None of the people present were fools. At this moment, with Xu Yanqiu bringing Tan Chu here in such a manner, what it represented was already obvious.
Li Shu wasn’t surprised. He didn’t know what Tan Chu was thinking. After causing such a commotion, he didn’t even think of leaving but stayed to watch. He probably didn’t expect things to turn out like this. It was a classic case of “stealing a chicken only to lose the rice”.
No one would feel any sympathy for him now. No matter how much Tan Chu schemed, no one would fall for it again. Not to mention that Gu Lin had already put him on a blacklist long ago, even Lin Xuan, after some time reflecting, realized Tan Chu was not as innocent as he once thought.
A man might be blind at certain times, but that didn’t mean he was stupid. Once the blindfold was removed, no matter how much Tan Chu tried to disguise himself, Lin Xuan would no longer believe him. In fact, because of past experiences, Lin Xuan would only think he had ulterior motives.
Lin Xuan originally came over to take Li Shu back to the team. He would repay the favor of Gu Lin saving Li Shu, but he didn’t want Li Shu to get too close to Gu Lin. He was too familiar with the look in Gu Lin’s eyes—because he had once looked at Li Shu the same way. And the intensity of the feelings revealed in the man’s eyes made him afraid.
If not for the fact that he was sure Gu Lin and Li Shu didn’t know each other before, he would have suspected there was something going on between them. It wasn’t that he doubted Li Shu, but the behavior of this man was too obvious. Anyone with eyes could see how differently he treated Li Shu.
Xu Yanqiu let go of Tan Chu’s collar. Without any support, Tan Chu collapsed to the ground.
Aside from his fear of being exposed, his heart was filled with more resentment. He was resentful that Li Shu could possess so much so easily, and attract powerful men to protect him so effortlessly. First, there was Lin Xuan, and now there was another one.
He looked up at the man who was carefully protecting Li Shu behind him. During his observations, he realized that this man treated Li Shu even better than Lin Xuan. He treated Li Shu like a precious treasure, not letting any infected get near him, even at the risk of his own injury.
Tan Chu had to admit that in that moment, he was extremely jealous. Why did Li Shu deserve this? Was it because of that alluring face? He regretted not destroying that face in the first place. Yes, without that face to attract these men’s attention, how could an ordinary person like Li Shu survive in the apocalypse?
But now it was too late. Tan Chu knew he would never have the chance to get close to Li Shu again. In fact, whether he could even survive these two men, who treated Li Shu like the apple of their eye, was a question in itself.
With his head lowered, all everyone could see was Tan Chu’s trembling body and pale face. Tears slid down his cheeks, giving him a pitiful look.
Li Shu felt that Tan Chu had great potential to play the part of a “fragile flower”. He was short, thin, and small, with a palm-sized face and delicate features that easily triggered a man’s protective instincts. It was also because of these that Tan Chu had survived until now.
In the apocalypse, there was nothing wrong with wanting to live. What was wrong was that Tan Chu wanted to step over the original owner to rise. His appetite was too big. Merely surviving wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to live gloriously, to stand at the top and be admired by all.
“What have you done?” Lin Xuan was the first to ask. He couldn’t imagine that the boy he thought he needed to protect in order to survive the apocalypse could have such a malicious heart.
Tan Chu kept his head down, refusing to answer.
“Tan Chu!” Lin Xuan stepped forward, squatted down in front of him, and gripped his chin, forcing him to lift his head. Looking at that face, which so easily evoked the desire to protect, Lin Xuan no longer felt any of the protective feelings he once had.
Anger surged within him, and he spoke through gritted teeth. “Tell me. What have you done?”
“Brother Lin Xuan, I didn’t do anything. I really didn’t do anything. I just wanted to apologize to Brother Li Shu.” Tan Chu lowered his eyelids, hiding the turbulent emotions in his eyes. He wasn’t lying; he had indeed come to apologize to Li Shu.
He cried, “I didn’t know things would turn out like this. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have hidden behind everyone because I was scared and didn’t help Brother Li Shu when he was in danger.”
If it had been the past, Lin Xuan might have believed him after hearing him cry like this. But now, he only felt it was ironic. He wanted to laugh at his past self. How blind he must have been to believe this person’s words, to the point that he pushed Li Shu further and further away.
��Tan Chu, I’ll ask you one last time. What did you do? Was it you last time too?”
The last time Lin Xuan mentioned was when Li Shu had nearly been surrounded by the infected. The original owner had fallen unconscious after that incident, and Li Shu arrived in this world. If Li Shu hadn’t been strong in his stance, Tan Chu’s scheme would have succeeded. After that incident, Lin Xuan could only feel regret over his actions.
Li Shu must have been heartbroken, being framed, and even his own lover had taken someone else’s side. Li Shu’s decision to break up must have been from being disappointed one too many times.
It was his fault—everything was his fault. He had trusted the wrong person and hurt Li Shu’s heart. Lin Xuan’s eyes narrowed in anger. He suppressed the softer emotions in his gaze, and when he looked at Tan Chu again, his eyes were as cold as ice.
Tan Chu remained silent. His actions had already betrayed him. There was nothing left to say.
“Fine. Fine! Fine!” Lin Xuan pushed Tan Chu away with force. He already had his answer but he was unwilling to give up and wanted to verify it again, hoping that he was not so wrong. At this moment, how could he not understand that there is no such thing as luck in this world, it is just a delusion.
Lin Xuan stood up. “From today on, Tan Chu, you don’t need to come back.”
This was essentially an order to exile him from the group. Without the group’s protection, an ordinary person like Tan Chu had little chance of surviving in the apocalypse.
