mesbooks Chapter 8 What was that sound?
Chapter 8 What was that sound?
Su Nian's heart skipped a beat.
Sure enough, Aunt Qin spoke first.
Actually, when Qin Lan limped over earlier, he vaguely guessed that she wanted to say something privately.
After all, everyone else had spent the afternoon moving stones, setting up tents, and reinforcing the walls.
Because of her sprained ankle, she could only sit on the blanket and watch everyone busy themselves, and the guilt in her eyes never faded.
Several times she tried to stand up and lend a hand, but the moment her feet touched the ground, she gasped in pain.
But when she actually took the initiative to speak to him, he couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.
The temporary shelter was set up in the corner of an abandoned convenience store, barely enclosed by a few pieces of sheet metal and wooden planks, offering virtually no soundproofing.
Even though they spoke very softly, their voices still drifted out through the gap.
The aunties, who had been huddled together under the blankets quietly sharing compressed biscuits, suddenly fell silent.
Wen Yifan was holding a half-full bottle of mineral water when she heard this, her hand suddenly trembled, and the water flowed down the bottle, wetting her trouser leg.
She suddenly looked up, her eyes wide with curiosity, staring at the corner, forgetting to put down the mineral water bottle in her hand.
Two seconds later, she quickly lowered her head again.
But its ears were perked up high, and its neck unconsciously stretched towards the corner.
A sense of unease arose in my heart.
I wonder what important thing Qin Lan wanted to say to Su Nian alone?
The atmosphere in the entire temporary shelter instantly became quiet.
Even the rustling of leaves in the wind outside became clearer.
Su Nian composed herself and moved closer to Qin Lan.
They blocked the view from others and spoke in a very low voice, so that only the two of them could hear them:
"Aunt Qin, please speak slowly, I'm listening."
He didn't refuse first, but calmly waited for the other party to speak.
Although the night was dangerous and mutated monsters could jump out at any moment, the other party had difficulty walking and had been preoccupied with worries all afternoon.
He couldn't very well refuse outright.
Moreover, Qin Lan was a practicing lawyer before.
She's well-informed and knowledgeable; perhaps we can glean some useful information from her words.
Qin Lan looked at him, her fingertips gently clenching the hem of her skirt. She took a deep breath before slowly speaking, her voice carrying an undisguised weariness:
"Su Nian, actually, Auntie just felt really pent up and wanted to chat with you for a bit. That's all, don't overthink it."
She paused, her gaze fixed on the pitch-black night outside the shelter.
Her voice softened, tinged with a hint of melancholy:
"I've been a practicing lawyer for almost 20 years. My life has been like a clockwork toy, never stopping for a moment."
"It seems like there's no color in life other than work."
Su Nian listened quietly without interrupting, only nodding slightly to indicate that she was listening attentively.
He could hear the weariness etched into Qin Lan's bones in her tone.
If life was like this before the apocalypse, imagine how it is now...
Upon hearing this, Su Nian said softly, "You have already done your best. There are many things that are beyond your control."
"Yes, I tried my best."
Qin Lan laughed self-deprecatingly.
"After all the scheming and plotting, I've almost forgotten who I am."
"I had relationships when I was younger."
Her topic suddenly changed, her eyes dimmed, and her tone carried a hint of self-mockery, as well as an unconcealable sense of loneliness.
"Back then, I hadn't yet become a lawyer. I was full of expectations for relationships, hoping to meet someone who cared for me and live a stable life with them."
She paused slightly at this point.
"But I only found out at the very end that he had been deceiving me from beginning to end. While he was talking about marriage with me, he was also entangled with the daughter of a rich second-generation..."
Su Nian looked at the desolation in her eyes and felt a slight stirring in his heart.
He followed her gaze downwards, landing on her swollen, purple ankle.
In the afternoon, she tripped over some gravel and twisted her arm badly.
At the time, it was simply tied with a strip of cloth, but now it seems that the bruising has spread and the swelling is so high that I can't even wear shoes.
"If you don't massage the bruises in your ankle in time, you probably won't be able to walk tomorrow."
Su said softly,
"I have some blood-activating and stasis-removing ointment in my backpack that I picked up at the pharmacy before. It works quite well. Let me massage it for you."
Qin Lan was taken aback for a moment, then quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, it's too much trouble for you, I can do it myself."
"It's alright, just sit still."
As Su Nian spoke, he took out the tube of ointment from his backpack.
