Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Bidding Farewell

Song Ge recalled everything that had happened that night, then looked at the big young lady before her—eyes red, looking aggrieved and pitiful. In the end, she didn’t insist further and silently walked to the bed to lie down.

Tong Xiangyu, however, was still not at ease. After hesitating for a long time, she asked, “Song Ge, can I hold you?”

Song Ge didn’t say yes or no; she asked, “Why?”

Tong Xiangyu explained in a small voice, “I used to have a big plush doll, and I hugged it to sleep every night.”

Song Ge: “…I’m not used to being hugged while sleeping.”

Tong Xiangyu’s volume was very soft, and she unconsciously adopted a slightly coquettish tone: “Just for a little bit, just a tiny bit. Once I fall asleep, you can take my hand away?”

Song Ge was speechless for a while.

Seeing that Song Ge didn’t refuse again, Tong Xiangyu cautiously reached out her hand, tentatively and lightly resting it on Song Ge’s waist and abdomen.

Song Ge did not remove her hand.

The room was very quiet. Tong Xiangyu thought to herself that Song Ge’s waist was really narrow and thin, and then she remembered the image she had accidentally seen when she came out of the washroom that evening—she seemed to have seen Song Ge’s abdominal lines then.

Song Ge’s body management was really good.

No, Song Ge probably wasn’t “managing” her body; she just didn’t eat very well and lived a hard, difficult life alone.

Thinking this, Tong Xiangyu suddenly remembered what Fan Mingyuan had said about Song Ge being a lesbian. Simultaneously, the topics of “les,” “T,” and others discussed by those No. 2 Middle School girls and Zhu Lulu during the day surfaced in her mind.

Now, Tong Xiangyu didn’t dare move at all. She felt the arm she had placed on Song Ge’s waist gradually stiffen. After a long while, her fingers moved slightly. Driven by some unknown impulse, she spoke softly: “Song Ge, I can hear your heartbeat. It’s so fast.”

Song Ge had almost fallen asleep with her eyes closed. Hearing Tong Xiangyu’s words, she said, “If the heart doesn’t beat, you’re dead.”

Tong Xiangyu: “…”

Tong Xiangyu felt a bit depressed by such an answer. She felt that whether Song Ge liked girls was a question mark, but she definitely didn’t like her. If she liked her, how could she say something like that?

“By the way.” Song Ge opened her eyes. Remembering something, she reached into her pants pocket, took out a few packs of braised chicken drumsticks, and handed them to Tong Xiangyu. “I grabbed these for you on the way.”

Tong Xiangyu froze at the sight of the chicken drumsticks. The situation tonight had been so dangerous, yet Song Ge remembered such a small thing, “grabbing” the snacks she liked?

Tong Xiangyu’s heart stirred; the hypothesis she had just dismissed roared back to life.

How could a Song Ge like this ever leave her behind and go?

Tong Xiangyu’s ears felt hot, and she became flustered. She stammered a thank you but didn’t reach out to take them. Instead, she said, “Keep them with you for now.”

Song Ge gave a muffled “Mhm,” placed them on the nightstand, and continued sleeping.

Tong Xiangyu eventually fell asleep as well. She dreamed of the past—the ordinary, normal past before the monster tide broke out.

They were doing exercises during the long break, talking and lining up in the corridor. Looking through the open back door into the classroom, she could see Song Ge sleeping alone with her head on the desk. Song Ge wasn’t wearing her school uniform or skirt. The headteacher felt this affected the discipline and image of the entire class, so Song Ge wasn’t allowed to participate in the exercises.

She saw the sunlight streaming in through the window, half-shining on Song Ge and half-shining on the trash cans, brooms, and mops behind Song Ge’s seat.

Later, the results of their monthly exams came out. Their class’s overall average score was second again, suppressed by the neighboring class.

She went to hand in her homework and, outside the office, heard the headteacher complaining to other teachers: “Every time I see the average score, I get a headache. It’s truly like rotten wood that cannot be carved! Even if our class’s Tong Xiangyu is first in every subject for the whole grade, she can’t save the mess brought by a Song Ge whose nine subjects add up to double digits. I’m truly baffled—even if you just guessed blindly on all the multiple-choice questions, the score should be higher than this, right??”

And during the 800-meter test.

The PE teacher blew the whistle and pressed the stopwatch. All the girls started together. She was doing well at the start, but later her stamina failed; she ran gasping for breath with difficulty, pressing her hand against her aching stomach. Looking up, she saw Song Ge alone on the other side of the track, half a lap away from her.

But Song Ge wasn’t leading by half a lap; she was trailing behind.

Song Ge couldn’t do the exercises, and her academic grades wouldn’t improve.

But she actually ran very fast.

Yet even though she could run very fast, she didn’t want to get the best result.

Why?

Song Ge just seemed to want to stay alive. She didn’t care if she lived “well” or not. She let her life rot, just drifting along.

Tong Xiangyu slowly opened her eyes. Perhaps because she wasn’t used to sleeping with someone else, she woke up very early, even before Song Ge.

Tong Xiangyu looked closely at Song Ge’s sleeping face.