“Lin Xuan, you can’t do this!” Tan Chu panicked. If he was kicked out, he would die. “If it wasn’t for you giving me hope, I never would have had such expectations. If it wasn’t for you, how could I have gotten so close to you?”
“Yes, it was my fault. That’s why I’m fixing it now. Leave. From now on, don’t appear in front of me again, or I won’t let you off so easily.” This was the last bit of kindness he could offer.
“Wait.” Just as the drama was about to conclude, Li Shu called out to Tan Chu.
Thinking that Li Shu had softened his heart, Tan Chu tried to suppress his joy. “Brother Li Shu, I…”
It was as if someone had grabbed him by the throat, choking off his words and he couldn’t utter another sound.
Li Shu approached him, slowly taking off his jacket as he walked. He tossed the jacket onto Tan Chu’s body and said coldly, “Before you leave, Tan Chu, can you explain this jacket?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tan Chu’s face grew even paler as he desperately reassured himself: There’s no way. Li Shu couldn’t have discovered what he did. It wouldn’t be found out.
But the truth wouldn’t unfold according to his hopes. Li Shu turned silently, “Alright then. If you won’t say, then just wear this jacket when you leave. Consider it my parting gift to you.”
“Li Shu, you can’t do this!” Tan Chu was terrified. If an ordinary person like him wore this jacket out there, it would be like sending a lamb to the slaughter.
“What do you mean I can’t?” Li Shu replied coolly. “I’m just returning the ‘gift’ you gave me.” He walked back to Gu Lin’s side.
No one found Li Shu’s actions excessive. He was merely retaliating. If Tan Chu hadn’t targeted Li Shu first, he wouldn’t have to fear the consequences now. Whatever came his way, he deserved it.
But Li Shu’s actions were surprising. Lin Xuan had already witnessed Li Shu’s changes and didn’t feel anything was wrong. Gu Lin was unfamiliar with the original Li Shu and thought his behavior was normal. The most shocked person at this moment was Xu Yanqiu.
Because of Gu Lin’s concern for Li Shu, Xu Yanqiu had specifically looked into him. It was precisely because of this understanding that he felt more surprised. Li Shu’s attitude was too tough, and from their brief interaction, it wasn’t hard to see that his personality had changed drastically. But Xu Yanqiu didn’t find it too unexpected; after going through such events, a change in character was normal.
In fact, he thought this kind of personality was good. If Li Shu still had his original personality, he would have surely been bullied to death by Tan Chu.
“Li Shu, you can’t do this. I’ll die!” Tan Chu trembled as he stood up. Thinking about what he would face if he went out wearing this jacket, he could no longer maintain his fake expression.
He clutched the jacket tightly, his fingertips turning pale. The teary, pitiful look on his face was gone, replaced by a somewhat hideous expression, and his eyes were filled with unmistakable fear.
It was an ordinary gray jacket. Just by looking at it, one couldn’t tell there was anything wrong. But Tan Chu’s reaction was overly suspicious, as if he wasn’t holding a jacket but a death sentence.
There was only one reason for such a response: something was wrong with the jacket, something that could even threaten the life of the person wearing it. Thinking of the strange appearance of the infected, the faces of several people darkened.
There was something on this jacket that attracted the infected.
It seemed like the obvious answer. If not, Tan Chu wouldn’t have said what he did. No one cared how Li Shu discovered the issue with the jacket. Lin Xuan and Gu Lin both stared coldly at Tan Chu, their gazes chilling.
Especially from Gu Lin, his killing intent was completely undisguised. If he hadn’t followed along, how would the young man have faced so many infected?
Even when facing the lowest-level infected, the young man had to hide behind him, tightly clutching his clothes for comfort. Just imagining the scene of the young man surrounded by infected made Gu Lin’s heart clench in pain.
Initially, Gu Lin hadn’t planned to interfere in the young man’s matters. After all, they hadn’t known each other for long, and he didn’t want to leave a bad impression. But now, he couldn’t stay out of it. The person who harmed the young man could not be let off easily.
“What’s on the jacket?”
Lin Xuan was about to ask when he heard Gu Lin speak. He closed his mouth, swallowing his unspoken words. He wanted Li Shu to come to his side, but seeing Li Shu standing next to Gu Lin was jarring. Even though they weren’t familiar with each other, Lin Xuan couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a subtle connection between them, one that excluded him as an outsider.
He felt a pang of jealousy and wanted to break that odd atmosphere. He should have been the one closest to Li Shu. If it weren’t for what had happened, he could have rightfully called Li Shu to his side. It was all because of Tan Chu. Unconsciously, Lin Xuan looked at Tan Chu with hatred in his eyes.
Gu Lin’s cold voice pierced Tan Chu’s heart. He trembled, knowing he couldn’t avoid this anymore. He didn’t want to die. He just wanted to survive.
“It’s CH0301.” Once he said the answer, Tan Chu seemed to lose all life, and his whole body deflated and drained.
Gu Lin was momentarily stunned, and his breath faltered for a second. He glanced at Xu Yanqiu beside him, who immediately stepped forward and restrained Tan Chu.
Li Shu hadn’t expected it to be CH0301. This drug was developed in the lab that Gu Lin had just escaped from. It was designed specifically to attract the infected. He could sense the shift in Gu Lin’s mood, likely due to this drug.
“Li Shu, can I take this person with me?” After thinking it over, Gu Lin still wasn’t at ease and wanted to investigate whether there were others involved behind the scenes.
Knowing what Gu Lin intended to do, Li Shu naturally wouldn’t refuse. But just as he was about to nod, Lin Xuan’s voice interrupted, “Mr. Gu, is it really appropriate to take away the person who harmed Xiao Shu?”