In her previous life, she had always been a loner.
Even when injured or killing, she never had to answer to anyone.
But now, things were different. Her mother was still here.
If Xu Yan knew she had killed someone, would she be afraid of her... fear her?
Xu An dared not think about it.
A series of questions left her standing in place like a child who had done wrong, hesitant.
Just then, a startled cry came from the doorway!
"Xiao An! Xiao An..."
Xu An's body trembled. Before she could figure out how to explain the scene before her, she found herself enveloped in a warm embrace.
Instead of the scolding and distance she expected, she felt her body being held tightly by another person.
Her racing heart and the familiar scent of the other person brought her peace.
Xu An heard her mother's trembling voice softly asking if she was injured.
Those small hands continuously stroked her back, as always, gently comforting her.
She held back for a long time, but could no longer suppress it. Tears welled up and spilled from her eyes.
She heard herself softly call out, "Mom..."
"Are you hurt? Is anywhere injured? Why is there so much blood? Are you alright..."
A string of questions fell onto her heart like morning dew, soothing her wrinkled soul.
"Mom... I killed someone..."
Xu Yan glanced at the two bodies lying on the ground, as if she saw nothing. There was no shock, no panic.
"I know. I asked if you were injured."
"You... aren't you afraid of me?" I killed someone...
Xu An's voice grew softer, her head bowed low.
Xu Yan took out wet wipes from her pocket and meticulously wiped the bloodstains from Xu An's face.
"First, tell me, are you injured?"
Only then did Xu An dare to look up into Xu Yan's eyes and saw that her mother was crying.
She had rarely seen her mother cry in front of her.
Xu An shook her head desperately, saying,
"Mom, don't cry. This isn't my blood, it's someone else's. I'm not hurt."
She was a little flustered, but Xu Yan did not mind her hands soaked in blood at all, holding them tightly.
"It's good that you're alright. Let's go! Gou Dan is still waiting for us in the car."
Xu An was led out of the blood-splattered security room by her mother, walking unconsciously.
It wasn't until they were out of the underground parking lot that her consciousness gradually returned.
Xu Yan put her into the passenger seat and got into the driver's seat herself.
Seeing Xu An return, Gou Dan happily wagged its fluffy tail.
Gou Dan sniffed her, seeming to detect the bloodstains on her, and showed no disgust. It buried its head in her neck and lay down quietly.
As if comforting her.
Xu An felt a sense of unreality. Xu Yan had seen her kill two people with her own eyes, so why was she so calm?
She cautiously tested, "Mom?"
Xu Yan, driving, interrupted her.
"Mom knows what you want to say, but you are my daughter. Never mind the apocalypse, even before the end of the world, I would unconditionally believe you."
Xu Yan turned her head, looking at Xu An with determined eyes.
"You don't need to explain to me. As long as your conscience is clear, Mom supports you."
"Mom doesn't want to be a burden to you. It's just that sometimes you can rely on me too. Otherwise, if you always arrange everything, Mom feels so insignificant."
Xu Yan left some words unsaid. The moment she saw Xu An standing in the pool of blood,
She felt as if she would lose her daughter at any second.
She looked so cold, as if she was the only one left in the world.
Xu Yan turned her head back, continued driving, and even gave Xu An a playful smile.
Swallowing all her insecurity.
In a direction no one noticed, she secretly vowed that this time, no one would ever take her daughter away from her!
Not even death!
...
Xu An looked at her mother sitting beside her and Gou Dan lying on her.
A crack appeared in something hard within her heart.
What was it?
Xu An didn't know herself.
She recalled how, in her previous life, after she stepped forward to protect her companions and killed the attackers,
Those people then avoided her like a plague. She found it laughable.
Because of their distance, she had even reflected on whether she was too brutal.
This had also caused a certain psychological shadow.
This was why she had been afraid to tell Xu Yan about killing people.
She was afraid her mother would look at her with the same fearful eyes as those people.
But she did not.
From beginning to end, Xu Yan's only concern was whether she was injured.
It turns out that those who love you are afraid of not loving you enough, while those who want to use you are afraid of you threatening them.
Xu Yan handed Xu An a bottle of mineral water.
"Nian Nian, where are we going next? This damn weather is getting hotter and hotter."
Xu An glanced at her phone. It was past six o'clock. The sun would rise soon.
"Mom, let's go to the villa first. It's sparsely populated there, and we don't have to worry about anyone bothering us."
When Xu Yan bought this villa, she was drawn to its secluded location. Many wealthy people bought them as vacation homes.
The occupancy rate for the entire villa area was less than 30%, which, relatively speaking, avoided many troubles.
At the very least, people like Su Daqiang wouldn't appear in the villa area.
Xu Yan thought for a moment, nodded, turned the car around, and drove towards the villa.
The car entered the complex without any obstruction. The security booth was deserted, and the guardrail had been violently dismantled.
She didn't know who did it, but it made things convenient for them.
Xu Yan stopped the car at the entrance of their villa.
"Fortunately, we reinforced the villa beforehand as a precaution."
Thinking of being able to hide happily again, Xu An's earlier worries had long since vanished.
The mother and daughter got out of the car, walked to the door, entered the password, and went inside.
The villa was as hot as a steam sauna.
The mother and daughter exchanged a look and immediately started working without a word.
They first turned on the solar generator and drew the blackout curtains.
Then they took out the air conditioners, making a total of four units including those already in the villa.
"I don't know if they can handle it, but let's get them out first."
Xu Yan, from somewhere, found rags and a bucket, and handed a mop to Xu An.
"Come on, let's have a good cleaning session!"
Xu An smiled helplessly and could only take out water from her spatial storage.
With her mother's germaphobic nature, if it wasn't cleaned thoroughly, she would probably nag incessantly all day.
She resigned herself to it and rolled up her sleeves to work hard!