"Ask."
Before Gu Shangse could even voice his question, Su Ling had an inkling of what he wanted to ask.
But even knowing, Su Ling still allowed Gu Shangse to ask.
Some secrets couldn't be kept.
Because many explanations didn't hold water.
Gu Shangse looked directly at Su Ling, hesitating whether to ask.
Seeing that he remained silent, Su Ling turned her head to look at him. "Didn't you want to ask me a question?"
Gu Shangse hummed. "My question is simple to state, yet difficult to answer. You're so smart, you must have guessed what I'm going to ask. It's what you're thinking. I want to know the story between Sister Na and her son, the Bai siblings, Shang Qi, and you."
Having said this, Gu Shangse looked at Su Ling with complex eyes. "Do you know? You give me the feeling of being an observer with a god's-eye view, knowing the direction of events, holding the script."
"Take the case of Sister Na and her son, and the Bai siblings, for example. The emotions you show towards them are deep and intense. You knew them long ago, they are extremely important to you, and that's why you're looking for them."
"But what's strange is—" Gu Shangse pursed his lips and continued, "Sister Na and her son, and the Bai siblings, this is their first meeting with you. The emotions they reciprocate are far less intense and deep than yours."
Everyone had eyes and brains, so they naturally noticed something was off.
It was just that because it was Su Ling's decision, despite their curiosity and confusion, no one thought to ask about it.
And Gu Shangse was destined to break this silence.
The night sky was starless, yet Su Ling watched intently. "When did you start wanting to ask me?"
"Probably when Sister Na and her son appeared," Gu Shangse replied truthfully and then fell silent, waiting for an answer.
After hearing Gu Shangse's answer, Su Ling curved her lips. "Then you guys are really good at keeping secrets. You were so curious, yet you didn't ask anything. You can really hold it in."
"A long, long time ago, I knew Sister Na and her son, Qing Qing and Yu Ling, and Shang Qi, whom I hadn't met yet," Su Ling seemed to fall into reminiscence, her expression no longer cold but softened with a touch of tenderness.
"I had a dream. In the dream, a week after the apocalypse, I drove my car and fled Xuyang City. But my luck was terrible, my journey started with misfortune, my car broke down, and I was targeted by villains. When I was at a disadvantage, choosing between compromising and jumping to my death to protect my purity, Sister Na appeared and saved me. She kindly let me join her group, and we headed to the survivor base together."
"Later, I left with Sister Na and her son, and came to Lucheng where we met Qing Qing and Yu Ling. We hit it off immediately and formed a small four-person team plus a child. Then we went to Wucheng. I went out to gather supplies and accidentally ran into a zombie horde. It was Shang Qi; his appearance saved me. Later, I invited him to join us. We fought side by side, and he taught me many things."
At this point, Su Ling didn't continue. She simply said, "When I woke up, I just thought it was a dream. After all, our world was fine. But it wasn't until the apocalypse truly descended that I realized it wasn't just a dream."
She lied to Gu Shangse, saying it was a dream, but she knew it wasn't.
It was her five years of experience in the apocalypse, her life-and-death experiences with Shang Qi and the others.
It was a shame they escaped the ferocious zombies but couldn't escape the darkness of human hearts.
After struggling for five years in the apocalypse, just as they could finally catch their breath, it was the end of everything.
She hated it!
Gu Shangse looked at the hatred radiating from Su Ling and finally asked, "Su Ling, you're a重生者, aren't you?"