The pale pink skin covered the wound, delicate as if it would break at a pinch, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding skin. It straightforwardly told Jiang Miaomiao that he was alright. No decay, no madness, no deterioration. Lu Qiming was still a living, breathing human – he hadn’t turned into a zombie.
Their simple and warm days could continue.
“That’s great!”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she excitedly opened the door, rushing over to hug Lu Qiming.
He smiled slightly, hugging her back like an older brother, gently stroking her long, untrimmed hair.
“I told you, I’m not infected.”
Curiosity overwhelmed her as she raised her head and asked, “Why did the zombies bite you and draw blood, but you didn’t get infected?”
In the original text, the zombie virus was highly contagious. Even if their bodily fluids splashed on a wound, it would turn the person into one of them. Lu Qiming’s condition was truly shocking.
If the original male and female protagonists had discovered him earlier and allowed the experts at the base to conduct experiments using his blood to develop a vaccine, wouldn’t they have avoided wandering outside for over a decade?
It was a miracle.
Lu Qiming evaded the question, “Who knows? Maybe it’s because I exercise regularly, and my physical condition is good. But that’s not important. The important thing is that I’m fine. It’s a great piece of news to celebrate, isn’t it?”
She didn’t understand, “How do we celebrate?”
Lu Qiming walked out of the room where he had been imprisoned for half a month, and approached the window, looking at the bright scenery outside. His gaze fell on the artificial lake glittering in the distance.
Due to the absence of human pollution, the lake water was becoming clearer and clearer, with lush aquatic plants and even a few pink lotus flowers blooming.
Ignoring the swaying zombies by the lake, the scenery was truly beautiful, and the weather was warm, making one yearn to dive in and swim a few laps.
Of course, swimming was impossible. Zombies had a keen sense of smell. If they went out without protective clothing, they probably wouldn’t return in one piece.
But they could do something else.
Lu Qiming raised an eyebrow, “Do you want to eat fish?”
Jiang Miaomiao recalled a certain taste and shook her head, “I don’t want to eat salted fish again.”
“Who said anything about eating salted fish? We can go fishing.”
Lu Qiming pointed to the artificial lake, and she ran over to take a look, understanding his meaning.
When they had previously set up the water pump, they had seen some colorful ornamental fish in the lake.
The zombies only roamed on land and didn’t enter the water. The ornamental fish survived by eating water plants and insects, growing quite plump. Each one was larger than her palm.
These weren’t varieties raised for eating. In order to be more aesthetically pleasing, during the breeding process, they would be fed with some pigments. Before the apocalypse, no one was willing to eat them.
But now, it was different. Forget about feeding them with pigments – as long as there was fish meat to eat, they could feed them with urea, and they would eat it without complaint.
Back then, Lu Qiming had mentioned wanting to catch a few, but they didn’t have the tools at hand, and it would be easy to be discovered by zombies if they went into the water without caution, so they had to give up.
But today…
“How do we catch them?” Jiang Miaomiao asked.
He smiled mysteriously, went into the downstairs storeroom, rummaged through the countless supplies, and came out with two fishing rods and several packs of bait.
Jiang Miaomiao was pleasantly surprised, “When did you get these? I didn’t even know!”
“Who told you to always be fixated on snacks every time you went to the supermarket, unwilling to look away.”
Lu Qiming hoisted the fishing rods and pointed his chin, “Come on, change your clothes. We’re going fishing today.”
Both of them put on their protective suits and went to collect the blood of the small zombies.
It had been locked in the room for several months, during which it hadn’t eaten a single bite of food or had a single sip of water. They squeezed its blood every day like milking a cow, making it weak beyond belief.
Jiang Miaomiao felt guilty and took a box of milk, intending to feed it to the small zombie. It gulped down a few sips but immediately sprayed it out, mixed with the foul-smelling sticky fluid. It splashed all over her face, but fortunately, she had protective clothing on.
Lu Qiming threw her a box of tissues and mercilessly wrapped the small zombie back up in a bedsheet.
“It’s not human anymore. If you really want to repay it, you can cut some of your own thigh meat to feed it. It will definitely be grateful.”
Jiang Miaomiao shuddered and wiped the milk off her face, then dabbed the blood on her hand before following him out of the room.
“Woof woof woof!”
Jiang Rourou had a premonition that it was going to be left behind again. It circled around their feet, blocking their path.
Jiang Miaomiao tried to coax it to go back and used a piece of ham sausage to lure it, but to no avail.
