Chapter Thirty-Nine: Another Encounter with Angel

Early Saturday morning, Nangong Kexin rushed into the bathroom clutching her stomach, a package of sanitary pads in hand.

Sitting on the toilet, her face was pale with pain. For some reason, her period hurt more than usual this time, but there was nothing she could do except grit her teeth and endure it. After more than ten minutes, she finally changed her pad and emerged from the bathroom, still pressing her abdomen.

7:24.

Glancing at the clock hanging in the living room, she realized she was a little hungry, so she headed toward her younger brother's room.

“Knock, knock! Yuchen!”

She called out several times, but there was no response. Left with no choice, Nangong Kexin turned the handle and walked in.

The room was small but exceptionally tidy, and Nangong Yuchen lay sleeping soundly on top of the covers, eyes closed.

“Honestly, sleeping so heavily!” Kexin pouted, walked to the bedside, and patted Yuchen on the shoulder. He showed no sign of waking, still lost in a sweet slumber.

At that moment, her stomach gave another hungry growl. She hadn’t eaten anything the previous night, so she was truly starving now.

Helpless, she slipped off her slippers and climbed onto the bed, straddling her brother with a thump, settling herself right on his stomach. At the same time, her small hands tugged at his cheeks as she grumbled, “Yuchen, get up and make me breakfast!”

“Ah! Cough, cough…”

Though Kexin was slim, she still weighed nearly ninety pounds, and landing on him like that was enough to jolt Yuchen wide awake. He doubled over, coughing repeatedly.

Seeing his sister in pajamas perched on top of him, Yuchen rolled his eyes and groaned, “Kexin, what are you doing?”

He couldn’t believe she was still like this after all these years. When their parents went out on weekends, if she was hungry, she’d always barge into his room, plop herself down on him, and make him get up to cook for her.

“Hmph, I told you to come home to cook for me, and now it’s already eight o’clock!” Kexin put her hands on her hips, straddling him, utterly justified.

Yuchen looked up at her, exasperated. “Well, you have to get off first, or how am I supposed to get up?”

Mission accomplished, Kexin beamed and stood up, steadying herself with the bedhead. She’d done this countless times since childhood, but now she forgot she was wearing a nightgown. As she stood, everything beneath the edge of her dress was laid bare to Yuchen, who was still lying down.

Although it wasn’t the first time he’d accidentally seen it, his face instantly flushed beet red. He quickly averted his eyes from the glimpse of white beneath her skirt, rubbing his nose in embarrassment. “Kexin... Could you please get down?”

“Oh...” Kexin realized what had happened, remembering the huge pad she had underneath. She hurriedly clutched her skirt and jumped off the bed. She knew her underwear couldn’t possibly hide anything; her cheeks blushed a lovely crimson, making her look even cuter.

Sighing, Yuchen shook his head and sat up. Despite everything, there was a warmth in his heart, as if they’d returned to simpler times.

But suddenly, Yuchen remembered what usually happened next in these scenarios. Before he could react, a foot loomed large in his vision and struck him square in the face, sending him tumbling off the bed.

Kexin, unfazed, slipped back into her slippers and strutted out of the room, muttering, “Pervert!” Yet a small smile curled at her lips; Yuchen, still stunned from the kick, didn’t see it.

Half an hour later, Kexin lay sprawled on the couch in the living room, her chin resting on her hands as she flipped through TV channels with the remote. Yuchen was busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen area.

There wasn’t anything good on TV at that hour, so Kexin just channel-surfed. Suddenly, the television blared, “Up next, news about the disasters near the Safe Zone boundary cities!”

The screen showed scenes of cities in ruins, with massive casualties among civilians, and armored warriors locked in bloody combat with monstrous beasts.

“At present, six cities near the Safe Zone boundary—Nan’an, Yuanhai, Panyang, Longlin, and others—have all been overrun by the monsters. Our fellow human residents have suffered countless deaths, and the losses among our military and armored warriors have also been devastating. Yet nothing has been able to stop the disaster from spreading. Of the seven cities in the Safe Zone boundary, only Shuyang remains!”

“If Shuyang falls, the monster hordes will breach the Safe Zone entirely! The calamity will then spread to the entire northwestern human residential area—Gravia!”

“The Supreme Commander of the Northwest has regrouped the troops and rushed to the front lines, and survivors from the seven boundary cities have already begun to evacuate into the Safe Zone proper!”

“Will humanity be able to regain control and reclaim the lost cities? Stay tuned for updates at the same time tomorrow...”

Yuchen carried a plate of fried eggs to the table, catching the end of the report.

“Yuchen, those monsters are so terrifying… Do you think they’ll invade our city someday?” Kexin’s face was pale with fear, anxious that their home might one day become a wasteland.

“What are you worrying about? We have so many armored warriors and soldiers. There’s no way the monsters will get in here. Let’s just eat,” Yuchen replied, head down, trying to reassure her.

Was it really just Kexin who needed reassurance? In truth, Yuchen was worried too. In such a short time, six cities had fallen one after another. If the monsters captured Shuyang next, then their own city could soon share the same fate.

If that happened, he and his sister would lose their home, or worse, become food for the monsters.

He was just an ordinary citizen, still striving to become a first-rank armored warrior and rescue their parents. The endless bad news made it impossible for him to stay calm.

He, like all humans, longed for the day when their people would no longer have to rely on the Crystal Wall, when they could truly stand on their own.

“This is so salty! Did you put in the wrong seasoning?”

“Uh… Haha, maybe I grabbed the wrong one. I haven’t cooked in a while!”

…

After breakfast, it was already nine o’clock. Finding the house short on supplies, Yuchen took his sister with him to the neighborhood convenience store to buy fruit, vegetables, and other necessities.

Knowing they’d be buying a lot, Yuchen grabbed a shopping cart. But after only half a lap through the store, he looked up and found Kexin coming toward him, her arms overflowing with snacks.

“Ha ha!” she giggled. “Now I don’t have to worry about going hungry!”

She dumped her haul into the cart, filling half of it. Yuchen could only watch her delighted expression in resigned silence.

They continued shopping, adding plenty of fruits, vegetables, and meat to the cart until it was nearly full. Then they headed to the household goods section.

Angel scanned the rows of shelves, murmuring in frustration, “Where's the lavender shampoo? How can such a big store be sold out?”

She circled the aisles several times, unwilling to settle for any other scent or brand. At last, following the shelf labels, she spotted a lone bottle sitting at the end of a corner.

“Finally found it!” She hurried over and grabbed it, just as a hand reached around from the other side of the shelf and closed around the same bottle.

“Hm? Trying to take it from me?” Angel’s face darkened. She pulled hard, determined to win the tug-of-war for the bottle she’d found first.

But since the shelf was at a corner, her sudden yank pulled not just the bottle but the other person as well, and to make matters worse, the shelf itself toppled over from the force!

Bang!

Angel quickly let go and dodged aside as the entire shelf and all its contents—shampoo bottles included—came crashing down.

Bang!

“What the hell? Who pulled me?” Yuchen clambered up from the pile of shampoo, furious.

“Angel!”

“Yuchen!”

The two stared at each other, eyes wide, then turned in unison to look at the fallen shelf and the mess on the floor, both momentarily stunned.

The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the store staff.

Two male employees in blue uniforms hurried over and barked, “Who did this?!”

“It was him!” Angel instantly pointed at Yuchen, making her meaning unmistakable. The two employees shot Yuchen a hostile glare.

“I…” At that moment, he could only turn green with frustration.