Chapter 424: Who's Your Wife
Chapter 424: Who's Your Wife
An Ran finds some small cotton-padded winter clothes for children. As she turns around, she sees Zhan Lian walk in, holding the sleeping Doll in his arms.
She doesn’t respect many people, but when it comes to Zhan Lian’s ability to coax Doll to sleep—he has her full admiration.
"Is she asleep?" An Ran gently takes Doll from his arms. "Go grab a few quilts from the car. We’ll probably have to sleep on the floor tonight."
Zhan Lian looks at her but doesn’t move. After a moment of thought, he says, "Don’t let those people outside get to you. If they want to leave, let them. They may not know how powerful you are—but I do."
"How powerful am I?" Cradling Doll, An Ran turns back to look at him with a half-smile. "They’re even saying you’ve been blinded by lust. And you’re not even mad?"
"Why would I be angry? They’re not wrong. I do just listen to my wife. Everyone says it—listening to your wife brings wealth."
Zhan Lian puffs out his chest and squares his shoulders with exaggerated bravado, like he’s declaring, ‘That’s right, I only listen to my wife. Come fight me if you disagree.’
An Ran can’t help but laugh. Her bad mood slowly fades. Her cheeks flush a little, and she feigns a scolding tone. "Who’s your wife? Shameless. We’ve been divorced for ages."
"You. Who else but you? You’re my wife." Zhan Lian grins, completely unbothered, leaning on her with that familiar look. "That so-called divorce agreement? Just a formality. You took it way too seriously. We never even got the divorce certificate. We’re not officially divorced."
An Ran’s heart skips a beat.
Wait—what?
Her heart gives a jolt when she hears that. She thinks for a second—and freezes. Crap… could it be true? Is she really suffering from “pregnancy brain” for three whole years?! Something as major as a divorce certificate, and she’s forgotten all about it?
(Translator’s Notes: an informal, joking way for mothers to describe how long-lasting or intense their forgetfulness has been — often extending well beyond pregnancy, three years through the sleepless toddler years.)
Back then, she was fighting with Zhan Lian every day, and the moment she got her hands on the agreement, she found out she was pregnant. From then on, all her focus went to her belly. She didn’t even remember to go file the actual paperwork.
She’s been calling him her ex-husband all this time, but technically... he isn’t.
Zhan Lian is still officially “on the job,” not out of it yet.
How humiliating.
"Explain. That. Clearly!"
An Ran’s expression tightens. Holding Doll, she takes two steps forward, glaring.
But Zhan Lian looks smug, like he’s just pulled off a brilliant move. He spins around and makes a break for the door, tossing a line over his shoulder:
"Calm down! Doll’s sleeping. If she wakes up, she’ll be up all night. I’m going to get the quilts. Remember—calm down!"
And just like that, he’s gone.
On his way out, he passes a group of Strength-Type Ability Users gathered in hushed discussion. Zhan Lian doesn’t even glance their way. He couldn’t care less about them.
His only concern is his wife and daughter.
The next morning, Zhan Lian heads out to kill mutant rats, giving Luo Feifan a well-earned break.
An Ran spreads out a large crawling mat so Doll can practice rolling over. Zhao Ru takes Hengheng along to fetch water and help with cooking.
Yun Tao is stationed at the main entrance, fending off the rats. Little Mint stands near the second-floor side entrance, using her ability from a distance to extract crystal cores.
Liang Ziyu, still full of pent-up anger, grabs a knife and storms out to join Yun Tao, eager to learn how to kill mutant rats from him.
In truth, Strength-Type Ability Users can be incredibly effective in battle once they get the hang of it.
Yun Tao fights with his massive fists, each wrapped in three or four layers of leather gloves. His punches are swift and heavy, smashing through rat skulls as they lunge.
Sometimes, he doesn’t even bother with punches—he just stomps them to death.
He isn’t an Elemental Ability User, but his combat prowess doesn’t lose out to anyone. With just a little more time, he might even surpass most of them.