บท 3: Urgent News

As the morning arrived, the sun illuminated the room brightly.

Although the light woke up Xiaoyun, he could barely move as he was still a little hungover from the previous night.

Eventually, the hunger in his stomach started growling, forcing him to get up from the bed.

But before he got up fully, he quickly grabbed his phone to check first.

The time says it was already eight o'clock, and there were several messages from Chengyi and Pinli asking him where he had gone.

After replying to them individually, Xiaoyun went to the restroom to freshen himself up a little.

---

As Xiaoyun arrived downstairs, he noticed there were four people already sitting on the sofa.

"Come on, Qing Qing! You are so close!"

The one raising her voice was Leyan, seated on the left side of the sofa.

She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt paired with denim jeans, clearly trying to be more modest in her attire, with barely any skin shown.

However, her body size made the shirt pop up much more than usual.

Her long legs, held down tightly by the jeans, formed a curvy figure that made it look even more enticing.

"Mingming is too stupid! Why did I bet for him to win?" Yueyue yelled out in anger, with her face full of regrets.

Looking much more energetic than yesterday, she wore a white sports vest, tight yoga pants, and rocking a ponytail with a cap.

Although Yueyue looked more petite due to her smaller upper body, she clearly inherited Leyan's lower body, with her thick thighs and long legs.

"Everybody there is so bad. None deserve to win besides Ling Ling."

The one supporting Ling Ling was sitting on the far right side of the sofa, looking slightly older and almost like a mature version of Yueyue.

"This should be Yueyue's older sister, Yuqi." Xiaoyun thought to himself.

Compared to the other two who didn't wear makeup, he could tell Yuqi had put a lot of work into her face, with a slight makeup and lipstick applied.

But what made her stand out extra was her full office lady suit, the top side that could instantly catch every man's attention.

She clearly inherited Leyan's size upper body. But she didn't inherit her lower body as it looked thicker from what seemed to be a lack of exercise.

It was the opposite of Yueyue's slim and muscular or Leyan's long and thick at the right places.

"Sister Lin Lin, come on, I believe in you!"

The scream for Lin Lin came from the girl sitting in between Leyan and Yueyue.

She was much shorter than the other three, as her height was only up to Leyan's chest.

"She must be Yueyue's younger sister, Nami..." Xiaoyun noted in his head.

Besides her height, nothing can be seen underneath the blue and white high school uniform.

But he could tell Nami didn't inherit any of Leyan's traits as the uniform looked more empty than just a typical oversized school uniform.

Although she is not as beautiful as the other three, her slightly baby-fat face and twin ponytails were the cutest things Xiaoyun had witnessed.

It almost evoked a feeling deep inside Xiaoyun's heart to protect her cuteness at all costs.

"Um, good morning, everyone."

As soon as Xiaoyun spoke up and waved toward the four, Yuqi and Nami's faces were in complete shock.

It wasn't until he started clearing his throat that Yueyue ended the awkward atmosphere.

"This is my classmate Xiaoyun. He walked me home yesterday, and because it was so late, he couldn't return to the dormitory.

So I let him stay in Dad's office room for the night... Mom agreed to it as well."

After Yueyue finished explaining it, Leyan's face blushed a little as she nodded to confirm it.

"Mom, can you tell me next time? I don't even know there is a man at home."

Yuqi looked disgusted on her face, while Nami looked a little curious towards him.

"You were asleep then, so I didn't tell you. And you're the one that told me never to wake up you for any reason besides work."

After Leyan spoke up, the three girls returned their attention to the TV as the show suddenly started getting more and more hyped.

Seeing Xiaoyun awkwardly standing beside the sofa, Leyan told him to wait there while she headed inside the kitchen.

When she returned from the kitchen, she had a pair of chopsticks and a plate full of dumplings.

"Xiaoyun, come and try my dumplings." Leyan patted the only empty seat on her left side.

As he walked past the three of them on the sofa, he could immediately feel the cold look coming from Yuqi.

