Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Not Taking Her

Song Ge did not buy into Yue Yao’s attempts to curry favor. She picked up the backpack next to Tong Xiangyu and opened it; the inner layer of the bag was waterproof, so the items inside remained dry.

Song Ge took out two packs of compressed biscuits and handed one to Tong Xiangyu.

Tong Xiangyu quietly tried to pretend she didn’t see it.

Song Ge saw through her and said, “Don’t think about eating that random stuff. You already have an allergy; if you eat something weird and get diarrhea, see if I care for you then.”

Tong Xiangyu pouted and reluctantly accepted the pack of biscuits.

Yue Yao was somewhat embarrassed by this. She stood there holding her pot for a good while before silently placing it by the fire. The firelight reflected on Yue Yao’s face, highlighting her slightly swollen red eyes and her dejected, helpless expression.

Seeing this, Tong Xiangyu took the initiative to speak to her: “You haven’t told us your name yet.”

Yue Yao hurriedly replied: “Oh, I’m called Yue Yao.”

“Which characters?”

“Yue as in Yueyang Pavilion, and Yao as in a fair and graceful lady.”

“It sounds lovely.”

Song Ge ate her compressed biscuits while keeping an eye on the movement in the surrounding area. It was already dark; the loudest sound in the night was the turbulent rush of the nearby stream after the water levels had surged.

The young lady was so busy chatting with someone else that her red rash didn’t even seem to itch anymore.

In any case, they didn’t need her. Song Ge simply sat on the hood of the car to give herself a better vantage point.

Tong Xiangyu intended to share half of her compressed biscuits with Yue Yao, but Yue Yao waved her hands repeatedly, refusing. She looked up at Song Ge with a bit of panic, only to find that Song Ge wasn’t looking their way.

Still, Yue Yao insisted on refusing.

Tong Xiangyu had no choice but to take them back, saying: “Then cook the noodles for yourself. Is this herbal medicine finished decocting?”

“Yes, it’s ready.” Yue Yao used her clothes to pad her hands as she lifted the stainless steel basin off the fire. She added: “It needs to cool down before you apply it.”

“Okay.” Tong Xiangyu looked at the steaming herbal juice, then at Song Ge not far away. She withdrew her gaze and tossed the spare seat cushions and covers Song Ge had collected earlier into the fire to keep the flames roaring.

Seeing this, Yue Yao also moved her pot of soaking rice noodles onto a stone.

Tong Xiangyu asked Yue Yao: “Wasn’t your house washed away by the flood? How do you still have a pot?”

“Mhm, almost everything was swept away. This pot was originally built into the stove; I pried it out.” As she ate the tasteless rice noodles and mentioned these things, Yue Yao’s expression quickly turned somber. “The house is full of silt now—some piles are taller than a person. You can’t get in at all.”

Hearing this, Tong Xiangyu looked at Yue Yao’s pant legs. The pants, which had been nearly dry, were now clearly wet again at the knees, and her shoes were dripping water. It was obvious she had gotten covered in silt and then washed them off.

Tong Xiangyu was moved; Yue Yao was working very hard to provide whatever she could for them.

“I haven’t thanked you yet.” Tong Xiangyu lightly scratched her cheek with a fingertip, thanking Yue Yao from the bottom of her heart. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be finished.”

Yue Yao smiled and looked at her. “No need for thanks. I’m just glad I could help.”

Seeing her mood improve slightly, Tong Xiangyu immediately glanced toward Song Ge. Seeing that Song Ge wasn’t looking, she leaned toward Yue Yao’s ear and whispered behind her hand: “Don’t worry, I will convince Song Ge to take you with us.”

Yue Yao looked at Tong Xiangyu with joy and gratitude.

Tong Xiangyu gave her a reassuring look, then couldn’t help but scratch her itchy cheek again. She stopped quickly and called out petulantly to Song Ge: “Song Ge, it’s starting to itch again. Come help me apply the medicine.”

Not far away, Song Ge jumped down from the car hood.

Yue Yao’s Tougu Grass treated the symptoms but not the cause. Even with the boiled herbal juice, the red rashes on Tong Xiangyu’s body, legs, and face would itch again every so often after being washed. By the middle of the night, a large amount of fluid even began to ooze from them.

