Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 989: Chapter 974: A Daughter’s Feelings

Unable to withstand Wenquan Xin’s "complaints," Old Zhao finally gave the order to start the meal after his second toast.

It had been a long time since they had such an enthusiastic gathering; both Old Lin and Old Xu were quite indulgent today.

The drinks were being opened one after another, and the peanuts and sunflower seeds came in bag after bag.

There was no need for any careful planning or rationed supplies today. In short, the motto was: as long as it’s satisfying.

"Oh, Old Zhao, you’re not being fair. How come the dishes never tasted as good as they do today before? You’re showing favoritism! But never mind, now that Nana is here, let’s see you... hey, where’s Nana?" Old Lin, a little tipsy, looked around with flushed cheeks.

Old Zhao shook his head with a smile, thinking to himself: Old Lin, you too have your drunken moments.

"Hehe, Nana went to the next table."

"Oh? Why did she go to the next table?" Turning around, Old Lin glanced over and quickly spotted Zhao Lina at the dining table. But after a look, he couldn’t help but click his tongue, "Zzz, why is Lina sitting next to Qiangzi? Do they know each other?"

Old Zhao shook his head again: "Heh, that’s impossible. Lina has been studying abroad, and Wang is working in Hefei. How could they have any interaction? She went over to thank Wang Qiang."

"Oh, right, right, Old Zhao, you don’t know. Let me tell you about that knife move Wang made today... it was really..."

"Enough! Enough!" Old Xu hurriedly interrupted after hearing Old Zhao’s words, not wanting the joyful moment marred by Old Lin’s drunken talk creating a burden on Old Zhao’s heart. So he grabbed the bottle and filled Old Lin’s glass again, clinking glasses and provoking, "Come on, don’t you always complain about not drinking with me? Today I’m willing to drink until the end with you, don’t chicken out, okay?"

"Hehe? Chicken out? Who, me? What a joke!? Let me tell you, Old Xu, back in the police force I was known as the one who never fell, even after thousands of drinks, hic~, you think you can outdrink me with your little alcohol tolerance? Go call the duty officer Hua Biao and the rest, otherwise, you... hmph, can’t handle it alone."

Old Lin was truly drunk, babbling incoherently.

But as Old Xu mentioned, everyone was happy today, so Old Zhao gave up on trying to dissuade anyone.

After signaling to Demmi and Derek to eat more, Old Zhao’s gaze fell on the next table.

Zhao Lina hesitated for a long time with her wine glass before finally gathering the courage to speak to Wang Qiang: "Wang Qiang, thank you for rescuing me at such a critical moment today. I toast to you."

Hearing this, Wang Qiang put down his chopsticks and glanced sideways at Zhao Lina, saying expressionlessly: "No need to thank me, it was just a small effort. I promised Old Zhao to bring you back alive, even if it cost my life."

His indifferent words pierced Zhao Lina’s heart like a sharp knife, causing her hand holding the wine glass to tremble involuntarily. The thousand words she wanted to say suddenly got stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t utter a single word.

Perhaps sensing the girl’s unease, Wang Qiang assumed she minded him not drinking, so he picked up an untouched glass on the table, poured some liquor, and toasted her with an upward motion: "Your body is still very weak, it’s best to drink less."

With that, Wang Qiang put down the glass again and continued eating, without even looking at Zhao Lina.

"Don’t mind him! He... hehe," Tang Xiaoquan observed Wang Qiang’s coldness and knew his friend had lost faith in love due to the Yang Xue incident, thus defensive toward all strange women.

From a psychological perspective, this is an instinctive self-protection, and completely overcoming such subconscious defenses is not something that can be achieved overnight.

Seeing Zhao Lina’s awkwardness, Tang Xiaoquan hesitated for a moment but then offered a comforting excuse: "He’s just like that, shy around strangers. Hehe, once you get to know him better, you’ll find he’s quite easy to get along with."

After speaking, Tang Xiaoquan glanced mixed with emotion at his friend. Wang Qiang seemed not to hear, with no reaction.

In the past, faced with such a situation, he would surely retort immediately.

But now...

Sigh, Qiangzi, don’t you know how much I wish you could go back to our good old bickering days!

Humans are strange creatures. When you’re together all the time, you get annoyed and wish for a break.

But when the daydream becomes real, you long for everything to return to how it was.

Still, Tang Xiaoquan’s intervention alleviated some of Zhao Lina’s embarrassment.

After nodding and thanking him with a smile, Zhao Lina returned to the table. Her mood, however, was visibly not as bright as before.

The dinner dragged on until late at night, and everyone enjoyed the meal immensely.

In the end, Old Lin and Old Xu were both so drunk that they had to be carried back to their rooms by the others.

As for Hu Xiaodong, Wu Chao, Wenquan Xin, and others, although not completely drunk, they were not far from it.

But young people have good stamina; even after drinking, they didn’t feel done and rushed back inside to gamble with cards.

Considering Derek and Demmi’s relationship, Old Zhao arranged a single room for them.

Zhao Lina was dragged to Wei Yang’s room, and the girl with mental issues was also brought to the village head’s room.

Amidst the mess on the table, Old Zhao cleaned up little by little. Thankfully Demmi and Zhao Lina helped out,

so despite the workload, it got done fairly quickly.

Most importantly, with his daughter back, Old Zhao was in an excellent mood, bursting with energy compared to the gloomy days before.

After everything was settled, Wei Yang, knowing that Zhao Lina had just returned and father and daughter must have much to talk about, took Demmi with her back to her room and played with Fangfang.

The village quieted down with everyone gone, gaining a touch more peace.

Old Zhao led his daughter along the little path in the village.

He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he walked under the moon with his daughter like this.

When she was a child, he was too busy to spend time with her.

As she grew up and went away for school, opportunities to bond father-daughter were even scarcer.

It wasn’t until the apocalypse that they finally had the time to walk quietly together.

Faced with this outcome, Old Zhao felt both sentimental. He didn’t know whether to thank or curse this end of the world.

"Dad, how is Mom doing?" This question had been bottled up inside Zhao Lina since she saw Old Zhao.

Unquestionably, since her parents lived together, seeing her father but not her mother fueled her anxiety with unsettling foreboding.

She tried asking multiple times but stopped each time for fear of hearing the worst news.

"Sigh," Old Zhao sighed, having anticipated this inquiry. He did not hide the truth and answered sincerely. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian.com to vote with your recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)

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