The moment the bearded man spotted me, before I could even react, he stood up from the sofa and called out to Suo Tian,
"Boss, your little lady is here."
Suo Tian looked up at me when he heard that.
As our eyes met, I could only give him an awkward, stiff smile before walking into the room and saying,
"Came back to grab something to eat. I'm hungry."
The bearded man immediately burst into loud laughter and was just about to say something when Suo Tian cut him off with a wave of his hand,
"You two head back for now. We'll talk about everything else tonight."
The bearded man and the middle-aged man exchanged a glance, nodded, and then turned to leave.
As soon as they were gone, Suo Tian got up from the sofa, walked over to the door, shut it, and then turned to look at me.
"The gun I gave you—where is it?"
I was caught off guard by the question and froze for a moment before replying,
"Why are you suddenly asking about the gun?"
Suo Tian didn't answer.
Without a word, he stepped forward and started patting down my coat pockets.
After searching all over and not finding it, he asked again,
"Where is it?"
I looked at him and replied slowly,
"I gave it to Yangyang."
Before he could respond, I quickly added,
"Since I'm with you all the time, I don't really need it anyway. At the time, I just thought it'd be safer to let him keep it for protection, and that gave me some peace of mind."
Suo Tian waved his hand and said,
"That's not what I meant. Come here. I want to show you something."
I was momentarily confused but quickly followed him.
After sitting back down on the sofa, Suo Tian took a metal object out of his jacket pocket.
I leaned in for a closer look, then turned to him and asked,
"A bullet?"
Suo Tian nodded and said,
"It's from the gun I gave you earlier."
Hearing that, I was instantly shocked.
I grabbed the bullet and examined it back and forth before asking Suo Tian,
"Are you sure? Where did you find it? Could it have been left by Yangyang?"
Suo Tian looked at me and said,
"Found it on the ground at the village entrance."
I stared at him, puzzled.
"On the road at the village entrance? What does that prove?"
Suo Tian shifted his position and leaned against a cushion, pointing at the bullet.
"I checked the area around the village entrance carefully—there were no obvious bloodstains. And on our way there, we didn't see any blood along the road either. Which means… it's very likely that Chen Yang got out of the village safely and fled in the opposite direction."
His words struck me deeply.
All this time, I had been forcing myself to firmly believe that Yangyang was still alive—but deep down, I had already begun to quietly accept the possibility that something might have happened to him.
In a world like this, the consequences of "something happening" are almost self-explanatory.
But now, hearing what Suo Tian said… once it sank in, I was so overwhelmed with joy I nearly went crazy.
I grabbed Suo Tian's hand and asked excitedly,
"Are you sure? Can you really be certain?"
Suo Tian grasped my hand in return, gave a small smile, and said,
"I'm sure."
I'm certain that the joy and excitement on my face at that moment were beyond words.
I couldn't even begin to describe the feeling.
It was like a terminally ill patient who, while waiting for death and the descent into hell, suddenly gets told that their illness has miraculously disappeared—it was that kind of overwhelming joy.
Almost too good to believe.
I bounced around for a while before holding the bullet up in front of Suo Tian again and saying,
"Take another good look—are you sure? It's this one, right? Definitely from that gun?"
Instead of looking at the bullet, Suo Tian reached out and pulled me down to sit beside him on the sofa.
After a pause, he finally said,
"There are still a lot of unknown possibilities here, so don't get too excited just yet. The bullet is definitely from that gun, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was Chen Yang who fired it at the time."
I pushed Suo Tian away and said,
"Don't say that. It was Yangyang. He definitely escaped the village."
But his words were like a bucket of cold water poured over me.
The joy I had just felt evaporated in an instant.
As much as I wanted to deny it, I had to admit—Suo Tian's reasoning made sense.
One point in particular stood out: Chen Pu had said that before they left, they saw Yangyang and Rongrong together.
That meant when the walkers swarmed the village, the two of them were likely still together.
And if that was the case, Yangyang would've had no reason to leave Rongrong alone in a box and run off by himself.
Yangyang is someone who values relationships deeply.
If it were someone else, maybe it'd be possible—but this is my own little brother.
I know him.
He's the type who would rather stay trapped with Rongrong than escape on his own.
He would never leave by himself—unless… something happened at the time that forced him to leave temporarily and he never got the chance to come back.
