The Zombie I Flirted With After Losing My Memory, Who Was Pretending to be an Alpha, Is Actually My Ex - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Cooking

Grandma Nan stood by the window, her gaze following Teng Xi outside with a look of pure confusion. “My dear girl, is she really the ex-girlfriend you couldn’t stop thinking about? I don’t see what’s so great about her. Or is it that… she’s very good with her hands?” She nudged Xie Jinbing playfully, the implication crystal clear.

Xie Jinbing immediately stuck her index fingers in her ears, wearing an expression of ‘hear no evil.’ “Grandma! If you keep this up, I’m going to expose your secrets in front of Big Brother Nan. Please, be serious.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” Grandma Nan laughed as she reached for a bowl on the upper shelf of the cupboard. Being unable to reach it after several tries, Xie Jinbing took advantage of her height to retrieve it. She picked out a large piece of dried fruit and popped it into her mouth, her palate once again enveloped in a clear, sweet taste.

She dodged Grandma Nan’s reaching hand, holding the bowl high with her left hand while wagging her right index finger. “Grandma, Big Brother Nan put this so high specifically to keep you from snacking. Have you checked your blood sugar today?”

Grandma Nan looked at her with displeasure. “Didn’t you just finish off my portion for today?”

“Oh~ I see,” Xie Jinbing realized. “You wanted to trade a little for a lot. I only ate a piece the size of my finger under the eaves, but there’s quite a lot in this bowl.”

Saying this, she took another piece, quickly returned the bowl to its place, and then, feeling it still wasn’t safe, stood on her tiptoes to move it to the very top of the cupboard.

“So sweet~”

“You little brat! Ungrateful!”

The two of them interacted like old friends reunited after many years, without a hint of restraint.

After a long while, when Xie Jinbing was about to finish the dried fruit in her hand, Grandma Nan finally asked, “Dear girl, why did you come back?”

Her tone was a mix of confusion and a faint, hidden heartache.

Xie Jinbing didn’t answer immediately. She finished the dried fruit unhurriedly and licked the powdered sugar off her fingertips—a habit developed from a childhood where she never had enough to eat.

“A-Jing, the thing I was most worried about has happened.” This time, she didn’t call her ‘Grandma,’ but used her name as she had in the past.

Grandma Nan snapped her head toward her, but Xie Jinbing’s gaze was fixed on the figure in the kitchen in the distance.

It had been a long time since anyone had called her by that name. Since becoming a resident here, everyone just called her Grandma Nan. How many people still knew her name was Nan Jing?

Lunch was very hearty. Perhaps because Teng Xi had lent a hand in the kitchen, the food was served quickly. Looking at the full table, Big Brother Nan felt a bit embarrassed. “You are our guests, we should have been the ones serving you, but we let Little Sister Xi take the lead at the stove.”

“Don’t say that, Big Brother Nan. I only fried two dishes. I couldn’t let you show off your culinary skills without giving me a chance to show mine.” Teng Xi clapped Big Brother Nan on the shoulder heartily and quickly slid into the seat next to her wife.

“Oh? Xi-Xi actually learned how to cook? These two dishes look different at a glance; you’re much more capable than my eldest son,” Grandma Nan praised generously.

Even without looking closely, two dishes on the table were particularly eye-catching. The plating rivaled a five-star hotel, featuring even a swan carved out of a radish that looked lifelike. The entire dish practically had the word “Expensive” written across the plate.

The group didn’t notice Xie Jinbing’s expression: ranging from despair upon hearing Teng Xi was cooking to relief upon hearing she “only fried two dishes.” She had almost been unable to sit still, ready to make an excuse to flee to the bathroom.

“Come on, everyone, taste it and see how it is.” Teng Xi looked expectant. Due to her amnesia, she hadn’t realized her cooking skills were this “good.” She thought to herself that opening a restaurant after the apocalypse ended might be a good idea.

“Wait—” Seeing Big Brother Nan’s chopsticks already reaching out, Xie Jinbing swallowed the rest of her sentence and comforted herself: It’s fine, it won’t kill anyone.

“How is it? How is it?” Teng Xi asked eagerly.

