She rembered him now.
A younger teammate from her past life, one of the kids who had followed her during the apocalypse. He had been small, weak, and always eager to prove himself. She had tried to keep him alive, to shield him from the worst of it, but in the end...
Qingran’s fingers curled into fists at her sides.
She exhaled slowly, kneeling down in front of him. "Tang Haoyu."
His head jerked up, eyes wide and filled with unbearable grief.
"I’m alive." Her voice was steady, firm. "Look at ."
He stared, lips parted, tears still falling freely.
"I’m here," she repeated. "You’re here. We’re not in that nightmare anymore."
Yet at least.
Tang Haoyu let out a choked sob, his fingers twitching before he hesitantly reached for her sleeve, as if afraid she’d disappear the mont he touched her.
"But I— I saw you die." His voice wavered. "I— I watched you—" He squeezed his eyes shut, his entire body wracked with fresh sobs.
Qingran clenched her jaw. That wasn’t a mory a fifteen-year-old should carry.
She reached out and placed a hand on his head, her grip steady. "You don’t have to watch it happen again. I won’t happen again."
His breath hitched, and for a mont, he just sobbed harder, his forehead nearly touching the ground.
"I should have protected you."
She had died right in front of him.
The last ti around, she hadn’t been there to see his fate unfold. She hadn’t known if he had lived, if he had suffered, or if he had found a way to survive without her. Yet here he was, standing in front of her, crying like a child who had lost everything.
Maybe because he had.
Tang Haoyu clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. His whole body trembled, and despite his attempts to hold back his sobs, the tears wouldn’t stop.
"You were always looking out for us," he choked out. "You kept us alive. You were the strongest, the bravest, and I—" His voice broke. "I couldn’t do anything when you—when you—"
"Stop that," she muttered, steadying him. "I’m not dead."
Tang Haoyu looked up, his tear-streaked face twisting in agony. "But you were!" His voice cracked. "You died, and I—I wasn’t strong enough to stop it! If only I wasn’t so naive and made myself believe that our teammates wouldn’t hurt you, maybe you’d still be alive.."
"But I’m still alive. I’m standing right here aren’t I?"
....
"That place was so lonely without you, the rest of our teammates didn’t stand a chance. They got killed within seconds, I was the only person left, till the zombies got too, when I opened my eyes, I was back in my old room and there’s still nagging voice in my head that calls host, it said it can show the way to you so I followed it.."
Qingran stood up, grabbing him along with her, grabbing him along with her.
Seems like he had awakening a system in this life.
"Let’s talk about this inside befor the neighbors think I’ve committed kidnapping.."
Tang Haoyu sniffled, rubbing his eyes with the back of his sleeve as he nodded. His grip on her sleeve tightened, as if afraid she would vanish if he let go.
Qingran sighed and pulled him inside, locking the door behind them. She led him to the couch and pushed him down before heading to the kitchen. The boy looked like he hadn’t eaten in days.
She poured him a glass of water and tossed a box of tissues onto the table. "Drink this."
He took the glass with shaky hands, gulping down the water like a man dying of thirst. His breath was still uneven, but at least he wasn’t sobbing anymore.
Qingran crossed her arms, watching him closely. "So. You have a system now."
Tang Haoyu hesitated, his fingers clenching around the empty glass. ".....mhm I guess so, took a while to understand the term system."
"What does it do?"
He swallowed, lowering his gaze. "It... guides . It told you were here. I—I didn’t know if it was real, but I had to try. I had to find you, Qing-jie."
Qingran frowned. "So it led you to . What else?"
Tang Haoyu hesitated again, biting his lip. "...It said it can help beco strong enough to protect you this ti." His voice was small, uncertain, but determined.
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Qingran exhaled sharply. "Listen to , Haoyu. This isn’t about making up for the past. We’re not going to repeat that nightmare." She t his eyes, her voice steady. "You don’t need to protect ."
His hands clenched into fists. "But I want to. I have to. If I don’t—"
"You’ll just end up breaking yourself."
Tang Haoyu flinched.
She knew that kind of guilt too well. It ate away at you, made you reckless, desperate. And in the apocalypse, recklessness got you killed.
She sat down beside him, her expression softening—just a little. "If your system helps you grow stronger, then use it. But not just for . Survive for yourself, Haoyu."
His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his fingers twisting together. But he nodded, even if he didn’t look convinced.
Qingran sighed and ruffled his hair roughly. "We’ll figure this out. But first, you look like a starved dog. Did you eat anything today?"
Tang Haoyu blinked, then hesitated. "...Not really. I ca here as soon as I opened my eyes."
She clicked her tongue and stood up. "Stay there. I’ll make sothing."
As she moved to the kitchen, she heard him mumbling under his breath.
"...Older sister Qingran is still the sa."
Qingran didn’t say anything, she wondered if Tang Haoyu was still the sa but for now fate had brought him to her doorstep.
"Lingquan add Tang Haoyu to the save list, he wasn’t that bad of a teammate during the first apocalypse so he’s worth saving during this one"
[Ding! Adding Tang Haoyu to Save list. ]
[Current stats: 6 left out of 10]
[Total number of people in save list: 5]
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