After sitting down, Leyan started using the chopstick to pick up the dumpling before moving it right before his mouth.

Seeing Leyan's enthusiasm for feeding him, Xiaoyun followed along and took a bite of it.

"The dumplings are delicious."

"Of course, I just cooked them this morning... If you like it, I can make more of it in the future."

When she picked up another piece of dumpling, Xiaoyun instinctively moved forward again and ate the dumpling from her chopstick.

"Hm, so good."

Hearing the two constantly chattering, Yueyue turned her head and finally noticed Leyan feeding Xiaoyun with admiration in her eyes.

A sudden surge of jealousy appeared in her mind, although she didn't know what she was jealous of.

At the same time, Xiaoyun quickly noticed Yueyue's facial expression changing, causing him to take over the plate and the chopstick.

"Um, I can eat this myself. Thank you, Miss Leyan for the dumpling."

After Xiaoyun finished speaking, Leyan's face blushed a little, as if she realized what she was doing was too close.

---

Just as the variety show competition was coming to an end, the TV suddenly cut to urgent news in bold letters.

The new anchor appeared in casual clothes rather than in uniform, almost as if they didn't have time to dress up.

"Hi everyone, I am Li Gang, today's news anchor. It is eight-forty on a Friday morning.

Unfortunately, all entertainment programming will be suspended as we just received an emergency notification from the government."

All five were completely surprised, as the emergency broadcast had not been used for a very long time.

"At two o'clock last night, an unknown virus broke out in the United States. From the videos on the internet, the patient's symptoms are very similar to rabies.

We now transferred to Mi Wang, who was at the white house conference."

The camera cuts to the hotel room, with a woman in the middle of the camera.

"Hi everyone, I'm Mi Wang. An hour ago, the White House press secretary hosted an emergency press conference.

They stated that a small rabies outbreak was under investigation. Currently, the US National Guards are already maintaining order in the four places where the outbreak occurred.

They had advised for people to remain calm——"

The camera cuts to another screen abruptly onto the next one.

"Hello, I'm Pinming. We are in front of the largest hospital in Los Angeles on the west coast of the United States.

The total number of cases in the United States has been updated to 35,000 people. The medical vehicles behind me are already moving in and out nonstop.

A resident said it had been happening for several hours now. When we tried to request permission to enter the hospital, security forbade us from going inside to interview the patients."

After Pinming finished speaking, the camera cut back to the news anchor.

"Thirty minutes ago, the EU held an emergency meeting and halted all planes from the United States from landing at European airports. The UK has also temporarily suspended aircraft from the Americas.

And as for domestic news, the foreign minister has also issued a no-fly order prohibiting aircraft departing from the United States from landing in any airports in China."

The news anchor paused for a second as he seemed to be conflicted about what to say next.

"Um, according to the advice of experts, please do not rush to buy food in a panic. The country currently has zero cases, and the army has begun to mobilize to be ready to help the police maintain order.

Experts are also investigating the virus's contagiousness. We invited the virologist professor to the capital tonight at six o'clock, and he will explain possible virus prevention."

The camera cuts to a list of cities displayed on the screen.

"All schools will be on pause until further notice, and all entertainment businesses are recommended to restrict their operating hours...

At this time, 20 cities have announced curfews tonight, lasting from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am. Please remain indoors.

Police officers will check all vehicles, and only emergency personnel and mobilized reserves are allowed to travel."

---

After the list was released, the emergency news began to replay itself as it cut back to the beginning of the announcement.

"We need to be prepared," Leyan commented as she looked much more alert than the other three girls by the news.

"It shouldn't have much impact here since it's in the United States, right? Besides, they had already sent in their soldiers to contain it. "

Yuqi didn't seem to worry much as she felt it was an overreaction by the government.

"There's so much air travel. It's going to get here at some point... It's not like we can't afford to prepare for it." Yueyue argued.

