Qin Zhen had so many things she wanted to say and ask—how Fu Qi had found her, who had come to meet them, where they were headed—but Fu Qi was exhausted. He wrapped his arms around her and fell asleep.
He hadn’t closed his eyes for five days. It must have been incredibly hard on him.
Feeling sorry for him, Qin Zhen stayed quietly in Fu Qi’s embrace without moving a muscle.
Their dash through the snowy night initially attracted a few zombies, but after Old Mo tossed Yellow Helmet a zombie repellent, no more zombies appeared.
Fu Qi was asleep, while Yellow Helmet was curled up under a blanket on the other side. The only two people still awake were Qin Zhen and Old Mo. Though they were members of the same team, they had never spoken before and weren’t familiar with each other at all.
This wasn’t the right time for conversation. Qin Zhen planned to wait until the vehicle stopped, tidy up her appearance, and then formally introduce herself to this teammate she was meeting for the first time. She absolutely had to leave him with the impression that she was a composed, reliable, and gentle big sister.
There was no sound in the vehicle. It should have been quiet and peaceful, but Old Mo’s driving was utterly unhinged. He had turned a perfectly good SUV into a roller coaster.
Once, during a sharp turn, Yellow Helmet was thrown right off her seat. Fu Qi also woke with a start. After steadying himself against the seat, he patted Qin Zhen on the back and closed his eyes again.
But the next second, he seemed to remember something and reached into his pocket.
It was too dark inside the vehicle for Qin Zhen to see what he had taken out, but she soon found out. After a few rustling sounds, a piece of candy was slipped into her mouth.
After giving it to her, Fu Qi rubbed his chin against the top of her head and went back to sleep.
Qin Zhen hadn’t had candy in a long time. She still had no sense of taste, but as she licked the hard candy in her mouth—which felt like a pebble—her dangling feet began swinging happily in small, gentle arcs.
After they had bounced along for who knew how long, dawn began to break. Old Mo, who had been driving in silence, suddenly called out, “Captain.”
Fu Qi’s tightly closed eyes flew open. He glanced outside and said, “Ignore it. Keep going and speed up.”
Qin Zhen tried to lean over and look too, but Fu Qi wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back.
“A helicopter.” Fu Qi finally let go of her and had her sit beside him. “It’s fine.”
Yellow Helmet woke up as well. Blinking sleepily, she clung to the window on the other side and glanced outside. “There are only four of us, and they’ve got a whole crowd. How can it be fine?”
“It’s fine.” Fu Qi still said the same thing.
As he spoke, he opened Qin Zhen’s little shoulder bag and stuffed a handful of candy inside. Then he took out the pink pig hair clip and fastened it in Qin Zhen’s hair. He cupped her face and examined her carefully before asking, puzzled, “You’ve been apart from me for several months. How did you still end up with dark circles under your eyes?”
“…” Qin Zhen glared at him. “This is eye… eyeshadow!”
Fu Qi said, “How come it’s different from what you used to wear? It doesn’t look like you. It’s strange.”
He pressed Qin Zhen back against the seat, took makeup remover from her bag, leaned over, and began carefully wiping her face.
They weren’t sitting on his lap in an intimate embrace, but Fu Qi was far too close. Their faces were nearly touching, and his movements were much too affectionate.
Qin Zhen’s lashes fluttered upward, meeting Fu Qi’s gentle gaze. Her heart tingled, and she wanted to look away.
She lowered her lashes and blinked. Unable to resist, she lifted them again, only to quickly drop them once more.
After doing this twice, she saw Fu Qi trying not to laugh.
Realizing he was laughing at her, Qin Zhen raised her hand to hit him, but Yellow Helmet suddenly coughed beside them.
Fu Qi had found her so adorable that he had nearly kissed her. The cough brought him back to his senses. He glanced at Yellow Helmet, then stuffed the makeup-removal pad into Qin Zhen’s hand. “Wipe it off yourself. Remove all the foundation, and take out your contacts too.”
