Chapter 7: This is Dating, Right?
After a few days of adapting to life in the human lab, the little zombie discovered that, aside from a few particularly bold individuals or senior researchers, basically no one would actively seek out Professor Shi.
And since Shi Changyuan was either reading books or reviewing other people’s experiment reports, the little zombie actually found himself feeling a bit idle.
“Yaaawn~~~”
After the little zombie had let out several consecutive yawns, Shi Changyuan finally put down his book and looked over.
“Bored?”
“W-Well, I wouldn’t say that.” The little zombie stretched again, muttering, “I just thought that as the head of the research institute, you’d have more important work to do.”
“Like what?”
As a human, Shi Changyuan couldn’t quite follow the zombie’s train of thought for a moment.
“Patrolling your territory!!!”
The little zombie jumped up excitedly, ran in front of Shi Changyuan, and snatched the book from his hands.
“You have such a big territory, and you don’t even patrol it?”
Seeing the little zombie growing bolder and now daring to cause trouble right under his nose, Shi Changyuan deliberately teased, “Oh, so you’re not scared anymore?”
“What are you talking about? I was never scared!”
Even if the sky were falling, the great Zombie Emperor’s mouth would hold it up.
These past few days, after getting a clear picture of the situation, the little zombie felt a bit like a fox borrowing a tiger’s might.
Those who were curious about him could do nothing more than watch from a distance. If someone tried to strike up a conversation, he would just push Shi Changyuan to the front.
Human shields are great. Highly recommended!
“Come on, come on, let’s go patrol the territory.” The little zombie half-dragged, half-pulled Shi Changyuan out the door.
But the moment they stepped out and saw the bustling crowd, a certain little zombie immediately turned into a timid quail.
Shi Changyuan felt a bit helpless, but he still chose a large laboratory, treating it as a tour for a certain zombie.
“Hello, Professor Shi.”
“What brings Professor Shi here?”
When the two appeared at the entrance, the atmosphere in the entire large laboratory froze for a few seconds.
“Letting the kid out for some air.”
Shi Changyuan indicated that he wasn’t there on official business, and the atmosphere relaxed a bit.
Those who were slacking off went back to slacking off, and those who were gossiping continued to gossip.
The little zombie followed closely behind Shi Changyuan. He seemed to be sticking close, but his mind had already flown elsewhere.
“What are you listening to?”
Shi Changyuan glanced over, knowing at once that the young man’s attention was not on him.
“I’m listening to people praise how good-looking I am!”
The little zombie lifted his chin, his tone proud.
“And?”
Lin Ling turned slightly, holding his notebook in front of him, and leaned close to Shi Changyuan’s ear to whisper, “Over there, they’re gossiping.”
“They’re saying someone in the lab awakened a telekinesis ability, but it’s very weak and can only control small objects like pens. After continuous effort, he can now write ten reports at once.”
“And, and, the interns are discussing what to have for lunch today. They said one of the cooks in the cafeteria got the job through connections and can’t cook at all!”
A curious little zombie with keen senses was like a fish in water here.
The little zombie’s uniquely cool breath tickled his ear, making Shi Changyuan instinctively tilt his head away. But the boy himself was completely unaware, leaning in closer and closer, trying to relay what he heard.
His eyes were sparkling; he was clearly having fun.
Sometimes, to hear more clearly, the little zombie would quietly drift away from Shi Changyuan’s side, moving just a little bit closer.
“Where are you running off to?” Shi Changyuan reached out and held the restless Lin Ling in place.
“I’m not running off.”
Lin Ling glanced at Shi Changyuan, a hint of conflict and guilt in his eyes. “I-I’m not leaving you out of the fun.”
“But the moment you go over, they stop talking.”
Shi Changyuan: …
He understood now. What a little ingrate.
With Shi Changyuan’s tacit approval, Lin Ling finally took that brave step, putting a distance of less than ten steps between them.
But the little zombie hadn’t expected that a mere ten steps would be enough for some bold humans to find an opportunity to approach him.
Lin Ling had intended to use his “indifferent” attitude again to make them retreat.
But this time, it was the interns who had been discussing lunch. They were all around his age, looked very shy, and approached him hesitantly. While still some distance away, they asked if he wanted to go to the cafeteria with them for lunch.
An invitation to eat!!!
The little zombie was about to nod when Shi Changyuan’s grim gaze shot over.
“I’ll go ask Professor Shi if he wants to come too.” Lin Ling blinked, his eyes full of expectation.
“Ah, you’re going to ask him?”
