บท 29: Chapter 24 A Custom-Made Game
Cheng Ting froze for a moment, but still instinctively looked in the direction of ten o'clock. At first, he didn't notice anything, but after careful observation, he did indeed see a small black dot move.
He immediately became serious, found a rock to use as cover, and when the enemy suddenly popped up, he surged forward and fired a burst.
The screen displayed a kill message instantly.
"He's so fat!"
Cheng Ting blurted out without thinking, but quickly quieted down again and moved forward to loot.
Although Cheng Ting was trying to hide his emotions, the rare supplies he had gotten and the uncontrollable shaking of his body due to excitement made it clear that he was quite happy at the moment.
"The play area is about to shrink, entering the circle from the northeast side is safer. There are mountains there, lots of rocks, plenty of cover, and we can block those coming in from behind."
Cheng Ting didn't respond, but after finishing looting, he still ran towards the northeast.
Just like that, with Lu Zhixing guiding him from behind like a guide dog, Cheng Ting actually killed two or three people on the way and smoothly made it to the final circle.
It was a pity that his shooting skills were still lacking, and he didn't survive until the end. But from the look of excitement on his face, this was already the best result he had achieved in recent times.
Although Cheng Ting never looked back, Lu Zhixing could clearly feel his attitude softening. The game had brought the two of them closer together.
Cheng's uncle also breathed a sigh of relief. He could feel his son's attitude loosening. Although it might not be ideal for a care worker to play games with his son, it was only for three days. As long as Cheng Ting could stay at home peacefully until he returned from his business trip, playing games wasn't really an issue.
At worst, it was like spending the money for three days of a care worker's service to hire a gaming companion for his son, who could also take care of his daily needs.
But Lu Zhixing had more in mind than just that.
After playing two rounds of the game with Cheng Ting, Lu Zhixing casually said, "Little Ting, playing games all the time isn't that interesting. How about your brother takes you out for a spin? The air outside is really fresh today."
To his surprise, Cheng Ting reacted violently, "I won't go!"
Lu Zhixing didn't mind, "Really, I'm not lying to you. Let's go out for an ice cream cone, and we can shoot balloons with an air gun in the park."
Cheng Ting became even more agitated, "I don't want to go! I don't want to leave the house! I don't want to sit in a wheelchair! Each and every one of you are forcing me, do you know that other people look at me like I'm a monster! Why can't you just let me stay at home alone!"
Seeing this, Cheng's uncle quickly lowered his voice to Lu Zhixing, "Let's just leave it, Xiao Lu. Maybe you can just stay home and play games with him. If he doesn't want to go out, then he doesn't have to."
Lu Zhixing still spoke gently, "What's wrong with sitting in a wheelchair? I'll sit in one with you. My wheelchair skills are really good. I play outside in a wheelchair every day and can even spin in place."
Cheng Ting turned his head, "Are you kidding me!"
Having used a wheelchair himself, he was well aware of how inconvenient it was to go out, not to mention enduring the various looks from passerby. Both physically and psychologically, he strongly resisted the idea of going out in a wheelchair.
"I'm not kidding you, don't believe me? Come to the living room, and I'll show you a spin," Lu Zhixing said.
Lu Zhixing went to the living room, and soon, Cheng's uncle also helped Cheng Ting into the wheelchair to the living room.
Originally reluctant and resistant, Cheng Ting was stunned when he arrived in the living room.
Because Lu Zhixing was indeed spinning in the wheelchair on the spot!
He skillfully grabbed each wheel and exerted force in opposite directions while slightly leaning back to maintain balance. It was like a circus act, making the wheelchair spin in a flashy manner.
Cheng Ting's eyes widened slightly, a look of disbelief plastered across his face.
Could one really spin in a wheelchair?
Lu Zhixing's performance didn't stop there; he could even lift the front wheel off the ground while maintaining balance on the two back wheels using his body, swaying back and forth like a circus performer on a unicycle, very agilely.
Watching the various flashy performances, Cheng Ting's attention was completely captured, and Cheng's uncle was also dumbfounded. He never imagined that this young-looking university student care worker would have mastered such a miraculous skill.
Is this what care workers have come to nowadays?
"See, I wasn't lying to you, was I? If you feel embarrassed, then come out with me in a wheelchair. Everyone will be looking at me, and no one will notice you," Lu Zhixing said.
Lu Zhixing wheeled himself up to Cheng Ting, and in an instant, the two were almost the same height, with no distance between them.
Cheng Ting lowered his head, "But... I still don't want to go out. Last time I went to school, I passed by the corridor outside the teaching building, all five floors of students were looking at me, following me... When I walk on the street, everyone's gaze is on me, as if I'm a monster..."
Lu Zhixing fell silent for a moment, then took out a mask from his pocket, "Then let's wear this, and no one will recognize us!"
With that, he put on his own mask, and then helped Cheng Ting with his.
"I'm pretty experienced in this area, anyway, as long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassed ones are others.
"You see, with masks on, no one recognizes us. I'll go in front, you follow behind, I'll draw all the attention!"
Cheng Ting was conflicted. He looked up at his father.
Seeing there might be a chance, Cheng's uncle quickly said, "Right, with masks, no one will recognize you. Look, even your uncle isn't afraid, what are you scared of?"
Lu Zhixing opened his phone, "Look, ice cream is on sale today, buy one get one free. Let's go have some, or it'll be gone tomorrow!"
