The Zombie I Flirted With After Losing My Memory, Who Was Pretending to be an Alpha, Is Actually My Ex - Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Lover’s Rock

In the small courtyard outside, Teng Xi crouched down to play with Wang-Cai. Seeing how joyfully the pup devoured the food Big Brother Nan had prepared, she teased him with a laugh: “You little rascal, you really are a picky eater, aren’t you?”

Wang-Cai seemed to sense her words and looked up, blinking his sparkling puppy eyes as if telling his side of the grievance, before fawningly rubbing his round, fuzzy head against Teng Xi’s trouser leg.

“You really know how to suck up. Don’t you know you’re not allowed to become a spirit after the founding of the country?”

Teng Xi poked Wang-Cai’s forehead with her index finger, and the little guy tumbled over onto his back, his tail wagging like a blur. Seeing Teng Xi laugh out loud, he followed suit with a few barks.

“Our Wang-Cai is quite spiritual,” Big Brother Nan said as he walked over, tossing another piece of meat which Wang-Cai caught perfectly in his mouth.

“Wang-Cai was a pup my mother and I found when we went into the mountains. He had just been born and was abandoned on a dirt mound, his eyes weren’t even open yet. Luckily, he’s a survivor; it had rained the night before, and we found him the next morning. I raised him this big, one bit of poop and pee at a time.” The hardships involved were known only to the man and the dog themselves.

As he spoke, Big Brother Nan patted the pup’s small head affectionately. Wang-Cai was indeed intelligent; he immediately circled the large hand, then turned back to nudge his bowl toward Big Brother Nan with his nose. He looked at the large piece of meat in the bowl, then back at Big Brother Nan, barking twice as if to say, “I want to share the best part with you.”

The large hand picked up the meat and held it to Wang-Cai’s mouth, but the little guy pushed it back with his head, determined to see the sharing through to the end.

“I’m full. You eat. You need to grow up quickly to protect Mother.”

As if understanding, the little guy snatched up the meat and swallowed it, while Big Brother Nan patted his head in praise. Whether it was because the pup was too small or Big Brother Nan’s palm was too large, half of Wang-Cai’s body was covered by the hand as he submissively let his master scratch his round belly.

“Xi-Xi, let’s go.” A soft, sweet voice sounded from behind. Teng Xi turned around to see Xie Jinbing standing there.

That honeyed voice always made it hard to reconcile with the “cool older sister” (Yu-jie) vibe of her face. Xie Jinbing was the perfect embodiment of a “Yu-jie face with a Lolita voice.” Every time that voice came out, it effectively stripped away half of the aggressive edge from her features.

Teng Xi gave Wang-Cai one last rough pat on the head, said her goodbyes, and took the umbrella from Xie Jinbing, holding it steadily between them.

They hadn’t walked more than two steps when they heard barking behind them, followed by the jingle of a small bell getting closer and closer to Teng Xi’s feet. She looked down to see Wang-Cai jumping around her legs. They both stopped immediately, afraid of accidentally stepping on his tiny frame.

“Little guy, are you trying to extort us (peng-ci)?”

Wang-Cai lifted his head like he was presenting a treasure, showing them the pouch hanging from his neck. Teng Xi crouched to take it and found a piece of dried fruit inside, its fragrance drifting out shamelessly as the pouch opened.

Recalling that taste, Teng Xi felt the roots of her teeth begin to ache again. Before she could shake her head, Xie Jinbing picked up the fruit, took a bite, said “So sweet,” and held it to Teng Xi’s lips.

Teng Xi looked at Xie Jinbing, then down at the fruit. Hesitantly, she took a bite. An explosion of sweet fruit flavor immediately filled her mouth.

“Delicious! Good boy, Wang-Cai.” Teng Xi patted the pup’s head in praise, making his tail wag furiously. If the timing weren’t so poor, Teng Xi would have wanted to stay for a few days just to learn the art of making this dried fruit.

The two turned to wave goodbye to the Nan family in the courtyard. Inside the yard, Nan Jing waved a piece of dried fruit at Xie Jinbing like she was showing off. Xie Jinbing let out a soft laugh, turned, and led Teng Xi toward the beach.

The island in the afternoon was even hotter. The heat slapped against their bodies like waves, making it somewhat hard to breathe. Yet, Teng Xi inexplicably enjoyed it.

