Xu An walked up to her mother, looking at her blank stare, and hugged her tightly.
Xu Yan’s body trembled slightly in her arms.
“...Nannan, are you alright?”
Her voice quivered. Despite struggling with the panic of her first kill, she instinctively worried about Xu An.
“Mom, I’m fine. Goudan is fine too. We’re safe…”
Xu An, just like her mother usually did, gently patted her mother’s back with her palm, comforting her.
She had been through it, so she knew the feeling.
The feeling of killing someone for the first time.
It was a ritual to sever ties with her past self, a process of shattering and reshaping herself. No one could do it for her; her mother had to walk through it alone.
In the end-of-the-world, where hope seemed to stretch into infinity, only those with strong beliefs and the willingness to do anything to survive could steadfastly persevere through the daily despair.
Xu Yan closed her eyes tightly, feeling the warm body in her embrace, and forcefully shoved the dying man’s expression out of her mind.
“You’re so much stronger than I was. The first time I killed someone, I held Goudan and threw up for a whole hour. I felt like Goudan even looked down on me… Hahaha…”
Sensing her mother’s emotions easing, Xu An recounted a funny anecdote from her past, trying to cheer her up.
Xu Yan smiled, indicating she was alright. She let go of her daughter, bent down to pick up the hunting rifle from the ground, and as she straightened up, something in her eyes was quietly changing.
Goudan also circled the two of them, looking like a protector.
“Our Goudan was a hero this time! I’ll open a can of meat for you later.”
Xu An squatted down and hugged Goudan, while Xu Yan smiled looking at them.
The family of three “members” savored the joy of surviving a disaster.
Just then, an untimely voice suddenly broke the fleeting moment of warmth.
“Are you guys alright?”
Hearing this, Xu An quickly drew the Tang knife hanging from her waist. The tip of the gleaming blade stopped less than a fist’s distance from the stranger’s nose.
“Why are you here? Were you following me?!”
Xu An frowned deeply. The smile vanished from her face the moment she saw He Ci appear.
“No, no, I don’t mean any harm. I just saw those people acting suspiciously behind you and I was worried you might be in trouble, so I decided to follow and see…”
He Ci realized his actions were inappropriate. He had followed them secretly without greeting them, and anyone would be suspicious.
However, it seemed he was too late.
As he approached, he saw that the three men who had been tailing Xu An were now three corpses on the ground.
He looked at Xu An in disbelief, gaining a completely new perspective on the girl before him. Something stirred within him. While he admired her bravery, he was also astonished by Xu An’s power.
He Ci gave an awkward chuckle and then said, “But it seems… you didn’t need any help.”
Xu An did not lower her guard against He Ci. She was assessing whether his words were true and if she should kill him right there.
This man had been inexplicably showing them kindness since the morning.
“He who offers unsolicited favors is either plotting mischief or engaged in theft.”
Yet, Xu An couldn’t sense any malice from the man that would suggest he wanted to harm them.
So, what was his true purpose?
Xu An didn’t believe that He Ci was simply kind-hearted.
Just then, He Ci suddenly scratched his head and said softly, “Believe it or not, I really want to help you…”
Seeing that Xu An maintained her stance with the knife, not speaking, and not lowering her guard.
After a long silence, He Ci suddenly looked up, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Xu An, saying, “You’re really amazing. I admire you. In the end-of-the-world, only brave girls like you can survive… I… I…”
Before he could finish, Xu An quickly interrupted him. He Ci’s fair cheeks turned red as he reluctantly swallowed the last three words.
She keenly detected the affectionate spark in He Ci’s eyes.
“Stop right there! As you can see, I don’t need your help. I can handle trouble on my own. I don’t want to hear what you’re going to say next. Let’s go our separate ways and remain strangers. If you don’t want to be strangers, I don’t mind killing you right here.”
Xu An’s words were laced with threats. She never believed in unreliable things like love at first sight, yet here she was, encountering it in the end-of-the-world.
But she was in no mood for romance, nor would she consider He Ci’s feelings.
Sometimes, in matters of the heart, rather than stringing someone along, a firm rejection is the most polite course of action when you don’t like them.
“I… I… no…”
He Ci stammered for a long time. No what? No intention to confess, or no love at first sight for Xu An?
The more he explained, the weaker his words became. He had never been one to drag things out, and even he was surprised by how much he cared about Xu An. By the time his mind caught up with his body, he was already at the edge of the woods.
As soon as he heard the gunshot, he ran in immediately, completely forgetting that he was unarmed. If he had encountered armed thugs, he would have been delivering himself to them.
But at that moment, he hadn’t thought of anything else. His mind was filled with Xu An’s serene face.
When he saw Xu An standing before him unharmed, he suddenly realized.
It turned out that from the very first glance at Xu An, his gaze had been unconsciously drawn to her.
“I’m sorry.”
He Ci wasn’t angered by the rejection; he was just a little sad. In his twenty-eight years of life, this was the first time he had liked a girl, only to be ruthlessly rejected.
His first love, before it could even begin, was cruelly strangled in the cradle.
“Then… can we be friends in the future?” He Ci hesitated for a moment before asking.
“No!!!”
Xu An refused outright, looking at him speechlessly.
The way He Ci looked at her now was all too familiar.
When her Goudan made a mistake and acted cute, he would look at her with those wet, pitiful eyes.
This realization sent a shiver down Xu An’s spine. She grabbed her mother, who was watching the scene unfold, and turned to walk deeper into the woods. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to threaten him.
“If you dare follow, I’ll kill you!”
He Ci: “……”
Was he that terrifying? Why was Xu An avoiding him like the plague?
…
Just then, on a hill not far from the woods, two men in military uniforms were lurking.
“Tsk, Xiao Chuan, have you taken a liking to the girl? You need to make a move quickly, you have quite a few rivals, you know?”
“She’s quite pretty, but her temper is a bit fiery.”
A man who appeared to be older whispered to Qin Chuan beside him.
Qin Chuan watched Xu An’s retreating back, a smile curving his lips, and said something ambiguous.
“Cheetahs are born to roam the grasslands and hunt. Forcibly pulling out their fangs and claws to domesticate them into cats is rather uninteresting.”