As the train door slowly slid open, a sense of fear inexplicably gripped Zhang Wenda's heart. When he heard Teacher Rabbit was about to leave, that fear only intensified.
"You… where are you going!?"
Teacher Rabbit's voice held no trace of ease. "To a place far, far away."
Hearing this, Zhang Wenda shot out his hand and gripped Teacher Rabbit's paw, his eyes red as he stared at him.
"You won't die! This is Thought Wave One! You won't die!!"
Teacher Rabbit squatted down and wiped away Zhang Wenda's tears. "Don't worry, your teacher isn't dead. I'm still alive. I just have to go to a place far, far away. It's so far that we won't be able to call or write to each other."
"I won't let you go! Don't get on the train! As long as you don't get on the train, you won't have to leave! No one can force you! If anyone tries to force you onto that train, I'll kill them!"
Seeing Zhang Wenda's body begin to destabilize, Teacher Rabbit knelt and gave him a warm hug.
In Teacher Rabbit's embrace, Zhang Wenda reverted to the appearance of a child.
"Please don't go, okay? I'm begging you…" Zhang Wenda's voice was a desperate plea.
"Wenda, I can't. I have to leave."
"Why…?" Tears streamed down Zhang Wenda's face.
Teacher Rabbit released Zhang Wenda and gently wiped away his tears. "This world is just the way it is. No matter how strange it gets, we adults don't have the right to ask why. It has rules, and we have to follow them."
Just then, Song Jianguo, her eyes also red, threw herself at Teacher Rabbit. Copying Zhang Wenda, she clung to him tightly, as if she too had realized what was happening.
Teacher Rabbit smiled at her, took the bottle of chili peppers from his pocket, and placed it in her hands. Then, he turned back to Zhang Wenda.
"Stop crying, Wenda. Your teacher isn't dead. You saved me, so you should be happy. Besides… I want to leave something for you. And let your family have a look too."
With that, he stood up, pulled down the zipper on his chest, and took off the entire rabbit costume.
When the rabbit head came off, Zhang Wenda saw the devil-may-care face of his uncle.
"No… It can't be! It can't!" Staring at his uncle's face, Zhang Wenda shook his head violently, as if trying to reject reality itself.
"Wenda, listen. In the future, if someone is incredibly nice to you for no reason, you have to be on your guard, you hear me? Not everyone is your uncle in disguise. Besides your own flesh and blood, nobody else would do something like this."
In utter disbelief, Zhang Wenda stumbled backward, unable to accept the truth, but his uncle grabbed him and held him fast.
"Wenda, the truth is… from the very beginning, I just saw how miserable you were and wanted to help."
"But I'm just a crude guy, your uncle. I fumbled around for ages and wasn't much help. But hey, at least I didn't lead you astray. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to leave with any peace of mind."
Hearing his words, Zhang Wenda's heart felt as if it were being torn apart. 'It's all my fault. This all happened because of me.'
He screamed himself hoarse, "I'm the one who's sorry! I'm the one who ruined you! If it weren't for me—"
"No! I'm the one who ruined you! Everything that's happened to you is my fault!" Song Tuba's voice boomed over Zhang Wenda's.
Song Tuba sighed, resting his right hand on Zhang Wenda's shoulder. "It was me," he said in a low voice. "It was me. Because I killed my own parents, your mother was traumatized. That's why her personality changed so drastically."
"All the torment and abuse you suffered at her hands… that was all caused by me. Wenda, I'm the one who has failed you."
Then, he ruffled Zhang Wenda's hair. "Luckily, I'm leaving something for you before I go. When you get back, you can find Bureau 507 to help you get rid of that monster heart."
"Also, Old Tan gave me his word. All the credit for my work will go to you. They'll transfer you to a desk job later. With the merits from this operation, even without a degree, you'll be on the fast track. You'll have a stable job for life. You'll be set."
Song Tuba continued to ramble, laying out a bright future for his nephew—a future completely different from his own life.
When his uncle finally fell silent, Zhang Wenda said nothing. He just gripped the hem of the man's clothes. "Don't go…"
Song Tuba cupped Zhang Wenda's face in his hands and said with utmost seriousness, "Wenda, everyone has to grow up eventually. You can't stay by the side of adults forever. The road ahead is one you must walk on your own."
After saying his piece, he turned to look at Song Jianguo, his expression hesitating for a moment. But in the end, he said nothing more, simply turning and boarding the train.
Zhang Wenda lunged forward, only to be thrown back as the metal door slammed shut.
The train began to move slowly, and Zhang Wenda started to run.
He leaped from the second-story window of the Xinhua Bookstore, chasing the train as it pulled away, waving desperately at the man in the carriage window. "Uncle! Uncle!!"
But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't catch up. He could only watch as the train grew smaller and smaller in the distance, until, with a final whistle, it flew up into the sky.
Under the watchful eyes of all below, the plume of white smoke rose higher and higher, eventually becoming a single star in the heavens.
By the time Song Jianguo caught up, she found Zhang Wenda collapsed on the school rooftop, clutching the rabbit costume and staring up at the twinkling star.
Seeing this, Song Jianguo didn't interfere. She just leaned gently against him, and together, with eyes still red, they watched that star in the sky. That night, both of them were lost in thought.
Time passed slowly. The sky began to brighten. When Zhang Wenda could no longer see the star, he looked around him once more.
As he watched, the school rapidly fell into ruin. In the distance, the old town transformed, morphing into a towering skyscraper of mannequins pieced together from prefabricated humans. In that moment, he had grown up.
He looked down at the furry rabbit costume in his arms. The once-oversized suit was now a perfect fit.
He put on the costume and zipped it up. As he did, its purple fur rapidly turned a spotless white.
Peering out through the costume's red eyes, he stood up, descended from the rooftop, and walked away from the abandoned school. He wandered blankly into the urban forest.
He walked and walked, and for reasons he didn't understand, Zhang Wenda eventually found himself standing before a colorful archway: the Youth Palace.
And just then, that familiar music began to play once more.
"Just want to quickly tell you
With the crayons that you gave me
I drew a picture to express-mail to you
Quickly tell you
How much I'm thinking of you
No matter how far away you may be
My heart will always be with you…"
At that moment, Zhang Wenda saw little animals come running out from under the arch—kittens, puppies, and mice, as well as little monkeys, piglets, and even little monsters.
When the little animals saw Zhang Wenda, they began to hop and skip with joy as they rushed toward him.
"Teacher Rabbit!! Teacher Rabbit!!"
(End of Volume One: The Child)
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