Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Dilemma

The next day followed the same routine of going up to the rooftop early.

The only difference was that the two little girls, having bonded with Tong Xiangyu the day before, enthusiastically pulled her into doing morning calms with them, claiming that exercise was necessary to avoid getting sick.

Song Ge watched the monsters on the street—wandering aimlessly due to a lack of “targets”—and then looked at Tong Xiangyu playing with the children. A sliver of doubt surfaced in her mind again: Maybe adventuring isn’t suitable for this Young Mistress. Perhaps staying here to wait for rescue is.

This thought reached its peak after Fan Mingyuan hit a wall.

Song Ge noticed that Fan Mingyuan acted very enthusiastic upon seeing Tong Xiangyu, but she wasn’t surprised; clearly, the chubby boy from before had told him that Tong Xiangyu was now coming to the rooftop to eat with everyone.

Fan Mingyuan put on a good front, acting as if he weren’t angry at all about having “confessed to thin air” for half the day yesterday.

But when he tried to talk to Tong Xiangyu, the situation changed.

A few days ago, everyone had witnessed her rejection of him. This time, Tong Xiangyu wasn’t alone with Song Ge; she was surrounded by Zhu Lulu, several girls from the Second High school, two little girls under ten, the Jiang couple, Liu Qian, and even—by extension—Wu Senjun.

Everyone stood on Tong Xiangyu’s side. Fan Mingyuan, who had entered the group earlier, found himself the “isolated” one.

It seemed that even if Tong Xiangyu stayed here, Fan Mingyuan wouldn’t be able to gain an advantage. The same went for the man in glasses; although Liu Qian was the “mistress,” her personality wasn’t soft—in fact, she was quite assertive and could keep him in check.

That night, seeing the abundant food, water, clothing, medicine, and friends, Song Ge asked Tong Xiangyu if she still wanted to leave.

Without hesitation, Tong Xiangyu answered, “Yes!”

Song Ge asked, “Why?”

Tong Xiangyu said, “Because you’re leaving. I want to follow you. I’m counting on you to help me find my parents.”

Song Ge: “You could also wait here for rescue. Once the rescue teams arrive, they’ll have ways to deal with the monsters and the virus. Society will restore order, power and internet will return, and you’ll find your parents quickly.”

“But where is the rescue?” Tong Xiangyu countered. “We discussed this. The virus likely has an incubation period. This disaster probably isn’t limited to just Kecheng.”

Song Ge: “That’s just our speculation.”

Tong Xiangyu said seriously, “But it’s the most likely possibility, isn’t it? If it were just us, teams from all over the country would have arrived by now. But look, it’s been nearly a month, and I haven’t even heard the sound of a helicopter.”

Hearing her mention helicopters, Song Ge paused. “Were there many planes that day?”

Tong Xiangyu was confused. “What?”

Song Ge said, “The day the monsters appeared, there were sounds of many fighter jets flying over our school. Didn’t you notice?”

“Now that you mention it…” Tong Xiangyu thought back. “I think there were?”

Song Ge’s heart sank. Seeing her expression change, Tong Xiangyu asked, “Does that mean something?”

Song Ge said, “It means the virus might have broken out internally in Kecheng. The local government likely tried to control it themselves at first, but once they realized it was out of control, they fled and abandoned the citizens. Those military jets were the signal that the area was being given up and the central government was being alerted.”

Tong Xiangyu asked, “So other cities might be okay?”

“No,” Song Ge said. “There’s another possibility the virus was already everywhere and uncontrollable. The government hid it to prevent panic until it was too late. Then, like a lizard dropping its tail, they evacuated the important figures from various cities in advance.”

Tong Xiangyu’s eyes widened.

Song Ge looked at her. “The second possibility is more likely.”

Tong Xiangyu panicked slightly. “Then what do we do? If there’s no rescue in other cities either, are we just waiting to die?”

“We have hands and feet; why wait to die?” Song Ge withdrew her gaze. “I told you, don’t rely on others. The only one who can save you is yourself.”

Song Ge continued, “Besides, for now, the only scary thing about these monsters is that they attack humans. They don’t have much desire to destroy buildings.”

