Chapter 55: Qingbei

Obviously.

Song Yu had roughly learned about He Ying and the four others from Feng Xiao Yu and company; thus, even without having met Sun Yuan, he could tell from this guy's appearance.

But there was an extra stranger, which clearly exceeded Song Yu's expectations; what surprised him most was the sword-like object in He Ying's hand and the thing Sun Yuan held, obviously a shield.

Song Yu felt doubtful inside, but showed nothing on his face, remaining polite and distant.

At this moment, Feng Xiao Yu and the two others were also curiously sizing up Chen Mu.

Chen Mu had actually been thinking about how to face this guy named Song Yu; he seemed quite friendly, and logically, since the other side had gathered so many people, going out to find and recruit survivors was natural—he and Dong Junwei and Tang Jing had thought the same, which is why they had tried hard to win over He Ying.

To be honest.

At this moment, Chen Mu had seriously considered joining them; if he were alone, it wouldn't matter where he went.

But the problem is, he must consider everyone.

If everyone were already barely getting by, there would naturally be no need to think further.

But the problem is, their own little lives have gradually become better.

Even without considering whether Song Yu's group harbors ill intent, he must choose carefully—after all, nobody wants to depend on others; once they give up their current foundation, leaving would be hard, and he can't decide for Dong Junwei and Tang Jing what they think.

But now that the other party had directed the question at him, it would be rude to ignore it.

"Hello, I'm Chen Mu."

"Hello hello, meeting is fate." Song Yu smiled: "Chen Mu, you're also in senior three, right?"

"Yeah, Class 4."

"Class 4?"

Song Yu's usual confident, carefree demeanor suddenly shifted; his face showed hard-to-conceal excitement and anticipation, even a hint of unease—Chen Mu could almost hear a slight tremor in his voice: "Is that Dong Junwei's class?"

Chen Mu thought that both were class monitors and had served in the student union, so knowing them wasn't surprising; he nodded: "Yeah."

"Then… do you know how Dong Junwei is doing now?" Song Yu seemed to realize he'd lost his composure, hastily suppressed his emotions, and forced calm.

But everyone sensed something was off.

Could there be some unsaid story between this guy and Dong Junwei?

Chen Mu isn't the type to gossip.

But now he also hesitated, unsure whether to tell Dong Junwei's situation to the other party.

If he told him, it would be equivalent to laying bare his own side's situation; before deciding whether to join the other side, Chen Mu quickly rejected that option.

But since they asked so sincerely, deliberately lying would feel bad; if they truly became companions later, it would be rather awkward.

Fortunately, he was quite quick-witted.

After a brief pause, he spoke with an expression and tone of recalling painful past: "The last time we parted, Dong Junwei and the others were all doing fine, but… so much time has passed… this world… who knows…"

As soon as he said that, Song Yu hadn't yet reacted.

But He Ying froze for a moment.

She almost thought she had time-traveled; were the past two days just a dream?

Wasn't Dong Junwei staying nicely at home this morning?

It's been less than two hours since then.

How could it feel like the seas have turned to fields?

Fortunately, He Ying isn't stupid; the next moment she understood Chen Mu's thinking and felt his dilemma.

Still, his acting wasn't bad.

He almost even fooled himself.

Especially.

Everything Chen Mu said was true.

The so-called "such a long time" is indeed a vague concept—two days can count as long, two hours can also count as long; moreover, the last time they parted from Dong Junwei and the others, the other side was indeed doing well…

He Ying had always thought Chen Mu was an honest person, not prone to speaking up, and amiable toward others; precisely for that reason, getting along with him felt easy.

But unexpectedly.

This guy is still quite good at talking people into things.

Song Yu's face clearly showed disappointment, and he couldn't even be bothered to hide it.

"Are you close with Dong Junwei?" He Ying asked, a bit curious and even gossipy.

Song Yu forced a smile: "Not exactly close, but we're classmates; we used to be together in the student union, so… we do have something to talk about."

From a girl's intuition, He Ying could guess that Song Yu had some feelings for Dong Junwei, but things didn't seem to have progressed well; having a crush in high school is normal, like Wei Dalei for Zhao Xiao Yan, but regardless of personal charm or tactics, Song Yu clearly outclasses Wei Dalei by several levels, so logically he shouldn't end up in the awkward position old Wei did—yet if the object is Dong Junwei, it's hard to say.

At this moment, He Ying's gossip fire burned brightly; she really wanted to ask for details, but knew it was inappropriate.

Chen Mu, on the other hand, hadn't thought that much; he could faintly sense something, but he had no interest in others' private affairs, his mind constantly weighing how to deal with the present situation.

Song Yu quickly adjusted his mood and turned his attention back to the present.

"He Ying classmate, I believe Li Xu also told you about our general situation here, and I've learned a bit about your situation from Feng Xiao Yu and the others just now; frankly, your abilities are excellent wherever you are, our 'Qingbei' eagerly awaits your joining, and of course, all your companions—regardless of ability—we will treat equally."

"Qingbei?" He Ying blinked.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce."

Song Yu's face showed a bit of helplessness and amusement as he said: "Although I know the name sounds a bit chuuni and literary, when someone first proposed it, it gained most people's support; supposedly, a tombstone symbolizes burying the past, and 'qing' refers both to the grass on our field and to thriving youth—so… our organization is now called Qingbei."

After hearing that, Chen Mu felt a bit foolish.

One could say they like to play around.

Our side has just solved food and clothing, while they already have spiritual needs.

Qingbei.

Chen Mu, lacking literary appreciation, still thought it pretty cool.

He Ying also laughed: "This name is not bad."

"If you like it, that's fine." Song Yu spread his hands.

"But..." He Ying glanced at Chen Mu almost imperceptibly, and said: "Actually, we really wanted to go to the playground to meet up with you at first, but now, after being alone for so long, it seems not bad either."

Song Yu froze: "You don't want to come with us?"

"It's not that we don't want to, uh... could we discuss it? After all, there are several of us; I can't decide alone." He Ying said.

"Of course, that's only right."

That said, Song Yu visibly felt a bit uneasy; perhaps he had never been refused so politely before—most people would have begged to be adopted before he even tried to win them over.