The old man’s face also tensed when he heard Song Jiang’s words, and he stared at Xiao Hu lying on the bed for a long time without speaking.
“Dad, we’ve never seen a case like this kid’s before. Should we…” said a fair-skinned female doctor wearing glasses.
She also calls him Dad?
“Dad, maybe we should notify the higher-ups first?” Doctor Sun also called him Dad?
Just how many children does this old man have?
It wasn’t until Huang Jun—who had been chatting on the side—wandered over and shouted, “Dad, when can we finish? I’m waiting to get off work and go home to eat!” that I finally realized belatedly… maybe “Dad” was just what everyone called him…
I suddenly thought of Coach Anzai from Slam Dunk.
Shaking off those unrealistic thoughts, I looked at Xiao Hu on the bed, then swept my gaze across the others, finally fixing my eyes on the old man—the one who seemed to hold the most authority.
After a long while, the old man still didn’t speak.
His brows were tightly furrowed as if he was thinking through something.
Eventually, he waved his hand at the others and turned to me, saying, “The child is fine. He’s still young. Just bring him in for a check-up once a month.”
I blinked. “The child… is fine?”
The old man looked at me. “Do you want him to have something wrong?”
“No, no,” I waved my hands quickly and gave an awkward smile. “So we can take him now?”
“Mm.” The old man nodded.
“Dad…” the female doctor hesitated, wanting to say more, but the old man cut her off with a wave.
Picking up Xiao Hu, I walked back to Lili.
We were just about to head toward the elevator when Huang Jun came up behind us.
“I’ll take you guys out.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Huang Jun was extremely talkative.
From the elevator to the exit—just that short distance—he rattled off an entire explanation of the general layout of this headquarters.
He spoke too fast, and with Xiao Hu whispering into my ear from time to time, I couldn’t understand most of what he said.
I only grasped the basics: apparently, there were areas in this headquarters that we weren’t allowed to enter.
That wasn’t surprising; even back then, ordinary people like us couldn’t just go anywhere we wanted.
The elevator soon reached the first floor.
When the doors opened and we stepped out, I saw from a distance that two people in black uniforms were waiting outside.
When Huang Jun saw them, he waved.
The two of them immediately came over to us.
“These are the people,” Huang Jun told the two. “Just arrange their housing.”
He then turned to us. “If you’re confused about anything, you can ask others. I’m sure your neighbors will be happy to tell you.”
“Then… what should we do next?” Lili asked.
“Just follow them.” Huang Jun pointed at the two in black.
We followed the two uniformed men out of the lobby, while Huang Jun turned back toward the elevator.
Outside, a vehicle was parked—the same model as the ones Suo Tian’s team used.
After getting in, the man in the passenger seat turned to us and asked:
“Excuse me, which one of you is Miss Chen?”
“I… I am.” I raised my hand foolishly. “Is there a problem?”
“The leader Suo and Mr. Shen’s group don’t live in the same district. Would you like to stay in the leader’s district, or go to Mr. Shen’s?”
……
The moment he asked that, I froze.
Beside me, Lili burst into laughter and answered for me:
“Of course she’ll live with Suo Tian.”
I quickly waved my hands. “No, no, no! Don’t listen to her nonsense. Take me to my brother and the others. I’ll stay with them.”
“All right.” The man responded seriously, then turned back around—only to twist back again two seconds later and add, “Are you sure? Mr. Shen’s place is four blocks from the leader’s residence.”
My face darkened.
I glared at him and nodded firmly. “Very sure!”
“…All right then.” For some reason, he sounded disappointed.
……
Once the vehicle exited the small road and turned onto a paved street, winding through several turns, we finally arrived at a certain avenue…
This street was a proper, bustling street.
Countless open shops were selling all kinds of snacks, accessories, clothing, and there was even a movie theater.
People came and went in droves, the whole place lively and crowded—exactly like the scenes I had dreamed of countless times.
“My god…” Lili couldn’t help sighing, rubbing her eyes in disbelief.
Seeing that, I quickly pinched her waist.
She yelped in pain, “Chen Yang! What are you doing?!”
“Does it hurt?” I asked.
“Of course it does!”
“Then I’m not dreaming.”
“……”
The car passed through the busy streets and entered a more remote area.
Lili and I kept twisting our necks to look back at the lively street we had just come from.
In the past year, aside from those walker hordes, we had never seen so many living people again.
It really felt like a dream.
The car soon entered a residential complex.
This place looked somewhat like a shelter, except much bigger—dozens of high-rise apartment buildings standing together, with countless small parks in between.
