Chapter 106: Do you still like him?

Zhang Su walked out of the dry cleaner's and looked left and right. A cold wind blew through the silent night, and there were no zombies in the visible area, so he clicked on a small flashlight and walked toward the car.

Zheng Xin followed Zhang Su's footsteps. Seeing him pull open the car door, she asked, "What are you looking for? I'll help you."

"Then rummage through this box and find the emergency contraceptive pills!"

Zhang Su handed Zheng Xin a large cardboard box.

"Emergency... contraceptive pills? Little Xue... no way!"

Zheng Xin covered her mouth in horror, a terrifying conjecture forming in her mind.

Zhang Su scratched his head and pursed his lips helplessly: "Little Xue is worried, she insists on taking them."

"So, did something actually happen?" As a woman, Zheng Xin could empathize deeply and couldn't help but feel nervous.

"That guy treated Little Xue like a daughter-in-law; he was preparing a ghost marriage for his dead son. He had her scrubbed clean, and I reckon he was going to kill her at midnight... Luckily, we got there early."

"Oh! I see. That was really close."

Zheng Xin took out a lipstick-sized emergency flashlight, clicked it on, bit it in her mouth, and carefully rummaged through the medicine boxes one by one.

"Lev... Levonorgestrel tablets, emergency contraceptive pills, got them, got them!"

A moment later, Zheng Xin held up two medicine boxes and handed them to Zhang Su.

"That character is pronounced 'que', not 'kuai', you dummy!"

Zhang Su took a box, glanced at it, and tapped Zheng Xin on the head.

"Ouch..." Zheng Xin covered her head and glared at Zhang Su, then her expression changed, and she asked, "Hubby, how do you plan to handle your relationship with Little Xue?"

Zhang Su took out some medicine for external injuries, gently closed the trunk, leaned against the car, and shook his head: "I don't know. We're drifting, and there's danger everywhere; I have no heart to think about that."

"That, take the pills out of the packaging before you take them up, otherwise if others find out, they'll misunderstand again!" Zheng Xin reminded him thoughtfully.

"Right!" Zhang Su thought this was a great suggestion. In a few quick movements, he tore open the packaging. It was very simple inside, just a small pill.

The two soon returned to the dry cleaner's. Zhao Xue took the pill from Zhang Su's hand with a look of relief, squeezed out a grateful smile, and swallowed it without a word, not even needing water.

"Brother Su, are there any more?"

Zhao Xue asked with an expression of "I won't stop until I'm sure."

Zhang Su's mouth twitched: "Are you eating candy? There are no more!"

He knew the side effects of emergency contraceptives were significant, but then he thought, since she'd already taken it, it was mainly for peace of mind, so he said: "There is, wait for me!"

"Here, for you..."

Unexpectedly, just as he stood up, Zheng Xin secretly slipped him a small pill from the side.

Zhang Su turned around and placed the pill in Zhao Xue's hand, saying: "There really aren't any more this time. I told you it was fine, it was fine. I think you're just bored!"

Zhao Xue saw the tacit understanding between Zheng Xin and Zhang Su, and her heart was a mix of emotions. She smiled, took the pill, swallowed it again, and said to them: "Just seeking peace of mind. Thank you both."

"Right, take these, and have Nurse Zhong treat your external injuries in a while."

Zhang Su placed some trauma medicine beside Zhao Xue.

"These don't matter. Once I've taken the medicine, I can rest easy."

Zhao Xue didn't care about physical pain.

Zhang Su gave an encouraging smile and asked: "Is there anywhere else you're uncomfortable?"

Zhao Xue shook her head slightly and said: "Just a bit thirsty, everything else is fine."

"Here."

Zheng Xin handed a bottle of water to Zhao Xue from the side.

Zhao Xue bit her lip, gave Zheng Xin a grateful smile, and then looked at Zhang Su: "Brother Su, can I sleep for a while?"

"Yes, of course, no problem. It's very safe here, well, temporarily safe. You sleep first, and if anything happens, we'll call you!"

Zhao Xue nodded gently, turned over, and buried her face in the darkness as two lines of tears slid from her eyes.

Zhang Su gently patted Zhao Xue's shoulder, pulled a few jackets from the side to cover her, and got up to walk over to Zhong Xiaoshan, who was busy.

"Hey, if Pei Lan hadn't been following you, she probably wouldn't have been hit by that arrow..."

Zhang Su stood to the side, watching Zhong Xiaoshan treat Pei Lan's wound by candlelight, and sighed.

Zheng Xin, who was beside him, was startled by Zhang Su's words, then became a bit unhappy, rolled her eyes, and said: "Are you implying I'm a jinx?"