"But what should we do to prepare? Food? Weapons? Guns——"

Before Nami could finish suggesting, Yuqi immediately knocked on her head and cut her off.

"You're out of your mind, Nami. It's just a small disease outbreak, not some apocalypse."

Despite Yuqi's pushback, Leyan and Yueyue seemed to have sided with needing preparation.

"I'll go to the supermarket to buy some food for the house."

As Leyan got up and walked over to the garage, Yueyue also quickly got up from the sofa.

"Mom, I'll go with you."

With both of them out of the house, Yuqi also got up from her seat before turning over to Nami.

"I'm going to work, Nami. Take care of the house... And you better not do anything creepy to my sister."

Yuqi gently patted Nami's head, giving Xiaoyun a warning look before heading out of the house through the front door.

---

The two awkwardly sat in the living room as neither of them had anything to say to each other.

Eventually, Xiaoyun got the courage to get up from the sofa and decided to break the silence.

"I'm returning to the dormitory. It was nice meeting you, Nami, right?"

Nami nodded as she watched him walk all the way to the doorway. But she suddenly opened her mouth at the last second.

"Wait, don't leave yet!"

Xiaoyun paused as he turned back around, only to see Nami get up from the sofa before running over to him.

"Did you grow up in an orphanage?" Nami asked curiously.

He thought for a second, then nodded, patiently waiting for what she was about to say next.

To his surprise, Nami kept on waving her hand to signal him to squat down a little.

After lowering his height, Nami reached into his clothes and took out the necklace he had worn since childhood.

"I finally found it!"

Nami jumped with joy, his face full of excitement. But Xiaoyun looked a little confused, not understanding why she was so excited.

"What about my necklace?" Xiaoyun curiously asked.

She suddenly jumped into his arms, letting go of the necklace as she wrapped her around his back.

"I finally found you!" Nami excitedly announced out loud.

"Huh? Who's You?"

Xiaoyun was even more confused by Nami's sudden reaction, unable to understand what she meant.

But she kept staring him right in the eyes before whispering the answer to him.

"You're my long-lost brother."

The answer made him freeze for a second as he couldn't believe the words he had just heard.

"You're joking, right? This is not funny."

Xiaoyun immediately put Nami back on the ground, moving her hands away from his back.

"You saw the photo inside the office room, didn't you? And there was a boy next inside the photo, right?"

Xiaoyun nodded in agreement, but his mind still rejected that theory.

"Although mom said that boy was my uncle's son, when I asked my aunt, she told me my uncle's son had never been here.

Also, have you noticed that you and Yueyue are very similar in the point that—"

Before Nami could finish, he interrupted her with his counter-argument.

"There are so many people in the world who look very similar. Several billion people are living in this country.

I'm sure you are mixing me with someone else... Your brother is someone else, not me."

Seeing him repeatedly refuse to believe her answer, she finally pulls out her other proofs.

"I'm not kidding! Look, you, Dad, and Yueyue all have black spots on their necks. And if you really don't believe me, here's my necklace with my name.

It's the same model as yours, from the same company and everything, and it was a limited edition, too."

Nami quickly took out her necklace and handed it over to Xiaoyun, letting him examine both of the necklaces at once.

Holding the two necklaces in his hands, Xiaoyun still rejected the theory internally, as if what he had done with Leyan had come to mind.

"I… I can't be Leyan's son... Look, yours is a circle, and mine is a star. They are not the same model—"

Xiaoyun paused before finishing the whole sentence as Nami stared at his face with a confused look.

"I'm sorry, but can you give me some time to think about it first? Please keep this a secret between us. I need some time to think."

After returning Nami's necklace, Xiaoyun quickly turned around and rushed out of the house.

---

When Xiaoyun returned to the dormitory, he lay on the bed without saying a word.

"Are you okay, Xiaoyun?"

Chengyi paused the game as he noticed some tear marks on Xiaoyun's face.

Xiaoyun did not answer as he looked up at the upper bunk in silence, causing Pinli to notice Xiaoyun's silence and pause his game as well.