The moment the interns heard the words “Professor Shi,” they all took a large step back in unison, shaking their heads like rattle-drums.
“Professor Shi has his own personal chef. He won’t eat with us in the cafeteria.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve been here for so long and I’ve never seen Professor Shi in the cafeteria.”
“I’ll just ask.”
With that, Lin Ling ran towards Shi Changyuan.
“See how considerate I am? And you said I wasn’t including you.” Lin Ling nudged Shi Changyuan with his elbow, seeking credit.
The evil man in the white coat mimicked the little zombie’s expression, his eyes curving, and then said the most cold and heartless thing.
“I’m not going.”
Lin Ling’s eyes widened in an instant.
“Th-Then I’m not going either.” The little zombie looked up at Shi Changyuan, his lips pressed together, looking exceptionally wronged.
“Why?”
Shi Changyuan reached out and pinched the back of the little zombie’s neck. His fingertips hooked the metal ring and tugged it gently for a moment. He smiled.
“Cutie can go.”
Hearing the name “Cutie” again, the little zombie instantly shrank back. He felt a chill run down his spine and shook his head vigorously.
“No, no.”
“Either we go together, or I’m not going.”
Although he said that, when Lin Ling peeked out and met the interns’ expectant gazes, he really, really wanted to go to the cafeteria.
He resorted to his old trick, tugging on Shi Changyuan’s sleeve and pleading, “Come with us, please, please.”
Shi Changyuan was truly at a loss and could only nod.
**
The cafeteria was on the first floor. On the way, they passed a beautiful glass room, which was the first time Lin Ling had seen sunlight in all these days.
“Woohoo!”
Got a meal and discovered a new route. What a score!
The little zombie instantly felt that the day he returned home was just around the corner.
When Lin Ling appeared in the cafeteria with Shi Changyuan, everyone was astonished. They stared, almost dropping their plates of food.
Meanwhile, Lin Ling was like a kitten let loose in a pile of catnip cans, dazzled and wanting to check out every single food window.
“Everyone can choose three dishes. I recommend the window on the left.”
The interns were enthusiastic and generous, and more importantly, they dared to say anything.
“Food is scarce in the apocalypse, so meals are portioned according to the number of people to prevent waste. So remember to skip out of work early to grab the chicken legs.”
The little zombie nodded vigorously, deciding to commit the intern’s “Cafeteria Survival Guide” to heart. He resolved to leave work ten minutes early from now on.
“Then why do you recommend the left window more?”
Lin Ling lowered his voice and asked mysteriously, “Is the food on the right really bad? Is that the legendary cook who got the job through connections and can’t cook…”
“Not really.”
The intern also lowered his voice.
“The food-serving robot on the right has an old stabilizer, so its hand shakes like an old cafeteria lady’s.”
The little zombie had a sudden realization.
Shi Changyuan watched the two heads leaning close together, then reached out and pulled Lin Ling upright, placing a tray in his hands.
“Go get your food.”
“Okay.”
It was the little zombie’s first time in a cafeteria. He went back and forth, taking a long time to choose, and carefully selected three meat dishes.
For some reason, when it was his turn, the little robot started performing exceptionally well, giving him nearly double the portion size and even picking out the biggest chicken leg.
Even Shi Changyuan, who was behind him, received a heaping plate.
But the others weren’t so lucky. Looking at the same trays with different portion sizes, the other interns fell silent: …
Have robots learned to judge by looks now?!!
It hadn’t felt awkward when they were getting their food separately, but when it was time to sit down, the atmosphere became noticeably tense.
The little zombie didn’t feel anything. His gaze was glued to his big chicken leg. He casually chose a seat in the very middle, and Shi Changyuan naturally sat to his left.
The remaining three interns immediately chose the seats across from Lin Ling’s right, adhering to the principle of maintaining distance and never making eye contact.
Over the course of the meal, everyone discovered that in front of Lin Ling, Professor Shi was actually quite easy to get along with.
He would pick out the meat and chicken legs from his own plate and give them to Lin Ling.
And Lin Ling, in a flagrant act of rebellion, would pick out all the vegetables from his bowl and give them to Professor Shi.
The green peppers from the stir-fried pork with green peppers were all picked out, the potatoes from the braised ribs with potatoes were also picked out, and even the scallions on the big chicken leg had to be transferred to Shi Changyuan.
Faced with all this, Professor Shi merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing, watching all of Lin Ling’s actions with almost indulgent eyes.
The interns watching from the side: Wow~
This is dating, right?
Who was it that spread the rumor that Lin Ling was just a pet Professor Shi casually picked up?