"Wrong, wrong, wrong!" Zhang Su denied it repeatedly. He wanted to say the exact opposite: it was precisely because Zheng Xin's luck was good that Pei Lan was the one who got hit by the arrow...

Zheng Xin looked at Zhang Su, confused, and suddenly realized: "You mean my reaction was too slow... but, but it was my first time executing that kind of mission. I didn't want this to happen. I can do better next time, really!"

Zhang Su patted Zheng Xin's head and said: "I'm just joking with you, why are you being so serious? Where did your sense of humor go?"

Everyone was transforming after the disaster broke out, evolving in directions better suited for survival. But if you asked who had changed the most, it was definitely Zheng Xin. Zhang Su knew this was all due to his influence, which had turned a quirky female streamer into a little demoness...

After more than half an hour, Zhong Xiaoshan touched Pei Lan's sweat-beaded cheek and smiled slightly: "What a tough girl, she didn't even whimper once. Alright, lie down and rest, don't move around, or the wound might reopen."

At first, Zhong Xiaoshan had a headache because there was no anesthesia, worrying that Pei Lan would scream from the pain, but the result was unexpected; she endured it all without a sound.

Pei Lan's thoughts were simple. Originally, she had wanted to be like Zheng Xin, taking down an enemy with a single strike, but unfortunately, due to various reasons, she hadn't managed to do it, and instead, she had inexplicably been hit by an arrow. Failing to complete the mission made her feel very self-reproachful. While her wounds were being treated, she made up her mind not to be a burden again and persevered through sheer willpower.

"Tha, thank you, Sister Shanshan."

Pei Lan was full of gratitude. In one short night, she had brushed shoulders with the Grim Reaper; it was thrilling to the extreme. If the crossbow bolt had been five or six centimeters off, it wouldn't have been as simple as being stuck in her arm. If it had shot into her chest or abdomen, it would have been fatal, regardless of whether it hit an internal organ!

"Thank you, Sister-in-law, thank you, Sister-in-law. I'll take care of her from here on out. You must be thirsty, I have orange juice here!"

Lu Yubo stood to the side, extremely anxious. He wanted to help but was disliked for being clumsy. Now that he finally had a chance to prove himself, he sat down beside Pei Lan, fussing over her, having long forgotten Zhang Su's advice about keeping his composure...

Zhong Xiaoshan unscrewed the orange juice, took a sip, glanced at Zhao Xue resting in the shadows, walked up to Zhang Su, tilted her head toward Zhao Xue's direction, and asked: "How is Little Xue? Is there anything I need to do?"

"Some minor external injuries and contusions. I put the medicine over there. You rest for a bit before you go treat her, and let her rest for a while too. Thank you for your hard work."

Zhang Su raised his hand to smooth out Zhong Xiaoshan's messy hair.

Zhong Xiaoshan shook her head with a smile: "This is my duty, it's not hard work. I'll go check on her now so that Little Xue can sleep peacefully after it's treated."

After saying that, she walked toward the direction where Little Xue was resting.

Zheng Xin's eyes rolled, she rubbed her hands over her head, then tugged on Zhang Su's sleeve: "Hey, hey, my hair is messy too, help me smooth it out."

"Are you bored... come here, I'll give you a trendy hairstyle!"

Zhang Su looked sideways, rolled his eyes speechlessly, and with a big hand, swept it over Zheng Xin's head, giving her a slicked-back look.

"Hey, you, I hate you!" Zheng Xin felt her scalp tighten, the corners of her eyes pulled up, and she knew it must look hideous.

"Don't mess around, let's get to business."

After the playful banter, Zhang Su gathered the personnel who could stand night watch to rearrange the shifts, then found a corner and lay down to rest.

The next morning, the sky was overcast. Due to the cloud cover retaining heat, the temperature was slightly higher than the previous day, hovering around seven or eight degrees.

The people on the second floor of the dry cleaner's woke up from their sleep one after another.

"Every morning under the disaster is a gift of life. My friends, my partners, cherish every day, may you be safe!"

Yu Wen sat by the window, and seeing that everyone was basically awake, he solemnly sent his blessings to everyone.

Zhang Su was stunned, scratched his face, and looked at Zhao Dezhu.

"He's just like this... he recites a passage every morning. It's not bad once you get used to it."

Zhao Dezhu spread his hands helplessly.

Zhang Su shook his head with a smile and said to Yu Wen: "Report, Teacher Yu, what is the content of this morning's reading?"

The teasing made everyone smile.

Zhang Su stood up, and seeing Zhao Xue still curled up in the corner, he beckoned Zhong Xiaoshan over and said: "Help her find a set of clothes."

