Chapter 46 (First Release)
At first glance, all that met her eyes was pure white, which startled Ning Wanwan. She almost thought it was those people in white uniforms again.
She only came to her senses after she realized that the other person was wearing a white lab coat.
"What's wrong? You seem frightened." The man raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at the seemingly terrified girl with interest.
His gaze lingered lightly on the mask the girl was wearing.
It's a real shame; he was quite curious about what the person who caused so many of that guy's clones to fall looked like.
From what I can tell, her personality is rather timid and ordinary. The only thing worth mentioning is her eyes, which are visible through her mask and are quite clean and pretty.
Ning Wanwan was unaware of the other person's thoughts. Noticing their expression, she subconsciously pressed her mask down and was relieved to find that it was still firmly on her face.
She didn't know how to answer the question about whether she was frightened. Saying she was frightened would be impolite, so she just gave an awkward smile and used the other person's help to steady herself.
"Thanks……"
Although she didn't understand what was going on, she felt relieved when she felt the other person's palm holding her wrist, warm with human body temperature.
Otherwise, if Ning Wanwan encountered such a handsome man in this remote place late at night, she would really be thinking of all sorts of scenes from horror movies.
Seeing that she had regained her footing, the man gentlemanly released her wrist.
He picked up Ning Wanwan's umbrella, which she had dropped when she almost tripped, and held it over her head, saying with a light laugh, "Little student, choosing to come to school in the middle of the night on such a rainy day when it's easy to fall..."
"It's not a good choice."
Ning Wanwan took the umbrella, somewhat embarrassed, and made up an excuse: "Because I have something very important to do, so..."
The man in the white coat nodded, as if he believed her: "I see..."
"Little student, what's your name?"
When he smiles, his peach blossom eyes sparkle, giving you the illusion of a deep, focused gaze; when he doesn't smile, however, he exudes a serious, almost dangerous aura that makes you feel uneasy.
Ning Wanwan had a strange feeling that she had bumped into a teacher. She couldn't help but straighten up slightly, like a student who had made a mistake, and whispered, "Ning Wanwan..."
The man nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips, and the tense aura that had made people nervous seemed to dissipate: "Don't be nervous."
"Let me introduce myself too, my name is Mu Xijue."
Ning Wanwan stammered an "oh," and subconsciously said, "Hello, Teacher Mu..."
"I'm not a teacher, you know." Mu Xijue seemed to have heard something interesting, her eyes filled with laughter, her hands casually in her pockets, and she walked forward unhurriedly.
Ning Wanwan stood there, stunned, when he turned around and gestured to her in surprise, "Aren't you leaving?"
Ning Wanwan: "...Let's go."
"Yes. There are no teaching buildings in the direction you're going, just a small grove of trees, right? I remember Shen Wu went there too."
Mu Xijue's voice was calm and gentle, like a babbling brook, "It's too dangerous for a girl like you to go alone at night. I'll take you."
Ning Wanwan was startled again, and followed him in small steps. She realized that she had been surprised far too many times tonight: "You know Chen Wu?"
"Of course I know her." Mu Xijue turned her head to look at the girl, winked at her lightly, and raised her voice slightly at the end.
“I’ve known 'Him' for a very long time.”
Ning Wanwan always felt that Mu Xijue's tone was a little strange when he referred to Shen Wu as "she".
But before she could investigate further, she heard Mu Xijue say, "We've arrived."
Ning Wanwan was momentarily bewildered by how quickly things had happened, but then she realized it was probably because everything had been peaceful and without any accidents since she started traveling with Mu Xijue.
Even the faint rustling sounds I had heard at the beginning along the roadside had disappeared.
Seeing the familiar grove of trees in front of her, Ning Wanwan quickly walked closer. She did not see Chen Wu. There was no one in the grove, and it was very quiet. The low-lying areas were filled with water, making it almost impossible to step on.
"Chen Wu isn't here?" Mu Xijue raised an eyebrow, though she said it was unexpected, and walked leisurely to Ning Wanwan's side.
Ning Wanwan wasn't surprised; on the contrary, she was surprised to see Chen Wu here. She hurriedly searched for the little black cat and, sure enough, found it in the crevice of the rocks.
"Why are you still here? Don't you know you should take shelter from the rain?"
