Ch 26 : Mei Jing's hostility

After dinner, everyone went to rest early.

I lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

After a long time, I had no choice but to sit up on the bed in frustration — another sleepless night.

The scene of Wai Zui being bitten kept replaying over and over in my mind.

Only, his face would be automatically replaced by Yangyang's, Shen Feng's, Shen Xue's, Suo Tian's, and even my own face.

All this time, the days we've lived could be described as thrilling but ultimately safe — though many times we faced critical situations, teetering on the edge of death, things always ended up fine in the end.

But Wai Zui's death today gave me a harsh wake-up call.

Since I couldn't sleep, I simply got out of bed and walked to the kitchen, grabbed a can of soda, and took a few big gulps.

After that, I felt even more awake.

The living room was brightly lit by the moonlight streaming in from outside.

I went back to the bedroom, put on a coat, and decided to go up to the rooftop to get some air.

Since I couldn't sleep anyway, I might as well let my mind fully wake up.

I opened the door and stepped out.

The air conditioning inside the house had been set quite high, so the sudden rush of cold air made me shiver several times in a row.

Wrapping my clothes tightly around me, I treaded lightly toward the rooftop.

After turning at the stairwell, I looked up and saw that the door to the rooftop was actually open.

Did someone go up there during the day and forget to close it?

Or was someone else, like me, unable to sleep and came to the rooftop to catch the cold night air?

I walked to the door, just about to call out and ask if someone was there.

But a faint voice coming from beyond the door caught my attention.

"He, she...? ...doesn't care... only cares about... Chen Yang... her brother."

The voice came from the other side of the door, and though the words were indistinct, I couldn't catch them all clearly.

But the moment I heard it, I instantly recognized whose voice it was.

It was Mei Jing's voice.

Who is she staying with on the rooftop in the middle of the night?

And just now, did she mention my name?

I softened my steps and leaned against the wall, moving quietly in the direction of the voices.

When I got close enough to hear the conversation more clearly, I stopped and stood still.

"Mm."

Hearing this voice, I was suddenly stunned.

Suo Tian!?

"I refuse to believe you haven't noticed — in her eyes and heart, there's only her brother. To her, the rest of us are just tools to protect him."

Mei Jing's voice sounded especially sharp on the cold, dim rooftop bathed only in moonlight.

I frowned, wondering if the noise would attract any nearby walkers.

"Maybe."

Suo Tian's voice, as usual, was calm and without any hint of emotion.

I could even picture the slight movement of his lips as he said those words.

"Maybe? Suo Tian, what do you mean by that? I came all the way here in the middle of the night to warn you out of kindness, and that's your reaction?"

Mei Jing seemed a little anxious.

"..."

"Fine! Forget it. Right now, no matter what I say, you won't listen. Just wait — one day, when Chen Yang shows her true colors and sacrifices all of us for her brother, then you'll understand."

Without realizing it, I clenched my fists tightly.

Forcing myself to resist the urge to rush out and confront Mei Jing face-to-face, I was trembling all over with anger.

Song Meijing!

Where exactly did you get the idea that I would sacrifice all of you for Yangyang?

You ungrateful thing!

We saved you, gave you food, gave you shelter.

Whenever there was danger, I was always the one to charge to the front!

And yet you still harbored such deep resentment toward me in your heart.

At that moment, I could hardly stop myself from wanting to rush out and tear her mouth apart.

Suo Tian's voice remained silent for a long time.

Right after, footsteps came from that direction, heading toward me.

I was startled and instinctively turned to try to hide.

But before I could move, Suo Tian's figure had already appeared.

He saw me, his dark eyes completely calm and unreadable.

Mei Jing didn't seem to have caught up yet.

She shouted after Suo Tian, "I warned you out of kindness, and you wouldn't listen! Sooner or later, you'll regret it!"

Suo Tian looked at me, tilted his head slightly, and said slowly, "I'll be careful."

After speaking, he quickly walked toward me.

When he reached me, he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me downstairs.

I didn't shake him off and simply followed him back into the house.

Once we entered my bedroom, he turned around, locked the door, and then faced me.

The only light in the room was the faint moonlight filtering through a gap in the curtains.

The room was very dark, and I couldn't make out his expression.

After taking a deep breath and steadying my voice, I forced a relaxed tone and asked,

"Running into a girl's room in the middle of the night — are you trying to be a creep?"

Suo Tian just stood there, silent.

My smile gradually became harder to maintain.

Since the room was dark and he couldn't see anyway, I simply dropped the forced smile and said,

"I do care about Yangyang, that's true — he's my brother — but I would never..."

Before I could finish, Suo Tian didn't give me the chance to say anything more.

Darkness often brings fear, but in some ways, it also serves as the perfect cover.

It allows people to act without restraint, to do things they might or might not otherwise dare to do.

For instance, the night gave me courage — the courage not to push Suo Tian away.

At least now, I could confirm one more thing:

This apocalypse really had changed me.

And Suo Tian's embrace was truly warm.

I just didn't know — would this be considered a typical one-night stand like people talked about nowadays?

The next morning, bright and early, Lili and Wang Jun came upstairs to ask when we were planning to start moving.

I told them to pack their things first, and that I would let them know when it was time to leave.

After eating a simple meal, around eight o'clock, four or five people from Li Jiaqiang's group arrived.

