After inquiring at several stalls, the two finally found the main hall of the information center.
All the buildings in the shelter were constructed in a rugged and unremarkable style, most likely mass-produced. However, it was said that the houses behind the northern area and the third gate were of a different construction, beautiful and heavily guarded by armed forces. There was also a research institute rumored to be located in the northern area.
Ordinary people couldn’t enter the third gate, but Xu Song and the others didn’t plan to stay in S City for long, so they didn’t inquire much about the situation there.
The hall was bustling with people. Besides being able to access personal information, one could also spontaneously register for various tasks. Yue Zheng went to the information counter to inquire about their search, while Xu Song, holding one of the little ones, stood in the hall watching the tasks scrolling on the large screen. Besides some missing person tasks, there were mostly local tasks, such as running errands, delivering items, or searching for specific supplies.
Xu Song looked up with interest, while the twins bounced and played by his side. Before long, Yue Zheng finished his business and walked towards him.
“Yue Zheng?!”
A voice caught Xu Song’s attention, and he looked over in surprise. A woman in her mid-twenties, wearing professional attire and a white lab coat over it, caught his eye. Her hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, exuding a mature womanly charm. And at this moment, she was looking at Yue Zheng, who had just finished his paperwork, with a joyful expression on her face.
Yue Zheng raised an eyebrow in surprise and looked back at her.
“Oh, it’s really you! I thought I mistook someone else!” The woman’s eyes lit up, and she walked towards him a few steps.
Yue Zheng also recognized her at this point and smiled, nodding his head. “Professor Qian, long time no see.”
“Forget about the professor stuff. I didn’t expect you to come to S City. I heard about the incident in Y City a few days ago and was worried about you!” As she spoke, Professor Qian familiarly patted his arm with her hand.
“I managed to leave in time, so I didn’t encounter any trouble.” Yue Zheng smiled at her. “I originally had a few colleagues planning to come to S City, but they got lost halfway. I’m here to check on their situation. And you?” He remembered this woman always being familiar and touchy-feely, never hesitating to initiate physical contact. Avoiding it would only seem pretentious.
“Oh, on the day of the incident, I was at the university library. Later, when the military established the shelter, I came along with the troops. Fortunately, I didn’t encounter any danger… I heard that there are all sorts of strange mutations outside now, both in plants and animals… How about you? Did you suffer any injuries on the way? I have a few friends from medical school…” Professor Qian spoke while attentively looking at him.
Yue Zheng, being above average height for a southern city, had left a deep impression on her since their first meeting. She never expected to have a chance encounter with him after the mutation.
Professor Qian had an outgoing personality, although she hadn’t had a long-term boyfriend yet. But if she liked a man, she would immediately take the initiative, without hesitation or overthinking. As for whether the relationship would be suitable or not, that could be figured out later.
Xu Song looked at the two standing together with some surprise, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. He couldn’t explain why he felt this way, as he had never experienced such a feeling when Yue Zheng interacted with colleagues or strangers in the past. Now, for some reason, the more he looked at that woman, the more he felt uncomfortable.
Wait, a woman?
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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So… let’s go.
Suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, Xu Song took the two little ones and went over to join Yue Zheng.
“… It’s good that you’re not injured. You don’t know, there were rumors going around earlier that anyone scratched by those undead creatures would turn into zombies! And many injured people were… Even now, there are still such rumors!” Professor Qian sighed.
“Is that so? Such rumors exist?” Yue Zheng raised an eyebrow. He thought that kind of baseless speculation only existed in Y City.
“It’s true! Look at how those animals and plants outside have changed.” Professor Qian sighed again.
Yue Zheng consoled her, “I think the situation in S City is not bad. It’s much better than Y City when I left. By the way, you’re pursuing a Ph.D. at the university. Have you heard anything? This whole situation is so strange. Have the researchers come to any conclusions?”
“What conclusions? I only heard that there’s a new kind of energy present in the air and water.” Professor Qian lowered her voice and leaned closer to Yue Zheng, whispering, “I heard from people at the research institute that this energy seems to be causing some people to explode if they can’t handle it… Recently, the higher-ups seem to be taking a keen interest in people from the history department.”
Yue Zheng raised an eyebrow. History? That made sense.
“It’s been a long time since we last saw each other since you went back that time. I didn’t expect the world to become like this when we meet again.” The woman known as Professor Qian sighed, her expression somewhat sorrowful. But then, she smiled again as if trying to cheer herself up. “Where are you staying now?”
“In the eastern district.”
“East District?” Professor Qian pondered for a moment and then smiled, “I currently live in the North District. I can bring you and your friends to stay there. By the way, did you come here alone? What about your family?” As she spoke, she reached out to link her arm with Yue Zheng’s.
Yue Zheng’s body subtly moved, preparing to step back and change the subject, but suddenly, Mo Tiancheng and Mo Tianyou let go of Xu Song’s hand and quickly ran to Yue Zheng’s side, grabbing his arm and shaking it vigorously. “Daddy, Daddy, I’m hungry.”