Lu Qiming observed for a while and pointed at its wet and slimy black nose, saying, “It can go out, but we need to make it clear in advance that if we encounter zombies, we will definitely run back home and won’t take care of it.”
It didn’t know if it understood or not and extended its small tongue to lick his fingertip.
Lu Qiming shivered and pulled his hand back, wiping it on his protective suit.
“Get it another protective suit.”
It was also a living creature. Zombies wouldn’t spare it if they discovered it.
Jiang Miaomiao brought a new set of protective clothing and gestured on the dog’s body.
“It’s so big, how do we put it on? Let’s use it as a blanket to cover it.”
Lu Qiming brought out a pair of scissors and a roll of transparent tape, answering her question with practical action – modification.
He cut the protective suit in half and adjusted it to fit Jiang Rourou’s size. They worked together to make four small tube boots from the remaining materials and put them on its paws.
They sealed any gaps with tape, not letting out a trace of breath. Soon, Jiang Rourou was wrapped up, with only its eyes and nose exposed, looking even sillier.
Lu Qiming brought out the last piece of equipment – a mask. He adjusted the strap’s length and placed it over its mouth, tying a tight knot behind its head.
This arrangement was clearly uncomfortable, and Jiang Rourou used its paws to claw at it, trying to remove the mask.
Lu Qiming sternly reprimanded, “If you don’t wear it, don’t think about going out.”
Jiang Rourou didn’t understand his words, but it could feel his imposing manner and whimpered in fear, hiding in Jiang Miaomiao’s arms.
She held it up and rubbed its gradually round belly, looking at Lu Qiming with surprise.
“I didn’t expect you to be so skillful.”
He looked proud, pointing at his temple, “You’re only realizing this now? I’m not only skillful with my hands, but also here.”
“Tsk, you’re getting fat and even panting now. Let’s go quickly.”
Not going out for half a month had made Jiang Miaomiao a bit nervous, especially with the vivid images of Lu Qiming getting bitten still fresh in her mind. As she passed by the zombies, she couldn’t help but tense her body, heart pounding, always feeling that they might pounce on her.
Lu Qiming silently inserted himself between the two of them, using his body to separate them.
She heaved a sigh of relief, her back covered in cold sweat.
Jiang Rourou curled up in her arms, its round eyes looking around, behaving very obediently and not making a sound.
They safely arrived at the lake shore after passing three or four zombies.
The artificial lake covered an area of more than five thousand square meters, surrounded by lush green lawns.
Sunlight shone on the water, creating dazzling ripples that sparkled like diamonds when the wind blew. Beautiful lotus flowers swayed gently on the lake surface, calming the mind and allowing one to forget the current difficult situation.
Lu Qiming brought two small stools and placed them by the lake. He opened the bait and mixed it with water.
Jiang Miaomiao had never gone fishing before, so she squatted nearby, curiously watching.
The bait had been mixed with a bait attractant, which had great appeal to animals and fish.
Jiang Rourou squatted nearby, looking eager, as if it wanted to snatch the bait while they weren’t paying attention.
“Be good, go play on the side. Don’t cause trouble. We’ll only have fish to eat tonight if we catch some.”
Jiang Miaomiao casually picked up a piece of dogtail grass to use as a toy to distract Jiang Rourou, and finally managed to coax it away. Meanwhile, Lu Qiming had already molded the fish bait into a small ball and hung it on the fishing hook. He handed the fishing rod to her and started preparing the next one.
She touched the moist fish bait and felt unsure.
“Will this really catch fish?”
“Lu Qiming’s special composite fish bait, handcrafted, guaranteed to catch fish every time.”
Hmph, he made it sound so nice. She wanted to see if it was really that effective.
Sitting on the small stool, Jiang Miaomiao imitated the fishing style she had seen on TV and cast the fishing hook with force.
“Ah!”
She let out a low cry.
Lu Qiming asked, “What happened?”
“… It got caught in my clothes.”
He sighed and put down what he was doing, walking over to help her untangle the hook. Holding the fishing rod, he said, “Follow my lead, cast it from this angle, and you won’t hook yourself.”
Jiang Miaomiao copied his movements, but she still looked awkward.
“A three-legged lame person like you should go to a temple and burn incense for surviving till now.”
While he mocked her, his attitude remained patient. He taught her three or four times until she got the hang of it.
Jiang Miaomiao successfully cast the hook into the artificial lake, looking at the calm and waveless water with anticipation.
“How long do we have to wait to catch a fish?”
Lu Qiming glanced at her and replied as he kneaded more bait, “Just wait patiently. Fishing for beginners sometimes means waiting for a whole day without catching anything.”
