Chapter 6: Do You Want Me to Feed You?

Description

Lin Zhiyi opened the thermos and ladled out a bowl of porridge for Liuli.

The porridge was pale yellow, carrying a hint of meat aroma, with chunks of lean meat and Chinese yam settled at the bottom.

It was a nutritious porridge perfect for a patient.

Lin Zhiyi helped Liuli sit up in bed, propping her back against the headboard, then handed her the bowl of porridge.

“You still have the electrodes on you. I’ll ask when they can be taken off later. For now, don’t move too much.”

“Okay…”

The IV needle in Liuli’s hand had been removed long ago.

All the fluids had already been administered.

Liuli reached out her hand, but it trembled uncontrollably in the air.

“No strength in your hand?” Lin Zhiyi stared at the hand shaking almost like it had Parkinson’s.

“Mm… I really don’t have much strength. It shouldn’t be a problem though.”

“It’s shaking that badly… I’ll feed you then.”

“Huh…? This… this isn’t really appropriate…”

“Your hand can’t hold anything, right? If you want to eat, I have to feed you.”

“…Um… I, I’ll be fine!”

Lin Zhiyi scooped up half a spoonful of porridge and held the handle out to Liuli.

“Then try holding this.”

“Okay, okay… Hey!”

Liuli took the spoon, but it flailed wildly from the shaking of her hand, sending the porridge flying back into the bowl.

“I’ll just eat later…” Liuli sheepishly set the spoon back into the bowl.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Mm… I guess I’m not that hungry after all.”

“…………….”

‘She doesn’t hate me, does she…? Well, I can’t blame her. I did put her through such serious injuries.’

Lin Zhiyi opened her tablet again and swiped and tapped through various pages.

She opened a new paper about some anomaly, underlined several keywords and key data points, then saved the flashback clips.

Meanwhile, Liuli watched Lin Zhiyi with some embarrassment.

‘What do I do…? Why did Zhiyi姐姐 stop talking…? Did she think I’m too much trouble? Could the test results from earlier have disappointed her…? What do I do, what do I do…’

The atmosphere between them grew delicate, stuck in a standstill.

In the end, it was Liuli who decided to break the deadlock.

“Um… Zhiyi姐姐?”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… I’m sorry.”

“Hm? Why are you apologizing?” Lin Zhiyi found it hard to believe.

She had imagined Liuli blaming her, or saying nothing at all, but she never imagined Liuli would apologize to her.

After all… Liuli was the one who got hurt.

“It’s just… that, um, I didn’t pass the test, did I? I let down your expectations, and on top of that, I ended up like this…”

“Liuli.”

Lin Zhiyi… couldn’t listen to this anymore.

Really.

“Wh… What?”

“I’m the one who should be apologizing. Liuli, I’m sorry.”

“Huh…”

“I promised to guarantee your safety and health, but… because of some personal reasons on my end, although the process wasn’t against any rules, I still let you suffer such serious injuries.”

“As the administrator, the responsibility for this incident falls on me.”

“As for that test… the test didn’t have any strict requirements, and you didn’t let anyone down.”

“But I… aren’t I just causing you trouble like this?”

“Listen to me.”

Lin Zhiyi lightly bit her lip.

This conversation was suffocating her.

Why would a child this age have such thoughts?

She was injured this badly, yet she was still worried about being a burden to others.

“This was an experimental accident. You’re the victim. You didn’t trouble anyone. It was my error in judgment that got you hurt.”

“But…”

“Why… do you feel like it’s your fault?”

“Mm… I, I don’t know. I just feel… if something goes wrong, I always feel… I need to apologize.”

“Is it… something from your dreams?”

“Huh…? Wh, what thing?” Liuli was a bit surprised.

She really had dreamed of so many fragments… those were experiences from her past.

She couldn’t have blurted everything out in her sleep-talk, could she?

“You had nightmares and kept talking in your sleep. I was right there taking care of you.”

So she really did spill everything…

Damn it…

“How could this… Ah, I don’t mean to blame Zhiyi姐姐! It’s just… talking in my sleep and all… it’s a bit embarrassing.”

“But… um… while I was dreaming, I felt like someone was encouraging me… and held my hand… Was that Zhiyi姐姐?”

“…” Lin Zhiyi gave an unspoken nod of acknowledgment.

“Thank you, Zhiyi姐姐…”

“It’s nothing. It’s… what I should do.”

Lin Zhiyi’s hands typed away on the tablet, but her eyes stayed fixed on Liuli.

“In your dream… what did you see?”

“Mm… some things from when I was in school. Because I… I… um… my classmates often got together… um… and then…”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to force yourself.”

“In the dream, there was also a boy… his situation was about the same as mine, but I don’t remember seeing him in my class.”

“Still, he felt really familiar.”

“Do you remember what that boy’s name was?”

“I think it was something like Bai Liu…?”

“Where did you go to middle school?”

“Daheng Middle School…”

“The public-private partnership one?”

“Yeah.”

