Chapter 12 I'll Pay
It was nearly noon by the time the three of them finished packing their luggage.
It's unclear how Jiang Ye managed to persuade Zhou Zhuohua, but Bai Chenzhu, carrying his own bag, sat alone in the back seat, his probing gaze passing through the car window and landing on the abandoned villa next door.
The heavy rain washed away all traces, leaving only the rope tightly bound to the doorknob. Time was of the essence, and even though Bai Chenzhu wanted to go and investigate, he couldn't take action.
No rush, there's plenty of time. He'll catch Jiang Ye eventually. Bai Chenzhu covered his mouth and yawned, then lay down on the spacious back seat and closed his eyes to rest.
Jiang Ye fastened his seatbelt, disliking Bai's lazy demeanor, and quipped, "Is Young Master Bai here to enjoy himself?"
"Hmm." Bai Chenzhu propped his head up with his hand and closed his eyes, replying perfunctorily, "With Xiao Jiangzi clearing the way, I'm quite at ease."
"Who are you calling Little Jiangzi?" Jiang Ye turned to the side and stretched out his hand to grab him, but was slapped by Zhou Zhuohua in the passenger seat before he finally gave up.
Zhou Zhuohua, like a ruthless and strict homeroom teacher, admonished, "Behave yourselves, don't start fighting again."
Bai Chenzhu lifted his eyelids slightly and glanced at Jiang Ye, as if silently mocking him.
That look was like a fine hair swaying gently and landing on his heart, making Jiang Ye feel an itch in his heart, wanting to touch it.
But Zhou Zhuohua, who was sitting next to him, was seriously studying the map information cached on his phone before the network connection was lost. "The supermarket you mentioned is just past this road. Turn left at the fork in the road and walk straight for about 500 meters. It's quite close. I just don't know if they still have any in stock."
"Don't worry, there aren't many people around here." Jiang Ye glanced at Bai Chenzhu again and stepped on the gas.
There is a large supermarket at the foot of the mountain that is originally intended for people in the villa area. However, since most people prefer home delivery, the supermarket has also expanded its services to include tourists who come to soak in the hot springs.
In just over ten minutes, the car stopped at the entrance of the supermarket, which had its iron gate tightly closed.
Zhou Zhuohua was somewhat disappointed, "The supermarket is not open."
Jiang Ye got out of the door first. He squatted down in front of the lock and fiddled with it for a few moments before pushing the iron gate open. He waved to Zhou Zhuohua and Bai Chenzhu, "It's open now, let's go."
Zhou Zhuohua hesitated for a moment, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
The idea that "taking without asking is theft" is still deeply ingrained in her values.
Bai Chenzhu quickly walked past her, carrying his bag as he went inside to raid the store.
The shelves were full, indicating that the staff had cleared out the merchandise before leaving for the last time.
Zhou Zhuohua hesitated several times before speaking, but seeing the two people's decisive actions, desire ultimately prevailed, and she took a large bag to pack what she needed.
Bai Chenzhu took some instant food and walked around before running into Jiang Ye.
The man was stroking his chin, selecting various cigarettes from the glass window.
Bai Chenzhu had intended to walk around it, but then turned and walked over. "Have you been under a lot of pressure lately?"
I don't know how the male lead, who is only twenty years old, could have such a heavy smoking habit.
Unsure how to answer the question, Jiang Ye gave an ambiguous reply: "It's alright."
“But you’re a heavy smoker, like a long-time smoker,” Bai Chenzhu said bluntly, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
He doesn't like the smell of cigarettes. When Jiang Ye smokes, the car smells terrible. However, if he directly states this reason, given their relationship, Jiang Ye will only smoke even more heavily.
Bai Chenzhu had no doubt that this guy would maliciously spray him in the face later.
To prevent her from inhaling secondhand smoke, Bai Chenzhu said with a serious expression, "Secondhand smoke is extremely harmful to women. For Ms. Zhou's health, please smoke less."
Jiang Ye remained silent, tapping the glass countertop with his fingertip, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Seeing that Jiang Ye did not refuse directly, Bai Chenzhu took out a lollipop from his backpack, waved it in front of Jiang Ye, and then stuffed it between his fingers, right between his index and middle fingers, in a smoking posture at first glance.
"Actually, candy is good too." Bai Chenzhu said earnestly, as if coaxing a child. "If you really want to smoke, how about starting with lollipops?"
"Snatch a lollipop?" Jiang Ye twirled the lollipop between his fingers, a half-smile on his face. "It's clearly because you don't like it."
Bai Chenzhu readily admitted it. He nodded, but put it another way, "I'm just concerned about you. What's the difference between this stuff and drugs? Supplies will only become more scarce later, so quitting sooner rather than later is better than worse."
