Black Sky - Chapter 24

After looking at Meng Yilan, Bai Zi immediately turned away, struggling to crawl towards the corner. Like a wounded stray dog, she tried to avoid the flashlight’s light, trying to hide her miserable appearance.

However, Bai Zi’s body didn’t listen to her commands. Every step she took was like a spasm, trembling non-stop. Soon, she collapsed to the ground halfway through her crawl due to exhaustion.

The blood in the bag suddenly spilled onto the ground, splashing onto Bai Zi’s clothes.

Disordered footsteps came from outside the room, as if several people were approaching. Meng Yilan quickly entered the utility room, locking the door.

Unable to move even half a step, Bai Zi propped up her head with difficulty, and poured the remaining blood into her mouth, swallowing it all down. She curled up her body close to the corner of the wall, thinking like an ostrich that Meng Yilan couldn’t see her hidden in the darkness.

She heard the footsteps getting closer, and then, the fisherman’s hat on her head was taken off, and a slender hand stroked the back of her head.

Like a magic spell, the body that had been shaking like a sieve suddenly calmed down under that gentle touch. Although Bai Zi was still panting heavily, she was much calmer than she had been just now.

Despite the large pool of blood spilled on the ground, Meng Yilan seemed not to care at all.

She knelt down next to Bai Zi, and then, took the flashlight away, deliberately letting the light avoid Bai Zi’s body.

Then, relying only on her sense of touch, Meng Yilan gently bent down, her slender fingers embedded in Bai Zi’s hair, and began to stroke it gently, gradually sliding down to Bai Zi’s neck, massaging the stiff muscles on her neck as if giving a massage.

Although half of Bai Zi’s body was pressed tightly against the cold wall, and her hands and feet were frozen numb, the only place that was touched by Meng Yilan’s fingers was sending out a comfortable warmth that made one feel extremely comfortable.

It was like a warm light in a blizzard, seemingly weak, but it lasted for a long time.

That feeling was too wonderful, and Bai Zi couldn’t help but turn her head slightly, getting closer to Meng Yilan behind her.

It seemed like a long time had passed, or perhaps it was only a short while. Whether it was due to Meng Yilan’s patient comfort or the blood replenishing her energy, Bai Zi, who had been on the verge of collapse, had completely calmed down.

At this time, Bai Zi finally realized that she had unknowingly turned her head, her forehead pressed tightly against Meng Yilan’s knees.

What surprised her even more was that Meng Yilan not only didn’t avoid her, but instead directly put down the flashlight, one hand gently rubbing her neck, and the other hand soothing her head, as if she was treating Bai Zi like a pet, gently coaxing her.

Bai Zi suddenly woke up, and she suddenly retreated, but her head unexpectedly hit the wall behind her, making a “thump” sound.

Meng Yilan was stunned, and was about to approach, but Bai Zi sat up a little awkwardly, her back pressed tightly against the wall, putting distance between herself and the person in front of her.

The two were silent for a moment, especially Bai Zi, who didn’t dare to look up and make eye contact with Meng Yilan at all.

After a long while, Meng Yilan finally straightened her back, and sat up straight.

Then, she very naturally picked up the fisherman’s hat from her thigh, and put it back on Bai Zi’s head.

Bai Zi was like a wooden puppet, stiffening her body and letting the other party do as she pleased, trying hard to suppress her uneasy heart. She didn’t know how to explain her crazy behavior to Meng Yilan, and even more didn’t know how the other party would view her.

Meng Yilan seemed very calm, and she picked up the blood bag on the ground with a gentle expression, asking softly: “Did, You Yuyi gave it to you?”

Bai Zi finally dared to look up, looking at Meng Yilan, who was carefully examining the blood bag, and nodded.

There was no need for her to hide this matter, and besides, Meng Yilan had already learned from Shi Lei that You Yuyi had also been bitten.

“A long time ago, I heard about something. At that time, I thought it was just something that some people had made up,” Meng Yilan said in a low voice. “They said that people who are immune to the virus, although they retain their sanity, actually…”

“Need to constantly drink blood,” Bai Zi took a breath, and finished Meng Yilan’s sentence for her, “Otherwise, their whole body will rot, like a waste product .”

As soon as the words fell, the door of the utility room was knocked lightly three times, and then You Yuyi’s voice came: “Wild rabbit?”

For some reason, Bai Zi didn’t want to respond to You Yuyi.

Bai Zi looked at Meng Yilan, and discovered that the other party’s expression had suddenly turned cold, but in a blink of an eye, that coldness had disappeared, as if Bai Zi had accidentally seen it wrong.