Zhong Xiaoshan looked at Zhang Su for two seconds, nodded in understanding, and walked toward the pile of clothes.

The dry cleaner's doesn't have food, but it isn't lacking in clothes. They might not be clean, but the quality is quite good. Very few people send cheap clothes to the dry cleaner's; it's not worth it.

"Hey!" Zheng Xin slid over to Zhang Su's side and said unkindly: "Why let Xiaoshan go? Can't I find them?"

"Heh heh." Zhang Su gave a dry laugh: "You're a vinegar jar."

"I, I am not!" Zheng Xin puffed out her cheeks in protest.

Zhang Su smiled and said: "Fine, I believe you. I'll ask you to help next time."

After that, he looked at everyone and said: "Everyone go to the car to get something to eat, and we'll distribute weapons after eating!"

"Alright, alright!"

"Haha, okay!"

"The ones brought back last night, right? Can't wait to get my hands on them!"

Lu Yubo, Chen Hanzhou, and Zhao Dezhu were all overjoyed. If it hadn't been for the fact that there were too many things to do after returning last night, they would have wanted to get their hands on that batch of high-quality equipment immediately.

In this world today, you can't understand the sense of security that comes with having a weapon unless you experience it.

Zhang Su patted the shoulders of the few who were rushing downstairs and walked over to squat beside Zhao Xue, who was facing the wall: "Little Xue, if you're awake, get up quickly, eat something, and get to know everyone."

Zhao Xue's body trembled slightly. She had indeed been awake for a while. After hearing Zhang Su's words, she slowly turned around. There were still faint traces of blood on her face; after all, she had only used wet wipes and was busy in the dark, so she hadn't cleaned it thoroughly.

"Brother Su."

Zhao Xue's eyes flickered, looking left and right.

*Slap. *

Zhang Su reached out and pinched Zhao Xue's cheek, forcing her eyes to meet his, and frowned: "Can't even look me in the eye when talking to your brother, huh? I'll punish you by having you mop the store clean before you get off work every day!"

Zhao Xue's thin cheek was about the size of Zhang Su's palm. Hearing his joke, her eyes immediately turned red. Those beautiful days were gone forever. She wanted to speak, but with her cheek pinched, she could only pout and make "wuwu" sounds.

"It's the apocalypse, the world outside has been turned upside down. You heard Teacher Yu, every morning is a gift of life. Let the past be the past, live well from now on, you know?"

Zhang Su let go and said with a smile.

Zhao Xue nodded and said with a nasal tone: "Brother Su, I... I want to go to the bathroom."

"Go to the bathroom..." Zhang Su rubbed his chin, and just happened to see Zhong Xiaoshan walking up with clothes and pants, so he said: "Xiaoshan, take Little Xue to the ramen shop next door to change."

"Ahem!"

Unexpectedly, a cough sounded from behind Zhang Su.

"Why keep bothering Sister Xiaoshan? Let me do it!"

Zheng Xin volunteered to take the clothes and pants from Zhong Xiaoshan, then tilted her head and reached out to Zhao Xue, smiling: "Hello, my name is Zheng Xin. Let's go, I'll take you to change."

Zhao Xue was a bit embarrassed and stood there stunned. With her emotional intelligence, she had long guessed the relationship between Zheng Xin and Zhang Su, and she looked at Zhang Su, feeling at a loss.

"Go ahead, she's a good person."

Zhang Su gave an intriguing smile.

"You!"

Zheng Xin rolled her eyes at Zhang Su and helped Zhao Xue walk slowly downstairs.

"Let's go, let's get some food!"

Zhang Su greeted Zhong Xiaoshan to go downstairs together.

"The weapons from the Ileiwen convenience store have been retrieved. Do you have any plans?"

Zhong Xiaoshan asked in a low voice.

"Go to the Yihe car dealership to find guns. Those things are absolute killing machines. Last night, just because that group of people took my two crossbows, they managed to injure two of our people in a sneak attack. If it were a head-on confrontation, there would likely be deaths!"

Zhang Su said very seriously.

He hadn't even had a chance to use the crossbows he bought; he had only played with them secretly himself. He hadn't expected the enemy to use them to hurt his own people!

Zhong Xiaoshan pursed her lips and said: "It's really too dangerous. It would be best if no conflict occurred..."

"That's impossible... hey, what do you want to eat, bread or instant noodles?"

While talking, the two took some food and returned to the dry cleaner's.

"You... eeyo!"

In the kitchen warehouse of the ramen shop, Zheng Xin accompanied Zhao Xue to change clothes. When she saw Zhao Xue take off her clothes, she was startled by the scars on her body.

