Arc 1: Mira in a Doomsday World [11]

Mira and Xu went out of the two-story slab house with an exceptionally harmonious atmosphere. Mira's height was still above average, but beside Xu, she only reached a little bit over his shoulder. They walked side by side like this, their hands linked together as always.

Xu no longer hid his doting expression when looking at Mira. He openly stared at her with love-filled eyes, and anyone who saw it would have the illusion that there was only Mira in Xu's world.

Mira wore a light grey shirt and black sweatpants. Xu wore the same set, just in a different size. At a glance, one could tell that it was a so-called couple outfit.

For this, Xu pestered Mira for ten minutes before finally getting her to agree.

When Mira asked him why he insisted on such a thing, Xu answered with a smile, "So everyone knows that you're mine and I'm yours."

He gently traced the bite marks and hickeys that were extremely conspicuous on Mira's porcelain skin, and a little smugness appeared in his eyes.

Look, she has his mark on her body. Although they hadn't gotten to that stage yet, she was willing to be more intimate with him. No matter how many coveted her, he was still the only one who could do this to her... he was the only one who could get this close to her... 

A crazed glint slipped past Xu's seemingly pure smile. Mira saw this clearly, but only chose to turn a blind eye to it. She was used to such instances, and to her, Xu's predicament was nothing special nor new.

The bite marks and purple-blue hickeys on both their necks and collarbones were particularly dazzling in the daylight, especially due to the fact that it was so blatantly exposed.

Therefore, when they sat on one of the tables pulled outside, they were met with strange stares and embarrassed expressions. People's eyes couldn't help but drift down to the exposed marks on their necks, leaving them to imagine what sort of activity these two had done over the night. Xu basked in these stares, not intending to cover it up or explain.

Wei Lin, who had a hard time sleeping all night, crushed the piece of bread in her hand while watching the couple 'show off' their love.

Xu's face was no longer expressionless and stiff, instead, there was a light smile gracing his lips, and his eyes twinkled every time he looked at Mira.

Seeing this side of Xu, Wei Lin couldn't help but feel a sense of crisis.

Obviously, she should be the one at the end of such a gaze... obviously, she should be the one receiving that gentleness... obviously, Xu was supposed to be hers...

Indescribable jealousy filled her. It made her teeth itch and her blood boil. Wei Lin originally thought that she could wait and endure until she found a chance to remove Mira silently, but the strong anger was slowly eroding her reason. She wanted to destroy Mira completely. She felt hatred to the bones, and her killing intent towards Mira rose to the highest point immediately.

Mira looked at Wei Lin and met her loath-filled eyes. Wei Lin was startled and froze for a while. At this moment, Mira's gaze was sharp and precise. When she looked at Wei Lin, it was as if she just zeroed in on a prey, making Wei Lin subconsciously stiffen, unable to react.

But the next second, Xu covered Mira's eyes, blocking their eye contact. Wei Lin saw Xu leaning to the side of Mira's ears and whispering something to her.

Although Wei Lin also had enhanced senses and the two were not too far away from her, for some reason, she was unable to hear their conversation.

This was thanks to Mira's soul power, which usually circles around her and Xu to block their interactions from everybody else.

"Wife, who are you looking at?" Xu, who had the expression of an abandoned puppy, turned Mira's face to him before removing the hand that covered her eyes.

Mira raised her brows and looked back at Wei Lin, muttering softly, "Don't make trouble."

Mira was still having fun observing Wei Lin's mood swings, but Xu immediately felt unhappy after being reprimanded like this. He pursed his lips and looked in the direction Mira was staring at.

Wei Lin, who was originally in a bad mood, felt ecstatic upon seeing that Xu was actually staring at her. But before she could immerse herself in her fantasies, Xu looked away and continued to stare at Mira. Wei Lin glared at Mira hatefully.

Mira was sitting on Xu's lap. After retracting his gaze, Xu simply turned around, bringing Mira along with him.

His back faced the rest of the group, and Mira, who was in his arms, could only look at the scenery of empty houses and scattered bones.

"Why did you turn around?" Mira asked, displeased.

Xu didn't answer, but asked another question instead, "Does she look better than me?"

Mira paused and looked up. When she met Xu's watery eyes, she instinctively raised her hands to caress his cheek.

She sighed and shook her head, "You look better than everybody here. What's wrong with you today?"

Xu pursed his lips, unwilling to speak. 

"Don't want to tell me?" Mira raised her brows.

"I'm just... afraid..." Xu held Mira's hand against his cheek. Mira felt a cold tear roll down the fingertips that were pressed against Xu's cheek.

"When I woke up this morning, you weren't there... I felt like you would just disappear and abandon me... Sometimes, I feel like this is all just a dream," Xu closed his eyes tightly, his grip on Mira's hand tightening, "I never expected that I would like someone this much. I know it hasn't been long since we met, but I... want to keep you with me forever. I—"

Mira pressed a finger against his lips to stop him, "Okay, I understand."

Xu pursed his lips, his eyes darkening, "No, you don't. You don't take me seriously at all. I know I'm just a plaything to you but... Can't I be more? Can't you give me a chance? I just like you too much, I like you a lot..."

Mira sighed and rubbed Xu's head, "Okay, don't cry. I told you, I understand," she cupped Xu's cheeks and looked at him eye-to-eye, "But Xu, have you ever thought about whether you can keep me? You're not even as strong as me, so how can you expect me to stay by your side?"

Xu felt as if he was hit by a lightning bolt.

He froze for a while, then suddenly grabbed Mira's arms in panic, "I- I'm still useful... Even if I'm not as strong as you, I can protect you... I promise!"

Mira smiled and kissed Xu's nose, "Okay, I hope you can fulfill your promise when the time comes."

