010, The Past

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Qi Ran had just answered the call. On the other end of the line came Qi Sheng’s low, furious roar:

“Qi Ran, how much longer are you going to take to get here?”

“Do you know there are more and more monsters outside now?”

“If I die, I swear I’ll send a message to Mom and Dad, making sure you go down with me!”

As Qi Sheng spoke, Qi Ran heard the occasional sobbing of women and the angry curses of men around him.

Qi Sheng wasn’t hiding alone in the storage room on the seventh floor.

He was with a group of people.

Among the scattered, noisy sounds, Qi Ran even caught a voice that was somewhat familiar, yet had long since faded from memory.

It was Qi Sheng’s close friend, Song Chen.

The moment Qi Ran heard Song Chen’s gentle voice, for some inexplicable reason, her heart suddenly fluttered.

A burning warmth welled up in her eyes.

A single tear slipped down unexpectedly.

She quickly suppressed the strange surge of emotion inside her.

Her tone carried the relief of one who had just escaped death:

“Brother, almost there, just wait for another half hour! I’ve finally left the community and will be there soon!”

Hearing that Qi Ran had finally left the residential area, Qi Sheng’s tone noticeably lightened.

Yet his words remained harsh, tinged with blame:

“I really can’t believe you! You should’ve just driven out from the villa directly! But no, you had to be clever and take the underground garage on the residential side, only to get ambushed by zombies! You wasted so much time and made me worry sick all this while!”

“It took you three hours just to get out of the community! Won’t it take even longer when you come here?”

“Qi Ran, you might as well just be stupid and die!”

“My parents spent so much money raising you all these years, it might as well have been on a pig!”

Reborn Qi Ran could not bear to hear Qi Sheng speak to her so shamelessly and arrogantly.

The moment she heard it, she could no longer restrain the fury boiling inside her.

The feeling called hatred stormed wildly in her chest.

In the last life, Qi Sheng had died under the energy bullet fired by Wen Wan’er.

Before dying, he had collapsed beside Qi Ran.

Their eyes met—Qi Ran’s wide open, refusing to close even in death.

At that moment, he seemed to suddenly realize how good Qi Ran had been to him.

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If Qi Ran had still been alive, Wen Wan’er’s energy bullet fired from the shadows would never have struck Qi Sheng’s body.

Whenever danger appeared, Qi Ran always risked her life to shield him.

Since her rebirth, the image of Qi Sheng falling to the ground, looking at her with regret and intense remorse flashing in his eyes, replayed over and over in her mind.

Each time it did, Qi Ran felt as if her heart was about to break and she wanted to vomit.

Qi Sheng was an ungrateful scoundrel.

Even in his final moments, he realized just how devotedly good Qi Ran had been to him.

Yet he never felt sorrow or grief over her death.

All he thought about was that if she were still alive, she would have unhesitatingly taken the blows for him.

Now, she had lied to Qi Sheng, telling him she was worried about the numerous zombies in the community, so she took the underground garage on the residential side.

Unexpectedly, she was ambushed by dozens of zombies there.

Receiving Qi Sheng’s call now, Qi Ran was someone who had barely escaped death and survived by a miracle.

She was neither terrified by the zombies nor discouraged to turn back.

Instead, she continued driving, determined to pick up Qi Sheng and bring him to safety.

Yet Qi Sheng showed no gratitude at all.

All he did was scold her for being foolish and causing delays, making him worry for so long.

Qi Ran’s gaze turned icy.

Her voice was gritted but laced with utmost gentleness:

“Got it, brother. You have to hide well in the storage room and don’t come out. It’s really too dangerous outside!”

“I’m driving over to get you right now! Don’t worry, I’ll protect you and won’t let any monsters hurt you!”

“Uh...” Hearing Qi Ran alive and safe, Qi Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and loosened up.

He couldn’t help but blame her.

But now, with half his anger unsaid, he also felt a bit awkward to keep yelling at her.

After all, she had barely escaped death this time.

Qi Sheng’s tone became unnatural, and his speech stammered:

“Y-you... just come quickly!”

After saying this, for the first time that day, Qi Sheng—who had called her dozens of times with many unanswered and several hang-ups—felt somewhat flustered and hung up first.

He still had a tiny bit of affection for this half-sister of his.

Not much, but there was indeed a little.

After all, in childhood, he had truly treated this suddenly appearing, doll-like beautiful sister as a precious treasure.

He once naively thought she was a gift sent from heaven just for him.

Like how the parents of his chubby deskmate liked their son so much they gave him countless presents.

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Qi Sheng’s parents, however, did not like him.

Throughout his life, the gifts he received from them were few and far between.

His father and mother were self-made entrepreneurs and shrewd businessmen.

In business, they were perfectly in tune partners.

In family education, their philosophy was surprisingly aligned.

As their only son, they had focused on cultivating his business acumen from a young age.

Whatever Qi Sheng wanted, he had to pay for it.

Thus, as a child, especially compared to his chubby deskmate, he never felt any love from his parents.

When the beautiful, doll-like Qi Ran appeared suddenly in his home, Qi Sheng dreamily and innocently believed:

He must be so cherished by heaven that it sent a sister to keep him company.

Even if his parents didn’t like him, it didn’t matter.

He had heard that “heaven” loved everyone equally.

For those deprived of love, it would generously fill the void.

Moreover, Qi Ran, newly arrived at the Qi household, always shared whatever delicious food or fun things she had with Qi Sheng.

This deeply moved him to tears.

He proclaimed that she was the best sister in the world!

He vowed to treat her well for life.

When he made a fortune, he would buy her the most beautiful dresses, the most splendid jewelry, and the most delicious food...

Yes.

He loved his sister very much!

So she wouldn’t have to pay any price for all this.

He was willing to give her the very best.

As a chubby little boy with pudgy arms, nicknamed “Chubby” by his deskmate, Qi Sheng truly cherished Qi Ran as the precious doll heaven had sent him, protecting and loving her wholeheartedly for two years.

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