The apocalypse had brought an end to the light pollution from city neon signs, making the night sky exceptionally clear. Countless sparkling stars dotted the vast, boundless darkness overhead.
Jiang Chenyu casually kneaded the soft, warm cheek in his hand as he looked toward the sky, seemingly watching the stars, yet perhaps also lost in thought. Before long, he noticed that the weight in his hand was gradually becoming heavier.
He lowered his head to look and was surprised to find Song Qing hugging his lower leg with both arms, her small chin resting on his hands. Her eyes were tightly closed, and her soft, rosy lips were pushed into a pout as she slept.
She could actually fall asleep in such an awkward position!
Thinking about how she had stubbornly refused to let him drive during the day, saying that he was injured and should not tire himself out, Jiang Chenyu remembered how she had driven the entire day herself. Then, in the evening, she had fought a group of men and rescued the villagers. After such an intense day, it was only natural that she had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
The sound of footsteps and conversation in the distance gradually drew closer. The sleeping girl in his arms frowned uneasily, and Jiang Chenyu extended his mental power toward the source of the voices.
Wang Xia was carrying a five- or six-year-old child as she chatted and laughed with her mother-in-law on the way home. A tall man dressed in tattered clothes followed a few steps behind them. When they were still more than ten meters from the house, Wang Xia opened her mouth to speak again, only to realize in horror that she could not make a sound.
It was as though an invisible force had blocked her throat.
She turned to look at her mother-in-law and the man behind her, only to discover that they were in the same situation.
Wang Xia hurried home with her mother-in-law and the man, their hearts filled with unease. When they reached the house, they saw the pale, thin man sitting on a wooden chair, while their benefactor, the young girl, was sitting on the floor, peacefully asleep with her head resting against his leg.
Before Wang Xia could react, a cold, detached voice suddenly appeared in her mind, asking where the cleanest and most comfortable room was.
The moment the second-floor room farther inside flashed through her mind, she saw the thin man pick up the girl and carry her upstairs.
Before long, the sound of a door opening and closing came from the second floor, and they were able to speak again.
“Ah Xia, I can talk again.”
Her mother-in-law grabbed her arm tightly. The wrinkles on her face relaxed, and her voice was filled with excitement.
Wang Xia turned toward the staircase and gave a bitter smile.
Ji Guohao and his men really had not died unjustly. There was no sickly man here at all. There was only a powerful couple!
That method of controlling people without anyone noticing had frightened even her, despite everything she had experienced at the hands of Ji Guohao and his men.
“Was it him?”
The tall man beside her asked with a solemn expression. He also possessed an ability and had keenly sensed that something was wrong with the thin man just now.
Wang Xia nodded. She then led him to a room on the first floor.
“It’s very late. Xiaohai, sleep here for tonight. We’ll talk about everything else after dawn.”
“Okay. Thank you, Sister Xia.”
Wang Haiting entered the room.
Jiang Chenyu carried Song Qing into the room farther inside on the second floor.
The room was somewhat simple. Its only furniture consisted of a plain wooden wardrobe, a bed, and a desk, but it was still clean. The bedding on the bed had a light floral pattern, giving the room a warm atmosphere with a distinct rural charm.
Jiang Chenyu placed the light figure in his arms onto the bed. He removed her shoes and socks, then pulled the thin blanket over her body. As his gaze unintentionally passed over her left hand, it suddenly stopped.
He picked up her much smaller hand and carefully examined it. The joints on the back of her hand were swollen and bruised, looking particularly striking against her almost glowing fair skin.
An image of her pressing several men down and relentlessly punching them flashed through Jiang Chenyu’s mind.
Did she injure herself while beating them?
He unconsciously rubbed her hand.
As though sensing the pain, the slender white fingers in his palm trembled slightly.
His wandering thoughts returned. He lowered his eyes to her fair, delicate hand. He had suffered countless injuries far worse than this, yet the swollen wound on her delicate hand seemed particularly unpleasant to look at.
He drew out the healing ability he had been using to treat his abdominal wound and directed it toward her hand. A flash of white light passed over it, and her hand was restored to perfect condition.
He then picked up her right hand, which was resting beside the bed. As expected, it was injured as well. The joints were even scraped open, with traces of blood seeping out. The skin and flesh had split apart, exposing fresh red flesh around the joint of her index finger near the base of her thumb. Not only was it bleeding, there was even pus coming from the wound.
As Jiang Chenyu treated her injury, he looked at her beautiful sleeping face with a complicated expression.
With injuries like these, an ordinary delicate woman would have already been seeking comfort pitifully. Yet she had not said a word despite knowing that he possessed a healing ability.
A girl who could be frightened into screaming at the sight of even a cockroach was unexpectedly able to endure physical pain remarkably well.
After finishing her treatment, Jiang Chenyu stood up. His face turned pale, and his body staggered slightly. He reached out and steadied himself against the wall.
A feeling of exhaustion from overusing his ability spread through his mind. His second-order healing ability really was not enough.
Originally, he had planned to spend some time playing along with Song Qing, find out what her purpose was, and deal with her afterward. Then he would find a research institute and develop the drug that had spread the zombie virus in his previous life.
He had never cared much about improving his healing ability. Whenever his mental power sensed high-order zombies nearby, he would simply let them go without much interest, never considering killing them to improve his healing ability.
After all, he had no interest in living. Nothing mattered to him.
Now, however, it seemed he still needed to improve his healing ability somewhat. At the very least, when he wanted to use it, he should not end up looking so miserable just from treating a hand.