A simple question, yet it stumped the large, burly man. The taste in his mouth was bizarre. Even though the dishes came from the same kitchen, why was the flavor so “complex”? It was sour yet bitter, bitter yet astringent, and the astringency was mixed with a raw undercurrent.

Seeing Teng Xi’s expectant face, Big Brother Nan felt incredibly conflicted. This was harder than facing a storm at sea.

“Is it good? Here, Grandma, you try some too.”

“Don’t!”

“No!”

Big Brother Nan and Xie Jinbing spoke at the same time, making Teng Xi’s hand jump. She finally sensed something was wrong. Big Brother Nan’s conflicted expression clearly meant he was afraid of hurting her feelings and didn’t want to be blunt.

Teng Xi diverted her chopsticks from Grandma Nan’s bowl and put the food into her own mouth. The next second, she nearly spat it out.

“Actually…” Xie Jinbing reached out to pat Teng Xi’s back, comforting her, “It’s not exceptionally bad.”

Teng Xi blinked her starry eyes at her pitifully, but the other woman just kept patting her back. Teng Xi couldn’t help but say, “Sister Xie, at least try it with your chopsticks before you critique it…”

One second, two seconds, three seconds… Xie Jinbing continued patting her back. Finally, unable to bear her wife’s gaze, she picked up her chopsticks. They headed toward Teng Xi’s dish halfway but eventually swerved to the dish made by Big Brother Nan.

As the delicious food finally hit her tongue, even the painful memories of Teng Xi’s cooking from deep in her past became a bit more bearable.

Teng Xi clutched her chest, pretending to be wounded, and was about to start a “Do you not love me anymore?” scene when Xie Jinbing fed her a mouthful. The delicious flavor made her eyes light up. “Delicious!”

Grandma Nan laughed at their interaction and used her chopsticks to move several of Xie Jinbing’s favorite dishes into her bowl.

The tense atmosphere vanished. Big Brother Nan laughed and shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice, his muscles trembling with the movement. This was the most “normal” meal Teng Xi had eaten since waking up. It was just a home-cooked meal, but somehow, for her and Xie Jinbing, such things had become a rare luxury.

Yet this peace made her inexplicably uneasy, as if something big was being plotted in the shadows, waiting for her to relax so it could deliver a fatal blow.

Teng Xi lowered her eyes. A soft hand brushed against her thigh, patting it twice like a mother’s comfort. She turned to look at the owner of the hand, seeing her acting normally, chatting warmly with the Nan family. The gloom in her heart dissipated significantly.

“Though, there has been something strange lately,” Big Brother Nan said. Despite his tall, sturdy build, his manners at the table were polite, though his voice was naturally loud.

“There are plenty of strange things lately,” Grandma Nan shook her head, thinking whatever her son was about to say wouldn’t be a big deal.

“No, Mother. Haven’t you noticed the boat that comes to the island hasn’t arrived lately?”

“Isn’t the boat supposed to come the day after tomorrow?”

Teng Xi and Xie Jinbing exchanged a look. Both understood that the boat would likely never come again. If nothing unexpected happened, this place was one of the few remaining “pure lands” in the apocalypse.

“But lately, when I go out to sea, I can’t see the cruise ships near the mainland shore anymore,” Big Brother Nan shook his head in disapproval. “Wait, that’s not right. A few days ago, I saw a cruise ship on the shipping lane, but it hasn’t moved an inch in days. Besides that, there haven’t been any other ships.”

“Stupid boy. Just because you have to come home at night doesn’t mean the ship isn’t allowed to come home at night,” Grandma Nan put a piece of fish into his bowl. “Eat more fish. It makes you smart.”

The other two at the table, however, heard the problem.

“Big Brother Nan, Grandma is right. It surely returned when you weren’t looking. No one was curious enough to get close, right?” Teng Xi asked, seemingly casual.

“How could we get close? The Red House recently issued a new regulation. We can’t leave the coastal waters.”

“Huh?” Teng Xi hadn’t expected the Red House’s control to extend that far. “Does no one sneak out to the deep sea to fish? Surely there are more fish out there?”

“Every boat here has a tracker and a geofence,” Xie Jinbing explained from the side.

