Chapter 104: If you turn into a zombie, devour me
The injection that the trio retrieved displays a very clear result. In two hours, Wen Bin"s stubborn high fever eventually recedes, the boy regaining conscious when evening came. He manages to eat a bowl of porridge before falling asleep once more…
During the apocalypse, don"t say a mouthful of beef congee, as long as it is edible food, it is already precious beyond comparison. Eating a mouthful of porridge, Wen Bin refuses to eat any more.
"Why are you not eating? Your body requires sustenance to fully recover. Eat more so you can recuperate quickly." Chewing on a mantou, Li Qing stares at the daydreaming youth in sitting in bed.
Two days ago, Wen Bin regained consciousness and Qin Jun announced there is nothing more to worry about after giving him a full-body checkup. However, he still needs to rest in order to recover, which is why for this past couple of days, the food Wen Bin was fed with is better than the other survivor"s.
"Senior Li Qing…where is Senior Zhou? Why haven"t I seen him ever since I woke up? Did something happen to him or…" Is he annoyed with me? A desolate expression surfaces on Wen Bin"s face as the last sentence sticks in his throat, unsaid.
Ever since he regained consciousness, a lot of people staying in the school came to visit, even Senior Yuan (HZY) who is the obstacle between him and his love also came…but Zhou Xingfeng didn"t appear even once.
"Eh? Oh, it"s nothing! Nothing happened! How can anything happen to that fool of a brother Zhou? Hahaha!" Seeing that miserable expression, Li Qing offers Wen Bin his trademark dazzling smile. "You just woke up. First, you need to eat more and recover your strength, which is why Brother Zhou is outside running here and there to find rice for you. If not, how are you able to have beef congee when you wake up?"
"Is that so…" Hearing that Zhou Xingfeng is fine and is also scavenging food for him, Wen Bin"s expression eases into a smile. But as a stray thought strike him, his expression falls again. "Isn"t it dangerous? There are so many zombies outside…if Senior is bitten…what should we do? I don"t need to keep eating porridge. My body has recovered already. I want to see Senior, I want to see if he"s tired or not…"
"Eh…he"s always behaving like a monkey every day. How is he exhausted? Also, he always leaves with older brother Long and little Yuan. Nothing will happen to him. Older brother Long is a soldier and is super strong. Little Yuan has this awesome ability to block zombie attacks. Nothing will be able to scratch them. If you want to see him, then be good and eat your food. Don"t make him worry. Then once you have fully recovered, he wouldn"t need to keep going out and you can see him every day." Li Qing"s facial muscles are fast becoming cramped from maintaining the false smile. On top of that, lying to people is really not his forte ah!
Zhou Xingfeng returned from the trip to the hospital with a bite on his back. As the injury is a grave one, he barely managed to catch a glimpse of a still unconscious Wen Bin before he locked himself in a vacant dormitory room, forbidding anyone from entering. Because Huo Zaiyuan places a plate of food on the windowsill every day for him to eat, everyone else finally come to know that he hasn"t turned yet.
As for scavenging for food outside, this is of course, completely blather. There are more than a few survivors in the school, and now with Zhou Xingfeng"s condition, no one is there to lead them. For a period of time, there will be no one willing to brave the outside world to search for food supplies. Hence, the rice and meat were provided by Huo Zaiyuan. In order not to be suspected by anyone, he cooks it in his s.p.a.ce before serving it.
"Un, I"ll be good and finish my porridge…I would let Senior worry about me." Wen Bin nods obediently, then begins to eat.
Wen Bin doesn"t know if it is simply his misconception, but he feels this congee is more delicious than the ones he ate before. And although it has only been a mere two days, the rate his body is recovering at is extraordinary, and a gentle warmth circulates within…it is a very comfortable feeling.
Finishing his meal and taking his pill, Wen Bin falls asleep again. Li Qing exits the room and exhales a sigh of relief. Even being cooped up for several days in the car didn"t make him this tired ah.
"It"s been hard on you." Huo Zaiyuan comments dully from where he leans against the wall.
"Ai…I nearly couldn"t conceal it. Qin Jun said that Wen Bin"s recovery speed is very fast but has no idea is it is due to the injection or the pill. Another two more days and he will be back to full health." Li Qing sighs. "How is brother Zhou"s condition?"
He really doesn"t want to imagine what will happen once Wen Bin fully recovers and discovers that Xingfeng was bitten when he ran off to bring medicine back for Wen Bin. The blow to his heart will be immensely hard.
These past few days, Qin Jun is very busy, and Long Zhanye and Huo Zaiyuan too. Li Qing doesn"t recognise any of the survivors in the school, which is why he opted to accompany Wen Bin.
From the younger student"s every word and action, he clearly knows how much the boy likes Xingfeng. Only, there seems to be some sort of misunderstanding between the two and each party has yet to come clean regarding their intentions.
Now…perhaps this pair isn"t destined to break through this level of relationship. When Zhou Xingfeng turns into a zombie, maybe the blow to Wen Bin"s heart will be lesser. Should he believe this speculation or not?
"How will his condition be after being bitten? Wen Bin"s fast recovery has nothing to do with the medication." Huo Zaiyuan says, then turns to leave.
"Eh? What do you mean? Nothing to do with the medication? Then what is it?" Li Qing asks as he hurries to catch up.
