Surviving the Apocalypse with the Young Miss - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Grievance

Time passed both slowly and quickly.

By the time the setting sun cast its light through the window and onto Song Ge’s feet as she sat on her stool, the commotion outside had completely vanished.

The streetlights, however, flickered on right on schedule.

Song Ge put down the clothes hanger she had finished assembling. She thought she’d have to find a chance to confirm if the landlady was still “normal.” If the woman had turned into a monster, there’d be no one to settle her wages—so what was the point of doing the work?

Song Ge stood up and glanced at the Young Mistress curled up asleep on the bed. She’s certainly got a big heart to sleep through this, Song Ge thought.

Though likely, she was just exhausted from the terror.

Song Ge filled a pot with tap water and set it to boil.

Tong Xiangyu woke up to a strange, savory aroma. She opened her eyes and tried to roll over, but her arm went thud against the wall. The pain drew a sharp cry from her, waking her up completely.

She sat up, feeling sore all over.

Song Ge’s small bed was made of long bamboo slats joined together without a mattress. It was incredibly hard. Tong Xiangyu had thought it impossible to fall asleep there, yet she had managed to doze off until nightfall.

Watching the steam rise and cloud Song Ge’s expressionless face, Tong Xiangyu’s heart sank to the bottom. Her nose prickled, and her eyes reddened. It was over; all those horrible things weren’t a dream.

What do I do now?

“Awake?” Song Ge glanced at her. “You can eat now. If you have an appetite, that is.”

“What is it?” Tong Xiangyu asked. The smell was so peculiar.

“Instant noodles.” Song Ge walked to the corner of the room, opened the box of ham sausages, and said, “I’ll add a sausage for you.”

“Thank you.” Tong Xiangyu watched Song Ge walk to the small desk. Seeing that Song Ge didn’t react to her thanks, she looked up at the half-window. The streetlights were on outside.

It was the first time in her life she had looked at the world from this angle.

Tong Xiangyu withdrew her gaze and apologized softly to Song Ge: “I’m sorry, I fell asleep.”

“What’s there to be sorry about for sleeping?” Song Ge replied. “Everyone sleeps.”

Song Ge used a small knife to score the casing of the sausage below the aluminum ring, peeled it along the seam, and sliced the sausage into the pot piece by piece.

Tong Xiangyu had drunk water before sleeping and now sat on the edge of the bed, awkwardly fidgeting with her feet.

Even though Song Ge wasn’t looking at her, she sensed the movement. “If you have something to say, say it.”

“I… I’d like to use the restroom.” Tong Xiangyu’s cheeks flushed.

“Over there.” Song Ge pointed to the indoor bathroom. “The light switch is by the door.”

“Alright, thank you.”

The bathroom was equally tiny, barely large enough for one person to move. It was a combined wet-room; the toilet and sink were on the left, and the shower was on the right.

Tong Xiangyu stood in the bathroom, agonizing with a pitiful expression for a long time. Finally, she used a tissue to shield her hand as she cautiously lifted the toilet lid.

Once open, she found it was unexpectedly clean and tidy. Despite this, she still didn’t dare to sit down fully.

When she came out after washing her hands, she saw Song Ge standing by the window again, looking out. The small electric pot had been unplugged, steam rising fragrantly from it.

Song Ge looked at her and said, “Eat.”

Seeing only one bowl and one small electric pot on the table, Tong Xiangyu asked, “What about you?”

Song Ge picked up the bowl.

Tong Xiangyu: “…”

Song Ge said, “I usually use this bowl. You can just eat straight from the pot.”

Upon hearing this, tears instantly welled up in Tong Xiangyu’s eyes. She had never suffered such a humiliation. How could a person eat directly out of a cooking pot? It was simply unheard of…

Seeing her look aggrieved, Song Ge misinterpreted her reaction. “It doesn’t taste great, but don’t be picky unless you want to go hungry. As long as rescue hasn’t arrived and we can’t get out, you’ll have to eat this eventually.”

As Song Ge spoke, she picked up a large mouthful of noodles and slurped them down.

Watching her, Tong Xiangyu suddenly felt ravenous. She pursed her lips in grievance and hesitantly walked to the table. But looking at the small electric pot, she didn’t know how to pick it up.

Seeing this, Song Ge understood. She helped her move the electric pot onto the bamboo bed, then moved the small stool to the bedside. “Sit and eat.”

A pampered heiress from a wealthy family probably couldn’t eat unless she was sitting elegantly.

Tong Xiangyu’s eyes widened in shock. How… how can you put a food pot on the bed?!

How dirty!! How am I supposed to eat this!!!

Tong Xiangyu turned her back to Song Ge, tears falling silently. She bit her lip hard, enduring the ultimate grievance. For the sake of her pride, she refused to let out a single sob. She smoothed her skirt and sat on the small stool.

Song Ge felt she had done her absolute best. She had no time to worry about the Young Mistress’s fragile psyche. After finishing the noodle soup, she set down her bowl and looked out the window again.

The streetlights remained, but the neon glow of the city was gone. What used to be a bustling area filled with people was now empty, save for the occasional monster wandering aimlessly like the walking dead.

It looked like a ghost town.

Song Ge took out her phone and tried to call several emergency numbers. Every single one was busy or went unanswered.

As for the “peace and prosperity” trending searches, Song Ge didn’t look at them again. She did open her class group chat, but the last message was from the night before.

Song Ge suddenly asked, “How many from our class made it down?”

Tong Xiangyu had been crying, but after taking a hesitant bite of the instant noodles, she decided to save the crying for later. No—crying over such a small thing wasn’t worth it. She only had to endure this for one night. Tomorrow, she would call her father to rescue her!

Right now, she just needed to fill her stomach and gather her strength.

Wiping away the last tear, Tong Xiangyu picked up the final slice of meatless sausage and then she heard Song Ge’s question.

The image of what she had seen during the day flashed through her mind. Her stomach churned instantly. She covered her mouth, dropped her chopsticks, and bolted into the bathroom!

Song Ge watched this, shrugging noncommittally. She hadn’t meant for that to happen. But it seemed the situation at the time had been truly horrific.

Tong Xiangyu threw up everything. When she came out, her face was weak and pale.

Although Song Ge hadn’t done it on purpose, seeing her like this gave her a rare spark of guilt. She offered to make another bag for her.

Tong Xiangyu shook her head, whispering softly, “No thank you, I don’t want to eat anything right now.”

“Lost your appetite,” Song Ge noted.

Hearing Song Ge’s flat, emotionless voice, Tong Xiangyu suddenly pursed her lips. Her red, almond-shaped eyes glared at her, and she couldn’t help but use a blaming tone. “Why are you so cold? Why are you so heartless?”

Song Ge: “What, am I supposed to hold a funeral for them and cry?”

Tong Xiangyu let out an angry “hmph” and decided to ignore Song Ge. But after a while, seeing that Song Ge didn’t react at all, she remembered everyone saying Song Ge had a twisted, abnormal personality. She couldn’t help but say, “You could at least try to have a little compassion. That’s a human emotion.”

Song Ge: “Oh.”

Tong Xiangyu had spoken with patient friendliness, but seeing Song Ge not even lift her head, she said, “You’re being so perfunctory.”

Song Ge looked up from her phone at her. “Then I’m not human. Is that better?”

“You!”

Song Ge said, “If there’s nothing else, go to sleep early, Little Bodhisattva.”

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