Chapter 105: Acting Out of Character

(Error in chapter sequence. Please read the next chapter first. Sorry!)

Zhou Wei’s expression turned awkward for a second when he heard this. He forced a smile and looked at Su Dai, saying:

“This young lady must be Su Dai, right? We moved up here quietly ourselves. It’s the middle of the night, and we were afraid that if we knocked too loudly, others would come up and we’d lose the chance to claim room 3203.

Also, we were worried you wouldn’t agree, so we acted a bit rashly just now. Sorry about that, haha.”

As Zhou Wei finished speaking, he scratched his head.

Though, truth be told, there wasn’t much hair left on his head to scratch.

This little gesture didn’t escape the notice of Sun Jingtao and Ye Qing across from him.

Like Jiang Yan, they didn’t want to interfere too much with others moving up to the 32nd floor.

But unlike Jiang Yan, they didn’t have her strength or confidence, so they still wanted to get a feel for their new neighbors.

After all, these people were all unfamiliar faces. The last thing they wanted was to accidentally let a wolf into their midst.

“Yeah, my wife’s been pregnant for over a month now. I didn’t want her suffering out in the hallway. Sorry for waking you all up just now, please forgive us,” Wang Jin, standing next to Zhou Wei, quickly added.

Hearing this, Su Dai instinctively glanced at Wen Wanli’s stomach.

She saw Wen Wanli purse her lips, lower her head, and avoid Su Dai’s gaze.

Ye Qing’s eyes stayed fixed on Zhou Wei.

He noticed Zhou had set his supplies down with one hand, but was gripping a breaching hammer tightly in the other. He asked, “Where did you get that police breaching hammer?”

“Oh, that? Picked it up while we were out scavenging for supplies these past couple of days. Figured it’d be good for self-defense, so I brought it back,” Zhou Wei answered directly, not trying to hide anything.

Wang Jin chimed in, “Yeah, and we found some hotpot base and dried goods too. Once we’ve settled in tomorrow, we’d like to invite you over for hotpot—a little housewarming get-together.”

He was like Zhou Wei’s sidekick, always jumping in to smooth things over whenever he could.

Sun Jingtao glanced at the two of them and replied politely:

“We appreciate the gesture, but we’ll pass on the hotpot. The rain’s coming down hard now, and it’ll probably be difficult to go out for supplies later. You should save your food. It’s getting late—since you said you have a lock, make sure to lock up and get some rest.”

He finished in one breath, shot a look at Ye Qing and Su Dai, and the three of them headed back.

“Alright, got it, Tao-ge!” Wang Jin called after him, winking at Zhou Wei.

The four of them lingered at the door, not going in right away.

When the door to 3204 slammed shut with a “bang,” Wang Jin let out a sigh of relief and said,

“See, Fatty? The 32nd floor isn’t as scary as people say! We passed the test, didn’t we? And that one in 3201 sleeps like the dead—didn’t make a peep the whole time.”

Zhou Wei shot him a glare and hissed, “Shh! Watch your mouth—walls have ears!”

He glanced warily at the door to 3204.

Wang Jin shrugged it off. “What’s there to be afraid of? The rain’s so loud outside, it’s not like they’ve got a bug in the hallway or something!”

“You don’t get it. The one in 3201 has surveillance cameras. Sure, the battery’s probably dead by now, but better safe than sorry! So keep your mouth shut.” As Zhou Wei spoke, he pulled out a chain lock and secured the fire door again.

Once that was done, the group quickly carried their supplies into 3203.

3204.

Sun Jingtao closed the door but didn’t go in right away. He stood by the peephole for a while.

Su Dai set the alcohol lamp down on the coffee table and sat on the sofa with Ye Qing, waiting for Sun Jingtao to return.

Once they saw Zhou Wei’s group lock the fire door and go inside, Sun Jingtao finally stepped in.

“Tao-ge, what do you think?” Ye Qing asked, glancing at Sun Jingtao.

The three of them had been sleeping soundly, but after a trip to the chilly hallway, all traces of sleepiness were gone.

Sun Jingtao frowned slightly. “They don’t seem like good people, but they don’t seem like bad people either.”

“Yeah, they were acting a bit too humble. We barely asked anything, but they kept explaining themselves. Even if they’re wary of the 32nd floor, that reaction was a bit much,” Su Dai analyzed.

In the apocalypse, no one goes out of their way to please anyone.

And since they wanted to move into 3203, they had every right to do so.

It wasn’t really Sun Jingtao and the others’ place to object.

But their behavior was definitely a bit off.

“Especially that Wen Wanli—or is it Wen Liwan? Being pregnant should be a good thing. Well, maybe not in this environment, but still, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. But her expression was weird.”

Hearing this, Sun Jingtao chuckled and looked at her fondly.

“Wow, honey, I didn’t realize your powers of observation and analysis have leveled up so much lately.”

“Hey, I learned from you and Xiao Ye,” Su Dai replied with a playful smile.

“If they were really that wary, they wouldn’t have dared to break the door down in the middle of the night,” Ye Qing added, getting up after being fed a mouthful of dog food.

He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked outside, but couldn’t see anything in the darkness.

Sun Jingtao glanced out the window and said,

“The rain sounds like it’s getting heavier. Looks like the official rescue boats probably won’t come tomorrow.”

If the official boats didn’t come, it meant some people who were supposed to be evacuated would be left behind.

If the rain kept pouring and the water kept rising, living space would shrink and survival would get even harder.

“Sigh, looks like our plan to scavenge for supplies is shot. Good thing we managed to find some things these past few days,” Su Dai said, propping her chin on her hand with a sigh.

“The noise from them breaking down the door was pretty loud. I wonder if Jiang Yan woke up. If this rain keeps up, I bet people from downstairs will come up and crowd the hallway.

When that happens, the 32nd floor won’t be so peaceful anymore.”

Sun Jingtao took a deep breath. “There’s nothing we can do about that. As long as it’s not Ma Longbiao’s group coming up, I don’t mind the others.”

Su Dai nodded, then said,

“Hubby, do you think we should invite Jiang Yan over tomorrow to discuss things and get her opinion? We were planning to grill some fish anyway—might as well invite her to join us.”

Sun Jingtao glanced at Ye Qing. “Sounds good.”

The three of them chatted a bit more about possible scenarios and countermeasures before heading back to their rooms.

3201.

After Zhou Wei’s self-introduction, Jiang Yan stopped watching the surveillance feed.

Mostly because she was too tired.

And also because her stomach hurt—a sharp, pulling pain.

She had no choice but to lie back down, hugging a fully charged hand warmer to her belly, curling up and trying to fall asleep.

If she could sleep, the pain would go away.

*

The next morning.

Jiang Yan was woken up by a burst of blaring music coming from the water in the central garden."