Chapter 162

With the sound of the doorknob turning, the shop door opened.

A young girl stood there, dressed in clean, fresh clothes.

It was nighttime, and the cold moonlight cast upon her fair side profile made her appear serene and beautiful.

“Li Hua!?” Lin Xiaoqi’s voice rang out in surprise.

There was an unconscious trace of fear in her tone.

Wasn’t she dead? Why was she here? And why was she so clean?

Lin Xiaoqi’s voice jolted everyone back to their senses.

They quickly shoved Su Hua aside in a flurry and rushed into the house.

There were about twenty of them, men and women, old and young—ordinary survivors with no powers.

The door was shut again.

Lin Xiaoqi had already gathered herself, pretending to show concern as she said, “Why are you here? We just went looking for you in the scattered areas but couldn’t find you.”

“Oh.”

Su Hua replied blandly.

Playing along with her performance, in a rather good mood.

“How did you end up here? And how come you—?”

Why are you so clean? Even cleaner than me!

Su Hua flashed a toothy smile.

“I awakened my ability.”

Lin Xiaoqi: “……”

“R-Really? That’s great! What’s your power?”

As she asked, Lin Xiaoqi couldn’t help but glance toward Leng Xi.

But Leng Xi didn’t look over.

He just stood by the window, gazing out quietly.

Lin Xiaoqi let out a breath of relief.

Su Hua looked at her and tilted her head.

“Fire type.”

Upon hearing that, Lin Xiaoqi’s just-settled nerves were instantly strung up again.

Fire-type was known to be the most aggressive power.

“Is that so? That’s really wonderful.”

Su Hua, hearing that, smiled even sweeter at Lin Xiaoqi.

The latter, however, got goosebumps all over.

She had a creeping feeling that Li Hua was no longer the same.

She clearly knew it was her who had shoved her into the arms of the zombies, so why wasn’t she saying anything?

Lin Xiaoqi glanced at Leng Xi, then pulled Su Hua into a corner and whispered, “You’re not mad at me, right? I was just really scared at the time, that’s why I accidentally pushed you toward the zombies.”

“Oh.”

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to. Besides, you awakened your ability now, so you probably won’t blame me anymore, right?”

“Mm.”

Lin Xiaoqi looked seriously at Su Hua.

Seeing that there wasn’t even a hint of sarcasm or deceit on her face, she finally relaxed.

Li Hua had always been soft like that.

Say a few nice words and she’d believe you for sure.

“You’re such a good person.”

“Of course.” You need to say that? Idiot.

De’er: “……”

The host really is cat-sick, even when praised, she still has to insult people.

Lin Xiaoqi felt extremely awkward.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that in just a few hours, Li Hua had undergone a huge transformation.

She had become dazzling, blinding even.

“Hey, young lady, why didn’t you open the door just now?”

That group, once settled and the danger passed, began to stir up trouble.

“Yeah, we knocked so loudly and why didn’t you respond?”

Su Hua turned around, her gaze like she was staring at a bunch of idiots, and looked at the one picking a fight.

“Who are you? Why should I respond?”

“You—”

The one who spoke was a middle-aged auntie around forty.

She instantly flew into a rage, “You saw people dying and refused to help! You were clearly inside and pretended not to hear us. How could your heart be so vicious?”

Hearing that, Lin Xiaoqi quickly interjected, “Auntie, don’t say that. She’s a really good person. She probably just didn’t hear it or got caught up with something.”

She looked anxious and worried, like she was afraid Su Hua would be misunderstood.

But that kind of act only stoked the flames of anger.

Didn’t hear it? They’d practically banged the door off its hinges, was she deaf?

As for being caught up with something, what on earth here needed that kind of attention?

“Miss Lin, you shouldn’t be friends with someone like this. Someone so heartless could easily push you to the zombies next time.”

Lin Xiaoqi’s face stiffened, then she forced an awkward smile.

“She wouldn’t. She’s a good person.”

“A good person? Then why didn’t she open the door for us?”

“Know the face, not the heart.”

Su Hua looked at the leading middle-aged auntie and smiled, “If you keep running your mouth, I’ll kick you out.”

“You dare?”

The auntie puffed up, emboldened by the crowd behind her.

Su Hua raised her hand.

The auntie shrank back several steps in fear.

“W-What are you doing?” Then she turned and called out to Leng Xi’s group, “Quick, protect me!”

Su Hua stepped forward, grabbed the auntie’s collar, and easily lifted her hundred-something-pound body like she was picking up a chicken.

Several people in the group who knew Su Hua were all shocked beyond belief.

“Help me! Someone save me!”

The auntie cried out miserably as Su Hua dragged her toward the door like a sack of grain.

But those who had spoken up with her earlier all lowered their heads now, pretending not to see.

As the door neared, the auntie was sobbing, nose running, eyes tearing up.

Leng Xi’s brows knitted slightly.

Wan Zhicheng walked up beside him and whispered, “Boss, should we help her?”

Though he also disliked the auntie, they were still soldiers, after all and their mission was to rescue survivors across the country.

“Li Hua,” Leng Xi’s deep, magnetic voice sounded, “let her off this once.”

Su Hua turned back, meeting Leng Xi’s cold gaze, tilted her head and said, “I’m not some horse-handler. Why should I let her off?”

Leng Xi frowned.

The girl before him was clean and radiant, wildly unrestrained, a far cry from the obedient and humble figure she used to be.

“It’s still a human life.”

From the side, Lin Xiaoqi saw the look Leng Xi gave Su Hua and alarm bells went off in her head.

She quickly stepped forward, smiling.

“Don’t argue with her anymore. The auntie’s words were indeed out of line, but it’s not worth taking her life over. I apologize to you on her behalf.”

“Oh?” Su Hua’s eyes drifted to Lin Xiaoqi.

“Since you want to apologize for her, then get on your knees and beg me, I’ll consider forgiving her.”

“You—” Lin Xiaoqi looked at Su Hua in shock.

She hadn’t expected Su Hua to say something like that.

Just making her kneel and beg? No way.

“Why are you like this now?”

Lin Xiaoqi’s expression suddenly turned extremely aggrieved.

“You weren’t like this just this afternoon. Did something happen to you?”

She looked pitiful while sneaking glances at Leng Xi from the corner of her eye.

Seeing his displeased expression, her heart rejoiced.

But her face didn’t show a trace of it.

“Mm.”

Su Hua nodded.

“When you pushed me into the zombie horde tonight,that’s when I changed.”

Lin Xiaoqi was stunned.

She hadn’t expected Su Hua to just lay the matter bare like that.

Still, her instincts kicked in and she explained, “W-What are you talking about? Everyone got separated, we were all looking for each other. I even went looking for you, but…”

Before she could finish, Lin Xiaoqi had already burst into tears.

On the side, Zhao Chonghao, who liked Lin Xiaoqi, couldn’t take it anymore.

He stepped forward and said, “Miss Li, after we regrouped, it was Xiaoqi who insisted on going back to look for you. We searched for a long time and only gave up when we really had no choice.”

“But even then, Xiaoqi was always thinking about you. And this is how you treat her?”