Chapter 17 I Choose You
Su Xiao, He Yushi, and Tang Mengting tucked into the fried noodles, pure bliss written across their faces.
They had been living on vacuum-sealed rations and packaged processed food for so long that they were utterly sick of the taste of preservatives.
Back in peaceful times, rich young ladies like them wouldn't have spared a simple bowl of fried noodles a second glance. They would never have touched greasy, salty, unhealthy street food like this.
But now...
This basic bowl of fried noodles tasted better than any luxury delicacy they had ever eaten!
The three beauties couldn't stop showering her with praise.
"Delicious! It's so unbelievably good! I can't believe we get to eat piping-hot fried noodles during the apocalypse-I'm genuinely moved!"
"None of the high-end food I used to eat even comes close to this bowl of noodles. Thank you, Sister Dan!"
"Sob... this tastes just like Mom's cooking! I'm going to cry!"
...
Seeing everyone enjoy her cooking so much, Chen Dan beamed with happiness.
It was wonderful that they liked it. At least now she could prove she was actually useful!
She wasn't just dead weight.
Once everyone finished their meal, He Yushi and the others scrambled to clear the table and wash the dishes.
After all, Chen Dan had cooked for them; if they sat around doing nothing, they'd feel terrible.
At the same time, each of them had their own subtle anxieties.
Chen Dan was the fourth woman to enter the villa, yet the moment she arrived, she whipped up a meal that had even Liu Yang singing her praises.
Strictly speaking, that made her the most useful woman in the house.
As the senior members who got here first, being completely outshone naturally triggered a sense of crisis.
If this keeps up, won't we just become useless old baggage?
Looks like we need to step up and figure out ways to contribute, too!
They finished washing the dishes and wiping down the table in no time.
Liu Yang sat back comfortably, leaning back as he digested his food. He looked around at the women and said, "Well, now that everyone's full, it's time to call it a night. Who's coming upstairs to sleep with me tonight? Any volunteers?"
Liu Yang's bedroom was upstairs, while all four women were staying downstairs.
It took zero imagination to figure out what would happen if someone went upstairs with him.
He had just gone at it with Chen Dan right after bringing her back-was he seriously at it again already?
Volunteering?
He had terrifying stamina and endless strength.
Who could possibly endure his relentless tossing and turning?!
Blushes flushed across the women's faces, and no one dared to speak up.
Liu Yang smirked wickedly, scanning the group. "Oh? No volunteers? Fine then, I'll just pick randomly. Let's go, He Yushi-it's your turn tonight!"
He Yushi's eyes went wide instantly. She pointed at herself in disbelief. "Huh? Me? Oh, no no no!"
"What do you mean, 'no'? Didn't I say I'd challenge you for two full hours tonight?" Liu Yang replied with a chuckle.
"Oh god! Spare me, big guy!" He Yushi cried out, her face a picture of pure despair.
Ignoring her protests entirely, Liu Yang took He Yushi by the hand and pulled her upstairs.
...
Before long, strange, breathless sounds drifted down from upstairs: "Yes... ah, yes...!"
Tang Mengting muttered, "That girl said 'no' one second and 'yes' the next. What is she even trying to say?"
Su Xiao teased, "That's what you call 'saying no with her mouth, but yes with her body.'"
Tang Mengting huffed, "For a cold, aloof campus belle, she's certainly wild! She claimed she didn't want to go up, but now her screaming is loud enough for the whole building to hear!"
Su Xiao glanced at Tang Mengting and smiled. "If you're jealous, you should've volunteered when Liu Yang asked. Who told you to stay quiet?"
Tang Mengting's pretty face flushed deep crimson as she stammered, "Who's jealous?! Don't talk nonsense! Who would even want to go up there, humph!"
"You don't want to? Then why is your face so red? Your breathing is getting faster, too... and you still claim you don't want to? You have the nerve to call He Yushi double-dealing, but you're just as bad, if not worse!" Su Xiao teased lightheartedly.
"I... I am not! Who's thinking about that kind of stuff!" Tang Mengting protested weakly.
"Sure, sure. Just don't go secretly taking matters into your own hands when you get back to your room later!" Su Xiao giggled.
"I... I would never! You're so filthy! And you call yourself a big-shot star! Humph!" Face burning hot, Tang Mengting turned and darted back into her room.
"I... I'm going to get some rest too!" Fearing that Su Xiao would turn her teasing onto her next, the ballet teacher Chen Dan quickly fled into her own room as well.
Watching the two girls run off in embarrassment, Su Xiao let out a amused chuckle.
What a pair of shy little scaredy-cats!
...
The next morning, by the time Liu Yang woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. He checked the time-it was past 10:00 AM.
He Yushi was still snuggled beside him, fast asleep.
Looking at her gorgeous figure and cute, sleeping face, Liu Yang couldn't resist reaching out to pinch her soft, flawless cheek, which still had a touch of baby fat. "Hey, Yushi. Time to get up."
"Mmm... ♡" He Yushi let out a soft groan without opening her eyes. After being thoroughly tossed around by Liu Yang all night, she was utterly exhausted and nowhere near done sleeping. "I haven't slept enough yet... I don't wanna get up. You almost killed me last night, let me sleep a bit more..." she mumbled groggily.
"Tired from what? Haven't you heard the saying 'No field gets worn out by plowing, only oxen die of exhaustion'? I'm the ox here, and I'm not complaining-what are you so exhausted for?" Liu Yang laughed, pinching her cheek again.
"You call yourself an ox?! Other guys are normal oxen-you're an invincible divine bull that never drops!" He Yushi grumbled back in annoyance.
She really hadn't expected Liu Yang to stick to his word. When he said two hours, he really went at it for over two full hours.
He nearly wrecked her on that bed!
"Hahaha! You're hilarious," Liu Yang chuckled, thoroughly amused by the campus belle.
"What's so funny? Go bother someone else tonight, leave me out of it! I can't take another round of your punishment!" He Yushi said helplessly.
"Alright, fine! Next time I'll be a little gentler with you, okay? Come on, let's get up and eat breakfast!"
Liu Yang climbed out of bed, washed up, and joined the women for breakfast. Once they finished eating, he began preparing for the day's operations.
His task today was to clear and search as much of the residential compound as possible-rescuing any survivors while taking out the zombies along the way.
If possible, clearing the entire neighborhood and converting it into a safe zone was the ultimate goal. Once the main gates were secured, outside zombies wouldn't be able to get in.
Then everyone inside could move around freely, and this place would officially become his very first safe base!