Seeing how simply Song Ge put it, Tong Xiangyu frowned. “Isn’t attacking humans scary enough? It means as long as we encounter them, our lives are in danger. And they can’t be killed—that’s the most troublesome part.”

“It’s not that they can’t be killed; we just don’t know how yet. However, their balance is poor. We can use that,” Song Ge said. “No matter how scary they are, they are just parasites in flesh. If the body is completely destroyed, they should die.”

Tong Xiangyu: “How do you destroy the body completely?”

Song Ge: “For example, by burning them with fire.”

Tong Xiangyu gave a small “wow” and waited for more, but Song Ge changed the subject, asking again: “Are you only coming with me because you think rescue won’t come?”

“Of course not,” Tong Xiangyu said. “I just want to be with you. You say I have a good relationship with them, but all of them combined don’t equal you.”

Song Ge looked at her.

Realizing the potential ambiguity in her words, Tong Xiangyu’s ears turned bright red. She explained frantically, “No, no! I didn’t mean it like that! I mean, right now I’m on good terms with them because the situation isn’t urgent—there’s enough food and no monster attacks. Once real problems arise, these shallow, easily built relationships will flip in an instant. You’re different. You don’t seem afraid of the monsters at all. You’re calm and capable.”

Seeing her get more flustered and red-faced, Song Ge was puzzled. “Why are you panicking? You could have just said I’m a better fighter than them.”

Tong Xiangyu: “…”

Tong Xiangyu was afraid Song Ge had misinterpreted her as having “those kinds” of feelings, but Song Ge had misinterpreted it in a completely different direction.

“That’s also true,” Tong Xiangyu muttered.

Song Ge: “It seems you aren’t stupid after all.”

“How could I be stupid?” Tong Xiangyu was incredulous. “Could I rank first in the grade if I were stupid?”

“Do I need to praise you for being amazing?”

“No. Thank you.”

“No problem. I wasn’t going to anyway.”

The topic seemed ready to end, but Tong Xiangyu rolled over on the bed to face Song Ge. “Song Ge, actually, before you said those things tonight, I was thinking about asking Zhu Lulu and the others to come with us.”

Song Ge: “Don’t. The scooter can’t carry that many people.”

Song Ge added, “Besides, having one ‘hassle’ like you is enough.”

Hearing Song Ge say she only wanted her made Tong Xiangyu feel a bit awkward, but not offended. She whispered, “I’m not that much of a hassle, am I? I even drew the map for you.”

Song Ge was silent for two seconds. “Aren’t you sleeping yet? We have to get up early tomorrow.”

Tong Xiangyu pouted since Song Ge wouldn’t acknowledge her contribution. “I want a snack chicken drumstick!”

Song Ge: “It’s in the bag. Get it yourself.”

“My eyes aren’t fully healed; I can’t see clearly. You get it for me.”

“And you say you’re not a hassle?”

Tong Xiangyu said seriously, “I’ve already saved you a lot of trouble. To avoid diarrhea, I’ve been eating vegetables for days. Can’t I have one chicken drumstick for a treat?”

“…” Song Ge said, “Aren’t you on a diet?”

Tong Xiangyu: “But you also said girls don’t need to be too thin.”

Song Ge sighed, resignedly sitting up and muttering, “Little hassle.”

By the light of the moon and a candle, Song Ge brought over her backpack and let the Young Mistress choose between a drumstick and duck necks.

Tong Xiangyu looked at the three small bags and suddenly felt reluctant. “Are there only three left?”

“Yes.”

“If I eat one tonight, there will only be two left.” Tong Xiangyu felt very sentimental.

Song Ge heard her pitiful tone and thought about how, before the outbreak, this girl was someone who got whatever she wanted. She shouldn’t have to suffer like this. “When we go out, if it’s not too dangerous, we can find more in shops.”

Tong Xiangyu looked up at her with puppy eyes.

Song Ge was speechless. “I know, you’re going to say taking things without asking is stealing.”

“No, no.” Tong Xiangyu laughed, her eyes curving into crescents. “I don’t know why, Song Ge, but I suddenly feel a bit excited and expectant!”

Song Ge threw cold water on her: “Then you’d better not feel that way.”

