Was she afraid of him?
She was.
After all, according to the original course of events in that world, she would eventually die miserably at his hands.
And over the past few days, he had been using those humiliating acts as a form of retaliation. To her, they were even more terrifying than death.
A faint possibility suddenly crossed her mind.
If she obediently let him do whatever he wanted, would he spare her in the end?
Just like at the orphanage—if she obediently listened, she would not go hungry.
At the research institute—if she obeyed, she would not suffer as much pain.
And if she listened to the system, she would not be punished…
She thought about it again and again, but ultimately buried the question deep in her heart.
She could not bring herself to ask it.
When Ye Jiming did not receive an answer, he wanted to force one out of her. His hand had already reached toward her before stopping midway.
Forget it.
The chocolate today had been sweet.
He would let her off this time.
Breathing in the floral and woody fragrance lingering on her body, the violent murderous impulses raging within him gradually calmed.
His arms tightened as he pulled her closer into his embrace.
At some point, the wind outside had stopped.
The world fell into complete silence.
Under the protection of the sonic interference devices, no one inside the base could hear the roars or movements of mutated beasts.
In the ink-dark night, a tiny seedling crept under the door.
The seedling slowly grew larger and silently unlocked the door.
Click.
The nearly imperceptible sound startled the person outside. Fine beads of sweat immediately formed on her back.
An Chang quietly slipped into the house, her heart pounding like thunder.
She had to get food tonight.
Otherwise, there would be nothing to cook tomorrow morning, and that old man would definitely beat her again.
Even though her wood-type ability could heal her injuries, it could not eliminate the pain.
The thought filled her with malice.
Originally, she had only planned to take a little.
Now, she had decided to take everything.
If anyone was to blame, it was Ji Chaoxi for refusing to give her food.
What she did not know was that two figures were following behind her.
When they saw her open the door, they quietly slipped inside as well.
That huge bag of supplies was enough to let them eat well for several days without having to work.
They had also seen the advance payment from before.
However, that bag had been relatively small and did not seem worth offending Ji Chaoxi, a sixth-rank ability user.
Wealth stirred greed.
Hatred clouded judgment.
An Chang came tonight carrying resentment toward Ji Chaoxi for refusing to save her.
The other two were driven by reckless greed and a gambler’s mentality.
If they were discovered, they would simply push all the blame onto An Chang and claim she had been the mastermind.
The moment they stepped into the room, an indescribable chill engulfed their entire bodies, as though they had fallen into an icy abyss.
Then they could no longer hear any sounds.
Their heartbeats and breathing seemed to stop.
It was eerie beyond words.
An Chang immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Terrified, she turned and ran toward the exit, no longer caring whether she would be discovered.
Yet no matter how fast she ran, the faintly glowing doorway remained ahead of her.
Like the reflection of the moon on water.
Visible, yet forever out of reach.
The open door silently closed.
The night remained quiet.
No one had ever come.
The pale light of dawn appeared on the horizon, ushering in a new day.
Before Ji Chaoxi had even opened her eyes, she heard loud shouting from outside.
“An Chang, you useless little brat! Get out here right now!”
“What? Your man didn’t come home all night either? I knew that little bitch and your man were fooling around behind your back! They must’ve gone off together and still haven’t returned! Fine! That brat’s gotten bold. I’ll break her legs when I find her!”
A chaotic mix of footsteps followed.
The cursing gradually faded into the distance.
Ji Chaoxi slowly blinked.
The blanket was warm.
The chest behind her was hot.
The sky outside was not fully bright yet.
She could stay in bed a little longer.
She shifted slightly forward, ignoring the hard presence pressing against her, and closed her eyes to continue sleeping.
The next second, the person behind her moved closer, filling the tiny gap between them.
Ji Chaoxi could no longer sleep.
She removed the arm wrapped around her waist and tried to sit up.
Before she could, she was pulled back.
With his eyes still closed, Ye Jiming gripped her shoulder and gently turned her around, enclosing her in his arms face-to-face.