Jiang Ye put the lollipop back in his pocket. He suddenly took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and before he could even open the lighter, Bai Chenzhu was already several meters away from him.
"So disgusted?" Jiang Ye was amused by this person.
Bai Chenzhu fanned the air around his nose, his disdain obvious, and left.
Jiang Ye watched his figure disappear into the shelf, then turned his gaze back, thoughtfully playing with the unlit cigarette in his hand.
He wasn't a heavy smoker, but he'd been thinking a lot lately. That guy was even more sensitive than he'd imagined; he just didn't know if it was because he was naturally perceptive, or because of... his special abilities.
Finally, he stubbed out the cigarette at a ninety-degree angle and folded it against the glass counter.
The SUV, which had arrived empty, was now fully loaded with supplies.
Jiang Ye beckoned the two to get into the car, while Zhou Zhuohua stood still at the supermarket entrance, a struggle on her face.
Jiang Ye tilted his head. "Sister, you're not planning to leave? Are you staying to sell yourself to pay off your debts?"
Zhou Zhuohua shook her head, fearing that her next words would be to return the items.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhuohua reached into her pocket, took out a card, wrote the PIN, and placed it on the counter. Only then did she breathe a deep sigh of relief, feeling a heavy burden lifted from her heart. "I'll pay."
"Oh? Thanks, sis." Jiang Ye smiled and didn't take it to heart, not pointing out that her efforts were futile—after the apocalypse, paper money would only become the most worthless thing—he pushed her onto the car, "Let's go, let's go, it'll be dark later."
Bai Chenzhu closed the car door, looking at the back of Jiang Ye's head with a complicated expression.
Zhou Zhuohua's reaction was a normal transition. In comparison, Jiang Ye, who could act without any psychological barrier when the situation changed, was perhaps the real anomaly.
The car drove smoothly out of the villa area and onto the highway. Since the outbreak of the infectious disease, most people have reduced their travel, so the roads are wide open, but there are hardly any cars on the road.
Occasionally, one or two cars would be parked by the roadside, but Jiang Ye would pretend not to see them and speed past them.
The car was driven very smoothly. Bai Chenzhu had a fever last night and didn't sleep well, but now she lay down in the back seat and fell asleep.
In a daze, the car seemed to have run over something, causing it to shake violently and waking Bai Chenzhu several times, but he quickly fell asleep again.
When he woke up, he didn't know what time it was. The two people in the front seat were chatting to pass the time, and the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable.
Bai Chenzhu became curious and didn't speak immediately, wanting to hear what they were talking about.
A female voice said, "I have never seen such a strange infectious disease. Transmission through bodily fluids is terrible enough, let alone with such a high infection rate. What's even more terrifying is that no vaccine or controllable method has been developed yet, making a large-scale outbreak inevitable."
“Strangely, the infection of this disease presents two completely different situations: those who are injured either die and then become zombies, or they are injured several times without any symptoms, seemingly having a natural immunity.”
"To this day, we still haven't been able to find the difference between the two... Speaking of which, you and the person in the back seat are both the kind of people who can be infected but recover on their own. If we had the chance, I'd really like to take you two along for a study."
Jiang Ye touched the tip of his nose. "Sis, can't you hope for something good? Do you want to see me turn into a zombie?"
“How could that be?” Zhou Zhuohua pushed up her thin-rimmed glasses, a smile appearing on her beautiful face. “Of course I want you to be well. I haven’t finished yet, Jiang Ye. Among those who are injured but not infected, there are two more groups. One group remains ordinary people, and the other group…”
She paused, then lowered her voice, "The other type has shown varying degrees of physical 'mutation,' or perhaps 'evolution' would be a more appropriate term."
Hearing this, Jiang Ye vaguely guessed what she wanted to ask, but remained unmoved, his grip on the steering wheel relaxed. "Oh? What have you figured out?"
Zhou Zhuohua turned her head to look at him and smiled, "In the cases I have at the hospital where I work, there are people who have evolved to have a significant increase in physical strength. What about you, Jiang Ye? I've noticed that your strength has suddenly become very great. You can't have become a Hercules, can you?"
"A strongman?" Jiang Ye burst into laughter, seemingly finding the whole thing hilarious; his laughter was infectious. "What? It's not that exaggerated. If it were really like you say, then where would the person in the back seat 'evolve' to?"
Zhou Zhuohua was a little confused. She rested her chin on her hand and seriously considered Bai Chenzhu's situation. "He... he is weaker than the average person. Although there are no obvious symptoms, he doesn't seem like someone with superpowers."
Jiang Ye smiled and said, "Some things can't be seen just by looking. He was bitten but didn't get infected and had recurring fevers, which is not normal."
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