My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 42

“Let me see that medicine bottle again!” Mu Ning suddenly recalled something. She seemed to have received a bottle just like that once before. On the blank space of the label, someone had meticulously written “3 times a day, 2 tablets each” in red ink. That red handwriting looked strikingly similar to the bold, enlarged text she had caught a glimpse of just now.

“Why? Worried I’m poisoning her?” The moment Mu Ning reached out for the bottle, Ren Chenxi swept it back into her inventory. She spread her hands at Mu Ning and said, “Relax. With injuries as severe as Sun Jia’s, I have no reason to poison her. Besides, I have no grudge against her…”

“I’m not afraid of poison. I just want to take another look at that stomach medicine bottle.”

Seeing Mu Ning’s stubborn insistence on seeing the bottle, Ren Chenxi’s face darkened. She randomly pulled a different bottle of stomach medicine from her backpack. It was common enough—anyone could get an upset stomach while traveling, so she naturally kept spares.

Mu Ning took the bottle Ren Chenxi handed over, gave it a slight shake, and said with clear displeasure, “Not this one. I want the empty one from before!”

“What empty bottle? I don’t remember! My storage space is huge and I have tons of stuff. I don’t know where I tossed it. I’ll let you know when I have time to find it!” Ren Chenxi began to play dumb impatiently. Seeing that Mu Ning still wouldn’t give up, she pointed at Sun Jia. “Hurry up and get some water so your friend can take her medicine! What if her addiction flares up again? Do you want to watch her suffer through the withdrawal?”

Mu Ning stared at Ren Chenxi for a long moment before finally compromising. She turned to Wu Tong and said, “Go downstairs and boil some water.”

“No, no need, I still have some water left in here…”

Sun Jia had been watching the two of them tensely, worried they were about to start a real fight. Seeing Mu Ning call a truce, she was startled and hurriedly propped herself up to reach for the thermos on her nightstand. However, Zhang Tongqi was faster. She grabbed the thermos, twisted the cap open, took one look inside, and shook her head. “There’s no water left. Xiao Tong, go boil some. Ge Yijin is something else—we told him to stay and guard you, and he really just guarded you? He didn’t even refill your water…”

“No, it’s not like that. Ge Yijin is a guy, after all. It’s not easy for him to just come into my room, and I didn’t ask him to get me water…” Sun Jia’s attention had been entirely on Ren Chenxi and Mu Ning; only when Zhang Tongqi opened the thermos did she remember she had finished all the water the day before.

“Sigh, having the guys on guard duty really is inconvenient! Next time the Boss goes out for supplies, either Xiao Tong or I should stay behind.”

Zhang Tongqi was just speaking casually and didn’t mean to truly blame Ge Yijin. Thinking about it now, having a big guy like Ge Yijin look after Sun Jia was a bit awkward. But… wasn’t the point that Ge Yijin liked Sun Jia? They were trying to give him a chance to be helpful! Clearly, that “straight man” had completely failed to seize the opportunity. They told him to guard her, and he literally sat in the hall for an entire day, not even daring to step into the room!

“Well… maybe by the time the next supply run happens, my injury will already be healed?” Sun Jia said softly, smiling at Ren Chenxi. “With your ‘miracle medicine’ even curing this addiction, surely this tiny wound of mine won’t be a problem?”

That horrific wound is ‘tiny’? Sister, you are one tough cookie!

Despite her internal commentary, Ren Chenxi nodded seriously at Sun Jia. “Don’t worry, it will definitely heal!”

Seeing Ren Chenxi’s certain attitude, Zhang Tongqi and the others—despite their lingering doubts about the “detox medicine”—couldn’t help but feel a surge of hope for Sun Jia’s recovery. “That’s great! As soon as Xiao Tong brings the water up, we’ll take the medicine!”

As soon as Zhang Tongqi finished speaking, Tantan, who had been quiet, started “meowing” and acting spoiled again. He rubbed his fluffy head against Ren Chenxi’s leg and occasionally hooked his little claws into her pant leg. Seeing this, Ren Chenxi smiled. Even after two years of the apocalypse, Tantan’s little habits hadn’t changed a bit.

“Oh? What’s wrong with Tantan now? Does he know Xiaojia is going to be okay and is celebrating with us?”

“No… Tantan is just hungry.” Back when she raised him, whenever Tantan was hungry, wanted a treat, or saw her eating something he wanted, he would act spoiled by scratching her pant leg with his claws just like this.

Zhang Tongqi was speechless. Usually, when this “little ancestor” was hungry, he never acted this sweet to get food! He would just glare at them with a haughty, contemptuous look and then smash his food bowl with a “thud” of his paw. His expression would basically say: Stupid humans, your king is hungry, why haven’t you fed me yet?

In the apocalypse, resources were scarce. After Tantan violently broke three ceramic bowls, they had switched him to a stainless steel one. Now, they didn’t have to worry about the bowl breaking, but whenever it was mealtime, the little ancestor would bang on that steel bowl until it rang like a gong. It was loud enough to drive a person crazy!

And now, you’re telling her that this sweet, obedient little act is how he asks for food???

The contrast was enough to make anyone bitter!

Mu Ning watched the clingy cat and then looked at Ren Chenxi’s doting smile. Her voice was quite sour as she asked, “How do you know he’s asking for food?”

Ren Chenxi shot her a side-eye.

“Oh, I see. Ren Muhui told you that too?”

Hmph. Glad you know.

