The Zombie I Flirted With After Losing My Memory, Who Was Pretending to be an Alpha, Is Actually My Ex - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Partnering Up

Teng Xi returned an hour later. Looking as composed as usual, she opened the office door and headed straight for her Miaodao.

“Are you going out?” The pregnant woman signed. The desk that had been against the wall had been moved to the window at some point. Sunlight streamed in, enveloping the woman in a layer of warmth as she carefully read a book. Xie Jinbing was leaning against the other end of the sofa, also holding a book, though she hadn’t looked up once.

“I’m going with Feng Sisi to see if there’s a way out of the library. You stay here and rest; Yao Zhi and the others are still around,” Teng Xi said to the woman, though the woman knew she was really explaining this to the doctor beside her.

Xie Jinbing still didn’t look at her, merely shifting her posture to sunbathe more comfortably while reading.

Just as Teng Xi was about to leave, the pregnant woman tapped the desk with her book to make a sound.

Teng Xi looked over—“Breakfast.”

The woman pointed at more than half a loaf of bread left on the desk. Clearly, Xie Jinbing had only eaten a little and left the rest specifically for Teng Xi.

Teng Xi squeezed the bread, her thoughts unreadable. Before hurrying out of the room, she quickly pressed something she had been clutching into the hands of the two women: “To give you some energy.”

The pregnant woman watched the flustered silhouette flee with a smile. If she could speak, she probably would have said, “It’s good to be young.”

It was a piece of chocolate. No one knew where Teng Xi had swiped it from. Xie Jinbing gently peeled it open; the wrapper was stained with a bit of sticky liquid—perhaps because it had been held in a palm for too long, the surface had melted from the heat.

The chocolate melted on her tongue, the rich aroma of cocoa mixing with milk. It was very sweet but not cloying, much like the feeling Teng Xi gave her.

However, there was one thing she still didn’t understand. Although she had seen Teng Xi’s passion for her, Teng Xi was good to everyone—a classic “central air conditioner” personality. Because of this, when the relationship ended, she had fallen deep into a swamp of doubt: Did Teng Xi ever truly love her?

She decided she needed to do something.

Teng Xi only took Feng Sisi out to scout. Before they left, Cheng Shi gave them a roundabout warning: the way they came was likely unusable due to the gathering hordes, and the main library entrance was impossible. That left only the back door. Not far beyond the back door was a river, which aligned with their destination. However, Cheng Shi stated that if either of them were bitten, she would not save them; her responsibility was to protect the majority.

Teng Xi said nothing, nodding to show her understanding. She gave Yao Zhi and Si Qinghan a few final instructions before departing, though her parting glares at He Qi served to intimidate him once more.

The two returned to the underground parking entrance. The iron door was thudding from zombies accidentally bumping into it. They knew that path was a dead end. They returned to the third floor, planning to explore downward via the stairs.

But as soon as they exited the stairwell, they saw Xie Jinbing leaning against the door of the small reading room with her arms crossed. A pile of zombies lay sprawled at her feet. Looking around, the wandering zombies from before were gone.

“Sister Xie?”

Xie Jinbing nodded curtly. She raised a hand and knocked on the door with a steady rhythm. Yao Zhi opened the door and waved to Feng Sisi: “Sisi, let Dr. Xie and Xiao Xi go together. You come back.”

Teng Xi was bewildered: “?” What was going on?

Feng Sisi was about to protest until Yao Zhi delivered the fatal blow: “Dr. Xie’s combat prowess is significantly higher than yours.”

In the end, a dejected Feng Sisi returned to the safe room. Xie Jinbing stood there with her hands in her pockets, locking eyes with Teng Xi.

The scene felt a bit eerie, but Teng Xi couldn’t quite put her finger on why. She wondered how Sister Xie had convinced Cheng Shi to let her out.

“2nd floor? Stairs?”

The learning ability of a 27-year-old deputy chief physician was truly formidable; the sign language she had crammed recently was quite proficient.

Her slender fingers moved, the joints distinct. She looked like a hand model from a TV commercial showcasing exquisite jewelry. Though she was just moving her hands through the air, it felt as if she were stroking someone’s skin, sending a shiver through the observer.

Xie Jinbing watched Teng Xi’s slightly evasive expression with satisfaction and smirked. Having been with Teng Xi for two years, she knew exactly what Teng Xi liked.

“Yeah.”

They didn’t choose the elevator. It was currently stopped on the first floor, meaning someone below wanted to come up; opening those doors would likely mean a face-full of zombies.

There weren’t many zombies on the third floor, as Cheng Shi’s people had cleared it once. The two reached the stairs to the second floor without much effort, only to find them blocked by heavy tables and chairs. Through the gaps, they could see at least a dozen zombies wandering below.

Looking down from the central railing of the third floor, the second floor was crowded—at least several dozen zombies.

“What do you think are the odds of us clearing all the zombies in this library and turning it into a fortress?”

“Hospital has 6,000 to 7,000 people.”

Teng Xi: “…You’re just a mental hospital, how big do you need to be?”

Xie Jinbing looked at Teng Xi with an unreadable gaze. Her lips moved slightly, but she ultimately didn’t explain. Only she knew how many secrets the Red House Mental Hospital actually held.

They eventually gave up on the stairs, unable to guarantee the flimsy barricade wouldn’t collapse behind them.

They sat on the floor to discuss. Xie Jinbing, who only knew a few phrases of daily sign language, didn’t have much of a say. The decision was quickly finalized by the “dictatorial” Teng Xi: they would climb down from the third-floor balcony.

Teng Xi felt the familiar texture of the curtain fabric, mourning the curtains they had ruined these past few days. She muttered a few words of condolence before ruthlessly slicing them apart with her Miaodao.

The balconies on each floor were open-air, separated from the interior by sliding doors. The third floor was about ten meters high. Teng Xi hooked the curtain fabric and peered down to the second floor, using the reflection on her blade to observe the scene.

There were many zombies on the second floor, most wearing red vests—volunteers from some group. Fortunately, there were only seven on the balcony wandering aimlessly, and even better, the balcony windows were sealed.

“I knew Goddess Guanyin was the best. After so much bad luck, I finally caught a break,” Teng Xi prayed silently. “I’ll definitely burn more incense for you later.”

Standing on the balcony looking down, Xie Jinbing watched Teng Xi half-tilting her head with a look of pure devotion.

After her ritual, Teng Xi vaulted over the railing into the second-floor balcony. Five minutes later, she poked her head out and gave Xie Jinbing the “all clear” sign.

By the time Xie Jinbing climbed down, Teng Xi had already cleared the balcony.

Xie Jinbing watched Teng Xi, who seemed especially energetic today—as if she’d been injected with chicken blood. She wondered what had gotten into her; she hadn’t even started “seducing” her yet…

She had no idea that while Teng Xi was carefully steadying the curtains for her, the view from below had inevitably captured those long, straight legs wrapped in her white lab coat. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but the question the pregnant woman asked her this morning kept echoing uncontrollably in her mind.