Chapter 111: The Jealous Apocalyptic White Lotus · 8

Su Wenyu had only intended it as a desperate attempt. He never actually expected it to work. Without a second’s hesitation, he decisively grabbed the remaining flowerpots on the balcony and hurled them all down.

Throwing objects from a height was, of course, normally a terrible idea. But right now, the ground below was nothing but zombies. The only living humans were cornered far away. To save them, Su Wenyu didn’t even blink as he launched the pots.

Following Su Wenyu’s lead, other students hiding in their dorms, who were still relatively safe, caught on and began tossing whatever they could grab out their windows. Smash, bang, boom. For a moment, the sounds of objects hitting the ground were like firecrackers, deafeningly loud. A mass of zombies howled and charged towards the sources of the noise.

Instantly, the number of zombies surrounding those guys thinned out significantly. With less pressure on them, the guys seized the momentum. Armed with their weapons, they cut down the zombies in front of them, expertly going straight for the heads. They hacked a path open and bolted. They’d been cursing being only a dozen meters from the dorm entrance when the zombies blocked them. Now they thanked their lucky stars that they were only a dozen meters away. A dozen meters. With sheer, desperate will to survive, they mustered an almost explosive burst of speed and charged into the building.

From Su Wenyu’s angle, he could only see them make it inside. Whether that building was full of zombies, or if there were any empty dorms left for them to take shelter in, was beyond his knowledge. He couldn’t offer them any further help, but Su Wenyu sincerely wished them survival.

Xu Youran, standing beside him, lowered his gaze and watched Su Wenyu’s face for a long moment. He stared at his laughing expression until he finally couldn’t resist reaching out and poking the small dimple that formed on Su Wenyu’s cheek.

Su Wenyu’s smile vanished instantly. He stared at him, wide-eyed. “What are you doing?”

Xu Youran answered a question with a statement. “You have dimples.”

Su Wenyu asked, “So?”

“They’re pretty cute.”

Su Wenyu was rendered speechless. You’re gay. You’re definitely 100% gay. A normal guy wouldn’t call another guy cute. Saying something like that definitely indicates questionable sexual orientation. Su Wenyu’s expression towards Xu Youran immediately filled with caution. Even though Xu Youran’s eyes held no trace of ‘affection’ or ‘lust,’ Su Wenyu couldn’t afford to lower his guard.

After all, Zhou Xu had also initially sworn he was straight, only to declare overnight that he’d ‘bent.’ Some people were just gay without realizing it yet. Su Wenyu didn’t want to sound narcissistic, but he knew his attractivenes to gay men was apparently quite potent. In his last world, three gays in one dorm had all confessed to him. And Xu Youran was a combat monster, a psycho, and mentally unstable. What if he realized his own homosexuality and had some kind of awakening? Su Wenyu figured that with his own strength, if Xu Youran ever tried something, he wouldn’t be able to fight back. And in this post-apocalyptic hellscape, with no law or order, would he even have a place to cry for justice if he was assaulted?

For the sake of his own rear, Su Wenyu shot Xu Youran a glare and silently retreated back into the room.

Xu Youran felt the glare was completely unwarranted. But his temper was already unpredictable, so he didn’t get angry. He just chuckled softly and conveniently pulled the window and curtains shut.

It was already late. As the sunset glow cast its light over the campus, the ground swarming with stiffly shuffling zombies made the school look truly abandoned. The feeling of desolation and hopelessness was overwhelming.

Su Wenyu turned on the lights inside the dorm. Thankfully, while the signal was down, the power grid was still functioning. They had lights. With lights, they could boil water. They could eat something. Su Wenyu had been hungry for a while, but all the chaos had kept him from eating. Now, after just saving people, his taut nerves relaxed, and his stomach growled loudly in protest.

“Hungry?” Xu Youran walked in, his eyes falling on Su Wenyu’s hand pressed against his stomach. “Stomach bothering you?”

Su Wenyu shook his head. “Just hungry.”

In light of Xu Youran giving him all his compressed biscuits, Su Wenyu retrieved two packs of instant noodles from his cabinet. “Want some?” he offered.

Xu Youran casually pulled over a chair, straddling it backward and draping his arms over the backrest. He rocked the chair. “Yeah. Two packs.”

Su Wenyu was speechless. “One isn’t enough?”

“Nope.”

Su Wenyu tried to reason. “We don’t have that much food. Shouldn’t we conserve?”

Half a crate of noodles and a few compressed biscuits might sound like a lot, but split between two people, it wouldn’t last that long. Su Wenyu still hadn’t gotten a clear picture of this world. He didn’t know if the outbreak was limited to the school or if the outside world was just as bad, or if there were safe cities somewhere. If some city had responded quickly and kept the zombie virus out, then the government would likely send rescue teams.

Su Wenyu’s plan was to eat one pack of noodles a day. With water and noodles, he could fill his stomach and not starve—at least until rescue arrived. If the noodles ran out before rescue came, they’d carry the compressed biscuits with them and venture out to find a real chance at survival.

And this Xu Youran was saying one pack wasn’t enough? Did he not understand the current situation? He wanted two packs?

