After returning to the vehicle, Bai Yan carried Lu Ming to the innermost side of the bed while she lay down on the outside.
Lu Ming’s face turned completely red. He stammered softly, forcing out a few syllables.
Bai Yan was already so exhausted that she was nearly unconscious. After giving him a few instructions, she immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Of course, the man knew how tired she was. With his trembling left arm, he pulled the thin blanket covering himself toward the girl.
After making sure she was properly covered, Lu Ming obediently stayed still without making a sound. He remained mesmerized as he stared at Bai Yan’s beautiful face.
Every so often, some noises would come from outside. He would warily prop up his upper body with his left hand and look outside through the window.
Only after confirming that everything was safe would he lie back down.
The girl was somewhat restless in her sleep. Several times, she threw off or kicked away the blanket.
He patiently raised that ugly left arm again and again, trembling as he carefully covered her back up each time.
This girl seemed to know everything about him. His name, the laboratory, Li Chuan…
Yet he knew nothing about her. He did not even know her name or how old she was.
There was nothing he could do. He could not speak, so he could not even communicate with her normally.
Had they known each other somewhere before?
Impossible…
He had absolutely no memory of her.
If she had saved him before the apocalypse, perhaps there could have been some benefit involved, such as his shares.
But now that it was the apocalypse, and he had become like this, there was no reason at all for anyone to save him.
Moreover, judging from this girl’s actions, she seemed to have an inexplicable obsession with saving him and taking revenge on Li Chuan.
Could it be that she knew Li Chuan? Had that man done something to her in the past?
They knew each other before…
Then what kind of relationship had they had?
What had happened between them that made her disregard her own safety just to escape with a useless cripple like him?
Their relationship…
Could they have been…
Lu Ming did not dare let that particular title surface in his mind.
Jealousy made him numb. His chest felt unbearably tight, and he did not even notice that he had bitten through his lower lip.
It must have been something else.
Yes. They definitely had some other kind of relationship.
A work-related relationship?
Or…
Ah…
Damn it.
His left hand clenched tightly into a fist. He squeezed so hard that his fingernails dug into his flesh. Thin streams of blood seeped between his fingers and soaked into the bedsheet beneath him.
Bai Yan’s subconscious mind was still concerned about their escape, so she only slept for four hours.
After opening her eyes, she first checked that the man beside her was fine. Only then did she slowly sit up, lean against the headboard, and violently thump her own head twice.
“Ah, ah, ah, hah!”
“Hm? I’m fine. My head hurts a little. Doing this twice is enough.”
Once she was fully awake, she noticed that the blanket that had originally been covering Lu Ming was now covering her instead.
“Why did you put the blanket…”
Bai Yan turned her head, about to ask him, when she noticed bloodstains on the bedsheet on Lu Ming’s left side.
“Why is there blood? Are you bleeding? Did one of your wounds split open?”
She hurriedly leaned over to examine his body.
“What happened to your left hand? Did you do this to yourself?”
Bai Yan grabbed his left hand. After confirming that he had definitely caused the new injury himself, she angrily glared at Lu Ming.
She had been too busy earlier to notice, but now she finally saw that the man’s fingernails had gone untrimmed for a long time. They were not only long, but uneven and ragged as well.
She picked him up and piled several cushions behind him, letting him sit propped up against them on the bed.
Bai Yan took a pair of nail clippers out of her system. She first used her ability to heal the wound in his palm, then grabbed his hand and began cutting his nails.
“Why did you hurt your hand like that!”
Lu Ming was startled by her shout. He lowered his head, pressed his thin lips together, and did not dare make a sound.
“Are you trying to drive me crazy?”
The man shrank back slightly. He swallowed and lowered his head, looking completely at a loss.
After finishing one hand, she pulled over the other and continued trimming his nails with her head lowered.
“Because of Li Chuan?”
The moment Lu Ming heard those two words, his mood visibly darkened.
Bai Yan sighed and comforted him.
“Don’t worry. Revenge is only a matter of time. I definitely won’t let him die comfortably. Everything you went through will be repeated on him twice over!”
“Ah… ah…”
(No. It’s not because of him. It’s because of you. I’m jealous that he met you before I did… and he didn’t even cherish you properly… If I had met you first, I definitely… I would have treasured you, cherished you, loved… loved and protected you.)
Thinking this, Lu Ming cautiously raised his head and glanced at the girl in front of him, who was still holding his hand with her head lowered.
Bai Yan finished trimming his fingernails and did not even spare his toenails.
After everything was done, she cleaned the man’s body again, fed him a cup of well water, and then carried him back down onto the bed.
She sat beside the bed, took out a peach, and nibbled on it while holding his hand and channeling her healing ability into him.
When she swallowed the last bite of fruit, a sudden ding sounded in her mind.
It was the notification that her ability had leveled up!
She excitedly opened her personal information in the system.
【Congratulations. Derived Ability: Wood Element, Level 1, has been activated.】
…Seriously?
“By the way, Lu Ming, you’re twenty years old this year, right?”
Although the man knew that she already knew about him, he was still surprised.
When he nodded, Bai Yan let out a relieved sigh as though she had just completed some extremely important mission.
“Thank goodness, thank goodness. Just as I thought, Li Chuan was preparing to kill you that day. Luckily, I arrived in time. What a relief. If I had been even one minute later, it would have been over.”
“Ah, ah.”
(What about you? How old are you? What’s your name?)
“Yes, exactly, exactly. Luckily, I was faster than him! Whoosh! I carried you right out!”
“Ah… ah, ah.”
(That’s not what I mean. I want to know about you.)
“You have no idea. I nearly died of anxiety when I saw that Li Chuan’s camp was so close to our home.”
“Ugh, ugh, ah.”
(He didn’t hurt you, did he? Did he see you? Did you two talk?)
“Just thinking about how he put his arm around my shoulder and even touched my hair makes me feel like throwing up.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Ming finally could not hold himself back.
He gritted his back teeth in fury. His chest rose and fell rapidly, and his expression became frighteningly dark.
Bai Yan was startled by his sudden reaction and hurriedly rubbed his fluffy head to comfort him.
“What happened to you? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere? Is there something wrong with my ability?”
“Hah! Hahah!”
(He touched you? I won’t allow it! I want to kill him!)
“What exactly is wrong? Is there really something wrong with my ability?”
Bai Yan stopped channeling her healing ability and hurriedly examined the man’s condition.
Lu Ming was still breathing heavily, his expression frighteningly twisted.
Bai Yan quickly fed him a cup of well water and comforted him for quite a while before finally calming him down.
Looking at the girl’s frightened and fearful expression, Lu Ming finally forcefully pulled himself away from his extreme anger.
“What are we going to do? If my ability can’t be used, is there another way to heal you?”
“Ah, ah, ah.”
Lu Ming extended his left hand and gently tugged at the corner of her clothes.
“You’re shaking your head? What does that mean? It’s not because of my ability?”