After returning, I didn't do anything else—I went straight into the bathroom and scrubbed myself clean from head to toe.
Every room here had solar heating, so there was no need to worry about hot water, and things like shampoo and soap seemed to be specially supplied as well.
After showering, I came out wrapped in a towel, hair still wet, and collapsed straight onto the bed.
My whole body ached so badly that I couldn't even be bothered to move my eyelids.
Ever since I got back, Han Xue had been chattering nonstop outside the bathroom door, going on and on about the dangers and consequences of wandering off alone.
She listed every possible horrible outcome in an attempt to scare me into not running around again.
The moment she saw me come out, she hadn't even finished her last sentence before she let out a loud "Oh no!" and came running over in her slippers, plopping down beside me.
With a dry towel in hand, she bundled up my wet hair that had spread across the bed.
"Chen Yang, you're going to get the bed all wet like this! Hurry up and dry your hair—if you lie down like that without drying it, you'll get lice!"
With no choice, I let out a sigh, sat back up from the bed, and changed into a clean set of clothes Xu Shu had pulled out for me.
Then I crouched to the side, rubbing my hair hard with the towel—dry it fast, sleep faster.
But just then, Uncle Gazi, hearing that I had returned, came over carrying Tingyun to check on me.
Taozi and Zhang Hongsheng followed right after to join the commotion.
Before long, Shen Feng, Yangyang, and the others who had just finished eating came over from Row One as well.
In the end, even Uncle Qian and Auntie Qian showed up, bringing their grandson and granddaughter along to see how I was doing.
My hair wasn't even dry yet, and as more and more people gathered in the room, I couldn't help but feel both exasperated and amused.
I honestly didn't know whether to be happy or not.
After two days of exhausting overdrive, the only thing I wanted now was sleep—but looking at the situation, that was clearly impossible.
The room had wooden floors, but no one minded sitting on the ground.
Uncle Qian's grandson and granddaughter found everything in the room novel and fascinating.
Uncle Qian sighed repeatedly with emotion:
"These conditions are great, much better than what we have."
Hearing that, all of us froze for a moment.
Auntie Qian quickly stepped in to smooth things over:
"Our place is fine too, not too different."
Shen Feng chuckled as he added:
"As long as the whole family is together, anywhere can be the best place. Just look at your little granddaughter—so tough and lively. One glance and anyone would like her."
Uncle Qian laughed heartily at that, rubbing his grandchildren's heads as he said proudly:
"Exactly, anyone who sees my two little ones likes them."
"Alright, enough about the kids," Uncle Gazi cut in, his tone full of concern as he turned to me, still drying my hair.
"Let's ask the real question—Chen girl, what happened out there? Why did you suddenly run into the mountains without a word?"
Hearing that, I looked up at Uncle Gazi with a bitter smile.
Before I could even answer, Shen Feng stepped in and said:
"She's always like this—catching people off guard with her sudden antics."
"That's right," Yangyang chimed in.
"Sometimes my sister looks pretty reliable, but out of nowhere she just flips the switch. Back at Brother Hongsheng's village, didn't she pull off two stunts like this too…"
He suddenly froze mid-sentence, as if realizing what he had just said.
He glanced nervously at Zhang Hongsheng.
Realizing Yangyang's slip, I quickly followed his gaze toward Zhang Hongsheng as well.
Suo Tian and the others had wiped out everyone in his village—dozens of people.
Even if he knew that there had been problems among them, that was a knot in his heart that would be hard to untie.
Sure enough, at Yangyang's words, Zhang Hongsheng's expression instantly stiffened.
Seeing the situation, I quickly waved my hand to shift the topic, saying:
"Aiya, let me be honest with you guys, all of this was really just an accident. Remember the other day at noon when I was sitting outside on the ground basking in the sun? You all had gone off to help in the fields, and I was there with Zheng Yiyi. Last time, didn't we make it a toy ball? I tossed it across the road, and it scampered off happily to fetch it. But after waiting for a long while and it still hadn't come back, I went over to look for it. That's when I heard it barking up in the mountains. Who would've thought there'd be walkers in the hills? And just my luck, I wandered in and got myself turned around. By the time I found Yiyi, one of them spotted us, and then three huge walkers had their eyes locked on us. I panicked and ran blindly, dragging Yiyi with me, and ended up at the edge of a cliff where we fell into the water below..."
After my messy explanation, everyone's attention was successfully diverted.
Even Zhang Hongsheng, whose face had just looked off, was staring at me in disbelief.
After a long pause, he finally asked:
"And then? What happened after you fell into the water? As far as I remember, the mountain streams are usually fast-flowing, right? It rained before, too. How did you manage to climb back up?"
"By sheer luck—I grabbed onto a crooked tree with some vines hanging from it."
"You're ridiculously lucky! Those rapids usually lead straight to a waterfall not far down. If you hadn't grabbed those vines and just kept drifting along, you'd probably be floating dead in the water by now." Xu Shu's words were cruel and cutting, leaving me speechless for quite a while.