Qin Zhen’s eyes were pitch-black and hollow, just like a zombie’s, and a little frightening. Ever since leaving the tomb, she had kept her cosmetic contacts in and had never taken them out.
She had originally thought Fu Qi was wiping her face because her foundation had smudged and needed to be reapplied. When she realized that wasn’t the case, she reminded him, “Take them out? We can’t pretend to be human anymore.”
“There’s no need to pretend,” Fu Qi said. “We won’t be pretending anymore.”
Just then, Old Mo called out, “Captain!”
The three people in the back seat looked up together. Through the windshield, they saw a helicopter flying extremely low over the road ahead. The gale from its rotors whipped up the snow, sending thick flakes flying like goose feathers as they pelted the vehicle.
Their vision was obstructed, forcing the vehicle to slow down.
Fu Qi leaned over and told Yellow Helmet, “Sorry to trouble you, but help Sweetie take off her makeup.”
With that, he bent down and nimbly darted into the passenger seat. Taking up his gun, he lowered the window.
The moment the window came down, fierce wind and snow swept inside, making it impossible for Qin Zhen to keep her eyes open.
Squinting through the storm, she saw Fu Qi turn his head and raise his gun. After two shots rang out, something on the helicopter shattered with a sharp crack. It was forced to climb higher and veer away.
But the threat facing them was far from over. Out in the desolate snowfields far from the city, visibility was excellent. Before long, vehicles began pursuing them—a long line of them. From a distance, they looked like a train racing across the snow.
Yellow Helmet saw them too. As she swiftly helped Qin Zhen remove her makeup, she whispered, “Looks like we’re screwed. Does your handsome captain really have a way to get us out of this?”
Qin Zhen was baffled. “We met them together. If you don’t know, how would I know?”
Yellow Helmet said, “Aren’t you two connected by some kind of telepathy?”
It was the first time Qin Zhen had heard anyone describe her and Fu Qi that way. She was astonished. Suppressing her delight, she said coyly, “I-I’ve never said anything like that.”
Yellow Helmet hated couples who acted like this. She rolled her eyes at Qin Zhen and lowered her voice. “Still, they seem to have everything under control. Maybe they’ve got a backup plan.”
She and Qin Zhen had traveled together for such a long time that they were already quite familiar with each other. No longer worried about escaping, Yellow Helmet unceremoniously tugged Qin Zhen’s collar aside and wiped the foundation from her neck, pulling hard enough to make Qin Zhen uncomfortable.
Qin Zhen slapped her hand away, but Yellow Helmet didn’t let go. Instead, she leaned closer and whispered into Qin Zhen’s ear, “Your Sweetie is steady and reliable, handsome, and built like a dream. That waist of his looks incredibly strong… No wonder you didn’t fall for the celebrity zombie.”
Qin Zhen thought Yellow Helmet was far too lustful. Compared with her, Qin Zhen herself was practically innocent. But after hearing Yellow Helmet’s words and remembering that it had been a long time since she had touched Fu Qi’s firm chest and abs, Qin Zhen began to feel an itch in her heart as well.
With ulterior motives, Qin Zhen glanced toward the front. At that exact moment, she met Fu Qi’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
For some reason, his brows and eyes were faintly furrowed, and he looked displeased. Once he realized she had noticed him, he gave Qin Zhen a warning look, then silently turned his gaze away.
Qin Zhen thought he had seen through her little scheme and guiltily patted her chest.
The SUV was like a fragrant slab of meat, drawing those foreigners toward it. The pursuing vehicles continued hot on their heels, trying to cut them off.
To evade their trackers, Old Mo yanked the steering wheel and drove off into the wilderness. The vehicle bounced so violently that no one could stay seated properly, let alone find the time to chat.
They drove from the first light of dawn until around noon, but the heavy snow continued to fall.
