The Villainous Female Side Character Pretends to Be an Omega in the Apocalypse and Raises a Cat - Chapter 21.1

Chi Yingdong had never imagined that her own lazy, good-for-nothing little cat would catch someone’s eye.

Ever since Qian Ruanruan knocked on her door while patrolling the building that day, the girl with orange hair had become a frequent visitor at her doorstep.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump…

As expected, it was Qian Ruanruan knocking again.

Her knocks followed a distinct rhythm, always three long and two short.

Meng Qinghe, who also heard the knocking, twitched her ears and buried her entire feline face into her front paws.

She could already tell who it was from the rhythm of the knocks. Just thinking about the upcoming conflict made her wish she were a real cat who couldn’t understand human speech.

Chi Yingdong yanked the door open abruptly, her movements radiating impatience.

Outside, Qian Ruanruan’s bangs were damp with sweat, clinging to her flushed cheeks. She cradled a bulging little bag as if it were a treasure.

Without even thinking, Chi Yingdong knew exactly what was in that bag.

She glared coldly at Qian Ruanruan, her tone impatient. “If you like cats so much, get one yourself.”

Before the words even finished, both of them froze.

Outside the window came the sound of water splashing against the walls, and in the distance, the faint, hoarse roars of zombies could be heard.

In this post-apocalyptic world where even humans struggled to eat their fill, where would anyone find extra food to feed a pet?

The stray cats and dogs that once roamed the neighborhood had gradually disappeared over the past month, vanishing without a trace.

The air suddenly grew heavy with silence.

Both of them silently dropped the subject, neither willing to delve deeper into it.

“Where’s the little cat? I brought something for her.”

Qian Ruanruan broke the silence first.

She pulled out three handmade items from her bag: two distinctly different-style bibs and a small hair clip.

One of the bibs was crocheted, with a deep blue base and a three-dimensional red cherry on it, giving off a Snow White vibe.

The other was made mainly from light pink checkered fabric, tailored into a mini maid-style outfit.

The hair clip matched the second bib, designed in a lace style.

Before, her family hadn’t allowed her to keep pets. Now that her family was gone, no one could stop her.

Qian Ruanruan never tired of dressing up the little cat, almost as if there was a “revengeful” motive behind it.

Feeling a persistent gaze from outside, Meng Qinghe lazily got up and slowly sauntered to the doorway.

Seeing what Qian Ruanruan held in her hands, the little cat’s expression seemed to say, “I knew it.”

The first time she received these delicate little accessories, Meng Qinghe’s joy was palpable.

After all, whether as a cat or a human, as long as there was a girl inside, no one could resist beautiful new clothes.

But perhaps her delight had been too obvious, sparking either a competitive or a jealous streak in Chi Yingdong.

In front of others, Chi Yingdong always appeared calm and unruffled.

But once Qian Ruanruan left and they were alone, if Qian Ruanruan gave a few items that day, Chi Yingdong would inevitably pull out twice as many from her storage space, making Meng Qinghe try them on one by one.

That wasn’t the worst part. The worst was that Chi Yingdong would then make her choose which ones were better on the spot.

This dilemma was like asking Xu Chuyao to choose which she loved more, her mom or her mother.

Utterly childish.

Fortunately, Chi Yingdong’s taste was impeccable.

Meng Qinghe didn’t need to lie against her conscience, the one she chose was indeed prettier than the one Qian Ruanruan had made.

Lifelessly, Meng Qinghe allowed Qian Ruanruan to fuss over her.

She truly couldn’t understand it.

Qian Ruanruan was busy every day distributing supplies, mediating disputes, and organizing patrols.

How could she still find time to craft such delicate little accessories?

Suddenly, a burst of cheers erupted from downstairs.

Faintly, phrases like “The water level dropped again” and “The sun is out” could be heard.

Qian Ruanruan’s hands paused briefly before she resumed adjusting the hairpin.

In this lifetime, with Qian Ruanruan dedicated to maintaining world peace, the world seemed to have genuinely become much more peaceful.

At least in their building, order hadn’t completely collapsed.

No one had forcibly taken over someone else’s home out of desperation, nor had neighbors turned on each other over a piece of biscuit.

The people living in this building were still striving to uphold the most basic social rules.

The issue of food also took an unexpected turn on the day the building’s supplies ran out.

Rongcheng was near the sea, and the flooding caused by the heavy rain led to the backflow of river and seawater, gradually increasing the number of fish and shrimp in the water.

At first, some worried that these fish might have fed on zombie corpses and could carry pathogens, fearing they would turn into zombies the moment they ate them.

As food grew scarcer, some, driven by hunger, turned their attention to the fish and shrimp in the water.

Everyone watched these people expectantly, and when they saw them survive unharmed without turning into zombies, the aquatic life became more widely accepted, largely alleviating the food shortage.

In Meng Qinghe’s original setting, high-temperature cooking could indeed kill most of the pathogens in the fish and shrimp, but trace amounts of contamination still remained.

Long-term consumption would eventually take its toll, erupting when the body could no longer endure.

She didn’t know if the plot would still unfold as she had written.

But given the current circumstances, everyone was just living day by day, hoping to survive.

As for the future, whether there even was a future, was another matter entirely.

The issue of water scarcity.

This time, the people in the building didn’t just wait passively.

A married couple, both professors, one a chemistry expert, the other a physics scholar, stepped up.

