Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Survivors

Song Ge followed the grandmother upstairs, her instincts causing her to scan the surroundings.

The building was a three-and-a-half-story small villa, a blend of Eastern and Western architecture. It featured two units per floor and a hollow glass roof that allowed for excellent natural light.

“We eat on the rooftop balcony,” Granny Tian explained. “Little Jiang and his family rent the space up there. They felt the gas fees were too high. I didn’t originally want to rent out the balcony, but both of their children attend school around here.”

If Tong Xiangyu had come along, she would have likely engaged the grandmother in warm conversation, or at the very least asked about her children. But it was Song Ge who had come.

Song Ge merely offered a brief “Oh.”

Granny Tian didn’t find her rude. She smiled and continued, “My son made arrangements before he went abroad. The supermarket delivers rice, flour, and bottled water every month. I’m close to the market and used to go grocery shopping often, so in times like these, I can take things out to share.”

Hearing this, Song Ge felt a spark of admiration. To encounter such a massive upheaval at this age and adapt so well—someone with less courage or a weaker constitution might have been scared into an illness.

Before reaching the top floor, Song Ge heard the sounds of voices and the aroma of food. She paused. The smell of cooked food?

“It’s lucky that Little Jiang has his own gas tanks and stove, since the water, electricity, and gas lines are all cut now,” Granny Tian said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to have a hot meal.”

Pushing open the rooftop door, Granny Tian announced with a smile, “I’ve brought a new friend for everyone.”

Because of the power outage, dinner was served early, before the sun had even set.

Song Ge saw everyone on the terrace look over. They were roughly divided into three groups: a middle-aged couple busy at a steaming stove, followed by two young girls squatting nearby looking at green vegetables in a foam box. To the left was a young man wearing glasses with a beautiful woman in his arms; they were reclining on lounge chairs in the shade.

To the right, seated at a dining table, were six students. None were in school uniforms, and with so many schools nearby, it was hard to tell where they were from. However, one face was familiar. Song Ge recognized him. But her gaze swept over him at the same speed as it did everyone else.

“Granny Tian, why did you rescue more people?” the man on the lounge chair spoke up dissatisfactorily. He let go of the woman and sat up. “We don’t know when the rescue team will arrive. This isn’t a shelter. You keep bringing people into the building—every one you save is another mouth to feed. We barely have enough food for ourselves!”

A girl among the students felt this comment was directed at them as well. She said, “You can’t put it like that. Granny Tian is kind-hearted. Would you have her just watch people die?”

“When the monsters were eating people, why didn’t I see you kindly going to save them?” the man sneered back at her. “Special circumstances require special measures. Did you learn nothing in school? In times like this, the priority is self-preservation.”

The girl hadn’t expected the man to be so blatantly rude; her face flushed red with anger.

At that moment, the sturdiest and tallest boy in the student group spoke up bluntly: “If you want Granny to prioritize self-preservation, then you should stop eating starting tonight. Isn’t all this food provided by Granny Tian and Uncle and Auntie Jiang? What’s your contribution, other than being two extra mouths that eat and talk trash?”

“You!” The man with glasses stood up in a rage.

The beautiful woman hurriedly pulled him back, whispering, “Don’t be angry. Mingyuan is right; we are eating Granny Tian’s and the others’ food.”

Fan Mingyuan put his hands in his pockets, his eyes showing disdain and provocation as he stared at the fuming man.

Indeed. Of the six students, the only one Song Ge recognized was Fan Mingyuan. This guy had some courage; when the horde of monsters rushed the classroom, he had led the other boys to resist and protect the girls. Even if it had been like a mantis trying to stop a carriage, it was brave.

She figured the Young Mistress would be quite happy to see he was still alive.

Thinking this, Song Ge said, “I don’t have to eat. I just want to bring some for my companion. She has a small appetite and eats very little.”

“How can you not eat?” Granny Tian reached for Song Ge’s hand.

Song Ge instinctively wanted to dodge, but she caught herself halfway. Granny Tian took hold of her. As an elderly woman, her hand was thin and bony, but it was incredibly warm. She gripped Song Ge and said, “Look at how thin you’ve become. It’s not good to let yourself starve. Don’t worry, I still have plenty of food.” She turned back to the man with glasses. “Xiao Wu, don’t argue with the children. These are special times; we need to be more united.”