Even after the vehicle entered the woods, the shadows in the low ground were still unable to escape the surveillance of the helicopter overhead. After several hours, the vehicles surrounding them grew more numerous—and drew closer and closer.
Several times, they nearly got intercepted by the pursuers cutting across from side roads. Fortunately, Fu Qi and Old Mo reacted quickly—one opened fire to hold them off while the other drove like a madman, allowing them to speed past safely.
This car was being driven far more wildly than Academician Jiang’s. Qin Zhen had only just gotten used to it and steeled herself for a long, bumpy ride when the vehicle suddenly made another sharp turn on the mountain road and charged toward a slope. It went airborne for several seconds before slamming back down, jolting Qin Zhen this way and that.
She struggled to sit up and saw that the vehicle had made it onto a flat main road. But then…
“People!” Qin Zhen lunged forward and anxiously slapped Fu Qi on the shoulder.
There was more than one person. After the vehicle turned off the main road, it was as if they had driven into another world. Ahead, on the broad road, wind and snow howled. Dozens of armored vehicles stood in neat formation, while fully armed soldiers aimed their rifles in their direction. They looked so imposing and formidable that Qin Zhen felt as though they would be riddled with bullets the next second.
“Yes, people,” Fu Qi said, leaning back against his seat and turning his head toward her. “Sweetie, take a good look at what kind of people they are before you panic.”
The wind and snow were so fierce—how could she possibly see clearly?
By the time Qin Zhen narrowed her eyes to get a better look, the off-road vehicle had already charged into the armored vehicles’ encirclement like a galloping tiger. At the same time, a barrage of artillery fire erupted, and violent explosions rang out behind them.
Qin Zhen turned around and saw several of the vehicles pursuing them flip over amid the blasts. Snow and mud churned through the air, creating a scene that was both magnificent and brutal.
The helicopter circling overhead was attacked as well. It let out a mournful cry before plummeting from the sky.
“Wow!” Yellow Helmet exclaimed along with Qin Zhen.
After staring in amazement for a moment, Qin Zhen turned back and found that the off-road vehicle had stopped. A square-faced man was already grinning and greeting Fu Qi.
“You finally made it. If you’d been any later, I would’ve led my men in after you.”
Fu Qi exchanged a few words with him, then opened the rear door and led Qin Zhen out.
When the Square-Faced Man saw Qin Zhen without her makeup, his eyes widened. He took a shocked step backward and said incredulously, “So it really is true!”
All the makeup had been wiped from Qin Zhen’s face, revealing her true appearance. Surrounded by such overwhelming armed forces, she had the eerie feeling that she was about to be brought to justice.
To make matters worse, the square-faced middle-aged man was positively brimming with righteousness. He looked every inch a senior official. Extremely nervous, Qin Zhen stammered, “I-if you don’t like it, I-I can be f-fake, too!”
The Square-Faced Man was even more astonished. He turned to Fu Qi and said in disbelief, “She really knows how to talk!”
“If you keep going, she won’t be able to talk at all,” Fu Qi said with a laugh. He tucked Qin Zhen behind him and lowered his voice. “It’s fine. He’s an officer who used to belong to the security and defense unit at Beicheng Base. He’s now in charge of security at Beiyue Base. He came to meet us.”
Qin Zhen had only caught the word “officer.” Trembling, she said, “Greetings, Your Honor!”
The Square-Faced Man was covered in question marks. He glanced at Fu Qi, who was struggling not to laugh, then at the shivering Qin Zhen. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “At ease?”
While this awkward exchange was taking place, the bombardment continued in the background. Just as Qin Zhen stood there nervously, unsure what to say next, someone approached and whispered a few words into the Square-Faced Man’s ear. He nodded and accepted a phone.
After listening for a moment, he cheerfully switched to speakerphone so everyone could hear the conversation.