“Is Big Brother Nan also a Beta?” Teng Xi recalled his burly physique and couldn’t help but doubt.

Xie Jinbing fell silent for a long moment until Teng Xi leaned in close to her face: “Sister Xie, it’s not what I think it is, right…?”

Xie Jinbing sighed and said helplessly, “It’s exactly what you think. He was an Alpha when he differentiated. Later, he had gender reassignment surgery and had his glands removed.”

“This… was he willing?”

It wasn’t surprising that Teng Xi asked this. Although she knew such surgery was legal, she could easily guess that few would do it—especially on an island with such severe anti-Alpha sentiment. It was hard not to suspect he had been coerced.

Xie Jinbing remained silent again for a long time, causing Teng Xi’s brows to knit together.

“Is that hard to answer? Was he forced?”

“No,” to Teng Xi’s surprise, Xie Jinbing answered quickly this time. “He wasn’t forced, but he wasn’t exactly willing either.”

“How does that work?” Teng Xi was puzzled. What kind of intent exists between forced and willing?

“You’ve likely noticed that everyone here has an inexplicable hatred for Alphas and follows an ‘Omega-Supreme’ principle. The absence of Alphas being born on this island isn’t a natural result, but a man-made one. I don’t know when it started, but every person who differentiates as an Alpha undergoes surgery to remove their glands and becomes a Beta. Some identify as another gender and feel they weren’t Alphas to begin with; others are influenced by the ideology here from birth, believing that being an Alpha is shameful, and feel they must have the surgery.”

“Influenced by the ideology here?” Teng Xi murmured. No matter how she looked at it, this island seemed like an organization controlled by extremist thought…

“Mhm. Qi Yin is an extreme anti-Alpha hater. The people she initially recruited were all extremists, which led to the formation of the Red House. However, I don’t know much about this island; I only know that very few Alphas were born here in the past, and the anti-Alpha ideology truly flourished after the Red House arrived.”

“Qi Yin, huh…”

Teng Xi carefully recalled her first encounter with Qi Yin. From the first moment, Qi Yin had displayed unmasked disgust. Rather than saying she was enraged because she heard Xie Jinbing and Teng Xi were a couple, it would be more accurate to say she was enraged because she knew Xie Jinbing’s partner was an Alpha.

Teng Xi finally began to understand that both Qi Yin and Shi Yun’s disgust stemmed from her Alpha identity.

“What about you?” Teng Xi asked with a rare seriousness, but she was too cowardly to look at her, fearing a bad answer. Everyone in the Red House had severe anti-Alpha sentiments; what about Xie Jinbing? What were her thoughts when she joined? And would the Red House allow an Omega who loved an Alpha to exist?

Xie Jinbing stopped and looked directly into her eyes. She knew exactly what Teng Xi was thinking.

“Xi-Xi, I don’t oppose any kind of love. I love you not because you are an Alpha, Beta, or Omega, nor is it driven by pheromones. I love you simply because you are you. It’s a love that wants to spend the rest of my life with you, and a love that wants to go to bed with you.”

The sudden confession left Teng Xi stunned. She only snapped out of it when Xie Jinbing’s cool lips pressed against hers.

The softness shifted against her lips, stimulating her senses. Pheromones surged through their mouths like a serpent, sliding over the tongue and palate, enveloping the warmth. The umbrella had fallen onto the asphalt at some point. Teng Xi shielded the back of Xie Jinbing’s head and pressed her against the wall. The two were shrouded in the shadow of the courtyard wall, while the oil-paper umbrella spun a few times in the sun, providing shade for the passing ants.

Teng Xi gradually took the lead, deepening the kiss. They kissed like a couple in the throes of passion. Inopportunely, Xie Jinbing thought that Teng Xi’s amnesia did have some benefits.

This path was remote; they walked for over ten minutes without seeing anyone else. It only began to get lively as they neared the market. Teng Xi accepted the surrounding gazes calmly, but suddenly realized something.

“Sister Xie, if the Red House hates Alphas so much, why did they recruit you? Didn’t Qi Yin know you had an Alpha partner? And why was I, an Alpha, able to work at the Red House psychiatric hospital?”

“You worked at the Red House psychiatric hospital?” Xie Jinbing suddenly grabbed her wrist, catching something unusual.

