CHAPTER 278: TANG WEI’S FEAR AND FRUSTRATION

I eventually reached the girls’ dorm and found most of our group inside, except Liang Qiu and a few of the new soldiers who seemed to have gone out with others from the male group. Not that I minded.

All that was left were women I’d slept with, and women I planned to sleep with.

How awkward.

"Are we already leaving?"

Yifei asked while sitting on the black leather sofa in the corner, holding her legs.

"What, there’s no way we’d leave so soon, right?" Tang Wei looked at the other women before looking at me with wide eyes and her mouth wide open.

Mu Qinglan turned away as if not interested, while Jiang Roulan looked at me, then lowered her head. It was apparent she’d rather spend more time here, with her family, and I couldn’t blame her, after all that time apart.

Zhou Xue raised her hand. "I would like to see my dad if possible..."

Liang Mei also remained a little left out, sitting with Zhou Xue with her newly grown pink hair and vivid green eyes. She also nodded. "I think we should bring the other’s here first... then decide what to do."

Li Ya wasn’t a part of our group yet, but she sat with her legs crossed and shrugged. "I’ll go wherever John takes us."

It surprised me she would say that, since it was Li Ya who shared the closest connection to this base, so I couldn’t help but ask. "You’d leave this base if I did? Isn’t this your current home, Miss Li?"

"Who is Miss Li... just call me Ya ya... or Lia." She then avoided my gaze, with red cheeks and continued. "You saved this base, protected everyone. Of course I’ll help you out... we’re coming back afterwards right? Hmph... so does it matter?"

I held back the urge to smile—she looked so serious and determined, and it tickled me strangely.

"I see..."

"Lan’er, what about you?"

When asked directly, she didn’t ignore it; instead, the beautiful manager who got me this far just stared into my eyes, the blue orbs shimmering like stars for a moment before she closed them slowly and sighed.

"I want to be with you. If you leave, I will follow."

Thankfully, even after I slept with so many women... and hurt her, she still never betrays me.

"Then I’m glad to have you with me."

"Mm..." She averted her gaze and started cleaning Endless Night again, but her lips curled into a lovely little smile.

"Sorry, John, I really want to be with you, but..." Jiang Roulan gave an awkward smile, but I understood. "I will stay here."

"That’s fine, the distance isn’t far and we’ll be back soon."

I wanted to spend more time with her. Jiang Roulan helped me stay stable and focused, but forcing her wouldn’t help anything.

"I’ll come with you." Zhou Xue added before anyone else, which surprised me since she’s usually quiet.

"Then that leaves...."

"I’ll stay here." Tang Wei’s voice quivered, but I didn’t blame her and instead felt at ease, though she was someone who would help in a dangerous situation; taking more people would just make the journey more difficult.

"I’ll come with you, since you need me, right?" Li Ya said with a smug grin, causing Tang Wei to react.

"What!? Why are you leaving with John? Stay away from him."

"Eh? It’s already for you to sleep with him, but I can’t even enjoy sparring with him?"

The change in Li Ya’s atmosphere came gradually as we fought, argued and eventually began sparring with each other daily. Now she looked for me most mornings and before bed to burn off steam before sleeping.

"Li Ya!"

"Shut it Tang Wei!"

The two started to get heated, with Tang Wei shouting at Li Ya.

"What’s with you? Why’re you acting so angry, is it that time of the month? Bitch, I just want to explore a little don’t be so annoying."

However, Tang Wei didn’t let up.

"Don’t lie! I know exactly what you want, just be honest!"

"Tch."

"Tsk!"

Before I could intervene, Tang Wei turned and left the room in a huff. Her boots slammed down as she started running the moment she entered the corridor.

"Don’t worry about her, John. That girl is just jealous, it’s nothing serious."

I watched the door and muttered to myself.

"I’ll check up on her later."

After that, because of Tang Wei’s reaction, the others quickly told me what they wanted, and we decided to leave the party.