Led by them, a research team was formed with a few high school students who had some knowledge of experiments.

Under immense pressure and with time running out, the team managed to create two rudimentary water purification devices in just a few days.

Though the crude devices couldn’t produce drinking water, they could at least be used for washing clothes and bathing, meeting some of the daily needs.

Drinking water came from the few water-element ability users in the building.

They used their powers daily to condense water, which was then evenly distributed among the residents under everyone’s watchful eyes.

The amount each person received was pitifully small, but it was enough to sustain basic survival.

Until this morning, the person in charge of monitoring the water level announced that it had stopped rising and was rapidly receding.

It seemed the disaster was coming to an end.

“This one is quite pretty,” Chi Yingdong suddenly remarked, her fingertips lightly brushing over the lace trim of the apron.

Her voice snapped Meng Qinghe out of her thoughts, and she looked down at the apron she was wearing.

From her angle, she could only see a small part of it, the pink checkered one.

Beyond that, what caught her eye more was her own fluffy chest.

Meng Qinghe lifted her head and looked at Chi Yingdong, unexpectedly catching a lingering trace of admiration in the other’s eyes.

Qian Ruanruan’s gifts rarely earned Chi Yingdong’s praise; more often, they were met with disdain and stuffed into cabinets to be out of sight.

For this apron to gain Chi Yingdong’s approval, it must have been exceptionally cute.

Qian Ruanruan straightened her back proudly, her orange-red hair tips swaying gently with the movement.

“I think so too. It suits the kitten perfectly, especially with this hair clip, adorable beyond words.”

She took two steps back to admire her handiwork, her eyes brimming with satisfaction.

Meng Qinghe felt a bit embarrassed under the gaze, her eyes darting around uncertainly.

Chi Yingdong naturally noticed the kitten’s discomfort. Reflecting on her interactions with the kitten over the past few days, she realized her behavior had grown increasingly domineering, a kind of unapologetic familiarity.

This trust was something only she possessed.

Just thinking about it, Chi Yingdong’s envy toward Qian Ruanruan instantly vanished.

Qian Ruanruan had many matters to attend to and no time to linger, admiring the kitten slowly. Soon, she bid her farewell.

Qian Ruanruan said, “I’ll be off now. Goodbye, little kitten. I’ll come play with you again tomorrow.”

After Qian Ruanruan left, Chi Yingdong had just taken out her camera to take photos of the kitten when the outdoor thermometer suddenly sounded an alarm.

Chi Yingdong’s gaze swept over the thermometer, her brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

In just one morning, the mercury had surged from 11 degrees to 32 degrees.

In previous years, although Rong City didn’t experience snowfall at this time, chilly winds would blow, making people shiver.

This kind of weather was highly unusual.

Yet, everyone was immersed in the joy of the receding floodwaters, completely oblivious to the temperature change.

She pushed open the window. The rain had stopped, and the dark clouds were dissipating at a visible pace.

It wouldn’t be long before the long-lost sun made its reappearance.

However, the torrential rain was followed by extreme heat.

The corpses of zombies that had perished in the floodwaters were gradually exposed to the air as the water receded.

The high temperatures accelerated the decomposition of these bodies, setting the stage for another widespread outbreak of pathogens.

Chi Yingdong took stock of the protective suits in her storage.

Although she had stockpiled a large quantity of protective suits, the supply was limited and insufficient for everyone in Rong City.

But if someone were willing to take the initiative and dispose of the zombie corpses while wearing protective gear, there might still be a chance.

Chi Yingdong had originally planned to discuss the matter of the protective suits with Qian Ruanruan the next day.

However, for the next several days, there was no sign of the orange-haired anime enthusiast knocking on her door.

Meng Qinghe also wore a worried expression.

On the day they parted, Qian Ruanruan had promised to return the next day, but several days had passed since then.

Even Xu Chuyao hadn’t come up to visit for quite some time.

Meng Qinghe couldn’t help but worry, had something happened?

She pawed at Chi Yingdong’s hand with her claws, then pointed to the pink checkered apron on her chest, her emerald-green eyes filled with concern.

Chi Yingdong looked down at the apron on the kitten’s chest, trying to guess what she was thinking.

“You want to look for Qian Ruanruan?”

Meng Qinghe nodded her fluffy little head.

Unable to resist, Chi Yingdong reached out and ruffled the kitten’s head. “Alright.”

She had already planned to go looking for Qian Ruanruan if she didn’t show up in the next couple of days.

Since the kitten had brought it up first, she decided to take her along. It had been a while since they’d gone out together.

Chi Yingdong first took the kitten down to the 19th floor to look for Xu Luo. The door was answered by Bao Qiujuan.

Bao Qiujuan had heavy dark circles under her eyes, her brows furrowed with worry, and she looked utterly exhausted.

Seeing her in this state, Chi Yingdong furrowed her brows slightly.

Chi Yingdong’s gaze quickly swept over Bao Qiujuan, noticing the lucky bracelet made from Xu Luo’s knitted sweater on her left wrist.

She was an Omega who had been well protected.

Even in the apocalypse, Bao Qiujuan’s life was far better than that of many others.

Though Xu Luo was just an ordinary person, she worked tirelessly and never let Bao Qiujuan risk going out to search for food.

Even in the early days when Xu Luo didn’t find much food, it was enough to keep the family from going hungry.

Later, after they took Jiang Yun in, the household could still manage to save some food while having enough to eat.