After returning home, we each went back to our rooms to change out of our wet clothes and take showers.
Only afterward did we all gather in the living room to discuss what we had just discovered.
After going around in circles, we still couldn’t come up with a good solution.
If we reported it to the main base—just saying we found half a body of a walker—it would seem like making a big deal out of nothing.
But if we didn’t report it, that felt careless too.
After all, it was almost certain that there was something wrong with that walker.
Even though it was badly decayed, you could still tell that the wounds on its body weren’t caused by bites, but by sharp tools.
Especially the pits on its arm—it looked as if chunks of flesh had been forcibly gouged out by something.
In the end, we decided to notify the main base for now, at least so they could investigate.
If someone really had done this, it would give us something to be on guard against.
But once we made the decision, we all realized, half amused and half frustrated, that we didn’t actually have any direct way to contact the main base.
The only people we knew were Bruno and a few others like Dad, and they worked in the hospital’s inspection area—they had nothing to do with this kind of matter.
Just as I was thinking about finding a way to contact Master Gu and the others, the sound of brakes suddenly came from outside the door.
We all froze for a moment and looked toward the entrance.
Who could it be at this hour?
Usually, only Bruno would drive over.
A thought flashed through my mind, and I immediately stood up in surprise—could it be…?
Sure enough, a few seconds later, Suo Tian appeared at the doorway.
Without hesitation, I rushed forward and hugged him, asking excitedly, “Didn’t you say it would take more than a month? Why are you back today?”
The bearded man and the middle-aged man followed behind him.
Before Suo Tian could answer, the bearded man blurted out, “What’s this? Haven’t seen you in a while, Chen girl—you’ve gotten a lot more enthusiastic, huh?”
The middle-aged man also glanced at me, his face carrying a rare hint of a smile.
Suo Tian patted my back.
His hand paused there briefly before he said, “You’ve gotten thinner.”
“Of course she has. You left right when something happened—she stayed in the hospital alone. What good food could she eat? She came back looking like a skinny monkey,” Han Xue chimed in with a grin.
Suo Tian glanced at her, then seemed to notice that all of us were gathered in the living room.
After scanning the room, he asked, “What happened?”
The mood, which had just lightened because of his sudden return, instantly turned heavy again.
After a moment’s thought, Zhou Wen spoke, “We discovered something and were about to report it to the main base, but hadn’t decided who to contact yet. Then you came back—saves us the trouble of running around.”
Hearing that, Suo Tian frowned slightly, pulled me over to sit on the sofa, and asked, “What did you find?”
The middle-aged man and the bearded man exchanged a glance and also stepped into the room.
After thinking it over, Uncle Gazi began to recount everything in detail.
When he finished, the middle-aged man frowned and asked, “Why did you suddenly go there?”
“What do you call it—an outing, right? We just wanted to help Lili relax a bit. Everyone’s been cooped up for too long,” Uncle Gazi replied.
Because of their first meeting—when the middle-aged man and his group had drawn guns—Uncle Gazi still seemed a bit lacking in confidence when speaking to him.
Hearing that, Suo Tian turned to look at Lili. “What’s wrong with you?”
Lili froze for a moment, then her expression darkened.
Xu Shu quickly comforted her softly and gave Suo Tian a look.
I also quickly mouthed “Xuanxuan” to him and gestured toward Lili, indicating “taken away by her parents.”
Suo Tian glanced at me, pressed his lips together, then turned back and spoke quietly to the middle-aged man.
The man acknowledged with a nod and turned to leave.
The bearded man, seeing him go, also prepared to follow, but then seemed to remember something and turned back to remind Suo Tian, “Boss, when are we setting out next time?”
Hearing that, I grabbed Suo Tian’s hand, a little worried. “You’re not leaving again right after coming back, are you?”
Suo Tian waved to the bearded man, signaling that they would deal with matters at the main base first.
Then he turned back to me. “I’m not leaving.”
With Suo Tian back, he took over handling this matter for us.
There was no need for us to worry further—someone would deal with what we had found.
…
For a time, the tense atmosphere caused by the discovery quickly returned to normal after Suo Tian’s arrival.
In the end, none of us wanted to keep meddling in these matters.
Now that someone else was handling it, we didn’t want to trouble ourselves anymore.
After dinner, two black-clad men came and spoke with Suo Tian in an empty room on the third floor for quite a while.
I took a shower and went to bed first.
Suo Tian only came back just before lights-out.
Hearing him return, I simply lay still, keeping my eyes closed and pretending to be asleep.
His footsteps paused at the door for a moment before it closed.
He walked slowly to the bedside—I could feel him looking at me.
Just as I was about to open my eyes and tell him to go shower and get some rest, I felt the warmth of his lips on my face.
