The Abused Heroine Stops Pretending [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 73

The Senpai Who’s Obsessed with Me

Tang Jing quickly packed a bag and tied Senior’s wrists with a rope. To prevent the rope from chafing her skin, she padded the middle section with cloth.

Finally, she tied one end of the rope around Senior’s waist and the other end around her own, ensuring they wouldn’t get separated.

“Ajing.” Zhou Tiantian huddled closer to Tang Jing in fear, glancing back before asking, “Is it really okay for us to bring Senior along like this?”

“Mm.” Tang Jing double-checked the rope around their waists. Confirming it was secure, she tugged lightly on the rope and said, “Let’s go.”

“Mm.” Xu Yushu, whose mouth was taped shut, struggled a few times but was ultimately forced forward by the rope tied to Tang Jing’s waist.

The three had only taken a couple of steps when Zhou Tiantian heard footsteps approaching from behind. Terrified, she dodged to the side.

Xu Yushu bumped into Tang Jing and buried her face in Tang Jing’s neck, biting down.

Zhou Tiantian screamed in horror.

Tang Jing turned, pressing a hand against Senior’s forehead and shaking her head. “Senior, no.”

Zhou Tiantian: “…?”

Tang Jing wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Senior’s expression seemed full of grievance. Her mouth was still taped, and though she had tried to bite Tang Jing, all she managed was a few muffled nips through the tape.

Zhou Tiantian finally snapped out of it. Seeing that Senior posed no real threat, she grinned and leaned in again. “Ajing, Senior really can’t bite you, huh.”

“Mm, let’s go.” When danger had struck, Zhou Tiantian’s first instinct had been to dodge. Tang Jing didn’t comment, only giving her a brief glance before tugging the rope and leading Senior forward.

The fog was thick, obscuring everything beyond a few meters. With hidden dangers lurking, Tang Jing had to proceed cautiously, gripping her firewood axe tightly.

Zhou Tiantian clung to Tang Jing’s arm, nervously scanning their surroundings, afraid a monster might pounce at any moment.

They hadn’t gone far when Xu Yushu let out a low growl from behind, as if sensing an enemy.

Tang Jing immediately raised her axe, following the direction of the growl. Soon, two zombies staggered out of the mist. Catching the scent of humans, they let out a guttural roar and charged.

Zhou Tiantian shrieked and scrambled back.

But Tang Jing stepped forward, swinging her axe. The first zombie’s head was severed mid-charge. She turned just in time to see the second one lunging at Zhou Tiantian. Without hesitation, she kicked it back, sending it stumbling. Seizing the moment, she closed in and slashed at its neck from behind, severing its spine.

Tang Jing’s grip was strong. To ensure the zombie wouldn’t recover, she had used seventy percent of her strength, leaving her palm numb. She flexed her fingers to ease the tension.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Zhou Tiantian shook her head, still shaken. She wanted to move closer but hesitated when she saw the black stains on the blade.

She knew that was zombie blood. After infection, the virus mutated their blood from red to black, turning them into mindless monsters, empty shells devoid of souls.

Her hesitation went unnoticed by Tang Jing, who simply wiped the blade clean on the zombie’s clothes, removing the stains before turning her attention to the senior student shuffling closer behind her.

Xu Yushu let out a soft whimper as she approached, pressing her face against Tang Jing’s neck, her cold, pale eyes seemingly observing something.

Tang Jing remained still, curious to see what she would do.

“Mm…” Xu Yushu whimpered softly, nuzzling against Tang Jing’s neck twice, like a small animal seeking affection.

Tang Jing’s grip on the knife shifted slightly.

“Ah Jing, what is Senior doing?” Zhou Tiantian blinked and asked.

Tang Jing shook her head. “Let’s go.” She was about to move when she suddenly remembered something. “Tiantian, noise might attract more zombies. You!”

Zhou Tiantian knew she had a habit of screaming when frightened. Her face flushed at the reminder, and she nodded hastily. “Ah Jing, I understand.”

“Mm. Let’s go.”

Zhou Tiantian pouted, a pang of grievance rising in her chest.

She knew she might be a burden to Ah Jing, but wasn’t it her girlfriend’s duty to protect her? She didn’t want to scream, she just couldn’t help it. It wasn’t her fault.

After this internal monologue, she glanced at the bound senior student, opening her mouth to say something. But when she saw Ah Jing’s indifferent back, she swallowed her words in frustration.

The highway was littered with exploded, burning cars and corpses strewn haphazardly. Overnight, it seemed the entire world had changed.

Zhou Tiantian’s eyes were filled with confusion. Though she dragged her feet forward, for a fleeting moment, she felt like she had become a mindless zombie herself.

“Tiantian.”

“Huh?” Zhou Tiantian snapped out of her daze, the bewilderment still lingering in her eyes as she looked at Tang Jing.

Tang Jing frowned slightly before offering a stiff reassurance. “Don’t worry. We’ll survive.”

“Mm.” Zhou Tiantian nodded with a forced smile.

The fog never lifted, if anything, it grew thicker, reducing visibility around them.

Tang Jing sensed something off about the mist, though she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

“Grr!” Behind them, Xu Yushu let out another low growl.

Tang Jing immediately raised her knife, while Zhou Tiantian quickly moved closer to her.

After half a day of traveling together, the two humans and the zombie had developed a strange sense of coordination.

Whenever Xu Yushu made a sound, they knew other zombies were nearby.