So clueless!
It’s one thing to have a dark heart, but to spread false rumors too!
“I’m done eating.”
The little zombie, remembering that food was scarce and shouldn’t be wasted, finished everything cleanly, even though the cafeteria food was lacking in oil and didn’t taste particularly good.
But he had only taken two steps on his way back when he felt his stomach was empty again.
“Something’s not right.”
Lin Ling patted his stomach. It was indeed empty; it wasn’t his imagination.
“Not full?”
Shi Changyuan saw the little zombie’s action. The corners of his lips curled up, and one hand came to rest on the back of Lin Ling’s neck again.
“Was it because I ate too little meat?” The little zombie looked a bit dejected. “And it wasn’t tasty either.”
For humans, the cafeteria providing a full meal in the apocalypse, saving them from hunger, was already a great satisfaction.
But for a carnivorous zombie, it probably would indeed lead to malnutrition.
Lin Ling looked at Shi Changyuan for help, asking pitifully, “Can you make me an extra meal?”
“An extra meal?” Shi Changyuan’s fingers on the back of the little zombie’s neck squeezed gently. “Lingling wants both the cafeteria and an extra meal. So greedy.”
“Greedy?”
The little zombie was a bit indignant and said righteously, “Is it greedy to not be full? Then I won’t come next time.”
He tugged on Shi Changyuan’s sleeve, looking up at him with pleading eyes, trying to gesture. “Just give me a small plate, just a little bit, not as much as before, just this much.”
He even tried to appeal to his emotions and reason.
“You were the one who said I was malnourished. I’m already working for you; you can’t let my malnutrition get worse, can you?”
Under the little zombie’s “pestering,” the human finally agreed.
“I’ll decide based on Lingling’s performance.”
“Yay!!!”
Although Lin Ling didn’t understand what “performance” he was talking about, if it could get him more meat, then it was a good performance.
He excitedly stepped forward and gave Shi Changyuan a big hug.
His cool cheek brushed against the crook of his neck. It was cool, but not overly cold, like a piece of gentle, unpolished jade.
The sensation in the crook of his neck should have been no different from any other part of his body, but this spot was a bit too intimate, too easy to spark the imagination.
Shi Changyuan subconsciously reached out, wanting to pull the young man into his arms, but he was a second too slow. The piece of jade had already moved away.
“Let’s go, let’s go~”
Lin Ling, completely unaware of anything, pushed Shi Changyuan’s back towards the apartment. “This time, I want it with curry sauce!”
While the little zombie sat at the dining table, slowly enjoying a fresh and delicious steak, Shi Changyuan returned to his study and opened the file that had just been sent to his phone.
After learning the little zombie’s name and suspecting he had lived with other humans, Shi Changyuan had someone investigate Lin Ling’s identity.
In the apocalypse, finding personnel records was the most difficult task. All data was no longer updated, and the movement and casualties of people couldn’t be tracked. But Shi Changyuan needed pre-apocalypse information, so he managed to find a little something.
“It’s school registration data. I’ve filtered it by the year you requested. All the records for anyone named Lin Ling from elementary to university in the center of City B are here. Some even have photos.”
“The most likely match is this one. The household registration shows he was adopted by a family in District Two of City B. But what’s strange is that this family’s information has been hidden. Even we can’t find it. They must have some connections.”
“Thanks.”
Shi Changyuan hung up the phone and opened the email on his phone.
The school records revealed very little, basically just academic rankings and comments from various teachers and classmates.
For investigating a person, this was the most useless information, but for Shi Changyuan, it was precisely this information that interested him the most.
In most evaluations, Lin Ling was described as a very pretty but introverted, shy, and slow-to-react child.
This kind of evaluation was more common in the younger grades. In his early elementary school years, a teacher had even suggested that his parents send little Lin Ling to a special needs school.
“…A special needs school?”
Shi Changyuan looked up at the young man who had already finished his lunch and was proactively cleaning the dining table. He found it hard to imagine that he would receive such an evaluation.
However, based on Lin Ling’s behavior in front of others, this information was probably true.
“I’m done eating. I’m going to take a nap now.”
After cleaning the table, Lin Ling knocked on the study doorframe and then dashed back to the bedroom, acting completely like the master of the room.
Looking at the Zombie Emperor who put on one face for others and another for him, who spouted grand pronouncements every day.
The corners of Shi Changyuan’s lips curved up. He just found it…
Very endearing.
After all, who wouldn’t want their pet to be clingy only to them, and affectionate only with them?
