"I'm willing, I'm willing to let Shang Qi cling to my thigh."
Su Ling nodded vigorously in Shang Qi's arms, the slight upward lilt at the end of her voice betraying her current joy.
Gu Shangse and the others watched this scene, observing their intimate interaction.
They all thought Su Ling was slow to react to emotions, only realizing things later and being dull-witted.
Now it seemed, it wasn't that she was slow to react, only realized things later, and was dull-witted about emotions.
She actually knew everything, but was too lazy to give opportunities, too lazy to pretend to understand, to pretend to be deaf and dumb.
She deliberately feigned ignorance to any hints, and then nipped any budding hope in the bud.
It was simply because the person facing her was not someone she liked, so she would rather disguise herself as emotionally inept.
Look at her now, the person she liked had arrived, and the way she acted was hardly that of someone emotionally inept.
I deliberately steer conversations into dead ends and pretend not to understand any hints, only because my true feelings and passion are reserved for the person I like.
Su Ling released Shang Qi. She held his hand, not wanting to let go.
Her careful demeanor was as if Shang Qi would fly away if she let go.
Su Ling, holding Shang Qi, led him to Gu Shangse and the others. "Shang Qi, this is Gu Shangse. The first time I saw him was at the police station. I mistook him for you back then."
"Later, when the apocalypse broke out, I wanted to find you quickly, so I desperately sought him out..." Su Ling didn't know how to explain. She just knew she didn't want Gu Shangse, who looked so much like Shang Qi, to become a casualty of the apocalypse.
Seeing Su Ling growing more flustered and nervous as she explained, Shang Qi gently stroked her head. "I know."
His simple "I know" had a magical effect, instantly soothing Su Ling's tension and anxiety.
Shang Qi took Su Ling's hand, their fingers interlaced, and then looked at Gu Shangse. "Gu Shangse, hello, I'm Shang Qi. Thank you for taking care of my Aling during this time."
Gu Shangse smiled. "It should be me thanking Su Ling for her care."
The use of 'Aling' versus 'Su Ling' made the degree of intimacy clear.
After Shang Qi and Gu Shangse introduced themselves, Shang Qi looked towards Sister Na. "Sister Na."
Then, Shang Qi's gaze fell on the siblings Bai Heqing and Bai Yuling. "Heqing, Yuling."
It was clear that Shang Qi knew these three, so no special introduction was needed.
Jiang Jiang was the first to step forward. He introduced himself, "Brother Shang Qi, I'm Jiang Jiang. It's finally good to meet you."
Then came Skinny and Fatty, followed by Lin Enxin.
Although Sister Na, Bai Heqing, and Bai Yuling had many questions and confusions, they kept them to themselves.
Given the current situation, it wasn't the right time to ask.
After the introductions, Su Ling looked at Shang Qi and asked him, "Shang Qi, why were you with Rao Beichen? I remember they were going to the northern survivor base. Did you come from the north?"
Rao Beichen walked to Rao Can's side and stood quietly, watching.
Shang Qi looked at Su Ling, the tear mole under his eye glistening beautifully. "This is a long story. We'll take our time, and I'll tell you slowly. There are some things I need to explain to you properly."
"Okay." Su Ling agreed, then looked at Shang Qi. "Are you hungry?"
Although Shang Qi wasn't hungry, he nodded at Su Ling's question. "Hungry."
"You wait here, I'll get you something delicious." As Su Ling finished speaking, she took a pizza directly from her space.
Holding the pizza box, Su Ling opened the pizza, which was still steaming. She looked at Shang Qi. "This is your favorite beef and shrimp pizza. Try it quickly."