A Fake Holy Mother in the Zombie Apocalypse

Bei Nuan's father always had the habit of writing diaries by hand, a habit Bei Nuan had teased him about many times.

“Dad, even if you keep a diary, it should be electronic, right? You can even insert photos and videos.”

Her father chuckled. “Let's not talk about anything else, but one day if there's no electricity, what will you people who can't live without screens do?”

Unfortunately, his words proved prophetic.

After her father passed away, he left behind a small box full of diaries. Inside were identical, plainly bound notebooks with brown paper covers, neatly arranged by year.

Bei Nuan had flipped through them briefly, catching glimpses of her father's younger days.

Even though her father was gone, Bei Nuan felt it was wrong to pry, as if she were invading his privacy. So, she burned all the diaries, along with other things her father cherished, sending them to him in a blaze.

This must have been one of them.

Something long since burned now miraculously reappeared in a locker in this strange world.

Bei Nuan was still stunned when Xiao Shouzi came over with Tang Tang. “What are you doing? Don't tell me you really want to withdraw money? Money is useless in this world, it's all just waste paper.”

Not wanting an outsider to see, Bei Nuan quickly closed the lid of the small red metal box and put it in her bag. “Money withdrawn, now it's time for a big shopping spree. Let's go!”

With that important task done, they could focus on their food search.

Not far from the bank was a supermarket. The door was open, the shelves bare. Anything useful had long been swept clean by survivors, especially food – there was nothing left.

Lu Xingchi, wielding his crossbow, efficiently cleared the zombies from their path and then cleared the supermarket.

Xiao Shouzi was no longer surprised. He followed obediently without a word.

As expected, while the food on the front shelves was gone, the storage room had a sturdy security door, firmly locked and unopened.

Lu Xingchi glanced at Xiao Shouzi, borrowed the crowbar from Bei Nuan, and symbolically pried at the door frame.

The door opened easily.

Inside was a warehouse full of goods, boxes of all sizes piled high.

Tang Tang patted Xiao Shouzi on the shoulder. “Buddy, let's get moving.”

Space in the van was limited, so they had to choose the most essential foods, like rice, flour, salt, sugar, and canned goods.

While the others were busy finding supplies to transport back to the base, Bei Nuan focused on her own task.

After picking out food and daily necessities for the team, she started rummaging through the snacks.

Lu Xingchi was not far from her, seemingly also looking for something.

Bei Nuan saw him ignoring boxes of canned dace and luncheon meat, meticulously searching through boxes, unsure what he was looking for.

Curious, Bei Nuan quietly crept closer to peek.

Just as she was about to ask him what he was looking for, she saw him discreetly slip a few small boxes into his backpack.

Du Ruo, with his sharp eyes, saw it too and nodded solemnly. “It's definitely a good idea to have some of those. At a time like this, it wouldn't be good if things got out of hand. Why don't you let Bei Nuan take a few boxes?”

Bei Nuan, having seen what it was, felt a bit embarrassed.

Lu Xingchi's expression remained calm and aloof, not blushing at all. He actually handed the entire box to Bei Nuan.

He glanced at Bei Nuan's expression and said calmly, “What are you thinking? Haven't you ever watched a survival show? This can be used to hold water, as a temporary water bottle. It's elastic and can be used as a makeshift tourniquet. It can be put on a phone as a waterproof case. After being blown up into a balloon, it can be stuffed into clothes as a temporary life jacket. It has many uses.”

Bei Nuan silently stored the box in her space, thinking: You listed so many uses with a straight face, so righteous, then why were you so sneaky just now?

They crammed the van full, filling every available space, before heading back.

Xiao Shouzi, squeezed in the back seat with a pile of flour, was incredibly excited, touching everything.

They soon arrived back at the search team's departure point. The vehicles were still there; the other teams hadn't returned yet.

After waiting for a long time, two teams returned one after the other.

Some had backpacks full of supplies, while others were still half empty.

Team Leader Zheng not only carried a backpack but also supported a young man in his team.

The young man hopped along, his arm draped over Team Leader Zheng's shoulder.

They were stunned to see Lu Xingchi and the others waiting leisurely in the van.

