Chapter 46 Girlfriend

The following day, like countless others who came to seek refuge in Luozhou, they went to accept commissions and tasks in exchange for supplies.

When ordinary people wanted to go out to sea to fish, Jiang Ye and Tang Zhao were sent to escort them. Meanwhile, Bai Chenzhu accompanied Zhou Zhuohua to the temporary hospital for her consultations.

It was a specially vacated building, about three connected together, with a total of five floors. Because of its small size, a large area outside the building was fenced off and covered with tarpaulins for patients to wait in.

After verifying the doctor's qualifications, Zhou Zhuohua's entire demeanor changed the moment she put on her white coat. Back in her professional field, she quickly and accurately diagnosed patients, easing the burden on other doctors.

Bai Chenzhu didn't know anything about medicine, and the hospital was short-staffed, so he was responsible for being Zhou Zhuohua's assistant, doing whatever Zhou Zhuohua needed.

The hospital was crowded, but orderly, and Bai Chenzhu could see hope on their faces.

Exclamations arose from the crowd. Bai Chenzhu, who was near the window, peered out and saw a commotion breaking out in the crowd below. But quickly, someone carrying a pitchfork rushed in and speared away the source of the disturbance—a newly mutated zombie.

The zombie had bluish-green skin, bulging eyes filled with red veins, and its mouth was opening and closing, as if it was talking or trying to bite someone. It looked like it had just completely lost its mind.

Within minutes, the crowd returned to normal.

Putting everything else aside, Bai Guangzheng has done a very good job in this regard, Bai Chenzhu thought. He just wondered how Bai Guangzheng would handle it if Bai Li were the one acting strangely.

——

When they returned, Jiang Ye and Tang Zhao had not yet come back, and the house was very quiet.

Zhou Zhuohua was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the sofa, like a salted fish that had lost all hope. Only the rise and fall of his chest showed that this salted fish was still alive and could still jump around.

Bai Chenzhu found it amusing and nudged her shoulder twice, saying, "Sister Zhuohua, go back to your room and sleep."

“I don’t want to walk…” Zhou Zhuohua sighed deeply, wiped her face with difficulty, got up, and went back to her room as if sleepwalking. She hadn’t taken two steps when she bumped into the wall with a thud.

Bai Chenzhu shook his head with amusement, picked up her coat and draped it over the back of the sofa.

He walked towards the room.

Just two steps away from the room, he sensed a powerful aura, aura that was even purer than the one from last night, and even very similar to the aura of the fragments!

No, that's fragmented spiritual energy!

Bai Chenzhu pressed the gun at his waist, then flung open the door a second later, shouting, "Who?!"

A humanoid black shadow leaped up and pounced on him.

Bai Chenzhu stepped to the side and grabbed the shadowy figure with a palm strike. The shadowy figure dodged his grab with a twisted posture. As their bodies passed each other, the shadowy figure broke through Bai Chenzhu's defense with lightning speed and struck him in the chest with the back of his fist.

The force was immense; Bai Chenzhu was sent flying several steps, crashing against the wall, his mouth instantly filled with the taste of rust.

Seeing the shadowy figure approaching, he quickly turned and headed for the door. The figure missed him several times, then raised his knife, the tip nearly striking Bai Chenzhu's vitals several times.

A moment of weakness caused him to lose his strength, and the tip of the black shadow's knife was right in front of him. Bai Chenzhu gritted his teeth, and an overwhelming amount of spiritual power poured out from his mental sea. The black shadow in front of him froze, and the tip of the knife was just a hair's breadth away from his forehead.

Bai Chenzhu dodged the knife tip and finally saw that the dark figure was a person.

A man.

He was wearing a tight-fitting, airtight suit, sunglasses, a mask, and a swimming cap, completely concealing himself. The moment Bai Chenzhu saw the shadowy figure, she immediately tried to tear off his mask.

Unexpectedly, the dark figure let out a scream and actually broke free from the mental energy that had been trapping it. Bai Chenzhu knew something was wrong and drew the pistol from his waist—

A gunshot rang out.

The shadowy figure's shoulder was pierced, revealing the half-rotten muscle inside. He grabbed Bai Chenzhu's arm that was holding the gun and bit it viciously through the mask. Blood seeped from the wound, the gun fell to the ground, and cold sweat broke out on Bai Chenzhu's back.