The man called Xiao Wu looked reluctant but gave the landlady some face. “Fine…”

Among the six students, there were two boys and four girls. Only Fan Mingyuan and a short girl with medium-length hair and a round face were from Kecheng High. The girl was a freshman; since the freshman and senior campuses were separate, she knew of Fan Mingyuan but didn’t recognize Song Ge. The remaining students were from the Second High School nearby.

The Jiang couple finished the last dish and brought it to the table, and everyone began to eat together.

Song Ge noticed that every bowl and plate was lined with a layer of plastic wrap.

Granny Tian handed a container to Song Ge, which also had plastic wrap at the bottom. She said, “Serve some for your little friend first. Otherwise, by the time everyone is finished, it’ll be cold leftovers.”

“Thank you, Granny.”

Knowing Tong Xiangyu’s small appetite and seeing Xiao Wu watching like a hawk, Song Ge only scooped a scoop and a half of rice from the pressure cooker. She took a single chopstick-full of each of the four dishes and closed the insulated box.

Xiao Wu snorted but said nothing more.

Aware of her awkward position, Song Ge didn’t eat much herself. The atmosphere at the table wasn’t great. The Jiang couple’s two daughters were the most active, a happy family of four. The students talked among themselves, and Xiao Wu spoke with his woman.

Song Ge was quiet; once she sat down, she didn’t open her mouth.

While everyone else was still eating, Song Ge finished her last bite of hot rice. She understood the purpose of the plastic wrap now. She removed the wrap from her bowl, leaving the bowl perfectly clean, saving precious water for washing.

“Granny, I’m finished,” Song Ge said.

Granny Tian was surprised. “You’re done already? You ate so little. Are you full?”

“Mhm.” Song Ge picked up the insulated box. “I’ll head downstairs now.”

Song Ge knocked five times. The door was quickly opened.

Tong Xiangyu stood there, squinting. Song Ge handed her the food box and chopsticks.

Tong Xiangyu was stunned. After eating snacks for nearly half a month, she had almost forgotten what warm food felt like. She squinted, bringing the box close to her eyes to see. “This is?”

“Food,” Song Ge said, closing and locking the door. “They have a stove here for cooking.”

“Wow!! That’s amazing!!” Tong Xiangyu was delighted.

Looking at her excited face, Song Ge thought the girl might be even happier if she mentioned the other thing she’d discovered, but for some reason… Song Ge pursed her lips, deciding she’d missed the moment to say it.

Tong Xiangyu ate the hot meal with deep satisfaction. The rice was fragrant and soft, and the four dishes were tomato and egg, sweet and spicy pickled radish, green vegetables, and braised pork.

But when she bit into the braised pork, Tong Xiangyu’s beautiful brows furrowed. She remembered the power was out; frozen meat wouldn’t keep in a fridge. The taste of this meat suggested it had begun to spoil…

Her expression became strained. She was terrified of getting diarrhea. If that happened, how embarrassing would it be with no water to flush the toilet? She hesitated, not wanting to take a second bite.

Unaware of the Young Mistress’s internal struggle and thinking she was just savoring the meal, Song Ge walked over to the window.

After a long internal debate, Tong Xiangyu said, “Song Ge, I don’t want to eat this piece of meat…”

Song Ge looked over. “It’s lean meat.”

“I know,” Tong Xiangyu whispered. “But… but it seems to have gone bad…”

“Really? I didn’t notice.” Song Ge had only eaten some tomatoes and radish at the table, but she hadn’t heard anyone complain about the meat. She walked to the bed, took Tong Xiangyu’s hand and chopsticks, and ate the piece of meat that had been bitten once.

Tong Xiangyu jumped! Right now, her vision was so poor she was practically blind, making Song Ge’s movements all the more startling. When she realized what had happened, her cheeks turned crimson. She stammered in a panic, “You, you, you…”

Song Ge ate it. The seasoning on the braised pork was very heavy, likely to mask the smell of spoilage. She couldn’t really taste anything wrong, so she took the chopsticks from Tong Xiangyu, finished the remaining two pieces of meat, and shoved the chopsticks back into the girl’s hand. “It’s gone. Finish the rest of the rice and vegetables.”

Tong Xiangyu sat frozen, her small face flushed deep red.

Song Ge looked at her, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” Her face burning, Tong Xiangyu gripped the chopsticks tightly, awkwardly poking at the bottom of the insulated box. After much hesitation, she lowered her head and picked at a few grains of rice.

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