Gu Man's expression changed drastically.
Vaguely guessing what had just happened, she charged forward in a furious rage, ready to grab Chu Liuyue by the hair.
"Chu! Liu! Yue! You vixen!"
The force of her charge crashed over.
The wooden door that Chu Liuyue was backing against was quickly knocked open, and she even stumbled half a step back.
Somewhat frightened and at a loss, she searched the room for Zhou Yu'an.
The man was crouching next to the safe under the director's desk. He swiftly pulled out an iron box, stuffed it into his pants pocket, and happened to see this scene as he stood up.
Zhou Yu'an softly scolded, "Gu Man, stop making a scene."
"Making a scene?" Gu Man let out a cold, aggrieved laugh. Angry and frustrated, she pointed at Chu Liuyue. "Do you have any idea what this vixen just said to me?"
Zhou Yu'an frowned slightly, looking somewhat displeased.
Chu Liuyue's face was full of fear. She trotted over to hide behind him and explained:
"Dr. Zhou, I don't know what's going on either."
"Miss Gu seems to have been misunderstanding the relationship between you and me."
Seeing her pitiful, manipulative act only made Gu Man angrier.
She took a big step forward.
Pressing her, she demanded, "What are you pretending for?"
She then shot a cold glare at Zhou Yu'an and said:
"I thought you were different from other men, but I didn't expect you to be so indiscriminate. You can actually stomach a vixen like this?"
Zhou Yu'an grew even more confused hearing this.
His amber eyes shifted, glancing back and forth between the two women.
"What do you mean?"
"Stop pretending! That vixen is already wearing your sweatpants, the great Dr. Zhou, and you are still asking me what I mean?"
Gu Man was highly emotional, her voice rising in pitch.
With her back to them, she was completely unaware of a stray zombie staggering toward her.
Catching sight of it from the corner of his eye, Zhou Yu'an was just about to step forward when Chu Liuyue lightly tugged at his arm.
Seeing him turn back to look at her in confusion.
She pursed her lips apologetically and said, "My foot suddenly went numb just now, and I can't stand steady. Let me hold onto you for a second, okay?"
As her voice faded.
The zombie had already bared its teeth, about to bite down on the back of Gu Man's neck.
At this point, even if Zhou Yu'an wanted to step forward to save her, it was too late.
"Ah!"
"Bang!"
The scream and the gunshot rang out simultaneously.
Gu Man felt black liquid splatter against her cheek, immediately followed by the zombie's corpse falling stiffly to the ground beside her.
Only then did she stumble back two steps in panic and turn to look out the door.
In the corridor not far away.
The smell of disinfectant mixed with the sour, rotting stench emitting from the black liquid on the zombie.
A man stood with one hand in his pocket, his posture lazy and relaxed.
With his other hand, his long, slender fingers carelessly hooked around the trigger guard of a pitch-black handgun.
A black denim jacket was draped loosely over his shoulders, revealing the collar of a snow-white shirt underneath.
The top two buttons were undone, exposing his sharply defined collarbones.
He had striking, exceptionally noble facial features; his brow bone was deep and chiseled, yet the corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward.
"Senior Yan!"
Gu Man's eyes lit up.
She recognized him immediately, hardly daring to believe that the person who had just saved her life was Yan Qingdu, her secret crush from university.
"Why are you here?"
She instantly forgot about her marriage alliance partner behind her and quickly ran toward Yan Qingdu.
However, the two brushed past each other.
"Looking for something." Yan Qingdu was concise, not paying any attention to Gu Man's presence.
Taking a long stride, he entered the room, his gaze sweeping across the interior.
It swept past Chu Liuyue, pausing for a second.
Then it landed on Zhou Yu'an, who was wearing a white lab coat that had been stained by the black liquid, and he said:
"Zhou Yu'an?"
"You are..." Zhou Yu'an frowned slightly.
"Yan Qingdu, senior researcher at the Jiang City Research Institute." He spoke lazily, his smile carrying a hint of careless roguishness.
Zhou Yu'an understood inwardly.
No wonder the other party recognized him; it turned out to be his father's subordinate.
"Hasn't the research institute already been urgently evacuated? Why are you here?" he asked with slight hesitation.
Yan Qingdu curled his lip, seemingly impatient.
"Oh, I wasn't at the institute when the incident happened."
"Didn't Director Zhou say there would be a helicopter tomorrow? I will leave together with you guys."
This answer seemed to have no issues.
Zhou Yu'an's gaze suddenly fell on the black gun held in his hand.
"This..."
Yan Qingdu's fingertip hooked around the trigger guard.
"Just the one." He didn't intend to elaborate further.
"Alright, then let's go together." Zhou Yu'an lifted his foot to leave.
But Yan Qingdu blocked him, his gaze sweeping over him once more.
He lazily spoke:
"Did you get the item?"
"Hand it over to me. It belongs to our research institute."
Zhou Yu'an halted his steps, sizing up the man in front of him.
He curled his lips with a gentle tone.
Yet he refused to yield an inch.
"It belongs to the institute, but my father told me to bring it to him."
"Rest assured, Researcher Yan."
Just what exactly was this thing?
Chu Liuyue narrowed her almond-shaped eyes.
She had deliberately provoked Gu Man earlier so that she could logically enter the room and see what exactly Zhou Yu'an was doing.
Unfortunately,
Gu Man moved too slowly.
By the time she entered the room, she only caught a glimpse of something encased in silver metal.
Before she could get a clear look, Zhou Yu'an had already put it away.
Seeing her marriage alliance partner and her former crush facing off against each other, Gu Man hurried forward to mediate.
"What a coincidence, we are all on the same side."
"Yu'an, this is my senior from university."
"Senior Yan, Zhou Yu'an is my boyfriend."
"We are all acquaintances, there is no need to make things so tense. As for that item, does it matter who holds onto it? It is going to be brought along anyway."
Zhou Yu'an's amber eyes shifted.
He corrected her, "Not boyfriend. Just marriage alliance partners."
"Fine!" Gu Man gritted her back teeth, her gaze sweeping over Chu Liuyue, who was standing quietly to the side.
"Before the zombies come up, let's hurry to the top floor."
It was all this vixen's fault.
She had never felt Zhou Yu'an treat her so coldly before.
The corners of Yan Qingdu's lips curled into a faint arc, and he smiled lightly, "Gu Man is right. Does it matter who holds onto it? Therefore..."
He spread his hands.
"Zhou Yu'an, give the item to me."
Zhou Yu'an stared at him warily. If it weren't for the fact that Yan Qingdu had a gun, he would have planned to strike first.
"This is very important to the research institute."
Yan Qingdu lazily tilted his head slightly, smiling with a bit of a roguish air.
The finger hooked around the black handgun slowly pressed against the trigger.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Seeing that the situation was on the verge of exploding.
Chu Liuyue suddenly spoke up:
"Um, Dr. Zhou, why don't you hand it over to me?" She pointed at herself.
Zhou Yu'an was taken aback.
Yan Qingdu also cast his gaze upon her, lingering for a few seconds. His eyes were condescending, carrying a sense of scrutiny and appraisal.
Her almond eyes widened slightly.
She analyzed seriously:
"You and this newcomer... Researcher Yan, do not trust each other."
"It's not reasonable to leave it in either of your hands. So, finding a middleman to hold onto it should be the safest option."
