The Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Female Lead is Mine [Transmigration Into a Novel] - Chapter 75

“Sir, these are essential daily necessities, why are they not appropriate?”

Yu Ningning patiently explained to him, “Everyone uses these frequently. It’s convenient to have them here. You need to be more progressive in your thinking.”

Xie Zhitian also felt a bit uncomfortable hearing Wang Haibo say this. In this day and age, why is there still such a stigma around menstruation? It’s a completely normal physiological phenomenon for women, not something to be ashamed of or hidden away. However, he looked to be over fifty, so he probably still held onto old-fashioned beliefs.

She saw a flicker of subtle emotion in Wang Haibo’s eyes, like dissatisfaction, or maybe even malice. But that emotion was fleeting, and in an instant, his smiling face returned.

Wang Haibo patted his head. “You’re right, look at me, I’m getting old and muddled. You’re all great heroes; you can arrange things however you like, as long as you’re happy living here.”

With that, he exchanged a few more pleasantries, then slowly turned around and returned to the duty room.

“Alright, take care, sir.”

Yu Ningning waved at his retreating back and then said to the others, “Actually, the old man is a good person. He cares about us, but his thinking is a bit rigid and some things are just hard to get through to him.”

Luo Yang asked, “How does he care about you?”

Yu Ningning thought for a moment before answering, “He’s always smiling, saying we’re like his daughters. When it’s cold, he reminds us to wear more clothes, and when it rains, he tells us to bring an umbrella…”

Luo Yang said, “But these things require no effort at all. It can’t really be called ‘caring,’ can it?”

Yu Ningning was taken aback. “Effort?”

Luo Yang said, “Yeah. So many girls came all this way to help, yet the district doesn’t even provide basic daily necessities. Even if the district is too poor to afford it, Wang Haibo must have seen how difficult it is for you to buy things. Did he ever offer to help you?”

Yu Ningning seemed to have never considered this question before. “No… he didn’t… but he’s old and probably doesn’t have the energy. He looks like he’s not in good health, so we feel bad bothering him.”

Xie Zhitian was very relieved to hear this; Luo Yang had made great progress and wouldn’t be easily fooled by a few words anymore. She said to Yu Ningning, “Wang Haibo is a local. He could easily find someone to help buy things, and it’s not like you’re not willing to pay for them. And since leaders come by every day, he could also report this issue to them. But he did nothing, and even tried to stop you from setting up the sanitary pad box. It doesn’t seem like he cares that much.”

Wang Haibo’s attitude also, to some extent, revealed the underlying problem. If the modified humans were truly recruited just for support, then the people of the district should at least be grateful, if not tearfully so. But Wang Haibo, despite his pleasant words, still wanted to hinder their convenience because of his personal beliefs, which showed that he didn’t value them.

The real purpose behind District 33’s request for help was likely not so simple. Just like District 7 in the past, which claimed to be building infrastructure but secretly forced the modified humans to do things that couldn’t be exposed to the light.

Yu Ningning sighed helplessly. “Oh, speaking of that, there’s really nothing we can do. We’ve brought up the issue of daily necessities to the leaders several times, but they always promise everything will be fine, and in the end, they only deliver a tiny bit.”

“The next time we press them, they’ll start talking about how difficult things are for the district. But the commander said that even if the situation doesn’t improve in two months, he’ll let us go back to our district to rest and have others come to help, so we decided to just bear with it for now.”

Luo Yang asked, “How many soldiers are stationed on the outskirts of the district?”

Yu Ningning replied, “This apartment building has over a hundred people. There are five other similar apartments near the city wall, housing the district’s garrison and the modified humans who came to assist. They say the district is heavily impacted by the alien scourge, so the economy can’t develop, and they are short-handed. Providing food for the soldiers every day is already a huge burden.”

In short, they were using poverty as an excuse to placate the stationed soldiers.

Xie Zhitian didn’t linger on this topic and asked about something else. “How old is Wang Haibo this year?”

Yu Ningning paused. “I heard from someone who came before that he’s over fifty. Why do you ask?”

Xie Zhitian said, “Assigning an old man with no combat ability to be an apartment manager here seems too dangerous. It’s a bit strange, no matter how you look at it.”

The effect, however, was significant. Judging by Yu Ningning’s attitude, everyone seemed to have a good impression of Wang Haibo and weren’t on guard against him.

Yu Ningning said, “I thought so too at first, but I heard that the aliens here are nocturnal and only come out at night, so it’s generally safe during the day. During the day, everyone sleeps and rests, and at night, they get up to fight and clear out the aliens near the district wall. As for Wang Haibo, he goes back to the inner district every afternoon after inspecting with the so-called leaders and only comes back in the morning. He doesn’t stay here overnight.”

Tang Zhuoran’s eyes showed a hint of confusion. “The aliens here are nocturnal?”

She had extensive experience fighting aliens and had never encountered this type before.

Yu Ningning nodded. “Yes, it’s like this every day. So there’s a curfew in this area. Ordinary people can’t go out after dark, but there aren’t many ordinary people around here anyway.”

She yawned. “I have to go catch up on sleep now; I have to work tonight. You guys should go back and rest, too.”

Xie Zhitian and the others had been traveling for a day and a night and were all exhausted. They went back to their rooms and fell asleep, not waking up again until after four in the afternoon.

It was a clear autumn day, with bright, warm sunshine that wasn’t too hot, illuminating a corner of the bed. Through the half-closed curtains, a patch of azure sky was visible.

Xie Zhitian rubbed her eyes and quietly sat up. After a moment’s thought, she bent down and gently kissed the cheek of the person lying next to her.

