"Everyone's busy, huh." Jing Shu bit into an ice cream bar. She wondered if Qian Duoduo's silly son had finished the ones he got. Would he come trade for more? If he did, what should she ask for next time?
Before she knew it, it was noon. At twelve sharp, Jing Shu planned a hearty lunch first, so she would not eat too much at Su Mali's and scare anyone.
Right then her phone started chiming. She checked the surveillance feed. Five or six people stood under the awning in front of the villa, each carrying something. A closer look, and sure enough, it was high school classmates Shi Lei, Wang Chao, and a few others.
[Shi Lei]: "@Jing Shu we're at your door. We showed up early by accident, but Su Mali isn't here yet, and they say no entry until 13:00. [(ノ﹏ヽ)]"
Jing Shu slurped beef noodles. Not the kind with a single strip of meat from a cow sold into next year, but a whole basin of beef brisket with a few token noodles.
[Wang Chao]: "What a coincidence, I just arrived too. @Jing Shu let us wait inside, yeah? It's pouring out here."
[Shi Lei]: "Jing Shu doesn't seem to check WeChat. Should we knock?"
[Yao Zixin]: "Don't push it. Hiding from the rain under the awning is enough. Why go in? You'll track bugs all over her place."
[Nima Sang]: "@Yao Zixin we're classmates. What's wrong with sitting inside a classmate's house? Who doesn't have bugs on them right now? Su Mali lives in a villa and still treats us all to a meal without minding the bugs. Why can't she let us sit for a bit?"
Jing Shu's head throbbed. She really did mind them being covered in red nematodes. "How about I bring out a few stools? Sit by the door and get out of the rain. Don't worry, that whole section counts as my place."
That counted as "sitting at her house," right?
No one objected.
Jing Shu hauled out the wooden stools Grandpa Jing had made. She had only carried out five or six when more people drifted over. In no time, a dozen, then nearly twenty, had gathered.
She checked the time. It was only 12:10. So enthusiastic, these classmates.
Most looked rough, even though they had clearly tried to tidy up. Shaved heads, soaked clothes, rain dripping from sleeves. No matter how you sliced it, they were well-groomed drowned chickens.
So the villa's front step ended up with two neat rows of bald heads sheltering from the rain.
"Jing Shu, why do you always wear such heavy gear wherever you go? Aren't you hot?"
"Rain."
"Jing Shu, why'd you install another layer of glass on your walls?"
"Looks nice."
"Jing Shu, what's that pool by your door for? We don't lack water anymore."
"High-concentration saltwater. Gets rid of red nematodes."
"We need to soak in that to go inside? So fussy. It's raining red nematodes every day. Who doesn't have bugs on them?"
"Nima, just because you don't care doesn't mean others don't. Plenty of well-off households don't have a single red nematode indoors."
"Well-off? Before the apocalypse these houses couldn't be given away. One villa here wasn't worth half an apartment downtown."
Jing Shu had tried to be accommodating, answering whatever they asked, but even she had limits. "Alright, chat here. I've got things to do. Remember, don't go near the railing." She slipped away. Her beef noodles were getting cold.
By 12:40, practically the whole class had gathered at her gate. Su Mali's place still wasn't open, so they crammed under the awning to dodge the rain. Even with her wide entryway, it was tight.
"Why don't we move over by the railing? It's crowded."
"Jing Shu said not to."
"Why not? Now I'm curious."
"Try a little manners. This is someone else's home."
"The host won't even come greet us and won't let us inside. What manners are we talking about? I'm going to—" Splash. "Aaaah! Help!"
Nima had not finished the sentence before she stepped into thin air and dropped into a pit. A shriek followed.
"Ahhh, bodies. So many bodies! Help!"
Jing Shu rushed over, the aroma of oil and meat trailing from her lips. For people who had not tasted meat for ages, the smell was lethal. A dozen throats swallowed in unison.
She hooked a bamboo pole into the pit and levered Nima up. Everyone leaned over for a better look and sucked in a collective breath. Corpses. Plenty of them.
"Jing, Jing Shu, you killed them. You killed lots of people, and you're burying them. Waaaah, I'm calling the police!" Nima sobbed so hard her words broke.
"I killed thieves who came to rob the villa. The surveillance proves it. The new legal code permits this. If you don't believe me, call the police."
The lively chatter died. The looks they gave Jing Shu turned complicated. This was the same person who had "conveniently" saved a thousand lives. Yet she could kill without blinking. She always spoke calmly, unhurried and gentle, but what she did could be terrifying.
Jing Shu was not the harmless girl she seemed.
"Isn't that Zhou Dafu? God, what happened to his body? It's all rotted. That's brutal."
"It is Zhou Dafu! Why is Zhou Dafu's body here? I was wondering why I suddenly couldn't reach him."
The classmates took a synchronized step back, pure fear.
Death was not scary. What was scary was when the dead person was someone you knew, and died miserably.
"He brought people to rob the villa," Jing Shu said with a shrug. "Here, the camera record."
On the screen, Zhou Dafu crept up with a few men, then brazenly started prying the door. For reasons unknown to them, one by one they dropped where they stood.
Another round of hard swallows. Unbelievable. The villa had mechanisms and poison. Try to pry the door and you died.
Shi Lei's knees went soft and gave out. "Thank heavens I didn't knock."
With hard evidence that Zhou Dafu had led the group to break in, a few people stared at the villa with new awe. Just how deep did its defense run, if people kept coveting it? Looked like Jing Shu's home held plenty of good stuff.
They were still frozen there when Su Mali arrived. It did break the stalemate, but also made the air more awkward.
She stepped out of a stretch Lincoln in a sealed raincoat. "Aiya, everyone's here already. You're early. Perfect, let's all go in. Wait. Why are you covered in disgusting bugs? No bugs are allowed in my house."