The warm yellow sunlight slanted into the open main room, like a thin layer of gauze.
The autumn wind blew the wind chimes under the eaves, the lazy big cat stretched its waist, and lay down on the door. The swings in the lush yard swayed gently, and the zombie king in a long white coat was carrying a watering can and was taking care of the plants.
Zhao Xiaochun looked away, the felt dolls on the table were surrounded by a bouquet of sweet-scented osmanthus, and the aroma was tangy.
Lin You poured her a cup of tea: "Sister Zhao, you're welcome, just sit down."
When she and Xiao Xiao came back from the giant tree, who would have expected to meet old acquaintances at the door. Zhao Xiaochun is Du Yan's wife and an old man from the Linshan base, and they can be regarded as companions who have known each other for many years.
Lin You thought of what Lu Jiayao had said to her before she left.
After Du Yan's death, Zhao Xiaochun took Du An'an and Lu Jiayao away. Now that Du An'an is not with her, there is no need to ask what happened. but…
Lin You glanced at the baby in Zhao Xiaochun's arms, she was looking around curiously with her golden eyes open, met Lin You's gaze, grinned and hid in Zhao Xiaochun's arms.
Zhao Xiaochun touched the child's thin hair, raised his head and looked at Lin You: "It seems that you are doing well... If Du Yan knows, he will feel somewhat comforted."
Although she was not young in the past, she was at least full of energy with her family by her side. Now it is full of dust and dust, the fine lines on the face have not been wiped clean, the drooping hair is still stained with blood, looking haggard, only the blue eyes are shining with unsteady light, as if still holding a breath.
Lin You didn't know how to answer this, so she simply asked, "Where's Sister Zhao, did you come to find me on purpose?"
Zhao Xiaochun was obviously waiting for someone at the gate of the courtyard. When he saw them—especially Xiao Xiao's appearance, not only did he not panic, but heaved a sigh of relief.
Lin You guessed that Zhao Xiaochun might have met Lu Jiayao later and came here after hearing about her.
"... That's right."
Zhao Xiaochun admitted. She closed her eyes, suddenly stood up from the bench with the child in her arms, and knelt down towards Lin You.
"Sister Zhao!? What are you doing?" Lin You was taken aback and stepped aside.
Zhao Xiaochun looked up at her with a sincere look: "Yuzi, what happened before was that I was sorry for you."
"Actually, you also know that when An An was sick, your brother Du didn't think about abandoning you even though he was in a difficult situation... I forced him. I said he wouldn't go, and I took An An away by myself. I couldn't take An An I bet my life just in case. But if I did something like this, you should blame me..."
Lin You didn't expect her to bring up the old matter again at this time, and she was silent for a moment: "...it's all over. Sister Zhao, get up, there's no need to do this."
Lin You really didn't have the energy to pursue the past.
They met at the Linshan base, and they have been together for almost two years. They have faced the situation of life and death countless times, and human relationships are not so easy to settle. Later, they abandoned her in order to treat their daughter. Seriously speaking, it was not wrong. Lin You didn't entangle her at that time, and now... she doesn't care about it.
Lin You looked through the door of the main room and looked at Xiao Xiao who had changed the gardening shears to trim the branches and leaves in the yard. The orange sun shrouded her, and even the snow-white hair hanging on her shoulders looked warm.
Lin You's heart was also as warm as a sunset.
Zhao Xiaochun was still saying: "No matter what, after all, I am sorry for you and your sister... If you are angry in your heart, you can do whatever you want. Your brother Du is a person who values affection and loyalty. He remembers you In the words of my sister, I have taken you to and fro in various remaining bases in the past two years, just for that glimmer of hope. I... am different from them, not as good as them."
"It really doesn't need to be like this." Lin You smiled wryly, "Sister Zhao, you are still the same as before..."
Zhao Xiaochun was slightly taken aback.
Lin You said: "I don't need your apology, self-deprecation, or reminiscence about the past. If you need help with something, just tell me. If I can, I won't refuse."
She thought that Zhao Xiaochun would not come here for a walk with a child in his arms to reminisce about the old days.
"..."
After a while, she stood up and took a deep look at Lin You: "...Thank you."
Lin You didn't speak. Zhao Xiaochun was more straightforward this time, she lowered her head and patted the ignorant baby in her arms: "Yuzi, I hope...you can adopt this child."
"Adopt..."
Lin You was not too surprised. She guessed that the matter should be related to the child, but she didn't expect such a request, she frowned slightly: "I just wanted to ask, Sister Zhao, what's the matter with this child?"
Zhao Xiaochun said: "You should have heard what Lu Jiayao said. After Du Yan was gone, I took An'an with the rest of the Pujiang base, and then separated from them during the battle. It didn't take long for An'an to..."
She stopped, and the child in her arms pulled her hair, "Ah" twice.
Zhao Xiaochun came back to his senses, squeezed her little hand, and let out a breath: "After that, I went to the gathering place that Lu Jiayao told me about. Everything went smoothly at first, until a pregnant woman gave birth to her... this child Only less than two months."
Lin You immediately reacted: "But she looks... a year old."
