What Xu Shu said did make sense.
After thinking it over for a long time, I was just about to respond when a sudden commotion erupted from the third floor.
Amidst the chaos, the bearded man's cursing stood out sharply.
Before Xu Shu and I could react, a gunshot rang out from upstairs with a loud bang...
The world fell silent for a few seconds.
Xu Shu and I were both stunned, and then my heart tightened again.
Xu Shu tilted her head to glance in the direction of the third floor, then quickly turned to look at me.
She moved her lips, as if wanting to say something, but I waved her off and let out a long sigh before saying tiredly, "Let's go take a look."
There was no need to ask what had caused the disturbance and the gunshot—by now it was pretty clear.
Back then, the boy Zhao Qiuting had bitten only fully stopped breathing shortly before he suddenly came back to life again.
This was about the same amount of time.
Xu Shu looked at me with concern, then stepped forward and wrapped her arm around mine.
"Try to stay calm."
I didn't respond.
I just took a heavy step and started heading back up to the third floor.
Xu Shu hadn't known Xiao Xue for long, and most of the time when we were on the road, we weren't even in the same vehicle, so they didn't really have much of a connection.
To her, Shen Xue's death was just a source of sadness and a bit of regret.
In a way, that was a good thing—at least she could still think clearly.
My mind was already in total chaos, unable to seriously think about anything else.
Things were a mess right now, and I needed someone by my side who could stay more clear-headed than me.
When we returned to the third floor, the commotion in the room had already completely quieted down.
A faint sound of crying could be heard.
At first, I thought it was Jun Di and Chen Pu, but as I listened more closely, I was immediately stunned... It was Shen Feng's voice!
I glanced into the room and then bolted inside.
Just as I had suspected, the moment I entered, a strong, metallic scent of blood hit me.
I froze for a second, then quickly searched the room for Shen Feng.
He had been pulled far to the side by Suo Tian and the middle-aged man.
Now he was slumped on the floor, half sitting up, his eyes locked tightly on the bed.
His expression was nothing like the calm and composed look he usually wore—instead, it was twisted in grief, his face contorted from crying.
People who rarely cry tend to hit you harder when they do.
Watching Shen Feng sitting there, sobbing softly and calling out Xiao Xue's name toward the bed, my own tears, which had only just stopped, surged back up again.
Seeing this, Xu Shu gently squeezed my arm, then let go and walked over to stand beside Chen Pu, who was next to Jun Di.
I stood there dazed, crying for quite a while, before finally mustering the courage to follow Shen Feng's gaze toward the bed.
Xiao Xue was already completely covered by a blue bedsheet.
I couldn't see her, but near what must have been her head, a large patch of blood had soaked through the fabric—it was shockingly vivid.
The scent of blood in the air seemed even thicker now.
I clenched my fists tightly and turned my head away, no longer looking at that sheet—the one that now covered Xiao Xue and separated us forever.
I turned and walked toward Shen Feng, who was sitting on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
As I approached, I kept my gaze fixed firmly on Shen Feng's face.
His tear-streaked expression was weighed down by helplessness, sorrow, unwillingness, heartbreak, and despair.
I couldn't fully understand or even imagine what he was feeling in this moment.
But just seeing the expression on his face made my throat tighten so much I couldn't speak.
When I got to his side, I crouched down.
I wanted to say something, but in the end, I realized there was nothing I could say.
All I could do was reach out and wrap my arm around his shoulders.
Back when the world was still normal, I used to scroll through message boards after work when I had nothing else to do.
One time, I came across a line someone had posted.
It was a bit cliché, but for some reason, it stuck with me clearly.
"When someone is heartbroken, the most comforting thing isn't some long-winded speech. What they need is simply a warm embrace."
I was completely at a loss.
That line surfaced in my mind—and so I did just that.
Thankfully, Shen Feng didn't push me away.
When I held him, he just kept his head tilted, staring at the bed where Shen Xue now lay—forever separated from us.
That was his little sister, the last family he had left in this world.
I hardened my heart and reached out, forcing his face to turn toward me.