There was a bit of dark circling under Song Ge’s eyes, but her skin texture was very good with no acne. Her slightly long bangs partially covered her eyebrows. Her eyelashes were long but not curled, and there was a tiny black mole in the middle of her right eyelid.

Tong Xiangyu knew that as soon as Song Ge opened her eyes, that mole would be folded into her thin double eyelid and disappear. Looking at the bridge of her nose, it was perfectly high, and her lip shape was also beautiful.

Objectively speaking, this was a very beautiful girl. It was just that her joys and sorrows didn’t show on her face, and coupled with the fact that she didn’t speak politely and easily offended people, her personality seemed cold and unapproachable.

Was she cold?

That was how Song Ge presented herself.

But Tong Xiangyu suddenly remembered one thing: Would a cold person, upon seeing someone else’s things being stolen, chase after and help catch the thief without a word?

Song Ge’s eyelid twitched slightly. Before she even opened her eyes, she said, “Is there something on my face?”

Tong Xiangyu was startled. She quickly retracted her gaze and the arm still on Song Ge’s waist, hurriedly sitting up.

Song Ge opened her eyes and, seeing her in such a fluster, said, “What’s wrong? Did you do something bad?”

“No, no, what bad thing could I do?”

“Then why are you panicking?”

“…” Tong Xiangyu paused, looked back at her, and said, “I just suddenly remembered something from the past.”

“What thing?” Song Ge sat up as well. She massaged her neck; she hadn’t slept well due to constant nightmares, though she wasn’t sure if it was because she had decapitated a monster at close range or because this young lady had pressed her hand on her stomach.

Tong Xiangyu said, “You helped an auntie catch a thief.”

Song Ge didn’t remember. She looked at her. “I did?”

“Yes. It was the morning of the day the monsters broke out.”

“Oh.” Song Ge remembered and got out of bed. “What about it? You saw it?”

“Yes.” Tong Xiangyu looked at Song Ge and said, “After remembering that, I feel that you are actually a very kind person at heart, just a ‘hard mouth with a soft heart.’ So, I apologize for previously saying you were indifferent and lacked compassion.”

“No need to apologize.” Song Ge was already out of bed, stretching her body which was aching from sleeping on the soft mattress. She said, “I chased that thief because he knocked over my steamed bun.”

Tong Xiangyu: “…?”

Song Ge said, “I originally thought that if I helped that woman catch the thief, she would at least compensate me for the bun, but she didn’t. Truly stingy.”

Tong Xiangyu was shocked by this truth, but she didn’t believe it. She asked persistently, “Then what if the thief hadn’t knocked over your bun?”

“Hmm?”

“Would you still have helped that auntie catch the thief?”

“I’m not a cop,” Song Ge said. Her eyes dimmed for a brief moment, but only for a moment, then she changed her tone to a casual one: “You think everyone is like you? I can’t be bothered to help.”

Tong Xiangyu persisted, “What if it was just a small effort?”

Song Ge: “Let others make the effort.”

Tong Xiangyu was silent for two seconds, then suddenly said, “Back when we did exercises, the headteacher said you didn’t wear the uniform and wouldn’t let you join us…”

“I couldn’t be bothered to do exercises, so I deliberately didn’t wear it.”

“…” Tong Xiangyu said, “Then your exams, nine subjects adding up to twenty-something points…”

“Didn’t know how to write them, too lazy to write.”

“…”

Tong Xiangyu sat on the bed and asked Song Ge, “Song Ge, are you really that lazy?”

Song Ge walked into the washroom. “Yes. Meaningless things, I don’t do.”

While Song Ge went to wash up, Tong Xiangyu also got out of bed. She found the paper and pen she had used last time to draw the map.

When Song Ge came out, she saw the young lady sitting upright at the table writing something. She walked over to look.

Tong Xiangyu instinctively raised her hand to cover the content.

Song Ge gave a light “tsk.”

Tong Xiangyu only then realized her action, her face turning red. “I, I…” She hesitated and moved her fingers away.

Song Ge stopped looking and went to pour bottled water, saying, “Still writing a diary. I’ll give you full privacy, okay?”

“It’s not a diary.” Tong Xiangyu turned to look at Song Ge and said, “We’re leaving. We definitely have to tell Auntie Jiang and Uncle Jiang where the rice is, right? If we tell them to their faces, they’ll find it strange how we knew, and they’ll ask how we got it.”

Song Ge took a slow sip of water and said, “Oh.”

Tong Xiangyu: “Really!”

Song Ge: “Mhm, I believe you.”

Of course, besides telling the uncle and auntie where the rice was, Tong Xiangyu also wrote many words of gratitude. In Song Ge’s eyes, those words would probably seem sentimental. So, Tong Xiangyu thought it was just as well that Song Ge didn’t look. It saved her from feeling awkward.

Tong Xiangyu finished writing and used another piece of paper to fold an “envelope” to put the content inside.

After going up to the rooftop, Tong Xiangyu solemnly handed the letter to Dandan, saying, “Dandan, sister wrote something very important. Wait until just before Mama cooks dinner to show it to her. Before then, you cannot open it, okay?”

Dandan nodded sensibly and promised, “Okay, I remember, Sister Yu-yu!”

