Chapter 78

After Wen Jiuze appeared, Xue Ling felt that the voices of the Bureau staff became weaker.

The two younger members at the back looked visibly nervous. When Wen Jiuze walked past them, they hurriedly stepped aside, as if he were a dangerous person.

Thinking about the people at the First Research Institute, Xue Ling couldn’t help but wonder if Wen Jiuze had caused them trouble too.

“Come in and sit down, don’t stand at the door. Let me get you some water,” Xue Ling recalled her manners from when she was human and quickly went to the cabinet to find cups.

“Sorry to disturb you,” the group filed in. Under Wen Jiuze’s watchful gaze, they squeezed onto the only couch in the living room.

“Wen Jiuze! Wen Jiuze, why are there no cups at your house?” Xue Ling shouted from the kitchen.

“I don’t need to drink water. Why would I have cups?” Wen Jiuze walked over.

Xue Ling stared at the empty shelves and suspiciously asked, “There’s nothing here. Do you really live here?”

She got up and pushed Wen Jiuze’s back, guiding him outside. “Go buy some cups now.”

Wen Jiuze looked back at the group on the couch, feeling uneasy. “You go buy them, I’ll stay here.”

Xue Ling protested, “I don’t know where to buy them! Hurry up and go!”

Wen Jiuze was reluctantly pushed out, asking, “What kind of cups should I buy? Disposable cups or regular ones? How big should they be…?”

The people sitting on the couch watched in shock as the anomaly squad’s top member was shoved out of the house and sent off to buy something.

——You also have such an obedient side?

The younger person sitting at the edge of the couch whispered, “It’s been years since we saw this big shot. Has his temper changed?”

Xue Ling slammed the door shut and turned back, saying, “Sorry, do you need me to cooperate with any work regarding the identity paperwork?”

The leader hurriedly replied, “Actually, we’re just here to go through the process. The identity paperwork was already completed a long time ago. We’re just confirming that it was activated by the actual person, then we’ll write a report to explain things to our superiors. Since your situation is special, we hope you can understand.”

“Of course,” Xue Ling’s easy-going attitude made the group visibly relieved.

“Can I ask when my identity paperwork was processed?”

“It was nine years ago, processed alongside Mr. Wen Jiuze’s paperwork.”

“But at that time, I… Can this be done without my presence in person?”

“Normally, that wouldn’t be allowed, but…” One of the staff wiped their forehead and gave a somewhat strained smile.

Xue Ling understood. “What did he do to get my identity paperwork processed?”

“Well, we’re not entirely sure, but Mr. Wen Jiuze joined the top abnormal team in Area A and received many city contribution medals…”

…..

Wen Jiuze returned with a bag of cups, only to find that the group had already left.

He casually placed the bag on the table and noticed Xue Ling sitting by the window.

“They left pretty quickly. They didn’t make things difficult for you, did they?”

His protective instinct was growing stronger. Xue Ling smiled and replied, “They’re all afraid of you; how could they make things difficult for me?”

Wen Jiuze leaned back on the sofa. “I haven’t done anything to them.”

Xue Ling pulled him up. “There are still many things to do. You just want to rest.”

Instead of getting up, she ended up being pulled back onto the sofa by him. Wen Jiuze laid one of his legs over her lap.

“No rush, there’s plenty of time. We can take things slow.”

Xue Ling propped herself up on his knee and suddenly asked, “Do you have a lot of city contribution medals?”

“They’re in the drawer by the bedside table in the bedroom. You can get them yourself. They’re all inside.”

Xue Ling pushed aside his heavy leg and quickly returned with a large box. Inside were large medals, small badges, and other awards that could be worn around the neck, all mixed together.

She picked up a golden badge sealed in glass. “Heart of History, what kind of medal is this?”

“All the awakened frozen people and the meritorious martyrs who have been recorded in history have it. This is mine. You also have one. If you want, you can go and claim it in two days.”

“You handled all my identification paperwork for me. Why didn’t you collect my medal too?”

“Don’t you like this? Don’t you want to take it yourself?”

