Chapter 7.4

Fan Yuan was aware that Han Lang was sizing him up, and it made his heart feel a little uneasy. This man’s presence was way too strong, it made a person feel tense all over.

As for the fact that he had just told on the female lead in front of the male lead, he felt zero guilt. Firstly, he didn’t lie. He had indeed been abandoned by the female lead. Secondly, he was now Jiang Yuan. According to the original host’s little white rabbit appearance but black-hearted personality, it was quite normal to put up a pitiful pretense in front of strangers for the sake of winning sympathy.

As a self-aware minor gay love rival, he understood very well that even if the female lead was covered in ink today, an ink that was so black that it couldn’t be any more dark, the male and female lead would still come together through the plot’s interference. Nonetheless, this doesn’t stop him from wanting to throw obstacles in Jiang Meng’s way. That kick of hers had been really cruel, it still ached even now!

Han Lang frowned and looked at the boy before him. He was a man who had always possessed a cold temperament, but he had gotten angry two times in a row today. This was truly abnormal. As he carefully pondered over his encounters with the two siblings today, he soon realised the problem.

Anxious and worried, Jiang Meng’s expression was good enough to confuse the real with the false, but her speech had revealed various flaws. Jiang Yuan was an ordinary person without any self-protecting abilities, and on top of that, he hadn’t yet reached adulthood. He wasn’t mature enough, both in body and spirit. Faced with the apocalypse, he was certain that Jiang Yuan would stick closely to his sister, being a presence that couldn’t be chased away even if he himself wanted to, so how could the boy have the guts to run away?

Looking again at the boy in front of his eyes, currently weeping sadly, the truth was very obvious. The ability user of a sister loathed her brother for being useless, so she abandoned him. This was truly similar to the first impression Jiang Meng typically gave when others saw her. She appeared to be someone who acted cleanly and decisively, lacking any hesitation, but it was just that she also seemed a bit too cold.

Jiang Yuan was still weeping continuously, making Han Lang feel something in his heart turn soft. He couldn’t stop himself from stroking the child’s soft hair a few times while whispering, low and comforting, “You’re not a piece of waste. You’re just too young.”

In actuality, his team wasn’t filled with just ability users. Some members were skilled at sniping, some at fighting, and others at performing emergency treatment on wounds. As long as one found their own calling, they had a good chance at survival. Furthermore, such a beautiful and pure boy, the mere sight of him was pleasing to the eyes.

As soon as the thought entered his head, Han Lang was immediately startled. He felt that he must have been brainwashed by Feng Ze. That guy had mentioned several times that he wanted Han Lang to find some beauties to join the team. Even from just their looks, moods would be uplifted significantly. Initially, he felt that something like that was all nonsense, but now, it seemed like a necessity.

As his thoughts ran wild, he suddenly heard a cry from the small, petite head under his palm. Han Lang hurriedly removed his hand and sat upright. When those bright cat-shaped eyes gradually opened wider, the boy’s eyes cautiously wandered around before finally fixing on him. As their gazes met, Han Lang’s breath couldn’t help but hitch, and when he saw his own figure reflected in those beautiful eyes, he strangely felt better.

Fan Yuan met Han Lang’s gaze with an unwavering stare, while his expression was full of confusion. It was then that Fan Yuan heard Xiao Wu sound out, “Ding, the male lead’s favour has increased by five.”

Fan Yuan’s expression didn’t shift, but he was laughing coldly in his heart. “Lei Siye’s favour only increased by one. I can’t believe that uncouth bastard’s more difficult to please than the male lead. Face-con dogs, they’re all face-con dogs!”

Xiao Wu: “……”

Fan Yuan and the male lead stared at each other for a moment. At first, he appeared perplexed, but suddenly, it seemed that he came to some huge realisation as he braced his head in panic, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t think anyone lived here! I only took a little water and borrowed two sets of clothing, I can repay you! Wait for me to find my sister, she…….”

At this point, he abruptly paused and slid to the ground, hugging his knees close to himself as he cried softly, “I don’t have a sister anymore…….”

This sight only made Han Lang feel more distressed. The manner in which the child braced his head looked extremely habituated, being an action that was typical to when one was often beaten. If his eyes weren’t seeing wrong just a while ago, the child’s body was full of scars. No wonder Siye said that Jiang Meng was a sadist, she had abused her own brother!

He moved forward to embrace the child and pat him on the back. Raising his head, Fan Yuan looked up at him, so stunned that he even stopped crying. All that was left were the tears on his fair and clear face—the sight was both heart-wrenching and comical.

