Chapter Text
Crunch, crunch…
The sound of chewing kept ringing in Zhou Yuan's ears. Every part of her body hurt, but she didn't want to move at all, nor did she want to open her eyes.
The pain in her body was nothing to her. In fact, she was strangely full of anticipation. Maybe in a little while, she would finally be free.
She was so tired.
Suddenly, she felt her head being lifted with difficulty by a pair of small hands. A cold glass cup was pressed to her lips, and then a childish voice sounded by her ear.
"Mom, drink some water~~"
Zhou Yuan suddenly opened her eyes and sprang up.
With a crisp sound of shattering glass, she looked blankly to the side. A little boy of nine or ten years old was standing there, clutching his hand, his eyes carrying a trace of grievance.
On the floor lay the broken glass and a puddle of water.
Zhou Yuan still couldn't process what was happening and stared at him in a daze.
The little boy's eyes reddened, and with a slight sob in his voice, he said, "Mom, I didn't do it on purpose. I just wanted to give you some water!"
Zhou Yuan stared at him blankly.
Shouldn't she have been in the middle of a horde of zombies, being devoured by them?
Her arms… her arms…
She suddenly looked at the little boy, pulled him over, and hugged him tightly.
Hadn't her Xiao Jin already died in her arms?
Xiao Jin couldn't react in time. His delicate nose hit Zhou Yuan's chest, and tears immediately welled up.
"Mom, my nose is bleeding."
Zhou Yuan froze.
Looking at the two streams of blood beneath Xiao Jin's nose, she saw the boy quickly pull out two tissues from the table beside him and press them against his nose.
He looked at Zhou Yuan in confusion.
"Mom, stuff it in for me!"
Zhou Yuan's mind had completely crashed.
She couldn't understand what was happening right now.
Was she dreaming? Was she hallucinating? Or…
She suddenly grabbed the phone on the bedside table and looked at the date displayed on it.
At once, she thought of those rebirth and transmigration novels she liked reading before the apocalypse.
She had been reborn?
But why?
Why did she have to be reborn?
She didn't want to do it all over again.
She didn't want to relive that damned apocalypse.
It had been too hard.
A woman raising two children by herself…
It was simply too hard.
"Mom…"
The bedroom door was gently pushed open, and a round little head cautiously poked inside.
Zhou Yuan's eyes widened.
That was…
The little head quickly came in, and the small body threw itself into Zhou Yuan's arms.
"Mom, you're finally awake. Xiao Yu was so scared!"
Zhou Yuan's mind suddenly cleared.
She hugged the warm little body tightly and looked toward the still-dazed Xiao Jin.
No matter that his nose was still bleeding, she pulled him over and hugged him as well.
She had been reborn.
That was a good thing.
No matter what happened in the future, at least now her family was still here.
Her children were still here.
Everything was still in time.
Xiao Jin struggled in Zhou Yuan's embrace.
"Mom, the nosebleed is getting on your clothes."
Zhou Yuan looked over.
Because she had pulled him over, the tissue blocking his nose had fallen out, and blood was smeared all over his face.
If this had been before the apocalypse in her previous life, she would already be muttering anxiously while rushing to grab tissues and water to stop the bleeding.
But now, she laughed.
Calmly, she rolled up a tissue and stuffed it into his nose, then used a wet wipe to clean the blood from his face.
She couldn't be blamed for not being worried.
In the apocalypse, people could lose their lives anytime and anywhere. Losing an arm or a leg was commonplace.
Bleeding was the most ordinary thing there was.
Not to mention a tiny nosebleed like this.
Zhou Yuan stopped laughing and looked at the fair and tender little face before her.
Unable to resist, she leaned over and gently bit it.
"Ah~!"
Xiao Jin immediately jumped away and covered his face, looking at Zhou Yuan accusingly.
Zhou Yuan looked at him teasingly.
"Xiao Jin's little cheeks are so delicious!"
"Mom! Mom!"
Suddenly, a pair of little hands wrapped around her neck.
"I want to do it too! I want Mom to eat me too! Xiao Yu tastes even better!"
Zhou Yuan couldn't help laughing out loud.
She gently bit the chubby little face that had moved closer.
"Mmm, Xiao Yu tastes even better!"
Xiao Yu looked proudly at his older brother.
Xiao Jin rolled his eyes.
What a silly little brother.
Watching the interaction between her two children, the smile at the corners of Zhou Yuan's lips never faded.
Suddenly, the sound of a video call rang from the phone.
Before Zhou Yuan could react, Xiao Yu had already picked up the phone and handed it to her.
"Mom, it's Dad!"
Zhou Yuan became dazed again and didn't react in time.
Xiao Yu had already answered the call.
"Daddy!"
"Hey, little rascal, what are you doing?" A familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from the phone. "Where are Mom and your brother?"
"Daddy, Mom is sick," Xiao Yu said in his babyish voice.
"Can Xiao Yu give the phone to Mom?" Liu Feng paused.
Xiao Yu handed the phone to Zhou Yuan.
Taking a deep breath, she accepted it.
Facing the phone, she looked at the sharp, well-defined face on the screen.
For some reason, her nose suddenly turned sour, and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.
On the other end, Liu Feng froze.
His thick eyebrows furrowed together.
"Wife, what's wrong? Is your illness serious?"
In his impression, his wife, Zhou Yuan, was a strong woman who rarely cried.
At home, she worked while taking care of the two children by herself and never told him her worries, only the good things.
Let alone crying like this in front of him during a video call.
Her fair little face had turned red from crying, and her eyes were red as well.
Thinking about how Xiao Yu had just said that Mom was sick…
This illness was probably pretty serious.
Zhou Yuan herself was also stunned.
She reached up to wipe away her tears. The words "I'm fine" were about to leave her mouth, but she stopped.
Looking at the clearly flustered Liu Feng, she suddenly remembered this period.
It seemed to have been half a month before the apocalypse.
She had gone out to buy groceries, got caught in the rain, and then came down with a cold and fever.
She hadn't taken it seriously.
Her health had always been good, and she rarely caught a cold or had a fever. It usually got better in two or three days.
Her husband, Liu Feng, worked in another province. It took six or seven hours by train to get home.
She had always been strong.
Because she and her in-laws had different ideas about raising children, after the two kids started kindergarten, she had let her in-laws return to their hometown to enjoy retirement.
Working and taking care of the children all by herself, in her previous life she had never mentioned being sick at this time.
But now, Zhou Yuan looked at Liu Feng and slowly said:
"Mr. Liu, I have a fever. My head hurts, and my whole body hurts too."
Liu Feng paused.
It seemed that Zhou Yuan had not called him that for a very long time.
That was what she had liked to call him when they were dating.
After they got married, she had started calling him "husband."
Liu Feng immediately reacted.
"Then hang in there a little longer. Take some medicine, drink more hot water, and lie down and rest. I'll ask my boss for leave right now and take the high-speed train back tonight. If you can't cook, just order takeout."
As he spoke, he loudly called out to Xiao Jin.
"Xiao Jin, Mom is sick. You need to take care of your little brother, okay? Xiao Yu, listen to your brother!"
After saying that, he hung up the video call.
Zhou Yuan was stunned, then smiled once more.
She and Liu Feng had been university schoolmates.
They had fallen in love freely, then smoothly got married and had children.
Their relationship had always been very stable.
Back when they were dating, it had been passionate and vigorous.
As for now…
Everything had already settled into calmness.
Whether it was Zhou Yuan or Liu Feng, they were both family-oriented and absolutely clear-headed people.
Although they had their disagreements and bumps along the way, the overall direction had never been wrong.
For both of them, family always came first.