After a few seconds of stunned silence, An suddenly stood up, her breathing becoming rapid, her mask bobbing up and down around her nose.

What are you doing?

The question was low and tinged with uncertainty, and Xiang Wan smiled.

"An, didn't I just say? I like you."

“Woman,” An suddenly leaned down, placing his hands on either side of her head, his eyes narrowed, his voice tinged with danger, “Do you like this physical body of mine? Or the soul within this body?”

Xiang Wan asked curiously, "Is there a difference? To me, it's all about peace, whether it's external or internal."

"Hmph!" An Zhou's aura became both wicked and self-mocking. "All women in the world are the same, foolish and short-sighted. Ha, they shouldn't have had any expectations in the first place. It's fine this way, it's fine this way!"

The self-destructive attitude that appeared on An puzzled Xiang Wan. She had only said she liked her, and it seemed like An had a prejudice against her.

Xiang Wan grabbed his hand and asked in confusion, "It's different. I just like the feeling of being by An's side."

"Really?" An stared into Xiang Wan's eyes for a while, then got up, packed her things, and left the room.

"Host, you're so direct, your confession was quick and accurate, but it seems the villain isn't reacting much. But that's alright, keep it up, this system supports you."

"Staying silent like this shows you weren't encouraged at all. Little Qi, you might as well just kneel and leave. I've let you watch the show for free, so just stay quiet. If you keep spouting random subtitles, I'll get angry!"

Lying in bed, Xiang Wan kept thinking about where things went wrong. Logically, An wasn't indifferent to her, so why hadn't her first move yielded the desired results? Was being the first to speak destined to lose? No, it must be that she hadn't found the right strategy. Perhaps a different approach would work.

The injection wasn't administered, but that evening, Xiang Wan clearly felt an improvement in her bodily functions, and even a faint sense of supernatural power coexisting within her. She believed that as long as she continued, her supernatural power would definitely be fully restored.

The next day, An brought her food again. Xiang Wan quickly ate, and while he was clearing away the dishes, she chatted about some trivial things.

"When I woke up in the apocalypse, there were cannibalistic zombies everywhere. I was all alone. I was terrified and didn't dare to go out or make a sound. I survived for a few days on the food I had stored up. Only after the food ran out did I muster the courage to go out."

You know, the first zombie I saw when I went outside was my neighbor's little girl, the one who loved to laugh, play, and call me "big sister." She opened her mouth to bite me, and I don't remember how I escaped. I only know that when I came to my senses, I was holding an iron rod, and that little girl was lying at my feet. That was the first time I killed someone—no, I mean, killed a zombie. Later, after experiencing many more, I gradually became numb.

I don't remember my family, friends, or relatives. All I know is that besides the living, there are only zombies. I don't know what I'm living for. Later, Peng Liuliu and her group captured me and were going to feed me to the zombies alive. I must have been in a terrible state at that time, even thinking that it would be better to die like this. I was just stubbornly holding on without any hope, not knowing what I was doing it for.

The first time I saw An Shi, I knew that even if I died then, at least before I died, I could see such a clean person, which made me feel that I was still alive.

I never expected An to be so aloof, always wearing a white coat and mask, always so clean and composed. Although being around An meant a lot of hard and dirty work, and dealing with disgusting zombies, looking back now, those days were probably the most peaceful I've ever lived. No need to worry about being chased by zombies, no need to hide, no need to be schemed against. But gradually, I discovered that An wasn't someone who easily showed kindness, and was also a cold person. Perhaps the longer I stayed with her, the less I would be able to control myself.

Hehe, An, am I strange? I'm actually thinking how wonderful it would be if we could spend our whole lives like this! But I know it's impossible. I can't control my feelings of wanting to be closer to you, so I think maybe leaving is the right thing to do.

"Ann, if I hadn't encountered that zombie, would you have ever appeared?"

Silence filled the room; no one spoke again. An slowed his movements when Xiang Wan spoke, and froze when she asked her last question.

"An, if I die, will you be able to focus on your research and not have to go through all this trouble taking care of me?"

"No! Don't say it, don't say it!"

An's body began to tremble, and her fists clenched tightly.

“An, I was thinking of helping you do what you love most. But now I know that’s too much of a luxury. Starting tomorrow, stop bringing me food. Lock your room and let me disappear quietly, at least in the place closest to you.”

"Stop talking!" An roared, gripping Xiang Wan's chains tightly. His eyes reddened, filled with suppressed madness and pain. "I told you to stop talking! Did you hear me? I won't let you die! You have to live, live!"

"But living like this is worse than death!" Xiang Wan screamed hoarsely. "What am I? A person, a person, not a puppet, not a toy. Tied up like this every day, all I see when I open my eyes is the ceiling. I have to be fed and watered, I can't even turn over. I want to talk to you, but you only ever utter two words at a time. I have to guess your thoughts, I have to consider your feelings, but who considers my feelings? If you want a corpse, you can turn me into a zombie, do whatever you want with me. As long as I don't listen, don't think, don't see, and don't speak, I won't suffer, and I'll always be your most obedient doll. Is that right, An? Are you satisfied?"

Having shouted these words with all her might, Xiang Wan stared at the ceiling, her eyes vacant, lost in thought, as if her soul had already departed.

This sight of Xiang Wan frightened and frightened An. He cradled her head, wanting her to look at him, wanting her to be angry or roar like before. Xiang Wan didn't respond, and he panicked.

"Woman, Xiang Wan! Xue Xiang Wan! Listen to me! I'm human too, I have feelings. You've been by my side for so long, have you ever seen me show even a shred of compassion for anyone else? Only you, only you, you fool! I'm just so angry that you ran away without even saying goodbye. I thought that once you saw the cruelty outside, you would obediently come back to my side. But every time I see you in danger, I can't help but want to help you."

Stupid woman, I was only gone for a moment and you were already trying to kill yourself by hugging that zombie. Do you know how angry I am? Angry that you don't value your own life, angry that you didn't come back to me, and even angrier that you hugged someone else, never me. I tied you up so you wouldn't have a chance to escape again. You don't know how despicable I am, so selfish that I want to turn you into a doll that will never run away again.

When you said you wanted to give yourself to me, and that you liked me, I was overjoyed. But do you really know me? Do you know what I look like? Do you understand what I'm doing? I'm afraid that if you knew, you'd only want to run away. If that's the case, I'd rather be tied to you like this for the rest of my life.