“…Mr. Will is furious. He wants you to hand over Fu Qi and the experimental specimen immediately.” The voice belonged to Scarface, whom Qin Zhen had met once before. He sounded extremely anxious. “This is an international matter. Don’t fool around!”
The Square-Faced Man said, “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Fu Qi and Miss Qin are both people Professor Zhang specifically asked for. They must be brought back safely.”
Scarface’s voice became helpless, as though he were explaining the situation to someone beside him. “You see, this whole mess was caused by Beiyue Base. It’s a private base and doesn’t listen to orders from the central government…”
“Where would a private base get armed forces from?” Mr. Will roared through the phone.
“Who knows? How about this, Mr. Will—you calm down first, and we’ll go back and investigate immediately…”
On the other end of the call, one side demanded that the official representative order Beiyue Base’s forces to withdraw and surrender Fu Qi and Qin Zhen, while the other insisted that Beiyue Base was a private facility and that official orders were useless there. They went back and forth in circles, repeating the same arguments endlessly.
Just then, a minibus drove over. From far away, someone shouted, “Captain! Have you found Little Qin?”
The Square-Faced Man glanced over, hung up the call, and said to Fu Qi, “All right, I’ll deal with this. You go back to the base first.”
After speaking to Fu Qi, he looked at Qin Zhen again. Seeing the guilt and unease written all over her face, he asked on impulse, “Lu Xing said you’ve done quite a few bad things?”
“I—I—I…” Qin Zhen’s body jerked. Her mind went completely blank, and she instinctively confessed, “I stole two cabbages!”
She really had. Yellow Helmet had been sick before and couldn’t go looking for food, so Qin Zhen—who didn’t need to eat—had found two cabbages for her.
There had been four or five rows of cabbages in total, surrounded by a fence. The people at the base had probably planted them themselves.
The Square-Faced Man froze, then burst out laughing.
Amid his laughter, Fu Qi pulled Qin Zhen away. After finally escaping the oppressive aura of justice, Qin Zhen was introduced to another familiar face by Fu Qi: Chen Xiang, who had driven the minibus to pick them up.
Chen Xiang was just as enthusiastic as he had been over the phone, fussing over Qin Zhen and asking if she was all right. Qin Zhen, however, acted rather coldly.
It wasn’t that she wanted to be cold. It was just that when she turned around while getting into the vehicle, she saw Old Mo.
Unlike the previous night, this time she clearly saw his light tea-colored eyes.
Qin Zhen felt as though she had seen them somewhere before.
While she concentrated on trying to remember, the taciturn Old Mo—who had yet to say more than five words at a time—suddenly turned his head and barked at Qin Zhen.
“Woof.”
Qin Zhen instantly went blank.
The plan she had carefully prepared to establish a gentle, calm, and reliable image in front of her teammates had completely fallen apart. She sat there in a daze, too embarrassed to say anything for quite some time.
“Little Qin, Little Qin, why aren’t you answering me?” Chen Xiang called out while driving. “Aren’t we good online friends and teammates? Or am I too ugly? Was it a case of looking better online than in person?”
Qin Zhen came back to herself and hurriedly began chatting with her good friend, stumbling over her words at first.
After changing to the minibus, they traveled for four or five hours under the escort of the base’s security team and arrived safely at Beiyue Base.
The base was heavily secured. By the time they entered, night had already fallen. Fu Qi went to discuss security arrangements with the base leaders, while Qin Zhen and Yellow Helmet followed Chen Xiang to their lodgings.
“For safety’s sake, a lot of personnel have been temporarily transferred here. There isn’t enough room in the base, so we’ll have to make do for now.”
Beiyue Base had originally been built so Zhang Xiping could conduct research freely, and it was quite small. After Qin Zhen arrived, the foreigners would inevitably keep their eyes on the place, so the authorities had transferred one-third of Beicheng Base’s defensive forces here. The base was now extremely crowded.
Of course, officially, all of them were private forces belonging to Beiyue Base.
