Regarding how to solve Lu Qiming’s problem of going to the bathroom, after several hours of consideration, Jiang Miaomiao made a final decision – she gave him a small bucket.
Lu Qiming held the plastic bucket, which was only slightly larger than his head, and asked in surprise, “You want me to pee in it?”
“Yes.”
“But it doesn’t even have a lid, and there’s no way to flush. The room will stink.”
“Just bear with it.”
Jiang Miaomiao answered confidently.
Well, there was no other choice, but…
“What do we do when the bucket is full?”
As an adult, he had a considerable urine output, and it would probably be filled in a day or two, far from enough to last half a month.
Jiang Miaomiao also thought about this and reluctantly said, “I’ll help you empty it.”
Lu Qiming felt embarrassed, “Uh… isn’t that a bit inappropriate? How about you open the door every day and let me go to the bathroom?”
“No, if we do that, what’s the point of isolation?”
If he were to have an episode while using the bathroom and bit her, the consequences would be much worse than helping him empty the bucket.
Definitely not.
Lu Qiming couldn’t persuade her and could only accept this arrangement, putting the bucket far away in a corner.
Jiang Miaomiao’s voice came from outside the door.
“I’m leaving, I’ll bring you dinner tonight.”
“Wait, wait.”
Lu Qiming called her back, and half of his pitiful face appeared in the doorframe.
“Can’t you stay and chat with me?”
Being confined felt uncomfortable, and his cigarette pack was already empty.
Jiang Miaomiao initially wanted to stay by the door to watch the zombies, as they refused to leave and kept howling outside the house, making her restless, feeling like they would attack at any moment.
Lu Qiming had lost his fighting ability, and Jiang Rourou was only enough for them to eat two mouthfuls, making her little chainsaw their last resort, so she couldn’t be careless.
But when he shouted like that, she felt a bit reluctant to leave. She sat down on the floor outside the door.
“I’ll chat with you for ten minutes.”
Lu Qiming was dissatisfied, “Are you that busy?”
“I need to make dinner.” She held her chin and felt tired before she even started moving, “You can’t do anything for the next half month, and I have to do everything in the house.”
Three meals a day, laundry, cleaning, taking care of plants, and looking after Jiang Rourou.
And the most important thing, always being on guard against zombie attacks.
Originally, her plan was to eat, drink, and then die peacefully, but now she had taken on a bunch of responsibilities.
She sighed softly, and Lu Qiming couldn’t help but suppress a smile.
“If you don’t want to move, let me out.”
Jiang Miaomiao was firm on this matter, with no room for negotiation.
“When we confirm that you haven’t been infected, I will naturally let you out. Until then, stop complaining.”
Lu Qiming felt helpless, “What if I’ve been infected? Could I still be sitting here chatting with you? Look at the zombies, look at me.”
Jiang Miaomiao also felt strange in her heart, looking at his face through the doorframe and asking, “Is the wound still painful?”
“It hurts, but it’s much better than when I came back.”
After being stimulated by her with alcohol, his nerves seemed to have become numb, leaving only a dull pain.
“Do you have any other symptoms? Like difficulty breathing, elevated body temperature, or increased heart rate?”
Lu Qiming carefully felt his body and shook his head, “No.”
Jiang Miaomiao was still worried and went to get a thermometer for him to measure his temperature. He obediently took the measurement, but probably due to excessive blood loss, his temperature was not elevated; in fact, it was one degree lower than normal.
“Now, are you reassured?” Lu Qiming handed her the thermometer to show her the reading.
She remembered the number but didn’t take it and let him keep it.
“From now on, you’ll measure your temperature every day.”
Lu Qiming smiled bitterly, “Are you really not going to let me out? Must I be locked in for half a month?”
Jiang Miaomiao patted her pants and stood up, “Locking you in is responsible for everyone. Don’t struggle. I’m going to make dinner. What do you want to eat?”
“Meat, lots of meat.”
He was injured, so he needed to replenish nutrients, which meant eating some hearty dishes.
“Okay.”
Jiang Miaomiao went downstairs, and Lu Qiming leaned against the door, listening to her footsteps, looking forward to his sumptuous dinner.
Half an hour later, the small basin was delivered with a bowl of pickled vegetable and waxed meat noodles inside.
Indeed, it was meat, and he had never seen such literal “meat strips” that were hardly thicker than hair strands.
Lu Qiming frowned, refusing to accept it, “Didn’t I say I want to eat meat? Why are you giving me this?”
“There’s meat in it.”