The thought made my heart tighten again.
The only reason I could think of that would stop him from returning to the village and checking on Rongrong, who had been locked in that alley… was walkers.
I turned back and grabbed Suo Tian again, the same person I had just pushed away.
Leaning closer, I asked,
"Can you come with me to look for him?"
Suo Tian didn't answer right away.
He stared at me for a couple of seconds before saying,
"It's too late today. Let's go tomorrow morning."
I looked out the window.
Unnoticed until now, the sun had already started setting.
From here to the village was still a bit of a journey, and if we continued beyond that to search for Yangyang, we'd likely still be on the road by the time it got completely dark.
Traveling at night was the worst possible idea.
I sighed and let go of Suo Tian's clothes.
Feeling disappointed, I nodded and said,
"Alright… tomorrow, then."
I could only hope that nothing happened to Yangyang out there tonight… and that nothing had happened to him on the nights before.
As I sank deeper into my worry for Yangyang and my growing anticipation for the coming morning—
Suddenly, there was a rapid, urgent knock at the door.
By the time I realized what was happening, Suo Tian had already gotten up to open the door.
When the door opened, I glanced outside—it was one of the black-clad men who had been standing guard outside Xiao Xue's room earlier.
My heart skipped a beat.
I suddenly remembered what Suo Tian had told them before he left: "Notify me if her temperature rises or falls."
Now that someone had come running up here—did that mean something had gone wrong with Xiao Xue?
The thought hit me hard, and I immediately got up and rushed toward the door.
On the way, I heard the black-clad man say to Suo Tian,
"Her temperature's still rising. Looks like… she's not gonna make it."
My footsteps came to a sudden halt.
After that, I couldn't even register what Suo Tian said in response.
That single phrase—"She's not gonna make it"—kept echoing, crashing back and forth in my head.
Shen Xue isn't going to make it?
Xiao Xue might not survive?
She was only bitten—how could she not make it?
I was bitten too, wasn't I? And I'm still alive. I'm just fine.
So why… why can't she make it?
Maybe Suo Tian had given some kind of instruction, because the black-clad man acknowledged it and quickly turned to run off.
Suo Tian, still by the door, looked back at me twice, then walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You should get some rest," he said.
My mind was in a state of constant, deafening noise.
I turned stiffly to look at Suo Tian and asked,
"Is Xiao Xue… really in serious condition?"
A strong wave of guilt and regret surged through me—each wave heavier than the last.
Because I had been so worried and fixated on Yangyang lately, I'd become selfish, unable to think about anything else.
I'd taken it for granted that they should go out and help me find my brother.
Deep down, I'd always remembered that I was the one who had saved many of their lives, so somewhere in my subconscious, I believed they owed it to me to help—unconditionally.
Hearing this news now was like a heavy hammer slamming into my chest, instantly knocking the clarity back into my head.
The truth was, none of them had any obligation to help me with anything.
The fact that they were even willing to go look for Yangyang at all was purely out of loyalty and past ties.
But I had treated that help as something I deserved, and even secretly resented them for not doing more.
Uncle Gazi had actually tried to remind me of this earlier—that everyone has someone they care about.
But I had gotten myself all confused.
I hadn't understood what he really meant at the time.
Xiao Xue could've been like the bearded man or the middle-aged guy—she could've refused to leave, refused to help me.
But she didn't.
She didn't say a word.
She went out without hesitation.
Thinking about it now… the real reason she got hurt wasn't Rongrong.
It was me—Chen Yang.
Suo Tian thought for a while before replying to my question,
"It's not accurate to say her condition is serious. Everything's still uncertain. The wound hasn't become infected. I don't know what's causing the fever. All we can do is wait."
I reached out and grabbed Suo Tian's sleeve tightly.
After taking a few deep, sharp breaths, I said,
"Let's go check on her."
Suo Tian gave me a look, then nodded and led me downstairs.
From far off in the stairwell, I could already hear the bearded man's loud, angry voice coming from the third floor:
"Back the fuck up! Are you all deaf?!"
I froze for a moment and turned to look at Suo Tian.
Without saying a word, I immediately quickened my pace and rushed down toward the third-floor room.
----------------
Exclusive access on patreon to Ch 120
Join now : p@treon*com/DeCakraWnloverz