Han Lang couldn’t help but chuckle. He wanted to help the boy dry his tears, but the boy turned his head to hide. The expression in his eyes made him look like a frightened rabbit, so Han Lang had no choice but to pull his hand back.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you. Your sister is Jiang Meng, right?” Seeing him nod slightly, his gaze grew deeper and deeper, and he continued with a deep husk to his voice, “Jiang Meng joined our team today, so you’ll be our partner in the future. No one can bully you again, and no one will abandon you.”

Fan Yuan directly ignored his last sentence. With reddened rabbit eyes, he asked in surprise, “Did my sister ask you to come find me?”

When Han Lang saw his eyes shining like stars, as if his previous sadness had been swept away, he could only suppress his thoughts and say, “Yes, she asked us.”

Fan Yuan quickly grasped Han Lang’s hand, shaking with emotion as he spoke incoherently, “Thank you. Can you take me to see my sister quickly? I don’t want to be separated from her, it’s really terrifying to be alone. Just now…a group of zombies passed by downstairs. If I didn’t happen to hide here, I might have been eaten……”

Han Lang mirrored this lingering fear. Thank god this child had good luck, otherwise they wouldn’t have even had the chance to meet.

After searching for a long time in the room, he couldn’t find a pair of shoes suitable for Fan Yuan. The child had a small stature and delicately exquisite feet, so he couldn’t find a pair of suitably-sized shoes even after searching through the whole house.

Fan Yuan saw that Han Lang was distressed by this, and simply pointed to his original pair of shoes and reminded, “Those shoes are not ruined, they can still be worn.”

Han Lang’s expression turned black. The shoes in question may not have been in complete disrepair, but they were so dirty that even the zombies’ blood and brains were all still there. It was a crime to let such beautiful feet wear such shoes!

Fan Yuan noticed that Han Lang had an extremely pained look on his face, so he guessed that the male lead most likely had mysophobia, to the point where he wasn’t able to bear the mere sight of others not maintaining personal hygiene. He secretly congratulated himself that he had cleaned himself up beforehand, or else the man would probably not show him a single shred of care.

Observing that the sky was getting dark, the two knew that they could not delay their return any further. Han Lang unreservedly picked Fan Yuan up, carrying him down the stairs to return to his team’s base. Meanwhile, Fan Yuan was extremely elated that he didn’t have to walk on his own. And so, he quickly dozed off in Han Lang’s arms.

Xiao Wu felt worried for him, because he remembered that the Main God would feel extremely upset if his Master was close to other men.

Fan Yuan snorted and said haughtily, “Laozi has suffered so much but he’s been completely indifferent. Do you think I still care whether he’s jealous?!”

Xiao Wu: “……”

*******************

When they arrived at the base, practically everyone else had already returned ahead of them. Once night fell, the number of zombies would double, so no one would really take on such a huge risk for a stranger.

As the bonfire burned, Jiang Meng stared at it with a gloomy expression. Li Shiqi thought that she was worried about her brother, so she comforted, “Tomorrow, we’ll go and search together. You know as well as I do that this is the apocalypse. If something really happened, you should prepare yourself in advance.”

Jiang Meng was disgusted at this woman’s fakeness, but still, she had to appear genuinely grateful on the surface. Indeed, she was truly worried that Jiang Yuan had just died like that, because it would be letting him off too easily!

While these two spoke back and forth meaninglessly, they heard someone shout, “Han Lang-da ge is back, and he even carried back a little beauty!”

As soon as that person’s voice fell, the camp suddenly burst with animated discussion. Han Lang’s cold personality was common knowledge to all. It was hard enough for him to have a good temperament normally, even amongst those he was close to, so many were extremely curious about what had happened.

Jiang Meng was stunned. There was no little beauty in her previous life. What was happening?!

Li Shiqi’s expression was similarly not very good as she liked Han Lang as well. At the very start, she was actually the most beautiful one in the team, but today, Jiang Meng, a girl who was more beautiful and strong than her, had arrived. Now, there was a little beauty of unknown origin to add to it all. How annoying!

Han Lang naturally heard the yell from his subordinate and subconsciously shifted his gaze towards the boy in his arms who was sleeping soundly. He couldn’t help but smile. It was very dark at night, and to add, the child’s body was so slim, so it wasn’t surprising that he was mistaken for a girl. Moreover, he thought that the term “little beauty” was particularly suitable for this boy.

Although the child kept saying that he wanted to find his sister, he still decided to go against the boy’s will and directly carried Fan Yuan into his own tent. The child was too simple to understand the horrors of the human heart, so all Han Lang could do was to pay more attention on his behalf. As for the reason behind all of this, it could be taken as an atonement for his prior misunderstanding.