“Too little.”
“The zombies won’t leave, and we can’t go out. We have to ration our food.”
He whimpered twice, looking wronged.
“But I’m injured now and need to replenish my nutrition.”
“I know, that’s why I brought you this.”
Jiang Miaomiao handed him a small bottle.
Lu Qiming unscrewed the lid, looking at the sticky white liquid inside and smelling the familiar aroma, he immediately gagged.
“Enjoy it, and I’ll bring you bathwater later.”
After Jiang Miaomiao’s instructions, she went downstairs, picked up her own bowl of noodles, and started eating.
She felt confident about the next half month of life.
There was sufficient food, water, and electricity.
As long as the zombies didn’t attack, their lives wouldn’t be greatly affected.
After finishing her meal, she sent in a basin of hot water and a towel, asking him to wipe himself.
He stayed in the room without moving much, so he didn’t sweat much. Wiping once a day should be enough.
After he finished wiping, she poured the water out and gave him some antibiotics and bandages, telling him to change the dressing himself, and then she was about to leave.
Lu Qiming reached out from the door, “Help me change it.”
“… You still have hands.”
Did getting bitten by a zombie turn him into a three-year-old child?
She didn’t know that zombies had such peculiar abilities.
Lu Qiming said, “Just try changing the dressing with one hand and see how troublesome it is. Besides, you’re going back to sleep anyway. Can’t you help me out?”
Jiang Miaomiao was about to refuse again, but her gaze fell on his hand, wrapped like a pig’s trotter, and she thought of the severity of the wound, making her heart soften.
She knelt on the floor and started to unwind the bandages, layer by layer.
The man’s arm was long and sturdy, and his skin felt quite good, smooth and elastic.
The outer layer of the bandages was already stained with blood, and the more she unwrapped, the more she saw. When she peeled off the last layer, she looked at the sight before her and felt her own flesh ache.
The wound had torn skin and flesh, and after being washed with alcohol, the color turned pale and grim.
The tooth marks were deep, and one could faintly see the white bones, with blood still oozing out.
He was clearly enduring the pain, and his fingertips trembled slightly.
Jiang Miaomiao took a deep breath, put on gloves, and wiped away the blood from the wound with a disinfectant cotton ball, carefully applying medicine.
Lu Qiming’s face turned even paler, but he continued to joke.
“You can be very gentle. Why are you always so fierce?”
“I’m fierce?”
“Not only fierce, but also lazy, gluttonous, capricious, and cowardly.”
She responded expressionlessly, “If I’m like this, why are you still here? Looking for abuse?”
Lu Qiming sighed, “It’s because I am naturally kind-hearted and can’t bear to see others suffer. If I leave, with your abilities, you won’t survive to see the next day.”
Jiang Miaomiao sneered but couldn’t help admitting that it was Lu Qiming’s presence that kept her going until now.
Without him, she probably would have killed herself during those days when the zombies swarmed in.
Lost in her thoughts, her hand stopped in mid-air.
Lu Qiming used his fingertip to scratch her arm and grinned, “Are you grateful to me?”
She snapped out of her daze, huffed, and continued applying the medicine, saying, “Grateful to you? Grateful for calling me lazy and indecisive, or grateful for saying I can’t tell the front from the back?”
“I was just joking. You are still excellent.”
“Where am I excellent?”
“Um, well…”
Lu Qiming couldn’t come up with an answer, and she got angry, applying more pressure.
He winced in pain, “Ouch…”
Jiang Miaomiao said it served him right but lightened her touch.
After applying the medicine, she carefully bandaged the wound with clean gauze, then picked up the basin and was about to leave.
Lu Qiming called her again, and she asked helplessly, “What else do you want? Do you want me to help you with urinating?”
“… Never mind, just go.”
Jiang Miaomiao left, and he returned to the bed, wanting to take out a cigarette to smoke, but he only touched an empty box.
The rest of the cigarettes were stored in the utility room, and he couldn’t go get them. If he asked Jiang Miaomiao for help, she would definitely mock him, so he might as well not smoke.
Lu Qiming leaned against the pillow, his right hand supporting his injured left hand, and his gaze wandered around before resting on the painting hanging on the wall.
The painting was nothing special, just a green landscape.
But it was Jiang Miaomiao who brought it and personally hung it on the wall, saying that she wanted to cultivate his normal sense of aesthetics.
Thinking about that scene, he couldn’t help but lift the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, he noticed that he looked like a fool in the reflection on the water cup’s wall. He quickly rubbed the corners of his mouth and closed his eyes to sleep.
