Miss Cousin is Always Busy - Chapter 203

Chapter 203

“How do you know?”

“I snuck a look at you guys from the balcony. Although I couldn’t see very clearly, I could still vaguely tell that the music came from your room. Actually, your room’s door wasn’t the first one I knocked on. I tried knocking on the doors of other rooms, but they wouldn’t open up for me. I was too scared of being bitten, so I kept on running to this side until I nearly… Ha… Thankfully, I didn’t gamble wrongly, and you opened the door,” Wu Zi said, sighing.

Meanwhile, upon hearing Wu Zi’s words, Jun Zishu and the others couldn’t help but fall silent. No matter how harmonious the atmosphere was in their room, it did not change the fact that the world outside remained harsh and cruel.

Everyone was afraid of dying, so it was normal for most people to fold their hands and watch as those asking for help die. After all, nobody could tell what would happen if they opened the door to someone asking for help. If they ended up letting zombies in, everyone inside the room would die.

It might be a selfish and cold response to make, but it was also a realistic response.

In the face of death, nobody could blame anyone for letting others die. This was because everyone wanted to live.

“Have you guys been in the dorm since yesterday?” Wu Zi asked as she looked at Jun Zishu and the others.

“Mhm,” Liu Manman answered.

“Didn’t we have a shared lecture between your class and my class yesterday morning? I left during third period because of a stomach ache. When I left the toilet and saw that class was almost over, I didn’t bother going back and went to buy food from the cafeteria before heading back to the dorm. When I was about to reach the dorm, I heard many people screaming and running. I got scared, so I ran back to my room and hid there until now,” Wu Zi briefly described her escape process, her voice carrying hints of fear and rejoicing. Then, she asked Liu Manman with a hint of admiration in her voice, “Did you run back all the way from the teaching block? You must be a very fast runner.”

“No, I skipped class yesterday,” Liu Manman said with an embarrassed smile. It was the first time she had ever felt that she had made the right decision to skip class.

The atmosphere grew awkward all of a sudden, and everyone stopped speaking.

“I’m hungry. Let’s eat.”

Jun Zishu took out a few small loaves of bread from her grocery bag and handed one to Ren Nanying.

They lacked water, and nobody was about to venture outside right now. If they cooked in this situation, they’d have no way to wash the pot. So, Jun Zishu decided that they would have bread for today.

Jun Zishu also gave Wu Zi a loaf of bread and a bottle of water, to which Wu Zi responded with a look of gratitude.

After everyone ate their bread and drank their water, they returned to their respective beds.

Without receiving an invitation, Wu Zi naturally wouldn’t intrude on someone’s bed. After all, she wasn’t familiar with anyone here. The only person she could have somewhat of a conversation with was Liu Manman since they belonged to the same department.

Everyone continued with what they were doing before. Jun Zishu, though, did not continue practicing her dancing skills. Instead, she played with her phone on the bed.

Wu Zi was shocked by the situation in this room. Although she knew that the residents of this room were calm, she didn’t think they would be this calm.

Wu Zi: That… What are you guys doing?

Lin Su: Doing Band 8 exercises.

Liu Manman: Studying ancient literature.

Xu Qiu: Studying economics.

Ren Nanying: Drawing.

Jun Zishu: Playing with my phone.

Wu Zi: ……

The last answer sounded a little normal, but what was up with the other answers?! Are you people serious?! —was what Wu Zi shouted in her mind.

Everyone had their own thing to do, and Wu Zi was the only one silently sitting by herself on the floor.

Noticing this, Liu Manman couldn’t help but pity Wu Zi. They were from the same department, so how could she bear to see the other party be so lonely and bored? Thus, she opened her mouth and warmly asked:

“Bored? I have a book here you can read. Do you want it?”

“What kind of book?”

“The History of Modern Chinese Literature.”

Wu Zi fell silent. She didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry.

“If you don’t like it, I can let you read this History of Ancient Literature that I’m reading first,” Liu Manman suggested.

“No, no, modern literature is good enough, thank you,” Wu Zi awkwardly said as she accepted the book Liu Manman offered. In her mind, though, she yelled: Zombies are growling outside, for god’s sake! Are you people normally this serious at studying?!

Everyone spent the afternoon in silence. At some point, Jun Zishu stopped playing with her phone and climbed down from her bed to see what Ren Nanying was drawing.

“Why aren’t you playing Anipop anymore?” Ren Nanying asked when she noticed Jun Zishu approaching her.

“I spent all my stamina,” Jun Zishu answered honestly. Anipop required in-game stamina to play. She had used up all the stamina she had, so she couldn’t continue to the next stage. Then, after taking a look at Ren Nanying’s drawing, Jun Zishu praised, “You draw very well.”

It looked like Ren Nanying had learned how to draw in the past. The way she composed her art and drew her lines did not seem like she was a complete amateur at drawing.

Ren Nanying had outlined most of the scenes in the room on the white A4 paper. However, those weren’t the important parts. The most important and prominent part of the drawing was the protagonist in the center.

The protagonist had long flowing hair and a beautiful face that glowed under the sun’s shimmering rays.

“I’m just doodling,” Ren Nanying said nonchalantly. Yet, at the same time as she said so, she was also carefully erasing and making modifications to her art.

“Did you learn how to draw in the past? If you didn’t apply for the Athletic Department, you could have very well majored in art,” Jun Zishu said appreciatively as she leaned down to take a closer look at Ren Nanying’s drawing.

“Drawing is just a hobby for me. I might not like it anymore if I have to repeatedly train at it every day,” Ren Nanying said as she inhaled the fragrance radiating off Jun Zishu’s body.

