Chapter 53: The Human Heart
Zhao Xuehua was very clever. She found a cover to curl up under, pulled dead branches and leaves over herself, and just lay there motionless for a whole day and night.
She was nearly frozen numb.
Luckily, they came in time—otherwise, her body would have already gone stiff.
There was no way they could return to the school now. Who knew if those bees would come back?
So, Zhu Dafu carried his wife on his back, and the five of them walked for another two hours. With Xiao Hei’s warnings to guide them, they managed to find an empty shop to hole up in.
By then, it was nearly dark, and they had no time to go looking for food. All they could do was rummage through the clothing store in hopes of finding something edible.
Unfortunately, aside from a few pieces of candy, there was nothing else.
So, Mibao secretly used points to exchange for food.
“Wow, I found bread!”
Holding up the bread she had redeemed, Mibao called out to the others.
“We’re so lucky.”
She carried over a bag full of bread and ham, her eyes shining brightly.
“Come on, eat~ Auntie Zhao, you eat a little more. I even found a can of eight-treasure porridge—this is for you.”
This time, Mibao had exchanged quite a lot of food—an entire bag full.
Unaware, Zhu Dafu and Zhao Xuehua really thought it had been found in the clothing store, and received it with faces full of joy.
But Chaoyang and Ye Duo, who knew the truth, had trouble swallowing their food.
This whole bag of supplies… Mibao must have spent a lot of effort.
“Brother Chaoyang, Sister Ye Duo, why aren’t you eating?”
Mibao, gnawing on a piece of bread, looked curiously at the two people standing still on the side and urged them.
Zhu Dafu, busy feeding his wife, also turned to look at Chaoyang and Ye Duo when he heard that, his face full of puzzlement:
“Yeah, aren’t you hungry?”
“I…” Ye Duo’s lips moved, but she didn’t know what to say. “Hungry.”
She quietly took a piece of bread from the bag and started eating.
Chaoyang did the same.
Zhu Dafu didn’t think much of it—he just assumed the two kids had been too hungry and a bit frozen silly.
Mibao didn’t dwell on it either, happily munching on her bread.
Although she had spent quite a lot of points, at least no one would go hungry. That was wonderful~
Chaoyang and Ye Duo, gnawing on their bread, exchanged glances.
They both saw the same look in each other’s eyes.
It was the same feeling.
Mibao’s secret had to be kept, but at the same time, they wanted others to remember her kindness. They didn’t want her to keep giving quietly like this…
Obviously, the two couldn’t coexist.
That was what made it frustrating.
Because of that, Chaoyang and Ye Duo both didn’t sleep well that night.
Mibao, however, without a care in the world, slept soundly and sweetly. When she rolled over, she even smacked Chaoyang in the face with her hand.
Chaoyang: “…”
…
…
A beat-up car slowly moved down the road, the driver shivering like a leaf.
Jiang Nianwan sat on the roof of the car, feeling quite satisfied with the current speed.
This was much faster~
Sure enough, finding someone to drive was the way to go.
Only thing was, people needed food—it was a bit troublesome. She had to let him stop now and then to find something to eat… oh, and to use the bathroom.
She also had to make sure that those “food sources” didn’t end up biting the driver—so she had to follow along and protect him at all times.
Although it was a bit troublesome, it was still within her tolerance.
“G-Great Aunt, I need to use the bathroom,”
Jiang Kai, the driver, spoke up weakly.
Up on the roof of the car, with the wind blowing past her, Jiang Nianwan replied lazily:
“Alright.”
Jiang Kai let out a breath of relief, quickly pulled the car over, and scampered off to the side to pee.
After two days of adjustment, Jiang Kai was no longer quite as terrified of Jiang Nianwan—
well, except every time he saw the scenes of Great Aunt eating, those still scared him senseless.
But he had to admit, being Great Aunt’s driver came with some pretty good perks!
First of all, his safety was guaranteed. Great Aunt was strong—those zombies and whatever else were no match for her at all!
Second, food was guaranteed. With Great Aunt around, when he went into supermarkets to look for supplies, he didn’t even have to worry!
The zombies didn’t dare give him any trouble!
Thinking about it, it was actually kind of awesome—hehe.
But…
As good as the benefits were, when he thought about the future, there was still danger—
who knew if, once he delivered Great Aunt to her destination, she would just eat him right then and there?
After all, by then he’d be useless.
Too bad worrying was pointless. If he didn’t behave and obediently be her driver, he’d be dead already.
Sigh~
He’d just have to take it one step at a time.
After finishing with his bladder problem, Jiang Kai got back into the car and resumed driving.
“Great Aunt, it’s already dark. I’ll need to sleep after driving a little longer. And also… we’ve nearly run out of food.”
Jiang Nianwan: “…”
Humans really were such a hassle.
But there was no helping it. She knew humans needed food, just like she needed food.
The difference was, her food was everywhere on the streets—sometimes it even walked right up to her.
Humans, on the other hand, had to go look for theirs. Such a hassle.
…
…
The next morning, Chaoyang suggested going out to look for food.
“Huh? Don’t we still have some left? No need to rush out like this, right?”
Zhu Dafu scratched his head, clearly reluctant.
If Chaolu were still here, he might dare to go. But now that Chaolu wasn’t around, and the only ones left were kids—if he went out, wouldn’t it be dangerous?
“Uncle Zhu, the food will run out sooner or later. Besides, we also need a car if we’re going to the Oasis Base.”
Chaoyang looked at Zhu Dafu with a blank expression.
“Or do you plan to live here for the rest of your life?”
Even though Mibao didn’t mind—in fact, she was happy to share—they couldn’t just take her food and conveniences for granted.
Mibao didn’t owe anyone.
What’s more, Mibao was only five years old, the youngest among them. She was the one they should be protecting. Yet now things were reversed.
Zhu Dafu might not know the truth, but Chaoyang did.
“Uh…” Zhu Dafu hesitated. “But aren’t we supposed to wait here for Chaolu to come back? How about we go out tomorrow instead?”
Chaoyang’s brows furrowed slightly, his fists tightening a little.
Wait until tomorrow…
If they waited until tomorrow and the food ran short, Mibao would probably have to find a way to get more on her own again.
“Fine. If you don’t want to go out, then stay here.”
With a cold face, Chaoyang threw down these words, then turned and headed for the door.
“Wait!”
Ye Duo’s voice rang out. She quickly walked over to Chaoyang’s side.
Looking at him with firm eyes, she said, “I’ll go with you.”
Chaoyang was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright.”
Seeing this, Mibao hurriedly hugged Xiao Hei and ran over.
“I’m going too!”
With Xiao Hei’s help in giving warnings, they’d be able to avoid a lot of danger.
Chaoyang and Ye Duo had originally wanted to refuse, but when they looked at the black cat in Mibao’s arms, they quietly swallowed the words of refusal.
Fine. With Xiao Hei around, Mibao was probably safer than with them alone.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Dafu immediately felt a bit embarrassed, but he still didn’t want to go out.
Feeling that his reluctance was a bit excessive, he tried to excuse himself:
“Chaoyang, it’s not that I don’t want to go… it’s just that Xuehua really can’t do without me…”
“Nonsense. Since when have I ever needed you to take care of me?”
Zhao Xuehua couldn’t help but retort.
Zhu Dafu: “…”
