Chapter 18

Lina was lying down when there was another knock on the door, and things unexpectedly started to get lively at her place.

Lina wiped away her tears, patted her cheeks, and said, "Please come in."

"Hey! Lina, are you alright?" Glenn carefully closed the door, looking at Lina as if she were a porcelain doll.

“Not bad,” Lina smiled. “How about you?”

“Good, of course, no gunshot wounds, no sprained legs,” Glenn said, relieved to see that Lina was in good spirits.

“I have to warn you, they’re all lined up behind you waiting to see you, and I’m always the first one to run,” Glenn said smugly.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Lina rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to town this afternoon. Do you need anything?" Glenn got to the point.

"You need to be careful. The walkers are always moving, and no place is safe forever," Lina reminded him, recalling the walkers she and Maggie had encountered in town.

"I know, I know, you caught Rick's infection?" Glenn teased, then his smile faded after a moment. "I'm so glad you're okay, really, Lina. Please don't take any more risks, okay? I'm terrified."

Lina took Glenn's hand. "I'm sorry."

Glenn sighed and smiled helplessly, "Never mind, you should think about what kind of takeout you want."

“Speaking of which, I need sanitary napkins,” Lina said seriously.

“…Okay,” Glenn said stiffly, looking at Lina.

"Oppa, please bring me more, I need it urgently!" Lina rarely looked troubled, but she still obediently called Glenn "brother".

Glenn is in a much better mood; he can now carry away an entire store's worth of sanitary napkins!

"Then I'll go prepare," Glenn said, standing up in a good mood and kissing Lina's forehead. "Take good care of yourself."

“Wait a minute,” Lina said, looking at the cabinet next to her. “Take my dagger with you. It’s very sharp, but you have to promise me that you’ll clean it before you put it back in its sheath after you’re done with the zombie.”

Glenn knew how much Lena valued her knife; as she said, she always made sure to clean it thoroughly.

“No need, I got a machete too, it’s not bad,” Glenn said.

“Don’t make me get it myself,” Lina glared at Glenn.

“Okay, okay.” Glenn walked over and hung the knife on his waist.

"You have to treat him well," Lina emphasized again.

"Alright, alright," Glenn smiled helplessly.

He noticed the book next to Lina's pillow, which didn't look very nice. Perhaps he could take the opportunity to see if there was anything he could bring back for Lina to pass the time.

Just as Glenn had said, everyone was waiting to visit Lina. Not long after Glenn went out, Amy, Carol, and Sophia came in.

They had just visited Karl, who was still resting.

Good heavens, she took back what she said this morning about it being boring; it's getting a bit too lively now.

Lina listened listlessly as Amy continued to tell her how worried she had been these past few days, while Carol kept expressing her gratitude. Sophia, holding Lina's hand, began to sob again...

Three women make a drama, and it's quite a spectacle.

The door wasn't closed, and Lina easily spotted the hesitant figure at the doorway: Daryl.

Carol followed Lina's gaze to the doorway, pulled Sophia up, gave Amy a look, and the three of them quietly left the house.

As they passed by, Carol and Amy winked at Daryl, having noticed the flowers in his hand.

Daryl hesitated as he entered the house, putting down the small bottle in his hand. "Cheroki rose, its flower language is hope." Daryl seemed a little flustered, looking awkwardly at Lina.

This made Lina find it rather cute. "Is this the first time you've given flowers to a woman?" Lina teased.

“…I guess so,” Daryl muttered.

"What do you mean by 'consider'?" Lina narrowed her eyes and looked at Daryl with displeasure.

“Never mind it,” Daryl plopped down on the bed, picked up the not-so-good-looking book, and said, “Want to listen?”

Lina nodded, shifted her body to find a comfortable position in Daryl's arms, and listened to Daryl read aloud in his rough, deep voice.

“Your accent is really funny,” Lina laughed.

"Is it that funny?" Daryl asked, somewhat embarrassed.

“No, she’s very cute.” Lina looked up at Daryl.

Daryl slowly bent down and placed a kiss on Lina's lips, as gently as a breeze rippling across the water.

*

Lina was awakened by Carol's knocking on the door. She looked at Daryl, who was also still half asleep. Carol had brought them both dinner.

Setting down the food, Carol looked at Daryl teasingly, "Your brother has been looking for you all day, and in the end he went hunting by himself."

Daryl sat up uncomfortably, glancing at the plate and guessing it was squirrel meat.

“I’m going deer hunting tomorrow,” Daryl said, picking up his plate. Lina’s food was still oatmeal porridge.

“This is torture,” Lina said, drooling as she stared at the meat.

"I'll make you roasted venison tomorrow," Daryl coaxed Lina into drinking the porridge.

Carol smiled, pursed her lips, and quietly walked out.

Lena finished her oatmeal porridge without tasting it, then watched Daryl devour his food in a few bites. Daryl ate quickly and without any regard for his image, as if afraid she would steal it.

He quickly licked his fingers, showed the empty plate to Lina, and told her, "Don't think about it anymore, you've finished eating."

