Chapter Ninety-Seven: Departing

Chapter Ninety-Seven

“Mei’er, are you really not taking Wanqi Wenyue with us?” Ye Jingxuan asked as he drove the car they had found in the camp, glancing at Mei, who was sitting in the passenger seat with a bored expression.

Although he did not like Wanqi Wenyue very much, she had no ill intentions toward Mei. She simply liked dressing up little girls. With her around, Mei would at least not be quite so bored.

“No, I’m not!” Mei’s answer was firm.

What was the point of bringing her along? So she could remind Ye Jingxuan of that night every minute of every day? Although she had not done anything to him, she had seen everything she ought to have seen and knew everything she ought to know. The fact that he had not killed her, and had merely erased nearly a week of her memory, was already a mercy granted in consideration of the care she had once shown him. Asking her to leave with them? Not a chance.

At first, Ye Jingxuan did not understand why Mei was so averse to Wanqi Wenyue. But when he saw the way she would not even mention her, and remembered the skill she had unleashed before leaving, he immediately understood her thoughts.

He was both moved and heartbroken.

Moved by her consideration for him, and heartbroken by her self-reproach.

He had told her more than once that everything he had done had been entirely of his own free will, and that he did not care about that matter nearly as much as she imagined. Yet she seemed unable to get past it herself.

Ye Jingxuan did not know what else to do, so he could only try not to bring up anything related to that place again.

“Jing, should we go back to Changyang Base first and take a look?” After a while of silence, Mei suddenly spoke.

“Back to Changyang? Something wrong?” Ye Jingxuan asked, thinking she must have had some matter to attend to.

“Don’t you worry about the Ye family, Jing? I remember that Sima Huang is an earth-element user. Underground, that gives him a huge advantage. With the earthquake at that level back then, there’s a very good chance he escaped using his earth abilities. Aren’t you worried he’ll spread rumors at the base that you’re dead?”

Only then did Ye Jingxuan understand why she wanted to return to Changyang. It was all because of him.

He did not know how to describe what he felt. He had never thought she was trying to repay him in this way. Before he had saved her, she had already helped him and the Ye family so many times. The reason she said such things was simply because she was worried about the Ye family’s situation on his behalf.

And because he understood her thoughts so clearly, the feeling in his heart became all the harder to put into words.

Could she not think a little more about herself?

Seeing that Mei was still waiting for his answer, Ye Jingxuan steadied his emotions before saying, “No need. Even if I really were dead, the Ye family would not be in trouble now. As for you, don’t forget you still have one contract that hasn’t been completed.”

“Oh, that. I believe Jingchen and the others will definitely finish the mission, so the one who should be worried isn’t me. It should be that Major Ling Feng.” Mentioning the contract, Mei did not seem worried at all.

As long as Mo Chen successfully brought Bai Qing out of the snow mountain, the chances of this mission failing were very small.

So much time had already passed, and her contract still had not been judged a failure, which meant their mission was going fairly smoothly.

Ye Jingxuan did not refute her words. He also believed that for Mei’s sake, Mo Chen and the others would never allow the mission to fail easily. But as long as the contract remained unfinished for another day, his heart would remain suspended, unable to settle. That was why he wanted to reach Longsheng Base as soon as possible.

Because they were traveling through a remote region, the roads were all dirt tracks, uneven and rough. The car jolted violently as it drove over them.

Although Ye Jingxuan did his utmost to keep the ride as smooth as possible, the effect was still limited. Seeing Mei’s face grow increasingly pale from the bumps, he had no choice but to stop every so often so she could get out and catch her breath.

At night, since they could not find a place to stay, the two of them could only sleep outdoors.

Fortunately, both of them were very experienced in surviving in the wild. As long as they were careful of zombies and mutated animals, there were no other major problems.

Watching Ye Jingxuan busy himself with starting a fire and preparing dinner, Mei wanted to help, but he stopped her.

“Be good, go sit over there and rest. You’re not needed for these little things.”

Mei was somewhat speechless, only then realizing that Ye Jingxuan was actually even better at taking care of people than Mo Chen. When she was with Mo Chen, the two of them had always divided tasks between them, never like this, where she had nothing to do except rest.

After dinner, it was time for real rest, and the same problem arose once more.

“Mei’er, go and rest. I’ll keep watch tonight,” Ye Jingxuan said again, trying to send her away.

“Jing!” Mei snapped, finally unable to hold back. “You drove all day during the day, and now you want to keep watch all night too? What about tomorrow? Drive all day again? You have earth abilities, but that doesn’t mean your body is made of metal. Do you really think you’re made of iron?”

Hearing her words, Ye Jingxuan smiled faintly. He reached out, drew her into his arms, and kissed her forehead.

“Don’t worry. Even if I don’t sleep for a few days, I still won’t drive us into a ditch.”

“That’s not the point, okay?” Mei nearly exploded. “The point is that if you take everything onto yourself, then what am I supposed to do? We’re companions! Companions! Do you understand? Before, I was unconscious, so everything could only rely on you alone. That couldn’t be helped. But now I’m awake, so you can’t keep treating two people’s business as if it were yours alone, and doing everything by yourself!”