"When she was just born, her body shape was no different from that of a normal child." Zhao Xiaochun said, "One day, she accidentally ate the crystal nucleus of a mutant creature, and within a day, she grew to her current size. And..."
She paused, then unbuttoned the child's coat, revealing the bulging lump on his back.
Lin You opened her eyes slightly: "This is..."
The little baby sat on Zhao Xiaochun's arm, letting it be manipulated obediently, his eyes blinking. The clothes behind her were lifted up, revealing a pair of immature fleshy wings, covered with soft black down, with a newly healed wound at the base of the wings.
Zhao Xiaochun: "You get it now. Her father died under the claws of a mutant bird creature. When the mother found out that her child had grown a pair of monster wings, she couldn't accept it anyway. She wanted to tear off her wings, but she couldn't bear it anymore. I wanted to kill her. I just took her away and left the gathering place to live."
At that time, she lived in a daze, no different from a walking dead. Only when she heard the child's heart-piercing cry at night did she startle and wake up from the trance.
Zhao Xiaochun lowered his eyes: "You know... An An is like this too."
Of course Lin You knew. After Du An'an awakened her powers, there was also a place of alienation on her body. It was a pair of small goat horns, which she was the first to discover back then.
"Then why did you give the child to me again?" Lin You asked.
"...Because, I don't live long."
As Zhao Xiaochun said, he put the child on the table, rolled up his sleeves to reveal the bandaged wound on his arm, and the black stripes extending all the way up. She smiled bitterly: "I was infected with the zombie virus, and I was able to find you until now, thanks to the injection you left to delay the onset of the toxin."
"I've lived until now, and it's not a pity to die. I only care about this child. What should she do without her parents? Yuzu, among the people I can think of, only you are willing to raise her."
"..."
Lin You looked at the child sitting on the table. She is very well-behaved, and she doesn't move when she is put down. She just looks around with those bright golden eyes, and smiles sweetly when she sees people.
Zhao Xiaochun begged her: "Yuzi, it's reasonable for you not to want to. But I really have no one else to ask, and I can't bear to let her accompany me to die..."
Lin You sighed: "Sister Zhao, I told you, you don't have to do this."
"After all, this matter is not a trivial matter." She looked towards the courtyard, Xiao Xiao squatted on the ground to take care of the potted plants, just came to an end and looked over, the two looked at each other and smiled, her voice became soft unconsciously, "I want to ask about my spouse."
Zhao Xiaochun was stunned: "My love, you are..."
Lin You nodded.
"That's it... it should be." Zhao Xiaochun couldn't help but turned his head to look at Xiao Xiao again, and said in a low voice, "She is... Lu Jiayao should have told you about her identity. But Yuzu, I understand your choice... I don't think so either. People will blame you."
"... Thank you, sister Zhao."
Lin You walked out the door. Xiao Xiao blinked suspiciously, put down the garden scissors and stood up: "Yuzi, are you done talking?"
"Almost." Lin You smiled, walked up to her, and told her the whole story, "Sister Zhao wants to entrust the child to us, and I want to ask your opinion."
Xiao Xiao glanced into the room with obvious surprise, and then looked at Lin You: "Youzi, I want to keep her."
Xiao Xiao could see what she was thinking, and there was no doubt in his tone. However, Lin You gently shook her head: "Raising a child is not as simple as raising money. I want to keep her out of sympathy, but Xiao Xiao, I don't want you to worry about me, just think about whether you want to or not."
Zhaocai, who was called innocently, raised his head: "Aww?"
"...But, right now, I only want to think about grapefruit."
Xiao Xiao lowered her head, lightly touched the corner of Lin Youzi's lips, and smiled slightly: "If you want to, you can stay. I will help take care of it, so that is, Yuzi and I's child, right?"
"..."
Lin You squinted and criticized seriously: "You are not ashamed to speak out. I think you have never raised children before, so you can say such things..."
"Yeah, sister Yuzi taught me a lesson." Xiao Xiao looked at her with crooked eyebrows.
Lin You couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief with a smile: "...well, our child."
When she repeated this sentence, her heart was filled with a wonderful light feeling, as if she was trapped in a cotton candy-like cloud, and the corners of her lips could not help but curl up.
Now that it was decided, Lin You replied to Zhao Xiaochun and asked her for the child's name.
Zhao Xiaochun said: "There is no name, you can choose one."
She had the zombie virus on her body, and after delivering the child to them, she left directly. Before leaving, she gave Lin You a hesitant look: "There is another person who controls the beast tide, Yuzi, I saw him...you have to be careful."
This sentence is unclear. Lin You was stunned for a moment, and just about to ask, when the strong wind blew past her, Zhao Xiaochun's figure had gone away by the wind, leaving only small black dots.
The child held by Xiao Xiao looked in that direction motionlessly.
Xiao Xiao didn't hear the sound, and only when she lowered her head did she realize that she was crying. She put away her nails and carefully helped wipe away the tears.
The child raised his moist eyes, looked at her for a while, and immediately cried out, "Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo".
"..."
Xiao Xiao was stunned. She just learned how to hold a baby, she was very numb to this soft thing, and she couldn't deal with her in the same way as Zhaocai, so she fell into a deadlock.