Chapter 98: Suspected by Song Yi

Of course she trusted him—if she didn’t, Jiang Yuan would’ve long run off on her own.

Would she have dared to go to the clothing wholesale market by herself otherwise?

Song Yi looked at her with a serious expression.

“When we were over there, it was already getting late. I figured coming back during the day wouldn’t be that safe either.
So, I stopped by the flower market and brought back the liquefied gas from there as well.”

“Oh, that explains it. No wonder I didn’t see anyone when I went looking for you.”

Jiang Yuan put on a knowing expression, trying to ease Song Yi’s suspicion.

But come on—who was he? How could he be so easily fooled?

“Then why didn’t you come back right away?”

“It was too dark at night. I couldn’t see clearly, and I was alone. I got scared.

I took a wrong turn and ended up in the old town wholesale market area.
I’ve been there before and knew there’s a food court on the top floor, so I thought I’d check it out just in case.

But unexpectedly, there were people there. Thankfully, they were noisy, and their flashlights were all over the place.

I was alone, and I didn’t think I could handle it, so I quietly left.”

She spoke with absolute sincerity. This man was clearly testing her, and she couldn’t show any weakness.

In the apocalypse, all alliances are fragile.

Without shared, concrete interests, no one would stick together. That applied to them too.

Get emotionally invested, and you lose.

“You did the right thing. Staying alive is the top priority.”

Was Song Yi actually concerned about her?

Jiang Yuan thought it was strange and couldn’t help asking, “Did you guys run into any danger on your way back?”

“No real danger, but we did find a small supermarket.”

What?

Now it was her turn to widen her eyes. No wonder it took them so long to get back—that explained it!

Earlier, they brought back three full kayaks of supplies. If that was from one trip, then it was a lot.
Far more than what they had left before. She’d been too busy moving things earlier to even think about that.

“Wow, that’s lucky.”

Song Yi finished packing away the two powered kayaks. Including hers, that made four.

He took care of three and let Jiang Yuan carry the last one.

“You have a motorized kayak too?”

Here it comes. What she was dreading—no avoiding it now.

“Yeah… I bought it for outdoor trips a while back. I don’t really know much about it.”

She kept a straight face, staying calm and unfazed.

As long as she wasn’t embarrassed, it’d be others who’d feel awkward.

“Let’s talk upstairs.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Yuan turned and headed upstairs first.

Behind her, Song Yi curled his lips into a faint, cold smile and shook his head.

Once the seed of suspicion is planted, everything you do afterward looks suspicious.

Jiang Yuan figured their little self-rescue team probably wouldn’t last.

But it wasn’t a loss for her—there was already plenty of stuff. And her personal space was well-equipped.

She wasn’t afraid. She had a strong safety net.

They reached the 20th floor. The inside was once again jam-packed—just like before when nothing had been sorted.

“Brother Song, Sister Yuan, come in quickly.”

Zhang Kaiyang’s voice was filled with caution.

Jiang Yuan noticed him glancing toward unit 2001 next door.

Her heart skipped a beat. Something didn’t feel right.

“What happened?”

Zhang Kaiyang closed the door and checked again before walking over.

“While we were moving stuff earlier, someone from next door opened their door. Not sure what they were trying to do, but the moment they saw me and Uncle Jiang, they went back in right away.”

“Yeah, it was weird,” Jiang Shouzhi chimed in. Under normal circumstances, they’d at least come over and ask. But they avoided them like the plague.

As if the two of them were some kind of terrifying beasts—definitely suspicious.

“I know what’s going on.”

Everyone turned to look at Jiang Yuan.

She explained how she had traded supplies with unit 2001, including the warning she gave them.

Everyone fell silent, and Ye Mianmian couldn’t hold it in.

“Mingjie had no choice. They live right next door. We’ve been hauling stuff back and forth, of course they noticed.

Honestly, I don’t think it’s just them. A lot of people probably saw but are too scared to come out.”

What she said made sense—everyone knew it.

But having it out in the open made them all uneasy.

“And since they’re right next door, doing nothing would actually be more dangerous.”

Song Yi sighed. Though it was quiet, Jiang Yuan heard it clearly.

“Yeah. Giving them a few supplies is fine—it keeps them calm. If they get desperate, the first ones to suffer will be you two.”

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Zhang Kaiyang and Ye Mianmian.

The two of them knew this too, and couldn’t help feeling nervous.

“Still, stay alert. Things aren’t what they used to be. If anything strange happens next door, you know what to do.”

His tone left no room for argument. The implication was clear, and cold sweat broke out on everyone.

Even Jiang Yuan, who had blood on her hands, felt a bit intimidated.

“Don’t worry, Brother Song. I know what to do,” Zhang Kaiyang assured him.

“Yeah. Leave it to me and Kaiyang. We won’t cause trouble, but we won’t back down either.

The way they reacted just now shows they’re afraid. Let’s not scare ourselves unnecessarily.”

After leaving the service area, Ye Mianmian’s worldview had changed.

She no longer had high hopes for the pre-apocalypse way of life.

“Alright, alright. It’s not that big a deal. Let’s just stay alert and clean up this place—we don’t even have room to move.”

Jiang Shouzhi tried to lighten the mood. He had been pleased to see Ye Mianmian defending Jiang Yuan earlier.

Since nothing had actually happened, there was no need to worry too much.

“Yeah, let’s clean up.”

Because Jiang Shouzhi had joined them, everyone insisted on dividing the supplies into five shares and giving him one.

Jiang Yuan thought it wasn’t necessary—they were all in this together, and she had gotten plenty anyway.

Still, these people knew how to show gratitude.

When dividing the bags, they’d always slip her a few extra items.

She had Jiang Shouzhi take some things upstairs first. After such a long haul, she was worried her dad would get distracted. After all, the liquor was just sitting there.

With four people working, things went much faster. Ye Mianmian and Zhang Kaiyang stored their shares directly in their rooms.

There was so much that even the entrance was piled up. The leftover stuff that couldn’t be evenly divided went to Song Yi and Jiang Yuan.

They had contributed the kayaks and Jiang Shouzhi’s labor, after all.

Jiang Yuan didn’t refuse. Acting overly modest would seem fake.

“These supplies should last us for a while. Unless something really important comes up, no one should leave for now.”

After Song Yi said that, the three others all nodded in agreement.