Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Hedgehog?

Seeing Tong Xiangyu staring at her hand, Song Ge asked, “Is it itching?”

Tong Xiangyu quickly replied, “No, it doesn’t itch.”

After responding, Tong Xiangyu lowered her hand and lay back down. Her fingers brushed against a warm, fuzzy texture—it was the swaddling blanket Song Ge had found for her the day they fled Kecheng.

The days were hot, but the nights were a bit chilly. Sleeping with this spread out meant she didn’t have to fear the dirt or worry about catching a cold; it even helped her sleep. But even as Tong Xiangyu closed her eyes, there was no way she could fall back asleep.

When Yue Yao had held up the snails for her to see, she had caught a glimpse of her own face in the water. Densely packed red rashes of various sizes covered her entire face. She could hardly believe that person was herself.

Ugly. Disgusting.

She simply couldn’t imagine how she had spent the last two days talking and interacting with the two of them looking so terrifying! No wonder Song Ge didn’t want to stay near her. Her face was the kind of thing that would give you nightmares if you looked at it too long.

Originally, Tong Xiangyu had comforted herself thinking she would be fine once she healed. But what if every spot where a rash had been left behind a black patch of pigment after the scab fell off? What then?

Tong Xiangyu secretly wiped away tears with her fingers. The more she thought, the more wronged and afraid she felt. Finally, unable to suppress her sobs, she began to cry softly.

Song Ge walked over and squatted beside her. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Hearing Song Ge’s voice, Tong Xiangyu’s emotions collapsed further! She covered her face with her hands in distress, sobbing as she shook her head repeatedly.

Song Ge looked around. The sky was beginning to pale, and the mountains were silent; even the noisy chirping of insects had died down. Logically, nothing should have been able to scare the young lady. Combined with the way she had suddenly bolted upright earlier, a nightmare was the only possibility.

But since Tong Xiangyu didn’t want to talk, Song Ge didn’t press. She only vaguely recalled that Tong Xiangyu had also suddenly cried during the day. Were the two incidents related?

Song Ge didn’t go back; she sat down next to Tong Xiangyu and said, “I’ll keep watch here. Don’t be afraid.”

But Tong Xiangyu didn’t want her staring at her hideous face. Between sobs, she whispered, “Go back.”

Song Ge didn’t hear clearly. “Hm?”

“Go back. Don’t sit here.”

“Oh.” Song Ge stood up and walked back to her original spot.

However, Tong Xiangyu remained awake until dawn.

The day soon grew bright. Yue Yao had actually been awake for a while, but she pretended to have just woken up only when she heard movement from Tong Xiangyu’s side. Yue Yao told Song Ge she just remembered her family had fields on this mountain, and the sweet potatoes hadn’t been dug up yet. If the path up the mountain hadn’t been destroyed by the flood, they would have something to eat today!

Song Ge asked, “How far?”

Yue Yao said excitedly, “It’s only about a thirty-minute walk!”

“Not going.” Song Ge rejected her without a second thought.

If it took thirty minutes to get there, a round trip would take an hour. Plus, digging sweet potatoes would take even longer. If Yue Yao had to lead the way, Tong Xiangyu would be left alone. Song Ge would never let Tong Xiangyu be left alone—not even if they hadn’t seen a single monster on the road for days.

Tong Xiangyu hadn’t put her hair up today. Her soft black hair fell like a waterfall down her back and draped over her shoulders. She sat with her head down, drawing and writing in the dirt with a small wooden stick. She was very quiet and didn’t participate in their conversation.

Being rejected by Song Ge, Yue Yao was clearly disappointed, but she quickly said, “It’s okay, I can go by myself. I’ll try to dig up as many as I can for us!”

Song Ge was about to refuse again.

Tong Xiangyu spoke up first in a sulky voice, “Song Ge, you should go with Yaoyao. I’ll be fine alone.”

Song Ge looked over. She couldn’t see the young lady’s face, only her slender figure sitting sideways. Song Ge said, “You’ll be fine alone? A cat big enough could carry you off.”

Tong Xiangyu remained sulky. “It would take a cat the size of a tiger to carry me off.”

