Chapter 3: The Vulnerable Trio
1448 Words
Jiang Tao swiftly picked up the instant noodles and neatly tossed them into the garbage can, leaving not a single drop of broth behind.
“What are you doing?” Lin Zhihui couldn't stop her in time. Everyone was running low on food now, and a pack of instant noodles was extremely precious.
“Aren’t you the one who said you didn’t want to eat it? If you don’t want it, just throw it away,” Jiang Tao replied with a cold gaze, almost like a robot executing orders.
“I…” Lin Zhihui hesitated, opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally saying, “I just think it’s a waste. I’m sorry.”
“Why apologize? I just respect your choice.”
My choice… Lin Zhihui fell silent. What he said was actually sarcastic.
But it felt like no one had listened to him for a long time.
The bickering downstairs revealed how difficult it was to live off others; Lin Zhihui had long hidden his brilliance, constantly compromising to lower his needs and standards.
This was the first time someone had seen him, heard him.
【Ding! Lin Zhihui’s favorability +5.】
Jiang Tao shot him a surprised glance, puzzled as to why his favorability was increasing; she simply disliked this kind of accommodating personality.
It was too suffocating; no wonder others always bullied him.
Night descended upon the community, and Lin Zhihui was arranged to sleep in the guest room. Jiang Tao hadn’t lost her sanity enough to act against a minor.
As she stroked the soft quilt beneath her, Jiang Tao’s first thought was how to survive well after the outbreak of the zombie virus.
Right now, she has very limited supplies. Although there had been a major purchase before, ten days had passed, and most of the food was already gone. Besides the returned instant noodles and bread, she only had a few eggs and a wilting bok choy.
Let alone medicine, clothing, and basic weapons.
In her last life, Jiang Tao witnessed the full outbreak of the zombie virus.
But the zombies were just the beginning of the apocalypse; soon after came extreme weather. At that time, Jiang Tao had barely escaped by hiding in the mountains.
Yet, humanity was ultimately insignificant; without support and food, ordinary people struggled to survive in the apocalypse.
What other natural disasters would follow, she couldn’t even dare to imagine.
She had worked hard to be reborn; did that mean she had to go through this suffering all over again?
Jiang Tao didn't know when she fell asleep, but the next day, she was awakened by a knock at the door.
“Who is it?”
A stranger’s female voice responded, brusque and unyielding: “I’m from 1402 downstairs. We have no food left and want to buy a few packs of instant noodles from you.”
1402? Jiang Tao recognized it; wasn’t that the family that had chased Lin Zhihui out?
Yesterday, Lin Huaiqing had eaten the last piece of bread, complaining of a stomach ache after going hungry for a meal, completely indifferent to the fact that his parents had been hungry for two days. He had been clamoring for instant noodles because the aroma from above had whetted his appetite.
Yang Jiao, aware that there was only Jiang Tao living above, had her mind working. She called two men and showed up early to demand food.
While ‘demanding’ might be a stretch, with two big men standing outside the door, how could she refuse to comply?
Outside stood Yang Jiao, who shot a glance at the waiting Lin family men, and then shouted, "You’re just a girl; you can’t possibly eat that much. Our little treasure has been starving for two days and can’t take it anymore. We’re neighbors; please lend a hand."
The security door was pounded heavily. Jiang Tao initially intended to ignore them, but as the people outside grew increasingly impatient, they kicked and cursed, determined to take something away.
Frustrated by the noise, Jiang Tao furrowed her brows, grabbed a kitchen knife, and opened the door with a grim face.
“Geez, what took you so long?” Yang Jiao complained as soon as the door opened, her plump figure attempting to squeeze through, only to be blocked by Jiang Tao. “Just say what you need.”
Lin Xingchang and Lin Huaiqing stepped forward as well. Especially Lin Huaiqing, whose greasy face was marred with yellow pus-filled spots. The moment he saw Jiang Tao, he tossed his hair dramatically, thinking himself charming.
“We'd run out of food and were hoping you could spare some. We’re willing to pay,” Yang Jiao said, pretending to fumble with her phone, her beady little eyes darting behind Jiang Tao.
In reality, her phone was already on airplane mode; once she got the food, she would start making a fuss.
Jiang Tao glanced at the three of them, coldly asking, “Who told you I had food?”
“I…” Yang Jiao was about to say they had caught a whiff of the aroma when Lin Huaiqing suddenly shrieked, rushing into the room indiscriminately: “It’s him! He told us!”
Lin Zhihui’s complexion instantly turned pale, his lips, devoid of color, quivered: “Why are you here?”
Jealous rage erupted the moment he saw Lin Zhihui. Lin Qinghuai, with his pig-like brain, had done what might be the smartest thing of his life by dumping all the dirty water on Lin Zhihui.
He pulled out his phone and found Jiang Tao’s previous message in the community group about keeping a man: “I knew he was here, the spineless softie! Miss, he even said you were naive and well-stocked, urging us to come and ask you for food. You’ll definitely do it!”
“What’s so good about this ingrate? Sister, why not come look at me? I’m way stronger than this skinny monkey; I’ll definitely satisfy you!” Lin Qinghuai bragged, slapping his fat body, trying to flirt with Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao brandished the kitchen knife behind her, blocking their advance, and turned to ask Lin Zhihui, “These three came to buy food from me, Lin Zhihui, do you know?”
Lin Zhihui stood frozen, taking a long time to find his voice: “No… it wasn’t me.”
It wasn’t him.
It really wasn’t him.
Yet again, he was being framed! This kind of trickery! Lin Zhihui didn’t know how many times he had been in such a position; apart from stating repeatedly that it wasn’t him, he had no other way!
But no one would believe him.
Everyone stood by Lin Huaiqing’s side; no matter how many times he spoke, nobody would ever trust him.
“Right! It was what he said!” Yang Jiao immediately caught on, a smug look on her face. “Young lady, don’t be fooled by how honest he looks; he’s got a wicked heart. Luckily you met us. If you ran into someone unreasonable, wouldn’t he have harmed you? How about this? You just give us some instant noodles, and I won’t pay you. I’ll give you a chance to repay us.”
She looked at the kitchen knife glinting ominously in Jiang Tao's hand, afraid to make any sudden moves, but her words grew increasingly vicious.
Under Jiang Tao’s cold stare, the despair in Lin Zhihui’s eyes showed through as he kept repeating, “It wasn’t me, it really wasn’t me…”
“Hmm. I believe you.”
A light phrase caused Lin Zhihui’s pupils to constrict sharply.
She said she believed him.
Jiang Tao turned to face Yang Jiao and the others, opening with ridicule: “You brought two big men to block my door; is that what you call reasoning?”
“If you’re out of food, go to the property management to buy some; why come to me? If you want to buy instant noodles, they’ll cost 200 a pack. Are you interested?”
“Do you think everyone is as opportunistic as you? You say it was him; where’s the evidence? The chat records? With that yellow tooth, you started spewing nonsense! You’d be better off eating toothpaste to clean your mouth.”
“Besides, even if I had food, I wouldn’t give any to you. You look like a fat pig; I want a little handsome guy like the one in the room. You’re so disgusting I wouldn’t want you even if you offered yourself.”
After spitting out a barrage of insults, Jiang Tao slammed the door shut with a bang, completely cutting off the three invaders.
- Writer
