Chapter 178: I Like You

An Nan lifted her eyes to look at Gu Zhiyu.

She suddenly remembered the question she hadn’t managed to ask him at the last banquet.

“Gu Zhiyu.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you like me?”

Gu Zhiyu looked at her, his gaze shifting. The heart that had been hanging in suspense suddenly calmed.

“Yes.”

He thought for a moment, feeling that wasn’t enough, and repeated it seriously,

“An Nan, I really like you.”

He didn’t just like her a little—he had to add a “really” in front.

He liked the way she stood at the bow of the boat with a chainsaw, bold and valiant.

He liked the ruthless, decisive side of her.

He liked the way she could lie with her eyes wide open.

In short, there were all sorts of strange reasons why he liked her.

This answer was within An Nan’s expectations.

After all, he’d made it pretty obvious.

But now, she suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Should she ask him why he liked her? When he started liking her? What he wanted from her…?

But if she didn’t want to be with him, asking those questions seemed pointless.

Gu Zhiyu was an exceptionally good man—

Capable, charming, smart, and he treated her well.

If she’d met such a perfect man before the apocalypse, she definitely would have gone after him and had a proper romance.

But things weren’t like before. She was carrying too many secrets, and it really wasn’t wise to form a close relationship with anyone.

Lovers are different from friends—there are many things you simply can’t avoid.

Like her knowledge of future disasters, the supplies that appeared out of nowhere, the fresh fruits and vegetables…

How was she supposed to explain all that?

She couldn’t hide it forever; she’d have to tell the truth.

But people’s hearts are unpredictable—she couldn’t afford to gamble on that.

Or rather, she didn’t want to.

She was truly satisfied with her current life. Given a second chance, all she wanted was to survive well in the apocalypse, without taking on any unnecessary risks.

An Nan opened her mouth, trying to figure out what to say to him.

But for some reason, her brain short-circuited, and she blurted out something melodramatic: “Don’t love me. There’s no future in it.”

Gu Zhiyu, having just confessed, waited for a while, only to hear this. He couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless.

“You asked me just to reject me?”

An Nan felt a little awkward. “Not exactly…”

It was just the atmosphere earlier that made her blurt out the question.

“Anyway, I just… I’m not planning to date anyone. You should give up on that idea…”

Before she could finish, Gu Zhiyu suddenly leaned in closer.

Their noses were almost touching—An Nan could even feel the warmth of his breath, and her face instantly turned red.

Gu Zhiyu stared at her for a while, then suddenly relaxed and leaned back on the sofa.

He smiled and said, “Just live your life however you want. Don’t worry about me.”

An Nan couldn’t help but wonder if she’d given him the wrong impression.

She could only try to persuade him earnestly, “Feelings are a two-way thing. Unrequited love is painful. If only you like me, and I don’t like you back…”

Afraid she was being too harsh, she quickly added, “Of course, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with you—it’s just me…”

An Nan thought about it—she didn’t really have any flaws—so she started making things up:

“It’s just… I’m not interested in sex!”

Gu Zhiyu couldn’t help but laugh. “Come again?”

This girl was really coming up with the most ridiculous excuses to reject him!

An Nan looked away guiltily. “Anyway, it’s just not possible between us.”

Gu Zhiyu was about to say something when he suddenly noticed something odd among the supplies piled in the corner of the living room.

He stood up, walked over, and picked up a pink box.

Ultra-thin, for zero-distance love.

Below was a line of small text: “Wrap up safety, wrap up happiness.”

Gu Zhiyu: …

When An Nan saw what he was holding, she panicked and rushed over to snatch it away.

There were so many supplies, she’d just grabbed things at random—she hadn’t even noticed she’d pulled out a box of condoms!

And looking closer, there was a whole box of them right next to it.

Damn, this was way too embarrassing…

Gu Zhiyu looked at her with a half-smile. “An An, this doesn’t look very ‘not interested in sex’ to me.”

An Nan bristled. “Don’t call me An An! Watch your mouth.”

She quickly threw the little box back and kicked the whole box further away.

Afraid he’d get the wrong idea, she blurted out, “Those were left by my ex-boyfriend!”

As soon as she said it, both of them froze.

An Nan saw Gu Zhiyu’s expression darken.

She cursed herself inwardly: Damn it! What am I saying? What ex-boyfriend??

But then she thought, maybe this was a good way to get him to give up, so she added,

“After I broke up with my ex, I just lost interest in men. You should give up.”

Gu Zhiyu’s face turned black. “Stop talking nonsense!”

An Nan stuck out her chin. “I’m not making it up!”

Gu Zhiyu was silent for a while, then gritted his teeth. “Fine. Very well.”

With that, he got up and walked toward the door.

At the entryway, he paused, took two things from his pocket, and put them on the shoe cabinet.

He snapped, “Take care of yourself!”

Then he left.

Listening to his footsteps fade away, An Nan finally went over to see what he’d left.

It was antibiotics and fever medicine.

Not long after, the roar of engines sounded outside the window.

She walked over and watched as the helicopter flew off into the distance.

Suddenly, she felt a little lost.

Would she not see him again?

She still owed him half the supplies from the mountain and the base.

Fugui wagged its tail and came over to her feet, looking up at her in confusion.

An Nan patted its head, composed herself, and smiled,

“What, are you sad that the handsome guy left?”

Fugui rubbed against her leg.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Chu Peipei’s voice came from outside:

“Nannan?”

An Nan went over and opened the door.

Chu Peipei looked excited. “I just heard the helicopter leave. That was President Gu, right?”

She was all smiles, about to ask something, but then noticed An Nan didn’t look too happy.

She asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong? Did you two have a fight?”

Weren’t they just being all lovey-dovey, touching each other’s faces?

An Nan shook her head. “No.”

Chu Peipei said, “What do you mean, ‘no’? Your whole face says ‘I’m in a terrible mood’!”

She got a little angry. “Did he bully you?!”

An Nan quickly shook her head. “No…”

She paused. “Come in, let’s talk.”

She’d already set out some supplies to deal with Gu Zhiyu, so she wasn’t worried about Chu Peipei coming in.

It was Chu Peipei’s first time at her place. As soon as she walked in, she was stunned by Laifu and Lord Rabbit.

“Whoa! Is that Laifu?”

Then she pointed at Lord Rabbit. “That rabbit could be the ancestor of my own rabbit!”

But after a few seconds of amazement, she quickly got back to the main topic.

“Come on, tell me—what’s going on between you and President Gu?”"