Ch20 Brother Jie, If You Want Someone to Blame, Blame Me
The book clearly stated that on the third day of the torrential rain, the government began dispatching volunteers to deliver food and water.
There were no restrictions like ID checks either they distributed as much food as possible, fearing it might cause panic.
It wasn't until half a month after the downpour, when most grain warehouses were flooded and roads blocked by the rain, that they started rationing food based on population.
Why is the food distribution now four days later than described in the book? And why are they rationing by population from the start?
This differs significantly from the book's account.
Could it be that my arrival here has caused some changes?
He just wondered how significant these changes are-might they prolong the apocalypse?
Meng Ci began calculating. If the apocalypse dragged on longer, the food stockpiled in his spatial pocket might not suffice.
Therefore, Meng Ci planned to find an opportunity to stockpile more.
Entering the house, he secured the outer iron gate and locked the security door from the inside.
The TV monitor remained on, so upon entering, Meng Ci heard cheers emanating from within.
"Dad, Mom, we finally have food!"
Li Xiaoya was so overcome with emotion that she nearly cried.
This downpour had lasted six days, and she felt she hadn't had a single day of fullness.
Thinking of having food tomorrow, Li Xiaoya dashed into her locked bedroom and pulled out three packets of instant noodles hidden under her quilt.
"I'm never dieting again."
Li Xiaoya said to Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu, who had also brought Instant noodles inside, while boiling water.
They both felt the same way.
Each took a soup bowl, boiled two kettles of water, and finally prepared the instant noodles.
Li Shanyang had a big appetite and quickly finished a bowl of noodles, lying back on the sofa with satisfaction.
Li Xiaoya and Zhang Lu, though famished, usually ate little. They couldn't even finish half their bowls of noodles.
A few days ago, they would have forced themselves to finish.
But now that the government was distributing food, they naturally wouldn't.
"Dad, Mom, the broadcast said food is rationed per person. Should we go get Liu Jie back?"
Li Xiaoya suddenly remembered Liu Jie, who had been sent to the fat man two days ago.
Of course, Li Xiaoya's desire to retrieve Liu Jie wasn't out of kindness.
It was simply that she felt a bit unsettled with one less sycophant around.
Zhang Lu nodded. "Absolutely!"
"That fat bastard hoarded so much food-he shouldn't get any more."
Li Shanyang nodded in agreement.
"That Liu Jie kid still has some use. Unlike that worthless piece of trash, Meng Ci-utterly useless."
Mentioning Meng Ci made Li Shanyang grind his teeth in fury.
Of course, over the past two days, Meng Ci had heard plenty of insults directed at him from their mouths, so he was already used to it.
Zhang Lu, upon hearing Meng Ci's name, also seethed with hatred.
"Hmph, looking at how he's built, he'll probably get played to death."
"Played to death? Good. At least he won't be around to annoy us anymore."
Li Shanyang fumbled his pockets. Even cigarettes were out of reach now, and his craving had long since kicked in.
Meng Ci touched his heart. Hearing those words, a sharp pang shot through it.
"What's hurting you?" Meng Ci rubbed his chest.
"You knew what kind of person Li Shanyang was all along. What's there to hurt?"
Meng Ci remained expressionless. Once the ache subsided, he pulled a strawberry cake from his spatial pocket, brewed a cup of green tea, and settled onto the carpet to savor his afternoon tea with relish.
Meanwhile, on the surveillance feed, Li Xiaoya slipped out the door while Li Shanyang and the others argued.
Meng Ci guessed she must have gone to find Liu Jie.
Sure enough, half an hour later, Meng Ci saw Li Xiaoya supporting a deathly pale Liu Jie as they walked in.
Zhang Lu even feigned concern, offering to help Li Xiaoya.
Liu Jie, however, brushed Zhang Lu's hand away and shot her and Li Shanyang a resentful glare.
It was all her fault!
If not for Zhang Lu, how could he have suffered such humiliation?
What was she still doing here pretending to care!
Zhang Lu spat on the floor.
"If I didn't want to tire Yaya out, do you think I'd want to support you?"
"You're just a guy whose ass got played with-what's there to be proud of?"
"Once this storm passes, you'd better stay far away from our family."
Zhang Lu had only agreed to let Li Xiaoya and Liu Jie play together initially because his family
background seemed decent.
Now, Meng Ci might already be dead. Wouldn't the companies and assets under his name then belong to them?
Zhang Lu was already fantasizing about how wealthy she would be once the storm passed.
Liu Jie was certainly beneath their family.
It was only because her daughter was kind-hearted that she hoped he would leave voluntarily after the storm ended.
Otherwise, don't blame her when the time comes.
Li Xiaoya supported Liu Jie. "Mom, you can't talk about Brother Jie like that."
Zhang Lu snorted coldly. "What? You actually want to stay with a prostitute?"
"If you dare, I'll break your legs."
Li Xiaoya pressed her lips together, her voice filled with hurt. "Mom, please stop."
"Brother Jie has at least fed you for days, hasn't he?"
Then Li Xiaoya supported Liu Jie as they entered her bedroom.
Zhang Lu continued to press from behind, "Our status now is different from before. Stop wasting your thoughts on him."
"Use these days to learn how a proper upper-class lady behaves. Don't embarrass yourself later."
But Li Xiaoya had already helped Liu Jie into her bedroom and slammed the door shut.
Zhang Lu, fuming, shoved Li Shanyang.
"Why aren't you stopping her?!"
"Why should I bother?"
Li Shanyang yawned, shifted into a more comfortable position, and went back to sleep.
Meng Ci found it laughable that these people still harbored delusions of claiming the Meng family fortune. They should look at themselves-did they even have the life left to inherit it?
Meng Ci pressed the remote, switching the surveillance feed to Li Xiaoya's room.
Li Xiaoya helped Liu Jie onto the bed.
"Brother Jie, my mom's a tough-talking softie. Don't blame her!"
Liu Jie lay face down on the bed, silent.
"Brother Jie, blame me instead. I couldn't stop them."
"I don't blame you!"
Liu Jie shook his head. He knew Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu were a force to be reckoned with, while Li Xiaoya was too meek to stand up to them.
"Brother Jie, you're so kind!" Xiaoya smiled softly.
"Rest for a bit, Brother Jie. I'll boil water to wash you down."
Seeing Liu Jie's expression, he seemed profoundly grateful to Xiaoya. It seemed he had already placed her in his heart as his
moonlight and scarlet mark.
Li Xiaoya bustled about, wiping
Liu Jie down and applying the ointment she'd gotten from that fat man.
After removing his upper garments, Liu Jie revealed bruises of varying sizes-purple and blue-spanning his chest and back, trailing down his waistband.
That fat man was ruthless, it seemed.
Meng Ci recalled how the character in the book had been sent to the fat man, staying there for five days straight. He returned skin and bones, ultimately thrown off a building and swept away by floodwaters, leaving no trace.
Meng Ci felt Liu Jie deserved it.
The 5 PM alarm rang. Meng Ci didn't check the monitors again.
Instead, he cooked a pot of rice, stir-fried two dishes, and sat at the table, leisurely finishing his meal.
At 8 PM, as Meng Ci's alarm sounded again, the entire city plunged into darkness.
Moments later, people, already frightened and restless from the torrential rain, starved for days, began shouting and brawling loudly. Sounds of things being smashed could even be heard.
Meanwhile, Meng Ci pulled out a wetsuit, slipped it on, and descended the stairs silently.