Yang Mei saw Liang Yuan close the master bedroom door, and only then did she truly relax, slowly squatting down against the wall.
She stared blankly for a while, lost in thought.
After a moment, she stood up, looked toward the kitchen hesitantly but dared not go there, instead heading to the bathroom.
Liang Yuan couldn't see what was happening over there, but he heard the sound of running water.
Yang Mei stayed inside for about ten minutes, then reappeared in the living room with a mop in her hand.
Liang Yuan raised an eyebrow as he watched the monitor from inside the bedroom.
He saw Yang Mei began to mop the floor skillfully, cleaning up the bloodstains.
She worked intermittently, appearing physically exhausted; a piece of bread wasn't enough to fill her stomach.
Yet she persisted in cleaning the entire living room, wiping the coffee table and other areas spotless.
The sofa was piled with dirty clothes, which she also helped to organize.
In less than an hour, she had tidied up the whole place, making it much cleaner and more spacious.
However, she was careful not to touch items that were clearly used by Liang Yuan.
Such as the long gun crafted by Liang Yuan, his renovation equipment, especially dangerous items like the nail gun.
As for the kitchen, she consciously avoided going there.
When the cleaning was complete, she took a short break before heading to the guest room Liang Yuan had left for her.
This guest room had been decorated as a children's room, with a bed above and a desk below the decor style, and the window had been sealed shut.
Under the bed was a solid wood desk, but there were no books, only numerous wires, soldering iron, solder, screwdrivers, and other tools.
Curious, Yang Mei glanced around but did not take liberties to rummage through things.
There was a storage cabinet at the bedside, but it was empty, containing nothing.
However, there was a ready-made mattress and bedding on the bed; she tidied the room slightly before finally lying down exhausted.
Curled up tightly on the bed, Yang Mei hugged her shoulders, listening to the thunder and rain outside, as tears welled up in her eyes.
"What on earth has happened to this world..."
She murmured, and as drowsiness crept in, she drifted into slumber.
She didn't know how long had passed before she was suddenly awakened.
"Ah—"
She let out a cry reflexively, her hands twitching instinctively.
Just like when dreaming of stepping on a stair and missing a step.
She had a nightmare, dreaming that Li Zhiqiang opened the door and invited Liu Erlong and the others in.
Liu Erlong gave Li Zhiqiang a box of biscuits, and Li Zhiqiang sold her out.
In the dream, Liu Erlong's ferocious face seemed capable of eating people alive, cornering her to the bed and pouncing on her.
She screamed and struggled, but had no strength at all.
At the critical moment, suddenly a gun barrel pierced through Liu Erlong's chest, and blood spurted out.
She was startled awake by the scene and couldn't help but scream.
She stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, still overwhelmed by the shock.
After a while, her mind gradually cleared, and she realized she was no longer at her home.
This bed wasn't the one she remembered either.
The sickening Li Zhiqiang was no longer there.
Relief washed over her as she let out a long, heavy sigh.
Recalling the long gun from the dream, she realized it was the one Liang Yuan had used earlier.
Yang Mei's expression became curious, her mood lifted a bit.
"Little brother isn't a bad person, not like Liu Erlong and them. He even lent me food."
She said to herself while she slowly sat up.
Feeling hunger pangs, she swallowed and stood up slowly, opening the bedroom door to take a look.
No one was in the living room, and the master bedroom door was still shut.
She breathed a sigh of relief; truthfully, she didn't know how to face Liang Yuan.
With Liang Yuan not around, she felt a sense of release instead.
Walking into the living room, she picked up a cup from the dining table, wanting to fetch some water from the kitchen.
However, as she reached the kitchen door, she hesitated.
"This is his cooking place, would going in make him think I'm stealing food?"
"Forget it, I'll wait a bit until he wakes up."
With that in mind, she licked her dry lips and sat back on the living room sofa, quietly watching the storm outside the balcony.
The dark sky occasionally lit up with lightning, momentarily revealing a pale world of rain, with partially submerged buildings standing amidst the flood.
BOOM!
After the lightning came a massive crack of thunder.
Yang Mei was so frightened that she trembled all over, instinctively reaching out to grab onto something.
But only the clothes she'd organized were on the sofa.
She grabbed a T-shirt, holding it tightly.
A wave of masculine scent filled her nostrils, inexplicably making her feel a bit safer.
Instinctively, she hugged the clothes to her chest as if it could provide her some solace.
"Feeling cold?"
Suddenly, Liang Yuan's voice came from the dark room.
Yang Mei jumped in fright, instinctively sitting up straight, curling her legs defensively.
Seeing that it was Liang Yuan, she came back to her senses and quickly said, "Little brother, you... you're awake?"
Liang Yuan nodded slightly and said, "It's June now, the weather isn't cold, right? If you feel cold, I'll bring you another quilt later."
Yang Mei was taken aback, looking down at the clothes in her hands, her face flushed, hurriedly placing the clothes down. "No, I'm not cold."
Liang Yuan said nothing more, heading to the kitchen, "Hungry? It's around three in the afternoon, and we haven't had lunch yet."
Yang Mei quickly stood up, trotting to the kitchen, following behind Liang Yuan. Her large grapefruit-like eyes bounced, but she paid no mind, instead kindly offering, "Little brother, let sister cook."
Liang Yuan didn't object, opened the fridge, and took out a small piece of thawed meat.
Upon seeing the thawed meat, Yang Mei was shocked, looking at Liang Yuan in disbelief.
"Do you... still have meat at home?"
No wonder she was surprised, it had been half a year since the great flood, and the power had long been gone. Who would still have meat?
If anyone did, it would have long rotted.
She suddenly recalled the scene where Liang Yuan disposed of the body, her face turned pale, looking at Liang Yuan with a trace of fear.
Liang Yuan glanced at her and knew what she was thinking.
"What are you afraid of?"
"I... I'm not..."
Yang Mei's legs almost gave out, as tears welled up in her eyes, her expression clearly terrified to the extreme yet holding back, not daring to cry.
Suddenly, Liang Yuan turned to look at her directly, "Do you think this is human flesh?"
"No, I don't..."
Her face turned as pale as a sheet instantly, shaking her head hurriedly, backing into the corner.
Liang Yuan smiled, not trying to scare her any further, continuing to take out two thawed potatoes.
"Look at what's on your right."
Trembling, Yang Mei glanced sideways, slightly surprised.
Next to her was an old freezer!
She looked puzzled, what was there to see in a freezer?
But when she looked down at the contents of the freezer, her eyes widened instantly!
"Ice? Your... your freezer still works?"
"How come? How is there still electricity?"
In disbelief, Yang Mei looked at Liang Yuan with surprise and delight, a look of disbelief akin to winning the lottery.