In apartment 1601, 16th floor, Building 6, Block B, Qingyu Residential Area, Chen Jin held Xiao Fei and said softly, "Honey, have you gone to see Qiao An recently? She's gotten so thin the last time I saw her. Honey, when you go to see her, take me with you. Let's bring Qiao An lots of food, okay?"
When Xiao Fei saw that Chen Jin had brought up Bi Qiaoan, he didn't hide anything. "I just went to see Qiaoan today and brought her some food. I thought you would be unhappy about mentioning her."
"No way! We've known Qiao An for almost ten years, and this house originally belonged to her family. I really want to bring Qiao An back so that someone will keep me and the child company!" Chen Jin smiled slightly, looking at Xiao Fei with anticipation in her eyes.
"Heh, Chen Jin, you really have the nerve to say that? Don't you know how Qiao An got so thin?" Zhang Chenjun had just arrived home when she heard Chen Jin's coquettish voice. Without even closing the door properly, she uttered a sarcastic remark.
"Chenjun, what are you saying? It's not easy to survive these days. Everyone outside is skinny. We're just lucky to be with Xiao Fei. Otherwise, how would we get a decent meal? Chenjun, don't take your blessings for granted." Chen Jin wasn't afraid of Zhang Chenjun complaining. Anyway, Bi Qiaoan was going to die, so there would be no way to prove anything.
"You, you're a viper, a two-faced bastard!" Although Zhang Chenjun despised Chen Jin for being two-faced, she wouldn't expose the truth. After all, there were already quite a few women in this house; another one... well, she didn't want to cause trouble for her baby. Besides, she couldn't win against Chen Jin.
"Ouch, honey, the baby kicked me! He must be upset because he knows someone is badmouthing his mom." Chen Jin looked aggrieved, which made Xiao Fei feel sorry for her.
"Try to control your temper. You're like a firecracker every day. Can't you learn to be as gentle and considerate as Ah Jin?" Xiao Fei yelled at Zhang Chenjun, his left arm around Chen Jin and his right hand on Chen Jin's protruding belly.
"You two, humph!" Zhang Chenjun angrily pointed at the two people on the sofa. One of them had an angry look on his face, and the other had a provocative look on his face. Zhang Chenjun wanted to go up and scratch Chen Jin's mask off, but when she met Xiao Fei's dangerous gaze, she immediately deflated and went into the bedroom without saying anything.
"Sigh, I heard that Chen Jun and Qiao An were in the same circle before the apocalypse. I didn't expect that their personalities were so different."
"Yes, Joan... is very gentle, but she's too stubborn."
“Honey, the environment in the slums is really terrible. Let’s go again tomorrow. I’ll tell Qiao An that I’m pregnant and ask her to help take care of me. We’re best friends, and I’m sure Qiao An will agree.”
"Okay, thank you for your hard work!" Xiao Fei hugged Chen Jin tightly with a smile, completely unaware of the sarcasm on Chen Jin's face.
Pick someone up? You think Xiao Fei would even want to bring her back tomorrow? Ha, there are already four women in this house; we absolutely can't let another one come who could threaten Chen Jin's position.
"The slums? Ha!" A low murmur echoed in the stairwell, as if it were a hallucination.
No one inside the door noticed that a tall man outside was observing everyone's expressions. He didn't know what had happened in the past few years, or why Qiao An had left. But he was back, and once he found Qiao An, everything would be clear.
Shen Yanming turned and left, heading towards the outskirts of the city.
It got dark, the wind picked up, and the snow just kept falling.
Shen Yanming inquired along the way and finally found Bi Qiaoan's residence.
Shen Yanming stood at the door, his heart pounding. He didn't know how to explain his disappearance over the past few years, and he didn't know if Qiao An would still want to see him.
He finally came back, and for Bi Qiaoan's sake, he mustered up his courage and gently knocked on the door.
No one answered the door, still no one...
A bad feeling welled up in Shen Yanming's heart. He pushed hard, and the door opened. There was no one inside, or rather, there was nothing inside except for three bricks on the ground.
Shen Yanming recalled Chen Jin and Xiao Fei's conversation and felt a surge of sadness. Something must have happened to Qiao An.
Shen Yanming turned around and ran to the nearby house to knock on the door. In the quiet winter night, the sound carried very far.
None of the nearby residents dared to open the door for Shen Yanming. It was obvious that he had come for revenge. Although they hadn't harmed the girl, they had stood by and watched her die, and afterwards they had divided up the little property left in the house.
"Open the door! If you don't, I'll tear your house down! Open the door!" Shen Yanming no longer cared about morality or law; he just wanted to know where Qiao An was.
The neighbor probably thought that Shen Yanming wouldn't leave if the door wasn't opened, so he opened the door with trembling hands.
"You, you, what do you want to do?" The neighbor opened the door a crack, revealing his face, his left hand on the wall, and his right hand holding a kitchen knife against the door.
"Where is the girl next to you? Where did Bi Qiaoan go?" Shen Yanming roared, his eyes bloodshot.
"I...I don't know..." The neighbor's eyes darted around, afraid to reveal what he knew, lest he face retaliation.
"Tell the truth!" Shen Yanming pushed hard, the door opened, and the neighbor, caught off guard, fell to the ground.
Shen Yanming snatched the kitchen knife from his neighbor, who was terrified upon seeing it.
"In the afternoon, two groups of people came looking for her, one man and one woman, both of them brought people with them. When the woman left, she carried Bi Qiaoan out."
"Where were you carried?"
"I don't know, it's in the direction of the mountains, why don't you look there?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yanming put the knife on the table and ran wildly in the direction his neighbor pointed.
"Oh my god, I was so scared! Thank goodness it wasn't someone seeking revenge." The neighbor patted his chest and gasped for breath, his legs still trembling.
Shen Yanming stood on the snow and looked around. In front of him were mountains, behind him was a slum, and to the left and right he could not see any end. Everything was a vast expanse of white.
Joan, where should I look for you?
Shen Yanming's tears flowed uncontrollably and fell down his face, freezing before they could even slide down. Shen Yanming looked up at the moon, which was round, but he couldn't find his Qiao An.
Suddenly, Shen Yanming saw a patch of black in the white, only the size of a palm. Shen Yanming ran towards the black patch and finally arrived. He reached out and helped Luo Xue aside. Underneath Luo Xue was Qiao An.
It was Qiao An, Qiao An, barely breathing!
Shen Yanming sat cross-legged on the snow, pulled Qiao An into his arms, stroked her swollen cheek with his right hand, and kept calling out, "Qiao An, I'm back, your brother Yanming is back, please open your eyes and look."
Joan, I'm sorry I'm late. You've suffered all these years!
Qiao An, wake up and tell Yanming who bullied you. I'll help you get revenge, okay?
Joan, I'm sorry, I'll never leave you again...
One night passed in the wind and snow, then another night passed in the wind and snow, then another night...
"Hey, Old Li's off to chop wood."
"Yeah, it's so cold today. We didn't have enough supplies. Look, someone else has frozen to death."
"I haven't heard of it."
"On the other side of the mountain, two people are embracing..."
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