After a while, the aroma of lean meat congee suddenly drifted over from the book café across the street, instantly waking Tang Wanyue from her slumber.
“Is that… the smell of congee?”
She opened her dazed, hunger-clouded eyes and saw that everyone else in the store was also drooling, staring longingly at the book café across from them. Clearly, they had all caught a whiff of that mouthwatering scent.
“That brat’s cooking something!”
“Damn it, so he really did have food over there!”
“Bro, I can smell meat! I haven’t had meat in forever!”
Zhang Pi and Li Dan, still tied tightly to their chairs, were drooling as they cursed Tang Cheng across the street with envy and resentment. The balding middle-aged man stood beside them with a club in hand, nervously watching them both.
The female veterinarian Wu Mei, along with Liu Hong who was still clutching her flatbread, couldn’t stop swallowing as they stared fixedly at the store across the street, where the delicious aroma originated.
After days of surviving on dry rations and expired canned food, the sudden scent of fragrant lean meat millet congee was overwhelmingly tempting. It made them all crave with a ravenous hunger.
Under normal circumstances, this congee would be considered nothing special—but in this desperate world of starvation and despair, it was the ultimate temptation. The smell alone was enough to make everyone’s mouths water uncontrollably.
Tang Wanyue inhaled deeply, as if she could fill her empty stomach with the scent alone. In her heart, she couldn’t help but praise him: “So… his cooking’s actually pretty good. It smells just like Mom’s congee. I’m so hungry…”
From time to time, the aroma of scrambled eggs wafted through the air too. The scent of scallions sizzling in hot oil made it all the more mouthwatering. It was obvious someone on the other side was expertly cooking eggs with practiced skill.
But beyond envy, Tang Wanyue and the others were also deeply surprised.
The world had ended. Zombies that ate humans lurked just outside the door. And yet that boy across the street was still so calm, casually cooking congee and frying eggs like nothing was wrong. He didn’t seem scared in the slightest.
None of them could understand how he could stay so composed. Any normal person would’ve been terrified out of their mind after being bitten by a zombie, but not him.
Wu Mei and the others inhaled the familiar scent of homecooked food with envy, but none of them dared approach the door. As tempting as the food was, their lives were more important. No one wanted to risk getting lured out and losing their life for a bowl of congee.
Meanwhile, inside the book café, at the back of the kitchen…
Tang Cheng stood by the stove with an apron tied around his waist, expertly stir-frying eggs in the pan. Beside him, a pot of steaming mushroom and lean pork congee was already cooked and giving off a mouthwatering aroma.
After returning from the building across the street, Tang Cheng had felt a bit hungry. Finding some leftover ingredients in the fridge, he figured he might as well cook something.
Back at the Chu residence, Tang Cheng had been relentlessly bossed around by the young lady, Chu Ruoyun, which had forced him to become a jack-of-all-trades. From cooking to cleaning toilets, he had mastered everything.
So whipping up some congee and fried eggs was nothing to him—just a walk in the park.
At the moment, he had no idea that the aroma of his cooking had stirred up chaos across the street. Humming a little tune, he enjoyed his moment of peace.
Since zombies didn’t attack him, he didn’t have to worry about food shortages, nor did he need to worry about attracting zombies with noise or fire. He could simply do as he pleased.
Maybe he would turn into a zombie tomorrow—but for now, eating his fill today was all that mattered. Better to be a full ghost than a hungry one!
Having been tormented by Chu Ruoyun for so long, he had never truly had a full meal. Becoming a zombie was undoubtedly tragic, but at least he wouldn’t go hungry anymore—there was a silver lining to that.
Once the congee and side dishes were ready, Tang Cheng carried everything to the table inside the bookstore café. He turned on the radio and sat down to enjoy the breakfast he had cooked himself.
Through the glass door, he saw a familiar figure standing at the entrance across the street.
“That looks like Tang Wanyue. Maybe something’s up?”
Worried, Tang Cheng quickly stepped outside. Sure enough, it was Tang Wanyue. But the moment she saw him come out, she immediately turned to leave.
“Tang Wanyue, is something wrong?”
“N-no…”
She stopped in her tracks, looking conflicted and hesitant as she replied.
Tang Cheng immediately noticed how pale and hungry she looked. Glancing inside the opposite shop, he saw the female vet and others curled up against the wall, protectively clutching their food. He instantly understood what was going on.
“Um… would you like to come over? I made some breakfast,” he offered sincerely.
Tang Wanyue’s eyes lit up with a trace of joy, but as soon as she looked at Tang Cheng’s horrifying left face, she lowered her head in fear, hesitating. Just then, her stomach let out a loud grumble.
“Ah! I-I’m sorry…” Her face flushed red as she adorably and flusteredly covered her stomach with her hands.
“So you are hungry.” Tang Cheng continued gently, “You don’t need to be afraid. I’m still fully conscious—I won’t suddenly attack you. I can even stay in the kitchen while you eat. If you still don’t feel safe, you can lock me in there.”
“C-can I… really have some food?” Tang Wanyue was clearly tempted. After being hungry for so long, she could no longer think straight. Besides, she felt that Tang Cheng meant no harm—he had even saved her multiple times.
“Yeah, I made a lot anyway. I’ll head into the kitchen now—you just come over whenever you want.” Knowing she was still scared of him, Tang Cheng chivalrously opened the store door and backed away to a distance.
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