Chen Xiang and the others had been carrying out missions away from home for a long time. As mobile personnel, they were always staying at temporary stations. Since it was already late, they simply found a large room and made do for the night.
The temporary lodging was crude. After washing up, they once again found themselves in the pitch-black night of wind and snow.
This was the first time Qin Zhen had appeared before humans openly, wearing her true face. Along the way, many people had stared at her in surprise. She felt uneasy and wanted to talk, but Fu Qi hadn’t returned yet, and she was too embarrassed to disturb the others’ rest.
Unexpectedly, when she remained silent, Chen Xiang came over of his own accord.
“Little Qin, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Qin Zhen said softly, “Aren’t you going to s-sleep?”
“We are, but we can chat before bed.” Chen Xiang said, “Don’t you like grabbing people at night and making them talk to you?”
Qin Zhen asked, “Who said that?”
“The captain.”
“What else did he say about me?”
“He said you don’t settle down unless you pester someone for a few words at night. He told Old Mo and me that if we found you first, we had to keep you company every night.”
“Ha!” Yellow Helmet jeered mercilessly from the side, proving that Qin Zhen really was like that.
Qin Zhen: “…”
He was spreading more slander about her!
That despicable Fu Xiangxiang!
Chen Xiang said, “It’s fine. Talk about whatever you want.”
With that invitation, Qin Zhen stopped holding back and asked them about what they had been through during this period.
Chen Xiang was talkative, so he was the one who answered her questions. He started from the earliest incident, when Fu Qi had shot and killed Lin Hongzhi, then went on to describe how they had been detained at the base and interrogated every day, and finally recounted how they had run around the research institute, discussed the matter with everyone, and argued before the authorities on Qin Zhen’s behalf.
Everyone knew that Qin Zhen was innocent. But whenever their own interests conflicted with hers, there would always be people who made the same choice as those foreigners.
That made Fu Qi’s fight to win respect for Qin Zhen an extremely long process.
During that time, apart from Fu Qi, everyone who had come into contact with Qin Zhen was summoned to the Northern City Base for intensive questioning. This included Academician Jiang, Broken-Leg Bro, and several underage children. The old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled were all dragged into it. Even the few flags bearing the signatures “Jiang Xiaojiang” and “Jiang Xiaoqin” were not spared.
There was ample physical evidence and testimony from everyone Qin Zhen had helped. Combined with the sealed archives from more than forty years ago and Fu Qi’s testimony, the Central Base ultimately dismissed all objections and decided to accept Fu Qi’s proposal.
Recalling that period, Chen Xiang still felt shaken. “You have no idea. When the matter first came to light, all kinds of voices emerged within the base. It was a complete mess… Luckily, you went into hiding.”
Qin Zhen nodded vigorously. She finally understood why Fu Qi had said that separating was the best choice.
“What happens next?” Qin Zhen asked.
“The captain didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
They had only been reunited for a day and a half. Ninety percent of that time had been spent traveling, and they had barely spoken a few words, let alone had a private conversation.
Chen Xiang said, “Wait until the captain gets back and let him tell you.”
At the mention of Fu Qi, he arrived.
After washing up quickly, he entered the room. The room was extremely crude; there wasn’t even a bed, only a huge sleeping mat laid out on the floor. The two men squeezed in near the window, while the two women slept on the other side. A large empty space had been left in the middle for Fu Qi.
Fu Qi took off his outer coat and lay down, then switched off the flashlight.
Qin Zhen was on his left, with half a meter between them. She secretly glanced at Fu Qi. It was too dark to tell whether he was asleep.
In any case, Qin Zhen couldn’t fall asleep. She looked this way and that in the darkness. After waiting a long time, she heard the room fill with everyone’s steady breathing. Then, like a thief, she whispered, “Sweetie, a-are you asleep?”
Fu Qi’s voice came from the darkness. “No.”
“Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”
He hadn’t closed his eyes for several days. After reuniting with her, he had slept for barely three hours in the jolting vehicle. Shouldn’t he have fallen asleep the moment his head touched a pillow?
Fu Qi said, “I don’t dare sleep. I’m scared.”
“…Scared of what?”
Qin Zhen tensed slightly. If Fu Qi said he was afraid she would disappear the moment he closed his eyes, should she feel touched and then naturally crawl over beside him?
They had always slept next to each other before. There was no reason for Fu Qi to become a pervert and start keeping his distance, was there?
Fu Qi opened his mouth and said, “I’m afraid you’ll pull off my pants.”
Qin Zhen: “…”
She clenched her fists and reminded herself that she had only just reunited with Fu Qi, and he was exhausted. He couldn’t take a beating right now.
Fortunately, Yellow Helmet and the others were already asleep. Otherwise, if anyone heard Fu Qi saying such things to a young woman, would she have any dignity left?
Qin Zhen had originally intended to let Fu Qi off the hook. But feeling aggrieved, she lay there for a while before groping around in the dark for her little shoulder bag.
“What are you doing?” Fu Qi asked.
“I’m taking out my notebook to record this grudge.” Qin Zhen lowered her voice and said viciously, “Just you wait. I’ve got plenty saved up. In a few days, I’ll pay them all back to you!”
Fu Qi asked, “Did you write any down for Yellow Helmet?”
“Why would I write hers down?”
“Why not?” Fu Qi’s tone turned strange. He asked, “Do you like her?”
Qin Zhen was shocked. “She’s a girl! How could I possibly like her?!”
“Your husband and your former fiancée were both girls, weren’t they?” Fu Qi said coolly.
Especially that former fiancée. She had adapted to the role so quickly… Her sexual orientation was far too flexible.
Qin Zhen: “…”
He was bringing up her embarrassing history again!
This was absolutely unforgivable!
Qin Zhen rolled over to Fu Qi’s side, raised her fist, and punched him.
Her fist landed on Fu Qi’s waist, but he caught it. He tugged on Qin Zhen’s arm and rolled over, then lifted the blanket and wrapped her inside it, pulling her tightly into his arms.
Qin Zhen suddenly became shy. She struggled a little, only to be held even tighter.
Fu Qi was very close to her, his breath brushing against the tip of her ear. After holding her quietly for a while, he asked softly, “You know everything now?”
Qin Zhen gave a quiet “Mm.”
“Are you sad?” Fu Qi asked in a low voice.
“I’m not sad,” Qin Zhen said.
That made her sound rather heartless, but it was the truth. Qin Zhen honestly added, “I don’t r-remember anything. I don’t know where to begin feeling sad.”
Fu Qi fell silent. After a brief pause, he rubbed the back of Qin Zhen’s head several times.
Held in his arms, Qin Zhen felt warm inside. She thought that snuggling together and whispering in the quiet snowy night was wonderfully happy. She hugged Fu Qi too, running her hands over his waist a few times.
It didn’t feel satisfying through his clothes. She tried to slip her hand underneath them, but he stopped her.
Fu Qi wouldn’t let her touch him, yet his own hand was perfectly willing to move. He placed it directly over Qin Zhen’s heart.
Qin Zhen jumped and reached for his hand, but then heard him ask, “When did your heartbeat disappear?”
Qin Zhen froze. She hurriedly touched her own chest as well. With her hand layered over Fu Qi’s palm, she felt for a long while before saying blankly, “I-I don’t know… I didn’t notice.”
After separating from Fu Qi, she had spent a long time alone in the bookstore, and no one had been there to check her heartbeat anymore. She had become absorbed in her novels and forgotten all about it.
Later, she had been too busy evading capture by the foreigners to remember.
“It’s fine,” Fu Qi said. “We’ll go find Zhang Xiping tomorrow and have him take a look.”
Qin Zhen agreed.