"Xiaoyun, if you have trouble, just tell us. We will help you overcome that challenge."

Chengyi offered his help as he started to get a little concerned by Xiaoyun's silence.

"Brother, you have saved my dad, and I can never repay you enough. Please, let us help you."

Despite Pinli's plead, the three sat silently for a few minutes before Xiaoyun got up from the bed.

"Would you be happy if you were orphaned and found your long-lost biological parent?"

The two thought for a second, and then Chengyi spoke first.

"It depends on the situation. For example, if my parents can't afford to support their children, it would be understandable.

Besides, it's been so long, I would have dropped any grudges I have against them."

Pinli spoke next and gave his opinion on the topic.

"I mean, most parents wanted to keep the kid, or else the kid wouldn't have been born in the first place. So the kid should be happy to find their biological parents."

"Unless you have a grudge against your biological parents before all of these," Chengyi added as a final note to Pinli's point.

Xiaoyun shook his head and asked the two of them another question.

"What if the person you like is now a part of your family?"

"Like cousins? I mean, it's kind of weird, but as long as it is a distant cousin, it should be fine."

Chengyi didn't think much and replied right away before Pinli gave his opinion next.

"Yeah, and if you are talking about direct relatives. That's just too rare to happen.

I mean, I had only seen those in niche local newspapers in those lovers turn out to be long lost siblings."

Seeing Xiaoyun still sitting in silence, the two of them immediately got a little concerned.

"Xiaoyun, did you fall in love with someone who is coincidentally a part of your long-lost family?

No way, right? You can't hit that jackpot that badly... Right?"

Seeing Xiaoyun not answering back, their faces started to change from nervousness to shock.

They couldn't believe those niche local newspapers had actually happened to someone in front of them.

However, out of nowhere, Xiaoyun quickly changed his face and smiled as he held up his phone in the air.

"Ha ha! I was just joking. You guys really fell for the oldest trick in the book.

You guys just got baited! Dumbass! I'm going to upload this to the hallway chat for everyone to see."

As he instantly photographed the two's shocked faces, they let out a sigh of relief before turning into annoyance.

"Geez, you scared both of us... Whatever."

The two of them quickly turned back around and went back to their game while Xiaoyun remained on the bed as he closed his phone.

"Even my best friends can't accept what I have done... what should I do?" Xiaoyun muttered to himself.

After thinking for a bit, he got up from the bed and looked down at his bunk bed.

Taking out the luggage, he pulled out a small pebble that looked extremely black, almost like an obsidian rock.

It was a rock given by Uncle Li during a trip to one of the mountains back in the villages.

Ever since he passed away, Xiaoyun has taken out the stone whenever he has a problem.

It was almost as if the stone could give him advice on facing life's challenges, even though it hadn't worked a single time.

"Grandpa, I finally found my family... But I had done forbidden things with my mom..."

Xiaoyun thought to himself as he rolled to the other side of the bed.

"Why did mom lie to Nami that the boy was not me? Why is she trying to hide my existence?

And what should I do now? Confess to Leyan? That's like the worst idea ever, right?"

Xiaoyun thought for a second but agreed to keep it a secret, at least for now.

Lying on the bed holding the stone, he eventually fell asleep in the middle of the day.

---

When Xiaoyun woke up, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. He was the only one in the room.

After heading over to the sink to wash his face, Xiaoyun felt fully refreshed.

"Huh, where's the stone?"

Xiaoyun searched around the room but couldn't find the black stone anywhere in the dorm at all.

"Forget it. The two of them must have taken revenge and hid the stone."

Xiaoyun sat in the dorm for a bit, then decided to take a walk outside the park.

Dozens of people were in front of the dormitory gate, all holding their luggage and waiting for a car to pick them up.

As he walked onto the street, he noticed it was empty, with barely anyone walking.

Everyone was in a car, heading toward the city's outskirts. Meanwhile, the road towards the city center was empty, with no cars at all.

