Aunt Wang rolled up her sleeves ready to start a fight, but she was persuaded by Zhao Dali: "Now is not the time for quarrels, Zhang Li, say a little less."
Liu Kai also advised, "Zhang Li, let it go."
"She started insulting people first." Zhang Li felt wronged and reluctantly extinguished her anger.
Aunt Wang scoffed at her and earnestly said to Zhao Dali, "Tell me, is this girl's speech offensive? Is it cursed like this? My son-in-law has been longing for a son for so long, just look at her..."
"Mom." The pregnant woman shook her arm, indicating for her to stop talking. She turned to Liu Kai and Charlie and said, "My mom is just worried about me. The doctor said my pregnancy is not going well and there may be a risk of miscarriage. Brothers, please don't be angry."
As a pregnant woman with a visible belly, and a pretty one at that, speaking with such reason and clarity, the expressions on the faces of the men eased a bit.
"It's alright, don't worry." Liu Kai was known as an honest person in the supermarket. Today, it wasn't his shift, but a colleague asked him to cover for him as it was his girlfriend's birthday. Liu Kai agreed.
Charlie smiled and said, "Helping each other is only natural. How about this, let's split into groups. Each group has twenty minutes. The boat is ours, so we'll go first. Is that okay?"
Although Aunt Wang felt they were taking advantage, most people agreed with the proposal.
Zhang Li and Bai Wenwen had already decided to go, but the girl with the buns hairstyle shook her boyfriend's arm and said, "Lu Chao, I can't swim. I'm scared."
"Yezi and I will go, don't worry." Lu Chao reassured her. "Right, Yezi?"
Yezi looked at him, then looked at her best friend, and nodded. "Tangtang, don't worry, we'll be there for you."
"Yezi, you're so kind." Tangtang held her hand and smiled sweetly. "I knew you were the best."
Since the boat was arranged by Liu Kai and Zhang Li, they, along with Charlie, Bai Wenwen, and Aunt Li, set off first, while Zhao Dali, Lu Chao, Yezi, and Aunt Wang followed in the next group.
Once they rowed away in the small boat, Liang Xiao asked Haibaihe, "Don't you want me to go?"
"I have other plans," Haibaihe whispered, "Let's wait and see."
Twenty minutes later, the first group returned with their harvest... which couldn't be clearly seen as they put everything in a lidded trash can.
After docking the boat, the members of the first group went upstairs to divide the items. When they boarded the boat, Aunt Wang glanced in their direction several times.
As they left, Tangtang shifted her gaze to Liang Xiao. When she smiled, a shallow dimple appeared on her left cheek. "How should I address you, sir? I'm Tangtang."
"I'm Liang, and this is my girlfriend, Baihe." Liang Xiao gently touched Haibaihe's head, displaying an intimate and affectionate gesture.
Haibaihe noticed that he handled such relationships with ease, whether they were friends or lovers. As long as he wanted, there would be no mistaken identities.
Haibaihe thought to herself as she grabbed his hand and took a bite. Liang Xiao lowered his head and asked, "Hm?"
"I had an itch." She teasingly raised her eyebrows.
Liang Xiao chuckled silently and kissed her lightly on the lips. "And now?"
"Much better." Haibaihe maintained her composure. "This place is boring. Let's take a walk." With that, she took his hand and headed towards the corridor.
Liang Xiao was led by her for a while and asked, "Where do you want to go?"
"There's a movie theater downstairs." Her eyes sparkled. "I'm going treasure hunting."
Liang Xiao understood. "Did you plan this from the beginning?"
"I told you, I'm not a good person. I only care about myself." Haibaihe took off her coat, revealing a tight-fitting vest underneath. "And now, I have you too."
Liang Xiao was taken aback. She had already entered the water, waving at him. "Wait for me."
Haibaihe jumped into the water, and as soon as it touched her skin, she felt a refreshing sensation throughout her body.
She was familiar with this place. The entire building had nine floors above ground and two floors underground. The second basement was the parking lot, and the first basement and half of the ground floor were occupied by a supermarket, while the other half had a cosmetics counter. The second to sixth floors were for clothing, shoes, and bags, the seventh floor was the movie theater, and the eighth and ninth floors were a hotel.
She could dive all the way down to the bottom to search for things, but that would reveal her true abilities. Compared to that, the seventh floor was a good choice. Movie theaters usually had a variety of drinks and snacks prepared.