“Daddy, Daddy, didn’t you say we’re going to eat?”
…
What are these two little troublemakers up to?
Yue Zheng was surprised and looked down at the two children, still calling him “Daddy” with their heads tilted back and their adorable big eyes wide open. Then he looked up at Xu Song, who was not far behind them.
Xu Song immediately turned his head to look to the side, as if he had nothing to do with it! He didn’t do anything! He had no idea what these two kids were up to.
But he had to admit that when he saw the woman trying to link her arm with Yue Zheng’s, he also had the urge to do the same with these two little imps. Unfortunately, he couldn’t go over there and praise the two mischievous kids like that now.
Rubbing the heads of the two children, Yue Zheng’s smile turned gentle and warm, like that of a loving father. “Good, Daddy… Daddy will take you after I finish talking to Auntie.”
Professor Qian looked at the two kids, who were tilting their heads back and looking at Yue Zheng with adoring eyes, with a shocked expression. “A-Are these your children?!”
It was no wonder she was surprised. She hadn’t heard that Yue Zheng was married, let alone that he had children of this age!
“Um,” Yue Zheng smiled and nodded at her, “We just arrived today, and I’m planning to take the kids to get acquainted with the place. Is it convenient for me to contact you in the future?”
Professor Qian quickly regained her composure and nodded with a smile. “I live in Block H-3-5-204 in the North District. If you need to find me, you can leave a message at the entrance of the North Gate… Give me your address, and I’ll send you a contact phone for this area in a few days. The old phones are almost useless now. They can rarely make calls, and most of the base stations have been damaged due to the energy interference.”
“That’s troublesome,” Yue Zheng raised an eyebrow, not refusing her offer, “So, you mean there’s still a chance for the phone to work?”
“It’s possible, but very difficult. It might work within the same area, but for cross-base communication…” Professor Qian shrugged and glanced around, not seeing anyone who looked like the twins’ mother.
She then bent down, smiling warmly, and approached the twins. “What are your names, little ones?”
The two little troublemakers seemed startled and clung to Yue Zheng’s leg, pressing their little faces against him, but secretly peeking at Professor Qian through the gaps.
Apparently, she didn’t expect these two children to be so shy. Professor Qian smiled and said, “Your children seem quite timid.”
“Yes, they are a bit shy. They’ve had some experiences on the road.” Yue Zheng didn’t explain further, just nodded at her and reached out to touch the head of one of the twins, not sure if it was Tiancheng or Tianyou. “Let’s go now. Do you still have work to do?”
“Alright… By the way, where is the mother of the children? Can you introduce her?” Professor Qian was curious about where the mother of these two children was, what she looked like, and what kind of parents could raise such clever little rascals. But she knew she probably wouldn’t find out in this lifetime.
“She’s not here,” Yue Zheng was also curious about the whereabouts of the children’s mother, but he knew there was no hope of finding out now, “Let’s leave it at that. Do you need to get back to work?”
“Okay… Oh, and thank you again for last time. I’ll treat you to a meal sometime.” Professor Qian regretfully said.
“No need to be polite. Work comes first.” Just as he was about to reply, a staff member in uniform approached and pulled Professor Qian aside to discuss something. Yue Zheng nodded to her, turned around, and walked towards the exit.
“Let’s go.”
“Oh.” Xu Song, who was pretending to be clueless, couldn’t act like a wall painting anymore and hurried to catch up with him, leaving the gate together.
Once outside, Yue Zheng bent down and picked up one of the children. “Who told you to call me ‘Daddy’?”
Xu Song also quickly picked up the other one, uh, Tiancheng.
“It was him!” Both little hands, including the one in Xu Song’s arms, pointed straight at Xu Song.
“Huh? Huh?” What? When did he encourage them to call him “Daddy”?
Yue Zheng gave Xu Song a cold glance, which made Xu Song break out in a cold sweat. He didn’t do anything to encourage these two kids to call him “Daddy”!
But Yue Zheng just glanced at him and didn’t ask anything, instead, he held the one in his arms, Mo Tianyou. “What do you want to eat? Hmm?”
“Meat!”
“Meat!”
The two little ones cheered excitedly, clapping their little hands against the adult holding them.
Xu Song quickly stepped forward and caught up with them, explaining, “Uh… brother Yue, I didn’t say anything to them.”
“What are you talking about?”
“…” Xu Song looked at Yue Zheng’s bewildered expression and then at the twins, who were now looking at him with innocent eyes. How did he feel like he was the one overthinking things? As if no one took it seriously except himself?
Twins with agenda: Daddy! Come away, let’s go to eat meat! Don’t mistake your family! Lmao! TY ❤️❤️❤️🤣🤣🤣🤣
Poor Xu Song 😂
Thank you for the update!
💐💐💐💐💐
hehehehe even the twins ship them😳
Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss.
Not gonna lie professor Qian seems nice!
Hope we can have more female characters that are also badass, and not just as love rivals or potential love rivals.