The car was moving fast — probably because another horde of walkers had just passed through.
It was a long time before we even saw a single one.
Suo Tian seemed to be mindful not to wake Wang Tingyun, so he gently swerved around any walkers we did encounter.
But eventually, one oblivious walker suddenly lunged forward, and Suo Tian didn't have time to dodge — bang!
The car slammed right into it and sent it flying.
The impact was loud due to the high speed, and the sound startled Tingyun awake.
She blinked groggily, scanning around in confusion, clearly still sleepy.
Then her lips started to tremble — she was about to cry.
The car was moving fast — probably because another horde of walkers had just passed through.
It was a long time before we even saw a single one.
Suo Tian seemed to be mindful not to wake Wang Tingyun, so he gently swerved around any walkers we did encounter.
But eventually, one oblivious walker suddenly lunged forward, and Suo Tian didn't have time to dodge — bang!
The car slammed right into it and sent it flying.
The impact was loud due to the high speed, and the sound startled Tingyun awake.
She blinked groggily, scanning around in confusion, clearly still sleepy.
Then her lips started to tremble — she was about to cry.
Waking up crying is a nearly universal trait of little kids who don't fully understand things yet.
Even though Tingyun was usually well-behaved, this was no exception.
Being suddenly jolted out of a deep sleep left her clearly annoyed.
Her small face looked dazed, her tired eyes fluttered as if they might shut again any second, but she kept pouting and began whimpering in protest.
I quickly pulled her into a slightly tighter hug and gently patted her back to soothe her back to sleep.
From the backseat, Uncle Gazi leaned forward, checking on his granddaughter.
Thankfully, she hadn't fully woken up and, with a few gentle pats, drifted back into a deep sleep.
I turned and gave Uncle Gazi a slight shake of the head to signal that everything was fine.
Only then did he let out a small breath and sat back properly in his seat.
After that, Suo Tian drove with noticeably more caution.
He slowed down a little and kept his eyes fixed steadily on the road ahead, lips pressed into a thin line.
I looked out the window and realized that the scenery had subtly changed — though the road itself remained the same, the buildings on both sides were clear signs that we were approaching the city.
Because for quite a stretch earlier, the roads we traveled had nothing but farmland or ditches on either side — at best, the occasional small house would appear.
It felt like we were moving through desolate wilderness, with barely any trace of human civilization.
But now, buildings had begun to pop up more frequently on both sides of the road.
Though still looking rather run-down, they were a significant improvement compared to the endless farmland from before.
At least now we weren't just surrounded by vast, open fields.
I asked Suo Tian nervously, "How much farther?"
In my mind, seeing more houses meant that more people used to live here — and where there were more people before, there were bound to be more walkers now.
Suo Tian probably picked up on my anxiety and replied, "Just a few dozen kilometers to go. This area has already been passed through by a few waves of walker hordes recently. Unless another horde comes through, there shouldn't be too many left around here."
"Mm." I nodded.
His explanation actually did help ease my nerves quite a bit.
Glancing out the window, I confirmed that we hadn't seen many walkers for a while, and I let out another quiet breath of relief.
The thought that we'd be seeing Yangyang, Shen Xue, and Xu Shu again soon brought a wave of joy bubbling up — just as the uneasiness in my chest had settled.
Even though it had only been a day or two since we last saw them, it suddenly felt like it had been a long, long time.
I guess this must be what people mean when they say "a day apart feels like three autumns."
Just as I was staring out the window, grinning while imagining whether I should greet them all with a big hug or start by tearfully complaining about the misery of being left behind, a sudden loud bang outside the car startled me so badly that I jumped.
My heart gave a hard jolt, and the vehicle suddenly lurched.
I completely lost my balance.
With the force of the car swerving, my body was thrown hard to the side.
I was still holding Tingyun in my arms, and everything happened so fast that I didn't have time to reach out and steady myself.
I was about to slam my head into the side window when Suo Tian reacted quickly — he grabbed me and pulled me upright, then immediately yanked the steering wheel hard while slamming on the brakes.
A sharp screech of friction rang out from outside the vehicle as it skidded violently to the side for quite a distance before finally coming to a complete stop.
I sat frozen in place, still shaken.
Tingyun was fully awake now — there was no time for her usual pouting or whining; she burst into tears with a loud "waaah" as soon as the car stopped.
From the back seat, I heard a thud during the chaos — likely when Uncle Gazi hit the window — and it seemed like the sudden jolt had rattled him pretty badly too.
I quickly turned around to check and saw Uncle Gazi holding his head, his face tightly scrunched in pain.
I asked anxiously, "Uncle Gazi? Are you okay? Did you hit something?"