Due to the pain, he slept restlessly, dreaming that he had returned to his previous life and struggled in his dream.
When he woke up, his whole body was covered in sweat. Since there were no windows, he couldn’t distinguish between day and night, with only a beam of light coming in through the door opening.
“Miaomiao.”
He called out to the neighboring room, but there was no response for a long time.
She was probably still sleeping. With no need to go out for half a month, this pig wouldn’t wake up until she naturally did.
Lu Qiming turned over and kept his eyes open, a little resistant to falling back asleep.
Suddenly, a woman’s voice came from outside the door, slightly hoarser than usual due to just waking up.
“What’s the matter?”
He was surprised.
“You’re not sleeping.”
“I was sleeping. Didn’t you call me?”
“… I’m thirsty.”
“Wait.”
Jiang Miaomiao dropped a word and went downstairs to get water. Soon, she handed him a cup.
He looked at it, puzzled. “Why is it only half a cup?”
“Drink less, pee less.”
“…”
“Is there anything else? I’m going back to sleep.”
After saying that, she was about to leave, but Lu Qiming suddenly shivered and leaned against the door, pretending to be pitiful.
“My stomach hurts.”
Jiang Miaomiao became alert. “Is it a symptom of infection?”
“It’s possible.”
What should they do? They only had common medications at hand, and she wasn’t an expert, so she was powerless to deal with an infected person.
Lu Qiming remained very calm. “While I’m still conscious, talk to me more. When I turn into a zombie, you’ll only be able to talk to dogs. Cherish this opportunity.”
Jiang Miaomiao indeed stayed and sat outside with her thoughts in chaos.
“Do you have any other abnormalities?”
“For now, none.” He changed the topic. “Were you really a college student before the zombie outbreak? Why weren’t you with your family or classmates?”
She was still thinking about his infection, and she reflexively answered, “I don’t have a family.”
“No family?”
“I’m an orphan. I grew up in an orphanage and had average relationships with classmates.”
“Then how did you have such foresight to stock up on supplies in advance and hide?”
“Because I…”
She almost revealed the fact that she was reborn in another world but managed to stop herself just in time, asking defensively, “Why are you asking this?”
“Just curious.”
“I’m more curious about where you came from.”
She clearly remembered his appearance on the day he appeared, covered in blood and without any wounds on his body.
At that time, there were many more zombies than now, and he was walking alone in the city without any protection. It was a miracle he survived.
Considering his later performance, it was hard to believe he was an ordinary person.
Lu Qiming rubbed his chin. “Here’s the deal. I’ll answer a question, and you answer one too. Fair enough, and no lying allowed.”
“Okay, you go first.”
“Why not you go first?”
“I can go first.” Jiang Miaomiao said coldly, “But don’t expect breakfast tomorrow.”
Lu Qiming: “…Alright, I’ll go first. I was in the military, so I’m quite skilled.”
She squinted, “Were in the military, meaning you left later? Did you retire or something?”
He grunted, “Don’t play dumb. It’s your turn. Why did you stock up so many things?”
Jiang Miaomiao pursed her lips. “I owed money and was preparing to hide.”
“How much do you owe?”
“Over a million.”
“Why do you owe so much money?”
Judging from her usual behavior, she didn’t seem like someone pursuing a luxurious lifestyle.
She chuckled, “Because I was too lonely, so I raised ducks.”
“Are you kidding anyone?”
“Believe it or not, people like you are only worth five hundred bucks.” She looked at the thin and narrow jaw of the man in the doorway, noticing the light stubble on his skin. “Now it’s your turn. Why did you leave the military?”
“Because…”
He said those two words and then stopped, leaving Jiang Miaomiao waiting for an answer, but all she heard was the regular snoring.
She yawned, feeling tired, and prepared to return to her room.
Looking at the person in the doorway, she changed her mind and brought over her pillow and blanket, lying down outside the door to sleep.
Jiang Rourou was originally lying in her own dog bed but was disturbed by the zombies, so she also came over and nestled under Jiang Miaomiao’s arm, comfortably lying in her embrace.
After a night passed, when it was dawn, the first thing Jiang Miaomiao did was to go to the window to look at the zombies.
Lu Qiming had just woken up when he heard her say cheerfully, “Many zombies have left.”
She no longer needed to worry about them breaking in.
Lu Qiming nodded and stretched out his hand.
“I want to brush my teeth and wash my face.”
