Seeing that Lin Qingqing relented, both Lei Min and Wen Ling smiled.
"When shall we leave?" Lei Min couldn't stand the sight of these people and couldn't wait to leave as soon as possible.
"Wait a bit longer. Since we're here, we'll stay the night." Lin Qingqing certainly wasn't going to leave right away. She had come here to find a place for Lei Min to settle down, and if anyone was going to leave, it would be her.
"Why?" Lei Min didn't understand.
"This place seems quite safe. Besides, we don't have to look for another place to spend the night. We can stay and recover from our injuries before leaving." Lin Qingqing was calculating in her mind how to persuade Lei Min to stay.
"Oh! You remind me. I almost forgot that you're still injured, Sister Lin! You really should have a good rest!" Lei Min patted her forehead in embarrassment, not suspecting Lin Qingqing's motives at all.
Wen Ling gave Lin Qingqing a suspicious "look". She always felt that this sister had something more to say. However, she thought to herself: They're good people. Even if there's something else, it probably isn't that important.
Seeing that the commotion over there was almost over, Lin Qingqing walked straight up to Director Liu, who was in charge. Looking at his evasive eyes, she said, "I covered your retreat. I think I saved your lives, right?"
Her words made Director Liu pause. Recalling how ferociously this woman had killed zombies before, Director Liu couldn't help but shiver. Then he forced a smile and said, "You've had a tough time. Look, it's getting so late today, and there are still so many of those man - eating monsters gathered at the street intersection outside. Why don't you stay here for the night and leave tomorrow?" As he spoke, he immediately found two middle - aged women to arrange accommodation for them.
Hearing this, Lin Qingqing slightly raised her eyebrows. This was exactly what she wanted, so she didn't decline and readily agreed following Director Liu's words.
Only then did the other people in the community notice these two strange girls. Judging from her tone of voice, she seemed quite capable and had even saved Director Liu and the others.
At this time, Dazhuang's mother, who had been sitting on the ground crying, also came to her senses. She wiped away her tears, stumbled over, grabbed Lin Qingqing's arm, and demanded to know why she hadn't saved her son.
"We originally intended to save him, but Aunt Liu held us back!" Lin Qingqing said, curling the corners of her lips.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu, Liu Huifen, was shocked. She quickly rushed over and swore to Dazhuang's mother, crying that she hadn't meant it and that it was just an accident and so on.
And the others, seeing this, also chimed in one after another:
"Shuzhen, Dazhuang's death was really an accident. Don't blame Liu Huifen. We watched that child grow up. How could she harm him?""Yeah, yeah. Who would have known we'd run into so many monsters? Shuzhen, you should try to think it through. The dead can't be brought back to life."
"Exactly, exactly. Please accept our condolences."
"Accept our condolences!"
...
Everyone had witnessed the strength of Lin Qingqing and the other girl. They didn't dare to offend them too much. But Dazhuang and Chuanzi were already dead, leaving only two useless women in their families. Moreover, they had a guilty conscience because Dazhuang and Chuanzi's deaths were somewhat related to them. So naturally, they all had to come up with a unified story to shift the blame completely.
Dazhuang's mother looked at these neighbors in disbelief. Usually, they only knew how to fawn on and curry favor with her, but now they were using such a hypocritical face to fob her off. Her heart was suddenly filled with grief and indignation.
"You... you all..."
"Oh, Shuzhen, don't be too sad. Be careful not to get too angry and hurt your health. We'll take you back to have a good rest first."
These people didn't even let Dazhuang's mother finish a sentence. They all pitched in to carry her and Grandma Chuanzi back to their homes.
Just like that, the farce ended in a hurry. The on - looking crowd dispersed, except that the voice from the second floor still occasionally uttered a few sharp sarcastic remarks.
The crowd left, and Lin Qingqing and Lei Min followed the two middle - aged women to the door of a residence.
"Two young men used to live here. They bought a house in Rongcheng last year and moved away. Although the house has been unoccupied for a long time, the furniture is still there, and it's all in the style that you young people like. It'll be quite nice after a bit of cleaning."
One of the middle - aged women opened the door with a key, introducing as she invited them in.
"This house faces the sun, and the furniture is new. Director Liu has always been reluctant to let others live here," the other one said enviously.
Lin Qingqing and the others led the little girl Wen Ling in, took a look around, then nodded and thanked them indifferently, after which they fell silent.
Seeing their cold attitude, the middle - aged woman felt a bit embarrassed and rubbed her hands, saying, "My surname is Dai. Everyone calls me Sister Dai. Um..."
"Hmm? Do you two have something else?" Lin Qingqing asked in surprise when she saw they were still standing there.
With a cold glance from Lin Qingqing, Sister Dai immediately swallowed the words she was about to say.
"Ah, nothing, nothing. You guys have a rest first. I live downstairs. If you need anything, you can come to me. We won't disturb you anymore."After saying that, she put the room key on the cabinet at the door, then quickly pulled the other woman and left.
"What are they..." Lei Min was a bit confused.
"They want benefits," Wen Ling, who hadn't spoken for a long time, said softly.
With no outsiders around, the little girl seemed to relax a lot.
"Benefits? What have they done to deserve benefits?" Lei Min was surprised.
Looking at this naive girl, Lin Qingqing was a bit speechless. She turned to Wen Ling and said, "My name is Lin Qingqing, and the sister next to me is Lei Min. You can explain it to her." Then she said to Lei Min, "You also tell Wen Ling about things in the apocalypse. I'm going to rest for a while."
After giving these instructions, Lin Qingqing picked up her small carry - on bag and walked towards the bedroom. She needed to deal with the wound that had started to split earlier.
Lei Min nodded understandingly, gave her a reassuring gesture, and then pulled Wen Ling to sit down on the sofa nearby.
"Are you really thirteen?" Lei Min looked at her thin and small figure, suspecting that she was lying about her age.
"I'm really thirteen, and I'm already in the third year of junior high school!"
"Thirteen and in the third year of junior high school? Are you a child prodigy?" Lei Min didn't believe it.
"I skipped grades, twice!" Wen Ling held up two slender fingers. What she didn't say was that if her eyes could still see, she might already be sitting in a high - school classroom.
There was no need for the little girl to lie about this. So she was really a little genius. Lei Min stared at her in surprise, speechless for a long time.
"You... Then do you have any other relatives?" Lei Min took a long time to find her voice.
"Besides my uncle's family who live here, I only have an aunt abroad. And I don't want to go anywhere else. I just want to follow you!" Wen Ling thought they were still reluctant to accept her and became a little anxious.
"We won't always stay in a safe place. We don't know what dangers we'll encounter in the future. Following us might not be as good as staying in a stable place for you. Maybe you'll still have a chance to study there."
Lei Min thought carefully and felt that the little girl was still too young. She had been hasty before. Although Wen Ling's ability was really powerful, if she really followed them around, there would definitely be dangers. Moreover, this child was so smart, and studying might be more suitable for her.
"Maybe you should think it over again?" Lei Min asked tentatively. Seeing the little girl's disappointed expression, she added, almost involuntarily, "You can still follow us until you make up your mind!"
"Really? That's great. Thank you!"
Lei Min: "..."