Although she found the little black cat, Ning Wanwan felt even more helpless. She took out the towel she had prepared earlier and wrapped it around the little black cat.
"Meow meow."
The little black cat, soaking wet, saw the girl coming to find it. It caught a familiar scent in its nose, and its bright blue eyes lit up instantly. It tried to rub against the girl.
But after noticing that it was covered in water, it was afraid of getting the girl dirty, so it froze and didn't even dare to move its tail, letting the girl rub the water off its fur in the dry towel.
Ning Wanwan wiped for a while longer, removing most of the water absorbed by the little black cat's fur. However, the towel could only do so much. At this point, the little black cat, which had originally been fluffy like a ball, now had its fur completely plastered to its body because of the rain.
It suddenly wasn't as round and chubby as usual, and even looked a little ugly. It opened its emerald-like cat eyes wide and stared intently at her.
Ning Wanwan couldn't help but laugh, and then touched its paws and limbs through the towel, remarking that it seemed a little thin.
It usually looks like a dumpling, so I thought it was quite fat.
"Is that your reason for coming to school in the rain so late at night?"
Mu Xijue had somehow walked up to her side and was thoughtfully examining the little black cat in her hand.
"However, it's worth it; this cat has quite a bit of potential," he commented.
Ning Wanwan pretended not to understand what he said, but she was already quite certain that this white-coated man named "Mu Xijue" who had suddenly appeared was someone who knew about the world's anomalies.
He seems like a very powerful figure, and might even be an important character in the story.
"Meow!" The little black cat, immersed in happiness, finally noticed Mu Xijue beside it. It immediately bristled and meowed loudly at the dangerous man, making low gurgling sounds in its throat, trying to intimidate him away.
Mu Xijue chuckled softly and tapped the little black cat's head with her slender, fair fingers.
"You're thinking of going against me now? You're a bit too early."
The little black cat tried to bite him but failed, and continued to bare its teeth at him.
Ning Wanwan quickly restrained the furious little black cat, trying to divert both of their attention and prevent the situation from escalating.
"Mu...Teacher, you said you saw Chen Wu before...Do you know where she went?"
Ning Wanwan didn't know how to address the other person, so she simply continued to call him Teacher Mu.
Although she came looking for the little black cat late at night, it was actually driven by her inner unease; she felt that something bad would happen if she didn't come out. The little black cat was happy to see her, but it was also genuinely shivering from the cold.
However, Ning Wanwan did not intend to take the little black cat home and raise it.
If we can persuade Shen Wu tonight, that would be perfect.
The girl looked over expectantly, but Mu Xijue chuckled and corrected one of her statements first.
"I already said I'm not a teacher, but it was indeed my oversight not to tell you my identity."
“You can call me Dr. Mu.”
"Hmm... Dr. Mu." Ning Wanwan's heart tightened, but she nodded, trying her best to appear calm.
If I remember correctly, Chen Wu told those people in white uniforms during the day that she would personally talk to "President Jiang" and "Dr. Mu" about bringing her in.
Could this be Dr. Mu?!
However, the other party did not seem to be the aloof and serious scholar that Ning Wanwan had imagined at all.
Ning Wanwan silently lamented her bad luck, lowered her head to try not to reveal her emotions, and continued to ask softly as if she knew nothing, "Dr. Mu, so, you know about Shen Wu..."
"I know," Mu Xijue interrupted her, raising her eyelids to look in another direction, and said casually, "Isn't this it?"
Ning Wanwan was momentarily stunned: "Coming, coming!"
Immediately afterwards, she heard Chen Wu's gentle voice say, "Wanwan, what are you doing here?"
Ning Wanwan quickly stood up and glanced at the female lead. The female lead looked the same as usual, but as she got closer, she noticed that the ends of her hair were slightly damp, as if she had rushed over.
Before Ning Wanwan could answer, Shen Wu had already seen the cat in her arms.
"So that's what they came for."
"Wanwan really cares about that little black cat," Shen Wu said cryptically.
Ning Wanwan pursed her lips. For some reason, she felt that Shen Wu seemed to be in a bad mood after seeing her here.
Just as the atmosphere became somewhat tense, Mu Xijue, who had been observing from the side, suddenly bent down slightly and chuckled, looking extremely amused.