We discussed the detailed plan for the day and decided that for the first trip, we would prioritize moving the more vulnerable people — the women from their side and Lili, Rongrong, and the others from ours.

The dormitory building wasn't constructed inside the school grounds, but fortunately, there were plenty of classrooms.

We planned to have the two groups live separately, each occupying two floors.

Shen Xue and the others would go over first to clean and set up the living spaces in advance.

Another issue was that the school didn't have heating — something I was very worried about.

It was freezing cold, and we had no idea how long the horde of walkers would take to completely pass through the area.

If anyone fell ill during that time, it would be a disaster.

The three vehicles ran back and forth non-stop for an entire day before we finally managed to move almost everything.

There was a completely sealed library at the school, and for now, we decided to use it as a conference room.

In such a sealed space, as long as the doors were closed at night, at least we could turn on the lights inside.

And strangely enough, there was even a flat-screen TV mounted on the library wall.

I really couldn't understand what the school was thinking—installing a TV in the library just for decoration?

Or was it meant for students to watch TV while studying?

But either way, that TV turned out to be quite convenient for us.

For now, almost all of our forewarning of dangers came from news broadcasts.

After dinner, a group of us gathered in the library to inventory what supplies we were missing so we could go out and retrieve them the next day.

The library had air conditioning and was nice and warm, making it a perfect place for discussions.

The few students who had joined us were assigned to live on the same floor as Li Jianguo and his group.

There were a few middle-aged women among them—mom-like figures—which made it psychologically easier for the scared students to settle in.

After some discussion, we determined what we needed most: blankets were in short supply on both sides.

Sleeping in beds had been fine before, but now, with us sleeping in classrooms without heating, we had to push the desks together, and to stay warm, we needed to lay down plenty of blankets underneath.

Plus, with the addition of the students, our needs had only increased.

We also needed thick clothes, hats, scarves, and the like.

Hiding in here, we wouldn't encounter any walkers, and wearing more clothes wouldn't hinder anything.

After confirming the departure time and personnel for the next day, Li Jianguo and the others went back to rest.

The students also followed the women back.

It was all so rushed that I didn't have time to pay attention to which one of them was particularly scared.

Looks like I'll have to wait until the busy days are over before checking on the students' situation.

Rongrong and Shen Xue had been busy all day, and the two of them went to bed early.

Rongrong even unusually didn't bother Yangyang to tell her a bedtime story.

Jun Di, Yin Shangtang, and Shu Guang also returned to their own rooms.

After dinner, Lili and Wang Jun didn't go out anymore.

At this moment, in the room, only I, Shen Feng, Suo Tian, Yangyang, and Mei Jing remained.

The TV was on, continuously broadcasting news about the walker horde.

That short clip had been watched countless times already.

From the initial panic and fear, we gradually became numb to it.

Yangyang was curled up in the chair, reading a comic book he must've found somewhere, occasionally letting out bursts of laughter.

I would have never allowed him to read things like this before, and now that I think about it, I feel a bit regretful.

Living in this world, people just want to live happily and joyfully, yet I used my self-righteous ideas to imprison his life.

I forced him to study, study, study, robbing him of the strength and sunshine a boy should have.

Otherwise, from the moment the world started descending into chaos, he could have been a great help.

But looking back, weren't all parents hoping their children would succeed through studying?

I was no different.

I just didn't expect him to rise above others, but I did hope that through his efforts, he could find a job in the future that would support himself and his family.

But... now, saying all this seems a bit late.

Shen Feng and Suo Tian were discussing the specific route for tomorrow and the arrangement of reliable personnel.

The walker horde was getting closer, and we couldn't guarantee the predictions on the news were 100% accurate, so we had to make thorough preparations.

After waking up this morning, I made sure to talk to Suo Tian and asked him to act like nothing happened last night.

He just looked at me silently.

The entire day, I ignored Mei Jing.

It would be impossible to say I wasn't angry about what she said last night.

I also reflected on myself.

I had indeed been too focused on Yangyang, and Mei Jing had always been alone in our group since joining.

Yangyang has me, Shen Xue has Shen Feng, Yin Shangtang and Jun Di are good brothers, Lili has Wang Jun, Rongrong has all of us caring for her, and as for Suo Tian... it's obvious he's the strongest among us, and the strongest is always destined to be the center of a group.

Without a sense of security, one will try to find it themselves.

She likes Suo Tian, and this is obvious to everyone, but his always indifferent attitude towards others prevents her from finding the support she wants.

At this point, she starts paying attention to everyone's every move.

Since we've all been living in my house, she would pay special attention to me, and my particular concern for Yangyang only intensified her sense of insecurity.

Over time, the hidden unease had turned into resentment and suspicion toward me.

Thinking about it this way, Mei Jing is also a pitiful person.

In the apocalypse, she's all alone.

Even though she's with our group, she still hasn't found the sense of belonging she needs.

"Mei Jing." Thinking of this, I unconsciously called out to her.

"Mm?" She looked at me in confusion.

From her expression, she probably didn't know that I overheard what she said on the rooftop yesterday.

"It's nothing." I smiled at her.

"I was just asking if you'd like me to bring back two pretty winter coats for you tomorrow."

She paused for a moment, then slightly smiled and said, "Sure."