Chapter 42: Half a Grown-up Is Hard to Coax
Chaolu didn’t think as much as Chaoyang did—about whether something was fair or not, or who had the right and who didn’t.
She was stubborn to the core. She only knew one thing: you couldn’t abandon a single companion. Whatever trade-offs others talked about, she didn’t understand them!
For her, Ye Duo leaving Mibao behind was betrayal!
And she was furious!
“Ye Duo, I hate you!” Chaolu huffed angrily.
The moment Ye Duo, holding the walkie-talkie, heard those words, she froze on the spot.
Her eyes instantly grew hot and sore.
Because… because she really did like Chaolu.
At her most desperate moment, it was Chaolu who had saved her.
But now Chaolu was saying she hated her.
“I’m sorry…”
Ye Duo choked on the words, then flung the walkie-talkie aside. In a fit of impulse, she yanked open the classroom door and ran out!
Chaoyang: “?!”
“Hey, you—”
He had just stuck his head out to say something when a zombie’s snarl erupted right next to him. He turned his head, and nearly came face-to-face with the creature at zero distance!
Bang!
Quick as lightning, Chaoyang slammed the classroom door shut, leaving the zombie clawing at it from outside.
He frowned, his head throbbing like it had split into two.
On the other end of the walkie-talkie, Chaolu was still fuming—until the next second, when Chaoyang’s voice came through.
“Sister, she ran out,” Chaoyang said, feeling numb all over. “A zombie blocked the doorway, I couldn’t catch up.”
Chaolu: “…”
It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. She stammered, “No way… I-I just said a couple of things to her, did it really have to come to this?”
Why was her temper so explosive?
Besides, it wasn’t like she’d said anything wrong!
“Now that she’s already run out, saying all this doesn’t mean much,” Chaoyang said. “Life and death are up to fate—depends on one’s luck.”
Chaolu scratched her head. “Little brother, you’re sounding more and more like an old man these days.”
Always saying complicated things she didn’t understand.
Chaoyang: “…”
Meanwhile, after rushing out of the classroom, Ye Duo ran downstairs. She was crying as she fled, but halfway down, regret began to creep in.
Maybe… she had been too impulsive.
This life of hers had been clawed back with great difficulty—how could she just throw it away like this…
But from the fifth floor came the snarls of zombies, making her realize she couldn’t turn back.
Ye Duo bit down hard and could only keep moving down.
At this moment, fear took hold of her—fear of seeing Mibao’s corpse on the fourth floor.
And she remembered there had been quite a few zombies there.
Yet when she nervously reached the staircase landing on the fourth floor, she froze.
All those zombies were sprawled on the ground, motionless.
And there was no sign of Mibao’s body.
This…
Could it be that Mibao wasn’t dead?
Ye Duo let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, but at the same time unease and confusion grew inside her.
She didn’t plan to linger—she wanted to keep running down. Yet from the third floor came the chilling roars of zombies.
Ye Duo’s body went rigid.
Now the zombies on both the fifth and third floors had heard her, and were moving toward the fourth.
And to make matters worse, the bees below also began swarming upward.
Ye Duo swallowed hard. It seemed her only option was to run into the fourth floor.
So she took off down the fourth-floor corridor. But as soon as she reached the end of the first classroom, she saw two zombies appear at the other end of the hallway.
The moment they saw her, they roared and came charging straight at her!
Ye Duo was scared stiff.
When she had rushed out earlier, she hadn’t even grabbed the baseball bat. Which meant that right now, she was completely unarmed.
Ye Duo felt the blood in her whole body turn cold. She stood frozen, staring blankly as the zombies rushed toward her. From the third and fifth floors, more zombies had already poured onto the fourth to surround her, while outside came the relentless buzzing of bees.
Was this her retribution?
Ye Duo thought.
It seemed… there was nowhere left for her to run.
Yet just as the zombies were about to reach her, a door beside her suddenly swung open. A small hand shot out, grabbed hers, and yanked her inside!
Bang!
The door slammed shut, cutting off the stench of decay and the chorus of snarls.
Ye Duo stared blankly at the little girl in front of her, unable to recover her senses for a long time.
It was Mibao who tugged at her hand again, whispering softly, “Sister Ye Duo, hurry, squat down!”
Otherwise, the monsters outside wouldn’t leave.
Almost in a daze, Ye Duo let Mibao pull her down into a crouch. It took quite a while before her mind caught up.
“You…” Ye Duo looked at Mibao, her brain struggling to function. “How did you…”
She wanted to ask how Mibao had survived, but the words felt wrong on her tongue.
It would sound like she had been wishing for Mibao’s death.
But she was really curious.
She couldn’t imagine how a five-year-old like Mibao could have escaped those zombies—no, not escaped. Those zombies were dead.
Could it be…
Was Mibao secretly some kind of hidden master?
Ye Duo’s imagination couldn’t help but run wild.
With Chaolu and Chaoyang around, nothing seemed impossible anymore.
Thirteen was, after all, the age where you believed anything.
“What are you looking at?” Mibao blinked at her in confusion.
At the same time, a voice echoed in Mibao’s mind—it was Xiaonian.
[Hmph, she abandoned you just now, Mibao. You’re still too kind, going so far as to save her.]
Xiaonian was very displeased.
And yet, a little comforted as well.
Comforted that Mibao’s heart was so pure and righteous—though worried too, that her kindness might one day get her hurt.
Hearing her brother’s voice, Mibao glanced at Ye Duo, then turned her back while crouching down, cupping her hands over her mouth to whisper quietly.
“Big brother, Sister Ye Duo didn’t mean it. She must’ve just been really scared.”
Ye Duo, watching Mibao mutter with her back turned: “?”
What on earth was she doing?
After soothing her brother, Mibao scooted back over bit by bit, her eyes shining as she looked at Ye Duo.
“Sister Ye Duo, did you come back to look for me?”
That one question instantly made Ye Duo feel guilty and ashamed.
“I…” Her throat was so dry she couldn’t get the words out. “I didn’t…”
Shame washed over her—she just wanted to bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.
But then Mibao clasped Ye Duo’s hand.
“Thank you for coming to find me, Sister Ye Duo!”
Huh.
Ye Duo froze.
There was no way Mibao hadn’t noticed she hadn’t actually come for her. Ye Duo had even half-spoken her denial.
And yet…
So, was this Mibao’s way of giving her a way out?
Ye Duo’s eyes reddened, and then she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She burst into tears.
“Wuwuwu… I’m sorry…”
Her crying left Mibao dumbfounded.
She had only thought that Sister Ye Duo hadn’t really done anything wrong. Ye Duo was still just a kid too—of course she’d be afraid.
What she had said just now was only because she worried Sister Ye Duo might feel embarrassed. She hadn’t wanted her to feel guilty.
But somehow… it seemed to have backfired…
In a panic, Mibao hugged Ye Duo.
“I-it’s okay, Sister Ye Duo, don’t cry, don’t cry.”
Her tiny hands imitated the way adults comforted others, patting gently at Ye Duo’s back—but her arms were too short, so she could only reach her arm instead.
And that only made Ye Duo cry harder.
Mibao: “…”
Half a grown-up is so hard to coax.
