Chen Ling spent half an hour quickly showing the members of the Morning Light Squad around the hotel.
“So? Are you interested in joining us? The treatment at our base is much better than the other bases nearby,” Chen Ling said.
Gu Yicheng’s tall figure blocked his line of sight toward the girl. His thin lips parted slightly. “There’s no rush. We’ll think about it.”
“I’ve prepared rooms for you. You can rest in the base for one night and give me your answer tomorrow. But personally speaking, I’m really looking forward to all of you joining our base as soon as possible.” Although Chen Ling said he was looking forward to their whole team joining, his eyes had been fixed on Ruan Ning the entire time.
However, from his angle, he could not see the girl’s full figure at all. She was completely blocked by the man beside her, who did not let others see even a bit more of her.
Seeing this, Chen Ling became even more certain of the guess in his heart. He was not stupid, nor had he been blinded by his feelings. Although the two claimed to be siblings, whether in facial features, appearance, or the feeling they gave off, they did not seem like that at all.
As for the truth, once these people joined the base, he would naturally have plenty of time to understand it.
…
By this time, the sky outside had already darkened. Only the moon hung high in the sky. In a semi-enclosed space like the hotel, even less light came through.
Because there was no electricity, people’s daily routine seemed to have returned to ancient times: working at sunrise and resting at sunset. There were no entertainment activities. Once it got dark, it was more or less time to go to bed, then wake up early the next morning.
The hotel was actually equipped with generators and diesel. However, because such resources were truly too scarce, only a small portion of people in this base could occasionally use them.
As people like the Morning Light Squad, who had not even joined the base, naturally it was impossible for them to be given such scarce resources. Being allowed to stay was already an exception.
Chen Ling arranged four rooms in the hotel for them and let them divide the rooms among themselves.
Four rooms for fourteen people was indeed not very spacious. However, although the hotel had many rooms, not all of them could be lived in. Some rooms could no longer be occupied because of certain things that had happened after the apocalypse. On top of that, more than two hundred people already lived here, so there were not many empty rooms left.
The four rooms arranged for the Morning Light Squad were not all on the same floor. Two were on the fourth floor, and two were on the fifth floor.
Back when there had only been Ruan Ning as the sole girl in the team, she always slept in a tent or bed by herself. Now that Mother Jiang had joined them, these past few days, the two of them had been sleeping together.
But today’s situation was a little different.
There was not only their team in this hotel right now. They were staying in someone else’s territory, surrounded by strangers. There were too many unsafe factors.
If Ruan Ning and Mother Jiang were allowed to stay in a room together, even if someone from the squad guarded the room next door the whole time, it still would not be as safe as staying in the same space. There would inevitably be things they could not look after. They were also afraid that something might happen to the two of them.
Mother Jiang could stay in one room with Jiang Jingchao, Jiang Jingyang, and Father Jiang. The abilities of the Jiang brothers were enough to protect their family and handle any sudden situation that might happen at night. Their family of four staying in one room was just right.
The remaining eight people were all men, so there was nothing much to struggle over. Dividing them reasonably into two rooms of four people each would be enough, as long as everyone could take turns resting tonight. Even if something dangerous happened at night, with someone keeping watch, they would be able to notice it immediately.
Only Ruan Ning, the young girl, became the most difficult person in the team to arrange.
But this was also easy to solve. She could stay in the same room as Gu Yicheng. After all, no matter what, they were siblings. Even if they were not biological siblings, it was still much more natural than having her stay with the other members of the squad.
Moreover, Gu Yicheng’s strength meant he could take care of Ruan Ning by himself. There was no need for several people to stay together.
Each of their rooms was a standard twin room in the hotel.
Every room had two beds.
Ruan Ning was very satisfied with this. Fortunately, it was not a room with only one bed. Otherwise, they would once again face the choice of only one of the two people being able to sleep on the bed.
The last time they rented a room in Area D of Base Three, Gu Yicheng had given the bed to her and slept on the sofa himself. At the time, Ruan Ning had felt a little embarrassed. If they encountered the same situation again this time, she would probably have had to volunteer to sleep on the sofa.
As for sharing a room with Gu Yicheng tonight, Ruan Ning felt fine. There was nothing especially uncomfortable about it. After all, the situation was special, and they were in the apocalypse. She was not that particular. It was not as if they were being asked to sleep in the same bed.
Besides, nothing could possibly happen between her and Gu Yicheng, right?!
After the last time Ruan Ning mistakenly thought Gu Yicheng had improper intentions toward her, she now had great confidence in him.
