Free Web NovelChapter 184: Can she?
Even after the door closed behind her, the little dumpling kept staring at the doorway for a while, as if she was still waiting for her to come back through it. She stroked the cat toy in her hand and murmured softly to it, "Mimi, Auntie is so nice. I like Auntie a little. Do you think Auntie can be my mommy?"
The little dumpling did not dare tell her mother or grandmother, and she also did not dare tell Bai Li. She was afraid that if Bai Li knew, she would not like her anymore and would stop playing with her. So she only talked to the cat toy in her arms. Children were often like that. They had little feelings that were pure and direct, but they also knew when to hide them because they were afraid of losing something they liked.
Yan Cijin came out to get a bowl and happened to hear the little girl’s quiet mumbling. She paused for half a second, then smiled a little and asked, "LiLi, what are you saying?"
The little girl blinked and immediately got a bit flustered. "Huh? I asked the cat what time Auntie will come to play with me tomorrow."
Yan Cijin knew very well that this was not the truth, but she did not expose her. Instead, she simply smiled and said, "You miss her already? Be good, play by yourself for a while. We’ll take a nap together later." freёwebnoѵel.com
"Okay." The little girl nodded obediently and reached out her little paws to move the cat toy again.
The first day after that, the second day after that, and then the third, everything slowly settled into a pattern. Bai Li kept coming over for lunch. Sometimes she brought vegetables, sometimes meat, and sometimes just a few things that would spoil if left at home too long. Yan Laojin would always say there was no need to bring so much, but in the end she still accepted everything. Yan Cijin would always pretend to be calm when Bai Li arrived, but the little pauses in her voice, the little glances she gave Bai Li, and the way she always made sure Bai Li ate enough all gave her away. Bai Li, for her part, looked increasingly at ease each time she came over. She did not act like an outsider anymore. She knew where the chopsticks were kept, she knew how the little girl liked to sit, and she knew that if she stayed a little too long, Yan Cijin would quietly keep her there with a simple line like, "Eat before you go." freewebnovёl.ƈom
That kind of thing should have sounded normal, but somehow it always made Bai Li’s heart twitch a little.
Sometimes, when Yan Cijin leaned over to put food into Bai Li’s bowl, their hands would brush by accident. It was always just for a second, and both of them would act like nothing happened. But Bai Li would still feel that tiny jolt in her chest, the kind that made her hand go still for half a breath before she picked up her spoon again. Yan Cijin would also go quiet for a moment before looking away and continuing as if it was all very natural. The little girl’s presence kept those moments from becoming too obvious, which somehow made them feel even more noticeable. It was like there was a thin line between normal and not normal, and neither of them had crossed it yet, but both of them were definitely aware of where the line was.
By the fifth day, Bai Li’s injuries had finally begun to look much better. The wounds on her palms had completely scabbed over. Aside from avoiding contact with water, they no longer prevented her from doing anything else.
For the next four days, Bai Li continued to go to Yan Cijin’s house for lunch as usual. By the fifth day, the wounds on Bai Li’s palms had completely scabbed over. Aside from avoiding contact with water, they no longer prevented her from doing anything else.
Bai Li stretched her limbs one by one and stood still for a moment before checking the security footage from the stairwell again. The screen showed the same grim picture she had already seen earlier, but she still looked through it carefully, as if confirming it with her own eyes would make her feel more at ease. There were a total of ten zombies in the stairwell, which was not too many for her, especially now that she had gotten used to this world and had killed enough of them to stop feeling stunned every single time she saw one. There were also five or six zombies gathered at the entrance of the building, so the number outside was actually manageable for the moment. Not safe, of course. Nothing in this world was safe anymore. But manageable was already pretty good. In the apocalypse, people started lowering their expectations very quickly. A place that was not yet completely swarming with zombies could already feel like a small stroke of luck.
Bai Li stood in the bedroom for a bit longer, thinking about what she should take with her. She changed into a black vest first, then pulled on a jacket. The clothes were simple and dark, the kind that would not get in the way if she had to move fast. She wore jeans and spent a while rummaging through the original owner’s shoes before finally finding a pair of thin Martin boots that looked light enough for movement but still solid enough to give her a little protection. After that, she put on a pair of fingerless leather gloves to keep her hands from rubbing too much against her weapons. The wounds on her palms had already scabbed over, but she still did not dare to treat them like they were fully healed. One stupid mistake could ruin everything. In this kind of situation, a person could not afford to be careless just because things looked better than yesterday. Bai Li knew that very well.
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TO BE CONTINUED.