Ren Nanying couldn’t understand why Jun Zishu smelled so good. She could tell that the smell didn’t come from perfume since it wasn’t very pungent. However, she couldn’t tell if the smell resulted from the body wash, shampoo, laundry detergent, or something else. Regardless, the smell smelled especially pleasant.

“Do you like sports?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t have chosen to major in it, otherwise,” Ren Nanying said, secretly hiding the fact that she was too lazy to study and that she had terrible test scores. “You know that both my parents are soldiers. They have always been my role models, and I want to be like them in the future.”

Ren Nanying’s parents were both soldiers who belonged to different units. They met and fell in love under the introduction of others. Then, they died on the battlefield while out on a mission together.

Their deaths might have been an honorable one, but the consequence was that Ren Nanying was left to grief all by herself.

Afterward, Jun Zishu’s uncle, a close friend of Ren Nanying’s parents, adopted Ren Nanying under his name.

Jun Zishu’s uncle was also a stern soldier, and he put his only son through incredibly strict training. However, he was very indulgent when treating his deceased friends’ daughter. Even so, Ren Nanying didn’t grow up to become spoiled. She grew to love sports, and she put strict requirements on herself to become someone as great as her parents.

“You’re very amazing, Big Sister,” Jun Zishu said as she wrapped her arms around Ren Nanying’s neck from the side.

Ren Nanying stiffened at the sudden physical contact. However, she didn’t find it uncomfortable. On the contrary, the feeling of Jun Zishu’s warm and soft arms filled her with a wonderful feeling.

At the same time, Ren Nanying could feel an inexplicable sense of longing spreading across her body. She wanted to turn around and embrace the coquettish little girl beside her.

A moment later, Ren Nanying snapped out of her daze and frowned, quickly putting her desires under control.

…

The sky outside darkened and brightened in intervals, and two days passed by in the blink of an eye. Eventually, the residents of Room 412 were forced to face the serious problem that was bound to come.

The food stockpile they had initially might have looked like a lot, but that was only true if it was for one person. It might have lasted some days if only four people shared everything, but if six people shared it… Evidently, that food stockpile wouldn’t last very long.

Moreover, their rations consisted mainly of snacks that could hardly fill the stomach.

“Our food will only last us another day. We have to leave before we finish everything,” Jun Zishu said as she rapped a finger against her desk, her soft face wearing a serious expression.

“Are you guys leaving? But here are all those monsters outside. Where can you go?” Wu Zi asked, her eyes widened in disbelief.

“But we have no more food. We will only starve to death if we continue staying here,” Jun Zishu stated. Then, she opened the curtains and looked at the world outside.

It was a cloudy day, and the sky looked gray. Jun Zishu could also feel some wind blowing against her face.

“But we’ll also die if we go out. Where can we even go?” Wu Zi mumbled as she gripped the edge of her shirt.

There were many zombies outside, far more than what was in the building. Moreover, without any shelter to hide in, they’d be suiciding if they went outside.

“Let’s look at the campus’s layout first,” Jun Zishu said as she took out a piece of paper and laid it on the table. Then, she started drawing a rough map while saying, “We are in Block 2, and Block 3 is next to us. If we go down the stairs on Block 3’s side, we’ll reach the cafeteria. If we cross from Block 2’s side, we can reach Auspicious Supermarket, Jinhui Building, and the food court.

Auspicious Supermarket was a small supermarket on campus. It could also be considered a large convenience store. Jinhui Building was the Computer Department and Architecture Department’s teaching block. Lastly, the food court was one of the other cafeterias on campus.

Liu Manman: Should we head for the supermarket?

Lin Su: I think not. The supermarket is too small. Also, there is a high chance that those from Jinhui Building would be occupying it. There are many boys from the Computer Department and Architecture Department. We can’t win against them if it comes down to a fight for food. Nobody will care about gender, either, in the face of death.

Xu Qiu: Susu is right. I think we should head for the food court.

Ren Nanying: There should also be people in the food court. I think we’ll have a better chance if we head for the cafeteria. The pandemic broke out in the morning, so many zombies should be there.

Other than Jun Zishu, the three other original residents of Room 412 did not hesitate and wondered whether they should leave their current shelter or not. This was because Jun Zishu was their backbone and their leader. Since Jun Zishu said they would starve if they continued hiding here, they might as well follow Jun Zishu and take the risk.

As for Ren Nanying, she had always had a brave heart. Not to mention, she already risked her life once by adventuring from her room to Jun Zishu’s room, so there was no reason why she would be reluctant to risk her life again to survive.

Jun Zishu felt very satisfied when seeing her roommates’ and her cousin’s reactions. Thankfully, none of them had hesitated to leave. Otherwise, she would have had to consider abandoning them.

“We’ll finish the map first. If we proceed further down the cafeteria, we’ll reach the medical building. Next to the Medical Building is the Art Building followed by Jia Jia Supermarket. A little further up is the post office, and next to the post office is the claypot chicken shop, malatang shop, rice noodle shop, etc. Then, past these shops is Dormitory Block 5.”

The campus was massive, and just walking from the dormitory building to the school entrance was an exhausting process. Dormitory Block 5 was already quite far from their current location, so Jun Zishu decided to stop drawing after reaching this point.

The Medical Building was the teaching block for the Medical Department, and it was surrounded by a gloomy aura all year round. The Art Building was the teaching block for the Dance Department, Music Department, and Art Department, so it was constantly surrounded by an artistic atmosphere.

Jia Jia Supermarket was the largest supermarket on campus, and it sold almost everything students would need in their daily life.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu could remember all those food places because, at some point in the past, Liu Manman would frequently drag everyone in the room there to eat.

“Where should we go?”

Ren Nanying and the others looked at Jun Zishu, their eyes full of trust.

“Let’s try our luck here first,” Jun Zishu said as she pointed at the food court.

No matter how hard the road ahead was, they had to push forward.