In no time, Zhou Quchuan climbed back up to the roof and sat down in front of the puzzled Zhao Lian, saying, "Suddenly, I don't feel so sleepy anymore. Didn't you say you'll tell me a story every night? I want to hear a story."
Although his tone sounded normal, for some reason Zhao Lian seemed to sense that he was a little upset, as if he was holding some resentment inside.
"What's the matter with you?" she tentatively asked.
"...Nothing," Zhou Quchuan looked at her concerned expression, and the sense of discomfort and inexplicable frustration in his heart vanished instantly. He deliberately asked in an expectant tone, "What story are we going to hear tonight?"
In fact, he wasn't mad at Zhao Lian, just sulking with himself, because he suddenly realized that, unconsciously, Zhao Lian seemed to occupy a larger space in his heart than he had anticipated.
This didn't fit into his original plan. He had stayed because of her peculiar abilities that would benefit his cultivation. Absolutely not because he couldn't let go of her, or worse—started to like her!
Absolutely not!
Zhou Quchuan thought to himself that it would be fine after this winter. Surely, he would leave without any nostalgia. I wonder if this woman would be in a panic if she found out he had suddenly disappeared? Or even cry in sorrow? After all, her life would be better with him around, and if he were to leave, it's uncertain whether she could live smoothly.
Speaking of which, she really is a woman who evokes worry... Well, he should leave her a note by then... No, he should confess his true identity to her as planned before, and give her a few choices.
Zhou Quchuan turned his head to look at Zhao Lian's profile, staring at her lips opening and closing, but his thoughts drifted elsewhere, not paying attention to what she was saying.
Zhao Lian was telling the story of "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King", and suddenly noticed that Achuan seemed to be staring at her absentmindedly, with an empty look that didn't seem to be listening earnestly.
"What are you thinking?" she asked, breaking the flow of the story.
"Hmm? Nothing, your story is very interesting, continue," Zhou Quchuan immediately grinned.
"If you don't want to hear it, we can talk about something else."
"I want to hear it," Zhou Quchuan nodded as if peeling garlic, "Go ahead, how did Taiyi Zhenren take Nezha as his disciple, and what happened next?"
Zhao Lian glanced at him and felt that the Zhou Quchuan she had gotten to know recently was very different from the one she had picked up. He seemed more cheerful now, but that was a good thing.
She smiled and resumed telling the story. In fact, these days, the stories she told Achuan were some myths and legends passed down from ancient times in China, usually meant for children. But Achuan had lost his memory, and she didn't know what his past was like. By telling him these stories, maybe he had heard them before, and it might trigger some memories?
After finishing the story, with the moon still shining brightly and it not being too late, probably around eight o'clock at most, they didn't show any sign of wanting to go back to their rooms to sleep.
"Achuan," Zhao Lian suddenly asked, "If you can successfully get to the New River Base after the winter, will you stay there to live?"
Zhou Quchuan glanced at her, "I probably will... After all, that base has a good reputation, I think living there should be quite nice."
Zhao Lian nodded and said with a smile, "It's okay, if you find it unbearable, we can still come back to the farm here. I have thought about it, if the New River Base turns out to be disappointing, I will come back here. Anyway, with Lightning here, this area will be safe. By then, I'll try to cultivate some fields and see if I can raise some wild chickens and rabbits."
Hearing her tone, Zhou Quchuan realized that she seemed disappointed with the New River Base and was very much looking forward to the farm life. He couldn't help but argue, "The New River Base certainly won't disappoint you."
"How do you know? Have you lived there? Even if you have, you don't remember, right?" Zhao Lian smiled and asked in response.
"Um, I don't know, but I have this kind of intuition," Zhou Quchuan lightly coughed and asked tentatively, "It seems like you are very resistant to the life in the base? Why? Isn't the base safer than the wilderness?"
Zhao Lian fell silent, just looking at the dark night sky in the distance. It wasn't until Zhou Quchuan thought that he shouldn't have asked this question that she finally spoke, "I used to long for the base life as well, went through a lot of hardships with a group of people to reach a base. But I was soon betrayed by my two best friends. They wanted to trade me for a better future, and I escaped."
Zhou Quchuan fell silent. While Zhao Lian's words were not long, they contained a lot of information, confirming his earlier guess—she had indeed been bullied in the base, hence her resistance to collective human living and her preference to stay in the wilderness rather than seek out others of her kind.
"After escaping for a while, I spent a lot of time to get to another base that survivors praised highly, claiming it had strict rule of law, fairness and justice. But later..." Zhao Lian stopped here, as if not wanting to remember those things.
After another period of silence, she sighed, "The base in Xinchuan is my last attempt. If it still doesn’t work, I will come back here and live until I die.”
Zhao Lian’s silence and what she said made Zhou Quchuan feel the urge to twist the heads off the people who had hurt her. He opened his mouth, but didn't know how to comfort her.
In fact, he himself found it very difficult to trust others. Apart from the few brothers he had fought alongside, he would not entrust his back to anyone. He understood Zhao Lian's lack of trust in human society because he had also gone through such a phase.
It wasn’t until his strength increased exponentially, and he no longer had to fear anyone, that he could sleep soundly in an environment surrounded by strangers.
As for what Zhao Lian had experienced, he didn’t need to ask.
A young woman so beautiful, without any special abilities, even though she had better skills than an average person, two or three big guys could still subdue her.
In this situation, she could successfully escape from two bases, and live safely until now, it was already very admirable and impressive.
Seeing her seemingly a little down, Zhou Quchuan raised his hand behind her to pat her shoulder, but after hesitating for a long time, he withdrew his hand and awkwardly said, "If you find it difficult to live in Xinchuan Base, you can come back here. But my intuition tells me that you will definitely be very happy there."
Zhao Lian dispelled the doubts in her heart and smiled, "Why do I feel like you have a high affinity for Xinchuan? Isn't it because both of your names have 'Chuan'?"
Zhou Quchuan thought to himself: The similarity in our names is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, it was named after me, it’s my turf.
But he couldn't confess to her now, so he just chuckled and vaguely replied, "Maybe."
Then she asked, "A Chuan, if you are not happy there, come back here with me?"
Looking at her serious expression in the moonlight, Zhou Quchuan knew that this was an impossible situation, but he still inexplicably agreed, "Okay, I will accompany you."
Immediately, Zhao Lian smiled, her smile seemed to illuminate the entire moonlight, and her whole face shone in Zhou Quchuan's eyes.
"Don't lie to me," after she finished laughing, Zhao Lian said seriously, "I have always hated being deceived the most in my life!"
After saying this, she continued to look at the distant sky, her face showing a hint of longing, as if she had already thought of a peaceful and beautiful future.
But she didn't notice that Zhou Quchuan next to her almost stiffened because of the words "I have always hated being deceived the most."