Shen Yifei, Li Ya, Liang Mei, Mu Qinglan, Zhou Xue and to my surprise... Jiang Siwan planned to join us, much to Jiang Roulan’s frustration.

Even so, Roulan asked to remain and support her grandfather in her mother’s place.

Of course, a few soldiers from the base would drive the extra jeeps, since we needed to carry quite a few people; our group numbered fifteen, with seven jeeps. To my surprise, the number of vehicles the old man secured before things went to hell was amazing.

Old Zhou will enjoy working on them...

***

After the meeting, I enjoyed flirting with Yifei and Roulan, who both seemed a little prickly and upset before I visited Tang Wei.

Because her mother and family remained at the apartment base, I honestly thought she might want to rush with me to see them. However, when I entered her room, I found her sitting in almost total darkness while cleaning her sawed-off shotgun.

"..."

"May I come in?"

"....sure."

Tang Wei’s eyes looked red, as if she’d been crying for hours.

"Is everything alright?" I asked while sitting right beside her, our shoulders banged together, before she leaned towards me and let her weight rest against me.

"I don’t know, ever since we came here I’ve been feeling strange, and I worry... that what if the horde already destroyed our base, and my mother is dead. Or did they run out of Insulin and she went like that..."

I lifted my head and closed my eyes before asking. "Isn’t that more of a reason to come?"

"Haha. I know, right? Why am I being so weird now?" She continued to clean the same spot over and over, her shoulders quivering slightly, before I turned to face her and saw the tears brimming in her eyes. "I just... I’m tired... John, I’m exhausted... of fighting... of pretending I’m not terrified of those things... of losing the people important to me, losing you..."

Tang Wei’s weight on my body increased; she turned suddenly and pushed me onto the floor, her hands pressing on my shoulders to keep me down. "Does it make me a bad person, a coward?"

"No..."

How could she be a coward?

This woman fights with a short-range weapon without protective measures.

"Haha... but I feel so weak, and frightened."

The hands holding me down shook as her tears dropped, the salty tears dripping down my cheeks while her body clung to mine. I enjoyed the heat and sensation of her smooth, tanned skin, the rough bumps from her scars tickling me.

"Is there anything wrong with being afraid of death?"

I didn’t have a magic answer to cure or help her.

"But I am...."

"Because you’re a soldier, do you have to be immune to fear?"

"No...."

Before she could escape, I wrapped my arms around her lower back and held her in place, her face hovering just above mine as we peered into each other’s eyes.

"if you are scared, I will fight for you. If anything tries to hurt you, I will protect you... and your family, I promise to bring them here safely. So don’t blame yourself for this, Wei-Wei."

There wasn’t any magic that could fix someone’s heart; I didn’t need to be selfish or push any stress onto her. I could see the exhaustion in her eyes, the dark bags and increased sluggishness during training.

Tang Wei needed a moment to catch her breath.

"Tang Wei, if you need a moment, I will give you ten. Don’t think I am going to force you to do anything... you’re not just some woman but—Mmmph?"

She closed my mouth, the salty taste of her tears mixed with her saliva as she thrust her tongue into my throat, twirling it around while gripping my shoulders tight, as if drowning and unable to breathe.

Her kiss was desperate, almost painful, like she was clinging to the last thread that tethered her to this world. I didn’t push her away; I held her tighter, letting her trembling body soak in my warmth until the storm inside her eased.

When she finally pulled back, her breath ragged, her forehead pressed to mine.

"...Then promise me," she whispered, eyes wet and unyielding. "If I’m not with you, you’ll still come back. Alive."

I brushed her cheek with my thumb and smiled faintly.

"I promise, Wei-Wei."

"Prove it..."

Before I realised what she meant, my belt and shirt were wide open, and she was sitting on my hips, mounting me, and I noticed the bin was full of the unopened contraceptive drinks.

Her trembling lips curved into a daring smile upon following my gaze.

"Today... is a dangerous day," she whispered, pressing down against me and removing my clothes faster than ever before. "So you’d better take responsibility."

It seems a Lioness had captured me...