At night, Teng couldn't help but tell Lin Qiao to get off work early. About nine, Lin Qiao brought him back to where she lived, yet sensed a familiar scent from her apartment before she went in.
She rolled her eyes. Why on earth did the man always sneak into her apartment?
She opened the door, and as she thought, she saw Wu Chengyue sitting on her couch. A bottle of wine was standing on the table before him.
That was not her wine. Why did the man bring a bottle of wine to her place?
"You should get yourself some peanuts to go with the wine," Lin Qiao said blandly as she carried Teng, who was already in sleep, and walked into the bedroom.
Wu Chengyue was wearing no expression. As Lin Qiao came in, he instantly stood up and asked her, "Is he asleep?"
His voice was a little dry, but very gentle.
Lin Qiao nodded while walking. A short while later, she gently closed the door and came out, then sat on an armchair. She looked at the man and said blandly, "Can you please stop coming into my place without an invitation? You are a base leader. If people knew about this, wouldn't you feel humiliated?"
"You weren't here every time I came." Who dared to tell anyone else about that? Besides, only a few people knew that he had been visiting her place.
Hearing that, Lin Qiao did not want to continue the conversation. She pressed her lips together and changed a topic, "Why are you here?"
Wu Chengyue poured himself a glass of wine, then poured her a glass too. He pushed the glass toward her as he said, "Huaxia Base might cast their eyes on your base because of Sea City Base. Also, as far as I know, Sky Fire Base has been targeting your base since long ago. Have you noticed that yet?"
Lin Qiao blinked and said peacefully, "I know. They have eyes on us all the time."
Last time, she and Wu Chengyue went to Huaxia Base to lend a hand, but Sky Fire Base people didn't show up. She had noticed it since then. Later on, Gu Yikang showed up around her base. After that, she told Xie Dong to keep an eye on Sky Fire Base.
"Li Zhengye thought that Huaxia Base is going to start a war against Sea City Base. He wants a share, but doesn't want to fight the war. All he wants is to watch us fight Huaxia base and gain benefits amidst the chaos," Wu Chengyue picked up the glass and took a sip, then said, "They support Huaxia Base, but only mentally."
Lin Qiao snorted coldly and said, "Li Zhengye loves to fish in troubled waters. That sounds exactly like what Sky Fire Base will do. Gu Yikang and He Mu have both disappeared, so Li Zhengye won't dare to make any big moves. He is greedy, but also cowardly."
Sky Fire Base was her next target, and she was worried that Li Zhengye might not make a move at all! Only by killing Li Zhengye and destroying the current leadership of Sky Fire Base could she finish her revenge for Hades Base.
Hundreds of thousands of innocent residents were still living in Sky Fire Base, so Lin Qiao didn't plan to destroy the entire base. At least, she would give the commoners a chance of survival.
Wu Chengyue stayed silent and took another sip of the wine.
"Is that why you're here?" Lin Qiao looked at him and said.
Wu Chengyue looked at the glass of wine in his hand and asked another question, "Whom are you going to send to Sea City Base?"
"Lin Feng," said Lin Qiao, "I heard that you owe him a dinner."
Wu Chengyue nodded without changing his expression. "That's right," he said, "Good. I'm gonna prepare him a rich dinner."
"He'll bring his wife and kid. Be prepared," said Lin Qiao.
After that, the two of them fell into silence. He drank the wine sip by sip while she sat there silently and motionlessly. A short while later, Wu Chengyue seemed to have failed to withstand the weird atmosphere. They were less than two meters away from each other, yet he felt as if she was hundreds of meters away.
"Have you made the decision about the baby's official name yet?" he asked.
"Yes," Lin Qiao nodded.
Wu Chengyue immediately raised his head to look straight at her. In his eyes was a complicated look. "What's his name?" he said.
Since he had agreed to let her name the baby, he, of course, wouldn't try to interfere. Even if the zombie lady picked an awful name, he wouldn't say anything bad about it. He just wanted to know.
Lin Qiao gave him a glance and then said, "Wu Qiteng. It means to stand up and fly into the sky. He was a vine. 'Teng' is a homophone of the word 'vine' in Chinese."
Wu Chengyue stayed silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's a great name!"
His son's name was Wu Qiteng!
Hearing that name, an indescribable and subtle feeling spread from his heart. He couldn't help but turn to the door of Lin Qiao's bedroom.
He liked that name. He even sighed with relief when he heard it. At least, it was not a bad name. If the zombie lady picked a terrible name for his son, he might fail to stop himself from trying to rename the baby!
They both stayed silent for a few seconds before Lin Qiao couldn't help but ask him, "Is there anything else that you want to say to me?"
Wu Chengyue looked at her and pressed his lips slightly together, then said sourly, "Can't you even stand being with me alone now? You must have suffered so badly earlier for what we did together."
Lin Qiao looked at him silently, trying to show him some respect. That was why she didn't stand up and walk away.
Wu Chengyue looked at her and the anger that he managed to restrain just now rose again in his heart. He put the glass on the table, then rested his elbows on his knees.
"Is it really impossible for us to be together? Why are you always so… Why can't you give me even one chance?" He sounded frustrated. Letting out those words seemed to have consumed the last bit of his energy. Abruptly, he raised a hand and covered his face with it.
He thought the zombie lady would have a better attitude toward him after the baby was born, for the sake of the baby. She might still not accept him, but he thought that she, at least, wouldn't keep rejecting him.
However, the attitude that she had been showing recently made his heart sink. He didn't know what to do.
He was a man, and he could get tired like any man. He grasped every opportunity to try and get close to her and win her heart. Many times, he nearly gave up because he couldn't see even a gleam of hope.
About two months ago, he finally discovered a change of her attitude, but within a blink, she hid her heart away once again and shrank into her shell, isolating herself from him no matter how hard he tried to approach her.
The baby was born and she was no longer bonded together with him. Within merely two days, she flew away from him like a kite with her strings cut. He could only watch her drift further and further away.
He was so tired, and his heart ached so much.