Lina glared at Daryl in annoyance, then turned her head away in anger.

“Oh, right,” Daryl picked up the small bag from the bedside table, “Glenn came by a while ago, but you were asleep so I didn’t wake you.”

He brought back a lot of sanitary napkins. Lina rummaged through them, then reached out to Daryl, "Hug me."

Daryl grabbed a towel, wiped his hands, and then picked up Lena. The house had a separate small bathroom. He put Lena on the toilet, walked out, and closed the door.

After relieving herself, Lina threw away the toilet paper and cotton pad she had used and put on a new sanitary napkin. She tried to stand up on her own, but eventually gave up.

"Daryl!"

Daryl pushed open the door. Lina was a little embarrassed, but she still reached out her hand to him. For some reason, Daryl suddenly smiled.

"What are you laughing at?" Lina looked at herself. Wait, could it be that the bathroom smells?

“No,” Daryl thought to himself, sitting there like a little baby, looking up at the adult innocently and reaching out for a hug.

"Don't laugh at me!" Lina threatened, baring her teeth.

“No,” Daryl ruffled Lina’s hair, “it won’t.”

Lina pouted and nestled in Daryl's arms, then was gently carried back to bed.

"Are you still able to sleep?" Daryl asked.

"No, I've had enough sleep," Lina pouted boredly. The days of not daring to move were truly unbearable.

“Glenn brought back some comic books, would you like to read them?” Daryl asked.

"No, I'll become nearsighted," Lina refused. She wasn't going to torture her eyes in such dim lighting. This was the apocalypse; if she became nearsighted, she wouldn't be able to find anyone to prescribe glasses.

"Shall I continue reading that book to you?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, this is so boring,” Lina said with a look of disgust, then suddenly a thought struck her. “How about we gossip?”

“What gossip?” Daryl thought for a moment. “Sean? And?” He looked at Lina.

"You knew that too?" Lina looked like she knew it all along; there must be a lot of people who knew!

“The woods are my territory,” Daryl knew this a long time ago, but it had nothing to do with him, though Lina seemed quite interested.

“I just feel a little sorry, Rick and Sean, they had a great understanding and trusted each other a lot,” Lena said regretfully.

“It won’t last long,” Daryl said casually.

"You think so too?" Lina looked at Daryl with some curiosity about his conclusion.

“Mor said that if he hadn’t gone to school that day, maybe Sean would have killed that fat guy,” Daryl said casually. “He knows that kind of person.”

Lina was silent for a moment, then said, "What if, I mean, what if, Lowry is pregnant now?"

“That’s going to be interesting,” Daryl frowned. “Are you serious?”

“No, I was just talking nonsense,” Lina said with an awkward laugh.

“Your intuition is always very accurate,” Daryl said.

Lena looked at Daryl with a melancholy expression. "I don't want them to kill each other, but Sean won't leave."

“He thought, maybe he would,” Darylton paused, “if he didn’t know Lowry was pregnant.”

"This is really difficult," Lina said with a sigh.

“I thought you didn’t like Sean.” Daryl was a little puzzled; her avoidance of Sean couldn’t be more obvious.

“A little, that’s because I know he doesn’t care about me. If someone like him doesn’t care about you, then he’s in danger,” Lina said.

“You see things very clearly,” Daryl said without refuting. “He’s a decent person, but he has his own priorities.”

“Yes, he protected the others in the camp for a long time, but,” Lina said with some hesitation, “I’m afraid, afraid that I will be the one he abandons.”

“He won’t have a chance,” Daryl said calmly.

“Maybe,” Lina sighed. “I’m afraid Rick will kill Sean.” It’s hard to say whether it’s a right or wrong decision; it’s just a matter of perspective.

“Rick?” Daryl was somewhat surprised, seemingly astonished that Lena would believe Rick would kill Sean.

"Promise me, no matter what happens afterward, you'll stay calm, okay?" Lina thought of the walkers in the barn. "Don't let your emotions control you."

“You have no right to say that to me,” Daryl said, giving Lina a disapproving look. This emotional girl was still lying there.

“This is different,” Lina complained softly, “Don’t you dare undermine me.”

Daryl shrugged, indicating that he understood. "When you're better, come hunting with me. I'll teach you how to find your way," Daryl suddenly said.

“Great!” Lina said with some surprise. “I also want to learn how to use your crossbow.”

“Sure, but you’ll have to start by learning how to make crossbows,” Daryl said, raising an eyebrow at Lina.

“Great!” Lina said excitedly. “Then I’ll get a crossbow too, so we can each have one. That would be so cool.”

Daryl wasn't going to spoil the mood, but this thing wasn't so easy to find. "Go to sleep."

"I can't sleep." Lina blinked, having slept too much during the day. Her eyes darted around. "I wish someone could sing me a lullaby~"

“Keep dreaming,” Daryl said, turning off the light and walking out the door.

Lina looked at the dark room with a sense of sullenness. That annoying Daryl! Perhaps it was the darkness, or perhaps her body hadn't had enough rest, but Lina fell asleep again.