“Mm…” Tang Wanyue lowered her eyes in sorrow, but she didn’t mention that the last bit of food had already been snatched away by others.
“I see…” Tang Cheng glanced behind him at the kitchen. “I still have some food left. Take some with you later.”
“But… what about you? How can I take your food?” Tang Wanyue immediately looked at him in concern and refused.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about me.” Tang Cheng gave a calm, resigned smile. “I’ve already been bitten by a zombie anyway. I might not have a few days left to live. If I just leave the food here, it’ll go to waste. You should take it.”
“But…”
“You guys have a better chance of survival. Maybe the rescue teams will find you in a few days.”
Tang Cheng knew full well that, with the zombie bite scar on his left cheek, he was already a walking corpse just waiting for death. Even if rescue did come, they wouldn’t save someone who looked like a zombie.
That scene on the school rooftop had already made that much clear.
“Thank you… really, thank you so much…” Tears welled up in Tang Wanyue’s eyes again. She stared blankly at the boy standing in the kitchen doorway, unable to understand why he would help her like this—especially when everyone else had been so indifferent.
Seeing her face full of gratitude, Tang Cheng felt a little embarrassed…
The truth was, the only reason he could be so generous was because of his immunity to zombie attacks. If he ever needed more food, he could just walk out and get some. There was a huge supermarket on the fifth floor—food was the least of his problems.
“Go ahead and eat. If it’s not enough, I can cook some more.”
“No, this is already plenty. Oh, right—can I take some of this porridge back with me? That injured uncle still hasn’t eaten.”
Tang Wanyue suddenly remembered the bespectacled uncle who was still unconscious.
“Of course.”
Tang Cheng could clearly sense the kindness and gentleness in Tang Wanyue. Even when she was starving, she still cared more about others.
And it was that familiar kindness and beauty that had made Tang Cheng secretly admire this Student Council officer for a long time…
*****
A few months earlier, at Saint Sakura Academy.
“So hungry…” After being tormented by the young lady Chu Ruoyun, Tang Cheng hadn’t eaten for two days. Dizzy with hunger, he collapsed in the corridor of the school building.
“Are you alright?” A gentle voice called out to him.
He looked up to see a black-haired girl in a student council uniform standing before him. Her long hair danced in the wind, and her goddess-like eyes were filled with concern. Just then, a gust of wind blew by and lifted the hem of her skirt…
“W-White… rice!”
His hunger-addled mind mistook the glimpse of her white panties for a steaming bowl of fragrant white rice.
“Ah!”
Realizing her skirt had flown up, the girl’s face turned crimson as she quickly pressed her hands down over the fabric to hold it in place.
“Ah… my rice! My white rice… it’s gone!”
As she adjusted her skirt, the fragrant white “rice” vanished from Tang Cheng’s view. He lowered his head in despair.
“Are you okay? Should I take you to the infirmary?”
Her cheeks were still flushed, but the girl’s voice remained gentle and full of concern.
But at that moment, Tang Cheng suddenly raised his right hand—and grabbed the girl’s smooth, pale ankle just beneath her skirt.
“You… where did you hide my white rice? Give it back!”