Chapter 106: The Plan—Taking Her Along

""Okay! Okay!"" George agreed in a hurry, as if afraid that if he hesitated even a second, Bian Changxi would leave him behind.

Honestly, when Bian Changxi made the decision about when to leave, no one here found it inappropriate. There were only five of them. An Ran naturally had no say, Chen Guanqing was barely managing to keep himself alive, George had always been in a subordinate position, and although Chu Hao had been the backbone of the group, ever since the capable and decisive Bian Changxi arrived, his role as the leader had faded. Besides, Bian Changxi had already told him before: if they were going to leave, it had to be before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Even if she hadn’t mentioned it before, no one would have objected to her bringing it up so abruptly—Chu Hao was never the domineering type.

Bian Changxi herself didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate about it. There were only a handful of people; everyone could discuss things openly. Power struggles and showing off were just laughable in a group this small.

She glanced at An Ran. An Ran seemed to understand and quietly said, ""I’ll go help George.""

Chu Hao hadn’t realized Bian Changxi was deliberately sending people away. He smiled and asked, ""Miss Bian, where are you off to today?""

""I told you, I was going to the music plaza to pick up some things. There’s nothing for me to do here, so I’m heading out. I mentioned it to you before I left.""

""I didn’t hear you,"" Chu Hao said, embarrassed, patting his head. ""I even said I’d go with you. Did you get hurt going alone?""

Only now did he notice she was covered in blood and had several cuts on her.

""I’m fine. Milk helped me out, so it wasn’t too bad,"" Bian Changxi said, hesitating for a moment. ""By the way, do you think talking to him will help? I mean Chen Guanqing.""

""What?"" Chu Hao didn’t follow her train of thought.

""Chen Guanqing. His heart is still here. Even if you manage to convince him for now, even if you take him away, will he really be able to forget everything and move on? Did you forget why Granny Gu chose to die?""

It was because she couldn’t accept the overwhelming grief and didn’t have the courage to face the world alone.

Chu Hao’s smile froze. He stammered, ""But what else can we do? Lao Liu is still young. He’s not like Granny Gu.""

""Emotions and temperament have nothing to do with age,"" Bian Changxi shook her head. If it were someone else, or if she didn’t know what the future held, she might have agreed with Chu Hao. After all, in the apocalypse, most people had lost loved ones and still managed to survive. Chen Guanqing was a young man with a whole life ahead of him—surely he’d recover after a while. In peacetime, if a newlywed lost his wife, would he really die for love?

But this wasn’t peacetime.

Back then, you had family and friends to comfort you, work to distract you, the bright sky overhead, solid ground beneath your feet, and beautiful, caring women around. Society was healthy and positive. With all that, grief became just a part of life. If it got too much, you could travel, find ways to cope.

But in the apocalypse, people are pushed to the edge. How many have given up in the face of such disaster? And Chen Guanqing’s partner died so tragically. The pressure is unimaginable.

Of course, some people turn their pain into motivation and rise up, or become cold and ruthless and carve out a new life. Chen Guanqing clearly wasn’t one of those people; otherwise, he wouldn’t have thrown himself into the zombie horde and died.

In the past, Bian Changxi would have thought he was too weak, but after watching him for two days, she could only sigh—maybe he just loved too deeply. Everyone has their own way of facing pain; there’s nothing wrong with that.

Chu Hao’s face went pale. ""So what should we do?""

He wanted his friend to recover and start over, but if Chen Guanqing stayed like this, he’d be a walking corpse—maybe even worse off, since at least here he could see Xiao Ai every day. If he tried to help, he might only make things worse, and that wasn’t what he wanted.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized Chen Guanqing might really end up like that. He shivered and looked pleadingly at Bian Changxi. ""So what should we do?""

""There’s a saying: ‘Burn your bridges behind you.’ Only when someone has no way out can they move forward without hesitation. Chen Guanqing’s heart is still here, and it probably always will be. As long as he keeps thinking about this place, he’ll never look ahead.""

""You mean, Xiao Ai…"" Chu Hao made a gesture—only if the zombie was gone for good would Lao Liu give up. After all, he still believed that zombie was Xiao Ai and refused to accept his wife was gone.

""But if we do that, Lao Liu might go mad…""

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. He turned and saw Chen Guanqing standing in the shadows, his eyes shining with a wild, unsettling light, like a lone wolf at the end of its rope.

