Chapter 116: Warmth

Zhang Xiao Qiang inhaled deeply, releasing his hands, and walking towards the window. When his heart and emotions had finally settled down, with his back to Shangguan Qiao Yun, he said: “Go back. Tell Brother Long I’ll settle the granary for him!”

She stood naked behind Zhang Xiao Qiang, the moonlight shining on her skin. She was just like a jade sculpture of a fairy goddess, and when Zhang Xiao Qiang’s cool voice sounded in her ears, the flush on her face quickly receded like snow melting in the sun and regained her usual skin tone.

Seeing his calm back, Shangguan Qiao Yun knew that her hopes were all dashed. She didn’t wear her clothes, instead, looking at his back, wishing so bad for him to turn around and embrace her tightly. She knew this man was truly normal, yet vicious at the same time. He had destroyed all of his own hopes, living like that day to day, no different from a zombie.

She saw the military knife at his waist, and in a flash, she hugged him, before pulling out the military knife and made a motion to stab it into her heart.

When he was hugged suddenly, Zhang Xiao Qiang’s mind was thrown into chaos, he was still thinking about how to reject this woman until he realized the military knife was being whisked out. He came to his senses and immediately turned around to grab her right hand, following up with a fist flying towards her face.

His fist came to a stop right in front of her eyes, his fingers barely scraping her eyebrows, which caused his hands to itch slightly. He released his clenched fist slowly and came down on the blade, intending to retrieve it.

She stared at him stubbornly, her right hand still grasping the blade tightly. Those pretty lips of hers were clenched tight, her teeth biting fiercely, and a hint of red blood appeared as her lips were bitten through. Zhang Xiao Qiang’s glare intensified, as though sending her a warning to let go.

He began prying her fingers off one by one and then kept the military knife back into his waist. He went back to the sofa and asked: “Why are you insisting on following me?”

She hesitated for a while, before seemingly letting go of something in her mind. She looked at him and said: “I know you want to leave, I want to follow you. I know there’re loads of people in WH, I want to reach Wuhan.”

(WH is most likely Wuhan)

He looked at her with a mocking expression: “So that means, all that nonsense about following me and doing anything for me was bullshit then? Your end goal is Wuhan, right? Once you reached there, with your ‘qualifications’, who would turn you away?”

His words were like a hammer that struck her heart heavily, and she looked at him with a pale expression, closing her eyes waiting for him to deal with her.

So it became like this for a short while, Zhang Xiao Qiang sitting there looking at her jade-like naked body, Shangguan Qiao Yun standing there with her eyes closed, waiting for Zhang Xiao Qiang to judge her. He was truly not interested in dealing with her, after, they were all the same, struggling to live in this apocalypse. He wasn’t necessarily better off than her, as long as what she did, did not affect him, he could care less about her life or death.

His greedy eyes rove all over her body, but he didn’t make a move. He knew that the moment he fucked her, he would have to promise her safety. Such an ambitious woman was too dangerous for him though, he could not guarantee that he could bring her under his control, however, the more he looked, the fierier he felt.

“You can follow us, but I would not lend a hand in times of danger. All your food and water will have to be borne by yourself, I don’t feed freeloaders.” Zhang Xiao Qiang decided to bring her along. It could be because he didn’t want to see such a pretty flower dying in front of him, or it could again his machismo that prevented him from seeing Shangguan Qiao Yun taking the desolate way out. In the end, he had promised her a shaky promise.

She opened her eyes in disbelief, not understanding how come things had suddenly taken another 180 degrees turn. Zhang Xiao Qiang had already taken his eyes away and got her to get dressed, before sending her to Yang Ke’er, but warning her not to teach Yang Ke’er the wrong things again.

Zhang Xiao Qiang then brought the .81 rifle to the chicken farm and let loose a few bullets, feeling the recoil on his shoulders. As he walked back massaging his sore shoulders, it was already past dinner time. He walked back to his room, as there were some emergency rations there. Especially since he wiped the small town clean, his rations had grown. Other than chocolates and beef jerky, there were also a few cans of pork and fish.

The moment he entered the room, he noticed Yuan Yi sitting at the sofa, with some dinner laid out on the table, covered with a huge bowl. Like this, the temperature could be maintained for a lengthier period of time. Upon seeing Zhang Xiao Qiang walk in, she stood up, not saying anything. Her eyes were still clear, and Zhang Xiao Qiang himself did not say anything as he sat on the sofa.

She opened up the bowl, and the dinner inside was still piping hot. Seeing how considerate she had been in sending his dinner, and even selecting the portions, as the moonlight shone on her face, Zhang Xiao Qiang suddenly felt something melting his heart. A sense of warmth rose in his heart, and his mind turned blank. He just sat there quietly, taking it in, the warmth that enveloped his heart right now, filling it up with all sorts of sensations. The sweet, the sour, the saltiness and the bitterness. This was a feeling he had not felt in a really, really long time, and the detest he had for Yuan Yi disappeared like the clouds.

As he ate silently, Yuan Yi stood there watching him. He ate slowly and carefully. He had never known how the taste of dinner was like and just quietly absorbed the feeling of someone caring for him. How many years has it been? Ever since his mother had left the world, no one had come to care for him. Yuan Yi was also someone who had only cared about herself. However, after he got over deliberately ignoring her, he realized he could truly feel the warmth.

Even as he took his time, he managed to finish his meal. Seeing Yuan Yi slowly cleaning up, he sat on the sofa and smoked his cigarette. He looked at Yuan Yi who was going about her chores, he couldn’t help but said a sentence that had always been at the tip of his tongue.

“From now on, you just follow me, till the day we can both die together!” At last, he finally said it.

Yuan Yi stopped and stood up to look at Zhang Xiao Qiang. Her eyes shone brightly, and she nodded heavily, before bending down to continue packing up. Zhang Xiao Qiang watched her all the way, till she left.

The room became peaceful again. Zhang Xiao Qiang looked at the empty room and felt frustrated. He turned off the lights, and the room plunged into darkness. Even the moon had hidden, and the only illumination was the slight light from out of the window, while the smoke filled up the room, shrouding Zhang Xiao Qiang.

With his mind in turmoil, after feeling that warmth from Yuan Yi, his mind had strayed. He was reminiscing about his mother, and how she had looked when she left this earth. The appearance of the D2s, the S2s, even the scene of the father kowtowing for his son’s crime of stealing the egg, as well as Shangguan Qiao Yun’s naked body earlier.

He felt a rush of blood to his head. His emotions were in a mess right now, and he wanted to vent them. He even felt like taking the .81 to go slaughter Brother Long and the rest. Only a sliver of rationality held him back from doing something crazy.

After a few deep breaths, he finally quelled his messy thoughts and was preparing to stand up, when the door opened.