“Injured?” Lu Xingchi got out of the van.

“He jumped from a second-floor balcony while dodging zombies and fell. It's probably a fracture,” Team Leader Zheng said briefly.

The young man added, “If Team Leader Zheng hadn't gone up to help and carried me away, I would have been eaten by zombies.”

As they approached, they looked through the van's glassless windows and saw the vehicle piled high with supplies. They were all dumbfounded.

Xiao Shouzi struggled to squeeze his way to the van door from the pile of boxes, waving his hands excitedly. “Captain, Brother Lu and the others drove into the city and brought back so many supplies!”

In such a short time, he had already started calling Lu Xingchi "Brother Lu," following Tang Tang's lead.

They actually dared to drive into the city? And brought back a van full of supplies?

The two teams fell silent.

Du Ruo also jumped out of the van and crouched down in front of the young man with the broken leg. “Let me take a look.”

He couldn't help but add, “This 'Young Master' happens to be a doctor.”

Team Leader Zheng had some bandages and medicine in his bag for first aid. Du Ruo helped the young man with some basic treatment. They waited for the other two teams to arrive before heading back together.

Back at the base, after unloading the supplies, everyone received three meal tickets.

Du Ruo patted the meal tickets in his hand and laughed. “Three meal tickets in exchange for a van full of supplies. They made a killing.”

The group returned to Building 12, Unit 2, District 3.

In front of the door to Apartment 602, Bei Nuan silently prayed before inserting the key into the lock.

The lock was still stiff and wouldn't open. Lu Xingchi stepped forward to help.

The door opened, and Bei Nuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside was still Bei Nuan's home, bright and warm, just as it was when they left in the morning.

The first thing Bei Nuan did after entering was run back to her room and take out the small red metal box from her space.

Lu Xingchi followed her in and closed the door behind him.

He stood at a distance, smiling. “I'm not here to pry into your family secrets, but I think it's better if I'm present when you look at this unknown object.”

Bei Nuan understood what he meant. This was too strange; he had to keep an eye on it to be sure.

Bei Nuan pulled the diary out of the box with some effort, saying, “It's okay if you look.”

“Really?” Lu Xingchi took a couple of steps closer.

“Really, it's fine. My family doesn't have any secr…” Bei Nuan had taken the diary out, but her words stopped abruptly.

There was something else underneath the diary.

It was a small red booklet, slightly smaller than the diary, with a few gold characters embossed on it – Adoption Certificate.

Bei Nuan's breath hitched.

What was this?

She stared at the characters for several seconds before remembering to inhale, reaching out to take the small red booklet and carefully opening it.

On the left page, at the top, was a photo with a bright red background.

It was a photo of three people – her father and mother in their youth, and in the middle, a one or two-year-old Bei Nuan, staring wide-eyed at the camera with her mouth slightly open, looking innocently at the lens.

Below were her parents' names, genders, and address.

The right page detailed her parents' application to adopt Bei Nuan, an orphan from the welfare institute, stating that the registration was approved and the adoption was established.

Bei Nuan's mind was a whirl. She stared at the words, reading them over and over, recognizing every character but unable to comprehend their meaning.

After an unknown amount of time, Bei Nuan remembered that Lu Xingchi was standing beside her, still watching.

One or two-year-olds all looked similar; it wouldn't give anything away, especially since Bei Nuan already bore some resemblance to this Bei Nuan.

The problem was the address of her parents listed on the certificate.

The address was certainly not in S City of this world. She needed to make up a lie.

But Bei Nuan had no desire to lie.

She slammed the small red booklet back into the metal box.

“Fake. Ridiculous.”

She looked up at Lu Xingchi.

“I don't know which person with abilities has nothing better to do than to mess with me with this kind of thing.”

Bei Nuan sat cross-legged on the bed, propping her head up with her hand, lost in thought. “Who have I offended? Who would go to such lengths to bother me?”

Lu Xingchi remained silent.

Bei Nuan bit her lip, thinking for a while, but couldn't figure it out.

Lu Xingchi finally spoke. “Don't you want to look at that diary?”

Bei Nuan lowered her eyes. After a long while, she reached for the brown paper diary.

