You Rong hesitated for a moment, then gently pushed Lin Qinghe away from him, supporting her as she lay down beside him.
Looking at Lin Qinghe beside him, You Rong didn't think much of it and got up, intending to sleep in the next room.
He wasn't used to sleeping with anyone, especially not Lin Qinghe.
Just as You Rong was about to get up, Lin Qinghe grabbed his arm. Her grip was tight, and her brows furrowed. "Don't go!"
You Rong froze. She wasn't asleep?
You Rong looked down. Lin Qinghe's eyes were still closed, and her grip on his hand seemed involuntary. He tried to pull his hand away, but Lin Qinghe held on tighter, mumbling indistinctly, "Don't go. If you leave, my… what will I do? I'll find a way, I'll turn you back into a human. Don't go…"
As if guided by a spirit, You Rong, who had been about to get up, watched Lin Qinghe for a while. He gave up and lay back down.
You Rong turned his stiff neck and looked at Lin Qinghe.
What kind of person was she, really?
Selfish, hypocritical, ungrateful… and yet, incredibly determined?
You Rong's gaze unintentionally fell on Lin Qinghe's fair and slender neck. His heart suddenly skipped a beat, his eyes turning blood-red. That familiar craving resurfaced.
You Rong forced himself to close his eyes and turn his face away, exerting all his strength to suppress the craving. After a long while, he managed to subdue it.
Lin Qinghe, fast asleep, did not hear the system's prompt sound: "Progress bar increased by 2%, total progress is 8%."
***
The next day.
Lin Qinghe woke up feeling refreshed after a good night's sleep. She subconsciously reached for the spot beside her, only to find it empty, startling her. She quickly sat up.
Where was You Rong?!
She remembered they had slept in the same bed last night! Had You Rong secretly left after she fell asleep?
Lin Qinghe frantically threw off the covers and got out of bed. Without even bothering to put on her shoes, she ran barefoot towards the door. Little did she know that as soon as she stepped out, she collided with a solid chest.
Lin Qinghe cried out in pain, clutching her nose and stumbling back a few steps, tears welling up in her eyes from the sting.
You Rong was speechless. "...Are you alright?"
Lin Qinghe looked up at You Rong, and upon clearly seeing his chiseled face, she breathed a silent sigh of relief. She held her nose and gave a dry laugh, waving her hand. "I'm fine, I'm fine…"
She nearly broke her nose!
After a while, Lin Qinghe recovered. She lowered the hand covering her nose and subtly scanned the room. Seeing that the refrigerator had been opened, she guessed that You Rong had gotten up early and eaten.
Lin Qinghe subtly observed You Rong, noticing that his gait was less stiff. At least he could lift his legs now; the day before, he had been dragging his feet.
Lin Qinghe's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly, "You Rong, how are you feeling today? Do you feel any improvement? You seem to be walking less stiffly than before. Are your limbs feeling lighter?"
Prompted by Lin Qinghe, You Rong belatedly realized. He raised his hand and clenched it.
His finger joints, which had been too stiff to fully bend yesterday, could now form a tight fist.
You Rong himself was somewhat shocked.
"You Rong? Say something! How do you feel? Have there been any other changes?" Lin Qinghe asked impatiently.
You Rong returned to himself, lowered his gaze, and said indifferently, "...There are no other changes."
Especially when he got close to people, the craving to devour them, flesh and bone, would surge. Even if he suppressed it, it would return after a while.
Like this morning, when he opened his eyes and saw Lin Qinghe's neck, he had almost lost control and bitten her. He had rushed out in a frenzy and eaten two pieces of raw beef in one go before he could suppress the craving that disgusted him.
Seeing You Rong's low spirits, Lin Qinghe thought he was feeling dejected and quickly comforted him. "It's okay. Your condition is improving for the better. Even if it's just a little bit… I believe you'll get better little by little! You'll be back to normal before long!"
You Rong looked up, his eyes complex. After a long silence, he simply grunted, saying nothing more.
"Then… I'll go wash up. After I eat something, can we go look around the vicinity later?"
You Rong nodded, and Lin Qinghe finally turned back to the bedroom.
While brushing her teeth, Lin Qinghe subconsciously opened the system to check the progress bar and belatedly realized that it had increased by 2%.
"What the heck! How did the progress bar increase? Was it last night? What did I do last night? Besides forcing myself to sleep in the same bed as You Rong? Did we just 'purely chat under the covers' and develop feelings?"
Lin Qinghe was baffled, but in the end, she stopped thinking about it. The progress bar increasing meant that her current efforts were in the right direction.
After a simple breakfast, Lin Qinghe and You Rong, fully armed, went out.
Outside, Lin Qinghe saw that You Rong's limbs were still not very flexible, and she instructed him with concern, "You Rong, remember to keep your submachine gun and grenades handy. If you encounter a large horde of zombies, you need to protect yourself, okay?"
You Rong nodded expressionlessly.
"Also, follow me. If a zombie suddenly appears, your body hasn't fully recovered yet, and your reaction speed isn't as good as mine. Be careful not to get hurt. It's safer for you to stay behind me."
You Rong's eyes were as deep as an abyss, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. In the end, he simply nodded in silence.
Lin Qinghe decided to explore the vicinity, so they didn't drive. There weren't many zombies nearby. If they encountered any, Lin Qinghe didn't want to waste bullets and led You Rong to hide.
When she said they were looking around the vicinity, the places Lin Qinghe took You Rong were almost all large supermarkets. The first thing she did upon entering was to check if the supermarket had power. If it did, she would immediately head to the freezer section.
The freezers still contained meat. Lin Qinghe noted down everything that hadn't been taken.
You Rong watched Lin Qinghe, his expression hesitant.
Seeing this, Lin Qinghe smiled and said to him, "I didn't expect there to be so much food here. Several supermarket freezers haven't been discovered, and the frozen meat inside is all intact. It'll last you quite a while. I was worried there was only meat in that one supermarket's freezer, and what you'd do when you finished it…"
You Rong's heart tightened.
The image of him gnawing on raw meat that morning, reflected on the tiled floor, had disgusted even himself. Why could she act as if nothing had happened?
From her words, it was as if him eating raw meat was no different from ordinary people eating normal food.
You Rong fell into deep thought, his steps slowing. He looked at Lin Qinghe's retreating back, filled with confusion.
Suddenly, a flicker in Lin Qinghe's peripheral vision caught her eye. Her pupils contracted, and she cried out urgently, "You Rong! Be careful!"
You Rong snapped back to attention and turned. Two zombies had suddenly appeared and were lunging at him with extreme speed.