"Hey, you surnamed Mu, what are you laughing at?" Shen Wu's usual smile vanished, replaced by a cold glint in her eyes as she stared expressionlessly at Mu Xijue.
"Sorry... haha, but it was just too funny."
Mu Xijue laughed for a while, seemingly having finally laughed enough. She stood up straight, the smile still lingering on her lips.
He said, "I'm laughing. Some guys, even though they clearly knew why others would be here, still can't help but get jealous."
"However, it's quite amusing to see such a rational guy like this. I wonder what his original body was..."
Mu Xijue spoke with a teasing expression, seemingly unconcerned.
Ning Wanwan heard the key words, "Zhu Shen," which meant...
Shen Wu's calm expression suddenly turned serious, and she stared coldly at Mu Xijue: "Shut up, don't say things you shouldn't say."
It's likely that none of the students or teachers at the school could have imagined that Shen Wu, who always appeared gentle and kind, could reveal such a cold and dangerous expression.
Mu Xijue narrowed her eyes, her smile fading slightly, as if she were carefully observing Chen Wu's expression.
"This really surprises me, are you serious?"
Shen Wu remained silent, her eyes growing increasingly cold.
"Alright, alright." Mu Xijue raised her hand, looking like she was begging for mercy, but her tone remained relaxed and casual. "I won't say anything more. You are, after all, a part of it. I'll give you face."
"You two probably still have a lot to say, so I'll leave the space to you. I'll be going now."
"However, Chenwu, you need to change that. Acting nonchalant on the surface while secretly being jealous isn't appealing to girls these days. You need to learn from me..."
Shen Wu's coldness towards Mu Xijue was so intense it could freeze the surroundings: "Get out of here."
"Hey, don't get angry." Mu Xijue stepped back.
But Mu Xijue, though saying she was leaving, didn't intend to just walk away like that; instead, she was going to stir up some trouble.
He winked his beautiful peach blossom eyes at Ning Wanwan, as if reflecting starlight, and said affectionately, "What a pity, today was very pleasant. I had a lot I wanted to talk to you about, but it seems I'll have to leave it for next time."
"Well then, Ning Wanwan, see you next time."
Ning Wanwan: "..."
No, who are you? I really don't know you! And I definitely don't want this to happen again!
If you're going to leave, then leave. Don't say such ambiguous things! You're leaving me with this awkward situation!
Facing Chen Wu's gaze, Ning Wanwan felt inexplicably a little guilty.
No, why should I feel guilty? These things have nothing to do with me.
Ning Wanwan straightened up and heard Chen Wu's hesitant voice: "Wanwan, do you really like his type?"
The advantage of using slices is their versatility. If Wanwan likes it, it's not impossible to find a way to cut the main body into another slice...
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Author's Note: Happy New Year, my little darlings! Thank you all for being with me until now!
I want to say something here, lol. The tone of this story is set to be relatively slow. Also, since this story is a modern fantasy romance, it mainly focuses on interaction and doesn't plan to write too much about post-apocalyptic survival. The pure post-apocalyptic part will account for a small portion of the story. The main focus will be on the modern background and the process of transformation and collapse.
I saw some fans saying the plot was too slow. I've thought about it carefully and I understand why people feel that way. However, the outline is already set up T^T, and major changes could easily ruin the whole thing. I will try my best to speed up the pace and make some adjustments. If any fans still think it's too slow, they can wait and see how it goes.
With the arrival of the new year and January, I have to prepare for a very important exam. Work, writing, and studying will keep my time very tight; I'll probably need to prepare for two or three months. But don't worry! I'll try my best to maintain a daily update schedule. If I really can't update, I'll ask for leave. Basically, I'll try my best to update daily without taking leave. I'll put the daily updates directly into my drafts. However, I might not have time to manage and refresh the comments section, and I'm also afraid it will affect my writing and studying mindset. I'm really sorry, so I hope you guys will understand if I don't give timely feedback QAQ
I'll be paying attention to the comments section today! Feel free to say anything, my darlings, I'm going into a period of complete seclusion after this, lol.
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:00:14 on December 31, 2023 and 17:40:04 on January 1, 2024!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 47021254 for 5 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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