"Slow down, there’s more if you’re not full." Watching the two children hunched over their congee, eating ferociously, Grandma quietly wiped the corners of her eyes.
Song Kexin was busy refilling little Zhu Nanxing’s bowl halfway. She ruffled little sister Su Xiyue’s hair and said, "Finish this bowl, but that’s it for now. We’re going to have something even better for lunch."
Zhu Nanxing looked up, his big, dark eyes looking enormous on his small, gaunt face. "Something even better?"
"Mhm," Song Kexin said, patting his head. She glanced at the impossibly thin Yueyue, and her heart ached.
"Let’s save some room," she said, trying to keep her tone light for the two children. "We’re having braised pork for lunch."
Surrounded by her family on the sofa, Song Youxuan felt a great sense of relief and warmth wash over her.
"Su Tang ran off with his ’true love’." As she spoke of it now, Song Youxuan seemed remarkably calm, as if she were narrating the story from an observer’s perspective.
"On September 8th, Su Tang left me and our daughter at home. He took the car, loaded it with eighty percent of our food, and went off to brave fire and flood for his ’true love’."
"You all know this ’true love’ of his. It’s that cousin, Ah Xiang."
"I told you there was something wrong with that Hu Pinxiang, didn’t I? And your brother always said I was overthinking it." He Shuping’s face flushed with anger. "What kind of husband’s cousin tags along with a married couple day in and day out? Eating, watching movies—always the three of them?"
"That bastard and bitch!" The two brothers, Song Youzhi and Song Youyi, gritted their teeth and slammed their hands on the table. "Don’t let me ever see them again!"
But Song Youxuan just smiled with a look of release. "I don’t hold any grudges now. In fact, I’m even thankful to heaven for letting Yueyue and me get home safe and sound."
Grandma wiped her eyes. "How did you manage to get here all this way?"
"The first two weeks were really tough. We ran out of food at home, so we ate cat food to survive. We ate that for almost five days, then escaped with a few other survivors from our building."
"After that, it drizzled for several days straight. We noticed that the ordinary people who went out into the rain all mutated, so we hid in a small convenience store for a while."
Song Youxuan spoke of it lightly, but everyone knew the hardships she’d faced couldn’t be summed up in just a few words.
Wherever there are people, there’s bound to be conflict. Disputes over the distribution of supplies were inevitable.
The difficulties she must have faced, a single woman with a young girl, went without saying.
"I told Yueyue that if she wanted to live, she had to be like Mommy—learn how to hunt the monsters outside and protect herself."
Song Youxuan sighed. "The two of us stumbled our way here, surviving one close call after another."
"By the fourteenth day, the entire West City District had fallen. We couldn’t find a working car anywhere along the way, so we had to run for our lives toward the suburbs on foot."
"I remember my daughter and I were walking aimlessly on the highway when we saw a convoy of vehicles roar past."
"We yelled and tried to flag them down, but not a single car paid us any mind." Song Youxuan gave a bitter smile. "Thankfully, in the end, Master Zhu pulled up beside us in his bus."
"Master Zhu rescued us and brought us onto the bus, against the objections of everyone else on board. He’s truly the savior of my daughter and me."
Grandma hugged her youngest daughter’s shoulders tightly, her eyes red-rimmed.
She could almost feel for herself the destitution, misery, fear, and despair Xiao Xuan must have felt then.
"Master Zhu, thank you so, so much." A visibly moved Comrade Song Yaoguo gripped Zhu Yong’s hand, thanking him again and again. "From now on, you and Nanxing are honored guests of our Song Family. If you ever need any help, just say the word. Don’t you dare stand on ceremony with me."
"Uncle Song, please, don’t be so formal. The truth is, Youxuan has helped me so much these past few days, taking care of Nanxing and looking after our daily lives and meals."
"What savior? Talking like that just makes us seem like strangers. Uncle Song, you’re my elder. Just call me by my name."
"Alright, alright." Song Yaoguo laughed heartily and nodded. "A Yong, you must stay for lunch with us today."
"From now on, when you go to work with the infrastructure team, feel free to leave the boy here with us. Yueyue’s grandmother and I just cook and chop vegetables all day, not much else to do. Having another child around will liven things up. Don’t you be a stranger with us old folks."
Zhu Yong was deeply grateful and nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Uncle Song. With this, I really won’t have any worries holding me back."
"Hahaha." Song Yaoguo clapped him on his sturdy shoulder.
The family then split up the tasks. Some went to the kitchen to cook, while the rest went to help Zhu Yong and his son set up the small garage room.
Ji Erhuo really had everything one could ask for. A bed, a mattress, a cooling mat, a fan, and more—they were all pulled out of the Space one by one. In no time at all, they had helped Zhu Yong set up a cozy little home.
Seeing everyone bustling about with no need for her help, Xie Ning quietly went upstairs to her room.
"Future, open the Dimensional Space."
"Get me two of the bigger fish."
Little Spider crawled out of her pocket. "Retrieving item from Dimensional Space."
"Future, can you run out of power?"
"No."
"Then do you need me to take you out for some sun?" the young woman continued to tease Little Spider.
"I do not!" ’What a talkative host,’ it thought. ’She loves to poke fun at me for no reason.’
Xie Ning felt a laugh coming on. She reached out and poked Little Spider’s body. "Does the Dimensional Space need a water change?"
"It does not!"
Little Spider paused, then added, "However, you could add some more superpower water. Some of the small fish have started reproducing recently."
"Okay!" Xie Ning suddenly thought of something. "Oh, right. I don’t think I’ve ever fed them fish food, have I?"
Little Spider let out a dry laugh.
’You’re only remembering now? The fish would have all died long ago!’
"The Dimensional Space has sufficient nutrients. No additional feed is required!"
Little Spider wanted to say, ’Host, stop worrying about it. And stop thinking up these weird questions. Just leave the fish to me. All you need to do is eat them, don’t worry about anything else!’
"Future, I’m realizing I like you more and more," Xie Ning said with a grin, blinking her eyes. "You’re never too chatty. When I need you, you always come through for me. And when I don’t, you’re as quiet as a mouse and never bother me."
Little Spider: ...
’Why, thank you for the compliment!’
"And you’re not like some fluffy little pet that’s born, gets old, sick, dies, and needs to be fed. You don’t even need to be charged. You’re so low-maintenance."
For some reason, Little Spider felt a bit dizzy from Host Ningning’s praise.
’On second thought, she has a point,’ it mused. ’I really am very useful!’
Xie Ning brought the barrels of superpower water her mom had prepared earlier over to Little Spider. "Time to add water."
"Storing water in Dimensional Space."