Tong Xiangyu: “…”

At the same time on the rooftop, the two sisters had already fallen asleep. Mrs. Jiang, however, was tossing and turning.

Mr. Jiang whispered, “Don’t worry too much. What will come, will come. At worst, we’ll go out for supplies together. Isn’t there a supermarket just down the street?”

Mrs. Jiang sighed, her heart full of worry.

Mr. Jiang warned, “Don’t tell everyone about this for now. It’ll just cause panic and ruin the mood.”

“Jiang Zhuang, do you really think rescue will come?”

“Of course,” he said. “Life is the priority. Our country’s rescue teams are the most reliable.”

“But it’s been so long.”

“Maybe because of the power and water cuts and the monsters, it’s hard to work.”

Mrs. Jiang said, “But I’ve seen on the news that when rescue is difficult, the government drops supplies from planes. Do you think people outside think there’s no one left in Kecheng, so they aren’t wasting resources?”

Mr. Jiang said, “Of course not.”

But the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. “With no internet or power, we can’t contact them, and they can’t contact us. They must think everyone is dead.”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Mr. Jiang said. “The country won’t abandon us.”

He talked a lot, but she didn’t listen. She was emotional; fear began to overwhelm her, and her voice broke. “I’m fine, I’ve lived enough. But Dandan and Yingying are so small. They just started primary school. Their lives have just begun. What are we going to do…”

Mr. Jiang scolded her softly to stop her from spiraling, then pulled her close. “Don’t cry, you’ll wake the kids.”

Mrs. Jiang sniffled, trying to calm down.

The couple thought they were being quiet, but the next day, Dandan told Tong Xiangyu about it.

“Sister Yu-Yu, do you think the firefighters aren’t coming?”

“Of course they’ll come.”

Dandan: “But Mama said they might not know we’re here. She said the rice is almost gone and we’re all going to die.”

Tong Xiangyu froze. She quickly checked to make sure no one else was listening and pulled Dandan aside. “Your mother told you that?”

Dandan shook her head. “She said it to Papa after she thought we were asleep, but I was awake. I heard her.”

Tong Xiangyu felt heavy-hearted, but her voice remained soft. “Dandan, promise Sister Yu-Yu you won’t tell anyone else about this, okay?”

Dandan nodded vigorously.

Tong Xiangyu thought for a moment, squeezed Dandan’s soft hand, and said, “The firefighters will come; they’ll know we’re here. I’ll teach you a trick.”

“What trick?”

“Come, I’ll show you.”

Tong Xiangyu used her finger to write three letters in the dust on the floor tiles: S O S.

Dandan read them out.

Tong Xiangyu said, “Right. These three letters together mean ‘Save Me.’ If the rescue teams see this, they’ll know people here need help.”

Dandan asked, “But how can they see it?”

Tong Xiangyu asked, “Dandan, do you have any red cloth or clothes, and can you find me a pair of scissors?”

“Follow me, Sister!”

Song Ge saw them messing around but wasn’t interested. By the time Zhu Lulu arrived on the rooftop, Tong Xiangyu had cut many red strips and was tying them into letter shapes to stick on the floor with the children.

Zhu Lulu immediately understood. “Senior, you’re sending a distress signal? But…”

Tong Xiangyu signaled her to be quiet so the kids wouldn’t get discouraged, then led her aside.

Zhu Lulu sighed. “Someone would need a telescope or be in a plane to see this. But there haven’t been any planes.”

Tong Xiangyu said softly, “It’s better to be prepared. Should we wait until we hear a plane to start doing this? It would be too late then.”

Zhu Lulu’s eyes lit up. “You’re right! I’ll help too!”

At lunch, everyone gathered for food. When Wu Senjun went for seconds, he scraped the bottom of the rice cooker and frowned. “Sister Jiang, there’s not enough rice today!”

“Oh, I ate a bit more,” Mrs. Jiang said. “Sorry, Xiao Wu. I was hungry from being busy. I’ll stop; here, take my bowl.”

Wu Senjun looked at her bowl, which already had some vegetables mixed in. Although he was disgusted, survival was more important, so he took it rudely.

Mr. Jiang wanted to say something, but his wife pulled his sleeve to stop him.

