After saying this, Shen Hegui subconsciously glanced toward Jiang Yuntan's room. He had also heard their argument. No matter the truth, he wouldn't wrong the girl he'd watched grow up because of outsiders. Besides, no one had actually seen who pushed whom. Thinking back to the phone call from home on the first day of the apocalypse, he couldn't help frowning. His father had told him to bring her back safely, which was fine. But in the past few days, Jiang Yuntan had only caused trouble when they went out. She couldn't help and always needed rescuing. He had told her to stay put in the hotel, but she insisted on competing with Lin Tingxue to find supplies. They ended up in a double room with seven or eight people who had all turned into zombies. The two of them searched that room, couldn't fend off the zombies, and got scratched. Luckily, they were rescued in time, or they would have been zombie food. At least she survived; otherwise, he wouldn't know how to explain to his father. Shen Hegui sighed resignedly. After all, she was his little sister—more important than outsiders.
Lin Tingxue and Xia Chujing's expressions stiffened. Xia Chujing said discontentedly, "President Shen, you can't take Jiang Yuntan's side just because you see her as your sister. These past few days, she's been hostile to Tingxue, who has the ability to kill zombies. If she didn't push Tingxue, how would she have gotten hurt? Besides, our Tingxue is a young lady too, and she's not without jade bracelets. But since Tingxue once said that bracelet was pretty, I kindly suggested Jiang Yuntan give it to her as an apology."
Shen Hegui's gaze was sharp as he looked at Lin Tingxue. "I want to ask Miss Lin: Did Yuntan really push you into the zombie horde?"
Lin Tingxue's eyes flickered with panic. "When we ran out, Yuntan accidentally tripped me. I don't think she meant it."
Shen Hegui's handsome, cold face grew frosty. "So you mean Yuntan accidentally tripped you, but in turn, Yuntan couldn't escape in time because of you?"
Lin Tingxue was startled, then said aggrievedly, "Maybe."
At that moment, Lin Tingxue's brother Lin Xuan stepped in to mediate. "It's just a misunderstanding. It seems we misinterpreted things and wronged Yuntan. Now that it's cleared up, everyone here is heading back to Jing City. Let's not let a small matter hurt our feelings. Both sisters have survived, and Tingxue has awakened her Wood Element Ability. Maybe Yuntan has awakened an ability too—that's a good thing."
Shen Hegui said indifferently, "In that case, I don't want anyone to bring this up again."
"Of course, it's a misunderstanding," Lin Xuan assured.
After Shen Hegui left, Lin Tingxue looked at her brother with a aggrieved expression. Lin Xuan said helplessly, "No one saw what happened, so it's hard to say. We still need to follow them back to Jing City. We don't know what the situation is there yet. Besides, Shen Hegui has awakened the Metal Element Ability. Haven't you seen how powerful he is at killing zombies these past two days?"
After the apocalypse began, Shen Hegui had a high fever and fell into a coma. Lin Xuan thought his rival would disappear, but on the third day, Shen Hegui woke up and became the first person among them to awaken an ability. Lin Tingxue pursed her lips and said aggrievedly, "I understand." This time, she had the upper hand. She didn't believe she couldn't beat that arrogant and brainless fool Jiang Yuntan.
-
Inside the room.
Afraid she might faint, Jiang Yuntan quickly drank the bowl of porridge Qi Ruoshui had brought. Then she carefully examined the Blood Jade Bracelet on her wrist. Shen's father and her father had been sworn brothers in the battlefield, and after her parents died in a car accident, Shen's father took her into the Shen family and treated her like his own daughter. The betrothal they had joked about as children was taken seriously by Shen's father. He hoped to find a good match for his friend's daughter, and Shen Hegui was the best choice. Initially, Shen Hegui didn't reject the engagement and doted on her as his little sister. But later, Jiang Yuntan became paranoid and wouldn't allow any woman near him. Whenever she saw a woman interacting with him, she would retaliate fiercely. Despite Shen Hegui's repeated explanations, it didn't help, so he grew distant, hoping she would wake up. Instead, it made her more obsessive. He then told Shen's father he wanted to cancel the engagement and promised to take care of her as a sister even if Shen's father wasn't around. To comfort her, Shen's father gave her the Blood Jade Bracelet, but he still worried about the relationship between the two youngsters. Jiang Yuntan also felt troubled by her current situation. Not only had she transmigrated into an apocalyptic novel, but she had also landed right at the moment when the original owner pushed the female lead into a zombie horde. It was true that the original owner pushed, but Lin Tingxue had grabbed her tightly, causing them both to be scratched. In reality, Lin Tingxue had awakened a healing ability before the apocalypse, so she wasn't afraid of zombie scratches. She had deliberately done this to eliminate the original owner but didn't expect her to take over. Since Lin Tingxue already intended to kill her, they couldn't be friends. So she wouldn't fawn over Lin Tingxue and make herself miserable. Given Shen's father's indulgent attitude toward the original owner and Shen Hegui's lingering affection, as long as she didn't continue making trouble and harming teammates, Shen Hegui would surely take her back to Jing City safely. Thinking this, Jiang Yuntan felt more at ease. The novel said the Shen family had a place in Jing City's base. A lifeline had been handed to her—how could she not cling to it?
Jiang Yuntan looked at her pristine fingers and finally cut a slit on her arm, smearing blood onto the bracelet. She watched as the bracelet absorbed her blood completely, but nothing happened. Frowning, she muttered, "Can this golden finger only bond with Lin Tingxue? If so, I'll smash it." If this golden finger couldn't help her, she wouldn't let it fall into the hands of Lin Tingxue, who wanted her dead. She found something to smash the bracelet with, but then a grumbling voice sounded in her mind.
[Apocalyptic Plane Trading System bound successfully. Please name the plane system.]
[Ahhh! You ruthless woman! I just used up energy to bind you and took a bit longer, and you already want to destroy me!]
Jiang Yuntan looked at the intact bracelet on her hand in exasperation. "After binding you, the bracelet didn't disappear. Is the bracelet your true form?"
[Of course not. I come and go without a trace. How could a mere bracelet be my vessel? It's just a medium. With me around, this bracelet can't be smashed!]