“You just said your bait would definitely catch fish.”
“My bait is good, but it’s no match for your lack of skills, both aspects…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Miaomiao’s fishing line suddenly trembled. She widened her eyes and nervously asked, “What should I do? Is there a fish? What do I do?”
Lu Qiming didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. He paused for a few seconds before reacting and went over to help.
Together, they pulled the fish out of the water.
To avoid attracting zombies, they immediately put it into a bucket and poured some water in.
Jiang Miaomiao was overjoyed.
“It’s been less than a minute since we cast the hook. If this is considered lacking skill, then there probably are no fishing geniuses in the world.”
Lu Qiming looked down at the bucket, where a small red carp swam around, its body not much longer than his finger.
“So many big fish, but you caught such a small one. You do have some skills.”
She shrugged, proudly hugging the fishing rod.
“You’re just jealous. Sour grapes.”
“Jealous of you? Haha.”
Lu Qiming coldly chuckled, holding a bowl of fish bait and sitting on a small stool nearby. He swung the fishing hook with a powerful gesture and challenged her.
“If you’re so confident, let’s have a competition to see who catches more fish.”
“Bring it on!”
Since the beginning went so smoothly, Jiang Miaomiao was confident in her skills.
“But we should agree on what happens if we lose.”
“The loser has to handle the fish and can’t eat a single bite.”
They exchanged glances and silently accepted the challenge, focusing on fishing and engaging in a quiet, intense competition.
Jiang Rourou played with butterflies nearby. A zombie passed by it and stopped to pounce.
The butterfly landed in its mouth, and the zombie chewed it and continued searching for the next living creature.
Jiang Rourou was frightened to the core, lying on the ground without daring to move. It waited until the zombie disappeared completely before hurriedly escaping back under Jiang Miaomiao’s stool, lying there obediently and not moving at all.
After a few hours of competition, the results were about to be revealed.
In Lu Qiming’s bucket swam several large carp, while in Jiang Miaomiao’s bucket, apart from the small fish caught at the beginning, there was only one more big fish.
Where was the promised luck? Why wasn’t it working?
She tried a desperate move, kneading two portions of bait into one and hanging it on the hook, hoping to catch a bigger fish and turn the tide.
Unfortunately, the result wasn’t as satisfactory as she hoped. The fishing line shook, and when she pulled it up, the fish wasn’t there, but the bait was gone.
Lu Qiming caught another big fish, and he sighed in a mocking tone.
“Ah, looks like someone won’t have dinner tonight.”
She was furious, no longer interested, and carried the stool and bucket, ready to leave.
Lu Qiming asked, “Leaving already?”
“What else can I do? I’ve already lost.”
Staying wouldn’t help her overturn the situation, and she would just be subject to more of his ridicule.
Lu Qiming also put away the fishing rod, gazing at the setting sun in the distance.
“The weather was really good today.”
Jiang Miaomiao followed his gaze and was astonished.
A vast expanse of vibrant evening glow covered half the horizon, and golden rays of light fell upon the towering buildings in the distance.
The colors diluted the lifelessness of the city. If she ignored the zombies in the residential area, she would think she was living in the pre-apocalyptic world.
If she didn’t die, how much longer would she have to live like this?
The original male and female leads only returned to the city with the government more than ten years later. She really didn’t have the confidence to hold on until that time.
Seeing the glimmer in her eyes, Lu Qiming patted her shoulder.
“Let’s go home.”
Well, at the very least, she still had a home.
There was food, hot water, a comfortable bed, a strong man, and an adorable dog.
With just these, she was already luckier than many others.
The two of them carried the buckets and fishing rods and called for Jiang Rourou, returning home as a family, basking in the glow of the setting sun.
Jiang Miaomiao accepted her defeat and went into the kitchen to cook.
Lu Qiming was content to wait for the meal, but after a while, he also came in, rolling up his sleeves and asking, “Is there anything I can help with?”
She gave him a surprised glance.
“You actually volunteered to help?”
Today must be a special day. She should really light some incense.
Lu Qiming laughed, “What’s so surprising? Haven’t I always been diligent? How do you plan to cook the fish? Steamed or braised?”
“Suan Cai Yu (fish with pickled vegetables).”
When they went to the supermarket to get food, they had bought a pack of suan cai yu seasoning mix. Sometimes, when Jiang Miaomiao craved spiciness and couldn’t find any spicy strips, she would secretly sneak downstairs at midnight and indulge in a pack.
Now, she could finally put it to use.
