38: Chapter 38 Will I ever see you again?

The car pulled up to the main gate of the Zhou residence. Xu Yu, along with Jiang Heng and the others, ran out to greet them. As soon as Xu Wanning stepped out, she was hugged by Xu Yu. "Sister, are you okay?"

Xu Wanning quickly broke free. "I'm fine, I'm fine."

Lu Chengyue stood at the very back. Not feeling it was the right time to approach, he just watched her, only feeling relieved after confirming she was unharmed.

The group crowded around Xu Wanning to head back inside. As she passed Lu Chengyue, she glanced at him, and he nodded at her.

"Sister Ning, how did it go?"

"Did the higher-ups believe you?"

"They didn't give you a hard time, did they?"

"Don't panic, listen to me." Xu Wanning pressed her hands down, signaling them to quiet down. "The leader believed what I said and has already started formulating a plan with the relevant personnel. He said we should continue living as we were before, and they will contact us when they need us."

"Wow! That's great!" Everyone couldn't help but cheer.

Especially Jiang Heng and the others; since the state believed it, their parents would eventually find out. Right now, their parents wouldn't believe them, but once the state made an announcement, they would. By then, they would be able to bring them over together.

Xu Wanning backed away to the side, and as she retreated, she bumped into someone. Turning around, she saw Lu Chengyue. It was clear he had been waiting there for a while; seeing her approach, he didn't dodge but instead stood even more firmly.

Lu Chengyue looked down at her. "My parents have already started working on retrofitting our villa. They are attached to the house and plan to move back after The Apocalypse ends."

Xu Wanning looked up and smiled. "That's fine. The supplies we've stockpiled are enough."

The Lu family had used all their liquid assets to stockpile goods; they had contributed quite a lot. Every available space in the Zhou residence was completely filled with supplies.

In one of the courtyards, aside from the bedrooms, the entire space had been turned into a warehouse, and it was currently full as well.

Lu Chengyue was momentarily dazed. "Going back to class tomorrow?"

"Yes." Xu Wanning turned her head to look at Xu Yu and the others. "Since they said we should return to our normal lives, of course I'm going back to class."

The state possessed very advanced technology; if The Apocalypse were to arrive early, the Acid Rain would surely be detected in advance. She wasn't worried.

Returning to school—Lu Chengyue thought about what his younger sister had said, that she had many suitors. Would she forget about him once she was back at school?

He clenched his fists. "I—can I still see you?"

Xu Wanning looked up in surprise. "Of course. I'm just going back to school for classes, not leaving forever. If I'm free, I'll go with Zhiyu to visit you at the Fire Station, as long as you don't find me annoying."

Lu Chengyue was overjoyed. "I wouldn't, I wouldn't." Great, that's great. She—she still liked him more.

"Wanning, I, actually I..." He decided that regardless of what the future held, he had to at least seize the present.

"Sister, hurry up!" Xu Yu rushed over and pulled Xu Wanning away. "It's time for dinner. Auntie Lan made sweet and sour pork ribs today, they're super fragrant."

Xu Wanning looked back at Lu Chengyue. Was he about to say something just now?

Lu Chengyue's face turned dark. Was Wanning's younger brother specifically sent to sabotage him? The courage he had worked so hard to muster had just been interrupted like that.

Lu Zhiyu trotted over. "Brother, you're really useless." After saying that, she hurriedly went to catch up with Xu Wanning.

Dinner was again set across three large tables, with everyone eating together. Looking at their smiling faces, Xu Wanning felt incredibly at peace. It was so good—it was so good to be back.

Lu Chengyue felt a bit miserable. He had missed his chance; would there be another one later? Most importantly, for this meal, he hadn't managed to snag the seat next to Wanning.

It turned out that unless she took the initiative, the seat next to her would be taken by someone else. Seeing Xu Yu and Zhou Ke sitting beside her, he felt like he was going to throw up from frustration.

"It's about time, we'll be heading back now. We'll come again next week." Lu Mingyuan and Shen Yirou stood up and pulled their son up. "Let's go, you still have to return to your unit."

Lu Chengyue had wanted to wait until dinner was finished to find another opportunity, but he was ruthlessly dragged away by his parents.

Seeing him look back every few steps, Xu Wanning very considerately sent him a message: [I'll come to the Fire Station to find you tomorrow afternoon.]

She casually shook her phone.

Lu Chengyue hurriedly took his phone out of his pocket. Seeing the message, he immediately stopped struggling and obediently followed them away.

Shen Yirou looked at her son helplessly. This silly boy had definitely fallen in love. But with Nickname being so popular, could he really hold onto her?

She didn't mean that Xu Wanning was not good, but Lu Chengyue was her son after all, and she was afraid her son would get hurt. Sigh.

——

The next morning, just as she arrived at the school gate, she ran into Lin Ci, who had come to find her. If he hadn't come, she almost would have forgotten about him.

Lin Ci trotted over. "Wanning."

"Huh?" Xu Wanning stopped in her tracks. "Why did you come at this time? I thought you were going to come at noon."

Wen Shuyang, Song Yunqing, and Lu Zhiyu quickly moved to the side; it wouldn't be appropriate for them to listen to what the two of them had to say.

Lin Ci wore a look of concern. "I wanted to see if you were feeling unwell." She had taken so many days off; she must have been sick, and a serious illness at that.

"Of course not." Xu Wanning twirled around. "I'm perfectly fine."

The tension on Lin Ci's face eased a little. "Then, what's going on with you?"

Xu Wanning looked left and right, ensuring that the surveillance cameras couldn't see this spot. She placed her hand over her stomach, and in an instant, an apple appeared in her hand. "Did you see that? Space Ability. The Apocalypse is coming—an apocalypse of zombies plus natural disasters."

She felt a great deal of gratitude toward Lin Ci. In her past life, if not for Lin Ci, she might have died who knows how many times. She was willing to trust him.

Of course, if she trusted the wrong person, then she would accept that. She had to let Lin Ci settle his family in advance. In the previous life, not a single one of Lin Ci's family members had survived. This would be considered repaying the debt of gratitude he showed her in the previous life.

Lin Ci blinked, accepting it very quickly. "You went to stockpile goods?"

Xu Wanning nodded. "Smart. You should settle your family as soon as possible. I've already reported it to the state. They will definitely announce it later, but not so soon. It's up to you whether you want to return to your hometown or stay in Jing City."

There was no more living space at Grandpa Zhou's place. Aside from them, Grandpa Zhou also had some of his own confidants, so there was no way to add more people.

But Jiang Heng and the others' parents hadn't been settled yet. She thought she needed to rent another suitable place to accommodate people arriving later. She would have Jiang Heng and the others look for a suitable place later.

Lin Ci rubbed his fingers together. "Why tell me?" He didn't believe that Xu Wanning would trust him so much after having only met twice.

Xu Wanning smiled. "Because in my past life, you were my friend. We experienced zombie hordes, big and small, together. In the past life, our families didn't wait for us to return. So, heaven gave me a chance to be reborn, and I hope to change that outcome."

Lin Ci tapped her on the head. "Aren't you afraid that the Lin Ci of now is different from the Lin Ci you knew? What if I see profit and decide to turn you in to be sliced up for research?"

Xu Wanning shook her head. "You wouldn't. I believe that." Regardless of how much she actually trusted him, she had to act as if she trusted him one hundred percent.