“Is that so? You think too highly of yourself.” Song Ge responded, then gave Yue Yao a glance. “Don’t mind me and her. I’ll find a way.”

Yue Yao was stunned. She didn’t know what she had done wrong again. They had shared mushroom soup together last night, yet today everything was divided so sharply again.

Yue Yao said awkwardly and incoherently, “I… I didn’t mean anything else. It’s just that things are so difficult now and everyone has no food, I thought… Besides, you saved me during the rainstorm, and I haven’t even said thank you.”

“No need for thanks,” Song Ge said. “I didn’t actually intend to save you.”

Hearing this, Yue Yao was completely frozen in shock!

Song Ge didn’t say more and walked onto the field embankment. Since the villagers had died in the storm, the nearby fields were essentially ownerless; if she saw crops, she could dig them up. However, the heavy rain had destroyed many fields; those on lower ground near the riverbank were a total loss.

No one spoke, and the atmosphere became very strange.

After a while, Tong Xiangyu turned to look at the silent Yue Yao. Using her long hair as a mask, she saw Yue Yao’s fists clenched tight, on the verge of tears.

Tong Xiangyu could deeply empathize with how direct and hurtful Song Ge’s words could be. Despite having her own breakdown to deal with, she suppressed it for a moment and said to Yue Yao, “Yaoyao, come here.”

Yue Yao felt like her world was collapsing; nothing was more humiliating or painful than this. She unconsciously walked over to Tong Xiangyu, but the moment she squatted down, she couldn’t hold back her tears.

Tong Xiangyu wiped her tears away. “Don’t be sad. That’s just the way Song Ge talks.”

Yue Yao shook her head, wiping her eyes with her arm.

Tong Xiangyu looked up at Song Ge and saw her figure walking along the mountain path, completely unbothered by how hurtful her words had been. Tong Xiangyu whispered, “When she first saved me, she was like that too. Every word, every punctuation mark had a thorn in it.”

Yue Yao looked at Tong Xiangyu while sobbing. “But she is… so, so good to you.”

Tong Xiangyu: “That’s because we’ve been together for a long time.”

Tong Xiangyu added, “You didn’t know, did you? Even though Song Ge and I were classmates, we never spoke to each other before.”

Yue Yao’s tears paused; she was surprised and puzzled.

“The day the monster virus broke out, we were all at school. It was during a break. A riot started on the playground—they said some students were fighting, then they said people were going mad and biting. Once things got out of control, everyone went back to the classrooms and locked the doors.” Tong Xiangyu spoke softly. “But those monsters multiplied exponentially and soon broke through the doors and windows. The scene was chaotic—blood everywhere and biting monsters, just like a horror movie, maybe even scarier. Everyone lost their cool, but only Song Ge was calm. She tore down the curtains to escape through the window and encouraged me to jump. It was the third floor, but she said she would catch me…”

“And she really did catch me. We escaped the school and stayed in Song Ge’s basement for many days. But no help ever came—the internet, water, and power were all cut… After realizing we couldn’t go on like that, Song Ge decided to lead me out of the basement.”

“…When I fell, I really thought I was dead. My mind went blank.” Tong Xiangyu paused. “But Song Ge actually came back to save me! You have to understand, even though we were classmates, we had absolutely no interaction before the virus broke out. We had only spent ten or so days together in the basement.”

Tong Xiangyu asked Yue Yao, “If it were you, would you save someone you’ve only known for two weeks? Knowing that saving them might mean you die yourself?”

Yue Yao was stunned into silence.

Tong Xiangyu said, “So, don’t blame her for saying hurtful things. Song Ge just hasn’t interacted with people enough and doesn’t know the right way. She has a ‘knife mouth but a tofu heart’ (sharp-tongued but soft-hearted).”

Yue Yao nodded. Tong Xiangyu’s voice was soft and thin, and she spoke of the past slowly and gently. After her emotions settled, Yue Yao felt she was right. She shouldn’t be crushed by a single sentence from Song Ge. No matter how much a person says, it isn’t as convincing as what they do. Regardless of what Song Ge said, she did save her, also risking her life.

Maybe Song Ge… just didn’t like receiving gratitude, or wasn’t used to it.