One of his legs trapped hers.
His voice was hoarse with sleep.
“Don’t move. Sleep a little longer.”
Ji Chaoxi was practically embedded in his embrace, her face pressed against his firm chest.
Moving was impossible.
After enduring it for a moment, she whispered softly,
“Ye Jiming, I need to use the bathroom.”
The man slowly opened his eyes.
A dark, unreadable look lingered in them as he stared at the top of her head for a long while.
Finally, he released her and lazily sat up to make room.
“Go ahead.”
Ji Chaoxi quickly climbed out of bed.
She had just put on her shoes when a hand suddenly caught her arm.
She turned around.
His long hair was messy from sleep.
Confusion lingered in his beautiful eyes.
He looked unbelievably adorable.
Ye Jiming curved his lips into a smile and leaned closer.
“Give me a kiss.”
Ji Chaoxi hesitated for only half a second.
Then she bent forward and lightly pecked his lips.
Ye Jiming immediately pushed his luck.
“One more.”
Ji Chaoxi obediently pressed her lips against his again.
This time she remained there for a second before pulling away.
Only then did he release her.
Ye Jiming watched her hurry out of the bedroom, a faint smile in his eyes.
She was so obedient.
If he asked for a kiss, she gave him one.
The smiling eyes gradually darkened with a cold, detached gleam.
What would she do if he asked her to take the initiative?
Would she silently refuse?
Or…
His dry throat bobbed.
For some reason, he suddenly looked forward to finding out.
Ji Chaoxi dawdled through washing up before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Who would come so early?
She walked over and opened it.
Standing outside was a tired-looking middle-aged woman who lived diagonally across from her.
The woman’s eyes were red.
Her gaze moved past Ji Chaoxi and into the house.
Seeing this, Ji Chaoxi stepped aside half a pace and allowed her to look.
After a moment, she asked,
“Finished looking?”
The woman looked as though she were about to cry.
Lowering her voice, she said,
“Chaoxi, have you seen my child’s father?”
Ji Chaoxi frowned.
Her small face immediately turned cold.
“What do you mean?”
Coming to her house first thing in the morning to look for a man?
What exactly was she implying?
The woman had a timid personality.
Large tears rolled down her face.
“Chaoxi, yesterday my husband saw the reward you got from your mission. He… he got greedy. He said he was going to come here in the middle of the night to borrow—or steal—some food. I tried to stop him, but he insisted on coming. But after he left, he never came back.”
Something stirred in Ji Chaoxi’s heart.
“You saw him come to my house?”
The woman immediately became uncertain.
“There was no moon last night. It was pitch-black. I couldn’t see clearly.”
Ji Chaoxi already had a suspicion.
Still, she said,
“He didn’t come here. You should leave.”
Tears filled the woman’s eyes.
Unwilling to give up, she looked into the house again.
At that moment, the bedroom door opened.
Ye Jiming walked out shirtless and headed toward the bathroom.
The firm, well-defined lines of his muscles made the woman avert her eyes in embarrassment.
Flustered, she hurried away.
Ji Chaoxi closed the door and looked at the man emerging from the bathroom.
Her tone was certain.
“You did it?”
Ye Jiming raised an eyebrow.
Walking up to her, he lifted a hand and stroked her cheek.
Smiling, he admitted it openly.
“Yeah.”
Ji Chaoxi merely responded with an “Oh” and turned toward the kitchen.
Watching her back, Ye Jiming asked,
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Ji Chaoxi stopped and looked back at him.
“Say what?”
Ye Jiming walked over.
“Are you not saying anything because you think you can’t beat me?”
Ji Chaoxi roughly understood what he meant.
She shook her head.
“If he hadn’t come to steal, nothing would’ve happened.”
The curve of Ye Jiming’s lips rose even higher.
“There were three people last night.”
Thinking of the commotion she had heard that morning, Ji Chaoxi simply nodded to show that she understood.
After the apocalypse, death had become the most common thing in the world.
There were no funerals.
No memorials.
Only endless numbness.