"As he spoke, he waved the promotional page on his phone in front of Cheng Ting.
Cheng Ting hesitated for a while but eventually nodded his head.
...
That day, Lu Zhixing spent the whole time accompanying Cheng Ting outdoors.
Though Uncle Cheng pretended to see them out, he was undoubtedly worried and followed at a distance, fearing that the two of them might encounter some particular inconvenience while traveling in their wheelchairs.
What he hadn't expected was that Lu Zhixing seemed to know the area like the back of his hand; whether it was taking the bus, the subway, or walking through a shopping mall, he always found the best routes.
There were no issues whatsoever with eating or using the restroom outside.
The two of them not only went to a fast-food restaurant for ice cream cones but also visited bookstores, arcades, movie theaters, and other places.
Many people still cast curious glances at them on the road, but this time, Lu Zhixing didn't use the "I Am A Tree" skill because he wanted to stand in front of Cheng Ting and block all those gazes.
After that day, Uncle Cheng's worries vanished, and he could leave Cheng Ting in Lu Zhixing's care while he went on business trips with peace of mind.
Before leaving, he repeatedly emphasized the need for safety when going out and to make more phone calls and video chats when possible.
In the following three days, Lu Zhixing could be said to have taken Cheng Ting to tour almost half of Jinghai City, even making a trip to the largest amusement park in Jinghai.
This experience was also very new and exciting for Lu Zhixing; although he had been out in his wheelchair a few times before, he had never gone very far and had turned back at the sight of any significant inconvenience.
But this time, armed with the knowledge of barrier-free travel, he turned into an old hand at navigating the city, and the various difficulties and dangers on the road could no longer hinder him.
Moreover, Lu Zhixing intentionally wanted to visit more places; he took this opportunity to let Cheng Ting feel more of the outside world's beauty and understand that there's nothing shameful about being in a wheelchair. He wanted to show him that he wasn't a monster and that he, too, had the right to embrace sunlight and life.
What left the deepest impression on both of them turned out to be the trip to the amusement park.
Initially, Lu Zhixing had worried that it might be inconvenient for the two of them to visit the amusement park, but upon arrival, he discovered accessibility facilities were even better maintained than in the shopping malls.
The amusement park had specialized design modifications for disabled guests in almost all attractions, and staff provided assistance, making the entire experience very comfortable.
There was even a special pool lift for disabled people in the swimming pool, allowing them to enter the pool and play in the water while seated on the lift.
However, Lu Zhixing also noticed some unreasonable aspects of urban planning throughout those three days.
As a relatively developed city, Jinghai had more refined accessibility features than smaller cities, yet for disabled people, there were still many inconvenient places.
Various obstacles akin to moats for wheelchairs still cropped up regularly, tactile paving along roadsides was often occupied by haphazardly parked shared bicycles, some roadside shops only had steps and no ramps, some shopping malls completely lacked accessible restrooms, not to mention various long barriers and bollards erected to separate roads...
Even in Jinghai, while these issues weren't particularly common, encountering just one could be incredibly discouraging.
If it had not been for Lu Zhixing constantly encouraging and motivating Cheng Ting, he would have found it almost impossible to continue.
In places where the slopes were too steep, Lu Zhixing had to get out and push Cheng Ting up.
Although the surprised looks from passersby that seemed to suggest "medical miracle" made Lu Zhixing somewhat embarrassed, he still tried to appear relaxed and composed to set a good example for Cheng Ting, even managing to chat and joke with people around them.
If Jinghai was like this, what more the less economically developed small cities? The situation there would likely be even worse.
At this moment, Lu Zhixing deeply understood why there were so many disabled people in the country, yet so few were seen on the roads. It wasn't because they didn't want to go out but simply because going out was too inconvenient for them.
...
The three days went by quickly.
Uncle Cheng returned from his business trip and was profusely thankful to Lu Zhixing.
After escorting Lu Zhixing to the entrance of the residential complex, Uncle Cheng hesitated for a moment but then made up his mind and voiced his thoughts.
"Lu, I really want to thank you for these past few days. Little Ting had a great time with you, and he's been smiling a lot more. Could I trouble you to come and keep him company more often in the future? Or maybe we could sign a long-term contract.
"Don't worry about time and compensation, we can discuss that."
Lu Zhixing shook his head slightly. "To tell you the truth, Uncle Cheng, I'm actually quite busy usually, and I just happened to have some time recently. I'm afraid I can't commit to long-term care, as I don't have that much time available to me.
"However, I have a question. It seems Little Ting is still very concerned about his mother, and he seems to hold a strong sense of guilt. What's that about?"
Uncle Cheng sighed. "Ah... How should I put it, Little Ting has always felt guilty about his mother's death. He insisted on going out to play that day, and then they had the car accident. Maybe he feels like he really let his mother down.
"I've told him many times that it wasn't his fault, but he just won't listen."
Lu Zhixing nodded. "I understand, Uncle Cheng."
He paused slightly, then added, "I really don't have much time to accompany Little Ting, but... I can give him a gift."
Uncle Cheng was somewhat surprised. "A gift?"
Lu Zhixing looked at his identity that was nearly complete after three days of high-intensity role-playing as a "Paralytic Patient who is positive, optimistic, and full of hope for life," and said, "Yes, I plan to give Little Ting a game, a game made especially for him."
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