Yue Yao looked at Tong Xiangyu. As her mood brightened, her attention shifted. “Yuyu, why aren’t you tying your hair today?”

Tong Xiangyu knew that with her hair down she probably looked like a ghost, but that was better than having her scarred face scare someone into having nightmares for three nights. Tong Xiangyu lowered her eyes and said sulkily, “I don’t feel like combing it.”

Yue Yao: “Let me help you?”

“Thanks, but it’s okay. I’ll just leave it loose.” Tong Xiangyu politely declined Yue Yao’s kindness and changed the subject. “I’m telling you all this because I don’t want you to be sad or misunderstand Song Ge. When you gave us the sweet potato strips, I was actually worried you were poisoning us, but Song Ge was adamant that they weren’t poisonous. She trusts you very much.”

Hearing this, Yue Yao’s eyes instantly lit up. She looked at Tong Xiangyu. “Really?”

Seeing her immediate joy, Tong Xiangyu hesitated for three seconds before saying, “Mhm, really.”

“Mhm, I understand!” Yue Yao said happily. “Thank you, Yuyu!”

Tong Xiangyu lowered her eyes, her voice becoming smaller. “No need for thanks…”

Soon, Song Ge returned with a full load. She was holding the hem of her T-shirt with her right hand, her shirt bunched into a large pouch. As she passed the young lady, she swung something she was holding in her left hand in front of her. “Do you know what this is?”

With just a quick glance, Tong Xiangyu let out a small gasp. “A hedgehog?”

“Haha.” Song Ge chuckled. “As expected, the top student didn’t disappoint me.”

Tong Xiangyu looked at her in confusion. “Is it not?”

“Of course not.” Song Ge dumped the contents of her shirt onto the ground and started a fire.

Tong Xiangyu walked over and picked one up; she recognized it now. “Hazelnuts.”

Song Ge said, “Chestnuts. They’re good raw or roasted, easy to carry, filling, and easy to store.”

“These are chestnuts, but that…” Tong Xiangyu walked over and lightly touched the dull gray, prickly sphere.

Song Ge looked over. “Careful not to prick your hand. That’s a chestnut too, but you have to crack open the prickly burr.”

“So that’s how it is?” Tong Xiangyu felt a sense of novelty. She turned to look at Song Ge and saw her take out her folding combat knife. Suddenly remembering something, she said, “Song Ge, let me use your knife for a second.”

Song Ge thought the young lady wanted to pry open the chestnut burrs and didn’t intend to give it to her. “Don’t be so curious, you’ll prick your hand.”

“I’m not opening chestnuts; I have another use for it.”

“Then what for?”

Tong Xiangyu didn’t say. She just asked for the knife, then turned her back, carefully cut a slit in the hem of her shirt, reached out to pull, and soon tore off a whole circle of the fabric.

Song Ge watched. Tong Xiangyu used the torn fabric to cover her face, tying it behind her head. When she turned around, she met Song Ge’s gaze.

Song Ge: “What are you doing?”

Through the mask, Tong Xiangyu’s voice was muffled. “There are no more masks in the backpack.”

Song Ge said, “I meant why cover your face?”

“Because I want to!” Could she really not know why? Tong Xiangyu felt Song Ge was doing it on purpose and refused to answer. She tried to fold the knife to give it back, but after struggling with it, she couldn’t succeed and had to return it to Song Ge as it was.

Song Ge took the knife, truly unable to guess what the young lady—who had sixty thoughts a minute—was thinking. But seeing Tong Xiangyu raise her hand to smooth her long hair, Song Ge suddenly remembered something. She reached into her pants pocket, paused for two seconds, and finally took out the carved bamboo hairpin. “Use this.”

Tong Xiangyu looked. The bamboo hairpin was smooth all over, with a star at the top.

Tong Xiangyu was overjoyed. “For me?”

“Mhm.”

“Wow, it’s so pretty! Thank you!”

“What’s pretty about it? I just carved it on a whim.” After saying that, Song Ge gave a soft “hmpf” and looked down to peel chestnuts, suppressing the slight upward curve of her lips.

Yue Yao looked at the bamboo hairpin in Tong Xiangyu’s hand, feeling puzzled. Didn’t she see Song Ge shave the top flat before going to sleep?

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