Chapter 4: Clear Soup Noodles in the Apocalypse
Ji Nian searched the room and found a lot of supplies.
Because of the power outage, the food in the refrigerator was moldy, but there were about twenty eggs and two packets of pickled mustard greens.
There were also snacks, rice, noodles, oil, soy sauce, vinegar—nothing was missing.
More importantly, the house had three large barrels of bottled water, unopened, and the water heater was full.
Ji Nian turned on the headlamp, got a cup, poured out some water from the heater, and then took out his toothbrush and toothpaste from his backpack.
Qin Xiao came in and saw Ji Nian brushing his teeth. He let out a yell, and immediately received a hard kick to the leg.
He hissed, took off his backpack, and also took out his toothbrush.
Ji Nian: …
After brushing their teeth, Qin Xiao eyed the water heater, thinking about taking a bath.
But Ji Nian pushed and shoved him out of the bathroom.
“If you dare to waste water, I’ll beat you to death!”
Ji Nian was serious and strong; Qin Xiao felt he wouldn’t be able to overpower him without considerable effort.
He looked at Ji Nian, whose impassive demeanor radiated coldness, and said, “It’s too uncomfortable. Aren’t you uncomfortable? We can’t drink the water in the heater, and we didn’t use that much for brushing our teeth.”
“How about this, you wash first, use a basin. I don’t mind. You wash, then I wash.”
“No way!”
“No, how can you be like this? Even if we split it equally, you can’t stop me from using my half?”
“Be good and let bro in. Bro will only use a little, just a basinful.”
Ji Nian stood at the bathroom door, icy cold, his tone extremely arrogant. “Then try to see if you can get in.”
“Disobedient, are you?” Qin Xiao stared at him; seeing that he wouldn’t budge, he gave up.
He understood Ji Nian’s actions; it was for the long term. Tsk, he was a practical guy.
Old people say, don’t speak too decisively, or what will you do when you are slapped in the face?
Ji Nian experienced it firsthand.
Perhaps because the brain had communicated the presence of water to the body, his body rebelled, feeling itchy.
Lying on the sofa, tossing and turning, he couldn’t sleep.
At that moment, a slight sound came from the bedroom door, and Qin Xiao walked out.
He glanced at Ji Nian on the sofa, went into the bathroom, picked up the basin on the floor, and filled it with hot water from the heater.
Halfway through his shower, Qin Xiao heard a knock on the door, and Ji Nian’s voice came from outside, “Done?”
“Mm.”
Qin Xiao responded, “It’s really comfortable. Do you want to come in together?”
“Go to hell.”
Ji Nian’s mouth was sharp; he rarely spoke, but when he did, it was explosive, venomous, and scathing.
In sixth grade, he was short and was teased by some classmates.
He ignored them.
The more he ignored them, the more they teased him.
Ji Nian only fought back; one against six, he scolded them until they cried.
But he didn’t get off scot-free; those classmates called their parents, and they came to his house.
That night, he was yelled at by his mother for over half an hour, and he didn’t eat dinner.
After Qin Xiao finished showering, Ji Nian went in. There were clean clothes in the wardrobe; they showered and changed.
Ji Nian took a little longer to shower. When he came out, he saw Qin Xiao squatting on the floor, cooking noodles.
A small piece of wood was lit with a lighter; the flame was strong; a pot rack was placed on it, and a small pot sat on top.
The water was already boiling. Qin Xiao put in the noodles, stirred them a few times, and called out to Ji Nian, who was coming out of the bathroom, “I made noodles, come and eat.”
Ji Nian wore a white hooded sweatshirt; the clothes were large and a bit ill-fitting.
He rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, revealing his arms—long, slender, but with the strength of a boy.
The headlamp wasn’t on; the light from the flame dimly illuminated the surroundings.
The noodles were cooked. Qin Xiao served a bowl, pouring half of the small amount of broth into it, and handed it to Ji Nian. “Try it, see how it tastes? A bowl of clear soup noodles in the apocalypse, warming both stomach and heart.”
Ji Nian took it, picked up a chopstick, blew on it, and put it in his mouth. Before he could taste it, Qin Xiao eagerly asked, “How is it? Is it cooked? Is it edible?”
Ji Nian quietly looked up: …
Then he put down his bowl, his expression sour, and stood up.
Qin Xiao quickly explained, “No, I didn’t mean for you to help me taste it, I just said it casually. I know the noodles are cooked.”
“Really, I really am… hey? Why are you hitting me again! Can’t you just scold me? Fighting wastes energy! Stop, stop, stop! Go hit something else! Look, you kicked over the pot!”
It was the best meal Ji Nian had had in days.
His stomach hadn’t felt this warm in a long time.
Sitting on the sofa, he turned to look at the dark night sky outside. Although there was no light, they had made it through so many days, hadn’t they?
With the food problem temporarily solved, Ji Nian slept every day.
Lying on the sofa, arms crossed, curled up, with a thin blanket over him.
The window was sealed, and Qin Xiao, in a moment of teenage silliness, had written several large characters on it—
Written with a marker, the handwriting was quite beautiful, with a cold and sharp stroke. But then he facepalmed.
From outside the window, the writing was completely reversed; who could understand it?
No, it should be who would see it.
If someone really came in, would a few words stop them?
They were on the third floor.
It was close to the ground; there was a two-story building next to them, diagonally ahead.
There was a tall sycamore tree next to the small building; climbing the tree would lead to a street, and Qin Xiao’s car was parked there.
Ji Nian was woken up by Qin Xiao’s annoying voice for the third time.
He impatiently opened his eyes and saw Qin Xiao wearing a Hawaiian-style short-sleeved shirt and shorts, with a sun hat on his head, looking incredibly flashy. “How is it? Can you feel the sea breeze?”
Ji Nian gave him one word, “Scram.”
Qin Xiao, magnanimously ignoring the “scram,” sat down beside him and pushed his legs inward. “Little Nian, you can’t do this. Sleeping all the time will ruin your body. Resting up doesn’t mean this. Come on, get up. Let’s do some exercises, to build up our strength.”
“Get lost.”
“Seriously, I’m not kidding. Don’t think you’re saving energy; you’re letting your muscles atrophy, you know?”
“Are you feeling a headache, a stiff neck? Constipation, bloating…”
Ji Nian was eventually pulled up by the annoying pest. Qin Xiao wasn’t entirely wrong; he wandered around the room for a few laps and drank some water.
Qin Xiao chatted with him casually, “What are your plans next?”
“Haven’t thought about it.” He really hadn’t.
The sunshine was warm; in this normal weather, it was unbelievable that a virus would break out.
He didn’t even know how people got sick.
He only knew that those bitten by the sick would become zombies, develop a strong interest in fresh blood, and bite people everywhere.