As he met the gaze of the man behind the sunglasses, Bai Chenzhu felt the fear of being stared at by a ferocious beast, as if his throat would be bitten through at any moment. Blood stained his mask, and Bai Chenzhu vaguely sensed the shadowy figure laughing.

Just as Bai Chenzhu made up his mind to fight with all his might, shouts came from outside.

"Chen Zhu? What's wrong?" Zhou Zhuohua shouted upon hearing the commotion. "Jiang Ye, Tang Zhao, come quick! Something's happened!"

Noisy footsteps could be heard outside.

The man in black decisively released his grip and leaped out of the window.

Having escaped the clutches of his prey, Bai Chenzhu clutched his injured arm, leaning against the wall, panting heavily, when Zhou Zhuohua rushed in.

Bai Chenzhu raised his eyelids slightly, picked up the pistol, and laboriously put it back at his waist. "Where's Jiang Ye?"

"He hasn't come back yet. I was just trying to scare that thing." Zhou Zhuohua quickly found something to bandage him. "My God, the bite is so deep!"

Bai Chenzhu smiled, his pale lips revealing his poor condition. "At least we know he really came for me, he had the fragments on him, and he's a man, not some strange mutant. This information is worthwhile."

“Besides,” a dark glint flashed in Bai Chenzhu’s eyes, “I left something on him.”

——

Upon hearing that Bai Chenzhu was injured, the group of people who had returned immediately rushed to his room to check on him.

The room was ransacked again. As expected, the dark figure was indeed looking for something, but since it couldn't find what it wanted, it started attacking the homeowner.

So, what exactly is that person looking for? Bai Chenzhu pondered absentmindedly, letting Zhou Zhuohua manipulate his arm and treat the wound.

Jiang Ye examined his bandaged arm, and after confirming that it was just a superficial wound, he poked the bandage on his arm. "A-Zhu, look at the depth of this wound. If it were an ordinary person, it would have been infected long ago. It's so dangerous. I should have let you come aboard with me a long time ago."

Bai Chenzhu slapped his hand and withdrew his arm. "If we're really being watched, do you think you can escape by doing a commission?"

"I know, but what does it matter? I can protect you." Jiang Ye crossed his arms and looked at him, as if blaming, complaining, or even worrying. "You know your own constitution."

Bai Chenzhu held up a finger. "You don't know this, but that person was obviously testing us. He had fragments on him. I was also testing him. I left a trace of my spiritual power on him, as well as the blood hole on his shoulder."

"You're just showing off." Jiang Ye's lips curled up. "But he bit you, which was obviously to confirm your identity. Now that your identity as an ability user has been exposed, in his eyes you've become a delicious little cake again."

"Little cake." Jiang Ye's unique and strange way of addressing him returned, and Bai Chenzhu had a kind of time illusion, as if he had suddenly returned to the time when Jiang Ye first made him train and learn how to withdraw his spiritual power.

"What happened to you today?" Bai Chenzhu turned away from the topic.

"Brother, you've really had a lot of bad luck, but everything's going smoothly for us." Tang Zhao shook his head, his tone gradually becoming lighter. "They caught a lot of fish, and Boss Jiang and I went to try our luck too, and we brought back a big sea fish. We'll eat together when Bai Tao gets here!"

——

Bai Tao arrived very late, and Tang Zhao specially saved a piece of fish for her.

Bai Tao had no appetite for meat. She said bluntly, "Bai Li is really acting strangely. Judging from the timing of his 'car accident,' he should have become a zombie long ago. But now he is neither human nor zombie. He is very oblivious to the outside world, but at times he is exceptionally sensitive."

Bai Chenzhu realized the key point: "He was infected but still retained his self-awareness? How could there be a third type of infection?"

He looked at Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye lowered his eyes and thought about it, without saying a word.

“Could that shadowy figure be him? Is he pretending to be sick to avoid being exposed?” Zhou Zhuohua said worriedly. “And the rumors in the manor, maybe he’s the one who started them.”

Recalling the mother and son they had encountered in the garden earlier, Bai Chenzhu and Jiang Ye exchanged a glance. Jiang Ye said confidently, "Madam Bai definitely knows. We need to find an opportunity to contact Bai Li. Bai Tao, can you find a way to get Mr. and Mrs. Bai away?"

Bai Tao found the constant use of the word "Bai" grating, and she said reluctantly, "Don't call her Madam Bai. She's not married yet; her surname is Li."

