Chu lay down and habitually looked at Zheng Wei’s bed from the upper bunk, illuminated by the moonlight.

In the moonlight, Lu Chu’s eyes were bright and clear as he gazed at Zheng Wei, his expression clean and captivating.

7’s throat moved slightly as he pressed his thin lips together. He reached over the rail of the upper bunk and covered Lu Chu’s eyes with his hand. “Don’t look.”

Don’t look at others with those eyes.