As soon as she jumped into the water, she sank to the level of the seventh floor. Swiftly swimming like a fish, she made her way to the movie theater. The entrance was on the other side, and she maneuvered through the narrow corridor towards the entrance, occasionally encountering some debris.
After about a minute, she arrived at the entrance of the movie theater. Surprisingly, the refrigerators containing drinks were still intact. She opened one of the doors, using her body to shield it, and quickly took a few bottles of mineral water before closing the door.
She swiftly floated back up. The moment she emerged from the water, Liang Xiao thought he saw a mermaid. If Haibaihe was a little beauty on land, the moment she entered the water, her beauty increased tenfold.
Liang Xiao was momentarily dazed before realizing she was waving at him, gesturing for silence. He reached out and pulled her ashore. "You're good at diving."
"It's alright." She was proud of herself and feigned modesty, "You hold on to them for now, I'll go look for some food."
Five minutes later, she resurfaced, this time carrying several packs of snacks. "Alright, I'm done."
They quietly sneaked back up using the stairs on the other side and returned to their room to share their findings. Haibaihe couldn't wait and opened a bag of potato chips, feeding Liang Xiao a piece before saying, "I didn't get everything down there. After all, sooner or later, someone will think of it. But based on what's available in the movie theater, it's not enough to last for a few days."
"Once we can't find anything to eat, things will get chaotic." Liang Xiao was not optimistic. In desperate situations, people could do unimaginable things that they wouldn't normally consider.
Haibaihe looked out at the vast sea and said, "Food is not the real issue. The problem is the lack of water. Do you think rescue will come?"
Liang Xiao
pondered for a moment. "No, I don't think so."
"Why?"
"I saw it earlier this morning." Liang Xiao stared into her eyes. "Apart from the people in this building, there isn't a single living person anywhere else."
If a sudden tsunami had submerged the entire city, how could it be possible that in a city with so many tall buildings, there were no other survivors?
"What surprises me the most is that all the survivors here are from the supermarket. There wasn't a single person from the upper floors." Liang Xiao slowly spoke, "It's strange. We managed to survive, but it's hard to believe that the people on the eighth and ninth floors drowned, right?"
Haibaihe smiled playfully and looked at him. "So?"
"I think... something similar has happened before." Liang Xiao looked at her and cautiously described, "It was in a tunnel, very dark and strange creatures..."
Haibaihe rested her cheek against his back and said, "You've mentioned it before. It was just a dream."
"Yes, but it's strange. Since that day, I've been resistant to taking the subway." Liang Xiao smiled faintly. "Interestingly, I found out that it's not just me. Dia and the kids from the hurricane also feel the same way. What do you think?"
Haibaihe shook her head sincerely. "I don't know."
"Sly girl." Liang Xiao pinched her nose, and Haibaihe made a playful face, blowing air on his face. "Even if you don't say anything, I'll find out eventually."
"Well, I'm looking forward to it."
I look forward to you remembering everything about Huyang Township, remembering how you revealed your identity to me underground in the mine, and remembering who you died for and who died for you at the subway station.
At that time, you will definitely hate me. Haibaihe felt a tinge of sadness, yet selfishly hoped that she wouldn't remember.
"Liang Xiao." She rested her head on his back. "You have to remember that I'm not a good person, so don't be too disappointed in me."
"Have you done something to hurt me?" Liang Xiao thought for a moment, recalling her words from earlier. "Because you didn't come to save me?"
Haibaihe laughed. "No, it's not that. Why would I feel guilty about something like that? If I can't do it, I can't. I didn't love you to the point of sacrificing myself. You're the same, right?"
"So what?"
"After all the things I've done to you, and then this and that..." Haibaihe playfully rambled on, "Subway imprisonment play, that's why you hate the subway so much. Do you believe it?"
Liang Xiao laughed softly. "Oh, it's not surprising that you have such thoughts. So, are these your genuine thoughts?"
"If they are, would you let me try?" Haibaihe felt a mischievous urge. Having the privilege of having a girlfriend like her was not easy to come by!
Liang Xiao's lips curled up as he pinched her cheeks firmly. His tone was gentle. "What are you thinking, little sister?"
"Thinking about the right things." She blinked innocently.
Liang Xiao admired her for still having such thoughts at a time like this. "Aren't the right things what we should be thinking about next?"
For example, the water was seawater and couldn't be consumed. People could temporarily go without food, but not without water. Although Haibaihe brought up water that could sustain them for a few days, it was not a long-term solution.