To make suan cai yu, the fish needed to be sliced. Since Lu Qiming had good knife skills, this task was assigned to him.
While Jiang Miaomiao washed rice and vegetables, she noticed that the mung bean sprouts she had planted during the half-month of confinement had grown nicely.
The baby bok choy had also grown, though not fully matured. Unable to resist the temptation, she picked a handful to use as a side dish for the fish.
Lu Qiming held a vegetable knife, wearing an apron, and stood tall and robust in front of the cutting board, carefully and patiently slicing the fish meat.
Indeed, these koi carp were more suited for ornamental purposes than eating. The flesh was rough, and they had many bones, making the process quite troublesome.
With his head lowered, his hair, not trimmed for a long time, fell over his eyebrows. His nose was straight and tall, and his profile could be described as perfect.
“Can you help me with something?” he suddenly asked.
Jiang Miaomiao put down the baby bok choy.
“What do you need?”
“Could you find a clip to pin my hair? It keeps falling over my eyes.”
She rushed to the balcony and brought back two small colorful plastic clips used for socks. Standing on tiptoes, she pinned one on the left and another on the right, giving him the appearance of having two little ears.
Lu Qiming twisted his neck.
“Thank you, this is much more convenient.”
His bangs were pushed up, revealing his handsome eyebrows and eyes. Each expression of his was like a silent temptation.
Jiang Miaomiao gazed at him in a daze, and her heartbeat suddenly accelerated. Unable to control herself, she leaned over and kissed him on the lips.
Lu Qiming was still talking when she suddenly kissed him, and his voice abruptly stopped. He stared at her in shock.
“You…”
Her rationality returned to her mind, and she knew she had done something wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to apologize.
So, in a panic, she made the most foolish decision—she turned around and ran.
Leaving behind a room filled with awkward silence and a perplexed Lu Qiming.
Jiang Miaomiao escaped back to her room, locked the door, and sat on the bed, panting heavily.
Oh my God, what did she just do?
Lu Qiming wouldn’t mistakenly think that she liked him, right? She was purely lusting after his good looks.
If it were someone with a crooked nose and a twisted mouth, she wouldn’t even consider kissing them, no matter how much time they spent together.
What should she do? How should she explain?
She hugged a pillow, feeling at a loss. She happened to glance up and saw her blushing face in the floor-length mirror, which made her feel even more embarrassed. She buried herself under the covers and refused to come out.
Half an hour later, the fragrance of the suan cai yu wafted through the crack under the door. Lu Qiming called her from outside.
“Miaomiao, it’s time to eat.”
His tone sounded normal, as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Miaomiao hesitantly opened the door, once again seeing his handsome face.
He smiled, not mentioning the forced kiss at all.
“Let’s go, the suan cai yu is ready.”
“Oh…”
She followed him downstairs absentmindedly, and they served and had their meal.
Lu Qiming remembered something and looked at her.
“If you want to kiss me next time, don’t sneakily eat the suan cai.”
The taste is too mesmerizing.
“Ha—”
Rice sprayed all over the table from Jiang Miaomiao’s mouth, and a grain got stuck in her windpipe, causing her to cough uncontrollably.
Lu Qiming chuckled and poured her some water while patting her back.
“Why eat so hurriedly? There’s no one here to snatch your food.”
Jiang Miaomiao gripped his arm tightly, looking up with teary eyes due to the coughing.
“I haven’t encountered any other men for too long, that’s why I did that, really! Please don’t misunderstand!”
“Misunderstand what?”
“Misunderstand… oh, well, just forget about it. Please treat it as if nothing happened.”
“That won’t do.” Lu Qiming frowned.
She felt uncertain and stuttered, “What, what do you want?”
“Whatever we do should be fair.”
His large hand held the back of her head, while the other hand brought a tissue to wipe away the rice grains from her face.
“I want a kiss back.”
The man’s lips pressed against hers, and it felt completely different from when she kissed him forcefully.
His breath was rough and scorching, with a domineering aggressiveness, like a commanding general on the battlefield.
But once he pried open her blockade, his lips and tongue became gentle and soft, guiding her sensually, and soon they merged passionately.
The kiss didn’t last long, and Jiang Miaomiao didn’t even realize when it ended.
Lu Qiming finished eating and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
During the half-month of isolation, he could only use wet towels to clean himself, which was not enjoyable.
Jiang Miaomiao sat on the chair, disturbed by Jiang Rourou’s barking. The fish smelled so good that it made her dog’s tail wag like a propeller.
