The next day, the phone alarm woke him up.
Bai Chen Zhu crawled out of bed listlessly and touched his forehead.
He had a fever.
The spot on his arm where he had been scratched last night burned incessantly. His body was covered in bruises, and his face sported an additional panda eye bruise that hurt with the slightest touch. Bai Chen Zhu exhaled a breath of hot air and mockingly unlocked his phone.
‘Had he just come back to life less than a day ago, and now he was going to die again?’
That man from last night had clearly been on the verge of turning into a zombie. Could he, who had been bitten by him, survive more than a few days?
Social media platforms remained calm and peaceful, as if nothing had happened. He glanced at his class schedule, turned off all the phone alarms, tossed it aside, and went back to sleep.
His life was hanging by a thread, the apocalypse was coming—why bother going to school?
It seemed heaven was deliberately tormenting Bai Chen Zhu.
He burned with fever for two days, drifting in and out of sleep. The fever neither broke nor did the illness kill him.
This couldn’t go on. Bai Chen Zhu’s head throbbed painfully. Weak and frail, he changed clothes, grabbed his phone, and staggered out the door to the nearest hospital.
The hospital was noisy, filled with children’s screams, patients’ wails, impatient voices from family members, and more, all mixed together. Bai Chen Zhu scanned the area—many people had fever patches on their foreheads, and the infusion area was packed solid.
Bai Chen Zhu got registered, had his temperature checked, and queued for the doctor.
There were many people at the entrance, and the machine droned on mechanically, calling names. He found an empty seat, his cheeks flushed red, his body heat astonishing. He listlessly undid a few shirt buttons for some air.
In a half-awake daze, Bai Chen Zhu heard an argument erupt from the consultation room.
“I’ve told you, I’ve had fever three times already! Every time you give me IV drip of cefixime—where does rabies spread that fast? It’s clearly a misdiagnosis, clearly a new virus…” The voice gradually faded, and the peering patients outside couldn’t hear the rest.
All they heard was the doctor’s icy dismissal: “Are you the doctor or am I? Get out! Don’t hold up others from seeing the doctor.”
A young man between teenager and adult stormed out with his prescription slip, full of resentment, still muttering under his breath.
Bai Chen Zhu quietly sized up the man as he brushed past.
Very young, dressed casually. Black hooded sweatshirt, gray shorts, white shoes and socks—full of student vibe.
The man noticed Bai Chen Zhu, his eyes lit up, and he opened his mouth to speak—
The calling machine rang, announcing Bai Chen Zhu’s name.
Bai Chen Zhu withdrew his gaze, stood up, brushed past the young man, and entered the consultation room he had just left.
As soon as he entered, the doctor asked, “Where are you unwell?”
Bai Chen Zhu said, “Fever.”
He showed the doctor the paper with the temperature reading that the nurse had just written.
The doctor nodded and asked routinely, “Have you been bitten by anything recently?”
Bitten? Bai Chen Zhu was stunned for a moment before realizing—did the authorities already have countermeasures?
He quickly rolled up his shirt sleeve to show the doctor. “Two days ago, a red-eyed man scratched my arm.”
The doctor glanced indifferently, without even inspecting closely, and handed him the prescription. “There’s a new strain of rabies going around lately. Be careful outside. You’re just low-grade fever now—go queue for your meds, rest well at home.”
So they were mistaking the zombie virus for rabies. Bai Chen Zhu frowned, disliking the doctor’s casual attitude. He leaned forward earnestly and corrected, “It’s not rabies, it’s the zombie virus.”
Hearing this, the doctor just chuckled twice, as if he had heard similar things before.
The doctor didn’t want to dwell and said dismissively, “Don’t overthink it, go get your meds.”
Bai Chen Zhu took the slip and left.
During the wait for his meds, he suddenly thought that since he was already here, he should check on the original owner’s congenital heart disease too. He registered at another department and spent half the day completing all possible tests that day.
While waiting for the results, he headed to the pharmacy.
