Under the coercion of Liu Qiming, Jiang Miaomiao held a brief meeting with him to plan what they needed next. Based on their daily needs, she compiled a list:
1. Burglar-proof windows – They can dismantle them from other houses, but it’s essential to install them on every window.
2. More food – Considering the near-starvation experience during the previous zombie tide, they should aim to maintain at least one month’s worth of supplies with a comprehensive and balanced nutrition.
3. Electrical appliances – With summer approaching and temperatures rising, having an air conditioner and a refrigerator would significantly improve their quality of life. For Liu Qiming, who was accustomed to enjoying ice cream in the cold breeze, surviving the summer without an air conditioner would be unbearable.
4. Vegetables – They should set up a small garden inside the villa to provide sufficient vitamins and prevent malnutrition, which could lead to death even if they were not bitten by zombies.
“These four points must be completed this month to ensure our future quality of life and safety. Of course, if you think of anything else, we can find it together. In short, the more, the better.”
Liu Qiming handed her the notebook and raised an eyebrow.
“Is there anything else you want to add?”
Jiang Miaomiao looked at the notebook with a sigh, and her mouth almost dropped to her chin.
It was as if the list wasn’t a shopping list but her diagnosis of a terminal illness.
Liu Qiming asked, “What’s wrong? Having an air conditioner and vegetables to eat is a good thing.”
“It’s a good thing, of course, but…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, as she knew she sounded too pessimistic.
It’s just that it’s so tiring.
There’s so much to do, just thinking about it is exhausting. The feeling of searching for things in front of the zombies is also terrible. Every time they pass by, they are on high alert.
Today, she finally managed to take a clean bath, smelling so fresh, and tomorrow, while doing chores, she will undoubtedly get bloodstained again. By then, these clean clothes will be ruined.
Dear heavens, can’t she just have a comfortable and peaceful life for more than two days?
“It’s nothing. Let’s go to sleep. Tomorrow, I’ll help you with the chores.”
Jiang Miaomiao deliberately moved her phone, computer, and other items to another room, keeping them far away from herself, so she wouldn’t be tempted at night.
After doing all this, she returned to the small room to prepare for sleep.
Liu Qiming noticed her weary appearance and thought of something, so he went to the living room.
When he returned, he had two cups in his hands, emitting a sweet aroma from afar.
“Drink it. It’ll warm you up.”
He handed her one of the cups, and the cup was printed with three words – “Xiang Piao Piao” (a brand of milk tea).
Holding the cup, the hot milk tea warmed her hand, and as she took a sip, the sweet taste permeated her heart.
“Ah…”
She let out a contented sigh, “Milk tea saved my life.”
Liu Qiming rolled his eyes and grabbed a pillow, sitting in the corner against the wall. He extended his long arm and pressed the switch.
“Going to sleep? I’ll turn off the light.”
Jiang Miaomiao looked puzzled, “Are you going to sleep there?”
“Okay.”
“There’s clearly a place here.”
She patted the high-quality double bed mattress beneath her.
“It feels so good. It must be very comfortable to sleep on, and it’s the one you personally carried back.”
Liu Qiming turned off the light directly and said in the darkness, “My lumbar spine isn’t good; I’m not suited to sleep on a mattress.”
“Really?”
“Go to sleep.”
After saying this, he gulped down the milk tea and fell silent.
How could he drink it when it’s so hot… Jiang Miaomiao held the cup in surprise, uncovered the lid, and blew into it to cool it down. It took nearly half an hour to drink the scalding milk tea.
For some reason, she felt very awake and couldn’t feel any sleepiness.
Thinking about how he worked hard today to carry the mattress and ended up injuring his wrist, while now she was just lying on it carelessly to sleep, she felt extremely guilty.
Right, did he apply the ointment on his hand?
Jiang Miaomiao didn’t want to wake him up, so she quietly crawled over, lifted his left hand, and smelled it.
A strong smell of Yunnan Baiyao.
That’s good… She felt relieved and silently returned to the mattress, tidying up all four sides of the blanket.
The blanket was made of silk, light, thin, and warm.
The mattress was very comfortable, and the air was fresh. The silk pajamas felt as if they weren’t there at all.
With clean hair, fresh breath, and a full stomach, everything was so wonderful.
Jiang Miaomiao closed her eyes happily, planning to drift into dreamland, ideally with a large watermelon to munch on, which would be even more satisfying.
However, the sandman seemed to have abandoned her. After a few minutes, she opened her eyes, staring into the darkness, and called out softly, “Liu Qiming.”