“…You’re not going out to meet anyone, so why bother brushing your teeth and washing your face?”
“Hey, even if I’m in isolation, I still have human rights, you can’t abuse me. After brushing my teeth, I still need to eat breakfast, and after breakfast, I need to change my dressings. By the way, the clothes I changed out of, you have to wash them, they are all covered in sweat. And don’t forget to water the mung bean sprouts.”
Jiang Miaomiao’s joyful mood vanished instantly, and with a dejected expression, she went to do the tasks.
She realized she was mistaken. Lu Qiming hadn’t turned into a baby due to time reversal; he was actually a difficult old man.
A baby would eat and drink and then sleep, but he would eat and drink and then nag.
When she brought the painstakingly prepared lunch, and he criticized it relentlessly, she couldn’t help but angrily say, “I’m done!”
Lu Qiming was excited. “Great, open the door!”
As long as he could go out, he was willing to do anything.
Jiang Miaomiao held the keys, ready to go all-out.
Jiang Rourou rushed out and circled around her legs.
But in the blink of an eye, she calmed down.
“I can’t open it.”
Lu Qiming looked disappointed. “You’re doing so much work alone. Aren’t you tired?”
“I am tired, but it’s safe.”
Jiang Miaomiao picked up the food that he had disdainfully refused. “If you don’t want to eat, then don’t. Skipping a meal won’t kill you.”
“I’ll eat, I’ll eat!”
Lu Qiming shouted after her figure, but it was too late.
Jiang Miaomiao went downstairs and shared half of his meal with Jiang Rourou, then put on a Crayon Shin-chan DVD for her and squatted beside the coffee table, eating while watching.
After a one-hour nap, she walked into the vegetable-growing room.
All three cultivation racks were filled, with mung bean sprouts, potatoes, lettuce, leeks, chili peppers, and tomatoes.
There were two basins on the windowsill. One contained garlic and ginger, while the other held water for the narcissus.
The rose and other flowers were moved to the balcony, so as not to occupy space for vegetables.
They were lucky. The seeds sown at the back had already sprouted many shoots, tender and green, very strong. They estimated they would have vegetables to eat next month.
Jiang Miaomiao was in a great mood and unconsciously hummed a song while watering the plants.
Upstairs, Lu Qiming was wailing.
“Help, I have a stomach ache.”
“I think I have a fever.”
“Ah! My head hurts too, I’m definitely going to mutate.”
“Come see me for the last time!”
Jiang Rourou was frightened by his antics and kept circling under the staircase.
Jiang Miaomiao ignored him, calmly finishing watering the plants, putting everything in place, and then walked to the door.
“Put your hand out for me to see.”
Lu Qiming held his arm, gasping for breath.
“I might be dying.”
“People who are dying don’t have the strength to say so many words.”
“You’re so heartless, you don’t care about me at all.”
Jiang Miaomiao rolled her eyes and knocked on the doorframe.
“Do you still want to eat dinner?”
“Sigh, this is the humility of relying on others.”
Lu Qiming stretched out his arm, and she removed the bandage to take a look. There were no major changes, neither improvement nor worsening.
Jiang Miaomiao rewrapped the bandage and asked, “Are you really bored?”
He nodded forcefully.
She took out her phone, placing it in the doorframe, and played a variety show she had downloaded before the apocalypse.
The main content of the show was several celebrities taking children out to play, sometimes in the countryside, sometimes on the beach.
They looked so lively and happy, forming a sharp contrast with the desolate and terrifying environment around them.
Jiang Miaomiao became more and more envious as she watched, especially when she saw them picking a watermelon weighing over ten kilograms from a melon field and eating it together. Their eyes were fixed on the bright red flesh, reluctant to even blink, and their lips recalled the wonderful taste of the watermelon.
Lu Qiming pointed to something in the child’s hand and asked, “What’s that?”
“That’s an iPad.”
“iPad.”
“You don’t know what it is?”
Thinking of his usual behavior, Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t help but doubt and asked, “How old are you exactly?”
He rubbed his nose. “I’ve told you, 26.”
“Impossible, unless… where is your hometown?”
If he grew up in poverty, joined the military when he grew up, and had been disconnected from society, then it would be understandable.
“Hey, these peaches look good.”
Whether intentionally or not, he changed the topic.
Jiang Miaomiao glanced at the screen with peaches on it and couldn’t bear to look away.
They were big, red, and plump, and they looked juicy. They were much better than the small, fuzzy peaches she had eaten before.
