The weather was beautiful.
The sun was bright, and although it was still quite cold, standing under the sunlight felt warm and cozy.
Shen Feng and I were each leaning lazily on one side of the pavilion by the small pond, so relaxed we were almost drifting off.
"Chen Yang," Shen Feng suddenly called my name.
"Hmm?" I kept my eyes closed, waiting for him to continue.
"Actually... if we could live like this forever, it wouldn't be so bad, right?"
"Yeah, it really wouldn't be bad at all," I replied almost absentmindedly, not fully processing the meaning behind his words.
But upon hearing my answer, Shen Feng's tone suddenly lifted with a bit of excitement: "So you want to stay too?"
That finally made me open my eyes.
I looked at Shen Feng a little helplessly and said, "That's not what I meant. When I said it's not bad, I meant it's nice that we got to drink hot porridge and lie here in the sun for a peaceful nap."
Shen Feng froze for a moment, then asked, "So you're saying… you don't want to stay?"
Catching the meaning in his question, I asked in return, "Do you want to stay?"
Shen Feng turned his head and glanced in the direction of the gate, then fell silent without answering.
But following his gaze, I could pretty much guess what he was thinking—seven or eight parts of it, at least.
Xiao xue was buried here.
Even if it's just a small mound of earth now, it still holds meaning.
Given how the world is these days, everyone knows—once you leave a place, there's no telling if you'll make it back alive.
Shen Feng wanting to stay behind to be near Xiao Xue is perfectly understandable.
I sighed, turned my head to look at Shen Feng, and after thinking for a moment, I spoke: "I've always felt that this place doesn't feel like somewhere we're meant to stay. It doesn't give me any sense of belonging. Really—from the very first day we arrived, I felt that way, and even now, it hasn't changed."
Hearing that, Shen Feng withdrew his gaze from the main gate, turned back toward me, looked at me for a moment, then said: "Is there still any place left in the world that gives people a sense of belonging? Think about it carefully—did you feel any sense of belonging when you were living at home before all this?"
His words caught me off guard.
My mind drifted back to the scenes of when I was still living at home, and after a while, I sadly realized he was right.
Back then, I didn't really feel a sense of belonging either.
Deep down, I was always preparing to leave one day and was just staying there temporarily.
Leaning back, I shifted my gaze into the distance.
Shen Feng's words tightened something inside me and made me confront a disheartening truth: no matter how much I wanted to deny it, the reality now is that my heart has already entered a state of constant displacement.
I've been trying to convince myself and everyone else that no matter where we are, as long as we're alive, we can still live a good life.
But in reality, it wasn't like that at all.
Deep down, I had already realized long ago that there would never be such a place again, and it was impossible for me to live the way I used to.
A life of constant displacement and fear would fill my future.
Even if a miracle happened and the world began to recover, with all these memories, it would be impossible to live like a normal person again.
My gaze drifted aimlessly along with my wandering thoughts.
After spiraling down a long train of confusion, I eventually had no idea what I was even thinking about anymore.
Shen Feng saw that I wasn't replying and simply stopped talking altogether.
Just like that, the two of us sat in silence for a long time.
Then, from the direction of Building 4, two figures turned onto the main road, catching my attention.
They were a bit far away, so I squinted to try to see more clearly.
The moment I did, my heart suddenly skipped a beat—it was that same couple from last time!
I abruptly sat upright and stared at them more carefully.
After scanning them for a moment, I felt something was off.
It took me a second to realize—the child!
The child still being carried by the man seemed to be even more tightly wrapped up than before.
Compared to last time, the woman looked significantly more alert, glancing around constantly.
The two of them were walking quickly, and I locked my gaze on them, noticing they were heading—just as I had suspected last time—straight for Old Man Zheng's security room.
For reasons I couldn't quite explain, when they passed in front of the pavilion, I instinctively shifted my body and hid behind one of the pillars.
I only peeked back out once I saw that Old Man Zheng had come out to greet them and led them into the security room.
Shen Feng had been leaning to the side with his eyes closed, quietly resting.
I figured he must've noticed those two when they passed by earlier.
And now, probably sensing my movements, he slowly opened his eyes and asked, "Do you know them?"
I was startled and withdrew my gaze from the security booth, turning to look at Shen Feng.
So he'd noticed after all?
"Nope," I said, shaking my head to deny it.
"Then why were you hiding?"
I glanced at Shen Feng and thought it over for a moment before deciding not to bring up the couple just yet.
