Ch16 Mom, Let Liu Jie Give It a Shot
On the surveillance feed, after discussing things with Li Xiaoya, Liu Jie was ravenously hungry.
He gulped down a bellyful of water in the kitchen, but it didn't help. He could only flop onto the sofa, hoping sleep would temporarily drown out the gnawing hunger.
When Li Xiaoya saw Liu Jie again, she went straight to her bedroom without hesitation and shook Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu awake.
After recounting what Liu Jie had said, the two naturally grew furious, insisting they must go find Liu Jie to settle the score. But Li Xiaoya stopped them.
"Dad, Mom, when I went out with him, I noticed that fat bastard seemed really interested in Liu Jie."
"Why don't we ask him if he likes guys? If he does, we'll tie Liu Jie up and trade him for food."
Li Xiaoya had noticed the fat man's eyes lingering on Liu Jie's backside when they were outside, leading her to this suspicion.
Although Liu Jie had always been kind to her, Li Xiaoya trusted her parents more when facing danger.
Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu heard this and thought their daughter's Idea was brilliant. Not only would it eliminate one mouth to feed, but they could also trade that heartless bastard for food.
The two hurried out the door. Moments later, they returned with a bundle of rope, grinning as they walked in.
"He really does like guys."
"And he said if we send Liu Jie over, he'll give us a whole box of instant noodles!"
Li Xiaoya was thrilled to hear this.
Who would've thought one man could be traded for a box of instant noodles? What a bargain.
She quickly helped Zhang Lu and the others tie Liu Jie up. But when Liu Jie woke up, Li Xiaoya took a few steps back, feigning innocence with tears welling in her eyes.
Meng Ci stopped watching at this point. Li Xiaoya's acting was quite convincing.
Come to think of it, if her acting had been poor, wouldn't Liu Jie have figured out who he was long ago?
As for the food, Liu Jie had hidden outside the kitchen balcony, it was actually Meng Ci who found that person's WeChat and tipped him off!
Meng Ci simply found the apocalypse too boring and wanted some entertainment..
On the surveillance feed, Li Xiaoya and her family of three each prepared two packets of instant noodles at once, devouring them heartily-even drinking every last drop of broth.
"Ah! So satisfying," Li Xiaoya murmured, rubbing her belly. Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu wore equally contented expressions.
"Should've kept Meng Ci here," Zhang Lu murmured. "Then we could've traded for more food."
Li Shanyang's expression darkened at Zhang Lu's words.
"Still can't get through to that good-for-nothing? What use is he anyway!"
Li Xiaoya also thought that if Meng Ci were here, Liu Jie wouldn't have to go trade for food, and she'd have one more person to protect her.
After their musings, the three grew fearful that the others might sneak the remaining instant noodles, each clutching a box tightly.
The final resolution was eighteen remaining packs of instant noodles-six per person, each guarding their share.
Watching them clutching the noodles to their chests with eyes like they were guarding enemies, Meng Ci found it amusing.
So family bonds proved utterly fragile in the face of such circumstances.
Fine by him. Getting rid of them without lifting a finger wasn't so bad.
On the sixth day of the torrential rain, Meng Ci was roused by the roar of an engine. Stepping onto the balcony, he discovered someone had launched an assault boat into the floodwaters.
Three days prior, the water had already inundated the first floor.
Residents downstairs, unable to rescue themselves, had fled upward.
The neighborhood was newly developed, leaving many vacant units.
So they broke into the unoccupied units by any means necessary and took up residence.
The distance and relentless rain made it impossible for Meng Ci to make out the figures on the assault boat.
But judging by the plot, those on the boat were likely the male lead from the book and his friends.
The male lead, Si Chen, was a university athlete who joined a local rescue team with several classmates. They were well-equipped for flood rescue operations.
Presumably, the group was starving and ventured out in search of food.
Meng Ci felt no urgency to leave. With ample supplies in his storage space, even if he went out for free shopping, food wouldn't be his top priority-other items would be.
Like gas.
Before the apocalypse, Meng Ci dared not stockpile gas cylinders. Not only did they require ID verification, but what if buying too many attracted police attention?
Meng Ci had already mapped out the route to the gas company, waiting only for the power outage to begin his plan.
"Attention citizens: The coming days will bring a once-in-a-century torrential downpour. Avoid unnecessary travel."
The female reporter on TV had initially been filming outdoors, but as the rain intensified, she'd retreated indoors. Meng Ci could clearly see the exhaustion etched on her face.
Turning away from the TV, Meng Ci switched to the surveillance feed.
"Mom, they're not going out to look for food, are they?"
Li Xiaoya and Zhang Lu stood by the window, watching the men's assault boat grow smaller in the distance.
"Possibly." Zhang Lu nodded, then glanced at Li Xiaoya. "Yaya, you look truly beautiful."
Caught off guard by Zhang Lu's compliment, Li Xiaoya frowned in confusion.
"You know, with all those men together... might they be feeling lonely?" Zhang Lu watched the boat disappear, her eyes glinting like gold.
"Mom, what are you implying?" Li Xiaoya instantly understood.
"Later, we'll watch which floor they return to. You wear that dress, put on some sickly makeup, and knock on their door."
Li Xiaoya was sharp. Hearing this, she instantly understood her mother's plan and hurried back Inside to get ready.
Meng Ci sneered coldly. This Li Xiaoya really had a cold heart. She'd just sent Liu Jie to someone else's bed, and now she herself was about to sleep with someone else.
But Meng Ci wasn't worried about Li Xiaoya succeeding. After all, this Si Chen had a lover-and it was a man.
Ignoring the surveillance feed, Meng Ci headed to the kitchen. She cooked a pot of tomato beef congee, stir-fried a plate of shredded potatoes, and used the electric griddle to make two pancakes, planning to roll them with the potatoes.
"Thump thump thump!"
Hearing the knocking, Meng Ci immediately grabbed a knife and peered warily through the peephole, spotting Shen Que's handsome face.
Setting the knife aside on the shoe cabinet, Meng Ci opened the door.
"What's up?" Meng Ci asked.
Shen Que handed Meng Ci a bag.
"I went out last night to find some food. Here, take some."
Meng Ci didn't take it. "No thanks, I still have food. You keep it for yourself."
Meng Ci often wondered if Shen Que had any sense at all.
At a time like this, he should keep whatever food he had for himself. Why bring it out?
Didn't he fear that if he was a bad person, he'd be the first one killed?
"I'll find a way to get food myself later," Meng Ci added.
Shen Que insisted, "The rain's pouring outside. You really shouldn't go out lightly."
"I have a rubber dinghy in my room. If you go out and need tools, you can use mine."
"Or we could go out together. We could watch each other's backs."
Meng Ci bristled at Shen Que's warning against venturing out.
They were both men-if Shen Que could go out, why couldn't he?
"Take the supplies. If anyone knocks later, don't open the door easily."
Shen Que shoved the items into Meng Ci's hands and prepared to leave after his instructions.
Watching Shen Que's retreating figure, Meng Ci spoke up.
"Um... I made breakfast. Want to come over and eat?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Meng Ci regretted them.
He'd promised himself he wouldn't interact with this man anymore. How had he lost control?