In response, regular snoring filled the air.
She reached out to feel the empty space beside her, thinking that having an empty space was a waste, and tiptoed to turn on the light, intending to lift him onto the mattress.
But the guy, nearly 1.9 meters tall, wasn’t light at all; he was as heavy as a small hill. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move even one of his legs.
A low, masculine voice came from above.
“What are you trying to do?”
She stopped awkwardly, “You’re not asleep?”
“I’m not a pig. Even if I were, I would wake up if someone moved me.”
Liu Qiming’s gaze was intense, “What do you want to do?”
She became flustered and scratched her ear.
“I…I feel a bit cold sleeping alone. How about you come up and sleep too?”
He smirked, “Are you afraid?”
Jiang Miaomiao took the opportunity to ride on his words.
“Yes.”
“Alright.”
Liu Qiming took a pillow and walked towards the mattress, lying down on the other half, covering his chest with a blanket. He glanced at her and said, “Let’s make it clear, if you try anything funny with me in the middle of the night, I won’t be polite.”
Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t help but laugh in anger.
“Try anything funny with you? Who do you think you are, some kind of delicacy? Yuck.”
“I’m going to sleep next door.”
He pretended to leave, but she quickly turned off the light and called out in the darkness, “Wait, wait, lie down for me.”
As she spoke, she walked towards the mattress, but tripped on something and fell straight onto his chest.
“Cough, cough!” Liu Qiming was hit and saw stars, coughing as he held his chest, “So you’re trying to murder me.”
Blushing, Jiang Miaomiao climbed into the bed and lay down.
Under one blanket, the two of them were so close that they could feel each other’s body temperature.
She closed her eyes and counted sheep, expecting to toss and turn for a while before falling asleep. However, Liu Qiming’s presence was like a topical sleep aid, and before she knew it, she drifted off to dreamland.
In her dream, there was no watermelon to eat, but she had devoured many chicken wings, her favorite honey-flavored ones.
At 8 o’clock in the morning, Jiang Miaomiao reluctantly woke up, her mouth still savoring the taste, and she couldn’t help but lick her lips.
The light seeped in from under the door, and she saw the figure lying beside her. She gave him a nudge.
“Hey, wake up, it’s time to get up and work.”
Liu Qiming made a sound but didn’t move.
“You called me a lazy person yesterday, and now you’re being lazy yourself. Get up, get up.”
Kneeling on the mattress, Jiang Miaomiao shook him, determined to wake him up. As her fingers inadvertently brushed against his forehead, she got startled.
“Why is your head so hot?”
Liu Qiming opened his eyes weakly.
“I’m feeling a bit unwell…”
His skin looked as pale as if he had been soaking in water, unusually white. Jiang Miaomiao placed her palm on his forehead, carefully feeling it for a few seconds, feeling anxious.
“You seem to have a fever, did you catch a cold?”
He shook his head, clearly not sure.
“Let me see if there’s any fever-reducing medicine, wait for me.”
After saying this, Jiang Miaomiao rushed downstairs. As she passed by the room where the little zombie was held, she heard the sound of footsteps, and the little zombie desperately banged its head against the door.
She didn’t stop and ran straight to the bag where the medicine was kept, searching frantically.
Liu Qiming was sick, what should she do?
What if the medicine didn’t work? Where would she find a doctor?
But how could he get sick in the first place? He was as strong as an ox.
Could it be because there wasn’t enough water for him to bathe yesterday? Or…
She thought of the zombie blood he used to smear on his body every day, and her heart skipped a beat.
Could he really be infected? This is bad.
Jiang Miaomiao searched around but couldn’t find any fever-reducing medicine, so she took some anti-inflammatory medicine back, thinking to try her best to help.
Entering the room, she found that Liu Qiming’s condition had worsened.
He lay weakly under the blanket, looking as if he was about to die.
She felt panicked, her nose tingling with the urge to cry. She held back her tears, poured him some water, and lifted his head.
“Here, take the medicine.”
Liu Qiming obediently took it, but after just three seconds, he vomited it all out.
“I feel terrible…”
He opened his eyes, bloodshot all over.
Jiang Miaomiao was on the verge of tears.
“Wait, let me go out and find some other medicine for you, just wait.”
Wiping her tears, she rushed downstairs, took a knife from beside the electric stove, and without hesitation, made several cuts on the little zombie’s leg. She grabbed a handful of blood and smeared it on her own body.
The blood still had a foul smell, and the little zombie’s howls were deafening.
She ignored it, covering herself from head to toe with the blood and immediately ran to the opposite house.