Chu Hao’s mouth went dry. He meant well, but what was the point if Chen Guanqing didn’t appreciate it? Maybe he really was meddling too much.

Milk, the cat on Bian Changxi’s shoulder, suddenly stood up, staring warily at Chen Guanqing. Bian Changxi patted it and said calmly, ""Chen Guanqing, Chu Hao is only thinking of your best interests. Sometimes it’s better to rip off the bandage quickly. Why not do it yourself? I think you know exactly what’s going on—you just don’t want to face it.""

Chen Guanqing’s voice was icy, full of threat and coldness. ""Yes, I’m very clear. I know exactly what I want. If you want to touch Xiao Ai, you’ll have to step over my dead body first!""

He paused, then his tone softened, as if talking to himself. ""You all keep saying I should move on, that the future will be better. But it’s impossible. Without her, what in this world has anything to do with me? Without her, what’s the point of moving on? Do you think it’s meaningful? Fleeing, hiding, always on edge—what are we even hoping for?""

Running, moving, scheming, struggling to survive—wasn’t it all for a better life in the future? Wasn’t it because there was something out there worth striving for? But what did any of that matter to him now?

Bian Changxi sighed. Was this man weak? He was also decisive and tough. Was he responsible? Yet he couldn’t get over his feelings.

Is love really that powerful?

She still thought about Bai Heng, but after so many years, all she had left was distant memories, a stubborn obsession buried deep in her heart. This kind of burning, all-consuming emotion was both strange and unfamiliar to her.

She looked up at the darkening sky and said softly, ""But if you don’t do it, someone else will. You don’t really think no one else will come here, do you? Even if they don’t, you must have noticed—your Xiao Ai is different from other zombies, stronger and stranger. From what I know, zombies like her, as they grow, will start seeking out humans for food and energy. When that happens, humans and zombies will be at war. Are you really going to help her hurt your own people?""

Chen Guanqing trembled, his face turning even paler.

Chu Hao stayed quiet, glancing left and right. He realized Bian Changxi clearly had a plan, but she was deliberately keeping Lao Liu in suspense.

Trying to please her, he said, ""Miss Bian, if you have an idea, just say it. If you have a good plan, Lao Liu will definitely listen to you.""

Bian Changxi shrugged. ""I just wanted to see his reaction before deciding what to do. After all, the risk is huge, and it won’t be easy.""

She turned to Chen Guanqing. ""The journey to Su City will be full of danger. I’ll be honest—I don’t have to travel with you all. I’m alone; I can come and go as I please. If I’m by myself, I only have to worry about myself. Why should I be afraid? Sure, it’ll be a little harder, but that’s it. Don’t glare at me, I’m just being honest. I’m not saying you can’t do without me, either. We’re together to help each other, not to depend on anyone. But if we’re going to travel together, we can’t have anyone dragging their feet, half-dead and unwilling. So your problem has to be solved first. You can’t bear to leave because you can’t let go of Xiao Ai, right? Then just bring her with us.""

…

At dawn, three figures crouched outside the Wuzhou Grand Hotel. Chu Hao stared at the empty, cold lobby and whispered, ""I’m going in.""

""Be careful,"" Bian Changxi and Chen Guanqing said in unison. Bian Changxi turned to Chen Guanqing, ""I’ve tried many times. That zom… she seems unable to leave the hotel. So you need to sneak in. If your fire can calm her down, that’s best. If not, we’ll have to use force. Got it?""

""I got it."" Chen Guanqing’s heart was pounding. He took several deep breaths to calm himself. What he was about to do was beyond what most people could imagine or accept. He didn’t know if it was right or what the consequences would be, but he wanted to do it more than anything. The thought of Xiao Ai being left alone here forever made his heart ache.

Bian Changxi watched Chu Hao enter the hotel, gently stroking Milk’s soft fur. She wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do, or if things would turn out as she hoped. Maybe if others found out, they’d think she was crazy or even deranged.

But isn’t everything worth trying at least once?

Suddenly, the air in front of the hotel twisted. Chu Hao appeared there in a flash, stumbled, and fell to the ground. He scrambled up as a small, cute but now ferocious kitten chased after him. Behind the kitten, a figure in a white wedding dress, hair disheveled like a ghost, stiffly descended the stairs."