I still didn’t open my eyes.
His lips lingered on my cheek for a moment, then slowly moved down to my lips, leaving a light, fleeting kiss before he stood up and went into the bathroom.
Only after I heard the sound of running water from the bathroom did I slowly open my eyes.
I reached up and touched my lips and cheek, still carrying Suo Tian’s warmth.
For a moment, I was so happy I could barely contain myself—I hugged the pillow and rolled around on the bed twice before finally calming down a little.
So this guy has a habit of stealing kisses.
When Suo Tian came out of the bathroom, drying his hair, the first thing he saw was me hugging a pillow and grinning at him like an idiot.
He froze for a moment before walking over and sitting on the bed. “What did Bruno say?”
Suo Tian always spoke like that—suddenly throwing out a question with no context.
It took me a while to figure out what he meant.
After clearing my throat, I answered, “The first couple of days there was a bit of spotting, so I stayed in the hospital for a few days to stabilize things. After that it got better, so I came back. I agreed to go for regular checkups.”
He nodded, then looked at my stomach for a couple of seconds. “How long until the next checkup?”
I thought for a moment. “About ten days or so. They want me to go once a month.”
Hearing that, Suo Tian frowned slightly and took my hand. “I’ll go with you in a couple of days. I probably won’t be at the base ten days from now.”
“You’re going out again? For how long? What for?” I tightened my grip on his hand, feeling a bit anxious again.
But then I realized he was already exhausted—I really shouldn’t be like this.
I paused, then forced a small smile. “Then that works… going a few days earlier is fine. You can take the chance to see what the baby looks like now.”
Suo Tian looked at me quietly for a moment, then gave a faint smile. “I’d be honored.”
…
In the middle of the night, still half-asleep, I got up to use the bathroom and was about to crawl back into bed.
But the moment I climbed onto it, it was like I’d been jolted by electricity—I suddenly shot upright, staring at the empty space beside me.
I rubbed my eyes.
Where was Suo Tian?
I opened the door and looked around, but didn’t see him anywhere.
It felt strange—where could he have gone in the middle of the night?
Just as I was about to go back to my room, I heard faint voices coming from the room next door.
My heart skipped a beat… it was Suo Tian’s voice!
Why would he be in Xiao Xue’s room this late at night?
I crept closer and could only hear Han Xue responding in confusion, saying things like, “No, everything’s fine… how could that be?” and similar replies.
After a while, I didn’t hear Suo Tian speak again.
A few seconds later, I heard footsteps approaching the door.
I quickly turned and ran back to my room, climbed into bed, and pretended to be asleep.
But the footsteps passed right by my door and headed downstairs.
Just as I was wondering what he was doing going downstairs in the middle of the night, I heard the sound of slippers from the next room.
Then the door burst open, and before I could even sit up, Han Xue rushed in chattering, grabbed me, and pulled me up.
Without giving me time to react, she blurted out:
“Hey, Chen Yang, what’s going on with Suo Tian? Why did he come to my room in the middle of the night asking about Xiao Pu these past few days? When did he get so familiar with Xiao Pu? Instead of caring about his own brother-in-law, he’s suddenly worried about Xiao Shu’s younger brother?”
I was a bit surprised and could only pretend I had no idea. “Why would Suo Tian go to your room in the middle of the night to ask about Chen Pu?”
Han Xue waved her hand. “How would I know? I had just opened the door to go up to the rooftop for some air, and he dragged me back inside. In the dark, it nearly scared me to death.”
Then her expression suddenly changed, and she grabbed me again. “Do you think Xiao Pu did something wrong and made Suo Tian unhappy, so he went to deal with him in the middle of the night?”
My heart sank for a moment.
Could it be that my guess…
Even though I was full of doubts, I still said to Han Xue, “You should go back and sleep first. Xiao Pu is just a kid—if he did something wrong, Suo Tian wouldn’t do anything to him anyway. Besides, maybe he just asked casually.”
Han Xue turned back to look at the room, looking a bit conflicted. “But… where did Suo Tian go?”
Then she looked at me helplessly. “Chen Yang, I’m the kind of person who speaks bluntly. If I only half-understand something, I’d rather not know at all. Can you just tell me what’s going on?”
I sighed and pulled Han Xue down from the bed. “Let’s quietly go upstairs to the second floor and take a look. I only have a guess—I can’t be sure.”
“A guess? A guess about what?” Han Xue’s expression changed, and she took a sharp breath.
“Is something wrong with Xiao Pu…?”
I glanced at her. “He’s just a kid, what could be wrong with him? It’s just that… maybe because of his temper or because someone influenced him, he might have done something wrong.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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