The Zombie I Flirted With After Losing My Memory, Who Was Pretending to be an Alpha, Is Actually My Ex - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Learning Sign Language

The doctors who went out for supplies hadn’t returned empty-handed. Relying on their familiarity with the hospital’s layout, they had raided a convenience store warehouse, bringing back several large bags of instant food—enough for everyone to have a meager hot meal.

Food was scarce, so everyone was extremely frugal. The portion allocated to the office consisted of only one box of self-heating rice and a single loaf of bread.

Teng Xi watched the self-heating rice begin to steam and pushed it toward the pregnant woman. The woman pushed it back, performing sign language that Xie Jinbing couldn’t yet understand.

“No need, we still have food. Don’t forget, you’re not alone right now. This little one is still hungry; we can’t let the baby suffer, can we?” Teng Xi pointed at the woman’s belly and smiled easily. She didn’t want this cramped office to become oppressive.

With that, she tore open the bread to share with Xie Jinbing. They had eaten their fill in the kitchen during the day, so they needed to save supplies now.

At night, a breeze drifted in through the office window, bringing the chill of early spring. The two of them removed the sofa cushions to sleep on the floor, leaving the sofa bed for the pregnant woman.

Xie Jinbing rolled over, unconsciously drifting toward the heat source beside her in her sleep, her brows knit tight.

Teng Xi didn’t open her eyes until she heard the steady breathing of the person beside her. She reached out to adjust the blanket, her gaze falling on Xie Jinbing’s face.

They were very close—close enough for Teng Xi to feel the other’s breath on her face. Xie Jinbing’s long, curled lashes cast shadows under her eyes, and her wolf-tail hair lay obediently against her cheek, a trail of defiant red.

Teng Xi stared blankly at the beautiful face inches away, but internally she was calculating. Once certain the other was sound asleep, her left hand groped gently toward the pocket of the white lab coat.

Everything was going smoothly. Feeling the desired texture against her fingertips, Teng Xi’s heart leaped. Just as she prepared to hook her finger and slide it out, the person beside her moved, lowering her head and nuzzling into the blanket with a trace of unexpected sweetness.

Teng Xi froze, her arm half-raised.

After a few minutes, Teng Xi made her move. The faint crinkle of plastic packaging echoed in the quiet room. A single piece of candy lay quietly in her palm.

Teng Xi’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the durian candy she had craved all day. She peeled the wrapper and popped it into her mouth. The rich, sweet scent of durian exploded, making her close her eyes in bliss. She rejoiced in the taste while silently praising her own wit for not breaking her “boss” persona.

She didn’t know that Xie Jinbing, who had predicted this all along, was hiding a smirk against her chest.

The next morning, Xie Jinbing was nudged awake by the light from the window. She rolled onto her back, her long legs stretching past the edge of the cushions. She hadn’t slept this deeply in a long time; she hadn’t even noticed when the person beside her left, leaving only a trace of warmth behind.

Teng Xi returned carrying breakfast—another box of self-heating rice and bread. Upon entering, she found the pregnant woman and Xie Jinbing huddled together, heads touching, looking at something.

“Breakfast is here.”

As soon as Teng Xi spoke, she saw Xie Jinbing lightning-fast shove something into the sofa crack. The pregnant woman stared in a daze, and Xie Jinbing herself froze, her whole body stiffening.

“Hmm, perhaps I should be walking in on an affair?” Teng Xi stood before them, asking with mock politeness. Sister Xie’s reaction was exactly like a husband caught cheating by his wife.

The pregnant woman burst out laughing, signing to Teng Xi: “She is learning sign language.”

Sitting on the sofa, Xie Jinbing’s earlobes turned pink. She pursed her lips, unsure whether she was annoyed by her own overreaction or unwilling to admit she was learning sign language specifically to communicate with her.

Because the cushions were on the floor, the sofa was quite low. Xie Jinbing sat cross-legged, her head slightly bowed, stray hairs obscuring her eyes. Teng Xi stood over her with breakfast, half a body taller. The sunlight streamed through the window, bathing Teng Xi in light and enveloping Xie Jinbing in shadow.

Feeling the person in front of her move, Xie Jinbing looked up. The shadow fell directly into her eyes. Teng Xi leaned down, her long hair cascading over her shoulder. The proximity of those phoenix eyes reflected Xie Jinbing’s own dazed expression, and Teng Xi’s scent wrapped around her with overbearing familiarity.

They had been this close countless times before. Teng Xi used to embrace Xie Jinbing from behind while she was working at her desk, coaxing her to put down her pen, pressing her lips against hers. The scent of an Alpha would make her surrender, her eyes reddening with heat, only to later fret over the messy desk and ink-stained notes. She remembered that Teng Xi loved being intimate in the study.

But this time, Teng Xi didn’t pull her into an embrace. Her slender fingers merely brushed past Xie Jinbing’s ear to place the steaming breakfast on the desk behind her. However, Teng Xi paused.

From this angle, it looked as if she were half-holding Xie Jinbing. The doctor was leaning against the sofa back, her hands clutching the hem of her lab coat. Her usual ferocity was nowhere to be found; her head was bowed, her face betraying an uncharacteristic nervousness. Her lashes fluttered, and the soft crown of her head seemed to be begging for a pat.

As she went to retract her hand, Teng Xi couldn’t resist. She seemingly accidentally brushed against the hair at the nape of Xie Jinbing’s neck. That fleeting contact was enough to make Teng Xi’s lips curl, but it made Xie Jinbing shiver violently and snap her head up.

Xie Jinbing stared at her, her ears burning red. Despite the hair in the way, that was the exact location of her gland! The restlessness in her body flared, screaming at her to grab Teng Xi’s neck, force her head down, and take her lips. She wanted to make Teng Xi collapse onto the sofa and loom over her.

Xie Jinbing’s grip on her coat tightened. Instinct drove her desire whenever she was near Teng Xi, so she forced herself out of that vortex, pulling away. She put on her professional doctor persona, rationally suspecting this was the fault of their past “temporary marking.” She secretly decided to steal a suppressor from Teng Xi’s backpack later, while her mind masochistically replayed the memory of their breakup, refusing to admit she still felt anything for her.

Teng Xi, entirely unaware that she had just committed what could be considered sexual harassment, saw Sister Xie bury herself deeper into the sofa. She rubbed her nose guiltily, her eyes flickering toward the sofa crack. She reached in and pulled out the book: 《Sign Language Tutorial》.

“Sister Xie, I can teach you. I’m basically Level 10 at sign language.”

The book was snatched away instantly. A cold voice rang out: “No need.”

The pregnant woman’s gaze shifted between the two. Seeing that even the ashen-white skin of a zombie couldn’t hide the blush on Xie Jinbing’s ears, she made a series of signs.

Xie Jinbing, having just started learning, couldn’t understand. But Teng Xi, who could, looked like she had just choked. Her face flushed crimson instantly as she stammered, “No, it’s not like that!”

Having said that, she fled the room as if escaping a fire.

Xie Jinbing: “?”

The pregnant woman smiled, her face filled with the look of someone who had seen it all.

Leaning against the door outside, Teng Xi gripped the handle, her heart pounding wildly. The pregnant woman’s sign kept echoing in her mind: “Is she your lover?”