Sigh, she wanted to eat them too…
Lu Qiming watched her licking her lips incessantly, looking like a little greedy cat, with a smile in the corners of his eyes.
“If the apocalypse ends, how about we build a house and plant peach trees in the yard?”
Jiang Miaomiao gave him a disdainful look. “The apocalypse is over, why would I still follow you? Don’t overthink it.”
“Don’t you like me?”
“Of course not. If I had any other choice, I would have left a long time ago. I wouldn’t stay here and endure your nonsense, being your babysitter.”
Lu Qiming rubbed his short stubble on his chin, lost in thought. Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground, convulsing violently.
Jiang Miaomiao was taken aback, leaning against the doorframe and asking, “Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
He didn’t answer, desperately scratching his body. His thin T-shirt was torn into several pieces, and he made terrifying growling sounds in his throat.
Jiang Miaomiao was panicked, tears streaming down her face. All she could think of was one thing – it’s over, he’s really going to turn into a zombie!
“Save me… save me…”
He stared at her outside the doorframe, reaching out with spasmodic hands, making painful sounds from his lips.
Her heart was torn apart, her mind a mess like a trash can turned over by Jiang Rourou. She had a thought of giving up.
If he died, she wouldn’t last long alone either. Instead of staying and suffering, it would be better to die together!
She didn’t want to become a walking corpse, endlessly wandering the city.
Jiang Miaomiao took out her keys and opened the door, rushing in to grab his hand. She spat on his other hand and was about to touch the doorbell.
Seeing the situation was not good, Lu Qiming quickly stopped convulsing and pulled her back.
She couldn’t stand steadily and fell onto him. She was stunned for a few seconds before coming to her senses.
“Are you okay?”
He raised an eyebrow, smiling smugly. “You said you don’t like me? You would even sacrifice yourself for me.”
Jiang Miaomiao: “…”
“Now that the door is open, can you let me out? I’m really fine. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”
He stood up and turned a couple of times in front of her, the torn fabric slipping off his body, revealing a neatly cut eight-pack abs.
Jiang Miaomiao lowered her eyelids and walked away.
“Sure.”
Lu Qiming felt happy in his heart and followed behind her. However, when he was about to step out of the room, he was slammed back by the closing door, and his nosebleed was almost knocked out.
Click! Jiang Miaomiao coldly locked the door.
“You liar, stay inside!”
His nose and root felt sour and painful, tears streaming out.
Lu Qiming had no time to wipe the tears. He lay on the doorframe and shouted outside, “I’m not kidding anymore, come back!”
Jiang Miaomiao didn’t look back, nor did she curse him. In the following few meals, she expressed her anger – there were only noodles, plain porridge, and fried rice. Nothing else, not even a pack of pickles. She only gave him fish liver oil and ignored his complaints, turning her head and leaving, not caring if he drank it or not.
Lu Qiming reluctantly had a few sips, but later, just the smell of it made him vomit.
She only stopped after he couldn’t take it anymore and resumed the food supply.
Lu Qiming was isolated for half a month, and Jiang Miaomiao took care of him for half a month.
Although they didn’t go out once, because they had a lot of work to do every day and had to chat with him half-forced to pass the time, life was quite fulfilling.
On the tenth day, the number of zombies outside gradually returned to its original level, and the food in the warehouse visibly decreased by a lot.
This made Jiang Miaomiao feel a strong sense of crisis.
With three mouths to feed every day, if they didn’t eat enough, they would lack energy, and without enough strength, it would be inconvenient to go out to find food. Without food, they would be even hungrier.
They couldn’t fall into a vicious cycle.
Fortunately, except for the first two days of pretending, Lu Qiming had behaved normally since then, as if he really hadn’t been infected.
Keeping him locked up forever was not a solution. On the fifteenth day, Jiang Miaomiao decided to do a comprehensive examination.
“Open your mouth, ah.”
She squatted outside the door, wearing gloves and a mask, resembling a doctor doing a health check at a kindergarten.
Lu Qiming opened his mouth, showing her his teeth and oral cavity.
Very good, clean teeth, healthy tongue color, no signs of decay.
Jiang Miaomiao handed him a thermometer. “Take your temperature, and let me see.”
He did as told, obedient beyond belief.
Jiang Miaomiao checked every possible place, finally grabbing his arm, taking a deep breath, and began to remove the bandages.
Heal quickly, please heal quickly.
She silently chanted the spell in her mind, unwrapping the last layer of bandages.
The wound that Lu Qiming had been nursing for half a month was now exposed before her eyes.
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