"Geez, people are this scared by the news and flee in panic? Isn't this too much of an overreaction?"

Xiaoyun thought to himself as he walked into the park. As he continued to walk inside the park, his phone suddenly started ringing.

It was Pinli calling him.

"Hey Xiaoyun, are you awake?"

"Yeah, and I'm walking in the park right now."

"Have you read the news?"

Hearing Pinli's urgent voice, Xiaoyun scratched his head as he answered back with a single line.

"That morning's urgent news, right? Yeah, I watched it."

"Not the one in the morning. You didn't watch the one at noon? You need to get out of the city now!"

The phone call abruptly ended, confusing Xiaoyun even more as he opened his phone browser.

"What the hell is he talking about?"

As he began checking the news tabs on the phone, he was a bit shocked by the number of headlines.

"1: The United States has completely collapsed, and all connections have been cut off?"

"2: There are already 10,000 patients in Europe. When will it spread to us?"

"3: Live broadcast! Japan is already in chaos!"

"4: The virus is airborne? Within a thousand miles?!? Experts explanation here."

Feeling the news headline was beyond exaggerated, he clicked on the first one to check it for himself.

"As of one o'clock in the morning, I originally called my brother in the United States, only to hear that he didn't answer.

But then I called a few of my American colleagues, but they didn't respond either. In the end, I saw the video on a certain game forum. Everyone should see it for themselves."

Just as the video was about to play, the entire new article disappeared as an error message popped up.

Confused, Xiaoyun clicked on the second headline. This time, it was a video clip right from the beginning.

"Hello everyone, I'm Anwei. Everyone knows this virus has broken out worldwide, and some small countries have completely disappeared—"

The news article disappeared again, making him even more annoyed as he clicked on the third one.

"What the hell is going on..."

Xiaoyun muttered as he refreshed the news tab, but all of the news articles had completely stopped working. He didn't back down and started to search on the internet directly.

But every forum that mentioned anything about viruses was completely wiped out. Fearing something bad was happening, he immediately began to run back to the dormitory.

As he made it to the dorm gate, there were only a few people left in front of the gate.

Just as he ran up the stairs and entered his dorm room, Chengyi and Pinli already finished packing their luggage.

"You're finally back. Pack up quickly." Chengyi hurried Xiaoyun as he stood still.

"What the hell is happening?" Xiaoyun asked in confusion.

"The global virus has broken out, and many countries have been downed. Just pack up first."

Pinli replied as the two began helping Xiaoyun pack everything into his suitcase, shoving everything inside.

"Is the virus that serious?" Xiaoyun asked as they helped him zip up his full suitcase.

"They act like the zombie outbreak in the movie, and the whole world is going crazy right now. So what do you think?"

Chengyi replied as the three walked out of the dorm room, carrying their own suitcases down the stairs.

"Here's a video I saved. The zombies could even build a human ladder like those movies."

Pinli quickly opened a video on his phone and showed it to Xiaoyun to see.

In the video, the person recording was on the second floor. He first filmed a person being chased by a horde of zombies on the road.

Then, the camera turned to the other side, where the zombies were slowly building a zombie ladder up to the second floor of the other building.

"What? This got to be CGI and faked." Xiaoyun argued in disbelief.

"Fake? Then why is the government wiping the internet and suppressing any news about the virus? We are safe for now as there are no cases, but I am afraid it will be all over if someone is infected."

Xiaoyun realized what Chenyi said was true as he had just experienced the ban waves firsthand earlier.

"Everybody is saying that going to the countryside is the safest since there are fewer people there. Chengyi and I are going back to our hometown to seek refuge.

Why don't you go with us? You're alone, right? My dad has an extra spot in the car."

Pinli offered as the three of them stood at the dorm gate with their luggage in hand.

Xiaoyun thought for a while as he considered all his options, then shook his head in the end.

"No, thank you. I know where I'm going... You two have a safe journey."