“…” Liuli glanced at Lin Zhiyi’s hands, which hadn’t stopped typing.

“Are you… sending a message to the Containment Facility?”

“…Yes.”

“Then… is everything we’re talking about…”

“No. Anything from our conversations, I summarize and modify before sending… I have to protect your privacy, after all.”

“You don’t have to take care of me that much… Someone like me…”

“Don’t say that. You’re kind and friendly to others. You don’t need to be so insecure.”

“But… alright… Thank you, Zhiyi姐姐, for being so good to me.”

“I’m just doing my duty… Keeping your emotions stable is also part of my job. There’s nothing to thank me for.”

“But Zhiyi姐姐, you’re still good to me. You’re so patient with me and take such good care of me… The fact that you’re good to me doesn’t change just because it’s your job…”

Lin Zhiyi’s typing hand stopped.

“Even if the kindness toward you has ulterior motives, you’d still be grateful?”

“Of course I’d be grateful if someone is good to me. When someone is good to me, I feel happy… And happiness isn’t fake, is it?”

What kind of feeling was this…?

Lin Zhiyi didn’t know.

She felt something clogged in her chest, and her eyes were a little dry.

‘Is she comforting me…? Or is she genuinely happy about it…? Either way…’

Either way, Liuli was a well-behaved, pitiful, good child.

“Um… if that boy is connected to my ability, will the Containment Facility send people to investigate?”

“Yes. Why?”

“If the investigation results come out, can you tell me? I’m a bit concerned… After all, no matter how hard I think about it now, I can’t find any memory of seeing him in middle school.”

“It’s like he just suddenly appeared in my head.”

“I can… I’ll let my superiors know. If it’s approved, I’ll tell you what’s found.”

“Though, earlier I thought it was just a coincidence… I really do have an ability to avoid injury… That’s amazing.”

“Today’s incident has already been confirmed… Your ability comes from yourself, not from something else.”

“If your ability came from another anomaly, the suppression field wouldn’t have had such a strong effect on you.”

“Your violent reaction… shows your ability is inseparable from your body and your life.”

“At this level, it’s almost certain that you are—”

Lin Zhiyi didn’t finish the sentence.

“I am… an anomaly? Am I really…? You guys said anomalies are scary things. Will I become like that?”

“I believe you won’t. Didn’t you play with Xiangling Cat yesterday?”

“An anomaly designation is just about anomaly index and reality distortion. Being an anomaly doesn’t stop you from being human.”

“The only difference might be… you’ll have to stay in the Containment Facility for a long time.”

“But… is that really okay? From now on, your life will be completely disconnected from that of an ordinary high school girl.”

“Although I do really want to keep going to school… but… life here is pretty good too.”

“That’s good to hear. I was worried you might not accept staying here for too long.”

In truth, when Liuli heard that she could stay here, there was a small flicker of joy in her heart.

When she first arrived at the Containment Facility, she really was afraid life here would be hard, and that because she wasn’t studying for the unified college entrance exam, her future would be bleak.

But life here—you could apply for whatever you wanted, there was delicious food, people who treated her well, and adorable cats.

This life was a thousand times better than outside.

She’d been thinking about it that night when she was playing that dark-souls-style game—life in this place was theoretically pretty comfortable.

If only she could stay here…

Then even if she didn’t go to school and couldn’t find a good job later, it wouldn’t be a problem, right?

“I’m feeling a bit better… Let me try eating something.”

Liuli reached out to pick up the porridge on the table, but her hand was still trembling.

“…I’ll feed you after all. Don’t push yourself. Patients should just rest properly.”

“Alright… Sorry for the trouble, Zhiyi姐姐.”

Lin Zhiyi picked up the bowl and spoon, scooped up some porridge, and brought it to Liuli’s lips.

“Ah…” Liuli closed her eyes and opened her small, delicate pink mouth.

“BANG!”

The ward door was thrown open forcefully.

“Lizhiyi~ The little white bird is awake…”

Lisa witnessed the scene.

Lin Zhiyi was like a caring older sister, holding a bowl of porridge with a spoon, feeding the sick Liuli in bed.

‘It’s a feeding play, huh. Those two are moving fast.’

“You two get along so well, making progress at lightning speed~ Then I won’t worry about you two anymore. I’ll send the message to your terminal, little Zhiyi. Bye~”

Lisa quickly shut the door.

“Wh… What…?” Everything happened so fast that Liuli couldn’t even react.

“Don’t mind her… She probably misunderstood something again. I’ll explain it to her later. Let’s keep eating the porridge.”

“Mm… Ah…”

“How does it taste?”

“It’s pretty good. Lean meat and yam porridge… My mom used to cook this porridge for me too.”

“After that… I probably haven’t had it in about three years…”

“Doesn’t your file say your parents passed away when you were in elementary school…?”

“Hm? Yeah… Ah, I must have misremembered… It just feels like it all happened yesterday.”

“It’s fine. Keep eating.”

“Ah…”