The pharmacy was close to the infusion area, which was crowded, seats all taken. Everyone had bandages or wound dressings to varying degrees; latecomers could only stand in the aisles, holding their own IV bottles.
As Bai Chen Zhu passed by, the young man standing nearby, dozing off, nodded his head repeatedly. His right hand was on the IV drip, left hand holding the bottle high to let the fluid flow smoothly into the vein.
Perhaps too sleepy, his left hand slipped down a bit, about to droop. Bai Chen Zhu’s eyelids twitched—he darted forward in one step and steadied the IV bottle.
“Hm?” The young man fully woke up, yawning as he looked at the person before him, sizing him up and down before breaking into a carefree grin. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem.” Bai Chen Zhu let go, then realized this young man looked familiar—wasn’t he the one from the consultation room earlier?
He couldn’t help but look twice more.
The young man perked up a bit, sleep fading from his eyes. “Our school’s suspended classes. Does Teacher have time to come over lately?”
Teacher? Wasn’t the original owner a university student?
Caught off guard by running into an acquaintance, Bai Chen Zhu’s heart skipped a beat. His mind raced through scenarios. Instead of answering, he calmly turned the question back. “Not feeling great lately—how about you?”
“Me?” The young man grinned sheepishly, raising his hand to scratch the back of his head but stopping awkwardly as the IV tugged. “I’ve been sick a few times lately, fell behind in studies. Thought my ranking would drop, but guess what, Teacher? I made it into the top two hundred in the latest mock exam!”
He proudly patted his chest.
“I just heard you telling the doctor—you’ve had fever three times already, right?” Bai Chen Zhu paused. “Too many antibiotic shots aren’t good. Studies matter, but health is the foundation. Take proper leave to rest, then catch up.”
“Makes sense.” The young man nodded. “Gotta strike while the iron is hot, right? Everyone’s under the weather—this is my chance to surge ahead on the bends! Teacher still hasn’t said if you’ll come tutor me these days?”
It circled back again. Bai Chen Zhu drew in a cold breath.
“I’m going to get my meds first— we’ll chat on the phone later.” With long strides, he found an excuse and slipped away quickly.
The young man hesitated for a few seconds in place, then trotted after him, IV bottle in hand, chattering away. “Teacher, Teacher, that bandage on your arm—did you get bitten too?”
Bai Chen Zhu couldn’t shake the young man and gave a helpless look. “Strange? Isn’t everyone in the infusion area like this?”
“True, so I’m thinking—if this is some weird virus, maybe we’ll all awaken powers!” The young man’s thoughts jumped quickly, already leaping from virus to superpowers.
He hopped along after Bai Chen Zhu, babbling on. “But I’ve been bitten three times—why haven’t I transformed yet?”
The chuunibyou teen was a bit troubled.
“Stop bouncing—stand still.” Bai Chen Zhu frowned at his hopping.
“Ah? Oh, okay!”
Bai Chen Zhu glanced at the electronic screen above the pharmacy. The young man stared intently at his profile, waiting for him to speak.
Bai Chen Zhu’s calm facade was cracking.
Not only that, the enthusiastic young man treated his misfortunes like badges of honor. Without any qualms, he rolled up his hoodie sleeve to show his arm wounds. “Look, Teacher!”
This troublesome guy! Bai Chen Zhu hurriedly steadied his swinging IV bottle.
Unsure of the exact ‘teacher-student’ dynamic, Bai Chen Zhu could only grit his teeth and placate him insincerely. “Impressive—bitten repeatedly and still fine. Maybe you’re a heaven-chosen ability user?”
Infected people typically fell into three categories: ability users, ordinary people, zombies.
Repeated infections had no effect on ability users or zombies, but ordinary people could still turn into either after multiple exposures.
Though it was just kid-soothing talk, the young man ate it up.
Hearing he might have superpowers, he instantly perked up, eyes shining excitedly. “Teacher, Teacher, what power do you think I’ll awaken? Wind, thunder, water, fire, earth? Or space system, mental system, light system, dark system…”
He rattled off every possibility. Sounded like he’d read a ton of novels and watched movies in those genres.