Looking at her legs and body, and remembering her face was the same, Tong Xiangyu endured the itch and pain, crying softly as she asked Song Ge if she was going to die.

Song Ge frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Because of the rash, Tong Xiangyu hardly closed her eyes to sleep the entire night. Song Ge was the same.

By the time dawn broke the next day, Tong Xiangyu finally fell asleep. Song Ge looked at her rash; it didn’t seem to have subsided much. She knew they probably wouldn’t be able to travel for the time being.

A fierce sun always follows a major rainstorm; this had become the weather pattern in Kecheng in recent years.

By nine in the morning, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A blazing, massive sun hung high, as if trying to scorch every inch of exposed skin. Even the asphalt road beneath their feet was beginning to melt from the heat.

Song Ge led Tong Xiangyu into the mountain forest to take cover.

On the way, Yue Yao saw a red-headed, red-legged centipede about twenty centimeters long scuttling across the hot, humid stones. Tong Xiangyu saw it too; her skin crawled, and she screamed in terror, hiding behind Song Ge. As the centipede came toward them, Song Ge stepped down precisely and crushed it.

The mountain wasn’t easy to stay on either.

However, the centipede made Song Ge consider a possibility: perhaps the young lady’s allergy wasn’t caused by the rainstorm, but by bites from various insects while hiding on the mountain that she hadn’t noticed at the time.

So, while hiding on the mountain again, Song Ge cleared all the weeds and bushes around the large tree. Sure enough, she saw many ants and caterpillars.

While Song Ge was cleaning, Yue Yao walked up toward the higher parts of the mountain alone.

Tong Xiangyu saw her and called out worriedly: “Yaoyao, where are you going?”

Yue Yao said she would be back very soon, and then her figure gradually disappeared into the distance of the forest.

After Yue Yao left, Tong Xiangyu looked at Song Ge and said: “Song Ge, let’s take Yue Yao with us too, okay?”

Song Ge: “No.”

Tong Xiangyu couldn’t understand. “Why, exactly?”

Song Ge: “I said it’s a hassle.”

“But you’ve seen it yourself; she hasn’t caused us any trouble at all.”

Song Ge tossed aside the weeds and vines she had cut. “The fact that there isn’t any now doesn’t mean there won’t be later. I’m not a Bodhisattva. You alone are enough of a headache for me.”

Hearing this, Tong Xiangyu thought about how her rash was making it impossible to travel and delaying their schedule. She immediately lowered her eyes and stopped speaking.

When Song Ge didn’t hear her speak, she turned to look. Seeing the young lady’s expression, she realized she had spoken too quickly and said the wrong thing again. She wanted to make amends but didn’t know what to say, so she could only walk to the side to sharpen her combat knife.

Song Ge had no intention of taking anyone else and would not soften her stance. Taking someone along meant being responsible for their safety. It wasn’t as simple as the young lady thought.

She could look after one Tong Xiangyu, but she couldn’t handle another. If both encountered danger at the same time, which one would she save? Save that Yue-whatever? Impossible. But if she saved Tong Xiangyu and that girl died because of it, wouldn’t the “Bodhisattva-hearted” young lady be consumed by guilt and sadness?

Therefore, the way to reduce trouble was to stop it at the source from the very beginning. Song Ge never intended to be a philanthropist. Call her cold-blooded or selfish and heartless—she had always been this way. If the young lady was disappointed, then so be it.

Yue Yao returned, drenched in sweat, holding a large handful of red wild fruits. She looked excited as she carefully came down the mountain. “Yuyu, look.”

Tong Xiangyu looked over.

Yue Yao said: “These fruits are edible. You just have to peel them. They don’t have much flavor, just a tiny bit of sweetness.”

Tong Xiangyu picked up a cluster; they were the size of a thumb and bright red, looking like hawthorns.

Seeing this, Yue Yao turned her head toward Song Ge, who was sharpening her knife not far away. She hesitated for a moment but still wanted to walk over.

However, Tong Xiangyu was a step faster.