Letting Li Qing catch up to him whilst continuously chattering none stop, Huo Zaiyuan"s dignified expression doesn"t falter. The water he used to cook Wen Bin"s congee is taken from the spring pool, which is the same one he used to wash Zhou Xingfeng"s bite wound. Allowing a sickly person to recover at lightning speed and a slow the transformation rate of a bitten person, as well as enable them to stay clear-headed…aren"t all these thanks to the spring water?
The spiritual energy within that liquid is relatively large. Besides being able to be used as ink for talismans, it has various other abilities too. Or at least, these are what he discovered after using it on Wen Bin and Xingfeng.
As the duo"s footsteps travel further and further, no one noticed the individual who is supposed to be sleeping in bed is actually standing behind the closed door, complexion extremely pale.
Bitten…Senior Zhou was bitten…
Staggering unsteadily away from the door, Wen Bin"s vision blacks out for a second and he collapses to the ground, tears streaming down his face…
No wonder Senior didn"t visit even once after he regained consciousness. It isn"t because Senior dislike him, but it"s because he got bitten by a zombie. All because of him…
No, older brother Qin will be coming to give him another checkup later. If he runs away now, they will definitely not let him find Senior…wait until night falls when everyone goes to sleep, he will slip out of the room.
His mind keeps reminding him to remain calm. Must remain calm…
Returning back to bed and burrowing under the blanket, Wen Bin continues to feign sleep, waiting for a good opportunity.
Before he retires to his bed, Qin Jun makes sure to give Wen Bin another checkup. Certain that nothing is wrong, he takes his leave. Very quickly, the surroundings fall silent as it gets deeper into the night. When everyone finally enters Morpheus" embrace, Wen Bin slowly opens his eyes.
His chance has come.
Getting up from the bed quietly, he runs out of the room barefooted, heart only thinking about finding Senior as quickly as possible. Drawing his clothes tighter around him to combat the slightly lower temperatures of the night, he begins his search.
He doesn"t know where Zhou Xingfeng is. Now that Senior is bitten, he will most probably be placed in a separate building away from the main dormitory. So Wen Bin can only rely on himself to search the campus. Besides the shared-room dormitories where mostly everyone is staying in, there is another building that remains unoccupied. Coincidentally, one of the rooms in that building used to be Zhou Xingfeng"s old room.
Will Senior be there?
Exhaling softly, Wen Bin decides to take a look. If he isn"t there, then he will slowly search the entire building…
The school campus is a little dark during the night. Dark clouds obscure the moon, so he can barely make out the corridors and stairs. Relying mostly on his hands to feel along the walls, he paces forward cautiously. A journey that will normally take a few minutes took him half an hour to get to his destination.
The door to the room is locked, even the windows are tightly secured. Not confirming whether or not Zhou Xingfeng is inside, Wen Bin"s eyes redden, voice choking with grief. "Senior…are you in there?"
Although his voice is soft, one can hear it very clearly in the complete silence of the school. There was no verbal reply, only the clinking of a furniture being hit drifts through the gaps of the door.
There is someone inside.
"Senior, is it you in there…?"
It is total silence now. Not a single sound can be heard.
"Senior…" Not receiving any reply, tears roll down from Wen Bin"s eyes as he squats on the floor outside. "If you are inside, please say something…"
Not even a breath can be heard.
"Senior, it"s really dark out here. I"m scared. It"s very cold. My feet hurts…wuwu…"
The tone is extremely pitiful, coupled with his quiet sobs, the person within cannot stay quiet any longer. Slowly shuffling finally sounds, and a faint voice wafts from the other side of the door.
"Wen Bin…" Zhou Xingfeng"s calls from inside the room.
"Wuwu…Senior…it really is you…" Hearing Zhou Xingfeng"s voice, Wen Bin"s tears overflow even more. "I overheard Senior Li Qing and Senior Yuan talking. They said you were bitten. Wuwu…"
"Yeah, that"s right. Heheh…I was bitten. I"ll turn into a zombie soon." Zhou Xingfeng admits lowly as he chuckles. "How are you feeling right now?"
"I"ve already recovered…Senior, I want to go in and see you. Can you open the door…?" Placing a hand flat on the surface of the door, Wen Bin asks softly.
"I cannot."
"Please, I beg you. Let me enter…" Wen Bin begins to weep once more. "If…if Senior turns into a zombie, then…then devour me as well. My life was rescued by Senior. I would have died long ago if it wasn"t for Senior…"
In the room, Zhou Xingfeng doesn"t reply.
"Senior, if you are no longer here, then I have no desire to continue surviving."
"Don"t say such foolish things…"
"Then open the door and let me in."
"I cannot."
Met with Zhou Xingfeng"s refusal again, the person squatting outside the door flattens his lips, sniffs once before murmuring. "Senior, if you don"t open the door, I will wait outside until you do."
"You - " Zhou Xingfeng is at a loss for words.
In these short few weeks of interaction, he is well aware of his Junior"s stubborn disposition.
"It"s a little cold. I"ve just recovered from my illness. If I don"t freeze to death out here…if I don"t die, I might relapse tomorrow, which will make my heart disease worsen. After that…"
"Shut up!" From behind the closed door, the sound of movement finally drifts out.
In the next moment, the door is wrenched open. The person squatting outside the door is abruptly pulled into the room before the door shuts once more.
"You cannot leave anymore once you enter."
"I wouldn"t leave. I"ll never leave Senior ever again."