After washing up in the bathroom, Ruan Ning returned to the room and saw the man, who had taken off his coat, sitting on the sofa reading.
Seeing this scene, Ruan Ning could not help advising him, “Brother, reading by candlelight can damage your eyes.” When she used to watch dramas, she often saw plots where ancient women embroidered day and night by oil lamps, only to ruin their eyes in the end.
“Mm.”
An ability user’s physical constitution had improved, and their eyes were not so fragile that reading a book would damage them so easily. Gu Yicheng did not refute her. He put down the book, stood up, walked over, and touched her head. “Be good. Sleep early. We’ll leave this place early tomorrow morning.”
There were no lights in the room, but they had taken flashlights and candles out of their spaces.
Under the dim yellow candlelight, there seemed to be a faint trace of gentleness between his brows.
Ruan Ning blinked, and that feeling disappeared again.
She heard what he had just said and asked, “Brother, why are we leaving tomorrow morning?” Hadn’t they only just arrived? Apart from touring the base, it felt like they had not done anything.
“There’s nothing left to do here,” Gu Yicheng said gently.
Ruan Ning was somewhat confused, but her body was a little tired, so she did not continue asking. She nodded. “I see.” Recently, Gu Yicheng’s temper had been unpredictable, shifting between joy and anger like changing weather. Just like this visit to the base—he said they would come, then said they would leave. Sometimes, Ruan Ning could not figure out whether he was angry or not.
However, being able to leave this place early naturally made Ruan Ning happy. She would finally no longer be pestered.
Ruan Ning slept on the bed near the wall. Not long after lying down, she could not resist the drowsiness and fell asleep.
After she fell asleep, someone silently walked over and sat beside her bed.
Gu Yicheng’s night vision was different from ordinary people’s. Under the faint candlelight, he could still clearly see her peaceful sleeping face.
Her clear eyes, now hidden beneath closed lids; her eyelashes, long as crow feathers; and those… crimson lips.
His naked gaze was not concealed in the slightest.
And Ruan Ning, who was sound asleep, noticed none of it. She had no guard at all against the other person in this room and simply sank deeply into sleep.
“Ningning.” His low voice sounded in the empty room.
No one answered him.
Gu Yicheng stared at the girl on the bed. His fingers suddenly stroked her delicate face. The soft touch was just like her, making people unable to resist wanting to move a little closer.
His large hand slowly slid from her cheek to her neck. It was slender and fragile, as if it would break with just one snap.
The person beside him had no sense of defence at all. She had exposed her weakness without reservation.
Just like now, if he wanted to kill her, he would not even need to use an ability. He would only need a few seconds, and her signs of life would disappear completely.
The night was colder than the day. Perhaps sensing the heat source beside her, she unconsciously rubbed her head against his palm. The action looked very intimate, like a small animal seeking warmth.
He froze for a moment.
“Tell me, how can you be so at ease falling asleep like this…” Gu Yicheng murmured softly. Suddenly, he let out a quiet laugh, a hint of amusement appearing in his eyes.
In the apocalypse, the only person one could ever trust was oneself.
To hand one’s life to another person and trust someone unconditionally was, in Gu Yicheng’s view, an extremely foolish thing. It was equivalent to completely exposing one’s weakness to another person.
Yet now, Gu Yicheng very much liked the way Ruan Ning entrusted all her trust to him.
And in his heart, there was an unprecedented feeling of pleasure.
Gu Yicheng had always known that this person was a completely different existence from him.
The habits from the years he had lived through the apocalypse before his rebirth had already sunk deep into his bones and become second nature. Along this journey, even when other people in the team were keeping watch, Gu Yicheng would never let himself fall completely asleep. He always maintained a trace of wakefulness and vigilance.
Gu Yicheng had been distant from family affection since childhood, and he could not distinguish what liking someone or loving someone meant.
But he did not need to understand it.
Gu Yicheng only needed to know that he wanted to keep her by his side forever.
And he would also always protect her safety. No matter when, as long as he was still there, he would not let anything happen to her.
Gu Yicheng did not stay by Ruan Ning’s bed the whole time. After blowing out the candle, he slept in the other bed for the second half of the night.
Late at night, the darkness was as deep as ink. Suddenly, a burst of movement came from the corridor outside the door.
In the darkness, Gu Yicheng’s black eyes suddenly opened.
The first thing he did was glance at the girl lying beside him. When she slept, she was very well-behaved. Whatever position she fell asleep in, she would remain that way until she woke up.
The small commotion outside did not wake her. After a while, the footsteps gradually approached. Two of them stopped outside the door of their room.
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