Deep in the Living

Chapter 30 Funeral
Half a year passed, the summer ended and the winter solstice arrived.

The cold wind accompanied by light rain forced every student to put on thick winter school uniforms.

The first semester of senior year has come to an end.
The students each held an umbrella and trotted out of the campus.

Luo Di was still the same, leaving the campus almost on time. He didn't have the habit of carrying an umbrella, but just covered his head with the hood of his school uniform, and was the last one to leave the school under the gaze of the security uncle.

It has been a while since I left school, but a familiar voice has appeared at the school gate, which should have been quiet.

"Rody, hey!"

Looking up,

The squad leader, with half of his face buried in his scarf, was standing at the curb and waving frequently.

Seeing that Rody was still slow, she took the initiative to come over with an umbrella, which was just big enough to cover the two of them.

Luo Di whispered: "Is there no car to pick you up?"

"Today, the driver asked for leave because of family matters, so I took a taxi back by myself. But, school ended an hour earlier today, so I can go home a little later.

My home seems to be on the same route as yours, so I might as well wait for you to go together! I haven’t taken the bus for a long time, so this is a good opportunity to experience it.”

"You really sound like a young lady."

"Hey~ at least it lets you talk a little more."

In winter, half of the people are gone from the bus. Luo Di still sat in the last window seat as usual, but this time the seat next to him seemed a little crowded.

"You're using that [knife] okay?"

"It's OK. Occasionally, I can hear zombies grinding their teeth, but the monthly inspections by the Research Bureau show no problems."

"That's good. The entrance exam is only half a year away. I can even imagine the surprise on the faces of all the students in the school when you show this thing during the entrance physical test. Maybe you can get first place in the school."

"It doesn't matter, as long as I can join the company normally."

Rody stared out the window, as if he remembered something, but was quickly pulled back by a light elbow.

"What are your plans for the winter vacation? My family can give me three days of freedom. Do you want to organize everyone to go somewhere for fun?"

"No." Luo Di refused decisively. He had already arranged a 30-day movie-watching plan and didn't want it to be disrupted.

"Hey~ If it was Xiao Gao who called you, would you go? I saw you two doing push-ups together every day recently, and you kept chatting on the way back to the classroom after dinner."

"I really don't want to go."

"Ok."

The whole back row seemed to be silent as the conversation was going nowhere.

The squad leader also looked out the window along Luo Di's line of sight. Although he didn't know what was interesting to see, his heart gradually calmed down.

"We have arrived at resettlement community No. 13. The car door will close in ten seconds."

"gone."

Rody squeezed between the squad leader's legs and skillfully got off the bike around the pole.

What was a little strange was that when getting off the bus, Luo Di had a feeling he had never had before. He felt that such a perfunctory farewell to the winter vacation seemed not so good.

So he turned around and looked at the rear window of the bus, preparing to say goodbye to the monitor in a more formal way.

But before I started waving, I found that the squad leader who got off the bus with me was standing behind me.

"Why did you get off the bus?"

"Ah? Didn't I tell you before that I can go home later? Besides, you don't seem to have an umbrella with you, I can take you home."

"You should go home first. I don't need an umbrella."

"No." Wu Wen also chose to refuse this time, with seriousness in her eyes.

"Downstairs only."

"Great!" The serious squad leader immediately returned to normal and walked in front with brisk steps.

The two had just walked a short distance in the resettlement community when they heard a burst of wailing and yellow paper floating in the air.

Looking forward,

A funeral was being held downstairs in a residential building next to Luo Di's house.

The two of them stopped chatting and passed by as quietly as possible.

It seemed like it happened not long ago, and the relatives wearing black clothes at the scene were all crying.

When Luo Di passed by the mourning hall, he clasped his hands together and bowed his head in salute. The squad leader walking next to him also followed suit.

When the two of them bowed their heads together,
Call ~
A gust of cold wind blew by, and with the blessing of winter, it seemed to be able to penetrate into the skin and brush against the surface of the bones.

The coldness forced the two men to quicken their pace as they passed through the funeral area. In front of them was a building in the deepest part of the resettlement community, where Rody lived.

The squad leader had no intention of pressing further and paused.

The two stood together under the umbrella, arms pressed together.
The monitor reached out and pulled down the scarf in front of her, and put his wet lips as close as possible, almost touching Rody's ear, and whispered softly:
"Hey~ Did you see it just now? The portrait hanging in the mourning hall seems to be a young girl."

"I see. Stop discussing funeral matters."

Woo~ The monitor quickly covered his mouth, but immediately whispered: "What should I do~ I'm a little scared, how about you take me back to the bus stop?" "You should be braver than me, right?"

"Tsk~ I just wanted to talk to you more. After all, I can only stay with my tutor for the next month, which is really boring!
By the way, I have three days off during the winter vacation. Can I come to your house and do homework together? It shouldn’t be a problem, right? "

"Don't."

"Hey...bye, see you next semester."

The monitor stopped insisting and put his scarf back on. When he turned and left, his eyes seemed to have lost some of their luster.

Not long after she left, a vague voice came from behind her.

"If you want to do your homework... you can meet at a fast food restaurant not too far away. My home is not very convenient."

"it is good."

The monitor just replied quietly without turning around.

On the way back to the bus stop alone, when the squad leader passed by the door of the mourning hall again, she felt even colder, as if something was urging her to leave.

Rody had already reached the top floor.

"Dad, Mom, Sister, I'm back."

"How did you do on the exam?" came my father's voice from the kitchen.

"same as usual."

"Come and eat, we're waiting for you."

"I'm going to wash my hands."

When Luo Di went to the bathroom to wash his hands, he also looked outside through the window here, his eyes cast towards the bus stop outside the resettlement community. After catching sight of the familiar figure and the color of the umbrella, he turned and left.

Return to the dining table and sit with your family.

"Brother, we are going out to play during the holiday, do you want to go?"

"Don't go."

"Great! Then the responsibility of guarding the house will be left to you."

"Got it. Be careful on the road."

Living alone is what Luo Di likes most. He has even begun to fantasize about the happy pleasure of watching a movie, lifting dumbbells, and eating homemade sesame cakes.

……

【The tenth day of the Lunar New Year】

There are only ten days left until the end of winter vacation.
The family members embarked on their journey yesterday, and Luo Di officially started his happy single time.

He got up early in the morning and was eating steamed buns while cleaning. Just when everything was done and he was ready to do his homework.

dong dong!

Suddenly, a series of heavy knocks on the door came.

Luo Di looked at the time on his bracelet [08:40], but the community office starts at nine o'clock and they would never come to his house at this time.

He looked out the door through the peephole, but there was no one there.

"Misheard?"

Just as Luo Di turned around and left, ready to go back to his homework.

dong dong!

There was another knock on the door.
Rody rushed back to the bedroom and took out the machete wrapped in the shroud under the bed.

There was still no one through the cat's eye.

But this time Rody did not leave. Instead, he held the door handle with one hand and waited quietly.

dong dong!

When it knocked for the third time, he flung open the door and swung out the blade wrapped in white cloth.

His movement stopped in mid-air, and he saw a high school girl squatting at the door, already making a gesture of surrender.

"Rodi, do you have to be so cautious... You scared me to death."

"Monitor!?"

Rody subconsciously pulled back the door to block out the situation inside the room.

"Don't worry~ I won't go in without your permission.

Didn’t you say before that we could go to a fast food restaurant to do homework? I thought you would definitely reject me outright if I called you, so I just came here directly.

Are you going? It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to go, I’ll just ask Anna out.”

"Go, wait for me a moment."

(End of this chapter)