Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Adults
Who else could it be standing before him but the rabbit from the Youth Palace.
Zhang Wenda finally realized that the immense force wasn’t an attack from Ouyang. It was just the rabbit patting his shoulder in greeting.
’This guy still doesn’t know his own strength.’
Staring at the familiar purple rabbit, Zhang Wenda felt the immense pressure in his heart vanish completely, despite the teacher of unknown nature—human or ghost—standing right beside him.
He was about to walk over, but the rabbit simply reached out a huge, furry paw, lifted Zhang Wenda up, and set him on a nearby bench that was much taller than he was. Then, it pulled over a stool and sat down beside him.
"Want a lollipop?" Zhang Wenda offered one to the rabbit.
A furry paw swatted Zhang Wenda’s hand down, and he felt as if his wrist was about to be dislocated. "Don’t fidget. Listen to the teacher."
Teacher Ouyang, standing to the side, chuckled. "Hee hee... Teacher Rabbit from the Youth Palace told me all about your situation, so there’s no need to intentionally hide anything. In the future, if you run into any problems you can’t solve yourself, remember to tell me, understand?"
Zhang Wenda looked at Ouyang, then at the rabbit. ’This isn’t how I thought this would go.’
’From the sound of it, she called me to her office because the rabbit talked to her and told her I was in trouble?’
’So she called me here to help me? Not to eat me or spring some other kind of trap?’
WHAP! Zhang Wenda’s head was smacked hard. "The teacher is talking to you."
Grimacing, Zhang Wenda clutched his head and looked at the rabbit. "Couldn’t you have gone a little easier?"
Rubbing his head, Zhang Wenda glanced hesitantly at Teacher Ouyang, then grabbed the rabbit and started dragging it out into the hallway.
"Come over here. I have something to tell you."
Once the office door was shut and he was sure they couldn’t be overheard from inside, Zhang Wenda looked up at the rabbit and said, "Thanks for looking out for me, but you’ve got the wrong person. Ouyang is no good. There’s something wrong with her."
"What’s wrong with her?"
Zhang Wenda pulled out the ratio identifier and showed the screen to the rabbit.
"See? Ouyang isn’t human. She’s a monster, or... or something, I don’t know. A being I can’t possibly comprehend."
The rabbit took it with its big, furry paw and looked at it curiously.
When it saw the line showing a 100% reading, a look of surprise crossed its furry face.
Just as Zhang Wenda started to explain, he saw the rabbit lift the gadget, point it directly at itself, and then show him the screen.
Water: 13%
Protein: 32%
High-Density Parasitic Cyst Cluster: 42%
Proteoid Humus Polymer: 31%
Other: Trace
Zhang Wenda stared, dumbfounded. ’It’s not just Ouyang... even the rabbit is like this?’
"Wait, what in the world are you guys?! Are none of you human?" Zhang Wenda yelled in disbelief.
"Go back inside. Listen to what your teacher says. No matter what trouble you encounter, remember to find Teacher Ouyang. She’s your homeroom teacher."
After saying this, the rabbit slapped the ratio identifier back into Zhang Wenda’s hand and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Zhang Wenda’s shout stopped the rabbit in its tracks.
"I really don’t get it! I just can’t wrap my head around it! What are you?! Why is your physical composition different from mine? Are you even human?!"
The rabbit turned its head slightly and said slowly, "We’re adults."
"Adults?! Adults?" Zhang Wenda stumbled back two steps in disbelief. The rabbit’s words were beyond his comprehension.
Zhang Wenda’s reaction seemed to be what the rabbit expected. It continued calmly, "I know some things are hard for you to understand right now. That’s okay. You’ll get it when you’re older."
"I am grown up!" Zhang Wenda hurried in front of the rabbit, blocking its path with his arms spread wide. "In this world, are all adults monsters like this?"
The rabbit didn’t answer, merely standing there and watching Zhang Wenda in silence.
Zhang Wenda slowly lowered his outstretched arms, his voice dropping. "I’m not interrogating you. I just... I just really don’t know."
"This world is so alien to me. Everywhere I look, everything is so strange, so... incomprehensible."
"I might not show it, but I’m truly lost right now. I really don’t know how to understand this world or how to face it."
The rabbit squatted down, bringing its enormous head level with Zhang Wenda’s. "Do you trust me?"
"I do." Zhang Wenda nodded firmly, his expression serious.
"Then please believe me when I say that not telling you is for your own good."
"But—"
Before Zhang Wenda could finish, the rabbit cut him off. "Children have their rules, and adults have theirs. If we’re destined to be unable to change the rules, then our only choice is to adapt to them."
Hearing this, Zhang Wenda swallowed the words he was about to say. "I understand. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things difficult."
The rabbit parted its three-lobed mouth and spoke again. "Listen carefully. Although Teacher Ouyang is an ’adult’—a being you can’t yet comprehend—she will not harm you. You can go to her if you have any problems."
"Second, not all adults are good. If any adult is hostile toward you, remember to stay away from them, or go find Teacher Ouyang."
"Finally, even though you’re confused and want to quickly figure everything out, listen to me. Don’t try to puzzle it out, and don’t go exploring."
"The rules for adults and the rules for children operate on different frequencies. Learning about them ahead of time won’t help you at all right now. This is as much as I can help you."
Having said all that, the rabbit stood up and left without a backward glance.
Zhang Wenda returned to the classroom halfway through the second period. As the old man at the front of the class droned on, he remained lost in the rabbit’s words.
’Did I get it all wrong? Is this bizarre world actually a place where humans and monsters coexist? Am I just overreacting?’ Zhang Wenda stared blankly at the ratio identifier in his hand.
’Then why did it tell me not to think about things I can’t understand? In this world, when you come across something incomprehensible, aren’t you supposed to try and figure it out? Could ignoring it really be the best solution?’
Zhang Wenda really couldn’t make sense of it. He trusted the rabbit, but its words seemed to defy all logic, making them incredibly difficult to comprehend.
’What are ’adults’? Are the ’adults’ it mentioned really the same kind of adults that I understand?’
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