Zhang Wenda looked at the rabbit in front of him, listening to its words, and for a moment didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t expected it would actually come here to find him.
He spoke with a somewhat complicated expression, “Did you come to take me back?”
The rabbit didn’t answer, but instead asked, “Why were you hiding from me just now?”
Zhang Wenda had no answer to that question either—he didn’t know why. In truth, he wasn’t afraid of the rabbit taking him away, and he was no longer powerless like when he first arrived.
If he had to give a reason, it was that deep down, he was afraid. He feared that the rabbit who had once truly helped him might turn out to be a fake, just like Ouyang.
Even in the future, people who were genuinely kind to him were few and far between. He was afraid that the reckless yet gentle rabbit would vanish completely.
However, seeing the expression on the rabbit’s face now, Zhang Wenda felt somewhat relieved. It hadn’t changed—it was still the same rabbit as before.
“Thank you,” Zhang Wenda said. “That Special Ability Ticket helped me a lot. Really, it was a great help in understanding this world. We’re not even related, and yet I’m truly grateful.”
“It’s precisely because you helped me that I don’t want to make things hard for you. Do you still remember what you said that night?”
Zhang Wenda looked up at the rabbit. “You said you couldn’t help with solving the rules. I know you can’t help—I never took you for a genie to grant wishes.”“But since you can’t help, could you at least not stop me from trying to find a way myself?” As he finished speaking, Zhang Wenda turned and walked away with the others, not wanting to talk more with the rabbit.
He hadn’t gone far before the rabbit grabbed his arm. Its strength was still great, gripping his wrist like a handcuff.
When Zhang Wenda turned back with a complicated expression, expecting it to forcefully drag him away, he heard it say, “It’s already noon. You must be hungry, right? Let me treat you to a meal.”
The rabbit seemed more familiar with the area than Zhang Wenda. It didn’t walk far before stopping at a stir-fry food stall. The people eating there were all local vendors. “Want noodles?”
“I’ve never liked noodles since I was a kid.” Zhang Wenda shook his head, having been silent the entire way.
“If you don’t like noodles, then let’s have egg fried rice.” The rabbit pulled Zhang Wenda onto a long bench and sat down. Then it took out its wallet, pulled out its last yuan, and handed it to the vendor. “Boss, two egg fried rice—one spicy, one not.”
“Got it!”
Seeing this made Zhang Wenda’s heart ache a little. He let out a deep sigh and lowered his head, burying it in his arms.
The egg fried rice was quick to prepare. Soon, steaming plates were placed in front of Zhang Wenda.
“Eat up before it gets cold,” the rabbit said, picking up a jar of chili oil and dumping several spoonfuls into the already spicy rice. After a quick stir, the plate looked like it was soaked in red oil.
Looking at the steaming fried rice, Zhang Wenda picked up a spoon and began eating mouthful by mouthful. The rice was from the previous night, the oil was lard, and the green onions were spring onions—it tasted very good.
Meanwhile, Song Jianguo and the Lamp Spirit sat nearby, staring at each other with chopsticks in hand and blank looks on their faces, gazing at the empty table.
The rabbit didn’t even glance at them, as if they didn’t exist.
Although the fried rice was delicious, Zhang Wenda had no appetite in this atmosphere and put down his spoon halfway through.
The rabbit, with its three-part mouth stained with red oil, picked up Zhang Wenda’s half-finished rice and dumped it onto its own plate.
Seeing Zhang Wenda had put down his spoon, the rabbit chewed its rice and said, “Don’t blame Teacher Ouyang. She didn’t want it to be that way either.”
“That was in school. She’s a teacher. If you ask her like that, then she has to act that way.”
“Why? Is there some kind of barrier at school? Do you have to become a fake just because you’re a teacher there?” Zhang Wenda recalled Ouyang’s terrifying appearance.
At those words, the rabbit’s long ears twitched. “Wenda, you have to understand something. Only your world has the word ‘why.’ In the adult world, there’s no such thing as ‘why.’ There are only rules you follow. That’s the rule of adults.”
Zhang Wenda shook his head. “I don’t care what she’s like. I don’t even know her that well anyway.”
Once the rabbit finished the last bite of rice on its plate, it finally got to the point. “She wasn’t wrong. This place is dangerous. It’s not suitable for you.”
Zhang Wenda sat upright seriously, his expression growing heavy. “I’m not blind. I know it’s dangerous here. But I have no choice. Every day I’m tortured by the rules—it’s really unbearable. Do you understand?”
“I can’t find any solutions elsewhere. Right now, I can only try to figure it out from here.”
The rabbit turned to face him, looking down seriously. “Let’s leave here first, okay? I’ll help you with your problem.”
At those words, Zhang Wenda couldn’t bear it anymore. “Help? You already said you can’t help. How are you going to help? You’re already this broke—why are you still meddling in other people’s business?”
The rabbit calmly replied, “Because I’m your teacher.”
While Zhang Wenda was frozen in place, the rabbit hugged him again. “Come with me. I don’t want to see you getting into even more trouble just to solve a problem.”
Zhang Wenda felt a faint emotional stir in his heart, but in the end, he began to push the rabbit away. “I appreciate your kindness. You’re a good teacher. But unfortunately, I’m not a student. Everything I’ve encountered along the way—I’ve always handled it myself.”
He braced himself and stood up, walking toward the exit.
If the rabbit really wanted to stop him, he was ready to fight back. With Song Jianguo and Aunt Flo on his side, he was confident they could escape from the rabbit.
When he saw the rabbit’s wallet, Zhang Wenda no longer wanted to drag it into his troubles.
It wasn’t a superhero. No matter how strange, it was still just a rabbit. It had already helped him a lot—there was no need to burden it further.
Beside him, Song Jianguo shrugged at Aunt Flo and got up to follow.
Just as Zhang Wenda reentered the flea market, the rabbit’s voice came from behind. “I work at the Youth Center. I see students every day. I can tell at a glance whether someone’s a real student.”
Zhang Wenda stopped in his tracks, shocked, and looked back at the rabbit. “He figured it out?”
The rabbit stepped out and said, “If—just if—you really manage to solve the rules in the Network World, what do you plan to do afterward?”
“What?” Zhang Wenda thought he misheard. The rabbit had seen through him, and yet it only asked that?