Zhuang Xiao caught up with Huo Xiao, keeping a distance of two to three steps behind him as the two walked one in front of the other.

Huo Xiao didn’t acknowledge her, but neither did he make any move to drive her away.

Panting heavily, Zhuang Xiao followed him, occasionally breaking into small hurried steps to keep up.

They walked for over an hour before a few scattered figures began to appear on the road.

Huo Xiao let out a heavy sigh of relief. They had finally reached the outskirts of the shantytown—this meant a certain level of safety was now within reach.

At this point, his legs were trembling, his stomach growling like a drum, and stars danced before his eyes.

That girl was still following behind at a not-too-far, not-too-close distance—he could even hear her labored breathing.

Now that they were at the shantytown, the next area would be the safe zone. Regardless of which region this girl was from, she should be able to find her way home from there.

Zhuang Xiao looked around. The few people on the road all carried heavy loads on their backs, rushing toward the distant glow of light.

Thanks to the cover of night, no one could make out the contents of her backpack.

Then, just as they were about seven or eight hundred meters from the light ahead, Huo Xiao suddenly turned right and headed up a slope.

Zhuang Xiao paused at the fork, hesitated for a moment, then decisively chose the right-hand path.

The two of them walked for another fifteen minutes or so before stopping in front of a dilapidated house.

Huo Xiao turned around and stood at the doorway, looking calmly at Zhuang Xiao as he asked, “Why are you following me?”

He’d already noticed during the walk that this girl was quite timid—any little sound or movement would make her hurry up to walk closer beside him, a stark contrast to the fiery spirit she’d shown earlier in the afternoon when she’d been shouting at the sky.

And she clearly came from a well-off family—her complexion was fair and healthy, her clothes clean and neatly pressed. She didn’t look like someone who lived in the shantytown.

Caught off guard by his sudden question, Zhuang Xiao choked on her words and couldn’t respond right away.

Seeing her hesitate in silence, Huo Xiao didn’t want to waste time here. He was too exhausted to stand outside chatting with a stranger.

He turned around and, without any attempt to hide it, retrieved a key from under a stone by the door.

Click—the lock opened.

Just as Huo Xiao entered and was about to shut the door, Zhuang Xiao quickly reached out to block it.

“Um… can I stay the night? I won’t stay for free—I’ll pay rent.”

“Really, I’m begging you. Just one night…”

She looked around—tall weeds surrounded the area, and the light from the fork in the road was no longer visible. At this point, she didn’t care how unreasonable her request sounded.

She was scared and just wanted a safe place to sleep for the night.

As for tomorrow… she’d deal with that then.

“By the way, my name’s Zhuang Xiao…” she said, holding onto the doorframe and chattering nervously, completely unaware of the odd expression on the young man’s face.

“Rea…lly…”

Just as she was about to raise her hand to swear an oath, the man inside collapsed with a thud.

Zhuang Xiao quickly withdrew her hand from the door. “That… definitely wasn’t me who pushed him…”

Yes, yes, this must be from internal injuries he suffered when he fell earlier that afternoon.

Panicked, she pushed the door open, crouched down to check—still breathing. Alive.

Luckily, the moon was bright tonight, and the small courtyard was visible in the moonlight.

Calling it a courtyard was generous—it was maybe ten square meters. On one side of the door was a stone stove with a clay pot hanging above it.

On the other side were some haystacks and miscellaneous items.

Further inside was likely the bedroom—there was only one room, so what else could it be?

There was no door to the bedroom, just a curtain hanging down.

Zhuang Xiao set her backpack down and, guided by the moonlight, went to the stove and rummaged for a while before finding fire-starting tools.

She picked up a handful of hay, tied it together into a makeshift torch, and lit it.

With the fire lit, the entire courtyard became clearer.

And so did the view of the young man on the ground.

His face was pale as snow, sweat covering his forehead—he looked like he was in serious trouble.

Zhuang Xiao wedged the torch between two rocks, then lifted Huo Xiao and carried him inside.

This didn’t count as barging in uninvited, she thought. As the saying goes: saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda.

With the firelight helping her see, she scanned the room. Hanging from the ceiling was a light bulb. Sure enough, she found the switch on the right side of the doorway.

Click—the light turned on.

She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the harsh brightness.

The room was about seven or eight square meters with a single bed inside. Two boxes were stored under the bed. Some unknown leaves lay scattered on the floor, along with two chipped bowls… and on a small table were some tools whose purpose she couldn’t guess.

All four walls were made of wood. The ceiling looked like it was covered with semi-transparent plastic sheeting. Half of the roof had a black panel; the other half was covered with something unidentifiable.

Zhuang Xiao began to suspect that Huo Xiao didn’t want to let her stay not because he was cold-hearted, but because he was too embarrassed—this place was really… shabby.

After all, who doesn’t want to show their best side to others?

Especially since it was a girl asking to stay.

Right now, Zhuang Xiao genuinely believed she had figured him out.

She dragged the young man over and struggled to get him onto the bed, pulling a nearby blanket over him.

Her stomach growled loudly—so hungry.

She remembered the backpack she’d left in the yard and the torch still burning outside.

She hurried out, put out the torch, grabbed her backpack, and brought it inside.

Dragging a stool over, she placed the backpack on top and started pulling things out. Thankfully, she had packed plenty for the picnic—otherwise, the next two days would’ve been miserable.

She took out some milk and bread and devoured them ravenously. Finally, she felt a little better.

“Water… water…” came a weak voice from the bed.

“You’re awake. You want some water?” Zhuang Xiao sat on the bed holding a bottle of mineral water. With one arm, she helped him sit up and lean against her.

Driven by instinct, Huo Xiao gulped down the water. The cool, sweet liquid washed down his dry throat, immediately relieving the parched feeling.

His mind still foggy, Huo Xiao had a disoriented sense of where he even was.

Zhuang Xiao tried to offer more, but he turned his head away. “Do you need anything else? I don’t know where the hospital is around here. Do you know how to contact one? Or someone you know who can take you there…”

To Huo Xiao, it just felt like an endless voice buzzing by his ear, making his head ring.

“No need. Let me sleep for a bit,” he mumbled.

Hearing that, Zhuang Xiao gently lowered him back down, tucked him in, and pulled over a small stool to sit by his bedside.

Huo Xiao soon drifted into a fitful sleep.

Exhausted from the long day, Zhuang Xiao fell asleep with her head resting on the edge of the bed.

By the time she woke up the next day, Huo Xiao was gone.

Looking around at her surroundings, her mind stalled for a second—then everything came flooding back.

So it was all real.