“Mhm, exactly. And although the deep sea has more resources, it’s more dangerous. With life being so good now, who would want to take that risk?” Grandma Nan added.

Teng Xi opened her mouth but said nothing. She couldn’t help but wonder if the Red House’s control was too absolute. A vague suspicion began to take root in her heart.

The group didn’t linger on the topic. After the meal, Teng Xi actively took over the dishwashing to apologize for wasting food, but Big Brother Nan stopped her.

“Little Sister Xi, it’s fine. We can’t have guests doing chores. Besides, we have Wang-Cai. Why don’t you give those two dishes to Wang-Cai?” Big Brother Nan handed the two dishes Teng Xi had made to her and bolted toward the kitchen with the other dishes, terrified she would follow to help—otherwise, he’d be killed by his mother’s glares.

“Ah?”

Teng Xi stood there awkwardly holding the two beautifully plated dishes. Grandma Nan gave her a gentle push. “Go on, Xi-Xi. Our Wang-Cai doesn’t bite. He’s very well-behaved.”

A black-and-white puppy lying under the eaves barked a few times in response, standing up and jumping happily. It was very small, seemingly only a few months old. If Big Brother Nan held it, one might worry he’d accidentally squeeze it too hard. It trotted on short legs to its food bowl, its fluffy body making one want to reach out and pet it.

Under Wang-Cai’s extremely expectant gaze, Teng Xi poured the food into its bowl and patted the little guy’s head.

Wang-Cai leaned in to sniff. Its tail wagged slower and slower, and its perky ears began to droop. It looked up at Teng Xi with a spark of intelligence, then leaned in to sniff the “food” again, as if to make sure. In a dog’s world, there is no beauty or ugliness; they judge only with their sensitive noses.

After sniffing the contents of its bowl for a third uncertain time, Wang-Cai backed away three steps, sprinted to Grandma Nan’s feet, and rubbed its head against her, letting out a pitiful whimper, seemingly accusing the woman of trying to poison it.

“D*mn!” Teng Xi finally couldn’t help but swear. She had officially witnessed what it meant for something to be “so bad even the dog won’t eat it.”

The courtyard erupted in laughter. Big Brother Nan poked his head out of the kitchen, confused as to why they were laughing, and joined in.

Before they left, Grandma Nan called Xie Jinbing aside.

“Dear girl, come. Grandma has something to give you.” Without waiting for Xie Jinbing to respond, she pulled her into the central hall and partially closed the door.

Xie Jinbing looked confused as Grandma Nan rummaged through her things. “Grandma, what’s wrong?”

“A few days ago, my son and I went up the mountain to pick wild mushrooms. We saw cars going toward the lighthouse. I didn’t think much of it at first, but Wang-Cai kept barking. Then, we found this.” Grandma Nan finally pulled something out of a box in the corner and handed it to Xie Jinbing.

It was a bundle of short cords, stained with a dark red liquid. One could faintly see the original dark green color, which felt strangely familiar to Xie Jinbing.

“Look at this. Is that human blood?”

Xie Jinbing took it and examined it closely. “It’s completely dried. I can’t tell if it’s human or animal. Is there more?”

“Huh?” Grandma Nan was startled, then looked at her with admiration. “There are several more pieces. They’re all here. Take a look.”

She handed over the wooden box. Inside were a dozen cords of varying lengths. Xie Jinbing picked up another one; this one was so stained you couldn’t see the original color, as if it were red to begin with.

After searching through the box, she found only these two colors. She held them under the lamp, her brow furrowing tighter and tighter. These two things looked more and more familiar. She tried wrapping a cord around her finger following its natural creases; it formed a spiral, as if it had been wrapped around something.

Looking at that familiar shape, alarm bells rang in her mind.

Tsukamaki! (Handle-wrapping)

It was the hilt wrapping from Teng Xi and Feng Sisi’s katanas.

“Where exactly did you find these?!” Xie Jinbing’s sudden outburst startled Grandma Nan.

“Near the lighthouse! I just said so.”

Xie Jinbing remained silent for a long moment before speaking. “A-Jing, prepare more food lately. Don’t go to the mountain with the lighthouse anymore. Get your cellar ready.”