The door was knocked twice again.

“Miss Meng?” This time it was Shi Lei’s voice.

Meng Yilan, like Bai Zi, ignored the people outside the door. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then parted her lips slightly, asking the question that Bai Zi didn’t know how to answer: “Why does she, call you wild rabbit?”

Bai Zi: “?”

Without waiting for her to answer, Meng Yilan asked again: “Do you like, her calling you that?”

Bai Zi couldn’t react for a moment. She had originally thought that Meng Yilan would continue to ask her about the matter of “how her body rotted.”

As Bai Zi’s silence lengthened, Meng Yilan’s expression became more and more tense.

Then, Bai Zi finally came back to her senses, and shook her head.

After receiving the negative answer, Meng Yilan’s expression softened a little, although there wasn’t a trace of a smile, but it was obviously no longer as cold and aloof as it had been just now.

“Your clothes, are dirty again.”

Bai Zi looked down, and not only her, but even Meng Yilan’s clothes were stained with a lot of blood.

Although, in this precarious world, there was no need to care about whether the clothes on one’s body were clean, it was really too suspicious for the two people’s bodies to suddenly be stained with a lot of fresh blood.

“Wild rabbit?” Two more knocks came from the door.

This time, Meng Yilan directly stood up, and walked to the door.

“Sorry,” Through the door crack that was less than ten centimeters wide, Meng Yilan poked out half of her face, and said softly to You Yuyi outside the door, “Could you please get me a pair of pants and a shirt, my backpack is in the corner to the left of the stove.”

You Yuyi was stunned, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, but she quickly nodded knowingly, and turned to leave.

Standing behind You Yuyi, Shi Lei turned his head sideways, trying to peek at Meng Yilan behind her, but was glared at by Meng Yilan instead.

Shi Lei was startled by Meng Yilan’s gaze. He had never been treated with such an obviously cold and harsh attitude by the other party. Before he could open his mouth, the door was quickly closed.

Seeming to hold back a breath, stuck in his throat, Shi Lei bit his teeth in anger, but could only return to the stove.

Before long, Bai Zi and Meng Yilan changed their clothes, and walked out of the utility room one after the other, their expressions as usual, as if nothing had happened.

Fatty Qiu had already taken out Grandpa Tan’s remains from the sandbags. He was standing at the staircase entrance, covering his mouth and nose with his clothes, enduring the strong stench of decay, and trying hard to piece the already rotten corpse back together.

You Yuyi, on the other hand, didn’t have the mind to supervise Fatty Qiu. She was busy changing the dressing on You Xin’s wound.

At this time, Sister Hua came out of the glass wall, and walked to the sofa, saying to everyone: “If we want to return to Bei City as soon as possible, maybe taking the tunnel is a good choice.”

Hearing Sister Hua’s words, Shi Lei looked at Meng Yilan, and echoed: “I agree.”

“I walked to the other end of the tunnel for about ten minutes just now,” Sister Huacontinued, “The road should be clear.”

“I suggest you don’t make such an attempt,” You Yuyi organized the blanket on You Xin’s body. “Otherwise, before you even return to Bei City, you’ll already be buried alive on the way.”

Meng Yilan didn’t speak. She was lowering her head, helping Mao Mao take out the tattered blanket that was stuck between its toes.

Shi Lei and Sister Hua exchanged a glance, and didn’t discuss this topic any further.

Bai Zi, holding the clothes that she and Meng Yilan had exchanged, was about to go to the toilet to wash them, but was pulled aside by You Yuyi, who had quickly come from behind.

“Wild rabbit,” You Yuyi said, crossing her arms in front of her chest, with a mischievous smile and leaning close to Bai Zi to tease her in a low voice, “What were you doing inside just now?”

For some reason, hearing the title “wild rabbit,” Bai Zi suddenly thought of Meng Yilan’s cold face, and couldn’t help but say: “Don’t call me ‘wild rabbit,’ I don’t like it.”

You Yuyi chuckled softly, and didn’t dwell on this question any further: “I want to ask you for a favor.”

Bai Zi frowned in confusion.

“Take care of You Xin for me for now,” You Yuyi put away her smile, her attitude rarely serious. “I have to go outside with that fatty in a while, to find a place to bury Grandpa Tan.”

Bai Zi didn’t reply. She turned her face to look at the stairwell. Fatty Qiu was still bending over there, trying hard to piece together the remains that he had just taken out of the sandbags.