The next morning, sunlight streamed into the room. Song Qing woke feeling completely refreshed. She raised both hands and stretched lazily on the bed, only to suddenly realize that the wounds on her hands had completely disappeared, and even the fine stinging pain was gone.
Only Jiang Chenyu could have done this.
She opened her eyes wide and looked around the room, searching for him.
When her gaze turned toward the door, she saw him sitting at the wooden table beside it. One hand supported his forehead, his eyes closed, with his long, distinct black eyelashes clearly visible against his eyelids.
Had he really spent the night sleeping on this backless wooden stool?
Song Qing frowned and got out of bed. She had only walked a few steps toward him when he opened his eyes. His clear, dark eyes looked directly at her, without the slightest trace of someone who had just woken up.
“Why didn’t you sleep on the bed? Why did you treat the little wounds on my hands? The serious knife wound on your own body hasn’t fully healed yet. Does your wound hurt now? Has it scabbed over? There was no need to waste your ability on my little injuries. They would have healed in two days anyway.”
Song Qing approached him while chattering away, her small mouth moving nonstop. Her worried gaze lingered on his abdomen, and she still felt shaken when she remembered seeing him covered in blood the night before.
Jiang Chenyu was momentarily stunned by the barrage of questions she fired at him. He lowered the hand supporting his forehead and helplessly smiled.
“How am I supposed to answer all those questions?”
“You don’t have to answer. I’ll check myself.”
Song Qing crouched down and lifted his shirt.
The bandages around his abdominal wound were still in place. There was no blood or pus seeping through. Still worried, Song Qing directly untied the bandages and felt relieved when she saw that the wound had scabbed over. She replaced the bandages with fresh ones.
“Are you sleepy? Go lie down on the bed and sleep for a while.”
After finishing, Song Qing looked up at him.
Jiang Chenyu had spent the entire night sitting on the stool and had barely rested. He was indeed somewhat sleepy. He did not refuse her and stood up, walking toward the bed.
Song Qing followed behind him. When she saw him lie down, she crouched beside the bed and looked at his puzzled eyes. Resting her chin in both hands, she said,
“Brother Yu, can we not leave yet? We don’t know what might happen on the road ahead. How about we stay in this village for a few days and wait until your wounds have completely healed before leaving?”
She really did not want to see him get injured.
If she had only felt some sympathy for his wounds and hatred toward the people who caused them before, then after spending these days and nights together, she had completely come to hate seeing him hurt.
Whenever she saw his wounds, she felt a heaviness in her heart. She also hated the bastards who had caused the shocking injuries covering his body even more.
If she ever gained the ability to do so in the future, she would definitely get revenge on them.
Those bastards—how could they bear to hurt such a good male lead?!
“Sure. You decide.”
Jiang Chenyu had never cared where they went. After answering her, he reached out and pinched her soft cheek, still marked red from sleeping. His fingers lingered there for a moment before he withdrew his hand and closed his eyes to sleep.
Song Qing touched the lingering coolness of his hand on her cheek. She blinked as she looked at him with his eyes closed and realized that he seemed to particularly enjoy pinching her face.
Was it because there was so much flesh to pinch?
Song Qing stretched out her index finger and thumb and pinched her own cheek. Sure enough, she could pinch up a soft little lump of flesh.
She awkwardly lowered her hand, stood up, and quietly walked out of the room, allowing him to rest undisturbed.
“Miss Song, you’re awake! Come eat something. I made some porridge and steamed buns.”
As soon as Song Qing walked downstairs, she saw Wang Xia walking out of the kitchen wearing an apron. Her voice was warm, and she greeted her with a smile.
Song Qing awkwardly scratched her head.
“You don’t have to be so formal. Just call me Little Qing.”
In the world she came from, the economy was developed, and people maintained a certain distance from one another almost instinctively. Apart from family and close friends, she rarely encountered someone so warm and enthusiastic.
“Alright, then I’ll call you Little Qing.”
Wang Xia pulled out a chair for her.
“Eat. Don’t be shy. I’ll cook more after you finish.”
She really liked this young girl who had saved their village. If Song Qing had not arrived, who knew how much longer their village would have been enslaved by Ji Guohao and his men?
She also did not know how much longer her son and mother-in-law would have had to suffer in the cellar.
“Okay.”
Song Qing sat down and noticed that a little boy was already sitting on the chair opposite her. His small face was pale and yellowish, making him look somewhat malnourished. He was holding a large white steamed bun and nibbling on it.
When he noticed her looking at him, he gave her a shy smile. His eyes were large and clear, filled with innocent purity, making him very endearing.
“This is my son.”
Wang Xia affectionately rubbed the boy’s head as she introduced him.
Song Qing nodded.
“He’s very cute.”
Hearing her words, Wang Xia revealed a warm smile. Her husband had died, and if it had not been for this child, she might not have been able to endure the abuse from those beasts and would have left this world long ago.
“Eat before it gets cold.”
She enthusiastically placed the plate of steamed buns in front of the girl.
Song Qing did not hold back. After thanking her, she eagerly picked up one of the steaming buns from the plate and took a bite.
Her eyes immediately widened in delight.
It was filled with scallion and meat, and there was a generous amount of meat inside.
She opened her mouth and took several more bites, eating more than half the bun before she suddenly remembered Jiang Chenyu sleeping upstairs.
She rolled her eyes thoughtfully, wondering whether she should wake him up for breakfast.
Remembering the dark circles beneath his eyes, Song Qing decided not to. Letting him get proper rest was more important.
Besides, the food was not going anywhere.
Putting him out of her mind, she happily enjoyed her breakfast of meat buns and millet porridge.
After finishing her meal, she played a game of picking up stones in the courtyard with the little boy, who had been watching her expectantly.