He heard me and waved his hand with a grimace.
"It's nothing serious. Just a sudden jolt — my old head can't take surprises like that. Feeling a bit dizzy now, but I'll be fine in a bit."
I gave him a quick once-over and, seeing that there was no bleeding on his head, let out a small sigh of relief.
I then turned to Suo Tian, who was about to open the door to get out, and asked, "What just happened?"
Suo Tian opened the door and stepped out. "The tire blew out."
I held Tingyun in my arms, gently patting her back and rocking her slightly, trying to soothe her.
When I heard what Suo Tian said, I was momentarily stunned. "The tire blew out???"
"Yeah," Suo Tian replied, then stepped back a couple of paces, frowning as he fixed his gaze on the tire by the driver's seat.
"What do we do now? There isn't a spare tire in the car, right?"
I wrapped Tingyun up snugly in the blanket, opened the door, and got out of the car with her in my arms.
Walking over to stand beside Suo Tian, I looked down — sure enough, the tire had completely blown out.
Suo Tian frowned and looked around before saying, "We'll have to leave the car here for now and continue on foot. Hopefully, we'll come across another vehicle up ahead."
I glanced again at the ruined tire and sighed. "Guess there's no other choice."
"What's going on?" Uncle Gazi rubbed his head and got out of the car as well.
I tilted my chin toward the tire and said, "Tire blew out. We'll have to walk."
Uncle Gazi clicked his tongue and walked over to take a look, frowning in concern.
"There's so much food in the car, though. Wouldn't it be a shame to leave it behind?"
Suo Tian replied, "That's not a problem. Once we reach the shelter, we can send someone back with a car to retrieve it."
Uncle Gazi sighed after hearing that and nodded, saying, "What a mess this is."
He paused for a moment — probably because the pain in his head had eased a bit — then added, "Let's head out quickly, then. Didn't you just say we still have dozens of kilometers to go? It's going to take us half a day on foot. We better get there before dark."
"We'll make it, don't worry," Suo Tian said, then turned to the side and took the long blade out of the car, gesturing with his eyes for the two of us to grab our things.
Uncle Gazi also returned to the car and brought out his kitchen knife.
He originally wanted to take along Tingyun's clothes too, but I firmly stopped him.
It'd be too much trouble for the three of us to carry all that on foot.
After all, once we reached the shelter, someone could drive out tomorrow and bring back all our belongings.
After a round of coaxing, Tingyun finally stopped crying.
That cranky mood she had from being woken up had finally passed, and now she even insisted on walking by herself.
I folded up the blanket she was wrapped in and didn't put it back in the car.
There was no way such a small child could walk dozens of kilometers on her own — she'd definitely get tired and fall asleep partway.
In this cold weather, without something to wrap her in, she'd freeze for sure.
Once the car doors were closed, we didn't waste any more time and set off down the road.
The sun was shining brightly, and there weren't many walkers around.
To be honest, walking along the road like this actually felt pretty nice.
Tingyun walked a short distance, but her little legs just weren't long enough, and her pace was too slow, so Uncle Gazi ended up carrying her on his back.
At first, the little one wasn't too happy about it, but eventually, Uncle Gazi simply hoisted her up onto his shoulders and let her ride "horseback."
Only then did the little girl burst into cheerful giggles.
Walking was nothing like driving — the difference in speed was drastic.
Even if we started off at a decent pace, we gradually slowed down as fatigue set in.
After walking just a few kilometers, I was already getting out of breath, and my steps were nowhere near as brisk as they were at the start.
Uncle Gazi, though in good health, was still an older man.
He couldn't carry his granddaughter for long either, so after covering a stretch of the road, he could only sigh and set Tingyun down to walk on her own again.
Still, compared to me, he was doing a little better.
We adults could grit our teeth and push on, but Tingyun was only four years old.
After walking barely a kilometer on her own, she bent down, clutching her calves and whining "ow ow" in her soft baby voice — which, honestly, sounded way too cute.
But by now, I was completely drained.
No matter how much I wanted to help, I just didn't have the strength to pick her up again.
Fortunately, Suo Tian, who was walking ahead, heard Tingyun's whining.
He stopped in his tracks, glanced back at her, then turned around and scooped her up into his arms.
The moment the little one was lifted up, she immediately collapsed against his shoulder like she was utterly drained, her tiny arms drooping lifelessly—completely worn out.
I followed behind them, feeling incredibly envious.
Kids really do have it good.
God, I don't want to move anymore either!
But clearly, that desperate cry from my heart was heard only by the ever-indifferent heavens above.
For a long stretch afterward, I continued dragging my nearly numb legs forward, half-dead and barely managing to keep up.
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