Chapter 30

That happened in the middle of their relationship.

One night, while Wen Jiuze was at the training center, he suddenly received a call from Xue Ling’s classmate.

The female voice on the phone said, “Hello, are you Lingling’s boyfriend? Can you come to Cool KTV to pick her up? She’s drunk…”

The background noise was unusually loud, with girls screaming, a familiar male voice cursing, and someone yelling, “Stop calling!”

“Wen Xuan, forget it, calm down.”

Wen Jiuze knew that Xue Ling’s student union was having a dinner party that night, but he didn’t expect Wen Xuan to be there too, nor did he anticipate that Xue Ling would get drunk.

After hearing the phone call, Wen Jiuze felt a heavy weight in his heart, prompting him to bring Lin Guosheng along with him.

When they arrived at the location, they found no one else there. Only Xue Ling and one of her friends were waiting at the entrance of the KTV.

He quickly grabbed the unsteady Xue Ling and turned to the girl beside her, asking, “What happened? Was she bullied? Did Wen Xuan hit her?”

The girl waved her hands awkwardly and replied, “No, no, it’s… Lingling attacked Wen Xuan.”

She explained, “We ran into Wen Xuan and his friends at the KTV. Wen Xuan approached Lingling to talk. I don’t know what they discussed, but Lingling didn’t seem happy, so she drank some wine. Then, out of nowhere, she started arguing with Wen Xuan.”

Xue Ling unexpectedly slapped Wen Xuan. The noise on the phone captured Wen Xuan’s reaction as he was about to fight back in anger but was restrained by those around him.

Everyone advised him, “As a boy, why would you bother with a drunk girl?”

Wen Jiuze thought to himself that Xue Ling’s temper was known to all. Although she had been a bit difficult to handle recently, she wouldn’t pick fights without a reason.

Wen Xuan must have said something provoking that made her angry. Even an angry rabbit can bite. Otherwise, how else could Xue Ling have gotten into a fight with him?

Everyone tried to persuade Wen Xuan to stay in the private room while bringing Xue Ling outside.

“You’re going to stay with Lingling, right? I leave it to you. Take good care of her.”

The girl seemed a bit intimidated by the tall and mysterious Wen Jiuze. After saying this, she hurried back into the KTV.

Wen Jiuze supported Xue Ling with one hand and helped her sit on a bench. He pinched her chin and shook it gently, saying, “You dared to hit Wen Xuan. You’re really brave… What did he say to you?”

Xue Ling looked at him slowly, as if she didn’t fully understand his question.

“Did Wen Xuan bully you? Speak up.”

Xue Ling furrowed her brow into a twisted expression and slowly replied, “Xiaoxiao, I want to vomit.”

Wen Jiuze: “…”

He almost instinctively covers her mouth and picks her up to find a trash can.

After she vomited for a while, the drunken girl looked up and said, “Xiaoxiao, I want to vomit.”

Wen Jiuze: “…You are vomiting right now.”

He held her steady with one hand while using the other to lift her hair, preventing it from getting dirty.

After she finished, he steadied her and used his large hands to soothe her back, rubbing from the base of her neck down to her back.

Lin Guosheng, who was beside him, exclaimed, “Brother Jiu, why does she call you Xiaoxiao? Hahahaha, is that your nickname?”

Wen Jiuze turned to glare at him and asked, “Why are you still here?”

Lin Guosheng answered, “Haven’t I been following you?”

After sending his useless helpers away, Wen Jiuze wiped the mouth of the girl who had just vomited and picked her up.

The drunken girl clutched her ears and shouted incoherently, “Xiaoxiao, you, you…”

After a long pause, she couldn’t seem to find the words to continue.

Wen Jiuze gently patted her back, reminding her, “Don’t call me Xiaoxiao.”

Wen Jiuze entered the Wen family when he was twelve. Before that, he was not known as Wen Jiuze.

Wen Jiuze was the name given to him by Grandpa Wen. Unlike Wen Xuan and the Wen sisters, his name came from the nine rules set by Grandpa Wen when he joined the family.

Wen Jiuze couldn’t remember the specific rules, but they were meant to make him as obedient as a dog.