His mental state was already under enough strain.
So I casually waved my hand and pulled a lazy, indifferent face.
"Last time I held their kid, I tripped and nearly tossed the baby into the pond. They were terrified—looked like they were about to beat me up when they snapped out of it. Thankfully someone pulled them back. So... seeing them now, I figured I better steer clear. No point in asking for trouble, right?"
Before Shen Feng could respond, I winced and smacked my lips.
That excuse I came up with on the spot was just way too lame.
Luckily, Shen Feng didn't seem to really care about that couple.
After hearing me out, he just gave a quiet "mm" and sat up, saying, "We've been out a while—let's head back."
My attention had been entirely focused on that couple's hurried demeanor and the child in their arms.
I'd been itching to follow and see what was going on, so Shen Feng suggesting we head back was just what I wanted to hear.
Seeing me nod eagerly, Shen Feng paused and quirked a brow. "You're that desperate to get away from me?"
I was caught off guard by the question and quickly replied, "No way! I'd love nothing more than to chill here with you, soaking up the sun and chatting away—super cozy! It's just... I really need to pee. I'm holding it in, and it's killing me."
Shen Feng shot me a look full of "yeah, right" and stepped out of the pavilion ahead of me.
After sending Shen Feng back to the room and casually chatting a bit with him as if nothing was wrong, I stepped out the door—then immediately bolted downstairs, not even realizing that my nosy old habit had flared up once again.
Of course, if I hadn't decided to meddle this time, who knows how many innocent—or not-so-innocent—people would have lost their lives to their own or others' stupidity and ignorance.
I ran fast and was out of the lobby in no time.
Knowing that Fatty and his group usually had snipers stationed on the rooftop, I tried to steady my pace after stepping outside, pretending to take a casual stroll while glancing around.
At one point, I even deliberately tilted my head upward—and sure enough, there was a shadow lying prone on the rooftop of Building One, facing my direction.
I didn't know whether they were watching me or not, but I kept up the act of being clueless and carefree, strolling along slowly.
As I drew closer to Old Man Zheng's security booth, I consciously slowed my steps while trying to maintain an air of natural calm.
The closer I got, the more a strange thought popped into my head—if there were a giant mirror in front of me right now, what kind of ridiculous expression would it be reflecting?
When I finally reached the security booth, I paused slightly and listened carefully for any sounds coming from inside.
But even after a long moment, I heard absolutely nothing—it was eerily quiet.
I was stunned.
No one inside?
Could it be that while I was walking Shen Feng back, the couple had already left?
With that thought, I quickened my pace and walked right up to the closed door of the security booth.
Most people probably know what these booth doors look like—they usually have a large glass panel on the upper half, so the guard can always see what's going on outside.
At the moment, the glass part of the door was completely covered from the inside with a curtain, blocking any view of the interior.
Since Old Man Zheng now lived here alone, there wasn't much need for him to keep an eye on the outside anymore.
I figured he probably installed that curtain himself for convenience and privacy.
I tilted my head again and listened carefully, but still heard absolutely nothing from inside.
Clearing my throat, I called out, "Uncle Zheng? Are you there?"
At the same time, I reached out and tried the doorknob—only to find it was locked from the inside.
Still no answer from within.
Even if that couple had left, Uncle Zheng should still be here, right? Or had he gone out too?
"Uncle?" I called again.
Still no response.
Feeling puzzled, I scratched my head—how could everyone be gone in just a few minutes?
Since no one was around, I figured there was no point in lingering and sighed as I turned to leave.
But just as I turned, something caught my eye—a small corner of the curtain on the door was stuck on something, leaving a tiny sliver uncovered.
Thinking that I was about to head back anyway, I decided not to care about the person on the rooftop anymore.
I crouched down beside the door and peeked through the tiny gap.
I had hoped to catch a glimpse of something inside, but all I saw through that slit was an empty, quiet room—there wasn't a single person in sight.
After staring for a moment longer, I stood back up and sighed.
Forget it.
They probably left while I was walking Shen Feng back.
Just as I let out that sigh and had only taken a few steps to head back, I suddenly heard a faint sound coming from the room behind me.
Before I even had a chance to turn around, the door clicked open from the inside with a clack, and Old Man Zheng's sleepy voice drifted out:
"Young lady? Was that you calling me just now? Sorry, I was in a deep sleep."
My body froze for a moment—I stood there, stunned.
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