When he got out of the tent to get some food from the supply team, a group of people itching for gossip surrounded him. He was worried that they would wake the boy up, so he took the lead to head to the rest area located not too far away. Although those people were curious, they could only follow him. No one dared to break into Han Lang’s tent without his permission.

Li Shiqi was from the supply team, so she brought over some bread, biscuits and water and took the chance to sit down beside Han Lang. Witnessing this scene, Jiang Meng instantly felt angry and annoyed. However, she also understood that she and Han Lang were still strangers, so she was in no position to prevent other women from approaching him.

Forced to endure the anger in her heart, Jiang Meng asked with a sad expression on her face, “Leader Han, you came back so late. Is there any news about my brother?”

Han Lang glanced at her faintly and nodded without any expression. Though he was usually cold, he was never so serious. Thus, everyone surmised that the child named Jiang Yuan was probably gone, and the atmosphere turned stagnant for a good while.

A loud thump boomed in Jiang Meng’s heart, and she secretly lamented that she had let that white eyed wolf off too easily. Whereas on the surface, she shook her head in disbelief. She forced her eyes to redden as she murmured, “No, how could that be……. He will be an adult in a few months, how can he be so cruel to leave me behind…… It’s all my fault. I didn’t take good care of him. This sister of yours is too incompetent, Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yuan…….”

She covered her face, expressing that she was miserable. The sight was simply too heart-wrenching, and it made many people feel pity for her. During these troubled times, most of them had also tasted the pain of losing their loved ones. They could only comfort Jiang Meng to help her stop mourning and accept the reality as soon as possible.

Han Lang tore open the food packet and slowly ate a piece of bread. Seeing that she had been crying for a long time without a single drop of tears, the memory of the child’s sobs as he dreamt resurfaced in Han Lang’s mind, causing him to sneer. To shed so many tears for such a sister, it was truly not worth it.

When he was half full, he interrupted coldly, “Don’t worry. Xiao Yuan is still alive and he’s currently resting in my tent. But what you said was right. As a sister, you are truly incompetent. I will take good care of him in your place.”

With that, he picked up the rest of the food and turned to return to his tent.

Behind him was a group of shell-shocked melon-eating onlookers, and amongst them, Jiang Meng was in a stupor for a very long time. She had given Jiang Yuan the opportunity to get close to Han Lang! Just now, Han Lang had used a tone of blame towards her, who knew what that bitch did to smear her good name!

While Jiang Meng was feeling extremely indignant, the others were thinking about how someone had spread false information just before all this happened.

Li Shiqi was in a good mood as she blamed, “Old Liu, didn’t you say that da ge came back with a little beauty in his arms? Is Jiang Meng’s younger brother actually a sister?”

Old Liu replied weakly, “I can explain…….”

Everyone else refused to listen to his explanation and directly pinned the crime on his head, “Old Liu, what you did affects the army’s morale, do you want to be beaten to death for messing about?!”

Several men echoed this and pinned Old Liu to the ground as they thrashed him. Old Liu wailed and protested, “I want to appeal! I have a grievance! It was so dark so I couldn’t see the face, plus that waist was……”

A group of people laughed merrily, “Appeal rejected, absolutely not accepted!”

“F*ck! It’s f*cking painful, Lao da, save me——”

Han Lang turned a deaf ear to the cry for help behind him. He proceeded to head into his tent, and he saw a man sitting by the bed. With raised eyebrows, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

The man replied with a low laugh, “I heard you brought back a little beauty. Was a little curious.”

Han Lang placed the biscuits and bread aside as he sat by the head of the bed to tuck in the blanket corners for Fan Yuan, “So, what do you think?”

The other person’s emotions were imperceptible, his eyes carrying a hidden depth, “A beauty is a beauty, but it lacks enough taste.”

Han Lang didn’t make a move to refute or agree with his words, simply turning to gaze at the sleeping child with a light smile, “It’s enough to be pleasing to the eye. Didn’t you say so as well? With a beauty, one’s mood can be uplifted from even from just their looks. I believe what you said is right.”

Feng Ze said, “I remember you refused to believe me, saying that I was spouting nonsense. I also think you’re right for saying that.”

Han Lang: “……”

Two people were silent for a moment. After which, Feng Ze gave a low chuckle, and left.

Han Lang stared at Fan Yuan’s face for a long time and secretly thought, his mood really did feel much better. It could be seen that nonsense was not totally untrustworthy.

Correction: Leslie’s name is actually Lei Siye. I thought the author was going for a Western name, but I was wrong as Han Lang actually calls him Siye (which wouldn’t make sense in English) QAQ