So that’s what happened.
The sudden flash of light last night was him helping the girl find the medicine she had dropped on the floor.
But the instant he turned on the flashlight, the glare was too strong, and Chen Jian Hua sensed danger, so he immediately turned it off.
That brief moment, however, was caught by the sharp-eyed Xia Ao.
Jiang Si, of course, hadn’t forgotten the main task.
She held the girl’s hand gently, giving it a slight squeeze to show friendliness. “Jie, why didn’t you come in with Zhao Ge? It’s so dark in here, and being alone is really dangerous.”
The word “sister” immediately built a sense of closeness, completely lowering the girl’s guard.
“He said there are zombies outside, so it’s unsafe. The carriage is cramped, but all the zombies have been cleared out by him.”
She paused, then continued,
“I’m carrying a child and can’t run fast. If I go outside with him, I’ll just slow him down. It’s better to wait in here. Every night he brings me some food.”
Jiang Si noticed the bottled water and bread on the table, it really had been brought from the waiting hall.
“He didn’t tell me he’s staying with you. He told me that there are still a few zombies in the waiting hall and it’s unsafe. He wants to clear them out over the next couple of days before bringing me over.”
!
The deeper meaning of her words, does it refer to clearing zombies, or clearing them out?
A chill ran through everyone’s hearts.
The girl realized that after speaking, everyone had gone silent. She immediately sensed she might have said the wrong thing.
She quickly tried to make amends: “Don’t worry, my father isn’t that kind of person! What he meant is that there are still a lot of zombies along the path from the carriage to the waiting hall that haven’t been cleared yet.”
“Right! Or maybe he just met you and isn’t fully confident yet, so he wants to wait a couple of days before formally introducing us…”
The more she spoke, the weaker her tone became, as if she herself knew how flimsy that explanation sounded.
“…Don’t worry, that’s an issue between us and your father,” Jiang Si said softly, comforting her. “By the way, we haven’t asked your name yet.”
“My name is Chen Yu Jie…”
“So how did you manage to find such a safe place?”
Jiang Si had been watching her expression and noticed she was no longer as resistant as at the start. She gestured to the two by the door, signaling that they could come in.
“I mean… is it really just a coincidence that only you two ended up hiding over by the dining carriage?”
This was the part that Chen Jian Hua had deliberately avoided explaining before.
Chen Yu Jie’s answer, however, was completely different.
“I don’t know. At the time, we just happened to be eating in the dining carriage. My clothes were a bit uncomfortable, so I went to the restroom to adjust them.”
“Later, I noticed some noisy sounds outside the door, but I’ve never been interested in crowds or commotion, so I didn’t open the door to check. Eventually, the noise got louder and louder, and I heard my father’s voice inside.”
“I panicked and wanted to go check quickly. But something hit the door hard, and then my father shouted at me not to go out.”
“I was so startled that I didn’t dare move until the noise outside died down. Then he knocked on the door and told me it was okay to come out…”
What had happened while the door was closed?
The three of them exchanged glances, catching the key points in her story.
“After you opened the door, was there anyone else in the carriage?” Xia Ao asked coldly.
“Um… when I opened the door, I saw my dad standing at the doorway, his clothes disheveled. He seemed very tired, breathing heavily. I guess it was from chasing the mutated zombies out.”
Chen Yu Jie folded her hands naturally on her lap, her thumbs moving back and forth over each other.
Being treated like she was being interrogated by so many people made her anxiety difficult to contain.
“Don’t overthink it,” Jiang Si said, placing his hand over hers. “It’s not safe for you to be alone here. Come with us to the waiting hall. There are more of us, so we can look out for each other.”
“But—”
“No ‘but,'” Shi Zuo An finally said. “What happened with your father has nothing to do with you. We won’t do anything to you. And the truth isn’t clear yet, so don’t worry.”
He exchanged a glance with Xia Ao.
They had some suspicions about the truth.
During mealtime, could the dining carriage really have had no one else besides the father and daughter?
Regardless, Chen Yu Jie finally felt reassured enough to follow them.
Before leaving, she only took her personal bag.
After confirming with Jiang Si that there was enough food in the waiting hall, she left all the remaining food on the table.
She even opened two window curtains before leaving so that anyone passing by would immediately see the empty carriage.
“All right, let’s go.”
She slung her crossbody bag over her shoulder and followed behind the group along the long corridor, reaching the glass door.
They stopped and waited for Xia Ao to unlock it with the key…
Suddenly, an unexpected mutation occurred!
Chen Jian Hua, with one hand gripping a dagger horizontally, grabbed Song Zi Qiao by the neck with the other, dragging him in front of the glass door.
Through the glass, his tone was threatening.
“All right! I knew you lot weren’t good people! What are you trying to do to my daughter?!”
His face twisted with rage, the dagger only two centimeters from Song Zi Qiao’s neck, making everyone’s heart race.
The long corridor connected to the outside, and with him shouting like this, it would inevitably attract zombies!
“We’re not going to do anything to your daughter. She’s not safe alone in the carriage, so I’m just bringing her over,” Xia Ao said, bending down to unlock the door.
But Chen Jian Hua noticed the movement and immediately shouted for him to put down the keys.
The dagger moved even closer!
“Calm down, we—”
“Shut up!” Chen Jian Hua roared. “Now, you!”
He pointed at Jiang Si.
