Shen Guoguo didn’t care about that kind of nonsense.
Ignoring everyone else’s faces, she stepped forward and pushed Huo Tao’s wheelchair. Following the map on the wristband, they made their way toward Huo Tao’s home while she took in more of the wasteland world.
Fengtu City base was huge, split into an inner and outer city, with a population of roughly a hundred thousand. It wasn’t as technologically advanced as she’d imagined — it felt more like her grandparents’ old countryside home from the seventies and eighties, except for the five-meter-high metal walls, the ever-glowing wristbands, the gray-yellow sky, and the busy robots that constantly reminded her this was a ruined otherworld.
The farther they went, the more desolate it got. The smooth hardened road turned bumpy and rutted, and yellow dust blew up. Houses changed from neat multi-storey buildings to low stone huts. When they neared the outer edge, Shen Guoguo couldn’t help asking, “So… where exactly is your place?”
Huo Tao’s ears flushed slightly. His clear, low voice rumbled, “Just up ahead.”
Then Shen Guoguo saw something she’d never forget. Years later, thinking back, she would sum up her feelings in one sentence: heart like dog!
Right next to the metal city wall stood a row of shabby stone houses — little homes built entirely of rock, each with a single door and one window.
Shen Guoguo: …
To be honest, the pigsty she kept back home had better accommodations.
She didn’t know what life as a rough man was like, but she’d never lived in a crude stone shack before. She took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Huo Tao raised a hand as if to stop her, hesitated, then let it drop. This was his life; there was no hiding it. A sliver of regret rose in his chest — what if Shen Guoguo ended up disgusted and left?
The room looked maybe thirty square meters at most. Facing the door was a single bed built of stone — no mattress, only a metal plate with a thin, washed-out blanket laid on it. Two pieces of clothing were folded neatly at the head of the bed: a pair of gray boxer shorts and a single pair of socks on top. It seemed those were Huo Tao’s only outfits.
The other furniture was a stone table with a single stainless steel bowl set neatly in the middle. Nearby were a few empty metal bottles about the size of a commercial yogurt drink. Shen Guoguo picked one up; it bore a stamped label: NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT. Under the table sat a metal basin with a ragged, yellow towel draped over the rim. There were no stools — understandable, since Huo Tao couldn’t get out of his wheelchair. A handful of basic furnishings. Clean, but poor.
Shen Guoguo turned and noticed a slightly regretful expression on Huo Tao’s face. She grinned, flashing neat white teeth. “Not bad. No stinky socks — pretty clean.”
Huo Tao let out a quiet breath of relief. For a moment he’d feared she’d burst into tears and run away. Even after less than an hour together, he found himself a little fond of this little sun of a girl — she was like a beam of light in this dim corner of the base.
Seeing his expression relax, Shen Guoguo felt reassured. Her ostensibly handsome husband was a little sensitive, but he seemed clean, disciplined, and even somewhat decent. If she had to live with a man, compared to Li Ge, she definitely preferred Huo Tao. It seemed her choice had been right.
She pushed Huo Tao into the doorway. Suddenly a loud, coarse voice bellowed from the entrance. “Huo Tao! Didn’t you go pick up today’s nutrition ration? You want us to starve?”
A short, squat man and a chubby old woman barged in. They froze for a second when they saw a bright-eyed girl standing behind Huo Tao. Huo Hai’s eyes widened. “Bro — you actually got assigned a wife? That means two rations, right? Mom, I can eat my fill today!”
The woman called “Mom” wasn’t so happy. She squinted at Shen Guoguo, then stepped forward and pounded Huo Tao on the shoulder with her white, pudgy fist. “You useless thing. Everyone says you were assigned an impressive wife, but you had to go and swap for a waste. I don’t believe it. She must be that trash, Shen Guoguo, right? What good is taking in trash besides wasting our rations? What use is me raising you?”
Her fist came down again. Huo Tao leaned his face away and simply shut his eyes. He expected pain, but instead heard a snort. Opening his eyes, he saw Shen Guoguo grabbing the woman’s wrist, smiling politely. “Sorry — I was the one who requested the swap.”
The woman, full of disgust, tried to wrench free, but still delivered a punch. “You useless thing! You can’t even support your own brother, and you went and found a leech!”
Shen Guoguo watched coldly. She’d already figured it out: Huo Tao’s mother simply hated him and, by extension, disliked anyone who sided with him. She favored Huo Hai. Though she didn’t know why Huo Tao didn’t fight back, that didn’t stop her from defending him.
She grabbed the stainless steel bowl from the table and slammed it down onto Huo Hai’s head.
Clang!
Again.
Clang!
“Ow!”
Huo Hai clutched his head and fell to his knees, dizzy, a smear of blood running from his forehead. Huo Tao’s mother panicked and released Huo Tao, stepping in front of her son. “You crazy woman, what are you doing?”
Huo Tao was startled and quietly moved the wheelchair a little in front of Shen Guoguo.
“You two eat a lot even on normal days, don’t you? Looks like most of what you eat is Huo Tao’s rations.” Shen Guoguo crouched in front of Huo Tao’s mother and brother, holding the bowl. “What gives you the right to call someone a waste?”
Her tone turned flat and cutting as she continued, “From now on, Huo Tao’s nutrition rations — not a single one will be given to you.”
“What?!” Huo Tao’s mother began to protest, but Shen Guoguo weighed the bowl in her hand and said, forming each word deliberately, “If you so much as touch Huo Tao again, I’ll give your little son back to you tenfold.”
“If your little son is alive, I’ll beat him. If he’s dead, I’ll whip his corpse.”
Huo Tao’s mother and brother stared at her as if she were a monster. Weren’t they supposed to be superior to Shen Guoguo? Huo Hai’s hand, sticky with blood, trembled; he nearly fainted. He let out a timid, “Mom…”
Huo Tao’s mother grabbed her son and, all bluff and bluster, snarled, “You just wait — you two…”
The word “waste” lodged in their throats under Shen Guoguo’s icy stare.
After they left, Shen Guoguo gently set the bowl on the table. “So—do you agree with me not giving them any of your rations from now on?”
Huo Tao’s numb expression finally softened. “Mm. Okay.”
Shen Guoguo sat on the edge of the bed. “They often beat you? Why don’t you fight back? Given your build, taking a crack at your brother shouldn’t be a problem.”