After what seemed like forever, she found a white plastic first aid kit with a red cross symbol on it. Opening it, she saw that it was well-stocked with common medicines, even including a thermometer.
Jiang Miaomiao hurried back home, kneeling beside Liu Qiming, and took his temperature.
Beep, beep – the electronic thermometer sounded, displaying a temperature of 41.5°C.
She bit her lip hard, gave him more medicine, and then hugged his burning head, using her own cold hands to cool him down.
Liu Qiming was barely conscious, and the breath he exhaled was scorching hot.
“What if I’m infected?” he asked weakly.
“If you’re infected, you won’t have any thoughts left to worry about what to do,” she said.
“I know, I’m asking you,” he said with a bitter smile, “Will you kill me? Or kick me out?”
Killing him was impossible, she knew she didn’t have the ability to do that.
As for driving him out, it was difficult. She couldn’t beat him, and even if she could, she couldn’t outrun him. How could she chase him away?
Jiang Miaomiao touched his head. He had probably cut his hair a little while bathing last night, and the short hair was a bit prickly.
“I won’t do anything, I’ll take care of you.”
“Take care of me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll bite you?”
“I smear your blood every day, you won’t recognize me,” Jiang Miaomiao said, “So when the time comes, I’ll release the little zombie and use you. With your size, I can definitely take enough blood for a long time.”
He smiled bitterly, “It seems I should ask you to be gentle in advance, at least leave me with a complete body.”
She grumbled, “So, you better not turn into a zombie, you know?”
Liu Qiming nodded, whether from the fever or drowsiness, he closed his eyes and stopped talking.
Jiang Miaomiao followed the TV’s instructions and wrung a cold towel for him, placing it on his forehead. She wiped away the dampness around her eyes and went downstairs to turn on the electric stove.
She wanted to cook some porridge; a person with a high fever needed to replenish nutrients.
Porridge alone was too monotonous, so she needed to add something else.
Jiang Miaomiao searched through each bag and chose some cured meat, slicing it and throwing it into the pot to cook.
Cured meat could provide salt and protein, but after eating it for over a month, what they lacked most was not this, but vitamins.
She remembered the little medicine box, took it down, but there were no vitamin C tablets. Instead, she found a small bottle of oral cod liver oil.
She remembered the taste of cod liver oil, fishy and greasy, extremely unpleasant. Even in her childhood years when she would nibble on her fingers, she had to pinch her nose to swallow it.
But now was a special situation, and she had no choice but to use it.
Jiang Miaomiao poured the entire bottle into the pot, squatting anxiously next to it, waiting for the water to boil.
Half an hour later, the hot porridge was ready. She filled a bowl and brought it upstairs, sitting beside the mattress, calling Liu Qiming.
“Wake up… it’s time to eat… wake up.”
Liu Qiming’s body was burning hot, and his lips were chapped. His originally pale complexion now had an abnormal flush.
The cold towel had been heated by his body temperature, so Jiang Miaomiao took it and rinsed it with cold water before returning to wipe his face.
The soft fabric glided across his skin, leaving a trail of water.
He let out a comfortable sigh and grabbed her hand, unwilling to let go of the cooling sensation.
She called softly again, “Wake up, eat first, then you can sleep.”
Liu Qiming’s dark eyelashes trembled twice, and finally, he opened his eyes.
Jiang Miaomiao felt a slight joy in her heart as she brought the bowl over.
“Open your mouth.”
He stared at her, seemingly dazed.
She felt heartbroken, but forced a cheerful smile, scolding him as usual.
“What are you looking at? Burned yourself into a fool, don’t recognize me anymore?”
Liu Qiming chuckled, “Are you trying to drive me away, so you specially made a meal for me?”
“Yeah, you better eat enough because there won’t be anything left later.”
He continued to smile, his gaze gentler than usual.
She held the spoon to his lips, and he obediently opened his mouth. However, after the porridge entered his mouth for less than three seconds, his expression changed.
“…Did you poison it? It’s so terrible…”
“Really?”
She took a sip, the fishy taste of the cod liver oil was maximized due to the high temperature, mixed with the salty and savory taste of the cured meat. It was neither sweet nor salty.
In summary, it was simply unbearable.
Jiang Miaomiao struggled to swallow it down, forcing a smile, “Good medicine tastes bitter, it’s good for the illness. Come on, drink it all.”
Even when Liu Qiming had a high fever, he wasn’t as miserable as he was now, pitifully looking at her.
“Can I have plain porridge in another bowl?”