She picked up a large piece and put it in its small bowl. As she got up, she glanced at Lu Qiming’s bowl, and memories of that kiss overwhelmed her.
Eating suan cai before kissing was not a good idea, really.
But what were they doing?
Two lonely souls in the apocalypse, using each other to alleviate their loneliness, or…
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. She lost her appetite for the eagerly awaited suan cai yu and went upstairs to lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.
Suddenly, Lu Qiming pushed open the door and walked in, wearing an expression she had never seen before.
Bold, tempting, suggestive.
He walked to the edge of the bed, sat down without asking, scaring Jiang Miaomiao to shrink back.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t play dumb, I know what you want.”
As he spoke, he took off his clothes, revealing his strong abdominal muscles and well-built physique. The strong male hormones filled the small pink room.
Jiang Miaomiao’s cheeks flushed, her breathing became rapid, and her heart pounded with fear and excitement. Clutching the blanket, she said, “I, I won’t take responsibility if we sleep together!”
“I don’t want you to take responsibility, I just want… pure pleasure.”
Lu Qiming smiled, his strong arms embracing her.
Due to nervousness, she struggled instinctively and accidentally fell off the bed with a loud thud.
When she opened her eyes, Lu Qiming was gone, and so were his abdominal muscles. Only her flushed face and the disheveled blanket remained.
It turned out to be a dream…
She touched her burning forehead, climbed back onto the bed, feeling somewhat relieved, yet also somewhat regretful.
Relieved that they didn’t have to face that awkward situation, so they could still get along as usual.
Regretful because… it was like a mirage for someone who had been walking in the desert for days; you could see it but not touch it.
Knock, knock, knock—
Lu Qiming knocked on the door from outside.
“Miaomiao, what was that sound just now?”
Since the incident with the zombie climbing in, he had become more cautious about such matters.
Jiang Miaomiao wouldn’t tell the truth even if she were beaten to death. She hid under the covers and said, “My phone fell on the floor.”
“I’m not at ease, let me see.”
She took a few deep breaths, pretended to be fine, and opened the door.
Lu Qiming first checked the window to make sure it wasn’t damaged before turning to look at her.
At this glance, he realized that something was wrong.
“Why is your face so red? Are you running a fever?”
Jiang Miaomiao had no way out. Whenever he passed in front of her, she couldn’t help but recall his alluring appearance in the dream, causing her blood to rush to her face uncontrollably.
“It’s nothing, it’s just too hot today.”
“Really?”
Lu Qiming looked skeptical.
“Do you think I would lie to you? What’s there to lie about? Be more reserved, don’t casually enter a girl’s room, okay?”
Jiang Miaomiao pushed him out, and Lu Qiming was pushed outside the door. Suddenly, he raised his index finger to hush.
“Don’t speak, listen.”
Confused, she closed her mouth and focused on listening. From downstairs came the sound of Jiang Rourou scratching the door, accompanied by anxious whines.
It was rare for Jiang Rourou to behave like this. Even if it wanted to make a sound, it was usually because it wanted food.
But it had already eaten dinner and should be full.
Both of them were reminded of the terrifying experience when the zombie broke in. Quietly, they took out a small electric saw and walked downstairs, holding their breath.
As they descended, the scratching sound from Jiang Rourou became clearer.
Jiang Miaomiao distinguished the direction and said with a puzzled expression, “It seems like it’s scratching the little zombie’s door.”
Lu Qiming nodded and checked the entire ground floor to make sure everything was normal before approaching Jiang Rourou.
When it saw its owners, it became even more excited, trying hard to push open that door.
Jiang Miaomiao took out her keys, and Lu Qiming held the electric saw tightly, ready to defend himself.
The door was opened, and there was nothing extra in the room, or… it was eerily quiet.
The little zombie lay quietly on the ground, not moving at all, not as agitated as it usually was when they arrived.
Both of them focused on the little zombie, and Lu Qiming walked over, using the tip of his shoe to poke it. There was still no response, so he squatted down and lifted the bedsheet to check.
“It seems like… it’s dead.”
A few minutes later, he looked up at Jiang Miaomiao and said those words.
Zombies were originally lifeless, and their hearts wouldn’t beat.
Could it be… the little zombie’s body couldn’t sustain their demands for so many days and was about to “disappear” in the true sense?
Shocked, Jiang Miaomiao walked over, put on gloves, and touched the little zombie’s head.
Its head was decayed, and its small, round skull was exposed.
Its whole body was sticky and smelly, and the only thing that still reflected its initial luster was the golden longevity lock around its neck.
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