Ye Jingxuan lowered his eyes.

Were they really only companions?

He knew perfectly well that she understood nothing, but hearing her say such things still caused a sharp ache in his heart.

He did not want to be merely her companion.

That was what Ye Jingxuan was thinking, though he did not say it aloud. After a moment of silence, he said, “I just wanted to take better care of you, Mei’er. But since you don’t want that, then forget it. How do you think we should divide things?”

“You drive during the day, so I’ll keep watch at night. I can’t cook very well, but I can still start a fire and the like! In short, you can’t keep taking everything on by yourself!” Mei emphasized the last sentence.

Seeing the stubbornness in her eyes, Ye Jingxuan ultimately gave in and agreed to her arrangement.

“All right. Then you keep watch tonight, and I’ll rest first.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he did not get into the car. Instead, he took out a sleeping bag and lay down beside the campfire.

“You’re not sleeping in the car?” Mei asked, seeing him lie down there so casually.

“The space in the car is too small. It’s uncomfortable to sleep in,” Ye Jingxuan said, shaking his head.

Mei thought about it. The car really was a bit small for Ye Jingxuan. No matter how he lay down, it was difficult to stretch out his body properly, so she said nothing more.

What she did not know was that Ye Jingxuan had chosen to sleep outside not merely because there was not enough room in the car to stretch his legs. The key reason was that he feared something might happen in the night and she would be in danger. He had not forgotten that her body could suddenly lose control.

Ye Jingxuan slept very lightly all night. Any sound would wake him immediately. In the end, Mei felt that he was waking too often, so she quietly set up a soundproof barrier around him, and only then did he manage to sleep properly for a while.

Although Ye Jingxuan felt that the latter half of the night had become somewhat too quiet, because he had not noticed Mei’s little trick, he did not say anything.

In the morning, the two of them ate something simple and set off again.

After getting in the car, Mei reclined the seat and used it as a little bed to catch up on sleep.

But along the way, she remained in a half-asleep, half-awake state. Only then did she realize that her old problem of not being able to sleep unless someone held her still had not been cured.

They spent the whole day like that, and by evening, no matter what Ye Jingxuan said, he refused to let her continue keeping watch.

But Mei was unwilling to yield. She even thought that if it came to it, she would just take some medicine. She was absolutely determined not to hand everything over to Ye Jingxuan alone.

“Why don’t you teach me to drive? If I can drive, then you can rest a little during the day.”

Neither of them was willing to compromise, so Mei could only come up with this middle-ground solution.

Ye Jingxuan thought about it. Teaching her to drive was not a bad thing. There were no dangerous stretches nearby, and at most the journey would just be a little slower. So he nodded and agreed to her suggestion.

Seeing that he had agreed, Mei finally lay down with her head on his lap. Sensing Ye Jingxuan’s presence, she felt at ease and soon fell asleep.

Ye Jingxuan sat there without moving at all, afraid that even the slightest motion would keep her from sleeping well. Even when zombies came to harass them at night, he dealt with them from a distance with flying daggers.

The consequence of sitting like that all night was that, after Mei got up the next day, his leg remained numb for a long time. Any movement felt as if needles were stabbing into it.

Seeing that she had made his leg go numb, Mei felt guilty and immediately reached out, wanting to use her energy to relieve the soreness and numbness in his leg. But the moment her power entered his body, he dodged away.

“What’s wrong, Jing?” Mei did not understand why he was avoiding her and looked at him in confusion.

“I’m fine now. Go boil some water and wash your face first. I’ll make breakfast for you,” Ye Jingxuan said, finding an excuse to send her away. Only then did his stiff body slowly relax.

Looking down at the part of his body that had begun to rise slightly, Ye Jingxuan could not help but give a wry smile. He had not expected that when her energy entered his body, it would stimulate him so strongly that his body would react instantly.

He had not realized his body had become so sensitive.

He did not want Mei to think of him as some animal in heat, so he had avoided her touch. If she kept touching him, he feared he would lose control of himself again, just as he had the last time.

Fortunately, she did not know much about this sort of thing, so she had not noticed his embarrassment.

She was still young. At the very least, he should wait until she grew up before thinking about such things.

Telling himself this, Ye Jingxuan forced his body to calm down as quickly as possible, then got up to prepare breakfast.

After breakfast, they got back into the car, and Ye Jingxuan began teaching Mei how to drive.

Before, when Mo Chen was driving, Mei had actually paid attention as well, only she had never deliberately tried to learn. Now, with Ye Jingxuan’s explanation and by comparing it to the movements she remembered, Mei quickly got the car started and drove onto the road.

Ye Jingxuan watched her drive for a while, and once he was sure she could continue on her own, he leaned back, closed his eyes, and rested.

The more Mei drove, the more skilled she became. After leaving the mountains, the road was no longer so rough and difficult. Thus, on the third day of her driving, the two of them reached the first medium-sized base they had encountered since coming down the mountain: Qingsheng Base.

To be continued.

P.S. Three updates for New Year’s Day! Wishing everyone a happy new year and all the best!