“Hm…” Bai Chen Zhu stared at the excited face before him. Even knowing the young man treated infection lightly as entertainment, he shattered the illusion seriously. “Probably none of those.”
The young man clearly didn’t believe him and protested, “How could it not be?” listing a bunch of possibilities.
Bai Chen Zhu parted his lips just as the broadcast called his name.
He seized the chance to stop talking and went to get his meds.
Unexpectedly, the young man followed without hesitation, like a persistent tail, chattering nonstop.
Bai Chen Zhu glanced at the overexcited guy. “Even if superpowers exist, shouldn’t they evolve from human capabilities? How could over-the-top powers appear out of nowhere?”
The young man widened his eyes, clearly disagreeing. “Why not? We’ve all dreamed about it—can’t we dream big?”
Bai Chen Zhu: …
He stopped wasting words.
Yet the chuunibyou teen tried hard to ‘convince’ Bai Chen Zhu—or maybe he was just bored and latched onto an acquaintance to yap.
When Bai Chen Zhu went to pick up his ECG results, he followed. When Bai Chen Zhu entered a consultation room, he squatted outside.
The two held opposing views—more accurately, the young man chattered unilaterally while Bai Chen Zhu occasionally tossed in a line to humor the kid—debating “what powers ability users would have” all the way.
The infusion ended, and Bai Chen Zhu’s test results came out. The overly familiar young man was still not satisfied and even wanted to follow him home.
Bai Chen Zhu frowned, pressing a hand to the young man’s forehead. “Stop. Go home.”
The young man looked at him pitifully, but Bai Chen Zhu remained unmoved.
Unable to resist the puppy eyes, Bai Chen Zhu sighed. “Don’t you need to go back to study?”
According to the guy’s own account, this was someone who went to class even with a fever.
“Maybe not? I’ll listen to Teacher.” The young man hesitated. “I thought I could tough out this illness, but school’s got some crazies biting people on sight. My family doesn’t believe me, thinks I’m slacking off. Exams are just months away…”
He glanced down at his bite wounds, then grinned toothily. “My life’s too precious—better take leave.”
Bai Chen Zhu cautioned him, “Life is indeed important. Be careful going back—maybe the apocalypse is coming?”
“Apocalypse? Th-that probably won’t happen, right?” The young man, who had just been fantasizing about his powers, froze, wanting to say more but holding back, a bit panicked.
His joking around relied on believing society would stay stable even with a new virus.
The young man clumsily changed the subject. “Teacher, when did you get those earrings? Those ginkgo leaves look really nice.”
Men with earrings were rare, so after staring curiously, he couldn’t resist reaching out.
Bai Chen Zhu slapped away his eager paw and bid him farewell, taking his bag of meds home.
On the way, his phone vibrated once. Bai Chen Zhu pulled it out for a look.
High School Tutor – Tang Zhao (Saturday afternoon): Cat Peeking.JPG
So it was a high school kid. Bai Chen Zhu raised a brow and casually replied with a smiley-plus-rose emoji from the app.
The evening glow outside was warm. His steps lightened on the road, eyes sparkling, lips curved slightly.
When he got the report, Bai Chen Zhu examined it carefully several times and even confirmed with the doctor.
A gentle breeze blew past. Bai Chen Zhu looked up at the orange sunset on the horizon, his mood unprecedentedly relaxed.
The original owner had no ear piercings, and this body had no congenital heart disease… This was his body!
His youthful, vigorous body from his twenties, moles and all, identical. Just somehow much frailer than his robust prime back then.
But if the price of rebirth was just frailty, that was already a great outcome.
The gloom in his heart dispersed, sunlight flooding in. Bai Chen Zhu’s lips curved faintly, warmth entering his eyes. Only now did he truly feel alive from another world, his steps light and brisk.
The streets bustled with people, but beneath the lively facade lurked surging undercurrents. Bai Chen Zhu had already spotted several numb expressions in the crowd, tempering his joy.
Looking down at the bandage on his arm, emotions mixed in his heart. He sighed—why couldn’t his life ever settle down?