Xue Ling paused for a moment before responding, noticing his relaxed attitude again. “Actually, when I overheard your conversation with the smart housekeeper, I thought you might have also taken care of our marriage certificate.”

Wen Jiuze scoffed, “It’s just a certificate. There’s no need for that.”

Xue Ling glanced at his proud demeanor and couldn’t help but remind him, “You remember, we haven’t gotten back together yet, right?”

Wen Jiuze stared at her for a long time before finally replying, “Aren’t we already back together?”

“When?” she asked.

Wen Jiuze reached out and grabbed the back of her head. “You’ve been asleep too long. Your brain’s a little fuzzy. You and I, in our situation, do you know what it’s called? A de facto marriage, over 300 years. The new marriage laws and civil registries don’t even last as long as we’ve known each other.”

Xue Ling: “But we haven’t gotten back together yet.”

Wen Jiuze: “…”

“Ha!” Xue Ling burst into laughter at the expression on his face, holding her face as she laughed out loud. “Hahahaha—”

She lost her balance from laughing and ended up falling on him, her hands bracing against his chest.

Wen Jiuze’s hand was large and rough, slipping into her hair at the back of her head. His palm pressed against her neck, and with a slight push, she found herself collapsing into him.

“Don’t let others define it. You tell me, what’s our relationship?” He squinted, with a smile at the corners of his eyes, with a hint of menace.

Xue Ling wasn’t afraid of him. She deliberately teased, “We’re…”

Wen Jiuze bit her lower lip, then let go. “What did you say?”

Xue Ling’s hair was disheveled from his grip. She muffled a laugh, lowering her head and rubbing her face against his neck. She only rubbed twice before she felt the tug on her hair.

“Let go! You’re biting my hair, are you a dog?”

Wen Jiuze pushed her messy hair aside and started kissing and biting her face, neck, and ears.

“I am a dog, so whatever you say, I can’t understand.” He grumbled, amused but dissatisfied, his lips leaving her face red and wet.

When they had been together before, aside from the first time, Wen Jiuze rarely left noticeable marks on her. At that time, he was still immature, thinking such marks looked like signs of a beating, so he usually held back in his strength and actions.

In contrast, Xue Ling liked to leave marks on him, especially on his chest, where she often bit him.

But after Xue Ling turned into a zombie, every contact between them was cautious, even holding hands, as they had to be mindful of any open wounds.

After Wen Jiuze also became a zombie, their lives remained turbulent, filled with uncertainty and separation. Pain or happiness could only be expressed through embraces.

Now, it seemed like with their revival, their bodies had awakened as well.

After talking with the people from the household registration office earlier, the stubborn Wen Jiuze, who was so determined to prove her existence, made Xue Ling suddenly want to kiss him.

But when he came back, he just lay on the sofa, not showing any interest in her.

“Wen Jiuze,” Xue Ling lowered her body a bit, embarrassed, and asked in a soft voice, “I want to bite you, is that okay?”

Wen Jiuze, propping himself up with one hand on the sofa, immediately sat up and frowned as he stared at her lips. “What kind of bite? Are your teeth itching, or do you feel uncomfortable? Do you still want to bite people like before? Did something go wrong with the revival treatment they did for you?”

Xue Ling: “…”

She hooked the now-suspicious Wen Jiuze in an instant and bit his slightly pursed lips.

There was still a faint red mark on her face from earlier, her eyes averted with a shy, wet look as she honestly lifted his shirt with her hands.

Wen Jiuze: “…”

“Don’t tense up, relax. I want it softer,” she whispered, urging him as she bumped against his rigid chest.

She could clearly hear the steady beat of his heart inside. It was so intense that she felt like she could almost bite through his skin to taste it.

“Ah…”

“Ding ding, ding ding, the smart housekeeper kindly reminds you that there is a visitor.”

The two tangled up on the sofa froze. Wen Jiuze clenched his fists and hit the couch irritably. “I told you this stupid thing should be turned off.”