“No, you need to replenish nutrients.”
“Can I just take one sip?”
“No, if you don’t have enough strength, you’ll die.”
…If he weren’t so weak right now and unable to get up, he would definitely prefer to rush out and join the zombies rather than stay here and endure her torment.
Under Jiang Miaomiao’s coercion and inducement, he forced himself to drink the whole bowl of porridge. When he heard her say “it’s finished,” he felt relieved.
She went downstairs to wash the dishes, and when she returned, she brought a cup of warm water.
She fed him two more pills, then retreated to a corner and started playing games on her phone. She put it on silent to avoid disturbing him.
Liu Qiming was still running a fever, feeling dizzy, congested, and his whole body ached.
He wanted to sleep; after all, in a dream, he wouldn’t feel any pain. But his eyes couldn’t help but glance at her, and finally, he spoke up.
“Why don’t you come over here?”
Jiang Miaomiao shook her head, “No, I’m dirty.”
She didn’t wash off the blood, thinking that she could immediately go out to find whatever he needed.
Liu Qiming thought for a moment, clutching the blanket as he struggled to breathe.
She quickly put down her phone and walked over.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling worse?”
“I’m cold…”
As Liu Qiming spoke, his upper teeth kept knocking against his lower teeth, seemingly shivering from the cold.
“I’ll get you more blankets.”
Jiang Miaomiao brought all the blankets in the room and covered him with them. When she was about to leave, he grabbed her wrist.
“Why don’t you lie down here too?”
She hesitated.
Liu Qiming said, “You’re warm. It doesn’t matter if the blankets get dirty; we can replace them later.”
Jiang Miaomiao put aside her concerns and crawled into the blanket, holding his head as if hugging a warm ball.
The two had never met in the first twenty-something years of their lives, but after meeting, they did everything together, eating, drinking, and even using the bathroom. Holding each other like this didn’t feel awkward.
What kind of relationship was this? Comrades?
She was lazy, too lazy to move or think, so she stroked his hair and whispered softly, “Go to sleep, you’ll be fine when you wake up.”
Liu Qiming rubbed against her pointed chin and fell asleep in her arms, feeling drowsy.
The next day, Liu Qiming recovered his vitality.
Seeing him full of energy, walking around the room, Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t help but say, “You really are as strong as a bull.”
Yesterday he was so ill that she thought he might not make it.
Liu Qiming intentionally sighed, “I have to recover quickly; I can’t let you poison me with your porridge.”
She was speechless. “In all likelihood, my porridge saved your life.”
Liu Qiming grinned, “Enough about that, let’s eat breakfast quickly and then go out to work.”
Considering how terrible the porridge tasted, neither of them wanted to dwell on it. So, for breakfast, they had instant noodles.
After finishing the noodles, each made a cup of milk tea and enjoyed it. Then they went to the little zombie to replenish their blood before heading out together.
They had their own responsibilities; Liu Qiming would dismantle the security windows while Jiang Miaomiao searched for food and daily necessities.
However, the security in this residential area was too good, and the households living here didn’t install security windows at all. Liu Qiming circled around several times with a wrench and hammer but couldn’t find any.
Jiang Miaomiao was lucky. She entered the first house and found a big bag of mung beans in their kitchen cabinet.
Mung bean soup was delicious, sweet. Adding some to the porridge wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Most importantly, she had mung bean sprouts to eat.
Mung bean sprouts were more tender and tastier than soybean sprouts!
Jiang Miaomiao searched the house for containers, bringing back basins, buckets, and bathtubs. She found a separate room and lined up the containers.
Growing bean sprouts required water, but she couldn’t carry it.
Liu Qiming came back to help, fetching several buckets of water from the lake.
Following the previous method, Jiang Miaomiao soaked the mung beans in warm water overnight. She spread two layers of paper towels in the containers, placed the beans on top, covered them with two more layers of paper towels, and then moistened them with water.
Mung beans sprouted even faster. After two days of continuous watering, white and tender bean sprouts emerged, growing longer than their fingers in no time.
Jiang Miaomiao picked a handful and made mung bean sprout seaweed soup. They both enjoyed a big bowl for dinner and sat on the floor, contentedly patting their stomachs.
“Are there still many sprouts left? We should pick some and refrigerate them. Tomorrow, I’ll bring a refrigerator back.”
Liu Qiming said, “Leave the rest to grow. The soil in the yard is good. Let’s plant them in the yard. By autumn, we’ll be able to eat our own homegrown mung beans.”