I couldn't let him keep looking at Xiao Xue—if he did, he would completely lose his mind.
It was as if Shen Feng had lost all ability to move, except for crying.
Once I turned his face to mine, he just stared at me with that same heartbroken expression, still calling Xiao Xue's name over and over.
I took a deep breath, raised my hand, and gently wiped away the tears on his face.
But they were quickly replaced by fresh ones.
I sighed, and just as I was about to say something, Shen Feng suddenly spoke.
"Chen Yang."
I immediately responded, "I'm here, I'm here," my voice trembling.
Even I thought I sounded off.
Shen Feng's hand, which had been resting at his side, slowly lifted and wrapped around me tightly.
Then he buried his face in my shoulder. "Chen Yang… What do I do? What do I do? Xiao Xue's gone. Xiao Xue is dead… My little sister is dead… What do I do, what do I do?"
His voice was broken by sobs, and he could barely finish a single sentence without choking up.
It took him a long time to get those words out.
Everything I had wanted to say was completely silenced by Shen Feng's voice.
I couldn't utter a single word.
All I could do was return his tightening embrace with equal strength.
With no sister and no one to lean on, Shen Feng desperately needed something—or someone—to support him.
And since he was still willing to talk to me at this moment, it meant that, at least for now, I could barely fill that role for him.
The room was already very quiet.
Everyone stood silently to the side.
After being comforted by Xu Shu, Jun Di and Chen Pu also came over, crouched down, and wrapped their arms around me and Shen Feng from the outside, silently giving him their strength.
Seeing the few of us huddled together like this made my heart ache deeply.
All of us were like drifting duckweed, struggling to survive in this absurd world.
We held each other tightly, doing our best to grow stronger—hoping to last just a little longer before disappearing from this world altogether.
After a long while, when my legs and feet had completely gone numb from squatting, a black-clad man rushed in from outside.
He looked anxious and hurried over to Suo Tian, whispering something to him.
Suo Tian, who had been staring at us, suddenly turned his gaze to the man and whispered something back.
The black-clad man quickly ran out again.
Then the bearded man led more than half of the black-clad group out of the room as well.
Xu Shu and the others noticed what was happening and, still with tear-filled eyes, looked up in confusion at the people leaving the room.
Suo Tian stood in place for a moment, then walked toward the few of us.
As he approached, he gestured quickly to the remaining two black-clad men, pointing toward Xiao Xue's body on the bed.
The two immediately rushed over and efficiently wrapped her entire body in the blanket beneath her.
I instinctively reached out and gently pressed Shen Feng's head back against my shoulder—I didn't want him to see what was happening.
In truth, the way he was crying now already showed that, deep down, he understood and had come to accept the reality of Xiao Xue's death.
But if he were to witness her body being wrapped up and carried away, it might become another painful scene he'd never be able to forget.
The old saying "what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve" really does hold some truth.
Xiao Xue's body was quickly carried out.
I didn't know where they were taking her, but I could only hope that now, as a corpse that would no longer pose any threat to anyone, they would at least treat her with some dignity.
When Suo Tian reached me, he extended his hand, his dark eyes calm and unreadable as they locked onto mine.
I instinctively started to reach for him, but Shen Feng, perhaps having sensed the movement or guessed what was happening, suddenly let out another deep, heart-wrenching cry.
My heart clenched, and I pulled my hand back, placing it on his back again instead.
Suo Tian paused, then quietly withdrew his hand.
His expression didn't change.
After glancing at me twice, he turned and walked out.
Xu Shu wiped her tears and looked at me with a worried expression.
I gave her a look in return and motioned for her to go see what was happening outside.
I just hoped it wasn't something that had happened to Rongrong.
Xu Shu gave me a small nod, then softly comforted Jun Di and Chen Pu with a few words before quickly getting up and running out.
Watching her leave, I let out a deep sigh.
God… are all the heartbreaking things really going to happen today, all at once?
I turned to glance back at the bed, now left with nothing but the bare mattress, and bit down hard on my lip as a voice echoed in my heart—
Xiao Xue… Farewell.
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