A vague ominous premonition made Xu's chest tight.

°°°

The group only rested for a few hours. After the meal, they quickly got back on track.

Wei Lin sat with Alex and Sakura in the same car, her face sullen.

"We must get rid of her before we leave City E," she spoke with a determined expression.

"But... she doesn't leave Xu's side at all. We can't do anything if she keeps on sticking to him like this," Sakura sighed worriedly.

Alex also chirped in, "The others have all basically accepted Mira already, so we should avoid doing anything in front of them."

Wei Lin pursed her lips, "You guys don't need to worry," her expression remained blank, but her gaze was especially cold, "You just have to make sure this comes into contact with her..."

Wei Lin handed a transparent bottle containing a substance that looked no different from water to Sakura. Sakura took the bottle and turned it a couple of times in scrutiny.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's just a slow-acting poison. It doesn't show any visible symptoms, so we don't have to worry about taking any blame," Wei Lin replied, "You can add it to her water or pretend to spill it on her clothes, just make sure it comes into contact with just her—nobody else," Wei Lin paused, "...especially not Xu."

Sakura nodded hesitantly, "Okay, I'll try."

Wei Lin leaned back in satisfaction. Her eyes were locked on to the vehicle behind, wishing to penetrate it with her gaze.

Tomorrow, there would be no more Mira in this world.

Mira, who was being targeted, was in deep sleep at this time. She was curled up in the backseat, with numerous pillows, stuffed toys, and blankets to make her comfortable. Xu looked at her through the rearview mirror from time to time, as if afraid that she would disappear any moment.

He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that such a thing could really happen, after all, he did meet her so suddenly. In that barren city, only she was alive. Before that, he heard no news of her existence, as if she just materialized from thin air.

Xu had many questions about Mira, but he always felt that he was not qualified to ask.

The many days of intimacy made him yearn more, and he couldn't help but feel hopeful that someday, he would be important enough to her to do just so. Although he also felt a bit uneasy, he still believed that he could protect her and prove himself somehow.

Taking another glance at Mira peacefully sleeping, the frown on Xu's brows eased a little.

It took the group another four hours to reach the borders of City E. As Mira had previously guessed, there were almost no zombies wandering around. The only ones left were those with missing limbs and weak bodies. 

Although located in the middle of two mountain ranges, City E used to be a large and prosperous city, especially since it was not too far from the capital. To pass through the city, the group needed to drive for at least two more hours. After that, they would have to go through a couple more towns, before being considered safe from the zombie tide. Wei Lin had not done anything to Mira for many days. She neither tried to harm her nor interact with her, staying lowkey throughout the journey.

But Mira knew that Wei Lin must be boiling something, after all, her silent observations were no illusions. Wei Lin was someone with a scheming heart, but her character does not allow her to show it openly. She preferred to act in the dark while maintaining an unaffected and uninvolved front. When it comes to this aspect, Mira still admired Wei Lin very much. In any case, she managed to single-handedly destroy the previous Mira's life, and that alone was worthy of applause.

Unfortunately, she made an enemy out of Lu Mira, and in turn, she made the devil Mira an enemy as well.

Well, if Wei Lin had not done anything to the dead Mira after she had been reborn, perhaps Mira wouldn't have been able to stumble upon this world. In the first place, although Lu Mira indeed previously lived a more comfortable life compared to Wei Lin, she had never harmed her. It could be seen that jealousy had already eaten up Wei Lin from the inside—to the point of paranoia and madness. This crazy jealousy stemmed from an inferiority complex that was deeply rooted in her childhood.

Wei Lin originally adapted a cold and taciturn facade as a shield to prevent people from seeing through her inner inferiority complex, which had since given birth to a superiority complex after being reborn and obtaining a 'golden finger'. She started to regard herself as the protagonist of the world, but her sense of inferiority never disappeared. Anybody who tried to contradict or surpass Wei Lin would be labeled as an enemy that would be crushed sooner or later. The same went for Lu Mira, and the same goes for the current Mira.

The previous Mira was hated by Wei Lin because she had everything that could've belonged to her. The current Mira was hated by Wei Lin because she had taken away the man that should've belonged to her.

In a sense, Wei Lin was just like a spoiled child who wanted to be the best and have the best of everything. Her 'revenge' was but an excuse to make herself feel better and more superior. Even her close relationship with Xu was but a delusion formed due to the fact that she was the first person to be beside Xu when the apocalypse came about.

To tell the truth, her importance to the team was only boosted by her spatial storage, and her importance to Xu was dependent on how she could aid him in ending the apocalypse.

One would only be able to develop a close relationship with others if they were willing to communicate and bend from time to time. Wei Lin, who always acted high and mighty, didn't have much sense of companionship with the rest of the team. She would only ever be willing to take the initiative and try to get close when it comes to Xu, so other than Amir, Sakura, Ling Yu, and Alex, the rest of the group could only be barely considered allies.

Maybe if Wei Lin had never pretended, she would have had gotten the love that she'd been longing for in the first place. Maybe if she hadn't categorized people as wants and needs, she would've had found a family. Maybe if she lived for herself and not for her ego's satisfaction, Lu Mira might have not died with grievances, and nobody would have had wanted to take revenge on her.

But ifs were just ifs for a reason.

As Wei Lin had previously said, both she and Lu Mira had no choice over which family they were born into. The path that she chose was inevitable.

Mira's appearance could also be considered inevitable.

This was the so-called cause and effect. It was only unfortunate for Wei Lin to encounter Mira.

×××

Xu: Wife, do you like me better than Wei Lin?

Mira: I don't like Wei Lin at all...

Xu: *smiles* Well, do you like me better than everybody else on the team?

Mira: Of course.

Xu: *smiles wider* Do you like me better than donuts and strawberries?

Mira: Um...