He found a clean tissue and placed it on the ground, then squatted down and carefully rolled up her trouser legs.
Her ankle was indeed badly swollen, the skin was taut and covered with bluish-purple bruises. Qin Lan couldn't help but gasp when she touched it lightly.
"Does it hurt?"
Su Nian raised his head and asked.
"A little." Qin Lan turned her face away somewhat embarrassedly. "Thank you for your help, Su Nian."
"fine."
Su Nian squeezed a little ointment into his palm, rubbed it to warm it, and then gently placed it on her ankle, slowly massaging it in circles with his fingertips, using very light pressure.
"I'll go slower. If it hurts too much, please tell me."
The warm palm pressed against the cool skin, and the cooling sensation of the ointment slowly seeped in, relieving the excruciating pain considerably.
Qin Lan felt a surge of warmth in her heart as she looked at the young man squatting in front of her, earnestly massaging her feet.
Over the years, she has gotten used to carrying everything on her own.
She sprained her ankle and sprayed medicine on herself; she got sick and went to the hospital by herself; she was wronged and hid away to cry.
No one had ever taken such good care of her before, and no one had ever knelt down to massage her injured foot.
"You're such a sensible child."
Qin Lan said softly, her voice full of gratitude.
"If it weren't for you, we would probably have died in the monster's mouth long ago. You took good care of me in every way, giving me extra food and helping me find clean water. Auntie remembers it all."
"Of course."
Su Nian continued what she was doing and responded softly.
"It's only right that we help each other out. You have a leg injury and need to be taken care of anyway, so it's not a problem."
"That's what I say, but seeing you all busy doing things while I can only sit here doing nothing really makes me feel bad."
Qin Lan sighed, her tone still carrying a hint of self-reproach.
"I don't know when my foot will heal. Not only can I not help, but I'm also a burden to everyone."
"Don't think that way."
Su Nian raised his head, looked into her eyes, and said earnestly,
"Everyone has their own value. Helping others isn't just about doing manual labor. Your talent lies in comprehensive and rigorous inspection; you'll be invaluable in the future!"
Qin Lan was stunned. She had never imagined that she could play a role in the apocalypse.
She always felt that she was a burden, powerless and helpless.
"Really?" she asked, somewhat incredulously.
"Of course it's true."
Su Nian nodded
Looking into his earnest eyes, Qin Lan felt a great deal of guilt and unease that had been building up in her heart all afternoon, and it all vanished instantly.
Her eyes were slightly red, and she nodded, her voice choked with emotion.
"Okay, okay, Auntie will listen to you. In the future, if you ever need my help, just let me know, and Auntie will do her best."
"That's right."
Su Nian smiled and increased the pressure on his hand slightly.
"Now we'll massage away the bruises, and you'll be able to walk with some difficulty tomorrow. Once we find a safer place, you'll rest for a few more days and be completely healed."
While he was rubbing his hands, he chatted with Qin Lan about things before the apocalypse.
The two chatted quietly, Qin Lan talking about her past monotonous life as a lawyer and her painful past relationship.
There were no hysterical complaints, just a calm recounting of events.
Su Nian listened quietly, occasionally offering gentle words of comfort and a few pertinent opinions.
A gentle evening breeze blew by, carrying a hint of late autumn chill, rustling the dry leaves of the trees nearby.
It was pitch black outside, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Only in the distant ruins could you occasionally see a strange green light—the eyes of the mutated monsters.
There were no stars or moon in the sky, only a hazy, gray expanse that pressed heavily overhead, making it hard to breathe.
It was very quiet around them, except for the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves and the two people talking in hushed tones.
The atmosphere was peaceful and calm, without a trace of ambiguity.
Only honest communication between elders and younger generations
The women in the shelter breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the faint laughter coming from the other side.
"Looks like nothing much, just chatting."
Wen Yifan said softly, patting his chest, "I thought something serious had happened."
"Sister Qin Lan is feeling very pent up, it would be good for her to talk to Su Nian."
Jiang Ruotong said softly, "She hasn't said much all afternoon, and it's distressing to see her like that."
"Su Nian is a really good kid."
Aunt Zhang sighed.
"He's so young, yet he's not only strong and resilient, but also so thoughtful and sensible. With him around, we feel at ease."
Liu Man nodded, placed the cleaned entrenching tool beside her, and said in a deep voice:
"Stop talking, everyone. We'll take turns keeping watch. I'll do the first shift. You all need to get some rest. We have to move out as soon as it's light tomorrow. We can't stay here any longer."