The diary's pages were old but well-preserved. Inside, without a doubt, was her father's handwriting.

It was the diary from the year Bei Nuan turned two.

The style was the same as what Bei Nuan had seen before, concise and to the point, more like a daily list of events, with little personal emotion.

Bei Nuan silently flipped through page after page.

It said that Bei Ma had been unable to conceive due to health reasons, and the two of them wanted to adopt a child. They waited in line at the welfare institute and finally got a baby girl.

The little girl was very cute, but unfortunately, she had congenital heart disease and was abandoned at the entrance of the welfare institute.

Her condition was serious, and no one was willing to adopt her. Many people feared that even with surgery, she wouldn't live long.

After a few days of discussion, Bei Ba and Bei Ma completed the adoption procedures and brought little Bei Nuan home.

On the day they brought Bei Nuan home, a surprisingly emotional sentence appeared in the usually calm, logbook-like diary.

“The little one's smile is like sunshine. We gave her a name, Nuan Nuan, hoping the world will be kind to her, and that she will return the world with the same warmth.”

The rest of the diary was more like a record of Bei Nuan's daily life.

The two adults had never raised a baby before, especially one with health problems. They were clumsy and encountered many difficulties.

Every little thing Bei Nuan did seemed like a miracle to Bei Ba and Bei Ma.

Nuan Nuan can zip up her clothes now, Nuan Nuan can use the potty now, Nuan Nuan can say her own name now, Nuan Nuan can draw with crayons now…

Open-heart surgery was approaching day by day. As Bei Ba and Bei Ma worked hard to raise money, the diary abruptly ended.

Lu Xingchi handed her a tissue box.

Only then did Bei Nuan realize she was in tears.

She pulled out a few tissues and wiped her face, but the tears kept flowing, unstoppable.

Before she could finish wiping, Lu Xingchi sat down beside her and pulled her into a hug.

Bei Nuan buried her face in his warm embrace, unwilling to admit it in her heart, but knowing full well –

The adoption was real, and the diary was real.

Every year, without fail, her father would donate money to the welfare institute mentioned in the adoption certificate.

Thinking about it now, he always made the donation around Bei Nuan's birthday.

Bei Nuan had once asked him why he insisted on donating to that particular welfare institute, and she remembered her father's answer: the children in that welfare institute were all little angels.

Bei Nuan didn't move, so Lu Xingchi didn't move either. He gently stroked her back, as if he could stay with her like this forever.

After a long time, Bei Nuan finally spoke.

“Actually, when my dad first passed away, I did resent him.”

Bei Nuan buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled.

“At that time, I really wanted to ask my dad, when you rushed to save others, did you think of me?”

“When you left, leaving your family alone in this world, did you regret it?”

“Saving those people who weren't worth saving, did you regret it?”

When her father first passed away, Bei Nuan couldn't sleep night after night, as if her father was nearby, able to see her, able to hear her.

She kept saying to the image of her father in her mind: Do you see? Are the people you traded your life for really worth it? Was what you did really worth it?

Bei Nuan clutched Lu Xingchi's shirt tightly.

Lu Xingchi patted her back rhythmically.

Bei Nuan gradually calmed down.

“I understand now,” Bei Nuan said. “My dad was that kind of person, so he would do that kind of thing.”

“If he wasn't that kind of person, he wouldn't have taken me from the welfare institute and spent all his money on my surgery.”

“The fact that I can sit here, bask in the sun, eat delicious food, travel, and live a good life is all because he was that kind of person.”

“If he weren't that kind of person, I wouldn't even exist.”

Lu Xingchi listened quietly, only gently patting her back, saying nothing.

The bright afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, falling on the bed, falling on the two of them. The room was filled with the scent of sun-baked fabric.

Gentle, warm, and omnipresent.

Bei Nuan gradually calmed down, but she still rested her head against Lu Xingchi's chest.

After Bei Nuan stopped crying, Lu Xingchi picked up the red metal box and handed it to her.

“There's something else inside.”

Underneath the small red booklet was a piece of paper.

