After that night, the television signal returned to normal.
That brought a sigh of relief to all of us.
At the very least, in some ways, humanity still held the initiative.
Maybe... before long... we could return to the peaceful life we once had.
People always need to see hope—no matter how faint it may be.
By the afternoon of the next day, the walkers were still gathered outside the door.
But their numbers seemed to have decreased.
The remaining ones mostly wandered aimlessly outside, no longer crowding the doorway like before.
We didn't dare let our guard down.
Suo Tian continued to train Yangyang and the others as usual.
I sat on the couch, my head splitting with pain.
It felt like I had a fever.
To keep them from worrying, I had secretly taken some antipyretics in the morning.
But after several hours, there was still no sign of improvement.
Mei Jing and Shen Xue were being forced by Suo Tian to do push-ups to build arm strength, while Shen Feng had taken over breakfast duties.
During all this, Yangyang kept sneaking glances at me.
He seemed a little surprised that I hadn't cooked breakfast.
But because of what happened last night, he couldn't bring himself to talk to me.
So he just kept sneaking looks.
I pulled the corners of my mouth into a smile. "What are you staring at, Yangyang? You think your big sister has sunflower seeds stuck on her face?"
He froze, then quickly turned his head away, no longer looking at me.
His face full of awkwardness.
"Sunflower seeds?" Shen Xue glanced at me quickly, then sighed.
"Man, I'd kill for some sunflower seeds right now."
"No stopping! Sunflower seeds, my ass!" Suo Tian barked.
Shen Xue was startled and quickly resumed her workout, no longer distracted.
I finally couldn't hold back a laugh.
After breakfast was ready, while Mei Jing and the others were eating, Suo Tian sat down next to me, looking at me thoughtfully.
"What's wrong with you?"
Lying slumped on the couch, my head felt even dizzier.
I squinted at him, too tired to even curl my lips into a smile.
I could only reply dryly, "What do you mean what's wrong? I'm totally fine, just a little sleepy."
Suo Tian didn't buy it.
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out to feel my forehead.
The moment the back of his hand touched it, his expression changed. "You have a fever?"
I didn't have the strength to dodge his hand, and weakly chuckled, "Fever? I'm just a little overheated."
"Chen Yang!" Suo Tian shot me a glare.
Then, without waiting for me to say anything else, he stood up from the couch and scooped me into his arms, striding straight toward the bedroom.
My body felt like a puddle of mush, limp and weak as I nestled into his arms.
I had no strength at all.
"Brother Tian! What are you doing? Why are you carrying my sister? Put her down!"
Yangyang had just come out of the kitchen and saw Suo Tian carrying me.
Not knowing what was going on, he quickly ran over.
If I had the strength, I really would've hugged him and kissed him—this kid, I didn't dote on you for nothing.
Still knows how to protect his big sister.
My head grew heavier and heavier, and soon, all I could see were Suo Tian's and Yangyang's mouths moving.
Everything else faded into silence.
Suddenly, everything went black...
What happened after that, I have no idea.
I vaguely remember someone forcing something into my mouth.
It was really bitter...
Then I slipped back into darkness again.
In a daze, I woke up and fell asleep several times.
Had a lot of dreams.
It felt like I remembered them, but no matter how I tried, I couldn't recall the details.
I was like an insect caught in a spider's web, struggling back and forth between dreams and reality.
Shaking off the drifting dreams, I suddenly woke up and stared at the ceiling for a full ten minutes with my eyes wide open.
Yangyang was lying on the edge of the bed, asleep.
The sky was dark, and moonlight filtered through the loosely drawn curtains.
It must be nighttime now.
Once I regained my senses, I kept staring at him for a long time.
Many thoughts crossed my mind.
The growl from my stomach pulled me back to reality.
Sighing, I sat up on the bed, planning to go to the kitchen and find something to eat.
I tiptoed off the bed and walked out of the bedroom.
"You're awake?"
As soon as I stepped into the living room and closed the door, I heard Suo Tian's voice behind me, which startled me.
Turning around, I saw him sitting on the sofa.
His back was still straight.
"What are you doing sitting here in the middle of the night? You scared me," I said, holding my chest, giving him a glare under the dim light.
"Still feeling dizzy?"
I froze for a moment. "Not dizzy anymore..."
"Is there anywhere else you're feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine... just a little hungry..."
Then I heard a light laugh.
Suo Tian stood up from the sofa, walked into the kitchen, and brought out a bottle of milk and some biscuits, handing them to me.
I took them and sat back down on the sofa.
I was still a bit stunned.
What was going on with his usual cold, icy demeanor?
He actually cared about someone.
I lowered my head and ate, and neither of us said anything...
