At night, Song Shi sat alone, frantically rubbing a patch of skin on her ankle. Though the surface looked healed—smooth and unbroken—she couldn’t shake her unease.
It was just a wound. There wasn’t even any bleeding.
Look… there’s no trace. She’d be fine.
She looked normal on the outside, but her head felt hot, her thoughts spiraling.
This… This was clearly an early symptom of infection.
The man had said that as long as she could stay lucid, the virus could be suppressed. But—
“Song Shi, what’s wrong with you?” Mu Yu mumbled, her head poking out from beneath the covers, eyes bleary.
Song Shi didn’t respond. She sat rigid, unmoving.
She desperately wanted comfort—but not from Mu Yu.
Suddenly, she stood up. The motion startled Mu Yu, and even Chi Ying, who had been trying to ignore her, glanced over.
“It’s so late—where are you going?” Mu Yu asked.
Still no response. Song Shi walked out into the night.
“Hmph, what’s with her?” Mu Yu grumbled. “Ignoring me now?”
Chi Ying yawned.
She was used to this behavior.
__
Gu Chi, nearly asleep, suddenly heard footsteps outside the tent. His eyes opened sharply.
Could it be Chi Ying?
Last time, she’d come to him in the middle of the night too.
Lu Yunfei and Lin Xun were already asleep, so Gu Chi dressed quickly and stepped out quietly.
“Brother Gu…”
Seeing Song Shi standing there, Gu Chi felt an inexplicable disappointment.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Can we talk?” she asked softly.
He hesitated, but nodded.
She walked ahead, stopping about fifty meters from camp. He followed.
“You’re not feeling well. Why are you out here so late?” he asked.
“Just a bit of a headache,” she said, biting her lip. “Brother Gu… what will you do after the zombies are gone?”
“Me?” Gu Chi gave a small shake of his head. “I don’t know yet. After all this, there’ll be a long period of recovery. There won’t be time to rest.”
“But for so long… don’t you ever think about your personal life?” Her tone was casual, but the question rushed out. She quickly added, “I was just curious, since you never talk about it.”
Gu Chi frowned, puzzled by the topic.
“Let’s talk about it later.”
Song Shi clenched her fists.
“…Anything else?”
She forced a smile. “No. That’s all.”
“Then get some rest.” Gu Chi turned to leave, but paused mid-step. He looked back.
“By the way, from now on, just call me Captain.”
Song Shi was stunned. “Why?”
He rubbed his fingers, clearly struggling to explain.
“It’s nothing. I’m just not used to being called that.”
“But you never minded before.” Her eyes darkened.
Why did he suddenly want to take even this away?
“Why now—” Gu Chi faltered.
Right. Why now?
“Sorry… I don’t know.”
It had always felt a little awkward when she called him “Brother Gu,” but he never cared enough to correct it.
Until now.
Until Chi Ying softly whispered “You Brother Gu” in his ear that night.
Since then, hearing it from anyone else made his skin crawl.
Song Shi sneered. “Is it because of Chi Ying? Because you like her, so you don’t want me to call you that anymore?”
She didn’t really believe Gu Chi liked Chi Ying. She just wanted to test him—to make him confront his own feelings. She believed Gu Chi admired Chi Ying’s power, nothing more.
But Gu Chi froze. The words hit deeper than she expected.
Like her…?
He stood there, stunned. His chest felt tight, hot.
Song Shi waited. His silence stung.
And then—he finally spoke, his voice solemn, like a promise:
“…Yes.”
__
Fifty meters away, in a tent:
Chi Ying’s eyes flew open. She lay wide awake, her sharp hearing having betrayed her.
She’d just heard something absolutely terrible.
__
The next day, more corpses were found—former ability users—but the investigation still had no leads.
Initially, Gu Chi suspected the zombie leader was involved, but the evidence no longer supported it.
For one, the red spots on the victims’ skin weren’t consistent with infection.
For another, they hadn’t encountered any active zombies in the past three days. The few they did see were half-dead and easily dispatched. There was no way that elite fourth- or fifth-tier ability users would be killed by such stragglers.
The biggest mystery, however, was who had killed all the zombies they found.
He’d examined dozens of corpses. The marks suggested five distinct abilities—but the way they were used felt eerily consistent. It wasn’t like five different people. It was as if one person wielded them all.
It reminded him of Chi Ying.
But… it couldn’t be her.
She’d been with them the whole time.
And the wounds were clean and subtle—not like Chi Ying’s usual, flamboyant one-hit kills.
Yes. She always just… cut off their heads.
Gu Chi nodded to himself.
__
Meanwhile, Chi Ying was uncharacteristically distracted.
She hadn’t slept well.
Ever since overhearing that fateful conversation, she hadn’t been able to focus.
Gu Chi said… he likes…?
Her face flushed crimson. The gust of wind she summoned nearly sent her flying.
She clung to the window ledge of the office building, wishing she could vanish.
Why couldn’t they have gone farther away? Why did she have to hear that?!
【Actually… Normal people can’t hear from that distance.】
Chi Ying ignored the system, her thoughts spinning.
The system shook its metaphorical head.
Human love will only delay things.
Its host clearly wasn’t in work mode anymore.
【Don’t think too much. If he confesses, you can always reject him.】
Chi Ying bit her lip and—despite herself—imagined Gu Chi standing in front of her, confessing.
Her whole body tensed. Her nose tingled. Her heart felt… weird. Flustered. Burning.
She covered her face.
This feeling—it was unbearable.
【Why are you reacting so strongly?】 the system asked.
She sat up on the open-air sill. “Isn’t that normal?”
The system hesitated. 【Not exactly. If Lu Yunfei said that to you instead, how would you feel?】
Chi Ying tilted her head. “…A little embarrassed?”
【A little? You just nearly fainted!】
She paused, realizing the difference.
It wouldn’t have been the same with anyone else.
She looked up, reviewing the emotional logic the system had taught her.
Then, with sudden clarity and shock:
“Wait… could it be that I like him too?!”
【No, no, no!】 The system panicked.
【It doesn’t have to be that extreme!!】
If it had known this would happen, it wouldn’t have said anything.
Now it wasn’t sure what Chi Ying even felt. Had it just kicked off something irreversible?
Chi Ying, cheeks still burning, tried to push the thought aside.
Focus. Finish the task first. Everything else can wait.
…
That night, back at the campsite, while they sorted through clues, Gu Chi noticed something odd.
Chi Ying was acting… off.
Whenever their eyes met, she immediately looked away.
At dinner, she stood beside the round table for a long time before sitting down. But the moment he sat across from her, she blushed furiously, picked up her bowl, and hurried to the farthest corner—using the bowl to shield her face.
Gu Chi: “…”
So she was avoiding him now?
He sighed.
Just yesterday he’d figured out his feelings. He hadn’t even had the chance to take the first step.
Now he’d already fallen face-first into a pit.
And the worst part?
He didn’t even know why.
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 1
Love MLs with higher EQs