Bai Chenzhu followed her words, "Yes, it's Miss Li. Are Miss Li and Bai Guangzheng on good terms?"

“She doesn’t seem like a good person, but she dotes on her son.” Bai Tao scratched her cheek. “Two days from now, I’m going to meet someone with that old man, and she’ll be there too. Be careful, or I can’t protect you if you get caught.”

Bai Chenzhu nodded.

After Bai Tao left, he looked at Jiang Ye and asked, "Don't you think Bai Tao has grown up a bit?"

Although Bai Chenzhu has never met Bai Tao ten years later, he has seen some clues in the last two days. Ever since meeting Bai Guangzheng, Bai Tao must have had her own plans.

Jiang Ye sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, propping his chin up as he looked at him. "That's how it should be."

Given the current beginning and the future outcome, it is not difficult to deduce the process.

Their conversations were always kept secret. Tang Zhao peeked over and asked, "Brother, you said Bai Tao has grown up, what about me? I've grown up too!"

He proudly puffed out his chest, "I put in a lot of effort to cook this big sea fish today, Sister Zhuohua, what do you think of the taste?"

"It's delicious, but it's a pity it's missing some seasoning. Steamed, though, would be good too." Zhou Zhuohua had just dozed off and was woken up by Tang Zhao. She rubbed her eyes. "Alright, alright, Xiao Zhao is very capable. We still need to be careful next time. Who knows if that guy will come again tomorrow?"

"Let Tang Zhao and I handle Bai Li's matter," Jiang Ye said.

Tang Zhao's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously, "It's time for me to take action! I guarantee I'll catch the thief!"

“No, I need to personally check his mental strength and wounds.” Bai Chenzhu was still worried. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Jiang Ye and I will go there in two days.”

Jiang Ye stretched out his arm and landed on the back of the sofa behind Bai Chenzhu. "Alright, is your injury alright?"

"It's okay, just don't strain yourself," Bai Chenzhu said with a self-deprecating laugh. "It's not like this is the first time I've gotten hurt. I've got experience."

This remark made the others laugh.

"Go back, everyone, and get some rest tonight." Jiang Ye stood up, patted Tang Zhao on the shoulder, and then pulled Bai Chenzhu up from the sofa, and they went back to their room one after the other.

Nothing happened that night.

——

The next day, when the sun shone in, it fell directly on Jiang Ye on the outside, and the scorching heat made him instinctively raise his hand to avoid the sunlight.

The room was quiet; you could see fine dust floating in the light. There were only two people in the small room. Jiang Ye was lying on his side, with faint breathing sounds beside him, so faint that any other sound could drown it out.

Jiang Ye blinked, belatedly realizing who his roommate was.

He sat up halfway, propped himself up on his arms, and leaned over to look at his roommate's sleeping face.

Someone was sleeping soundly on their side, facing him, with the ginkgo leaf earrings by their ears reflecting the sunlight and turning into magnificent golden dots.

In comparison, Bai Chenzhu himself looked much more 'plain'. His black hair was scattered messily on the pillow, and his long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyelids. He had concealed his sharp edge and appeared harmless.

Jiang Ye was so harmless that he always wanted to do something to him, to teach a lesson to someone who wasn't on guard against him.

But Jiang Ye was reluctant to lose this trust, so he hesitated, withdrawing his outstretched hand several times before finally gently placing it on his hair.

Jiang Ye reached out and brushed a stray hair behind his ear, inexplicably recalling some things he would never have thought about before.

If I have a lover in the future, will I see him/her looking like this when I wake up in the morning? What will I think then? Will I be the one to wake Sleeping Beauty, just like in the TV dramas?

He couldn't imagine it.

The more I tried to imagine such a person's existence, the blanker my mind became, while the sound of breathing around me became clearer.

The image of Bai Chenzhu sleeping soundly appeared in his mind.

Jiang Ye's heart skipped a beat.

That's not right. He thought, even best friends don't sleep together forever. I only remember his appearance more clearly because we were roommates temporarily.

Various thoughts raced through Jiang Ye's mind. He pulled hard and accidentally tugged at Bai Chenzhu's hair.

Bai Chenzhu winced in pain, opened her eyes to look at Jiang Ye, her pupils still dazed, "What are you doing so early in the morning?"

"Thinking about important life matters." Jiang Ye frowned and asked seriously, "A-Zhu, have you ever had a girlfriend before?"