Her identity had been exposed, leaving her with only one path: cooperate with humanity to develop a vaccine for the zombie virus. Otherwise, even if she hid underground, humans would eventually dig her out.
Qin Zhen wasn’t particularly opposed to the idea. If she had been, she wouldn’t have offered her flesh and blood to Zhou Yin in the first place.
It wasn’t as though she would die. At most, she was a little afraid—afraid of seeing herself cut into pieces… It wouldn’t hurt, but psychologically, it was difficult to accept.
Being researched here, under Zhang Xiping’s supervision, would make her feel a little better.
Qin Zhen had heard of Zhang Xiping long ago. She knew he was a mad, saintly father consumed by virus research. He never killed zombies, which had once made Qin Zhen suspect that he was a zombie himself…
When the time came, if she asked for gentler research methods, Zhang Xiping would definitely agree.
Qin Zhen knew this was the best solution Fu Qi could come up with.
Because of the topic, the room fell silent again. When Qin Zhen restlessly reached for Fu Qi once more, he caught her hand and spoke again.
“You’ve been gone for so long. Is there really nothing you want to say to me?”
Qin Zhen waited a moment. When she heard no movement from anyone else in the room, she figured they were all fast asleep and whispered, “There is…”
“Go ahead.”
Qin Zhen said, “All your money is mine. All of it…”
Fu Qi: “…What else?”
“Also, Yellow Helmet won’t listen to me. She refuses to call me Sis.”
“I’ll help you beat her up tomorrow,” Fu Qi said. “Anything else?”
For example, that kiss before they parted.
Qin Zhen hesitated. Clutching his hand, she lifted her face and asked in a small voice, “And—and… Sweetie, are you as perverted as you used to be, or have you gotten even more perverted?”
Fu Qi: “…You’re the pervert.”
Qin Zhen said, “Oh, come on. You obviously are. You’re into such weird things—you’re a total pervert. Just admit it!”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I’m not perverted at all. I’m a wholesome, upright young man, good in every way,” Fu Qi said. “You’re the pervert, going around giving everyone nicknames… And Wang Stinky, too. I obviously smell wonderful.”
Who else would call someone “Wang Stinky”? Anyone could tell from the name—and the ugly characters she had written in large letters—that Qin Zhen had come up with it.
Fu Qi rubbed Qin Zhen’s head, mussing her shoulder-length hair until it was a complete mess. Leaning close to her forehead, he said in a low voice, “Qin Xiaozhen, you’re really wicked.”
“I’m not wicked!” Qin Zhen didn’t dare raise her voice in front of the base’s leaders, but what did she have to fear in front of Fu Qi?
She punched him in the chest and said, “I’m not wicked at all. You’re the pervert! You’re the most, most perverted person in the whole world!”
“Nonsense. I’m not perverted in the slightest.”
“First of all, I’m not perverted either.” Yellow Helmet’s voice suddenly cut into their whispered argument, startling Qin Zhen.
Yellow Helmet continued, “Second, I wasn’t deliberately eavesdropping on you two flirting, but could you get to the point? How exactly is he perverted? That’s the important part!”
As soon as she finished, Chen Xiang chimed in loudly, “Same here!”
Old Mo said nothing. He merely turned over, making a great deal of noise.
Yellow Helmet continued, “Lastly, I do have a name! My name is Zhao Huangqin! You two perverts who love giving everyone nicknames!”
“…”
Qin Zhen was mortified. She stared blankly into the darkness for a while, then tilted her head, closed her eyes, and pretended to be dead.
“Whether the two of us are perverts is a separate matter. But the three of you clearly need to work on your emotional intelligence.” Fu Qi remained calm in the face of danger. “Next time you run into a situation like this, please block out everything around you on your own and quietly pretend to be dead, all right?”
Qin Zhen, who had been pretending to be dead, came back to life at once. She patted Fu Qi’s muscular chest and gave him a thumbs-up.