Before joining the Wen family, he shared his mother’s surname, Li Xiao.

According to her, he was born with a smile on his face. She believed he would grow up to be a cheerful child.

Once he got his new name, no one called him by his old name anymore, except for his mother on rare occasions.

When they spoke on the phone, his mother would use his nickname, which Xue Ling heard but never reacted to or mentioned later.

He didn’t expect her to bring it up after getting drunk. It seemed like she was teasing him in her own way.

“No, you can’t shout it out. Do you hear me?” he emphasized.

Xue Ling stared at him for a moment, then her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and she said, “Don’t be mean to me. I’m scared.”

Wen Jiuze was confused. He felt a mix of anger and amusement. In all the years they had known each other, he had never been unkind to Xue Ling. He even smiled at her after she hit him. No matter how upset he was, he never lost his temper with her.

But Xue Ling clutched his ear and murmured, “I’m scared of others being fierce and angry. It frightens me.”

Wen Jiuze winced and turned his head to escape her grasp.

Though she usually didn’t seem particularly strong, when drunk, she became quite powerful. Her expression looked pitiful, but she almost yanked his ears off.

With a deeply wronged look, she tugged on his hair like a child, repeatedly banging her chin against his head.

“Don’t be mean to me. Don’t be angry…”

Wen Jiuze wanted to pull her off but feared she would rip out his hair along with her grasp.

The back of his neck was damp, making it hard to tell if she was crying or just drooling.

As he walked down the street with her in his arms, he noticed a mother nearby holding her young child in a similar position.

The child cried loudly, writhing in his mother’s arms, demanding snacks.

Both Wen Jiuze and Xue Ling were drawn in by the child’s cries, and he soon noticed that Xue Ling began to tremble and cry as well.

“Promise me! Promise me! Woo!”

“Why are you imitating him?” Wen Jiuze asked, trying to maintain his composure.

He felt relieved that she hadn’t learned to call out for her mother like that child. He replied numbly, “Okay, I’m not fierce and I’m not angry… Let go.”

Then the drunken girl grabbed his hair and cried, “Where are my hands?”

She couldn’t even find her own hands, yet she displayed remarkable learning skills.

Wen Jiuze was baffled by her fixation. No matter what he said, she kept insisting she was afraid of making people angry and losing their tempers.

He had to reassure her several times that he would never lose his temper with her.

“Okay, no matter what happens in the future, I won’t be angry with you, nor will I lose my temper, alright?”

He was tortured into agreeing. However, when she woke up the next day, she had no recollection of the incident.

Later, whenever she inadvertently messed something up, made a mistake, or accidentally hit him too hard, she would glance at him, as if to say, “It’s strange that he’s not angry.”

Wen Jiuze chose not to remind her, wanting to see when Xue Ling would remember on her own.

But looking at her expression, it was clear she couldn’t recall.

In truth, it was merely a casual promise he had made, yet he held onto it as if it were a solemn vow.

Sometimes, it wasn’t even directed at Xue Ling, but whenever he remembered her fear of others losing their temper, the anger in his heart would ease a little.

Xue Ling felt the medicine was somewhat effective. Although Wen Jiuze had vomited after taking it, he managed to recover after feeling unwell for a day.

With the weather nice, Wen Jiuze parked his car by the river, took out a whetstone, and sat down to sharpen his frequently used short knife.

As the sound of the knife being sharpened echoed, Xue Ling raised her hand stiffly and touched her neck.

Wen Jiuze’s dagger was of excellent quality; it had severed many zombies’ heads without the blade bending. However, it still needed sharpening due to inevitable dullness.

Earlier that morning, Wen Jiuze had spoken to her cheerfully and suddenly developed an interest in sharpening his knife.

The noise of sharpening made Xue Ling feel uneasy.

Noticing her furtive glances, Wen Jiuze wanted to laugh. He flicked the blade of his knife and called her over.

When she approached, Wen Jiuze narrowed his eyes and deliberately said, “The knife is almost sharpened. Come over and see if the blade is sharp.”

Xue Ling: “!”

Xue Ling’s eyes widened.