But Xue Ling had already pulled away from his neck, grabbing her disheveled hair and running toward the bathroom. “You go open the door.”

Wen Jiuze scowled and sat up, grabbed the T-shirt thrown on the floor, and pulled it on. After sitting on the sofa for a moment, he finally got up to open the door.

“You’d better have a good reason for coming.”

Outside the door stood the captain, the deputy captain, and three young members of their team. When they saw their team leader’s aggressive face, it was hard to shake off the nervous feeling in their hearts.

Didn’t they say that the “team boss” finally found the person he was looking for? He should be in a great mood, right? Why does he still have such a frightening expression? Did they hear the wrong news?

They even brought something to celebrate as to not provoke the him.

“Wen Jiuze, who is this? Another official business visit?”

A voice came from behind. It was Xue Ling asking. Wen Jiuze opened the door, making way for them.

 “Members of the Abnormal Team.”

Xue Ling saw several people standing at the door. Their skin was the same cold white, and they had red eyes. They were thawed people like them.

Xue Ling didn’t recognize them, but it seemed like they knew her. Each of them looked at her with strange excitement and enthusiasm.

She couldn’t help but glance at herself, wondering if there were any marks she hadn’t cleaned up properly.

“Ah, you must be Xue Ling! I’ve heard so much about you! I’m the captain, Xiong Xiyuan.”

“Ah, hello! You all, hello, I’m Xue Ling. Come in, sit down, have some tea…” She remembered they probably didn’t drink tea, so she swallowed her polite words, “Just sit down, sit down.”

Seeing the only sofa in the living room, Xue Ling scratched her face.

It really was time to buy more furniture.

“I’m the deputy captain, Xiong Wenhuan. I’ve been curious about you for a long time, and today I finally got to meet you.”

“I’m Dong Yang, you can call me Xiao Dong. I’ve heard so much about you from Brother Wen. Can I call you Sister Ling? I really admire Brother Wen, and now you’re….”

The young man hadn’t finished speaking when his idol, Wen Jiuze, placed a hand on his head.

Wen Jiuze’s expression was terrifying: “You’re done greeting people, right? Now you can leave.”

The remaining two team members: “…” We didn’t even have the chance to introduce ourselves.

Dong Yang was confused, but he sensed something was wrong and cautiously said, “Brother Wen, you’ve finally found what you’ve been searching for. This is a huge event, shouldn’t we celebrate? Why do I feel like you’re not very happy?”

The deputy captain noticed that the veins on Wen Jiuze’s arm were bulging and quickly pulled Dong Yang away.

“We just came to say hello and meet you. Xue Ling just got here, and she must be busy. We won’t bother you, we’ll leave now!”

They left a bag of old-fashioned fireworks and red ribbons with the character for ‘happiness,’ before filing out of the clean, airy room.

Once the door closed, the few of them started chatting excitedly.

“I thought I had walked into the wrong door when I entered just now. The last time I was here, I called for Brother Wen to come on a mission, and the place was all dark and smelled of dust.”

“Is that Xue Ling? She’s a bit different from what I imagined. She seems really kind, unlike Wen Jiuze at all!”

“I’ve read about them in historical records. I thought she’d be a fierce warrior like Wen Jiuze, but she looked so shy just now, her face all red and speaking gently.”

“Deputy captain, did I say something wrong? Why do I feel like Brother Wen was a little angry?” Dong Yang asked nervously. “I just thought it was great that Brother Wen wouldn’t be alone anymore. I was happy for him.”

“That’s not called being alone. It’s called being a widower. You’ll be fine as long as you stop talking nonsense,” the deputy captain replied.

After the guests left, the room quieted down.

Xue Ling rubbed her still-red face. “Why does it feel like everyone who knows you knows me too?”

Wen Jiuze walked over from the door. “Isn’t that a good thing? Everyone who knows me knows you. When they remember me, they’ll remember you too. Didn’t you say you wanted to be remembered?”

Even if she hadn’t woken up in this new world, her name would still leave a trace here.

“Come here, let’s continue.”