When Lin Wenbo arrived, Gong Lixin had already returned to the room provided by the Gong household and was washing the dirty clothes he had worn last night. There was no other choice as it was now the apocalypse, the Gong family didn't have a babysitter anymore to take care of him, and he only had four sets of clothes in total. After not cleaning for a while, there would be no more clothes to change into.
"Big Brother Lin, are you going out?" Seeing Lin Wenbo carrying the bag, Gong Lixin washed away the foam from his hands and asked curiously.
"No, these things are for you. Come over and take a look." In Gong Lixin's clear eyes, there was no greed, desires, or impurities. The haze in Lin Wenbo's heart unconsciously lifted and a touch of a smile appeared on his cold expression.
"What is it?" Gong Lixin wiped his hands and walked over to his side, looking at the opened travel bag. When he saw the neatly placed clothes, his eyebrows furrowed.
He was just thinking about how his clothes were too little and where to acquire a few other sets. After staying in this modern time for more than a year, he had long been used to wearing casual clothes at home, wearing formal attire outside, and sleeping while wearing pajamas. However, nowadays he wore a sports suit even as he slept which was extremely uncomfortable. Alas, he had no habit of sleeping naked so he had to be patient.
He couldn't blame He Jin for taking too few things at the beginning. It was enough to bring one or two sets of daily necessities like clothes, but bring more food, weapons and medicines. At that time, it was natural to bring things to keep one's life and make do with the rest.
Seeing the child's surprised expression, Lin Wenbo's smile became more profound. Touching his head, he said, "Tell me if you notice anything missing, I'll get it for you later."
"Okay." Gong Lixin nodded and took out a piece of clothing which he drew towards his body.
Lin Wenbo was tall and naturally, his clothes were not suitable for the petite Gong Lixin. However, Lin Wenbo had considered this in advance and mostly brought over cotton T-shirts to be worn. Even if it was too long, it wouldn't look too out of place and his movement wouldn't be constricted. According to Gong Xiangyi, the weather after the start of the apocalypse would greatly change. There was no such thing as a summer season as it was always summer. There were no more four seasons to speak of so these short-sleeved T-shirts could be worn for a whole year round.
When Gong Lixin looked at the clothes one by one, Lin Wenbo gave a casual inspection of his room. In the end, he opened a small vertical wardrobe which was placed in the corner and his face immediately darkened.
There was nothing in the closet except for a mountaineering bag. Lin Wenbo frowned and went into the bathroom to check. He found that there was only a small piece of round soap on the bathroom sink and it was given to the public by the base. Laundry, bathing, shampooing, and washing were all shared.
Thinking of the dazzling shampoo, shower gel, shaving foam, soap and so on, placed in the bathroom by Gong Xiangyi, Lin Wenbo's chest seemed to be crushed by a large stone, making him feel extremely ashamed at the same time. Looking at the child in front of him filled with ignorant joy, his eyes slightly warmed and he rushed back, gazing at the other.
"Big Brother Lin, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly unhappy?" The sensitive Gong Lixin immediately noticed Lin Wenbo's abnormal emotions and reached out to pat his shoulders as he asked worriedly.
"No, Big Brother Lin is very well." Lin Wenbo placed his hand over the back of the boy's soft hand with lush fingertips, forcing out a smile to comfort the other.
"Oh." As Gong Lixin noticed that Lin Wenbo didn't want to talk about it, and since he really wasn't interested in digging up other's secrets, he stopped asking after answering.
In order to make Lin Wenbo happy, he took out two bottles from his mountaineering bag and handed them over to him. He explained the usage and efficacy and seriously told him not to forget to send a bottle to Grandfather Lin.
Lin Wenbo took the medicine bottle which made him more self-sufficient. Compared with Gong Xiangyi's cool and ruthless attitude, even when the child was busy escaping, he still didn't forget to bring things for them. Without even mentioning how precious these things were, in his heart, it had already surpassed its value by a thousand-fold.
"Oh, how are you this awesome? Why do you make this Big Brother Lin like you more and more?" Lin Wenbo pulled the child with big eyes into his arms and tucked him under his chin, burying his face in his hair as he whispered.
Gong Lixin's heart froze. He cautiously looked up at the other with his clear black eyes, showing pleasure and hope. Big Brother Lin likes him more and more? Does he like me more than the original 'Gong Lixin'? He thought of this silently. He hadn't intended to replace Gong Lixin. But since he was here, he really cared about taking everything belonging to Gong Lixin. Therefore, he was more interested in getting close to the people around him and trying to get their true love.
"What are you doing?" The sudden sound from outside the door interrupted the two people pressed together in a hug. The warm and quiet atmosphere in the room instantly dissipated.
"Nothing. I brought a few pieces of clothes for Lixin." Seeing Song Haoran standing at the door with a stiff expression, Lin Wenbo reluctantly let go of the soft body in his arms as he faintly answered.
Song Haoran nodded, burying the discomfort that had rushed into his heart as he stepped up to Gong Lixin's side.