Ren Chenxi bent down to pick up Tantan. Suddenly remembering something, she turned to Sun Jia and instructed, “This detox medicine should be taken after meals. So, you should eat lunch before taking it.”

“…Is this detox medicine as picky as regular medicine?” Zhang Tongqi couldn’t help but comment.

“Medicine is always a serious matter!” Since the “detox medicine” was actually just an antibiotic, Ren Chenxi emphasized solemnly once more: “Three times a day, two tablets each time, after meals!”

“Understood. I’ll remember. Thank you~” Sun Jia’s reply was equally serious.

It was already past 12:00 PM. Everyone had eaten an early breakfast, so when Ren Chenxi mentioned Tantan was hungry, the stomachs of the several S University girls began to rumble in succession. As Zhang Tongqi invited everyone downstairs to eat, the guys from the third floor also came down to the doorway to hurry them along.

“I’m starving! Boss, when are we eating?”

“Now, I suppose?” Mu Ning looked at Ren Chenxi. “To thank you for the injury medicine and the detox cure, why don’t we treat you all to a meal today?”

“A treat? Well, it better be a feast! Don’t try to brush us off with instant noodles or something!” Ren Chenxi raised an eyebrow at Mu Ning. Just because it was the apocalypse didn’t mean she had to pass up good food. Besides, she had been gnawing on hard naan bread for a week. She wasn’t going to be stupid enough to refuse a free meal just because she was annoyed with Mu Ning.

Joke’s on her! It’s the apocalypse! Food is incredibly precious! Since she was unhappy with Mu Ning, she would just eat more of her supplies and make her feel the pinch!

“Fine! A feast it is~” At the mention of eating, Mu Ning saw the excitement in Ren Chenxi’s eyes and couldn’t help but agree with a smile. Although Ren Chenxi repeatedly denied being Ren Muhui and looked at her with different eyes, the moment Mu Ning saw that familiar face and that familiar smile, she found herself unable to refuse any of her requests.

“You can cook?” Seeing Mu Ning’s confident look, Ren Chenxi was skeptical. Did she not know Mu Ning’s cooking skills? This woman couldn’t cook to save her life! But seeing that overflowing confidence… had the “Young Miss” finally become a master chef of the wasteland under the pressure of the harsh apocalyptic life?

“I can’t, but Wu Tong, Zhang Tongqi, Chen Gu, and Wei Yuz澤 can all cook.”

You can’t cook, so what are you so smug about! You’re even worse than your subordinates! Fine, having subordinates to cook for you is quite impressive…

“Meow meow meow!” Getting no response to his begging, Tantan once again frantically asserted his presence at Ren Chenxi’s feet. She scooped him up and said with a laugh, “Oh, and our Tantan needs a big meal too~ By the way, how is Tantan’s appetite these days? He’s mutated and can grow to half the size of a leopard, so surely…”

“He only eats a little bit more than a normal cat,” Mu Ning said, glancing at Tantan. “Luckily his appetite isn’t that huge, otherwise, he would have eaten us out of house and home over the last two years.”

“And the cat food…” Ren Chenxi wanted to ask where Mu Ning found enough cat food to last two years, especially since Tantan used to be a very picky eater due to her spoiling. Back then, Ren Chenxi had plenty of money and had grandly bought almost every brand of cat food available to let Tantan pick his favorite. She remembered clearly that this pampered Golden Shorthair had eventually settled on a very expensive, imported brand.

Two years into the apocalypse, imported cat food was definitely a thing of the past. And that “fresh, hygienic, and delicious” expensive brand had a shorter shelf life than regular brands only six months. It had been two years… had Tantan been forcing himself to eat expired food all this time? Right, in the apocalypse, even people learn to grow in harsh environments, let alone a pampered cat. Tantan must have suffered a lot during these two years.

Ren Chenxi stroked Tantan gently, her gaze filled with pity and heartache.

“…” Seeing Ren Chenxi so concerned about Tantan, the sourness rose in Mu Ning’s chest again. “You’re overthinking it. It’s the apocalypse; how could anyone go out specifically to find cat food? And even if there were any… they were snatched up by other survivors long ago! For some people, as long as it fills the stomach, they don’t care if it’s meant for cats, dogs, or humans.”

Ahhh! Tantan hasn’t had cat food for two years! He really has suffered! But she couldn’t blame Mu Ning for it. Life was hard for everyone now. The fact that Mu Ning hadn’t used Tantan as emergency rations and had fed him for two years was already commendable. “Then what has he been eating all this time?”

“Meat! Raw meat! And it has to be fresh! He won’t even touch leftovers!” Even the noble and cold Mu Ning couldn’t help but roll her eyes uncharacteristically.

“If you add a raw egg to the meat, he eats it even faster!” Zhang Tongqi added from the side.

“…” Wait… It sounded like Tantan had actually been eating pretty well during the apocalypse. At least… better than many ordinary people without combat abilities who couldn’t hunt for themselves. Ren Chenxi unconsciously hefted Tantan in her arms and only then realized… while his frame hadn’t changed much, his weight had definitely increased! “What… what kind of meat does he eat?” Her voice was notably weaker as she asked this.

“What kind? Well… he’s not that picky about the type. Chicken, duck, goose, beef, mutton… basically anything. As long as it’s fresh and cut into small strips, he’ll finish a whole bowl.”

“Does… does he eat wolf meat?” After last night’s battle where she killed so many mutated wolves and scavenged other beasts, Ren Chenxi’s backpack was stocked with plenty of fresh meat goose, wild boar, even snake—but the largest portion by far was wolf meat.

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