Chapter 25

When Lin Tantan woke again she found herself lying down on a soft pad, covered with a warm quilt that smelled faintly of new fabric, not unpleasant. There was also a pillow under her head.
She took in her surroundings: still in the cafeteria, lying on a makeshift bed made of several dining tables pushed together. Ye Xiao was nearby, seated on a chair, leaning slightly on the table with his eyes closed. Even at rest his posture was taut and straight, as if ready to spring up at a moment’s notice to face any danger.
Not far off came soft snores. Turning her head she saw Mei Baisheng, asleep on a few tables like she had been, sleeping soundly.
Lin Tantan quietly lifted the quilt and got ready to get up. She was already being careful, but Ye Xiao opened his eyes at once.
His gaze was clear. When he saw her rising he came over immediately: “What is it?”
Lin Tantan looked left and right, not wanting to say much, but with him watching she murmured, “I need to use the bathroom.”
She’d been woken by the urge to pee.
Ye Xiao silently helped her put her shoes on.
There was a bathroom on the first floor, otherwise it would have been even more awkward.
Lin Tantan fussed for a long time; one hand was inconvenient to use. When she emerged and glanced in the mirror at her straw-stuck hair and smudged face, she sighed. Did she even have an appearance left?
She turned on the tap. The dried blood on her right hand had clotted and was hard to wash off; she scrubbed and scrubbed and barely managed to get a bit of it clean. She dabbed at her clothes and shoved her hair back before stepping out.
To her surprise, Ye Xiao came out of the big kitchen carrying a basin of steaming water. “Come here.”
Lin Tantan went over. Ye Xiao had her sit and first examined her left arm. The wound at the stump had healed well and the bruising was fading, so he wrung out a soft cloth from the basin and gently wiped around the skin. Then he motioned for her right hand. Hesitant, she stretched it out, and the next moment it was taken and set into the basin, and he began scrubbing the bloodstains from the back of her hand.
Heat flooded Lin Tantan’s face and she dared not breathe loudly: “I, I can do this myself.”
“You have to let me do something for you,” Ye Xiao said. “This is nothing.”
Lin Tantan paused and watched his expression. He looked as if he felt he owed her a great deal and couldn’t shake the guilt. She said, “Actually, my hand will grow back later. Don’t burden yourself too much.”
Ye Xiao froze, then looked up sharply. “Really?”
“Yes.” Lin Tantan nodded with certainty. In her previous life she had been able to restore disabled patients to full limbs; her own recovery should be no different, even if it would take a long time to reach that level again.
Relief washed over Ye Xiao’s face and he let out a bright laugh. “Then it’s fine. But you haven’t recovered yet, so it’s right that I take care of you.”
Lin Tantan: “...” Fine, as long as it makes you happy.
When the hand was finally clean the water was dirty and Lin Tantan thought that was the end of it. Instead Ye Xiao changed the water and the cloth, wrung it out, and handed it to her. “Wipe your face.”
“...Oh.” She pressed the warm towel to her face, speechless. Imagine, one day her dream man hand-wrung a towel for her!
After her face had been wiped and she felt much fresher, Lin Tantan breathed a sigh of relief, only for Ye Xiao to pull out a comb. “Shall I comb your hair?”
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it, really, I can manage this!”
She could comb it with one hand!
But her hair was so tangled; as she tried to comb it, the ends were knotted badly. She pulled and yanked several times until it felt like her hair might come out, and the knots only tightened. In the end his hands reached for the comb and took over.
Ye Xiao lowered his eyes and patiently worked through her hair.
Lin Tantan blushed even deeper and whispered, “I haven’t washed my hair in days, by the way, what’s today’s date?”
“Four, you fell asleep at ten this morning, it's five now.”
Lin Tantan practically wanted to bury her face in her hands. She’d arrived on the first, and whether this body had been washed before then she didn’t know. In any case she hadn’t washed her hair or bathed for at least three days. Thinking of all the running around these past few days, the dust, the sweat, her hair felt greasy to the touch and her body was starting to smell.
The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she became. Her head sank lower and lower; she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear.
Ye Xiao watched her reddening ears and found it a little amusing. Of course he knew why, young women cared about appearances. Yet in the time it took to wash her hands and comb her hair her expression had flickered through a dozen changes. Her thoughts were as straightforward and simple as before; it seemed losing an arm hadn’t crushed her spirit.
Ye Xiao wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or to worry about her blunt nature.
He said, “Yesterday Bai Cheng and the others cleared around the office buildings out west. Today they cleaned up two apartment blocks. Which floor would you like? I’ll have them hold a place for you.”
“There are apartment buildings? Are they fully equipped?”
“The buildings over there are new and occupancy is low. They’re nicely finished, though the furniture might not be complete.”
“As long as it isn’t a mud-brick shack, I’m fine. Hold me a low-floor unit.” Lin Tantan guessed the power might go out; without elevators high floors would be a hassle.
Once she had her own room, she vowed to make herself tidy and fresh!
Seeing her cheer up, Ye Xiao smiled, the trick had worked. “The four of us will stay temporarily on the third floor of one building. We’ll keep a place next door for you. Being close makes it easier to look out for each other.”