“You open the door. Leave the keys and lock on the ground. Then all three of you step back, and leave Yu Jie alone at the door.”
“Dad!” Chen Yu Jie cried anxiously. “Why would you do this?”
“Chen Yu Jie, shut up! You have no right to scream here! I’m doing this for your own good!”
His harsh words stabbed into her heart. In an instant, her eyes filled with red.
“I…”
“Fine, we’ll step back. Jiang Si, go open the door.”
Xia Ao turned and saw that zombies had already been drawn by the noise, gathering in their direction.
Considering they still had some fighting ability, but the pregnant Chen Yu Jie would stand no chance, he reluctantly agreed to Chen Jian Hua’s demand.
He and Shi Zuo An first stepped back about a meter.
Chen Jian Hua still wasn’t satisfied.
“Step back further!”
Sweat rolled down Shi Zuo An and Xia Ao’s foreheads. With no choice, they stepped back another pace.
At this point, their position was dangerously close to the outside. If the zombies got in, they’d be able to tear a chunk of fresh flesh from their necks within two steps.
Chen Jian Hua nodded, and Jiang Si finally bent down to unlock the door.
“All right, now, put the lock and keys down, step back, and stand with your companions.”
Jiang Si had no choice but to obey, putting down the keys and stepping back slowly. As she moved, she lightly tapped Chen Yu Jie’s arm in the slightest gesture of reassurance.
Finally, with their backs to the two who were forced to stand behind them, they slowly stepped back until they reached Shi Zuo An’s side and stopped.
Chen Jian Hua finally moved the tip of the knife slightly away, but still held it tightly in his hand.
“Now, you go out, and let my daughter come in.”
He ordered Song Zi Qiao.
Song Zi Qiao was only too eager to comply, having a knife pressed against your neck is far from comfortable.
He was pushed by Chen Jian Hua toward the glass door and slowly edged forward.
“Move faster!” Chen Jian Hua urged. “Chen Yu Jie, come here.”
But Chen Yu Jie, originally just a step away from the waiting hall, didn’t move at all, in fact, she even stepped back.
“What are you doing? Come here now!”
At that moment!
Shi Zuo An threw something toward the diagonal front. It hit the corridor wall with a “BOOM,” sending up a cloud of choking smoke.
Seizing the distraction, he and Xia Ao rushed inside.
The zombies, attracted by the loud noise, began converging.
Shi Zuo An shoved Chen Jian Hua aside and was the first to pull Chen Yu Jie inside, while Xia Ao pinned Chen Jian Hua firmly to the ground.
Song Zi Qiao, who had been pretending to step back in a composed manner, was completely stunned: ???
When did you two coordinate that slick combo move?
And what was that thing that just exploded on the wall with a “BOOM”?!
“Stop standing there, move!” Jiang Si ran over, pulling him along. They all got into the waiting hall before the zombies could get a bite.
The silent night was now filled only with the sounds of zombie bodies hitting the glass.
Inside, Chen Jian Hua was still struggling beneath Xia Ao.
A man like him, used to construction work, would have been more than enough to overpower someone like Song Zi Qiao alone.
But Xia Ao, who had been training for years, took advantage of his unpreparedness and pressed down hard, while Shi Zuo An helped control his hands. No matter how he struggled, it was useless.
“Enough, stop wasting your energy,” Shi Zuo An said, nudging his sweat-soaked face with the tip of his shoe. “Calm down.”
“I don’t understand why you’ve treated us as if we were a threat to your daughter. But now, you can’t beat us. Either stay here quietly, or get the hell out.”
“……”
Chen Jian Hua finally stopped struggling.
Chen Yu Jie held her belly, her face still flushed from her father’s explosive outburst.
“Dad, why did you do that!”
“……”
“They gave us food, and even invited you to stay with us. I already told you they didn’t do anything to me, why won’t you listen to me!”
Chen Jian Hua endured his daughter’s scolding, his eyes dull as he stared at the ceiling.
Wasn’t he just trying to protect her?
After venting her anger, Chen Yu Jie looked at her silent father, at his darkened skin and the mottled marks on his face, and finally gave up, pulling him to his feet.
“Forget it.”
Shi Zuo An and the others didn’t press the matter further. After repeatedly thanking them, Chen Yu Jie went with her father to find a place to sleep nearby.
Chen Jian Hua didn’t say a word the entire time.
“What was his deal?!” Song Zi Qiao was first taken as a hostage, then pushed outside through the glass door, and now his opinion of Chen Jian Hua was rock-bottom.
Seeing someone act like nothing had happened without a single word, he’d never seen anyone so thick-skinned!
Angrily, he raised his fists and flailed, only to be smacked on the back of the head by Jiang Si.
“Enough, quit talking so much.”
“Are we just letting this go?” Song Zi Qiao refused to accept it.
But what could he do? What could they possibly do to Chen Jian Hua?
By all reason, morality, and conscience, this matter had to be left as it was.
Seeing him hang his head, sullen and low-spirited, Shi Zuo An couldn’t help giving him a playful pat on the head.
“Don’t be mad, Jiang Si won’t like you if you get too worked up.”
Jiang Si: Huh? Me?
“And you! Shi Zuo An! Don’t think that just because I patted your head I can forget what you did! What was that thing you threw just now that went ‘biu, BANG’ and exploded against the wall?!”