Just as she was about to get out of bed, her wrist was held. “Tiantian, where are you going?”

Luo Yang’s face was half-buried in the quilt, with only her beautiful, hazy eyes visible.

She was still a bit sleepy, but as soon as Xie Zhitian got up, she couldn’t help but open her eyes to see what her girlfriend was going to do.

Xie Zhitian smiled at her. “I’m going to make something to eat. The food they provide here isn’t very good, is it? You can lie down a little longer, and I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

In the morning and at noon, someone would deliver meals to the apartment, but they weren’t much better than the rations they had in the underground palace. The food consisted of very bland vegetables with little nutritional value, so Xie Zhitian and her companions didn’t plan to eat it.

Luo Yang grabbed her hand and rubbed her face against it like a kitten. “Then I want to go with you.”

The two of them took out a portable alcohol stove and ingredients from their spatial storage, intending to make a simple tomato and egg noodle soup.

Just as Xie Zhitian finished washing the tomatoes, there was a knock on the door. “Are you guys up?”

It was Xia Fufeng’s voice. Xie Zhitian thought she was there to get some food and went to open the door. “Come in. I’m cooking some noodles.”

“Don’t cook yet. Yu Ningning just came to tell us that the leader is here.” Xia Fufeng stood at the doorway without coming in, and Tang Zhuoran was behind her. Both of their expressions were a bit serious. “Let’s go down and see what’s happening.”

Others began to appear in the hallway, all looking like they had just woken up, hurrying down the stairs. The sound of their footsteps was constant and noisy.

Xie Zhitian’s eyes shifted, and she put down the tomato in her hand. “Did something happen?”

Tang Zhuoran looked around and lowered her voice. “The person who came today is the district’s commander, Li Changhui.”

Xie Zhitian and Luo Yang exchanged a glance. “Okay, we’ll be right there.”

They had already known that Li Changhui was one of Commander Gu Hong’s people, and their purpose for coming here was to figure out what he was plotting. They wouldn’t miss a chance to get in contact with Li Changhui.

Xie Zhitian had originally thought Li Changhui would be a greasy, corpulent middle-aged man like Zhou Quan. But to her surprise, Li Changhui’s appearance was actually quite good. Although he was forty, he was well-groomed, with a handsome face that, aside from some faint fine lines, could be called suave.

Li Changhui was wearing a well-tailored dark grey suit and a neat tie, smiling as he greeted the modified humans. He had arrived in a large van filled with supplies, and two men who looked like his subordinates were helping to unload the goods.

The two men stopped after unloading about ten boxes and stood respectfully behind Li Changhui.

“Everyone has worked hard. I heard that supplies are scarce here and that the soldiers’ lives are being affected, which pains me greatly. Our district has limited resources, so these are supplies that I bought myself. I hope they can be of some help.”

Li Changhui’s tone was gentle, and the apology in his eyes seemed just right. “The remaining supplies in the van have to be distributed to other apartments, so I can’t give them all to you. I’m really sorry. I’ll find a way to allocate more supplies in the next couple of days to ease your burden.”

With that, he gestured for his two subordinates to open the boxes, allowing the soldiers to take the daily necessities they needed.

Yu Ningning whispered excitedly to Xie Zhitian, “Oh my goodness, last time Commander Li also bought things for us out of his own pocket. The district is so poor, yet he’s still thinking of us. He’s such a good person.”

Xie Zhitian asked her, “When was the last time?”

Yu Ningning thought for a moment. “About a week ago, I think. Let’s not talk about that for now; hurry up and see if there’s anything you can use.”

The soldiers’ discipline was extremely high. Although they were all in need of supplies, no one was fighting over them. Many, like Yu Ningning, were visibly grateful for Li Changhui’s actions, while others had a calm expression, showing no excitement. But overall, the atmosphere was very harmonious. The girls spoke in hushed tones, discussing and choosing what they needed, showing deference to one another.

Xie Zhitian and her group weren’t in need of anything, but they didn’t want to stand out, so they just symbolically took some tissues and instant food, planning to give them to those who needed them later.

Li Changhui chatted happily with everyone for a while, mentioning that the aliens had been appearing more frequently lately and that he appreciated their hard work at night. Then he said he had to go to the next apartment and let the soldiers take their time picking things out.

The lively atmosphere remained, with the girls’ conversations floating into their ears.

“Hey, there’s luncheon meat. Let’s cook some later.”

“Hmm, there are also bread and biscuits here. I’ll take this strawberry one. You like the cream-filled ones, right? This is for you.”

“Commander Li is so good to us. The last time I tried to give him money for the things he bought, he wouldn’t take it.”

Mixed in were some dissenting voices.

“But we came here to help, so isn’t it their responsibility to provide us with food? The meals they deliver every day are inedible. Giving us a little extra to make up for it shouldn’t make you so emotional.”

“Exactly. I’ve supported other districts before, and the treatment was so much better than this.”

“You can’t say that. This district is on the border, so it’s poor and underdeveloped. The fact that Commander Li would bring these things shows a great deal of thoughtfulness, even if it’s a small gesture.”

…

Xie Zhitian watched the departing van, her gaze returning to the instant food in her hand.

It was a box of instant noodles, expiring in just one week.

In the current society, people had only recently been freed from a life of constant fleeing and still had lingering psychological trauma. To meet the public’s needs, various types of instant, portable food had been a priority for production, and every district had designated sellers.

No matter how difficult things were for District 33, it was a bit much to give frontline soldiers instant noodles that were about to expire.

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