What should I try? My neck?

She snatched the knife from him, took his place, and began sharpening it, sending him off to cook instead.

The familiar sound of knife sharpening, “cha, cha,” filled the air again by the river.

Wen Jiuze held the spatula in one hand and flipped the meat in the pan, occasionally glancing over at Xue Ling.

She was focused and diligent.

Xue Ling understood why Wen Jiuze liked sharpening his knife. This repetitive work was somewhat therapeutic.

Watching the river wash away dirt while polishing the blade brought her a sense of accomplishment.

She continued sharpening the knife even after Wen Jiuze finished his meal.

“Just grind it to this level,” he reminded her.

Xue Ling shook her head. She wasn’t done yet.

“If you keep sharpening, my knife will wear out,” he said.

Seeing she wasn’t finished having fun, he rummaged through the car for a few knives of different sizes, some of which were rusty.

“Why do you have so many knives?”

“When you go out, you can’t rely on just one. This one is the most useful now. I rarely use the others.”

Xue Ling picked up a rusty knife and began sharpening it with great interest.

The initial process of sanding away rust and stains was the most enjoyable.

As she worked on the notched knives, she imagined the countless battles Wen Jiuze must have faced.

A piece of the knife tip broke off.

There was a bloody handprint on the handle.

Xue Ling picked it up and examined it closely but couldn’t determine if it belonged to Wen Jiuze.

She became engrossed in sharpening knives, continuing even when Wen Jiuze fell asleep, and she ignored his calls to stop.

Wen Jiuze unknowingly drifted off and was abruptly awakened in the middle of the night by a dark shadow standing before him.

Xue Ling was staring down at him with a serious expression, holding a sharp knife with water still dripping from the blade.

Seeing him awake, she offered the knife to him.

Wen Jiuze: “…”

“Is it okay to grind it like this?” Xue Ling slowly handed over the writing board again.

“…That’s enough.” Wen Jiuze replied. He couldn’t fall asleep again after watching Xue Ling pick up a knife and return to the river in the dark.

Now, it was his turn to feel anxious as he listened to the sound of her sharpening the knife.

Xue Ling thoroughly sharpened the blade in one go, thinking it was more enjoyable than playing cards or chess.

The next night, they stayed in a safe campsite on the roadside. The conditions did not allow Xue Ling to continue sharpening his knife all night.

In addition to Wen Jiuze and his companion who were driving alone in a car, there was a convoy of three cars in the camp. There were men and women, young people and old people in the convoy, and it seemed like a whole family.

They sat together, eating and chatting.

In contrast, Wen Jiuze and his companion, parked in a corner, remained quiet.

Every time they camped at the site, Xue Ling would stay in the vehicle. She thought this time would be the same, but unexpectedly, Wen Jiuze glanced at the convoy across from them and suddenly pulled her out of the car.

Holding his hand tightly while wearing gloves, she nervously glanced at the people opposite and adjusted her sunglasses and mask.

“It’s fine. We’re in a dark corner with no lights. No one will notice us,” Wen Jiuze reassured her.

He unfolded two chairs and placed them in the open space next to the car, sitting down with Xue Ling.

The people in the convoy looked at them a few times before quickly turning away, no longer paying attention.

The two groups weren’t far apart, so their voices carried clearly.

After Xue Ling calmed her initial nerves, she slowly relaxed and listened to the family nearby.

When the son complained about the noodles lacking flavor due to insufficient salt, his mother scolded him for being fussy.

A young girl produced a packet of instant noodle seasoning, causing several siblings of the same age to scramble for it.

The middle-aged couple selected some meat and vegetables, sharing them with the eldest man and encouraging him to eat more.

The old man agreed, turned, and picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, offering it to an eleven or twelve-year-old child nearby.

“Dad, eat it yourself, don’t worry about him.”

“Mom! Look at my brother, he stole my seasoning packet!”

“Why are you angry with your sister? Return it to her!”

“I want some too. Sister, give me some!”

…

Wen Jiuze held Xue Ling’s hand the entire time.

She looked up at the stars and was transported back to the time before the disaster when she lived among people and led an ordinary, peaceful life.