"Sister Chen Yang, you really are something. No matter how likable Yiyi is, it's still just a dog. Was it worth nearly throwing your life away for it?" Taozi, nestled in Zhou Wen's arms, spoke softly, ignoring the shocked looks that Uncle Gazi and Uncle Qian and Aunt Qian threw his way.
"You don't understand my sister," Yangyang cut in.
"She does things without thinking sometimes."
Hearing that, I immediately glared at him fiercely. "Watch your mouth!"
Then, suddenly, a thought that I'd long buried resurfaced, and before my brain could catch up, I blurted out:
"If you're so thoughtful, then how did you end up stuffing Rongrong, a child, into a box back then? If you hadn't, would she have been scared like that? If she hadn't been scared, would she have bitten—"
At that moment I realized I'd said too much, so I abruptly cut myself off, coughed twice, and quickly added:
"Anyway... at the time, I was too focused on finding Yiyi to think too much."
After saying that, I deliberately turned my head as if unintentionally, glancing toward Shen Feng.
His expression looked fairly normal.
Noticing my gaze, Shen Feng looked back at me and gave a small smile before speaking to Yangyang:
"Chen Yang's just warmhearted. Whenever she sees something she can help with, she steps up. Good thing her luck's strong—otherwise she'd have been dead countless times by now."
"Zheng Yiyi... that's the dog, right?" Uncle Qian's beautiful granddaughter asked timidly.
Hearing this, I looked over at her and tried to soften my tone.
"Yes, the one that often plays with you all."
Uncle Qian's son-in-law's surname was Li, and this girl's name was Li Yuxin.
Just like her name, her looks took after her mother's delicate beauty—she was very pretty.
After thinking for a while with her head down, Li Yuxin raised her gaze again and asked:
"Sister, did you go into the mountains to look for it?"
"That's right," I nodded.
"Then... where's the dog?"
Her words left us all stunned.
It took me a moment to realize—damn it! Yiyi still hadn't come back!
I glanced out the window.
The sky had already turned completely dark.
My mouth went dry as I looked back at everyone, licked my lips, and after a long hesitation finally said:
"M-maybe... it got lost?"
"Oh come on, Chen Yang! You nearly got yourself killed, and in the end nothing got done? You didn't even manage to save the dog?" Taozi rolled his eyes at me in exasperation.
"No way! I did save it earlier, but later the two of us..." I was halfway through my explanation when a sudden, urgent knock at the door interrupted me.
Shen Feng, who was nearest to the door, gave me a quick look before hurrying over to open it.
But who could it be, this late at night?
The moment the door opened, I quickly craned my neck to look outside.
When it finally swung all the way open, I saw that it was a few members of Team T.
I had seen these people before when eating in the same dining hall, so I couldn't quite figure out why they would come knocking so late at night.
I hurriedly stood up and walked over, but before I could even ask, they pushed past Shen Feng with stern faces and barged straight into the room.
Shen Feng staggered from their shove.
Seeing their rude attitude, I immediately felt displeased. "What's the matter?"
Xu Shu, who had been sitting beside Shen Feng, got up to check on him.
Before the men could even answer me, she spoke up with visible irritation: "Can't you just talk properly? What's with the pushing?"
Hearing this, the T Team members turned to look at her and Shen Feng.
One short, wiry man with a proud look on his face sneered, "So what if I pushed?"
"You'd better show some respect," Zhou Wen said darkly while holding Taozi in his arms.
At that, one of the tall, burly T Team members turned his head toward him.
When he saw him holding Taozi, he tilted his mouth in a crooked grin, baring a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said to his comrades, "Yo, look at that—there's even a fag here."
Then, squinting at Taozi, he added with a disgusting smile, "I wonder if it tastes the same as a woman. How about letting me try?"
"Fuck your mother!" Taozi flew into a rage almost instantly upon hearing that.
"Yo…" The wiry man and the tall brute exchanged a look, grinning with bared teeth.
"What a fiery temper."
"Enough!" I snapped coldly at them, my displeasure clear.
"What are you here for?" After all, they were official team members here, while all of us in this room were "outsiders."
If possible, I didn't want things to turn ugly.
The group of them all shifted their gazes to me.
Someone among them said, "Yeah, this chick—I've had my eye on her for a while. Just my type."
My brows furrowed tightly as I looked at them, trying to figure out if they came here deliberately just to cause trouble.
The wiry man glanced at me twice, then hushed the guy who'd just spoken.
In a mocking, sing-song tone, he said to me, "We're here to clear out some outsiders. Don't hold it against us, Miss Chen."
I gave a cold snort, curling my lip slightly, arms crossed as I asked him, "How would I dare? But… I'm not quite clear on who exactly you're calling outsiders."
The wiry man chuckled darkly, then tilted his neck before his voice suddenly hardened as he barked at Uncle Qian and Aunt Qian behind me: "You old bastards! Get the hell out already!"
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