Tong Xiangyu walked toward Song Ge. “Song Ge, Yue Yao picked some wild fruits and brought them back.”

Song Ge didn’t even lift her eyelids. “Oh.”

“Song Ge, do you think I’m ugly now, so you won’t even look at me?”

Song Ge: “…”

Song Ge had no choice but to stop her movements and look up. She saw the young lady with her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. Her once clean and beautiful face was covered in red rashes, her apricot eyes were rounded in anger, and her cherry lips were pursed—but none of it was anywhere near the word “ugly.”

Tong Xiangyu held the cluster of red fruit in front of Song Ge.

Song Ge glanced at it and said: “Not eating.” After a thought, she added: “If you want to eat them, eat them yourself.”

Yue Yao also hesitantly walked over at this time. She stood beside Tong Xiangyu holding the fruit and said to Song Ge: “Song… Song Ge, you can try some. We haven’t had water all day. Although they aren’t that delicious, they can quench your thirst.”

Song Ge didn’t even respond to her. Yue Yao was instantly embarrassed.

Seeing this, Tong Xiangyu hurriedly said to Yue Yao: “It’s fine, it’s fine. If she won’t eat them, we’ll eat them ourselves. How do you eat these? Do you just peel them?”

“…Mhm, yes. Be careful, there’s a lot of fine fuzz on the outside.” After speaking, Yue Yao looked at Song Ge again, feeling apprehensive.

Song Ge kept her head down sharpening her knife, her hands never pausing.

Tong Xiangyu peeled one and ate it first. It tasted a bit like flavorless grapes or lychees, but it was fragrant and indeed quenched her thirst. She looked at Song Ge, carefully peeled the largest one, squatted down, and held it to Song Ge’s mouth. “Here.”

Song Ge leaned away slightly, refusing.

“You!”

Song Ge’s eyelashes didn’t even flicker.

Tong Xiangyu was so angry she simply stuffed it into her own mouth and ate it.

The handful of wild fruit was finished quickly. Yue Yao said: “Yuyu, actually there are more over there, but the location is hard to reach. I’ll go look again in a bit.”

Tong Xiangyu hurriedly said: “No need to go. The sun is so strong; it’s too much trouble going back and forth. Let’s just sit here and rest. When the sun is weaker, we’ll head down the mountain.”

Song Ge’s combat knife was sharpened. She put it away, stood up, and looked around. Then she fixed her gaze slightly; on a distant cliff face, there was a tree laden with the same bright red wild fruit.

It was exactly the fruit the young lady had just held. However, the tree was in a truly bad spot; the trunk wasn’t sturdy, it was on a cliff, and the area was overgrown with weeds and rarely touched by humans. Song Ge stood up and walked toward it.

Tong Xiangyu saw her walk away and instinctively followed a few steps. “Song Ge.”

Song Ge turned back. “Stay there, don’t move.”

The fruit was hard to pick, but because of its location, it grew large and beautiful, hanging in dense clusters that weighed down the thin branches. Song Ge observed the surroundings carefully, then jumped up, hooking the trunk with one hand for a pull-up. She used the rock wall for leverage with her feet and used her other hand to snap off a branch and toss it into the grass below. Then she picked a branch with even more fruit, snapped it, and tossed it down.

From a distance, Tong Xiangyu cried out in surprise and joy, but immediately followed with a worried shout: “Song Ge, Song Ge, be careful!”

Song Ge snapped off two more branches, then found a landing spot and jumped down lightly. She picked up the four large branches covered in fruit.

Tong Xiangyu hopped with excitement. Beside her, Yue Yao was already staring in a daze.

Song Ge handed the large branches of fruit to Tong Xiangyu.

There were too many for Tong Xiangyu to take all at once; she just snapped off one cluster from the large branches, then looked at Song Ge with her eyes curving into smiles. “Song Ge, you are way too amazing!”

Song Ge didn’t say anything, but helped the young lady carry the rest back under the tree.

Tong Xiangyu turned and handed the cluster of fruit in her hand to Yue Yao. “This is for you.” Then she jogged to catch up with Song Ge. “I’ll peel them, I’ll peel them!”

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