Song Ge, sitting nearby, knew that bowl of rice hadn’t been touched. There was no “eating a bit more.” She saw the couple’s small movements but said nothing, simply finishing her meal.

While eating, Wu Senjun complained that the meat was too salty. “Sister Jiang, your cooking is off today. This is way too salty.”

“Oh, is it? I’ll be more careful next time.”

Tong Xiangyu couldn’t stand it anymore. She put down her chopsticks and said, “Sir, if you think the food is salty, you can eat less. Please don’t nitpick and show some respect for someone else’s hard work. Unless, of course, you’d like to cook yourself.”

This was the first time Tong Xiangyu had spoken to the man.

Wu Senjun was startled. Hearing her call him “Sir” (specifically, the term for ‘Uncle’) made his expression darken. They were only about eight years apart! Did he look that old?

However, he didn’t show his displeasure. He adjusted his glasses and smiled. “Yu-Yu, you’re right. Sorry, Sister Jiang, I’m just blunt. Don’t take it to heart.”

Mrs. Jiang quickly said, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t argue over me.”

Fan Mingyuan added, “Uncle, we aren’t that close, are we? How can you call her ‘Yu-Yu’? That’s a name only for her classmates and friends.”

Wu Senjun’s veins popped at being called “Uncle” twice. He had been called “Brother” before. He held it in and laughed. “We’re all under one roof. No need to be strangers. One day, I’ll cook for everyone too! When we’re rescued, I’ll treat you all to a big dinner!”

Fan Mingyuan sneered. “Who needs your treat?”

The atmosphere was tense until Granny Tian interjected. “I think it tastes fine. In this situation, we must stay harmonious. No internal conflict.”

Since the landlady had spoken, everyone dropped it out of respect.

After lunch, Song Ge and Tong Xiangyu exchanged a look and headed down to the first floor. Song Ge locked the door immediately.

— “Song Ge, I have something to tell you.” — “What happened?”

They spoke at the same time.

Song Ge saw Tong Xiangyu’s serious expression and recalled the lunch scene. “Is it because the food is running out?”

Tong Xiangyu was shocked. “How did you know? Did you hear them?”

“Just a guess,” Song Ge said. “What do you want to do?”

Tong Xiangyu frowned and hesitated. “We were planning to leave tomorrow, right?”

“Mhm.”

“Before we go, I want to help Auntie Jiang and the others as much as possible,” Tong Xiangyu said, looking at Song Ge. “Of course, the risk is very high, and I need your consent. Even though that guy Wu is gross and Fan Mingyuan is annoying, the others are kind. If the food runs out, conflict will break out internally just like Granny Tian feared.”

Song Ge said, “You want me to go to the supermarket for rice and noodles.”

Tong Xiangyu hesitated even more seeing Song Ge state it so bluntly. She knew Song Ge prioritized her own safety. Taking a risk for strangers wasn’t something Song Ge would normally agree to. She nodded carefully. “We have Granny Tian’s scooter anyway… and the scooter belonged to her originally…”

Song Ge: “But there are monsters everywhere. There might be some in the supermarket too.”

Tong Xiangyu lowered her eyes, understanding Song Ge’s stance.

Song Ge said, “Let me think about it.”

Seeing that she hadn’t completely refused, Tong Xiangyu felt conflicted. She twisted her fingers, worried she was emotionally blackmailing Song Ge. “Never mind. If it’s too dangerous, don’t go.”

Song Ge looked at her. “The Jiangs have been responsible for our meals, and Granny Tian saved us. We should repay them.”

Tong Xiangyu’s eyes lit up. “You agree??”

Song Ge knew that even if this little “Bodhisattva” said “never mind,” she would cry from guilt for a long time if they didn’t help.

Song Ge replied, “Mhm. I’ll think of a plan. But it will use up a lot of the scooter’s battery.”

“It’s okay!” Tong Xiangyu said urgently. “The scooter was an unexpected bonus; we were going to run without it anyway. Since my eyes are better, I’ve been exercising. I won’t hold you back!”

Song Ge saw her bright, excited face and felt her compromise wasn’t so foolish after all. “True.”

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