43: Chapter 43 Freedom! Freedom!

Before going to sleep, Jiang Yishen suddenly said, "Old Lu, the squad leader has had some issues with you these past few days. You'd better take it easy and don't let dating delay your work."

Lu Chengyue restrained his smile. That's right, he was a Firefighter. Even a slight lapse in concentration while carrying out a mission could easily lead to an accident.

He had to adjust his state of mind quickly. It was better not to see her for the next few days; he would talk to her when he was off duty.

With that in mind, he sent a message to Xu Wanning: "I can't check my phone whenever I want anymore. We work three days and rest for two. My next break is on Friday."

Xu Wanning was almost asleep, but hearing the notification, she replied: "Got it."

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, Song Yunqing's phone rang. It was a phone call.

Song Yunqing jolted awake, grabbed the phone, and said, "It's Sister Gu Xi calling." She quickly answered the phone and put it on speaker. "Sister Gu Xi, what's wrong?"

Gu Xi's sobbing came from the other end of the phone. "Qingqing, can you lend me 100,000 yuan? My mom, my mom has liver cancer…"

The voice on the other end cut off, leaving only Gu Xi's crying.

Song Yunqing looked at Xu Wanning. All the money was in Ningning's hands now; she, too, couldn't just lend it out on her own.

Xu Wanning nodded. They had already stockpiled most of the things they needed. If they could help Gu Xi save her mother's life, it would be money well spent.

As long as she could keep her mother alive until after The Apocalypse, with Healing Ability users and Light-type Ability Users, liver cancer wouldn't be fatal at all—it could even be completely cured.

Song Yunqing quickly replied, "Sister Gu Xi, send me your card number. I'll transfer it to you right now."

Gu Xi thanked her with a tearful voice, "Okay, okay, thank you, thank you so much."

Song Yunqing forwarded the card number Gu Xi sent to Xu Wanning. "Sister Gu Xi is raising her child alone and has to take care of both sets of parents. Sigh."

Wen Shuyang was confused. "What happened to her husband?" She thought they were divorced, but if they were divorced, why would she still be supporting her parents-in-law?

Song Yunqing sighed. "Her husband was a soldier. He went to help with rescue efforts during the flood that year and sacrificed his life."

Xu Wanning and the others didn't say anything more. They hadn't expected it to be like this.

In her past life, Gu Xi had never talked about her family, and Xu Wanning hadn't known either; she only knew that she had opened a flower shop there.

Lu Zhiyu suggested, "Let's go to the hospital to visit her tomorrow."

"Okay." Everyone agreed. They really should go visit.

Tomorrow is Thursday. They would go during their lunch break and eat in the car; after all, they had everything they needed in the space.

The next day, after packing up, they left the dormitory. They were in a good mood, but their mood instantly soured when they saw Jiang Lei waiting at the dormitory entrance.

Wen Shuyang's smile froze on her face. "You, why are you here?"

Jiang Lei walked over and grabbed her hand, wearing a hurt expression on his face. "Yangyang, you've been too cold to me lately. Is it, is it because you've fallen for someone else? My friend said they saw you having a meal with Lin Ci from the medical school next door."

Wen Shuyang felt disgusted and forced herself not to pull her hand away. How could she have been so infatuated with this guy before? His expressions were so fake; she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed at all.

Wen Shuyang looked on the verge of tears. "How could you think that of me? We've been together for three years, not three days. Don't you know me well enough by now?"

Xu Wanning, Lu Zhiyu, and Song Yunqing moved to the side. Oh my, the acting was too good; they couldn't handle it.

Jiang Lei quickly apologized, "Yangyang, I was wrong, I'm sorry." He reached out to hug Wen Shuyang and patted her.

Wen Shuyang felt lifeless. She still had to keep up this act for another two months or so. She didn't really want to put up with it anymore. Maybe she should just pay him back and break up with him directly?

After being lovey-dovey for a while, they walked towards the cafeteria together.

Wen Shuyang and Jiang Lei walked in front, while Xu Wanning and the others walked behind, arm in arm.

Lu Zhiyu leaned into Xu Wanning's ear and whispered a suggestion, "Ningning, why don't the four of us apply for a leave of absence? The Apocalypse is coming anyway, and we won't be able to get our diplomas."

Xu Wanning had been considering this too. It was indeed inconvenient to do anything at school. She had previously wanted to use the school as a stronghold, but now that they had Grandpa Zhou's place, it didn't seem so important whether they were at school or not.

"Sure, let's tell Yangyang in a bit." She turned to tell Song Yunqing, who immediately agreed. She couldn't pay attention in class either; she was always distracted.

When they reached the cafeteria entrance, Jiang Lei, terrified that they would ask him to treat them, said, "I agreed to eat with my roommates. I'm going to go find them now."

Wen Shuyang rolled her eyes internally. "Go ahead, eat up."

Jiang Lei stroked her face. "You too." After saying that, he quickly fled.

Wen Shuyang pulled out a wet wipe to wipe her face. "He is such a cheapskate. Whenever I think about how much money I spent on him over the past three years—even the money for hotels was paid by me—I just want to slap myself."

Xu Wanning and the others couldn't help but laugh. "Yangyang, Zhiyu suggested we apply for a leave of absence. What do you think?"

Wen Shuyang's eyes lit up. "Great, great! This way I won't have to act every day. I'll just find an excuse when the time comes, and that will be it."

Lu Zhiyu happily clenched her fists. "Then let's go do it right now! Let's go back to the dormitory, pack up our things, then go apply for the leave of absence and just leave. We can eat when we get to Grandpa Zhou's place."

Wen Shuyang linked arms with them and quickly turned to leave the cafeteria. "Yes, yes! While we still have time, let's take our families on a trip, and then go to the Gym to work out. Our current physical fitness is too poor; if we encounter zombies, we'll be knocked over with a single push."

The group returned to the dormitory as fast as they could, stuffed their things into suitcases, and whatever couldn't fit, they gathered together for Xu Wanning to store directly into the space.

They then hurried off to find their counselor to apply for the leave of absence. Taking a leave of absence from university was easier than they had imagined. Plus, since they had told their parents, the counselor received confirmation from the parents and had no objections, so they processed it immediately.

In another whirlwind, the four of them got their car and drove further and further away from the school.

Wen Shuyang couldn't help but shout, "Freedom! Freedom!"

Xu Wanning sent messages to Zhou Ke and Lin Ci, informing them that they had applied for a leave of absence. How they chose to proceed was up to them.

The car stopped at the back gate of the Zhou residence. The person guarding the gate opened it immediately, and Xu Wanning drove the car inside.

"Little Ning, why did you come over at this time?" Grandpa Zhou was drinking tea in the courtyard, while supervising the workers installing high-altitude electric fencing.

Xu Wanning walked over and hugged Grandpa Zhou's arm. "We applied for a leave of absence. We couldn't really focus on our studies at school anyway, so we thought we'd come back to train our physical fitness and learn how to use weapons from you, Grandpa."

Grandpa Zhou's eyes crinkled with a smile. "Good, good, that's not a bad idea. Heng and the others went to the Gym. Why don't you go there too?"

"It's not very convenient at home right now, and it's not safe with the electric fencing being installed. Your parents have all gone out, and it's just this old man here right now."

"Okay." The four of them hurried off again, ate breakfast in the car, and rushed to the Gym.

As soon as the four of them entered, the receptionist greeted them warmly with a big smile, "Are the four beauties here to work out?"

Lu Zhiyu went over to register, "Yes, we're looking for Coach Su Chenyu."