Everyone in the team somewhat knew about Lin Xuan and Little White Lotus’s messy affairs. At the beginning, they naturally sided with the original owner. Before being set up by Little White Lotus, the original owner had a good relationship with everyone. However, after being repeatedly framed by Little White Lotus, he became someone who was seen as intolerant, unforgiving, and malicious in their eyes.
No one considered that, given all that Little White Lotus had done, if the original owner had been a bit tougher, he could have just kicked Little White Lotus out of the team. After all, as one of the team’s founders, he had that right. But the original owner didn’t do that because this world was extremely dangerous. Even though Little White Lotus intended to steal his boyfriend, the original owner never thought about sending him to his death.
Kindness isn’t a bad thing, but some people don’t deserve it. Little White Lotus was saved by the original owner. Without him, Little White Lotus might not have survived at all. And the result? The original owner saved a white-eyed wolf and ended up on the losing side.
The original owner kept tolerating step by step, only to be met with more aggression from his enemy. Li Shu wasn’t the original owner, he had no intention of indulging these people.
“Li Shu, what do you mean by that?” Lin Xuan didn’t expect Li Shu to bluntly expose their relationship. He was stunned for a moment, then grew furious.
“I’ve made it so clear, and you still don’t understand? Up until now, you’re still my boyfriend, yet look at what you’ve done.” Li Shu glanced at the Little White Lotus who was pretending to be weak beside Lin Xuan and sneered. “Lin Xuan, don’t take everyone for a fool. You were the one who wronged me first, and you still expect me to be kind to you? Don’t you think that’s unreasonable?”
When he said these words, there was no hysteria. His face was calm, with sarcasm in his eyes. His posture was upright, just like the aristocratic young man Lin Xuan had known before the apocalypse.
Lin Xuan was left speechless.
“And you, Tan Chu, do you think it’s fun to steal your savior’s lover? Lin Xuan already told you to stop pursuing this, so why did you still cling to him?” Li Shu turned his attention to the boy beside Lin Xuan. It was best to deal with this irritating presence as soon as possible.
They were all in the same hall, and since they didn’t lower their voices, the nearby team members heard everything clearly. Li Shu spoke the truth, and following his words, they recalled that it was Li Shu who had insisted on letting Tan Chu join the team. And what did Tan Chu do to his benefactor?
Putting aside everything else, interfering in someone else’s relationship was a known fact. The team’s impression of Tan Chu immediately dropped.
In this current world, many things are superficial, but some values have become increasingly important. For those who have shown you kindness, even if you don’t repay it, at the very least, don’t repay kindness with cruelty. Everyone knew that in such desperate times, having someone willing to help you was an incredibly fortunate thing.
“I didn’t…” The situation was spiraling out of control, and Tan Chu panicked. “Brother Li Shu, do you have some misunderstanding about me? I really didn’t.”
He shook his head as he spoke, tears welling up in his eyes, and he looked extremely pitiful. He clutched Lin Xuan’s sleeve, looked at him cautiously, his eyes full of dependence. “Brother Lin Xuan, please explain to Brother Li Shu. There really is nothing between us. I don’t want to steal anything. I know Brother Li Shu and Brother Lin Xuan are lovers, and I never intended to ruin your relationship…”
He sobbed, swallowing all of his grievances. “This time, it’s my fault. Brother Lin Xuan, don’t blame Brother Li Shu, blame me instead.”
This child was so dependent on him, and Lin Xuan’s heart softened. Indeed, after Li Shu had thrown a fit the first time, he and the boy hadn’t crossed any lines since. That matter was already resolved, and Li Shu shouldn’t keep holding onto it. Besides, this time, it was Xiao Chu who had been wronged. Why was Li Shu being so relentless?
“Xiao Shu…”
Just as he was about to speak to Li Shu, he was interrupted.
“Don’t say anything. I know you all won’t believe my side of the story regarding today’s events. Fine, I accept it. I don’t need an apology from… this person. And of course, I won’t apologize for something I didn’t do. But Lin Xuan, there’s something we can resolve now.”
A bad feeling rose in Lin Xuan’s heart, and he couldn’t even care about Tan Chu anymore. He quickly walked towards Li Shu. “No one is at fault this time, Xiao Shu. You’ve just woken up. Let Old Zhao check your body first, and we’ll talk about everything else later, okay?”
By the end of his sentence, his tone was already pleading. He had guessed what was about to happen, and he couldn’t let Li Shu say those words. Li Shu was the one he truly loved. He had just managed to calm Li Shu down, and it had been less than a month since. He didn’t want to lose him again.
Tan Chu, who had been clutching Lin Xuan’s sleeve, stumbled as Lin Xuan moved forward. He was about to follow but was forcibly pushed away and was left standing in place.
Seeing Lin Xuan’s terrified expression at the thought of losing Li Shu, Tan Chu pretended to look heartbroken and lowered his head, clenching his fists tightly. His eyes, hidden beneath his lashes, were filled with malice.
Just a little more, just a little more, and he would have succeeded. Why? Why did it turn out like this? What had stimulated Li Shu to expose everything?