“So good.” Tong Xiangyu smiled and stroked her head, saying gently, “How about sister braids some pretty little pigtails for you?”

Dandan said happily, “Okay, okay!”

Ying-ying hurriedly said, “Sister Yu-yu, I want pretty pigtails too~”

Tong Xiangyu looked at her and laughed, “Okay, I’ll braid them for Ying-ying too.”

The amount of rice cooked at noon was still a bit small.

Tong Xiangyu held her bowl and noticed that Auntie Jiang’s eye sockets were sunken and her dark circles were obvious; she clearly hadn’t slept well again. She lowered her head to eat the rice and thought silently: Auntie Jiang, you don’t have to worry anymore.

The two little girls had pretty little braids and kept showing them off. Liu Qian praised them supportively. Because it was too hot on the balcony, she didn’t stay long after eating and pulled Wu Senjun downstairs back to their room.

A few girls from No. 2 Middle School wanted to learn the braiding technique. Tong Xiangyu taught them after finishing her meal.

Fan Mingyuan leaned against the railing, watching the girls huddled together from a distance. In reality, he was only looking at Tong Xiangyu. She was the most beautiful among them—fair skin, outstanding temperament, and her smile was reserved yet lovely.

Thinking of this, Fan Mingyuan felt unwilling in his heart.

At this moment, his chubby roommate asked him if he wanted to go down together.

What could Fan Mingyuan do? Right now, the girls were grouped too tightly; he couldn’t get a foot in. He decided to perform well when another crisis occurred in the future to win Yu-yu back. He didn’t believe there was a girl he couldn’t get!

Fan Mingyuan went downstairs with his roommate.

Tong Xiangyu noticed this movement. While her skillful fingers pinched strands of hair to braid beautiful, exquisite plaits, she said to everyone: “You must all watch out for Fan Mingyuan. Although it’s safe here for now, it doesn’t mean it will always be safe. If one day something terrible happens, like monsters breaking in, you must stay far away from Fan Mingyuan. Don’t think boys are reliable just because they are tall and strong.”

The No. 2 Middle School girls all said they definitely wouldn’t trust him.

Only Zhu Lulu found it strange. “Senior, why are you suddenly saying these things?”

“Just thought of it.” Tong Xiangyu glanced in the direction Fan Mingyuan had left and then said to everyone, “Song Ge told me that most of the time, only oneself can be relied on.”

Zhu Lulu laughed and said, “Senior, I’m reliable too. If monsters really break in, I will definitely protect you along with Senior Song.”

Looking at her round face and sincere smile, Tong Xiangyu’s heart stirred, and a sentence escaped her lips: “Lulu, have you ever thought about leaving here?”

Zhu Lulu was puzzled: “Leaving here?”

As soon as she spoke, Tong Xiangyu knew she had messed up. Song Ge had said she didn’t intend to take anyone away. Since she couldn’t take her, why ask this? She quickly said, ” I just casually asked if you had that thought.”

Zhu Lulu shook her head, “Of course not.”

Zhu Lulu said, “Why leave here? Even if there might be danger in the future, at least it’s very safe now. Sufficient food and clothing, and many friends. Whereas outside? Outside, even immediate safety cannot be guaranteed.”

Hearing her answer, Tong Xiangyu understood and said, “You’re right.”

The topic ended there.

Song Ge and Tong Xiangyu decided to leave at 1:30 PM. The weather would be hottest, but the monsters would be fewest.

Before leaving, the two went to bid farewell to Grandma Tian.

As early as when the map was being drawn, Grandma Tian knew they intended to leave and had been packing things for the past few days. She didn’t dare let the two children carry too much, fearing it would be a burden, but if they took too little, she felt it wouldn’t be thorough enough.

When Tong Xiangyu saw Grandma Tian’s stooped figure dragging out a large box of things, her nose felt sour, and she was moved. This was kindness from a stranger, an old woman who had saved their lives by chance.

Tong Xiangyu hugged Grandma Tian and sobbed.

Grandma Tian laughed, her face full of wrinkles, and kindly patted Tong Xiangyu’s back.

Song Ge looked through the box and in the end only took two types of stomach medicine that Liu Qian had let Tong Xiangyu take before, plus one box of anti-inflammatories and one box of fever medicine.

They didn’t take rice—to take rice, they’d have to take a pot, which took up too much space, and they didn’t have the conditions for that. As for clothes, they had changes in their bags, so there was no need to bring more.

After her cry, Tong Xiangyu wiped her tears, pulled Grandma Tian aside, and awkwardly and softly pleaded, saying she wanted to take a small bottle of body wash and shampoo.

Grandma Tian said she had some and immediately helped find them. Feeling that bottles were inconvenient to carry, she specifically helped pour them into a sealed bag, which could be used and resealed at any time without taking up space.

Tong Xiangyu hid them secretly, not daring to let Song Ge know. She always felt that if Song Ge knew, she would definitely be speechless and then think she was delicate and troublesome.

But she hadn’t bathed or washed her hair in a long time. Kecheng had lost its water supply, so there was no way. But once the car drove out of the city and encountered a stream or something, she could wash.

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