Chapter 128: How Have You Been Recently?
Chapter 128: How Have You Been Recently?
As Anran’s gaze focuses, the pink snow mountain bud in her palm begins to open, petal by petal. The process of its blooming is so beautiful it takes her breath away.
But this kind of miracle isn’t new to her. She has seen it before in the hospital, and it isn’t anything particularly special. Now, she can easily make a flower bloom, even without being fully nourished. It isn’t difficult at all.
The bud fully blooms, and from the green stem, a new green sprout emerges, growing into a branch. At its tip, a small pink bud appears. Then it opens, just like the previous times when Anran has nurtured them. There’s no difference.
She decides that the sensation she experienced earlier—the one where the flower seemed to have a consciousness—was probably just her imagination.
She continues eating enough to nurture the pink snow mountain, channeling her energy into it, then refuels her body by eating some more. Between these moments, she waits for Doll to wake up, feeds him, soothes him back to sleep, and repeats the cycle.
As the night deepens, Anran unknowingly keeps herself busy through the entire night. The pile of food on the table has long since disappeared.
"Ding dong, ding dong~~"
The doorbell rings from the living room. Anran pulls her hands away from the pink snow mountain and looks up, surprised to see the sky outside has brightened. She hasn’t slept all night, yet she feels unusually energetic. Why?
The doorbell rings again, pulling her back to the present. Anran gets up and walks out of Doll’s room to the entryway. She peers through the peephole and sees someone she never expects to see, someone she never imagines would be at her door.
Anran lowers her head, resting her forehead against the door. She thinks for a moment, then reaches up to grip the doorknob and gently opens the door. The gap widens, revealing Xiao Mei’s weary face.
Xiao Mei stands outside, her figure still slender and tall like before the apocalypse. She wears a black turtleneck sweater she had bought just before the end of the world. The collar, adorned with a ring of swan feathers, makes her neck appear long and elegant.
Before the apocalypse, Xiao Mei had proudly shown off this outfit to Anran and Liu Yuan, and it had fit her perfectly at the time. Now, however, the same sweater hangs loosely on her, giving her an almost empty appearance.
"Xiao Mei, what happened?" Anran asks, standing in the doorway. Her expression remains calm, offering neither sympathy nor disdain.
Xiao Mei lifts her chin slightly, standing on the doorstep, her expression unreadable. She asks Anran, “How have you been recently?”
The question feels odd, like a casual greeting between friends. But given the current circumstances, it seems completely out of place. After all, this is the apocalypse. Xiao Mei has witnessed Anran kill Ren Xian with her own eyes. Now, she’s standing at Anran’s doorstep, asking how she’s been, as if they’re simply chatting about daily life.
Anyone would know that in such a time, who could truly say they are doing well?
Anran doesn’t answer. She has no intention of inviting Xiao Mei inside, and Xiao Mei doesn’t seem to want to enter either. They stare at each other in silence for a moment. When Anran doesn’t respond, Xiao Mei’s face finally shows a hint of coldness as she speaks again.
"You really shouldn’t have come back. Since you’re alive, why not go find other survivors? Why come to Yun Tao’s side, flattering him? How can you live like this, betraying your husband and daughter?"
Her tone carries an unmistakable sense of accusation, as though blaming Anran for her betrayal. Why?