Chapter 405: Emergency Couch Recovery
After dealing with a black-market takeover, a zombie horde, several assassination attempts, and the discovery that the Devourer had apparently installed invisible tracking devices inside my leg, I decided I had contributed enough to society for one day.
Probably an entire decade if I was honest.
"I’m going to the couch," I announced the moment we entered the mansion.
Not one of the guys argued with me, and that was how I knew I looked terrible.
Chenghai carried the boxes of Blu-rays and snacks inside while Yuche sealed the mansion behind us. Metal settled into place beneath the doors and windows, and the plants closed over the outer barrier until the rest of the world disappeared again.
Zhenlan paused near the garage long enough to confirm that the injured man was still secured inside the reinforced metal box Yuche had made for him. The stranger might have shared my terrible taste in zombie bites, but that didn’t earn him access to my house.
Lingyun followed me directly to the couch.
The healer had ordered him to rest, which he interpreted as permission to collapse against me instead of using any of the empty cushions nearby. He lowered himself carefully, trying not to pull at his ribs, then wrapped one arm around my waist and rested his head against my shoulder.
"You’re heavy," I complained.
"And you’re comfortable," he replied with a shrug.
"That doesn’t make you any lighter."
"Ah, but it makes my weight worthwhile."
I considered pushing him away, but he was warm, injured, and already settling into place. Moving him would require effort, and I had recently decided I was done with all that crap.
Yuche sat on my other side and lifted my legs across his lap before I could object. His hand closed around my uninjured ankle while he studied the swelling in the other one.
"I’m fine," I said automatically.
"I didn’t ask."
I narrowed my eyes. "You’ve all started saying that."
"It saves time."
Unfortunately, he had a point.
Chenghai set the boxes on the coffee table and began sorting through them. The merchant had packed everything from old action movies and horror collections to romantic comedies with covers so embarrassing that I suspected they had been included as punishment.
Zhenlan entered behind him and glanced at the crowded couch. There were still two armchairs and plenty of floor space, but he hesitated as though he wasn’t sure where he belonged.
Chenghai did the same thing.
Lingyun noticed before I could decide whether their awkwardness was irritating me. He lifted his head and looked between them.
"Why are you standing over there?"
"We’re choosing a movie," Chenghai replied.
"You can choose one while sitting."
"There’s no room."
Lingyun looked down at the couch, then shifted closer to me despite already occupying half my body. "There is now."
"There isn’t," I pointed out.
Yuche moved my legs higher across his lap and leaned back, creating enough space beside him for Chenghai. It wasn’t much, but Chenghai had apparently decided squeezing onto the couch was less dangerous than continuing to argue with four people who had already made up their minds.
The furniture groaned when he sat.
I looked down at the frame. "If you break my couch, I’m taking it out of your food."
Chenghai glanced at me. "You don’t pay me."
"Then you’ll owe me forever."
"That sounds manageable."
Zhenlan remained standing near the coffee table.
I stared at him until he noticed.
"What?"
"You’re blocking the television."
He moved one step to the side.
"You’re still blocking it."
"There’s nowhere else to go."
Lingyun patted the narrow space between his legs and the arm of the couch. "You can sit here."
Zhenlan looked at him and Lingyun smiled up at the man innocently.
"Absolutely not," Zhenlan said.
I reached for a cushion and threw it at him. He caught it before it struck his face.
"Sit on the floor, then," I said. "You’re making everyone nervous."
"No one is nervous."
"You’ve been standing there like you’re wanting to turn around and leave."
His expression changed slightly.
I hadn’t meant to say that much, but it was too late to take it back without making the entire thing worse.
Zhenlan lowered himself to the floor in front of the couch and leaned back against it. He sat close enough that one shoulder rested against my knee, although he kept his attention on the movies Chenghai was sorting through.
That was better.
I didn’t examine why.
"What are we watching?" Chenghai asked.
"Nothing with zombies," Zhenlan said.
Lingyun made a disappointed sound. "What about cannibals?"
"No."
"Monsters?"
"Not happening."
"Murder?"
Zhenlan paused. "That’s probably fine."
I pointed toward an old martial arts movie near the top of the stack. "That one."
Chenghai picked it up. "You’ve seen this before."
"I’ve seen everything before. Society ended. New movies aren’t exactly being released."
Yuche took the case from him and opened it. "You watched this three times last month."
"It has excellent fight scenes."
"The main character falls through the same window twice."
"That’s how you know it’s good."
While Yuche loaded the disc, I opened the first box of snacks. Most of the things I had quietly stored away were better than what remained visible, but I had left enough chocolate, chips, and Cheezies to make the table look respectable.
Lingyun reached for the Cheezies but I slapped his hand away. He looked wounded and opened his mouth, "I brought you the green cores."
"And then you reopened every injury you had."
"That doesn’t explain the Cheezies."
"It explains why you don’t deserve them."
Yuche handed me the bag before Lingyun could try again. I opened it and ate several while Lingyun watched with open betrayal.
After making him suffer for nearly a minute, I held one out.
His face brightened immediately, and he leaned forward to take it from my fingers instead of using his hand.
"You’re unbearable," I told him.
"You love me."
I put another Cheezie into my mouth and refused to answer.
The movie began as the room settled around us. Yuche’s thumb moved slowly over my ankle, careful not to press anywhere that hurt. Lingyun remained curled against my side, warm and unusually quiet once the opening fight started. Chenghai sat close enough that his shoulder pressed against Yuche’s, while Zhenlan leaned against the couch beneath my legs.
At some point, my hand dropped from the snack bag and landed in Zhenlan’s hair.
He went still.
I considered moving it, but his hair was soft, and removing my hand would have meant admitting I had noticed where it was.
Zhenlan relaxed after several seconds and leaned more firmly against my knee.
No one commented.
That was probably why I left my hand there.
Outside, the world remained filled with zombies, hidden monsters, and people who kept making poor decisions near my house. Inside, Lingyun stole my snacks, Yuche held my legs, Chenghai took up too much couch, and Zhenlan sat close enough for me to touch without reaching.
For the first time since entering the black market, nothing needed to be killed.
I decided that was worth watching the same movie for the fourth time.