Su Wenyu was so frustrated he looked at Xu Youran as if he were completely unreasonable.

But Xu Youran was impossible to sway. He even doubled down, rocking his chair. “Make it two and a half.”

…Even more than two?!

“What are you so worried about? We finish it, we go out and find more. The school convenience store is full of food. You think I’d let you starve?” Xu Youran’s tone was so casual, as if the zombies outside didn’t exist. As if, whenever Su Wenyu wished, he’d simply escort him to the store for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Su Wenyu was afraid boasting like that would choke him. He just grabbed another pack from the cabinet. “Fine, fine. Two and a half packs for you.”

He’d just eat half a pack. Thanks to his Plentiful Stamina, even if he didn’t fill his stomach, he wouldn’t face any serious problems. With that decided, Su Wenyu stopped arguing. Even if he could win the argument with words, he couldn’t win physically. Better to just go along with it.

From a lower cabinet near the desk, Su Wenyu unearthed the original host’s electric hot pot. Dorm rules strictly forbade such appliances, but the original host had hidden it well. Now, it was a godsend. However, this single-serving pot was too small to cook all the noodles at once. He’d have to do it pack by pack. Su Wenyu set the water to boil while he ripped open the packs and got out a large bowl specifically for eating instant noodles. Seasoning from two packs went into the bowl. Once the water boiled, Su Wenyu cooked two blocks of noodles. When they loosened, he fished them into the bowl and poured the boiling water over them to let them soak and soften. Then, he boiled another pot of water and cooked the third pack of noodles.

Xu Youran just rested quietly on the chair back, watching Su Wenyu work. It was only when he saw Su Wenyu scoop half of the third pack into the bowl, leaving just the other half and the broth in the pot, that Xu Youran frowned.

Su Wenyu carried the heaping bowl over to a separate table. “There. Eat up.” Then, he unplugged the pot, grabbed some chopsticks, and prepared to eat straight from it.

Xu Youran’s lips pressed into a line. “That’s all you’re eating?”

“Mm-hmm.” Su Wenyu responded absentmindedly, his eyes sparkling as he lifted a mouthful of noodles, blew on them, and slurped them down with great appreciation. The aroma of food made him close his eyes in pure bliss. When you were truly starving, even the cheapest noodles with a slightly artificial taste felt like a delicacy. Half a pack was pitifully little for Su Wenyu’s appetite; it was just enough to line his stomach and stop the worst of the hunger pains. He cradled the pot and tilted it back, drinking every last drop of the soup. He rubbed his now-warm stomach and let out a satisfied sigh.

The hot soup gave him a pleasant, false sense of being full. If he just lay in bed and minimized movement, he could definitely hold out until another bowl of noodles tomorrow evening! Su Wenyu mentally cheered himself on. He stood up to wash the pot in the bathroom and rinse his mouth before going to bed.

But just as he stood, a hand holding a bowl suddenly appeared in front of him. Before he could react, a large portion of noodles was dumped into his pot.

Su Wenyu jumped, barely managing to keep his grip on the pot to avoid spilling everything. He stared wide-eyed at the guy beside him. “What are you doing?!” The only other person in the dorm was Xu Youran. Naturally, the culprit was him.

Xu Youran’s expression was extremely sour, his brows furrowed deeply as if he wanted to kill someone. He’d dumped half his bowl into Su Wenyu’s pot while wearing that thunderous look. Then, he took his bowl and sat down on a nearby chair, slurping a couple of mouthfuls. “Tastes awful. Hate it. Since you like it, you eat more.”

Su Wenyu, staring at the noodles now in his pot, got angry too. “You said you wanted two-and-a-half packs, so that’s what I made! You can’t waste food just because it’s not tasty!”

Food was so crucial now. Other students in the dorms probably couldn’t even get a sip of noodle soup, and he was here complaining about the flavor?! When there was nothing left to eat and starvation loomed, he’d realize even tree bark would taste good!

Xu Youran, however, didn’t look the least bit repentant. “If you eat it, it’s not wasted, right?”

Su Wenyu actually couldn’t argue with that. But he hadn’t wanted to eat so much! If he rationed properly, those noodles could be another meal tomorrow! Frowning, he debated whether to save the noodles overnight and eat them for breakfast. But the weather, while not scorching, wasn’t exactly cool. Cooked instant noodles left overnight would turn into an unappetizing mess. After hesitating, Su Wenyu sat back down with the pot and dutifully ate until he was full. He even felt a bit overstuffed. What luxury—on the first night of the apocalypse, he was stuffed. Su Wenyu licked his lips, shot Xu Youran another glare, then took the pot and empty bowl to the bathroom to wash up.

Xu Youran was left only half-full, his mood thoroughly ruined. He sat in his chair, still wearing that dark expression. After sulking for a moment, his eyes landed on the little parrot perched on the bedpost. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “How much do you weigh?” he asked aloud.

520 was busy preening its feathers, trying to act like a normal parrot. Upon hearing the question, its perfectly groomed feathers nearly puffed out in alarm! What did that mean? The guy didn’t get full from instant noodles and now wanted to eat the parrot?!