Feng Wentai felt a bit suffocated by the pressure. When he came to his senses, he realized he had actually been threatened by a Beta and immediately flushed with shame and anger. "You make it sound so nice, but you soldiers are still..."

"You can go and persuade the people you want to take with you," Zhou Rong said faintly, making a 'be my guest' gesture with a surprising amount of grace. "I won't stop anyone who's willing to go with you. Just one thing, you can't take a single bullet. Go ahead."

Feng Wentai shot to his feet, and his bodyguards stood up with him, all placing their hands on the guns at their waists.

Not far away, the three special forces soldiers immediately stepped forward, each carrying a submachine gun. Chuncao let out a cold cough.

Zhou Rong remained sunk deep in his chair, as if completely unaware of the tense, confrontational atmosphere. Feng Wentai gritted his teeth, staring at the infuriating curve of his lips. He wanted to spit out a harsh threat but didn't have the guts. After a long moment, he could only wave his hand and say angrily, "Let's go!"

The Feng Family's Alpha bodyguards followed their boss out of the cafeteria. Chuncao slowly sauntered over, her gaze sinister as she watched their retreating backs. "The one surnamed Feng can't hold it in anymore."

"I know," Zhou Rong cut her off.

He pondered for a moment, then slowly made arrangements. "Tonight, everyone take turns on watch duty. Keep a close eye on the granary, the garage, and the front and back gates. Pay attention to Feng Wentai's movements. The window on the hazmat vehicle Si Nan was driving has been replaced; it's not bulletproof anymore. Move all the supplies and weapons from it to the armored vehicle and lock them up."

Chuncao nodded with each of his sentences. Suddenly, Zhou Rong seemed to remember something. "Where's Si Nan?"

"He just went back to the dorm to get his bedding and a blanket, said he's sleeping in the rear factory area tonight." Speaking of which, Chuncao also found it very strange. "What's he doing over there?"

Zhou Rong thought of Wu Xinyan waiting behind the garage in the rear factory area. He remained silent, his expression dark and uncertain.

His cold expression made the three team members a little nervous. Chuncao leaned over the back of the chair and asked softly, "Rong-ge?"

"Comrade Xiao Si is an adult—if you guys have the time to worry about his business, why don't you think about when you'll get out of being single?" Zhou Rong stood up, ruffled Chuncao's hair, and with a grin, returned to his usual carefree demeanor. "Good girl, go get Daddy a few potatoes. Don't forget the chili soy sauce."

·

"That one's mine," Si Nan said coldly.

Wu Xinyan: "..."

Wu Xinyan's outstretched hand consciously changed direction, giving up on the jar of honey and turning toward the vacuum-packed stewed eggs.

Si Nan raised an eyelid. His possessiveness over the stewed eggs was clearly not as strong, and his thick eyelashes drooped back down.

There were no lights in the abandoned garage. It was pitch black on the winter night, and the sound of the cold wind whistling through the cracks in the window sounded like a pack of zombies whining in the distance.

Wu Xinyan snuggled deeper into her blanket while eating the stewed egg. Clearly unable to bear the silence, she tried to make conversation. "Hey... why do you love sweets so much?"

Si Nan rarely initiated conversations with outsiders, but he would answer any question asked. He said, "I don't know."

"Do you love all sweets?"

"No."

"Don't you find them cloying?"

"No."

"..."

"My body needs sugar," Si Nan said plainly. "I often have low blood sugar."

Wu Xinyan breathed a sigh of relief. "I was just thinking, they say only people who have experienced a lot of bitterness like to eat sweets. If you had a belly full of tragic stories, I really wouldn't be able to handle it. Phew—thankfully I was overthinking it."

Si Nan: "...Try to be normal."

Si Nan took the bag of Apple Preserves he hadn't been able to bring himself to finish from his pocket and began to eat them meticulously. The rustling sounds of him savoring them could be heard in the darkness.

After a while, Wu Xinyan's voice sounded again, this time a little hesitant. "Do you think that guy surnamed Wan will really come tonight?"

"He will."

"...Why?"

With half a piece of preserved fruit in his mouth, Si Nan mumbled, "If Zhou Rong asks where you went, Feng Wentai will definitely say you ran off on your own and disappeared. That bodyguard of his surnamed Wan knows that once Zhou Rong asks around and gets the full story tomorrow, he won't have a chance to make a move on you. So he will definitely seize this final opportunity tonight."

"Besides, you also said that guy surnamed Wan followed you here today," Si Nan swallowed the preserved fruit and licked his sticky fingers. "Tonight, after everyone is asleep, he will definitely come."

Wu Xinyan's face was pale as she nodded.

Two bedrolls lay side by side on the floor. Si Nan and Wu Xinyan were each nestled in their own blanket, with a pile of snacks between them. Wu Xinyan finished her stewed egg and wanted to eat a piece of chocolate. Just as she picked one up, she suddenly realized something and asked humbly, "Can I eat this?"

"You can," Si Nan said. "Chocolate is the only thing I don't eat."

"...Why?!"

Before Si Nan could answer, the faint sound of footsteps came from nearby, then stopped just below the rear window.

He's here!

Wu Xinyan shuddered, a chill rising from her core. She immediately shot a pleading look to her side, only to see Si Nan glance thoughtfully behind him. "...Zhou Rong?"

He stood up, wrapped in his blanket, full of suspicion. "What are you doing standing there?"

The person under the rear window, who had been silent until now, let out a cough. It was indeed Captain Zhou's characteristic, mellow baritone, which for some reason sounded a little guilty. "Yo, Comrade Xiao Si! I... I couldn't sleep, so I was just taking a walk. Have you eaten?"

Si Nan responded with indifference.

"..." Wu Xinyan greeted him tremulously, "Cap-Captain Zhou, g-g-good evening..."

Si Nan waved a hand at her, signaling her to ignore him.

Zhou Rong was extremely awkward. "Good evening, good evening. Why aren't you two back in the dorms? Isn't it cold nesting here in the dark?"

"We..." Wu Xinyan had just said one word when Si Nan waved at her again, this time even frowning unhappily.

Wu Xinyan: "???"

She tilted her head to look at Si Nan, and Si Nan frowned back at her.

Outside the window, Zhou Rong chuckled a few times. "You two should go back to the dorms. It's fine, what if you catch a cold out here in this weather? I'm an experienced man, we all get it, you young people, hahaha..."

Wu Xinyan deeply felt that she should explain, that she really should explain. However, Si Nan's expression made it clear he wouldn't let her speak. Their silent battle continued for several seconds until Wu Xinyan finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out, "What is going on with you two?!"

Si Nan said, "He roared at me."

Outside the window, Zhou Rong: "..."

"He also said he was going to beat me up," Si Nan said coldly. "Who would beat up whom? I'd give him a one-handed handicap."

Wu Xinyan was dumbfounded.

Zhou Rong's embarrassment reached its absolute peak. "Si Xiaonan! I was wrong, okay? I came to apologize. I shouldn't have yelled at you this morning. Don't be mad anymore. I brought you something to eat..."

The rustling of a plastic bag was heard as Zhou Rong pulled something out from his jacket:

"Here," he said. "Come out. I brought you a big bar of Dove Chocolate."

Si Nan: "..."