The silence in the room was so heavy that I couldn't even chew my food confidently.
I couldn't stand the quiet anymore.
I asked aloud, "How long did I sleep?"
"Two days."
No wonder I was so hungry.
"What's the situation outside?"
"The walkers mostly dispersed yesterday. A truck passed by on the road, which attracted them."
"A truck??"
"Yeah, it's probably people heading to the military shelter."
"Driving a truck is a good idea; they can carry a lot of supplies. But it's too loud, they shouldn't be traveling through the city."
Suo Tian didn't respond and handed me a tissue.
I took it and asked, "Has there been any other news on TV in the past two days?"
"No, it's still the same old stuff. During the day, Li Jiaqiang came by."
"He came for what?" I frowned.
I didn't like him at all after seeing the way he looked at Mei Jing last time.
"He said Li Jianguo hopes we can take their people to look for supplies."
"Why should we?!" My voice involuntarily rose.
Those people were being way too unreasonable.
As soon as the walkers surrounding us dispersed, they couldn't wait to come knocking on our door.
They wouldn't even let us catch a breath!
"I agreed."
"Why?"
"Our water supply has always been insufficient. Relying on bottled water isn't a solution. Taking this opportunity, we can clear out the bottled water company. They have plenty of water there."
Suo Tian was right.
No matter how we went to the malls to get supplies, we were always short on water.
Cooking, washing dishes, drinking—it all consumes water.
If we can find bottled water, it would indeed solve the problem of our current water shortage.
"But Li Jianguo and his people, you saw how they are last time. They're all incredibly timid. He says he's bringing his people, but in the end, it just means we're finding supplies for them."
Suo Tian pursed his lips and smiled.
It was then that I noticed he actually had dimples.
"With a few more people to help carry things, we won't lose out. Even if we don't take them along, we still have to go."
I finished the cookies in a couple of bites. "When are we going? I'll go with you."
"The day after tomorrow, in the morning, after breakfast. Are you sure you can handle it?"
"I'm not that fragile, of course I can. I'll just go to the bathroom first... We can talk tomorrow. You should get some rest."
I stood up and walked to the bathroom, locking the door behind me.
Standing in front of the mirror, I examined myself under the moonlight streaming in from the window.
My long hair, which reached my waist, was messy from two days of sleep and hung loosely around me.
My face was pale, and even my eyes, which I'd always been proud of, were bloodshot.
I patted my face and took a deep breath.
With this appearance… how could Suo Tian possibly…
I let out a self-deprecating laugh and tied my hair up high.
Even during the apocalypse, I still couldn't bring myself to cut my hair.
I walked out of the bathroom, and the living room was empty.
I went to the balcony and glanced down at the street.
As expected, it was completely empty.
A sense of relief washed over me.
At least for now, this home... doesn't need to be abandoned.
Since I couldn't sleep, I simply sat down on the floor of the balcony and looked up at the moon.
It really was beautiful.
As a teacher who always told children to connect with nature, I had to admit that it was only during the end of the world that I realized how beautiful the moonlight really was.
It's kind of ironic when I think about it.
The moonlight was gentle.
But it couldn't cleanse this sinful world.
For the next few hours, before dawn, I just sat there.
I sorted through my thoughts one by one.
How to survive in the future.
When to go to the military shelter.
What method to use.
These were all things that had to be considered now, no way to avoid them.
The next day, when Yangyang woke up and found me sitting on the balcony, he was both happy and angry as he said, "Sis, why are you out here as soon as you wake up? Trying to be lazy again after being sick so you can sleep more openly?"
I chuckled a little. "Yeah, you don't know how comfortable it is to sleep for two days straight... Come here, check if my head is still round, don't let it get flattened from all that sleep."
Shen Xue and Mei Jing were very happy to see me awake, and they both clamored to make a big meal to help me recover my strength.
Rongrong, who usually wasn't very clingy to me, surprisingly didn't bother Suo Tian and Yangyang today.
Instead, she was following me around, asking if I wanted soda or if I wanted biscuits.
She was being incredibly attentive.
I was amused by her cute behavior, and my mood remained very good the whole day.
As expected, Shen Xue and Mei Jing made a big meal, using all the frozen meat from the fridge to cook it all at once.
I felt a little sorry... This was supposed to last for a whole week!
These two are such spendthrifts, they really don't know how to manage life.
But seeing everyone eating happily, I could only sigh.
I'll have to find a chance to go get some more.
The next morning, right after breakfast, Li Jiaqiang came running over with a few people from his side.
The blondie guy was with them too.
As he walked upstairs from the yard, he sniffed and asked the person next to him, "Doesn't this smell like marinated meat?"
I followed behind, my face dark... Does this guy have a dog's nose or something?