Chapter 14

Wen Jiuze’s hand rested on the box of allergy medication, but his eyes remained fixed on Xue Ling.

She leaned her head against the car window, and the hem of the skirt he had changed for her was spread out on the seat. Looking closely, there were some inconspicuous marks of dust and stains on it.

She went to find medicine for him. She was still sane, and she still remembered him—

Wen Jiuze suddenly held his breath. The uncertainty that had pulled at him since last night, the pain he felt seeing Xue Ling turn into a zombie after three years, and the hopelessness that had built up over those years all rushed away at this moment.

All that remained was one thought: to embrace her.

He climbed into the back seat, enveloping Xue Ling in his arms.

Xue Ling, exhausted from a long night of work, felt drained as she quietly rested in the car. She was startled when this silent man suddenly squeezed in beside her.

She had already been huddled in the corner, and now Wen Jiuze pressed her tightly against the window and the seatback.

He used so much force that she felt as if he was going to flatten her. Fortunately, as a zombie, she didn’t need to breathe. Otherwise, she might have suffocated.

It seemed that Wen Jiuze was not satisfied with just squeezing her flat. He reached for her and pulled her tightly into his embrace, his hand unconsciously exploring the back of her head as if trying to confirm something.

The other hand pressed firmly against her back, radiating an overwhelming warmth while also pushing her forward.

Before she realized it, Xue Ling’s head was resting against Wen Jiuze’s neck.

This position was so dangerous! With one bite, she could easily sink her teeth into his neck, and no matter how quickly Wen Jiuze reacted, he wouldn’t be able to stop her in time.

However, he didn’t seem very aware of his surroundings right now, so he probably wouldn’t even flinch if she bit him.

Only her mind was active as Xue Ling thought.

Her chest was eerily calm, with no heartbeat left, but at that moment, she could clearly feel Wen Jiuze’s heart racing against her.

His breaths were rapid, occasionally halting as if he was trying to control his intense emotions.

All of Wen Jiuze’s reactions told her that he was very excited.

Xue Ling had never seen him like this. No matter what happened, he always remained calm and indifferent, exuding an air of someone who had never known fear.

Xue Ling remembered an earlier time when they rode the cable car. It had suddenly stopped halfway due to a malfunction, leaving them suspended a thousand meters in the air for a long time.

The mountain wind howled, causing the cable car to sway. Several people inside became pale with fear, and one cried out, “We’re not going to fall, are we?”

Only Wen Jiuze remained unfazed, appearing half-asleep. He yawned, reached out to pull her into his embrace, and pressed her face against his chest.

“If you’re scared, don’t look down. Nothing will happen,” he casually said, eventually resting his chin on her head and falling asleep since she had dragged him out of bed at four-thirty that morning to line up for the cable car.

At that time, his heartbeat had been steady, pulsing regularly.

Unlike now, when it was so frantic.

Xue Ling was surprised by his intense reaction. After all, a few days ago, when he suddenly saw her on the street, he was not so excited. He was able to greet and talk to her calmly and with a smile.

Could it be that he had been stimulated by something else during his brief outing?

Xue Ling leaned her head back forcefully, trying to see his expression, but his hand pressed her back down.

After waiting for what felt like a long time and growing slightly impatient, Wen Jiuze finally released her.

He stared into her eyes and slowly asked, “You remember me, right?”

Xue Ling had no intention of hiding it since she had already gotten him the allergy medication. Acting like a clueless zombie was getting a bit difficult, but she didn’t want to admit it outright.

After all, she was a zombie and couldn’t speak, so she remained silent and unresponsive.

Wen Jiuze asked again, his voice softer and more tender this time, as his warm fingers brushed off a bit of dust from her face.

Xue Ling averted her gaze, avoiding eye contact with him.

Suddenly, Wen Jiuze leaned forward, resting his head gently on her shoulder. The position made him seem vulnerable, and his voice reflected that.

“Are you angry…Please deal with me, Sister Ling.”

Xue Ling: “…”

Oh my, oh my, listen to how he’s addressing me.

She was a year older than him, but he used to call her by name without a care. Now he was finally using something more endearing.

Xue Ling curled her fingers and pinched Wen Jiuze’s ear hard.

Wen Jiuze chuckled softly, holding her close and gently swaying her side to side.

The warmth of his body and the heat from his neck reached her lips.

Xue Ling opened her palm, pressed it against his neck, and firmly pushed his head away.

What’s the difference between this and eating barbecue in front of me while I’m on a diet?

Xue Ling had been trying to lose weight for a while, eating little at night and absolutely avoiding food after eight o’clock.

Then Wen Jiuze started bringing late-night snacks home every day. The irresistible aroma lured Xue Ling to abandon her diet, and she couldn’t stick to it for the last two days.

Thinking about this, Xue Ling pulled on Wen Jiuze’s hair.

His hair was a bit stiff and naturally curly, messy from lack of grooming.

The tousled hair brushed against her for a moment.

Finally released, she noticed the sun was already high in the sky.