Jiang Miaomiao was taken aback. She hadn’t expected him to think so far ahead.
Autumn… It was only late spring now; they had to wait for several months at least.
Could they really survive until that time?
She was used to living meal by meal, not making such long-term plans all of a sudden. It felt unfamiliar.
Liu Qiming asked, “Is there a problem?”
Jiang Miaomiao shook her head, “You tidy up, I’m going to play games.”
Since he recovered from his illness, she played games every night, sometimes not sleeping until one or two in the morning.
Liu Qiming couldn’t help but be curious about what game was so fun. He threw the bowl into the trash can and followed her.
Jiang Miaomiao was lying on the mattress, holding her phone in her hands, tapping her fingers rapidly.
After finishing a game, she stretched lazily and turned her head to see Liu Qiming behind her, startling her.
“How come you came in so quietly?”
“I even changed the blanket. Do you still say I’m quiet?”
His eyes held a trace of grievance, and she smiled apologetically.
“I’m busy during the day, so I can only play games at night. You go do your thing and don’t mind me.”
Liu Qiming reached out, “Let me see.”
The best way to avoid criticism from others is to drag them into it.
Jiang Miaomiao obligingly handed him her phone and asked, “Do you want to play too? I’ll let you play all night.”
Liu Qiming looked at the unfamiliar interface and didn’t know where to start.
“How do you play this?”
“Are you serious…?” She was surprised, “You haven’t even played King of Glory? You don’t seem like a straight-A student.”
He glanced at her, “Not everyone is like you, laughing and playing every day to survive.”
“Okay, give me back my phone. I’ll keep playing, and you can go be your outstanding youth.”
Jiang Miaomiao pretended to take back her phone, but Liu Qiming didn’t let go, looking at her and saying, “Teach me.”
She paused for a moment, then smirked, crossing her arms. “Beg me.”
“…Are you going to teach me or not?”
“I’ll teach you if you beg.”
Liu Qiming had a twitch on his forehead, “I found this new house, I saved your life in the supermarket, and the water you used to take a bath is from the lake I fetched.”
She exclaimed, “You’re bringing up old debts? You can take your time, and I’ll continue playing my game. I have so many single-player games, and there are thousands of movies on the computer.”
Jiang Miaomiao raised her chin, looking smug as she took her phone back, ready to continue playing.
Suddenly, she felt an oppressive sensation behind her, and the next second, a man was pressing her down. His weight made it hard for her to breathe, and his slender fingers were still pinching her cheeks.
Her body stiffened, and her heart raced wildly.
“What… What are you doing? Trying to kill me?”
Liu Qiming slowly approached her, his warm breath brushing against her sensitive earlobe. His mature male voice echoed in her ears.
“I beg you, teach me.”
Jiang Miaomiao: “…”
A few minutes later, Liu Qiming, who had learned how to operate the phone, occupied it and played without even looking up.
The phone’s owner sat beside him, trying several times to snatch it back, but all attempts failed.
“Hmph, I’ll play on the computer! Computer games are even more fun!”
Muttering in annoyance, she left and played with the computer for over two hours. When she came back to sleep, Liu Qiming was still playing.
“I’m going to sleep now, remember to turn off the lights later.”
“Mm.”
He stared at the screen, his fingers moving so fast they became a blur.
Jiang Miaomiao rolled her eyes, covered herself with the blanket, and went to sleep.
The next day, when she woke up, the lights were still on, but the person beside her was nowhere to be seen.
Feeling puzzled, she walked downstairs and saw Liu Qiming sitting against the wall with a power socket nearby. The charging cable was connected to his phone, which he was still playing with.
Jiang Miaomiao: “…Big brother, didn’t you sleep all night?”
He glanced at her but didn’t have time to speak; he immediately lowered his head to look at the screen again.
He had deep dark circles under his eyes, looking like he had kidney deficiency.
Jiang Miaomiao patted his shoulder. “Stop playing, we need to find a refrigerator today, or the bean sprouts will spoil. We also couldn’t find the security bars for the windows.”
He made a couple of sounds in acknowledgment, his fingers still busy. It seemed like he was treating her words as background noise.
She got angry and directly unplugged the charger.
Liu Qiming finally raised his head, staring at her with wide eyes. “You…”
“What ‘you’? Want to fight me?”
He hooked his arm around her neck, planting a kiss on her forehead and ruffling her hair.
“Be good, stop making trouble, go play on your own.”
Jiang Miaomiao was stunned, but he smoothly took back the charger, returned upstairs, closed the door, and continued playing.
Leave a Reply