On the way, we even passed a fairly large lake.
There were small boats drifting on the water, and people were casting nets to catch fish.
The greenery in the neighborhood was excellent.
After driving deeper for a few minutes, the car stopped in front of one of the buildings.
We got out of the car.
The black-clad man led the two of us into the lobby.
Inside the security booth, several guards in uniform were chatting.
One of them immediately called the others over when he saw the black-clad man.
“Which floor are the newcomers placed on?” the black-clad man asked.
“Oh, oh… that big group, right? They’re all on the twenty-third floor. The rooms on that entire floor were arranged for them,” the guard replied quickly.
“Mm.” The black-clad man nodded.
“Take them up. Everything they need for daily life has already been prepared.”
“Yes, yes, got it, got it.” The guard looked extremely intimidated by him.
Then the black-clad man who had been sitting in the passenger seat gave me another look and—still unwilling to give up—asked:
“Have you really thought it through?”
“…Are you doing this on purpose?” I stared at him, exasperated.
Hearing that, the black-clad man slumped his shoulders, discouraged, and turned to pat his colleague before walking away.
As he left, I faintly heard him muttering, “Damn it, guessed wrong. Now I have to do a task in Old Two’s place for nothing. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bet with him.”
I stood there, feeling like my face was probably darker than the bottom of a shoe.
After the black-clad man left, one of the guards took us into the elevator.
Maybe people here just liked talking in elevators—just like Huang Jun, this guard chatted the entire ride.
It was mostly things like what time the building closed at night, weekly safety inspections, and how much rice, flour, and vegetables each household received.
Lili and I listened seriously and quietly memorized everything:
—The building would be completely sealed at 10 p.m., no entry or exit.
—Every Friday, someone from above would come to inspect each unit, checking for suspicious illnesses or infections.
—Each week, rice, flour, vegetables, meat, and fish were distributed according to room number.
—Electricity supply was only from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., so washing, cooking, and bathing should be done during that time.
The elevator stopped on the 12th floor, and a boy and girl who looked like high schoolers walked in.
They stared at us curiously.
The guard, who had been talking nonstop, suddenly brightened up when he saw them, his expression becoming gentle.
“Xiao Kang, where are you taking Huihui?”
The boy replied, “Upstairs, to Auntie Zhang Jie’s place.”
“What for?”
“I already told you and Mom yesterday, didn’t I? Auntie Zhang Jie invited me and Huihui over for dinner.”
So the boy was the guard’s son.
“Oh? You told me? I forgot. Alright, alright—remember to be home before ten.”
“Mm.” The boy responded just as the elevator stopped on the 18th floor.
The girl, who hadn’t spoken, politely said, “Goodbye, Uncle,” before being pulled out by the boy.
When the elevator doors closed again, I turned to the guard with curiosity and asked, “That’s your son? The kid’s pretty handsome.”
Hearing that, the guard grinned proudly. “Of course! He inherited my good genes.”
Pff—Lili couldn’t hold back her laugh.
Hearing her laugh, the guard scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and quickly waved his hand.
“The kid’s wild. Already got himself a little girlfriend at such a young age, bringing her home every day—what can I do?”
Though that’s what he said, his face was full of pride and smugness…
Parents are all like this: if their son brings home a girlfriend early, they’re proud; but if their daughter gets a boyfriend too soon, their expression will look like a pig has ruined their carefully grown cabbage.
“That was the girl just now?” Lili asked.
“Yeah, that’s her. Good kid, well-behaved… much more likable than that little rascal of mine.”
The elevator finally reached the twenty-third floor.
As soon as the doors opened, I saw Yangyang heading toward one of the rooms.
I called out, “Hey, handsome boy!”
Hearing that, Yangyang immediately turned around with a smug look, glanced around, and finally spotted us in the elevator.
Once he recognized Lili and me, his face lit up with surprise. “Sis!”
“Brother!” Xiao Hu, seeing Yangyang, suddenly became very affectionate.
He stretched out his tiny arms, leaning forward for a hug.
I set him down, and he toddled over on his short little legs straight into Yangyang’s arms.
“Since you’ve met someone you know, I won’t go in. They should already know the general situation. If you don’t understand something, just ask them.”
The guard didn’t step out of the elevator after we exited.
Instead, he politely bade us farewell.
“Thanks for your help.”
“Not at all, just doing my job.” The guard grinned, then pressed the elevator button.
Lili and I walked over to Yangyang, and before we could say anything, the door to the apartment swung open from the inside.
— The end of the Chapter–
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