This wasn’t just one person’s confusion. Many people present were thinking the same thing. Having gradually gathered together since the early days of the apocalypse, they had come to know each other to some extent. If anyone else had said what Li Shu just said, they wouldn’t have been surprised. But for it to come from Li Shu, the one they least expected, shocked them.
With Lin Xuan there, no one dared approach. They all whispered to those beside them, discussing what had happened. Li Shu’s change was obvious, and it was such a drastic change that they couldn’t help but wonder—what kind of grievance had driven him to reveal his own scars? What kind of stimulus had caused him to lose his former gentle demeanor?
It had to be said that Li Shu’s timing was perfect. Had he arrived a moment later, Tan Chu would have achieved his goal, and it would have been much harder to clear the original owner’s name. At this stage, Tan Chu hadn’t won over everyone in the team yet. These people still had some affection for the original owner. Now that the truth had come out, their first thought was, what could have driven Li Shu to this point?
Some even started to think further—perhaps Li Shu treated Tan Chu that way all along because Tan Chu had done something excessive where they couldn’t see.
This was exactly what Li Shu intended. Now that he had replaced the original owner, there was no way he would let Tan Chu’s schemes succeed. If Tan Chu wanted to take something from him, he’d better see if he was worthy first.
People are never satisfied. When the original owner first saved Tan Chu, all Tan Chu wanted was to survive the apocalypse. Once he achieved that, he hoped to live a better life. There was nothing wrong with that. His mistake was trying to achieve it by seducing Lin Xuan.
He couldn’t understand why the original owner, who was just as ordinary as he was, could earn everyone’s respect. He wasn’t content, so he targeted Lin Xuan, the strongest member of the team. He only saw the prestige the original owner gained from his relationship with Lin Xuan, but he failed to see how much the original owner contributed to the team, despite being an ordinary person.
Before Li Shu could refuse, Lin Xuan called over Old Zhao, the team’s medical specialist, to give Li Shu a thorough examination. This time, Su Han agreed with Lin Xuan’s decision. No matter what, health was always the most important thing.
Li Shu couldn’t argue with the two of them and Su Han pressed him down onto the sofa by his shoulders. “Now, let’s not talk about anything else. First, get checked out. You almost got scratched by an infected, and we won’t be at ease until Old Zhao takes a look.”
What else could Li Shu say? He could only helplessly agree, “Fine.”
But as for Lin Xuan, he still didn’t pay him much attention. At this moment, Lin Xuan was so afraid of upsetting Li Shu that he didn’t dare show a hint of dissatisfaction.
Old Zhao was a man in his fifties, dressed rather neatly. Before the apocalypse, he had been a doctor at a large hospital, and he was rescued by the original owner and Lin Xuan. His medical skills allowed him to secure a place in this small team. Because of the life-saving bond between them, he treated Li Shu differently. Although he had already examined Li Shu while he was unconscious, now that Li Shu was awake, he brought his tools over and gave him a thorough check-up again.
“There’s nothing wrong. Just rest well for a few days, and you’ll be fully recovered,” Old Zhao said as he packed up his medical instruments. “But Xiao Shu, your body is a bit weak. You need to nourish yourself properly. You haven’t been eating well these past few days, have you?”
Because of Little White Lotus, the original owner indeed hadn’t been eating properly these days. Li Shu slowly sat up and said, “I understand.”
“Your body is your own. It’s not worth getting angry at others and ruining your health over it.” Old Zhao didn’t even look up as he said these words, his meaning quite clear. After so many years as a doctor, he had seen all kinds of people. It was easy for him to see through Tan Chu’s schemes, he just couldn’t say it outright.
Matters of the heart were difficult for outsiders to intervene in. He only said these things because of what Li Shu had said earlier; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten involved, especially since Lin Xuan was still someone he needed to rely on.
“I understand.” Noticing Su Han pouting unhappily beside him, Li Shu ruffled his hair. “I’m fine now, so don’t be mad, okay?”
Su Han, a child even younger than the original owner, had cursed out at Lin Xuan and Tan Chu after the original owner’s incident, completely cutting ties with them. Later, he was set up to die alongside the infected just when they were about to return home. The original owner was devoured by the infected under Tan Chu’s scheme, and everyone thought it was an accident, except Su Han.
By then, Lin Xuan’s team had grown several times larger. Under Tan Chu’s careful manipulation, the original owner’s reputation was utterly ruined, and Tan Chu took everything from him. If it weren’t for the original owner’s desire to see his family one last time, he wouldn’t have held on for so long. Just when he saw a glimmer of hope, he died, and he died bearing the blame for a failed attempt to frame Tan Chu.
None of the people involved in what happened to the original owner were innocent. Li Shu was not the original owner; he didn’t need to rely on these people. Since they hadn’t done anything yet, he wouldn’t act either. But traveling together? That was out of the question.
Before the end of the world, a plane could fly from City N to City B in one day. Now, to reach it, they would not only have to cover a great distance but also deal with the infected along the way. This was the real obstacle.
The original owner wanted to go home, and Li Shu would take him there. The original owner wanted revenge, and Li Shu wouldn’t let a single person who was stained with his blood go unpunished.
A blood debt must be repaid in blood.