"These seem to be your clothes." He naturally sat next to Gong Lixin, grabbed his shoulder and looked into the open travel bag. Song Haoran's thick eyebrows wrinkled at the sight.
"Yes, well, Lixin only had four sets of clothes to wear, so I took some of mine over here." Lin Wenbo replied as he took the clothes and hung them on the hanger before putting them in the closet.
"How come? Who was responsible for distributing supplies? Call them over!" Song Haoran said with a dark face.
Aside from military affairs, he had never been concerned about these trivial matters. When he arrived at the base, his room was arranged and his military uniforms, casual clothes, and pajamas were placed neatly in the closet. He didn't feel strange when he saw it as the standard configuration of the base was also in a similar manner. However, seeing this child being scorned so, his heart ignited with anger.
Lin Wenbo's expression was dark and he gave Song Haoran a look, indicating that they should talk in the bathroom instead.
Song Haoran suppressed his anger and his dark expression as he walked towards the bathroom with Lin Wenbo. He closed the door after they entered, aware that Lin Wenbo's next words should not be heard by Lixin.
Back in the bathroom, Lin Wenbo's expression became so dark, it was useless wiping it away. With this expression, he whispered, "Our things were not issued by the logistics department, they were prepared for us in advance. Gong Xiangyi didn't help prepare Lixin's things."
Song Haoran was stunned and when he came to a moment later, his low voice seemed to hold back a storm of anger and sounded extremely dangerous. "What do you mean? In a year's time, she didn't prepare anything for Lixin?"
Lin Wenbo glanced at his friend's stormy expression and whispered, "Yes. You should have guessed what she wanted to do since she had the ability to predict a year ago…"
When it came to the last sentence, Lin Wenbo's voice became hoarse, tapering off in the end. Yet, he continued to tell his friend with murderous eyes. "She may have foreseen her and Xiaoxin's future. Xiaoxin may have done something to hurt her, so she did this." Lin Wenbo had already seen a few clues thanks to Gong Xiangyi's reactions.
Song Haoran stared at Lin Wenbo without any expression, and no words were exchanged between them for a long while. Suddenly, he sneered and said in a low voice. "Xiaoxin will hurt her, so she started with a strong hand and wanted to let Xiaoxin die. Hilarious! Just because of what she's doing now, he will kill her in the future. It's her own hand that will lead to her undoing! It's karma!"
In his tone, one could feel unprecedented coldness and ruthlessness. Song Haoran looked at Lin Wenbo and spoke, "No matter what Gong Xiangyi foresees, those have nothing to do with Lixin. She was already crazy a year ago. This was a murder attempt and even if she failed once, she will still plan for a second time and a third time. You better be careful of her. Don't let her get too close to Lixin. If she dares do something, don't blame me if I don't take into account our old feelings of friendship."
Lin Wenbo nodded, lowering his eyelids to hide eyes filled with bitterness and embarrassment. He never thought that the sweet burden of the past would now become his shackles. He would just be disappointed again and again until he fell into despair. With the current Gong Xiangyi like this, his heart hasn't been shaken, but he felt exhausted. But after so many years of love, he would never leave even when her spirit has become problematic. Abandoning his responsibility was not allowed.
Forget it. For now, he could only take a step at a time. Lin Wenbo swallowed down the bitterness and felt helpless in this darkness. While he thought this, he turned his eyes to look at his friend, confessing that Gong Xiangyi wouldn't make a comeback.
Song Haoran kept an ear out for the other as he helped take out Gong Lixin's clean clothes from the basin. When Lin Wenbo's words fell, he didn't take it seriously. "She's going to try in the future. She's not a simple person. Gong Xiangyi wants to win against others, but this time, she chose the wrong person to go up against."
Thinking of Lixin, Song Haoran's gloomy mood turned slightly better. He Jin, who listened to Gong Xiangyi's words, not only won't stay but will also be leaving as soon as possible. In a matter of two days, he had won the trust and love of Lixin. Song Haoran felt an inexplicable jealousy and hostility towards He Jin. He Jin also felt the same way towards him. Now that this troublesome person was about to leave and would not appear in front of Lixin, Song Haoran had to admit that he felt like sighing out of relief.
Lin Wenbo nodded and helped Song Haoran wring the washed clothes, hang them up with hangers, and hang them to dry on the balcony outside the bathroom. The two worked together and were like parents.
After their conversation, they never used anything that Gong Xiangyi had prepared for them. They decided that they would rather venture into the city to collect, which also cultivated their hobby in the future of collecting daily necessities for Gong Lixin, and felt happy about it.
Outside the bathroom, Gong Lixin sat cross-legged on the bed while playing with razors and shaving cream brought by Lin Wenbo as he casually listened in on their conversation. This was inevitable as his five senses were too sensitive. Even when they repeatedly suppressed their voices, he could still clearly hear them.
He had no interest in Gong Xiangyi's involvement in his affairs. Gong Lixin only felt like he was hit by a gust of wind, evoking no extra emotional reaction from him. However, when he heard He Jin being mentioned, his brows wrinkled and he couldn't help but worry. He didn't want to congratulate him on his decision to go back.