It was an old, yellowed note with her father's handwriting –

Happy birthday, Nuan Nuan, may you grow up healthy. Love, Dad.

These were the words her father said every year on her birthday.

Today was Bei Nuan's birthday again, and she had received this familiar blessing once more.

The note seemed to have been torn from a book. Bei Nuan couldn't figure out where it could have come from.

Under the note was a set of keys.

Unlike the locker key from before, this set of keys was of varying sizes, intricately made, and looked brand new.

Bei Nuan had no idea what they were for.

Lu Xingchi looked at the keychain. “Bei Nuan, is today your birthday?”

Bei Nuan nodded.

She couldn't hide it from him this time. The adoption certificate clearly stated her birthday.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't know if this was the real birthday given by her biological parents when they abandoned her, or simply the day the welfare institute found her.

Lu Xingchi carefully examined the keychain and speculated, “Then this is… a birthday present?”

Although absurd, it really did seem like a birthday present.

The keychain was too new, too beautiful, completely out of place in this desolate, post-apocalyptic city.

Bei Nuan's attention was diverted by the keychain. Gradually, she forgot about crying and spent a long time studying it with Lu Xingchi, but they couldn't figure it out.

None of the keys had any markings; they didn't know what they were for.

While they were pondering, there was a knock on the door. Tang Tang poked his head in.

“Brother Du Ruo told me not to disturb you two, insisting you were behind closed doors,” Tang Tang grinned. “I told him you weren't. Do you want to come out and play board games?”

Lu Xingchi smiled at him. “Sure.”

He pulled Bei Nuan to her feet.

Bei Nuan knew he wanted her to go out and play with everyone to lift her spirits.

As Lu Xingchi led her to the door by the hand, he seemed to suddenly remember something.

“Bei Nuan, I need that box of gold bars I put in your space.”

He was referring to the small briefcase full of gold bars he had stored in Bei Nuan's space when they first met.

Bei Nuan quickly rummaged through her space and retrieved the box.

The small briefcase didn't look very big, so Bei Nuan underestimated its weight. When she took it out of her space, she held it in her hand.

Unexpectedly, the briefcase was much heavier than she anticipated. It suddenly plunged downwards, almost hitting her foot.

Fortunately, Lu Xingchi was quick to react and caught it, preventing her from having a memorable birthday with a limp.

Du Ruo and the others were all outside.

Seeing them finally emerge, Du Ruo laughed. “That kid Tang Tang, he's so inconsiderate. But daylight debauch…ery, is indeed not very good.”

Bei Nuan glared at him. “Debauch… what?”

She looked fierce, and Du Ruo didn't dare continue, obediently raising his hands in surrender.

Satisfied, Bei Nuan brought out all of Du Ruo's board game collection, piling them on the floor, and began examining them one by one with the others.

Lu Xingchi, however, showed no intention of joining them. “You guys play, I have something to do.”

For the entire afternoon, Lu Xingchi was nowhere to be seen. He stayed alone in the master bedroom.

Bei Nuan figured he had been up all night reading romance novels while keeping watch and must be catching up on sleep.

Before dinner, Lu Xingchi finally emerged and called Bei Nuan into her room.

He leaned against the desk, hands in his pockets, as composed as ever. Yet, Bei Nuan could detect a hint of nervousness in his usual expression.

“I just found out today is your birthday,” he said. “It's a bit late. If I had more time, I think I could have done better.”

Bei Nuan was puzzled, not understanding what he was talking about.

Lu Xingchi continued, “I think it's auspicious to give gold as a birthday gift, and it can also ward off evil spirits, so I made something for you with gold.”

He paused. “It's a bit strange, but I think you might like it.”

So, he took that box of gold bars to make her a birthday present.

Bei Nuan thought to herself that she wasn't a child anymore, so it definitely wouldn't be something like a long-life lock, a small bell, or a bracelet.

He also said it was a bit strange, so it shouldn't be the usual gold bowls, gold chopsticks, or the like.

And he had so many gold bars, so heavy.

Bei Nuan tentatively asked, “Did you make me a 24K gold toilet?”

Lu Xingchi: “…”

Author's Note:

Lu Xingchi: Someone, please save my wife's brain.

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