It was stuffy in the car, and Xue Ling sat under a tree in the courtyard while Wen Jiuze disappeared for a moment. He came back with a small blackboard, the kind usually found outside street vendors, often used to list recommended drinks.

He probably wanted her to communicate with him by writing. Xue Ling moved her stiff fingers.

She could manage to make a gripping motion, but it was inconvenient to hold a pen and write.

Seeing the small blackboard in front of her along with a box of colored chalk, Xue Ling didn’t feel like moving.

Wen Jiuze squatted in front of her and leaned against the blackboard. “If you can’t talk, do you still remember how to write?”

Who can’t write?!

To prove herself, Xue Ling picked up a piece of chalk and slowly began to write on the blackboard.

The first word: you

Once she finished, she felt it looked ugly and was too large, occupying half the blackboard. Xue Ling paused for a moment and continued writing on the other half.

The second word: are

“I am…” Wen Jiuze raised his hand to erase the two words that filled the blackboard, encouraging her to continue writing while guessing, “How do I know you still have self-awareness? What you doing in Anxi City?”

Xue Ling slowly and firmly wrote the third and final word: dog

As the word took shape, Wen Jiuze fell silent for a moment.

Then he suddenly chuckled, looking unconcerned. “Okay, I’m a dog. Woof, woof, woof.”

If he were bothered by such a trivial insult, he wouldn’t have made it this far.

Xue Ling: “…”

Wen Jiuze: “Write something else. Anything is fine, even if you want to scold me.”

He wanted to communicate with her and had many things to say.

Xue Ling tossed the chalk aside, stood up stiffly, and walked over to hit him in the face with the box of allergy medicine he had forgotten.

Wen Jiuze’s smile faltered for a moment but quickly returned to normal as he opened a pill and tossed it into his mouth.

“All done, I took it.”

Xue Ling cared about him. Every time he realized this, he felt an inexplicable pain.

It was the same now.

After swallowing the pill, he suddenly leaned in and kissed Xue Ling’s cheek.

Xue Ling’s eyes widened in surprise, making it hard for her to show such a clear expression with her zombie face.

She stared at him for a moment, then picked up the chalk and wrote on the blackboard: I am a zombie!!!

The bold exclamation marks conveyed her shock.

“I know you are a zombie, so what?” Wen Jiuze smiled.

Xue Ling quickly wrote on the clean blackboard: Are you crazy?

Wen Jiuze thoughtfully replied, “It’s possible. My mental state hasn’t been great lately.”

He had been increasingly impatient with everyone and everything. Before finding Xue Ling, he had to suppress his irritation just to listen to people talking.

Xue Ling rummaged through the car and dragged out a large bag from beneath the modified seat.

Seeing the words “Anxi Wenkang Hospital” on the bag, Wen Jiuze realized where she had gone to get medicine for him.

Xue Ling rummaged through the bag, finally finding two medicine boxes.

Wen Jiuze took a look at them: medication for mania, depression, and bipolar disorder. She had brought quite a selection.

He didn’t take any. He felt his current state was excellent, even better than any day over the past three years.

They gathered around the small blackboard as Xue Ling scribbled various meaningless phrases.

Whenever Wen Jiuze teased her, she felt the urge to write something back and had already forgotten her initial reluctance to write.

Wen Jiuze watched her write slowly, propping his chin up. He was not in a hurry at all and would help wipe the small blackboard clean in time, but occasionally he would start erasing before Xue Ling had finished writing.

Xue Ling, who had just finished writing half of a complicated word: “…”

It was clear he was doing it on purpose and was being annoying.

Even knowing he was being deliberate, she still got angry as he intended. She broke two pieces of chalk on the blackboard and three on him.

“No need to write complex words. It’s fine to leave them blank. I can guess by myself,” Wen Jiuze suggested thoughtfully.

You can guess? Can you really? Xue Ling wasn’t convinced.

Before she knew it, the interaction turned into a fill-in-the-blank sentence, and she intentionally omitted some words.

For a nine-word sentence, she left out four words and challenged him to guess.

You think you’re so clever? Go ahead, guess!

“You’re… uh… chicken… dog…?” Wen Jiuze pondered. “Did I sneak around last night?”

He actually guessed it right! But Xue Ling immediately shook her head, indicating he was wrong.

“Okay, I didn’t get it. Do you want to know what I did last night?” Wen Jiuze asked.

In Xue Ling’s unwavering gaze, Wen Jiuze lowered his eyelids. “I visited the remaining family members.”

“Even though they treated me poorly, knowing they’re doing well puts my mind at ease.”

The Wen family siblings, who had almost been chopped up: ?

Xue Ling noticed he looked a bit sad and started writing on the blackboard to change the subject.

The chalk scraped against the blackboard, making a scratching sound. As she grew accustomed to writing with chalk, her handwriting became smaller, allowing her to complete a full sentence.

She wrote: I don’t know why I am so different from others.

——I don’t know why I am different from other zombies.

Wen Jiuze read it word by word and guessed slowly: “You don’t know why you are different from other zombies?”

Xue Ling nodded.

Wen Jiuze also nodded: “I know.”

Xue Ling: “?”