Chapter 27: Just You Wait
Seeing Shawn accept the blanket, a radiant smile bloomed in Beth's eyes.
"Father said to thank you for everything you've done for the farm… and my sister and I are very grateful too."
"With you and Daryl and the others here, we can finally get a good night's sleep."
Beth's words made Shawn a little embarrassed. "You know it's just a trade. Hershel is the one allowing us to stay at the Farm temporarily. We should be the ones saying thank you."
"That's not it," Beth said, shaking her head seriously. "We used to think that our way was the only way. That's why everyone was so resistant to you when you first arrived. But after you all settled down at the Farm, we finally understood. Having you here… is a really good thing."
Beth wasn't just being sentimental; at her age, she wasn't very good at that. This was a genuine expression of thanks. Thanks for Shawn's arrival, thanks for everything he had done for the Farm and for Hershel's family.
A warmth spread through Shawn's heart. He looked at Beth and said gently, "Alright, you should go back now. You know the farm gets cold at night. Don't get sick."
"Oh—" Beth nodded obediently, helped Shawn close the truck door, and turned to go back to the house.
Inside the truck, Shawn wrapped himself in the blanket. His gaze passed through the moon-drenched window toward the partially obscured window on the second floor of the house, where a figure seemed to be moving. But when he looked closely, there was no one there.
"I didn't think Hershel had his own little schemes, eh~" Shawn mused.
Beth was honest and pure. So the poor girl probably still didn't understand why Hershel had sent her to deliver a blanket in the middle of the night. Even less could she imagine that Shawn could have done much more tonight…
"We're all adults, and he's playing these little games with me. Does he think if she doesn't sleep with me, I won't take care of the camp's members?"
Shawn was so annoyed that his drowsiness faded a little. He didn't expect to be so underestimated by Hershel.
Shawn guessed that in Hershel's mind, Shawn's word would definitely carry some weight in the future survivor camp. By entrusting his daughter Beth to Shawn now, Beth and the entire Hershel family would benefit in the future, receiving better treatment in the camp. And after Hershel passed away, there would still be someone to take care of his family in this terrifying world.
But for Hershel to even entertain the idea of using his daughter as bait to catch a big fish… it seemed Hershel had also quietly undergone some changes.
"But then again, I'm not bad-looking and I'm capable. What parent wouldn't want me as a son-in-law?" Shawn thought with a bit of arrogance. At this thought, the anger that had just surfaced slowly receded without a trace.
"Forget it, forget it. Time for sleep. There's a time for everything. These people, all of them, can't sleep at night and have too much on their minds."
Shawn was incredibly annoyed tonight. He shook his head and, with the returning wave of sleepiness, lay back down.
But tonight, Nyx, the goddess of the night, was in a playful mood and seemed to have no intention of letting Shawn sleep peacefully.
Who knows how much time had passed.
'Knock, knock, knock—'
Shawn's eyes snapped open!
In the moonlight filtering through the window, he looked like a vampire, filled with more resentment than any ghost, rising from its coffin.
However, given the previous situations, as he "rose"… he didn't immediately open fire. He narrowed his eyes, opened the truck door, and came face to face with a figure with large earlobes and a thick nose.
A savage grin spread across Shawn's lips. "I finally caught one!"
Shawn shot up!
And opened fire!
"Shane, are you fucking bored out of your mind?!"
"You think this is a damn motel? You can just knock whenever the hell you want!"
"Or have you, the honorable police officer, finally evolved night vision? Are you only going to be active in the middle of the night from now on?!"
Shawn unleashed a torrent of abuse, with extremely high "mom" content. It wasn't that he was overreacting, it was just that too many people had knocked on his truck door tonight. Now that he had finally caught one who wasn't so delicate, how could he not let loose?
Outside the fire truck, Shane's originally stern expression was transformed into bewilderment by Shawn's verbal assault.
'When did I piss him off?' Shane thought.
His original intention to warn Shawn was suddenly disrupted. Seeing Shawn's righteous anger, Shane started to feel a little guilty.
"I came to you because I have something to say." Shane puffed out his chest again. The thought of Lori and Carl gave him infinite courage.
"Spit it out!" Shawn snapped irritably. He was just venting his anger on Shane, not really trying to break with him.
"About the prison, thank you for what you're doing for everyone."
"But I hope you don't use everyone's trust to do something irrational."
"Buddy, I'll be watching you." Shane's eyes were fixed on Shawn, as if he were looking at a criminal.
And after hearing what Shane said, Shawn finally understood why some people in the group disliked him. Shawn was thinking about the entire team. Even if he didn't get a thank you, he shouldn't be getting a warning, right? But Shane did it anyway, and from his expression, it didn't seem like he was joking.
'Look at how Rick acted earlier. How can two brothers be so different?' Shawn thought helplessly.
But this flaw was also the strength that Shawn saw in Shane. Don't be fooled by him foolishly coming to warn Shawn now. Once they got to know each other better and Shane considered Shawn one of his own, he would also go after anyone with ill intentions for Shawn's safety.
This was Shane. Cold-blooded, ruthless, and tender-hearted, all intertwined to create this seemingly contradictory personality.
Shawn knew that, even more so than the two Dixon brothers, Shane's personality was truly suited for survival in the apocalypse. If the person who had to kill him hadn't been Rick, Shane would have lived better than anyone.
While lamenting this, Shawn had no intention of being intimidated by Shane.
"You'll be watching me? On whose behalf?" Shawn looked at Shane with a half-smile.
"I care about everyone in this camp!" Shane felt a little flustered under Shawn's gaze. He rubbed his nose and said seriously.
"Is that so?"
"Then you just keep watching me. Don't you dare look away."
Shawn slammed the door shut with a 'bang'. He glanced at Shane, who was still standing outside, and couldn't help but chuckle when he thought about what he was going to do tomorrow.
'Just you wait.'
Shawn didn't plan to fight fire with fire and just stupidly attack Shane. Although he treated walkers like a barbarian, Shawn was not just a barbarian. When it came to dealing with people, Shawn had his methods too.
And in his eyes, the easiest to subdue was a tough-as-nails man like Shane, who was hard on the outside but soft on the inside.
'Handling him will be a piece of cake…'
At this thought, the corner of Shawn's mouth couldn't help but lift. This time, he finally fell into a quiet slumber, with no one to disturb him.
******
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