NOVPUB
Chapter 184: Chapter 184 This Team
Dusk fell, and those staying at the gas station began their dinner. The main dish was roasted meat and baked mantou slices, mouthwatering and filling, complemented with two big pots of appetizing hot and sour soup made by Yu Wanxi and Ye Jing, containing egg drops and dried vegetables. After the roasted meat and mantou, a bowl of this soup made one utterly content.
Outside, people ate with gusto. Everyone, in groups of three or five, conversed in lowered voices. The good meal clearly lifted everyone’s spirits and lightened the atmosphere of the camp a bit.
Tian Xinyue had wanted to eat with Han Jiaojiao, but seeing her seated with Han Yi, her heart sank a little, and she didn’t dare approach. Han Yi’s anger was still vivid in her mind, so after some thought, Tian Xinyue decided to give up, turning instead to join Yu Wanxi and Ye Jing for dinner.
Ye Jing was feeding Hao Tian, tearing the mantou into little pieces to combine with the roasted meat before feeding it to her. A five-year-old child is certainly capable of eating alone, but kids eat slowly and messily. Ye Jing, wanting to prevent any food waste, preferred the hassle of feeding her daughter herself.
Tian Xinyue found Hao Tian’s oily, plump cheeks adorable as she ate.
Sometimes Hao Tian would drop crumbs of food into the bib around her neck, and she would pick them up and continue eating, obviously well educated not to waste food.
"Why did Xiaojing leave the base?" Tian Xinyue asked curiously.
She understood Zhou Yan and Yu Wanxi’s decision to follow Han Yi, but Hao Boming and Ye Jing had a child. They didn’t seem like the kind to seek adventure, right?
Ye Jing’s movements stalled for a moment. Should she say they were forcibly taken, or should she say they shamelessly clung on? It seemed either way would be somewhat inappropriate.
Looking embarrassed, Ye Jing replied, "Uh... It was my husband’s decision to follow young master Han, I just go along with him."
"Oh..." The answer was obviously evasive, but Tian Xinyue wasn’t disheartened. It was just casual conversation, and she hadn’t expected to uncover any earth-shattering secrets.
Tian Xinyue looked toward the direction of the convenience store and, through the transparent glass door, saw Liu Ling sitting motionless inside. She picked up a few mantou and some roasted meat, then said to Ye Jing, "Sister Xiaojing, I’ll take some food over to them."
"Are you taking it to the man who was shot?" Yu Wanxi suddenly spoke up, "A patient shouldn’t eat roasted meat, it’s too greasy. Wait a moment, I’ll make him a bowl of egg noodles."
"Ah... Sister Yu, wouldn’t that be too much trouble?" Tian Xinyue was a bit apprehensive. Food was very precious, and making a separate meal seemed problematic, didn’t it?
"Not at all. Yan Xiao and Zhao Wei also had separate egg noodle dishes. Their wounds haven’t fully healed, so they have many dietary restrictions too." Yu Wanxi said, already beginning to skillfully prepare the ingredients.
Upon hearing this, Tian Xinyue turned to look at the crowd. She didn’t recognize Zhao Wei, but she did know Yan Xiao. At Han Jiaojiao’s birthday party, Yan Xiao had used his ability to roast a whole sheep, which ended up completely charred... it was a memorable disaster...
—— Yan Xiao sat among a group, indeed holding a bowl of noodles, and because his hand was still not flexible enough to use chopsticks, he was using a spoon. Well, eating noodles with a spoon was quite a peculiar sight.
Tian Xinyue couldn’t help but cast her gaze to the giant military truck parked on the outskirts of the camp. She was really curious how much food Han Jiaojiao’s brother had stored. With so many people eating and drinking, how come it never ran out?
Since Tian Xinyue had come into contact with Han Jiaojiao, she realized that the Han Family’s meals were exceptionally good. Perhaps this standard wouldn’t be considered more than decent before the apocalyptic world, but now it was the apocalyptic world, a period when countless people were starving and forced to catch Mutant Rats for food. Here with Han Jiaojiao, they might not have delicacies like abalone or bird’s nest every day, but compared to other people, it was astonishingly extravagant.
Why not, she thought, strive to stay?
The idea that suddenly sprang to mind made Tian Xinyue blush slightly. She had to admit, the temptation of food was indeed great. Beyond that, what attracted her even more was the sense of stability this team provided, a feeling she only experienced while on missions with Hong Yun.
Chewing the mantou slowly, Tian Xinyue pondered where this sense of stability came from. Was it from Han Yi’s unfathomably powerful strength? Or Lu Changyuan’s craftiness and resourcefulness? Or perhaps from Yan Xiao and Xiao Jian, the team’s right and left arms?
"Big sister, it’s tastier if you eat it with the meat," Hao Tian noticed Tian Xinyue absent-mindedly chewing on the dry mantou and kindly reminded her.
Tian Xinyue snapped back to reality and flashed Hao Tian a smiling face, "Thank you, Tiantian."
Tian Xinyue picked up a greasy piece of roast meat with a bun and took a bite.
It was so delicious she wanted to cry...
...
Inside the convenience store, two people sat in silence facing each other.
Liu Ling kept crying, her hand holding onto Wei Jie’s without letting go.
Wei Jie saw her tears streaming down continuously and felt all the accusatory words he had choke in his throat, unable to come out.
Even though she was the one who had done wrong, he actually couldn’t even muster the energy to question her.
Now that he thought about it, he seemed to have no right to question her either. Since the time they decided to be together, he hadn’t really... done anything for her. After all, she was in the ability team, and he in the Special Training Team. Even if she encountered any troubles, he couldn’t be of any help.
What could he do? He had no ability...
Wei Jie couldn’t help but sigh softly.
Hearing his sigh, Liu Ling gripped his hand even tighter, sobbing, "Scold me, please. It’s my fault... I’m sorry..."
Wei Jie looked at Liu Ling. Did he like this woman? ...Yes, of course he liked her, but not to the extent of being so in love that he couldn’t let go or free himself. However, if the two of them had shared more experiences and spent more time together, maybe these feelings would have become stronger.
Should he continue this relationship?
Liu Ling, as if seeing the hesitation in his eyes, said through tears, "It’s my fault, I was confused for a moment, I was just too scared..." Because she was too scared, she still rushed forward towards the flame like a moth to a flame, clutching onto that last thread of hope despite knowing the impossibility of her actions.
Wei Jie’s expression was inscrutable as he spoke slowly, "But, what’s the difference between doing this and staying at the base? That man was just uglier compared to Han Yi... If he had been like Han Yi, would you... not have left Beicheng Base with me?"
"No, it’s not like that!" Liu Ling shook her head frantically, "I just wanted to seek shelter!"
Wei Jie’s voice was hoarse and weak, "...Do you think, without doing anything, you can just receive protection? You just wanted to be Han Yi’s woman; being his woman is certainly more glorious than staying by my side..."
Liu Ling’s tears flowed even faster, "It’s not like that! I was wrong, my thinking was flawed... Please forgive me, okay?"
"I can feel scared too," Wei Jie closed his eyes, feeling a warmth around his eyes, "You weren’t wrong, I have no ability, I can’t protect you. If something like this happens again in the future... will you also abandon me to choose a man with greater strength?"
"Please... don’t say that..." Liu Ling covered her mouth in agony, trying to stop the sound of her crying from spilling out.
The glass door made a creaking sound, and Tian Xinyue stood at the door with an awkward expression.
"...I’ve come to deliver dinner."
