"Monitor, don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you. It's all because Qian Hao was afraid of death and ungrateful. We heard everything clearly from outside." Seeing Ye Sitong blaming herself, Wu Bin hurriedly comforted her.
"The school is practically destroyed now, our class is gone, and so many people died on the field just now. You don't have to call me monitor anymore. Being monitor doesn't mean much now. I really don't know when I'll end up dying at the hands of those monsters, either."
After saying that, Ye Sitong couldn't help biting her lip tightly, her eyes reddening. It was obvious that if she hadn't been in public, she would have burst into tears long ago.
Any man would feel heartbroken seeing Ye Sitong like that, especially since she had always been the beautiful monitor of their class—a bright, sunny beauty. Now, seeing her cry from fear and grief, Zhao Tianlei and Wu Bin exchanged awkward glances.
Zhao Tianlei suddenly stepped forward and pulled Ye Sitong into his arms. He reached out, gently rested her head against his shoulder, and said, "Even if only a few of us are left in the class, you'll always be our monitor. Cry if you want. I'm here. As long as I, Zhao Tianlei, live another day, I'll protect you. I won't let anyone bully you, and I definitely won't let those zombies hurt you."
Little did Zhao Tianlei know that his words completely shattered the defenses in Ye Sitong's heart. Her whole body trembled, and then she opened her mouth, bit down on Zhao Tianlei's clothes, and began sobbing loudly.
Ye Sitong's mental defenses had clearly collapsed long ago. She simply hadn't cried because of the circumstances. Now that Zhao Tianlei had comforted her, she seemed to have found an outlet for her emotions, and tears streamed down her face without stopping. Zhao Tianlei and Wu Bin simply stood there in silence.
After crying for several minutes, Ye Sitong finally stopped her tears. She gently wiped her face, then left Zhao Tianlei's embrace and said with red-rimmed eyes, "Thank you, Tianlei."
Seeing that Ye Sitong was all right, Zhao Tianlei asked, "By the way, Monitor, did you see Shen Xinyu come here just now?"
At his question, Ye Sitong visibly froze. For some inexplicable reason, her heart turned sour, but she still answered, "I saw her. After you two risked your lives to save everyone on the field, I saw Shen Xinyu, her assistant, and some other students run into the library with the group. I saw them before you came in, but there are so many people now, so I don't know where they went. The library is only this big, with just three floors, and so many of them are together. They should be fine."
"Oh, I see." After hearing Ye Sitong's answer, Zhao Tianlei nodded silently and said nothing more.
Zhao Tianlei's disappointment naturally did not escape Ye Sitong's notice, and she understood it perfectly. After all, Shen Xinyu was an absolute beauty and a Big Star. It was normal for the boys in their class to like her. What Ye Sitong couldn't understand was why Zhao Tianlei's reaction made her feel so bitter and jealous. Although Ye Sitong devoted herself to her studies, whenever she calmed down, she still harbored fantasies about falling in love during her university years.
Before this, Ye Sitong had never considered Zhao Tianlei that way. The two of them had barely interacted. At most, she had occasionally helped him out, and she had never thought about him at all. After carefully thinking it over, Ye Sitong wondered if it was because of what she had seen on the field: Zhao Tianlei using his extremely clumsy driving skills to lure away the zombies at great risk and save everyone.
And then there was what had just happened. Zhao Tianlei had stormed in carrying an axe, faced Qian Hao, who was half a head taller than him, and slapped him twice without hesitation, standing up for her. That had awakened a flutter of attraction in Ye Sitong's heart. On top of that, Zhao Tianlei had actually taken her hand and led her over in front of everyone, then pulled her into his arms while she cried. That had completely broken through the defenses around her heart.
Although Ye Sitong was not as famous as Shen Xinyu, if they dressed and applied their makeup fairly, Ye Sitong definitely wouldn't lose to her. The only reason Shen Xinyu surpassed her was her status as a Big Star. Ye Sitong also longed deeply for love, though she was naturally afraid of being hurt. Now that the apocalypse had brought panic, Ye Sitong had seen who was truly worth relying on at a critical moment. When choosing a man, Ye Sitong cared less about his appearance than his character and substance—especially whether he dared to shoulder responsibility and could make her feel safe.
"Monitor, do you have any plans?" Zhao Tianlei suddenly spoke.
"I told you, don't call me Monitor anymore. I'm not the monitor now. Call me by my name. You can call me Sitong, or even Tongtong." After saying that, Ye Sitong actually blushed a little. However, since she had just been crying, Zhao Tianlei didn't notice.
Ye Sitong hurriedly added, "I don't have any plans. After hiding in this library, I was only thinking of staying here for now. Maybe after the zombies leave, we can run home to find our families. Or someone will surely call the police, and when the police come to rescue us, everyone will be safe."
Hearing Ye Sitong's words, Zhao Tianlei fell silent for a moment. Seeing his expression, Ye Sitong immediately grew worried. "What's wrong, Tianlei? Is something wrong? Or do you have a plan? You can tell us."
Zhao Tianlei lowered his head, looking as though he couldn't bear to tell Ye Sitong. "Monitor... Sitong, this apocalypse didn't just break out at our school. It has broken out across the entire country, even throughout the whole world. In other words, no matter where you go now, it's the same. The outside is full of zombies. There's nowhere safe anymore."
"What? That can't be true." Ye Sitong clearly found Zhao Tianlei's words unbelievable. Zombies had broken out across the entire world? That was simply terrifying. If this continued, humanity would be destroyed and cease to exist.
"So my family, my mom and dad..." Ye Sitong couldn't believe it. She couldn't help quietly sobbing again as she spoke. Back on the field, she had repeatedly called home, but the line had remained busy the entire time. Some students had even tried calling the police, only to get the same result. It was enough to show that the entire communications network had already collapsed.
Seeing Ye Sitong overwhelmed with grief because of his words, Zhao Tianlei hurriedly comforted her. "Sitong, don't be sad. Maybe your family is hiding at home and is perfectly fine. The most important thing now is to take care of yourself. Only if you stay alive will you have a chance to find them."
"Mm, I understand. I'm fine." With Zhao Tianlei's comfort, Ye Sitong finally felt a little better. She immediately continued, "Then Tianlei, can you tell me about your plan? You look so calm and composed. You must have some kind of plan."
As Ye Sitong spoke, Wu Bin, standing beside her, also looked at Zhao Tianlei expectantly. He remembered how Zhao Tianlei had warned his roommates the previous night that the apocalypse would break out today. Not one of them had believed him. It was only because Zhao Tianlei had used a somewhat threatening approach that Wu Bin had stayed in the dormitory with him, afraid something might happen to him. That decision had allowed Wu Bin to escape death and, with Zhao Tianlei's help, survive until now. However, Wu Bin still had no idea what Zhao Tianlei's plan was.
The two people in front of him stared at him seriously. Zhao Tianlei took a deep breath and said, "My plan is..."
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