Everyone nodded and fell silent.
They each leaned against the wall and closed their eyes to rest, but their approval of Su Nian had grown even more.
Over here, Su Nian finished massaging Qin Lan's feet and then re-bandaged her ankles with clean strips of cloth.
Then hand her the ointment:
"Massage it again before bed tonight, and it will heal faster."
"Thank you, Su Nian."
Qin Lan gently moved her ankle and indeed felt much more relaxed; the pain had also lessened considerably.
"You've really gone to so much trouble for me. This child is even more sensible than my own nephew."
"I also found it very helpful to talk to you about these things."
Su Nian smiled faintly and put the ointment into her backpack.
"At least I understand a lot of things I didn't know before. And it's a good thing that it can help relieve your worries. At a time like this, keeping things bottled up can actually make things more likely to go wrong."
Qin Lan nodded, the awkwardness and loneliness on her face had faded, replaced by a sense of ease and relief.
So many years of pent-up grievances and repression
Finally, in the dead of night, she told everything to a stranger.
The huge weight on my heart has finally been lifted.
"Let's not talk about these troublesome things."
Qin Lan changed the subject, her tone full of approval.
"But you, at such a young age, are so composed and capable. I've lived for almost forty years and met countless people, but I've never seen a young man like you."
"You take such good care of everyone, and you're so kind and considerate. Meeting you in this wasteland is a blessing for us all."
"I just have a little more experience in dealing with crises than everyone else, it's nothing special."
Su Nian humbly shook his head, looked up at the sky, and his tone became serious.
"It's getting darker and darker outside, and it's becoming increasingly unsafe. We've stayed here for a while, and it's time to go back so that everyone in the shelter won't worry."
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
Qin Lan nodded, knowing that this was not the time for a long chat.
She braced herself against the tree trunk behind her, trying to stand up, but accidentally aggravated her injured ankle, causing her to frown and sway slightly.
Seeing this, Su Nian quickly reached out and gently helped her up, his movements polite and restrained, without overstepping any boundaries.
"Please slow down, be careful of your ankle. Let me help you walk."
"Thank you."
Qin Lan used the support to slowly stand up, leaning half of her weight on Su Nian's arm.
She could clearly feel the strong muscles in the boy's arms.
Su Nian supported her steadily, walking slowly and paying close attention to the surroundings.
His other hand gripped the entrenching tool at his waist tightly.
The two slowly walked towards the shelter, the gravel under their feet making a crunching sound that was particularly clear in the quiet night.
The evening breeze grew increasingly cool, blowing against one's skin.
Occasionally, the roars of mutated monsters could be heard in the distance.
"Be careful, there's a pit ahead," Su Nian warned, gently helping Qin Lan around it.
Qin Lan accidentally stepped on a loose stone, her body swayed, and she almost fell.
With quick reflexes, Su Nian grabbed her waist and steadied her.
"Are you alright?"
Su Nian asked.
"It's nothing, thank you," Qin Lan said somewhat shyly.
"My legs are so weak, I can't even walk steadily."
"Please don't say that."
Su Nian let go of her hand and continued to support her as they walked forward.
Qin Lan smiled, feeling a warmth in her heart. She had never imagined...
In the wasteland, he was able to find his own value.
Just as the two were about to reach the entrance of the shelter and could see the faint light coming from inside, suddenly!
Not far away, a strange, hissing sound suddenly came from somewhere.
The voice was hoarse and shrill, like there was thick phlegm stuck in its throat.
It sent chills down your spine.
Immediately following was the ear-piercing creaking sound of claws scratching at the wooden planks, very close, right in the direction of the shelter!
Qin Lan's face turned deathly pale instantly. She instinctively gripped Su Nian's arm tightly, her nails digging deep into his clothes.
Her eyes were filled with terror as she looked toward the shelter, her voice trembling slightly:
"Su Nian, listen to that sound!"
Su Nian instantly tensed up, quickly shielding Qin Lan behind him, holding the entrenching tool horizontally in front of his chest.
His eyes were sharp, fixed on the direction of the shelter.
The aura around him instantly became wary, and the purple lightning at his fingertips grew brighter and brighter.
not good,
It seems the first wave of monsters, the one that was announced in the mechanical voice during the day, has arrived!
How could they have arrived so quickly!
The time hasn't come yet!!