Chapter 19
Mu Xiao froze. Ling Qi’s words instantly made her imagination run through countless versions.
Her mother died early? Her father raised her carelessly? Then when something happened, he abandoned Ling Qi? Or perhaps her father left little Ling Qi in some small hometown town and never appeared again?
In short, none of them were good.
Thinking of this, Mu Xiao felt somewhat awkward and looked at Ling Qi apologetically. “I’m sorry.”
Ling Qi raised her brows and glanced at Mu Xiao. “Sorry for what?” Judging from her tone, she truly did not know.
“…For bringing up your parents.” Mu Xiao could only brace herself and answer, only to see Ling Qi smile indifferently.
“It isn’t anything sad. There’s just one question I can’t figure out.” Ling Qi rarely said a few extra words, and her tone made Mu Xiao feel that she truly thought so.
Ling Qi had no feelings for her “father.”
Mu Xiao thought about it and felt that made sense. If she had been abandoned by her father since childhood, she would not have any so-called blood ties or family affection either!
After figuring this out, Mu Xiao smiled and said to Ling Qi, “You have us. Once we get out, if you want to find your dad, I’ll help you look too. Otherwise, just come with me. No matter what the world becomes, life will always get better and better!”
At this moment, Mu Xiao forgot about the evolved zombie outside the door that was terrifyingly fast, and also forgot all the troublesome matters piling up.
Life would always get better and better. This was something she had always firmly believed.
Since she had failed to kill herself with sleeping pills at the very beginning, then she had to work hard to survive and make her days better.
Ling Qi looked at Mu Xiao the entire time. Although the room was completely dark, this did not affect Ling Qi.
She clearly saw the expression on Mu Xiao’s face, saw her eyes flickering with light, and inexplicably felt a trace of yearning.
From the time she had memories until now, she had only ever been alive. She had never thought about living.
What were good days like? Ling Qi had never thought about it, nor could she imagine it.
But she seemed to see it in the almost arrogant words of the person before her.
Without realizing it, the two of them fell asleep again.
When Mu Xiao woke up again, the sky was already bright. The moment she moved, she felt her neck ache terribly. Only then did she notice that she had actually slept leaning against the wall, with her head resting on Ling Qi’s shoulder.
Looking at Ling Qi, who had woken because of her movement, Mu Xiao became even more embarrassed. “Ling Qi, I don’t even know how I fell asleep again. Hurry and check if your shoulder is okay.”
She had been using it as a pillow for half the night. Hopefully she had not crushed it flat!
“It’s fine.” Ling Qi only raised her hand and pressed her shoulder twice, not saying much.
Mu Xiao felt somewhat awkward. Just then, there was movement from An Qi and An Ming on the other side, so she simply stood up and stamped her sore legs. “I’ll go over there and take a look. If you’re hungry, take food from the bag!”
When Mu Xiao went over, An Ming was using saline solution to wash An Qi’s face.
Seeing Mu Xiao come over, An Ming pointed at a box on the storage rack nearby. “Use whatever you like. To be honest, most of these things probably won’t be used anymore anyway.”
Mu Xiao nodded and took out two packets of saline solution, but she was not in a hurry to use them—she was still embarrassed. She would give them to Ling Qi in a while.
Seeing An Qi’s sparkling eyes and unconcealable joy, Mu Xiao could not help feeling somewhat envious. “An Qi found Doctor An, so she’s very happy.”
An Qi immediately nodded. “I like Mommy the most!”
After saying this, she suddenly covered her mouth, looked at her mommy and then at Mu Xiao, and immediately declared seriously, “I like Mu Xiao Sister too!”
This made Mu Xiao laugh. She blinked and whispered to An Qi, “I like An Qi too. Don’t tell anyone, okay~”
“Okay!” An Qi smiled very happily.
An Ming watched from the side and unconsciously revealed a gentle expression. She crouched down and touched An Qi’s head, then suddenly took off a jade pendant hanging from a red cord around her neck. The jade pendant was small and exquisite, carved with a phoenix bird.
She hung the jade pendant around An Qi’s neck and carefully adjusted the red cotton cord to make it more suitable for An Qi. After tucking the jade pendant into An Qi’s clothes, An Ming looked at An Qi and smiled.
“I already know the general situation. This small city isn’t suitable to stay in for long. While the zombie outbreak has just begun and there aren’t many of those kinds of zombies outside yet, it would be better to leave this place earlier.”
“Mommy?” An Qi did not quite understand An Ming’s actions and looked at her in confusion.
An Ming smiled and led An Qi to the window, looking at the sky outside that had only just begun to turn pale.
It was still raining, fine and continuous. There were not too many zombies moving back and forth on the street.
Mu Xiao also followed. What An Ming had just said was clearly directed at her.