“Eh?” Teng Xi was confused. Just as she was about to speak, she felt Xie Jinbing squeeze her hand. Xie Jinbing’s eyes flicked toward the side of the road.

Right. She had almost forgotten the omnipresent surveillance on the island. Both tacitly dropped the subject and continued toward the beach.

Passing through the market, the area became crowded. It was a completely different environment from where the Nan family lived; it was a mystery why they chose to live so far away. On the beach, many children were playing. They scattered the moment they saw Teng Xi from a distance, but curiosity got the better of them, and they observed the two from afar with poorly disguised peeking.

Teng Xi couldn’t help but laugh. Wanting to tease them, she leaned out and made a face. The children were instantly spooked, let out a shout, and ran far away.

“A rumor will start circulating here soon,” Xie Jinbing giggled. At Teng Xi’s confused look, she continued, ” ‘If you don’t behave, the Alpha at the beach will catch you and eat you.’ “

Hearing this, Teng Xi made another face and playfully nipped Xie Jinbing’s fingertip. “Now this Alpha is going to catch you, wash you clean, and eat you.”

Xie Jinbing flicked her forehead with two fingers, earning an immediate expression of grievance from Teng Xi. Xie Jinbing helplessly rubbed the spot. For a moment, it felt like they were back in their first love. Teng Xi had always been like this—knowing exactly how to make her heart soften, always looking at her with that pitiful expression. Even though Xie Jinbing knew it was an act, she could never stop herself from falling for the trap.

The sky had turned cool at some point. They arrived at that beach again, and Teng Xi finally noticed a large reef on the right, standing firmly in the sea against the wind and waves. It was near low tide now, and the reef showed half its body, displaying its majestic form.

Xie Jinbing understood what Teng Xi was thinking with one look and pulled her by the wrist toward the reef.

“Sister Xie?”

“Scared?”

Teng Xi’s competitive spirit was ignited, her voice rising: “I, Teng Xiao-Xi, have never been afraid of anything!”

Both were wearing hospital gowns and flip-flops, so there was nothing they needed to leave on the shore. They walked slowly into the water, feeling a wave of coolness climb from their ankles up their legs. It felt like a cold, slippery snake coiling around them, flicking its tongue threateningly.

The ground beneath was uneven stone; one wrong step and they’d twist an ankle. As the water reached her knees, Teng Xi looked nervously at the seemingly shallow water. The waves hit one after another, making her feel a bit unsteady.

“This way.”

Feeling Xie Jinbing take her hand, Teng Xi finally steadied herself and followed her forward step by step. They struggled to sit on top of the reef. Teng Xi quietly pressed her hand against her racing heart, trying to calm it down. The ocean, though beautiful, hid countless dangers; one slip and she’d be knocked into the water by the waves, entangled by the “snakes” lurking beneath, with no way to resurface.

For that short distance, Teng Xi had relied entirely on Xie Jinbing’s lead. Since she had completely forgotten whether she knew how to swim, she had walked with extreme trepidation, her heart rate hitting 130.

“Actually, you know how to swim,” Xie Jinbing opened the umbrella again. The surface was slightly wet from the sea, dripping water continuously.

Being seen through, Teng Xi puffed out her chest: “I wasn’t scared.”

“It’s just that someone once told me I must bring you here at least once.”

“Huh?” Teng Xi tilted her head toward her.

“It’s called Lover’s Rock,” Xie Jinbing patted the giant stone beneath them. “There’s a famous psychological concept called the ‘Suspension Bridge Effect.’ When you cross a bridge in fear, your heart rate naturally increases. If you meet another person at that time, you might mistake that racing heart for attraction.”

“Oh~” Teng Xi realized, clapping her hands. “So that’s why there are so many Lover’s Bridges in scenic areas. This is a Lover’s Rock.”

Seeing Teng Xi deliberately miss the point, Xie Jinbing suddenly smiled very relaxedly and leaned her head gently on Teng Xi’s shoulder. Lover’s Rock was something Shi Yun had told her about. Back then, anyone could see her post-breakup misery, so Shi Yun had given her this idea.

“But I only want to watch the sunset here with you,” Xie Jinbing’s romantic whisper wasn’t drowned out by the roar of the waves. It crawled into Teng Xi’s ear like a tiny insect, sending a shiver through her entire body. “The sunset here is beautiful. I want to see it with you.”