What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH73

Chapter 73: Brothers

“Alright, I understand. Personal privacy is fine. If anything ever happens, you can always come to me.”

“Good.”

Xia Jingyu laughed again. “But I still want to tell you something.”

“What?”

“Be careful out here. Men are not reliable, no matter who they are.”

Pei Xiqing nodded seriously.

Half an hour later, Pei Xiqing finished buying her supplies and slowly returned to the villa.

Ling Lang happened to be returning from the training camp, holding Xiaobai’s lead. Standing by the door, he saw her and asked, “Where have you been?”

“I went to the cathedral to take photos.” Seeing the lights on inside, she guessed that Duan Xiaolin had already returned, so she asked, “Have you eaten yet?”

“No.”

“Then let’s eat together. Brother Duan has probably already started cooking inside. You’ve been so busy outside every day lately. How long has it been since you sat down for dinner with your brother?” Her eyes sparkled. “I remember you two used to always eat together.”

Ling Lang paused. His body went somewhat rigid.

“Brother… he’s even busier than me these days. I’ll go in and help.”

“Okay.”

Pei Xiqing reached down to pat Xiaobai’s head. “Go grab your bowl and bring it inside, we’ll eat together.”

Thinking about it, Ling Lang and Duan Xiaolin really hadn’t shared a meal together in a long time. Back when they were out in the wild, everyone ate from the same pot and chatted constantly. But since returning to the base, everyone was buried in their own tasks. Sometimes they barely had time to eat at all, let alone sit down together.

Pei Xiqing pushed the door open and saw Duan Xiaolin walking out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food. Ling Lang was already inside, loudly chopping vegetables.

She gave Duan Xiaolin a quick wink and glanced toward the kitchen. The man smiled, leaning over to gently touch her cheek.

Pei Xiqing narrowed her eyes happily, catching his hand and pressing her cheek against his palm. Neither of them said anything, but the quiet tenderness between them was clear.

A short while later, dinner was served on the table—four dishes and a hot soup.

Ling Lang sat down, looking unusually stiff and reserved. It was a strange feeling for him. This was the first time he and Duan Xiaolin were having a regular meal like this at home. Usually, they ate on the ground outdoors or grabbed quick rations in the cafeteria.

However, he was naturally outgoing and soon relaxed, acting no different around Duan Xiaolin than he usually did. He was just as loud and confident as ever.

He started talking about a few recent incidents, including the arrests of some black-market criminals a few days ago. Crossing his legs, he raised his handsome eyebrows. “Hard-boned? I haven’t met anyone truly tough yet. No matter what they claim, a good beating always makes them behave.”

Duan Xiaolin smiled faintly. “Violent.”

Pei Xiqing also whispered in agreement, “Rude.”

“Hey, what do you mean rude?” Ling Lang scoffed.

“But I like it,” she added with a smile. “That method is perfect for people who are heartless and crazy. They don’t care about gentle words at all.”

Ling Lang’s eyebrows suddenly jumped. “Can you please just eat your meal properly? Don’t interrupt my story.”

“Why? Are you forbidding me from speaking?”

“No…” He rubbed his temples, looking flustered. “As soon as you start talking, I completely forget what I was about to say. You keep interrupting my thoughts.”

“Really?” Pei Xiqing shrugged innocently. “That just means your own memory is bad. How can you have such a terrible memory at such a young age?”

“…Just shut up.” Ling Lang shoved a huge bite of rice into his mouth, lowering his head and refusing to say another word.

He had been perfectly fine a moment ago, but the second Pei Xiqing spoke, his mind went completely blank, entirely occupied by her presence. Realizing what he was thinking, Ling Lang choked down his food, cleared his throat hurriedly, and finished his plate in a few massive bites.

He stood up abruptly. “I have to go on patrol duty tonight. You guys finish up. I’m leaving.”

Pei Xiqing was still chewing a piece of beef, and before she could even react, he had already vanished through the front door.

She turned to the man in confusion. “Is his schedule really that packed?”

Duan Xiaolin’s eyes darkened slightly as he reached out to wipe a trace of sauce from the corner of her mouth. “Maybe.”

Pei Xiqing felt a brief pang of worry, wondering if she had said something wrong. But on second thought, she and Ling Lang had always been like this—they couldn’t clear three sentences without bickering.

Never mind. She was used to it.

“Did you have a good time today?” The man handed her a small bowl of hot soup.

“Mhm, I’m happy. I saw a lot of historical things I’ve never run into before, and I took plenty of photos.” She pulled out her phone and enthusiastically shared her pictures with him. Whenever she hit a detail she didn’t understand, Duan Xiaolin patiently explained the history piece by piece.

She grew even more interested as she listened, keeping him flooded with questions all the way through her evening shower and into bed.

Duan Xiaolin held her securely in his arms, his large palm resting gently over her lower abdomen to provide warmth.

Closing his eyes, he murmured, “Yes, that’s correct. Five years ago, before the outbreak, our world already possessed the technological capacity to migrate to external planets. However, we searched the deep sectors for a long time and couldn’t isolate a single habitable world. In the end, we chose to remain on Earth, and shortly after, the zombie crisis detonated.”

“Is that how it happened?” Pei Xiqing listened with wide eyes, completely losing her drowsiness.

In the end, it was Duan Xiaolin who reached up to cover her eyes with his hand, urging her to settle down until she finally fell into a deep sleep.

Only after her breathing turned slow and steady did the man gently pull back her sleeve. Looking down at the dark, swollen fingerprint bruises Xiao Yue had left on her fair wrist, his eyes turned completely cold.

The next morning, Pei Xiqing was awakened by a sharp, painful cramp in her lower abdomen.

She got out of bed and hurried into the bathroom to handle her cycle. After cleaning up, she sat out in the yard to feed Xiaobai, looking thoroughly drained and listless.

Before long, the sky turned a heavy, dark gray, the wind picking up as if a massive downpour was about to hit.

She scrambled around the perimeter to gather the laundry drying on the balcony and pull Xiaobai’s gear inside. Opening the front gate, she bent over to sweep away the fallen leaves on the steps and clear the mud the dog had tracked everywhere. Her lower back was aching terribly when she noticed a vehicle driving rapidly toward her section from the end of the lane.

It headed straight for her gate.

She was still squinting to read the license plate when the car screeched to a halt right in front of her.

Long Yan rolled down the window, poking her head out. “Hey, Xiqing! Get in the car right now!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Let’s go watch a total disaster! Absolute shocking news!”

“Huh?” Before her brain could process the input, Long Yan reached out and pulled her straight into the passenger seat. “You’ll understand the data once we arrive. It’s a massive piece of explosive gossip! If your boots clear the sector too late, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Wait, Sister Long Yan, at least tell me what the gossip is…” Before she could even click her seatbelt into place, the car shot forward down the street. She frantically leaned out the window, shouting back toward the yard, “Xiaobai, close the front gate yourself!”

Long Yan spun the steering wheel, talking fast as she drove. “An officer’s wife is catching his mistress! I heard that man keeps a dozen secret women hidden across the blocks—he has mistresses ranging from number four and five all the way to number eight and nine! The primary wife found out, and now she’s hunting down the latest one! I was terrified your system would be bored out of its mind staying cooped up at the base, so I fetched your line to join the crowd and relieve the tension.”

Pei Xiqing let out two thoroughly dry laughs.

Given everything the original host had done in the past, a cheating scandal like this was practically designed to trigger her internal survival panic. Hearing a headline like that, her first human reflex was to sprint in the opposite direction.

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