“About one or two hundred kilometers to the northeast is Qingzhou City. There’s a military garrison there. No matter what, they’ll take action.” This time, An Ming directly raised her head and spoke to Mu Xiao. “If the situation is truly terrible, those stationed troops will always think of a way to move toward the capital. If there’s no other choice, after reaching the capital, you can look for Qiqi’s father.”
“Mommy?!” An Qi interrupted An Ming. She kept feeling as if something was wrong.
An Ming smiled and stroked An Qi’s cheek. “Qiqi still remembers what Daddy looks like, right?”
An Qi shook her head repeatedly, unwilling to listen to her mommy continue. She reached out, wanting a hug.
An Ming did not refuse. She bent down and let An Qi hug her neck, and she also embraced An Qi.
Mu Xiao’s eyes moved slightly. She lowered her head and saw that An Ming’s bandaged hand had remained hanging down the entire time—she was hugging An Qi with her uninjured right hand.
Mu Xiao could not help taking a step back.
She did not want to admit what she saw, and even less did she want to admit what she guessed.
“You’re all awake? We need to think of a way to get out. I wonder if that especially fast zombie outside is still there.” Yi Sheng’s voice suddenly came over. He had just woken up and was still rubbing his eyes, not noticing the subtle atmosphere between the three of them for the moment.
This sentence was like breaking the last trace of peace. An Ming soothingly patted An Qi’s back, but then left no room for doubt as she made An Qi let go of her.
When An Qi did not want to do her homework and wanted to watch cartoons first, An Ming would pat her like this, and An Qi would always obediently listen.
This time, An Qi’s hands trembled. In the end, she still obediently let go.
An Ming turned her head toward the window, reached out, flipped open the window handle, and pushed outward.
A crack opened. The air outside blew into the room, making everyone feel refreshed, but they also knew what this meant.
The windows here all had fixed specifications. Although they could be opened, the opening was not wide enough for a person to climb through. And every floor’s windows were made of hard tempered glass, extremely sturdy.
“I don’t think forcefully smashing the glass is a wise choice.” An Ming shrugged. “Leaving aside the fact that the noise would attract zombies, I don’t think anyone here is confident they can safely descend using ropes made from bedsheets.”
Clearly, An Ming was telling the truth. But what she said next made Yi Sheng turn pale with shock.
“So, I’ll go out and scout the way.”
When An Ming said this, she was very calm.
Mu Xiao’s heart sank to the bottom. She looked at An Qi. The little girl had her head lowered, both hands raised to tightly grip An Ming’s right hand. No one knew what she was thinking.
“I’ll go instead. I even participated in the 400-meter race at the school sports meet back in university, and my result was pretty good.” Yi Sheng immediately stepped forward.
He was the only man present, and An Ming was also a senior he had always respected. No matter what, he was unwilling to let An Ming step out and take the risk.
“There’s no need to say anything. I’ll go.” An Ming smiled and lowered her gaze to her arm, which had been hanging down unmoving the entire time.
Everyone followed her gaze. The wound was bandaged, and it did not look like there was anything wrong.
“Although I performed blocking treatment immediately, it seems it still didn’t work.” An Ming spoke very calmly, so calmly that the hand seemed as if it did not belong to her.
“That’s impossible!” Yi Sheng walked forward in shock, but after taking two steps, he hesitated.
An Ming smiled slightly. “I can already clearly feel stiffness in my left arm and loss of control. In just the past thirty minutes, numbness has also appeared in my left shoulder. Although the limb has not shown any visible external mutation for the time being, however…”
She paused slightly and glanced at An Qi beside her right hand. Still, she almost cruelly stated the details.
“According to calculation, the amount of time I can remain conscious will not exceed three hours.”
Everyone fell silent.
No one knew what to say or what to do at a time like this. The despair of powerlessness kept spreading.
Before, even if they did not know where An Ming was, there had always been places they could search. But now, they simply could not think of any method.
“What you need to consider is leaving this place alive, and then doing everything you can to live on.” An Ming saw through the feelings of the young people at this moment, especially Mu Xiao, and very firmly smashed this sentence into their minds.
When people were lost and at a loss, what they needed most was a goal.
An Ming understood this very clearly, and she knew even more that time was precious. Therefore, she looked at Mu Xiao almost in a commanding tone.
“Mu Xiao, I’ll leave Qiqi to you. I know this is very selfish, but please take Qiqi and find a way to go to the capital. Her father is Qi Yun from the Academy of Sciences.”
“Doctor An.” Mu Xiao thought for a moment, then raised her head and looked at her. “I’ll do everything I can. But I think you should also talk to An Qi. An Qi is very sensible. She isn’t just a child.”
Avoidance was humanity’s subconscious self-preservation. It was something everyone would unconsciously do.
Mu Xiao’s suicide had been like that.
And so was An Ming at this moment.
She could face her own death calmly, yet she avoided talking to An Qi, choosing instead to entrust her instructions to Mu Xiao.
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!