Not to mention the blue and purple bruises, there were many scratches on her snow-white skin, and the fine blood scabs were just at the stage of having just scabbed over. She must have suffered quite a bit of abuse before.

"Don't tell Brother Su, these minor injuries are fine."

Zhao Xue had slept soundly for one night, the only peaceful night since the disaster broke out. Her energy had recovered quite a bit, and she was even in the mood to make a face at Zheng Xin.

Zheng Xin felt very sad seeing Zhao Xue's optimistic appearance. She gently helped her change clothes and whispered: "Little Xue, do you still like Brother Su?"

"Ah?"

Zhao Xue carefully put on the pants, which were a size too big, making them very comfortable to move in. She looked at Zheng Xin in surprise and said: "I never liked him."

"Eh?"

Zheng Xin was stunned. She clearly remembered Zhang Su saying that Zhao Xue liked him before. Could it be that the guy was just being wishful?

Doesn't seem like it.

Then why did Zhao Xue say that... Zheng Xin suspected Zhao Xue was lying to her, but she had no evidence.

"Alright!" After a while, Zhao Xue changed her clothes, stretched her arms, looked at them, and smiled: "Versace jeans paired with an Eifini wool coat. If this were in the past, you couldn't get it for less than ten thousand. I really can't imagine that I'm wearing brands I couldn't bear to buy before, after the apocalypse!"

"It really looks quite good..."

Zheng Xin nodded in agreement and also started thinking about rummaging through the pile of clothes later, then leaned toward Zhao Xue sneakily.

"Little Xue, if you like Zhang Su, just tell him, I won't be jealous! As long as Brother Su is happy, I have no problem with it. I said the same thing to Zhong Xiaoshan back then. In this world today, we don't even know if we can live until tomorrow, so I don't want to care about so much, it's too tiring!"

This time it was Zhao Xue's turn to be surprised. She looked at Zheng Xin, who was about her age, in disbelief: "You guys... alright, I really admire you. But I really don't like Zhang Su, don't play matchmaker."

Zheng Xin frowned and eyed Zhao Xue. She didn't believe a word of what she said, but since she had already said this much and the other party still had this attitude, it was a bit strange, but she couldn't do anything about it.

"Ahem, Xin, that, can we go eat? I'm so hungry."

Zhao Xue felt a bit embarrassed being stared at by Zheng Xin, rubbed her shriveled stomach, and smiled awkwardly. She was truly hungry; she hadn't eaten for a day.

"Oh oh, sorry, let's go, let's go. What do you want to eat? We have many kinds of food, potato chips, instant noodles, bread. It's a pity we don't have fire, otherwise we could cook snail noodles, they are especially delicious, let me tell you..."

Zheng Xin couldn't figure out what Zhao Xue was thinking, but she liked this optimistic young lady and led her to find food.

After everyone had breakfast, Zhang Su gathered everyone on the second floor of the dry cleaner's and said: "First, for the two who were injured last night, Chen Hanzhou gets a subsidy of one canned fruit, peach, strawberry, or coconut, pick it yourself. Pei Lan was seriously injured, so she gets a subsidy of two cans of fruit, two bags of pork jerky, and a pack of Swiss rolls."

"There's a subsidy for such a minor injury? Brother Su, thanks."

Chen Hanzhou touched the two Band-Aids on his cheek and nodded with a wooden face, as if the smile had disappeared from his face forever.

Pei Lan, who was leaning beside Lu Yubo, stood up quickly after hearing Zhang Su's words and said embarrassedly: "I didn't even help, and I caused trouble, is it okay for me to take a subsidy?"

"You and Xin successfully disrupted the enemy's rhythm, and you traded your own injury for our safety. The subsidy must be accepted. Alright, next item."

Zhang Su made the final decision, then signaled to Zhao Xue beside him and said: "Welcome my other employee, Zhao Xue. She is careful and responsible in her work, and she has never made a mistake in collecting money. In two years of work, she only misappropriated one pack of Seven Space pads. I hope everyone will supervise her in the future so she can improve quickly!"

"Why do you still remember something from so long ago..."

Zhao Xue had originally been looking at everyone with a smile, but she didn't expect her embarrassing story to be exposed, and she was extremely embarrassed.

She wasn't a fool like Wu Lue. After working for a period of time, she felt that Zhang Su had some problems. After some investigation, she knew he was the boss of Ileiwen, but both sides were pretending to be ignorant.

"Hahaha, welcome, welcome."

"Welcome, beauty..."

Everyone clapped softly, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 107 =====