“Mm-hmm, okay. When do we go back?” Lin Tantan couldn’t wait to wash her hair and bathe.
“It’s too late today. Tomorrow.” Ye Xiao finished combing her hair; unable to do much styling he tied it back simply with an elastic, then washed his hands and went to make her some porridge.
He set a steaming bowl in front of her and said, “There are a lot more mutated birds out there now. Helicopters can’t be used, so we’ll go by car tomorrow. Eat up and get some more sleep, we’ve got another hard day ahead.”
“Mm-hmm!” Lin Tantan obediently ate two large bowls, finally filling her hollow stomach. As soon as she was full she grew drowsy, she hadn’t slept enough, having been woken by the need to pee, so falling asleep was natural. She climbed onto the makeshift bed, tucked into the blanket, and was asleep again in no time.
The night passed to the sound of Mei Baisheng’s snores. Outside the cafeteria a bird pecked at the glass with a steady tap-tap; Lin Tantan was roused a few times but wasn’t worried. She could hear Ye Xiao moving nearby, and with him there she didn’t have to be afraid of anything.
The next morning Lin Tantan woke up bright and alert. Mei Baisheng, who had been sleeping like a log, was roused as well. The three of them got ready and the cars were already outside, this time people from Bai Cheng’s side had come to pick them up.
Everyone except Jiang Xiaotian and Cheng Qinan, who really couldn’t help on the fighting front, had come. The other four arrived looking solemn; they hugged Mei Baisheng with obvious relief, glad that their brother had been spared.
“We wanted to come yesterday, but the helicopters couldn’t fly. The captain said there was nothing for us here and wouldn’t let us come. Kid, you’ve made it through, good things are bound to follow!” Zhong Xiong said, patting Mei Baisheng on the shoulder.
“Hey, easy, Tantan says this shoulder was deformed and hasn’t fully healed yet!” Mei Baisheng grinned, his smile never stopping, almost blooming into a flower.
The four of them then thanked Lin Tantan. They didn’t say much, but their sincere gratitude was clear.
Lin Tantan wore a baseball cap, something Ye Xiao had gotten her, knowing she wouldn’t want anyone to see her unwashed hair, and an oversized new jacket, also from Ye Xiao, which perfectly hid her left arm.
She smiled and said, “Since I have this ability, I couldn’t just stand by and watch Meimei die.”
The four glanced at her left arm with mixed expressions; it seemed they all knew she’d lost an arm. Lin Tantan could accept Ye Xiao’s fussing over her because of her disability, but she didn’t like being looked at with pity or guilt.
She laughed lightly, “Besides, my hand can grow back, it’s not a loss.” At that their faces relaxed, and they even seemed intrigued by the idea that a severed hand could regrow.
Ye Xiao said, “Let’s go.”
They had brought two vehicles: high-clearance, high-performance off-roaders that looked seriously imposing. It seemed they hadn’t just cleared two buildings; they’d also come into some good equipment. Their rides had clearly been upgraded.
With those two cars, the zombie birds could only end up knocking themselves out on the windows, and the trip back was fairly smooth. Lin Tantan did notice there were a lot of zombie birds, along eaves, in treetops, on power lines, palm-sized or larger. Judging by their original forms, they seemed like small birds, sparrows or the like.
The consolation was that not all of them were zombie birds; mutated birds made up the vast majority. The difference is that zombie birds can infect humans and turn them into zombies, while mutated birds do not, more like ability users among humans. Still, even if mutated animals don’t infect people, they prey on humans and vice versa, and that presents a major survival challenge.
Before ten that morning they were back in the west side of the city.
After only three days away the place had changed a great deal. Surveillance had been set up far out and many barriers to stop the zombies had been constructed. Inside those obstacles was a relatively safe zone: the office towers, the cleared mall building, and the nearby residential complex were all encompassed within this safety perimeter.
But probably because of the bird mutations, there weren’t many people wandering outside.
Bai Cheng’s group had now relocated to Building One of the residential complex, a few hundred meters from the office towers. It was a twenty-two-story building, but for now only the floors below the eighth were occupied.
“The power went out in this area last night; I reckon the water will cut off soon too,” Bai Cheng said as they climbed the stairs.
The eight of them had taken 301, a large unit with four bedrooms and two living rooms. Two people could have shared a room, but it would be awkward once Lin Tantan moved in; after all, there’s a difference between men and women. Given Lin Tantan’s condition, it wouldn’t do to leave her uncared for, so she agreed to take 302, which solved a problem for Bai Cheng.
302 sat right next to 301. It was a small unit, just right for one person. Lin Tantan brightened the moment she stepped into her new place. Bai Cheng had clearly put some thought into it; it was fully furnished, so she didn’t have to worry about anything.
She had only just settled in and persuaded Ye Xiao, who seemed uneasy about leaving her alone, to go when someone knocked. When she opened the door, it was Grandma Xu and her housekeeper.
They were carrying a lot of things. Lin Tantan hurried them inside. Grandma Xu set the bundles on the sofa and smiled. “Didn’t you clear out that mall yesterday? There was a lot inside. Deputy Bai and the others are all men, so I picked out some nice clothes and the usual things a girl needs. It’s all here, have a look and see if you like them.”