But this time, it wasn’t zombies approaching, it was a group of survivors. Familiar ones, in fact: the same group led by Brother Chen they had encountered at the back gate the night before.

Chen Chang was equally surprised to see them, but when he noticed the bound Xu Yushu behind them, he took a wary step back, raising the makeshift weapons in his hands.

Hesitantly, he asked, “You guys are?”

Afraid they might attack the senior student, Tang Jing quickly shielded Xu Yushu with her body. “What a coincidence.”

Chen Chang recalled that all three of them had been normal humans last night. Yet now, one had turned into a zombie, and they were still dragging her along on their escape.

For a moment, his gaze toward Tang Jing and Zhou Tiantian was complicated.

“Where are you headed?” Chen Chang’s eyes fell on the chopping knife in Tang Jing’s hand. The blade had several notches, and its surface was stained with grime proof that their journey hadn’t been peaceful.

Tang Jing shook her head. “No specific direction yet, but I believe the military will definitely set up shelters.”

The school playground was a temporary shelter with no real security not where they needed to go. In fact, it might be even more dangerous than going alone, given the dense crowds where threats could lurk unnoticed.

Chen Chang was once again surprised by the composed demeanor of the girl before him. But seeing her dragging along a timid girl while also keeping a dangerous zombie in tow, he realized she was anything but ordinary.

He nodded and said, “We’ve received reliable intel that ten small shelters have been set up along the national highway near the city center. Would you like to join us?” At this, he glanced at Xu Yushu and hesitated before adding, “But if you bring her along, you won’t even get close to the shelters.”

The unspoken implication was clear, and Tang Jing pressed her lips together, momentarily uncertain.

Currently, they were in the suburbs, where the sparse population meant fewer zombies. She could handle them alone, but the road ahead wouldn’t be so easy. They’d have to pass through towns, gather supplies, and inevitably enter crowded areas.

“She saved our lives. We can’t abandon her,” Tang Jing said firmly, her brows furrowed.

Zhou Tiantian clung tightly to Tang Jing’s arm without a word.

Over the past half-day, her initial gratitude had been somewhat eroded by the terror of their journey. Hearing Chen Chang’s words, she had even briefly considered leaving her senior behind.

But after hearing Tang Jing’s response, she quickly felt ashamed of her own thoughts.

If anything, Xu Yushu was more her savior than anyone else’s she had saved her twice. Without her, Zhou Tiantian would have been the one turned into a zombie.

At this realization, Zhou Tiantian chimed in from behind, “Right. She became like this to save me. No matter what, we can’t leave her behind.”

Chen Chang shrugged. “If you’re heading to the shelters, you’ll have to leave her behind sooner or later.”

Tang Jing frowned, thinking it over before replying, “We’ll observe from a distance first. If it’s truly impossible to bring her along, we’ll decide then.”

“Brother Chen!”

The people with Chen Chang immediately protested at the idea of the two girls and a zombie tagging along to the shelters.

Tang Jing reassured them, “Don’t worry, we’ll follow behind you. We won’t get in your way.”

Chen Chang gave them a nod, and the group reluctantly agreed though one person still warned, “If your zombie harms any of us, we won’t hesitate to kill her.”

“Grrr!” As if sensing the hostility, Xu Yushu let out a low growl from her throat. The others flinched, raising their weapons and stepping back.

Tang Jing swiftly pulled Xu Yushu behind her. “They’re not food.”

Xu Yushu’s gaze shifted from the group to Tang Jing.

Tang Jing: “I’m not food either.”

Xu Yushu turned her face away, nuzzling against Tang Jing’s neck instead.

Once again, Tang Jing sensed her frustration.

Watching their bizarre dynamic, those who had been afraid of Xu Yushu couldn’t help but twitch their lips. One braver soul asked, “So, as long as you keep her tied up like this, she won’t attack you?”

“Obviously,” Tang Jing replied. “She can’t harm us.”

“Oh, then there’s nothing to fear,” the girl said naively.

Xu Yushu sensed that these people were actually looking down on her. She let out another fierce growl, but unfortunately, her mouth was taped shut, and her entire body was shielded behind Tang Jing. Standing a full head shorter than Tang Jing, her head peeking out from behind Tang Jing’s shoulder held no intimidation for the group at all.

In fact, it was kind of cute?

One of the girls burst into laughter and said to Tang Jing, “Your savior is kinda adorable.”

Tang Jing: “…”

Zhou Tiantian: “…” Adorable?

The others: “…” You think this zombie is cute?

Everyone turned to look at Xu Yushu and, inexplicably, found that she did seem somewhat endearing.

The innocent girl’s words had completely dumbfounded the group.

Silence stretched until Chen Chang was the first to snap out of it. “Let’s go. We need to keep moving.”

It would take them over ten days to reach the highway from here, not to mention the time needed for rest and scavenging supplies along the way.

“We need a car,” Tang Jing said, scanning their surroundings. But the area was desolate, with hardly any houses in sight.

“There’s a gas station about three kilometers ahead. Let’s check it out,” Chen Chang suggested.

“Move out!”

With a goal in mind, the group regained their energy.

Tang Jing instructed, “Tiantian, take the lead.”

Chen Chang and the others cleared the path ahead, while Zhou Tiantian and the weaker girls walked in the middle. Tang Jing, with her senior Xu Yushu in tow, brought up the rear. The two were tied together at the waist with a rope, walking one behind the other.

From a distance, the whole arrangement looked downright bizarre.

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