Chapter 21: Teacher

Watching the light instantly dim, Chen Sixuan immediately crawled into the cab and used Lin Xian’s phone flashlight to confirm the train’s mileage.

Then she returned to the corner, pulled out her notebook, and with trembling hands, carefully wrote down notes.

“Day 1: Departed Jiang City, travel time 50 minutes, distance covered 54 kilometers, daylight at 16:00, darkness at 18:45.”

Chen Sixuan’s eyes trembled constantly; she stood on the edge of collapse, as if possessed, deliberately forcing herself not to think of anything outside.

Don’t think of Lin Xian, don’t think of that family of three, don’t think of the darkness outside the train, don’t think of the death awaiting her…

At that moment, the cab door automatically opened, and the corridor lights turned on, causing Chen Sixuan to jump back and land hard on the floor.

The door swung open, and Lin Xian, drenched in blood, leapt in holding a short knife. Chen Sixuan burst into relief, scrambled to her feet, slammed the large door shut, and locked it tightly—then rose again to close the small door leading to the cab, blocking the corridor light from spilling into the darkness.

“Lin classmate… are you alright?” In the carriage, Chen Sixuan knelt down, staring in shock at Lin Xian, now covered in wounds.

“Can’t die yet.” Lin Xian grabbed a bottle of clean water from behind him, twisted off the cap, and drank half of it in loud gulps before finally exhaling a long breath.

Seeing his blood-soaked state, Chen Sixuan immediately pulled out a towel to wipe him, but Lin Xian seized her wrist.

“Ah… what’s wrong?”

Chen Sixuan looked up in surprise, meeting Lin Xian’s gaze—cold, piercing, and accusatory.

“Why didn’t you open the door just now?”

Lin Xian had already climbed up earlier. Injured, he knew Da Fei’s group would leave before darkness fell, so he hid on the slope for a while, searching for his short knife.

Chen Sixuan looked up at him, seeing his serious expression, bit her lower lip, lowered her eyes, and after a long silence, spoke:

“If I had opened the door, would you have thrown me out too?”

“Yes.”

Lin Xian’s voice was icy.

Chen Sixuan’s expression darkened; hearing his answer, she slumped against the wall as if all her strength had drained, eyes shut tight with pain as silent tears streamed down.

Lin Xian sighed softly, watching her cry, and said:

“I understand your hesitation.”

“We are all human. To ignore a fellow human in distress—anyone with a shred of kindness will suffer.”

Hearing his words, Chen Sixuan finally broke down, flinging herself into Lin Xian’s arms, her shoulders shaking as her quiet sobs erupted into loud, uncontrollable wailing.

She wept with utter despair, no dignity left, like a child who had done something terrible.

“I just didn’t know what to do…”

Lin Xian gently wrapped his arms around her slender frame and said in a low voice: “Buddhism has a saying: to save others, first save yourself; to save yourself, first save your heart. If heaven won’t save you, you must save yourself. If you can’t protect yourself, you can’t protect anyone. If you had opened the door, not only would those three have died—you would have died too, and I would have died with you.”

“I know…” Chen Sixuan wept, tears streaking her face, eyes filled with guilt and remorse. “But I heard the child crying… that baby must’ve been only a few months old…”

Women are born with maternal instinct. At that moment, Chen Sixuan felt as if she had become a demon.

Lin Xian’s expression remained unchanged. He sighed softly as he watched her nearly shattered expression.

“What if I told you all of this was fake—what would you think?”

Chen Sixuan, still buried in Lin Xian’s arms, sobbed quietly. Hearing his words, her crying paused. Slowly, she lifted her head, her eyes fogged with tears, fixed on him.

“You… what did you say?”

Lin Xian’s gaze sharpened as he explained:

“We’re right next to Yushan Station. Even without the train, the best choice would be to hide inside the station. But the moment that group left, this family came running to knock—too deliberate. And… I’ve never met a mother so cruel she could strangle her own child into crying.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Sixuan’s pupils dilated violently, tears shimmering, her face filled with disbelief.

“You mean… they were lying?”

Lin Xian gave a helpless smile.

“Chen Laoshi, you’ve heard the story of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf,’ right? If I’m not mistaken, this ‘family of three’ is exactly what that group uses to lure people into opening the door.” In the apocalypse, everyone is desperate—exploiting pity is an effective tactic.

And he had experienced this exact scenario just yesterday…

Hearing Lin Xian’s words, Chen Sixuan covered her mouth in disbelief.

She couldn’t imagine human hearts could sink so low.

She thought of Director Liang, and suddenly felt cold all over—realizing how naive she had been. Now, at last, she saw true human evil.

Chen Sixuan felt drained, her eyes vacant.

Lin Xian glanced at her. He had to admit—her reaction pleased him.

He knew the cruelty of survival in the apocalypse. If Chen Sixuan had been a bleeding-heart saint—even if she’d merely begged him to open the door—he would have abandoned her without hesitation.

How could he trust such a teammate to guard the train?

But this incident had subtly changed his view of her.

In such a short time, she had grown from a pampered campus beauty into someone with this kind of courage. It proved she wasn’t just extremely intelligent—her character was extraordinary. Honestly, Lin Xian felt a flicker of admiration for this woman now.

“Am I just too stupid?”

!

After a long silence, Chen Sixuan suddenly spoke.

Lin Xian shifted his posture slightly, smiling as he replied: “You’re incredibly naive.”

Hearing his assessment, Chen Sixuan gave a self-deprecating smile, silent but clear.

Lin Xian had just survived a deadly battle, his body aching. He glanced toward the storage corner and asked: “Aren’t you hungry? Why aren’t you eating?”

Chen Sixuan’s eyes widened, and she answered seriously:

“You… you didn’t let me eat.”

Lin Xian stared at her, his expression unreadable—half amused, half astonished.

“Chen Laoshi, you’re adorable.”

“What does that mean?” Chen Sixuan looked confused.

“I mean, Chen Laoshi, right now I want to sleep with you.”

“Ah…?”

Lin Xian’s words caught Chen Sixuan off guard. Before she could react, he pulled her into his arms.

She panicked like a startled rabbit, stammering:

“Wait… wait, Lin classmate, aren’t you injured?”

“Ah, does it have to be now…?”

“Wait, you’re covered in blood…”

“Lin Xian, Teacher… I have no experience…”

“Ah… wait, wait—my bag… I have some…”

The night was ink-black, snow falling heavily.

Yet nearby, the girl sleeping on the sofa—though her eyes were closed—her delicate eyebrows slowly furrowed…

New book, please follow and read!

(End of chapter)