“Also, the medicine is running out,” You Yuyi said again, her expression more serious than ever. “I’m afraid that You Xin’s wound will get infected, so I have to go find some herbs again. Before I come back, I’m counting on you to take care of You Xin.”

It wasn’t a difficult task, and Bai Zi nodded.

“Thanks,” You Yuyi returned to her usual frivolous tone. “Wild rabbit.”

Just as Bai Zi frowned, You Yuyi added: “It doesn’t matter if you don’t like that title, as long as I like it.” After saying that, she smiled slightly at Bai Zi, and turned to walk towards Fatty Qiu.

After You Yuyi and Fatty Qiu left the subway station, Bai Zi hung the washed clothes on the clothesline, and then honestly fulfilled her promise, sitting quietly by the sofa, next to the sleeping You Xin.

She didn’t know how long had passed, but Bai Zi suddenly discovered that Meng Yilan and Shi Lei were arguing at a corner not far away. The expressions and tones of the two were not very friendly.

This reminded Bai Zi of the conversation between the two that she had accidentally overheard not long ago.

But this time, the two were standing too far away, and even Bai Zi couldn’t hear the content of their conversation clearly.

Intuition told Bai Zi that Shi Lei must be secretly planning something, and You Yuyi’s worries were not unnecessary.

She clearly remembered that Shi Lei had said to Meng Yilan, “If you really don’t want to hand over Bai Zi,” and she also hadn’t forgotten the promise that Meng Yilan had made—she would safely send her to Bei City.

Bai Zi thought that maybe she should have a good talk with Meng Yilan about this matter as soon as possible.

After a long while, Meng Yilan and Shi Lei’s argument still hadn’t stopped. Bai Zi, who was a little worried, was about to get a little closer to listen carefully, but the two suddenly walked towards the stairwell. During this time, Meng Yilan glanced at Bai Zi, and then, she followed Shi Lei to the first basement level.

About half an hour later, the sound of hurried running came from the stairwell. Shi Lei rushed to Bai Zi’s side, looking flustered: “M-Miss Meng…”

Before Bai Zi could let the other party finish speaking, she stood up and ran upstairs.

Standing at the staircase entrance, Bai Zi looked around, and quickly discovered that Meng Yilan was standing at the corner at the end, leaning against the wall, looking down at the floor.

Without thinking, Bai Zi ran to Meng Yilan’s side, and after confirming that the other party was unharmed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Meng Yilan didn’t show any surprise at Bai Zi’s appearance. She looked preoccupied, and only glanced at Bai Zi before turning her gaze away.

“What happened…” Just as Bai Zi opened her mouth to ask, Meng Yilan said softly: “Do you know that the government is now searching everywhere for people who are immune to the virus?”

Bai Zi didn’t reply.

“Actually…” Meng Yilan frowned, wanting to open her mouth to speak, but found it difficult to say.

For some reason, a very strong feeling surged in Bai Zi’s heart. She knew very well what Meng Yilan wanted to say, so she nodded, and said very calmly: “I know, I’m the ‘goods’ you’re looking for.”

Meng Yilan was slightly stunned, her expression flustered, but she quickly stabilized her emotions, and corrected in a deep voice with a slightly anxious tone: “Not ‘you’, but people like you who are immune to the virus.”

Compared to the increasingly obvious anxiety that Meng Yilan was exuding on her face, Bai Zi’s eyes were full of the opposite calmness and sincerity: “Meng Yilan, I’m willing.”

Her heart was hit hard, it didn’t hurt, but it made Meng Yilan feel like her whole body was suffocating in the deep sea, making it a little hard to breathe.

“I’m willing to help you, exchange Lin Quwei out.” Bai Zi said.

Meng Yilan couldn’t describe the feeling in her heart. She made eye contact with Bai Zi, and was about to open her mouth, but the sound of the door opening came from afar.

You Yuyi and Fatty Qiu had returned.

The Meng Yilan who had been leaning against the wall immediately straightened her body. Her face was blank, as if she was trying her best to suppress something.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing the two standing at the corner, You Yuyi asked in confusion, holding a bag of herbs she’d picked from somewhere.

Fatty Qiu, who was standing next to her, was covered in sweat, exhausted, and too lazy to even greet them.

Meng Yilan glanced at the two, and curled the corners of her mouth, her expression as usual: “Nothing.” After saying that, she turned to walk upstairs.

Seeing Meng Xinlan acting so strangely, the doubt in Bai Zi’s heart grew like a balloon, gradually expanding, and finally, when she and the others returned to the stove, the balloon exploded with a bang—You Xin, who had been sleeping soundly on the sofa, was nowhere to be found.