In the passenger seat, Xu Sui gripped the door handle tightly, terrified of being thrown out by that lunatic Han Chao.
In the back seat, after Pei Huaiye pushed Ning Ran away for the N+1st time, only to have her latch right back onto him, he completely gave up. He closed his eyes and leaned back to rest.
“Brother Ye, this little dummy is quite persistent! She’s really set on getting you!” Han Chao laughed wildly. Besides, there were no zombies in the car, so what did he have to be scared of?
“Shut up and let me have some quiet time,” Pei Huaiye said coldly.
With a stinky, foolish woman clinging to his body and his good brother mercilessly mocking him nearby, the fact that he hadn’t thrown the little dummy out of the car already showed he had a kind heart.
“Just saying, it’s not like it’s serious!” Han Chao’s voice dropped significantly.
The car drove out of the downtown area and headed toward a mountain.
At the very beginning of the apocalypse, those with wealth and power had long been picked up by the base and taken to a safe place. Only small-fry like them were still struggling to survive.
The villa belonged to Xu Sui’s family. Xu Sui’s family was wealthy and powerful, and this villa was just one of many properties they owned.
When Pei Huaiye had first been reborn, it was exactly three months before the apocalypse.
In his past life, he was betrayed by his most trusted brother and girlfriend, and died on a supply-run.
Upon his rebirth, the very first thing he did was contact his good buddies Xu Sui and Han Chao, and tell them everything that was going to happen.
While the two were still half-skeptical, one thing after another that Pei Huaiye had predicted came true at the exact times he said they would.
The two of them immediately sprang into action, using their family network to purchase a large batch of supplies and upgrade the safety of the villa.
At that moment, the people inside the villa who received the signal of their return slowly opened the alloy gates.
The vehicle drove inside, and the gates quickly closed again.
Han Chao jumped out of the driver’s seat, strode back toward the house, and shouted as he walked, “Lichuan, what good food are you making today? I’m starving!”
Cheng Lichuan glanced at Xu Sui getting out of the passenger seat, ignored his remark, and instead asked, “The boss didn’t come back?”
Just as he spoke, the back door opened, and Pei Huaiye stepped out with a giant octopus still clinging to him.
This octopus didn’t look like it was in a very good state, and most importantly, it was a woman.
This made Cheng Lichuan even more curious: what kind of woman could possibly make Boss Lu, who had always kept women at arm’s length, break his rule?
When the two finally entered the house, Cheng Lichuan’s curiosity turned into utter disappointment: the girl on Pei Huaiye’s back had her face and head covered entirely in blood, making her original appearance completely unrecognizable.
“Is Xu Wei around? Have her wash this dummy up!” Pei Huaiye looked at the clean sofa and truly couldn’t bear the thought of getting it dirty. With one arm around Ning Ran’s waist and the other supporting her bottom, he carried her upstairs.
“Xu Wei is in the basement. As soon as she comes up, I’ll send her over,” Cheng Lichuan called out to the figure on the stairs, then turned to Han Chao and began gossiping in a low voice about Ning Ran’s origins.
Pei Huaiye entered the master bedroom, pushed open the bathroom door, and tossed Ning Ran inside.
With a loud thud, it sounded quite painful.
Ning Ran rubbed her bruised head, pursed her lips, and looked like she wanted to cry.
“Take that back, or I’ll finish you!” Pei Huaiye narrowed his eyes and threatened her.
Ning Ran stared at him wide-eyed for a long moment before finally holding back the tears welling in the corners of her eyes—mostly out of sheer terror.
Xu Wei arrived quickly, heading upstairs the very second Han Chao called for her.
Her mind was completely occupied by the fact that Pei Huaiye had brought a woman back and wanted her to help out?
“Brother Huaiye, what do you need me to do?” Xu Wei stood at the bedroom doorway, hesitating.
“Go help the person inside get cleaned up!” There were no other women in the villa, and since Xu Wei was Xu Sui’s distant cousin, helping out shouldn’t be an issue.
Xu Wei stood frozen for a long moment before the realization finally hit. Pei Huaiye was asking her to help another woman take a bath.
As long as he wasn’t the one doing it himself, at least it wasn’t that kind of relationship.
Thinking of this, the expression on Xu Wei’s face relaxed considerably. She walked into the bathroom and, upon seeing the goofy-looking Ning Ran, felt even more at ease—Pei Huaiye would certainly never fall for an idiot.
As long as she stayed here, she would definitely have a chance. Besides, Xu Sui was her cousin, and Pei Huaiye was just a boarder.
Competing for favor with a fool was not her style.
With that thought, she slowly turned on the water heater and filled the bathtub. She took off Ning Ran’s clothes, getting ready to wash her clean.
To her surprise, Ning Ran was extremely uncooperative, throwing a massive tantrum, screaming at the top of her lungs, and splashing water all over Xu Wei.
Outside the bathroom, Pei Huaiye felt awkward staying in the bedroom, so he went downstairs to smoke a cigarette.
“Brother Ye, that little dummy has quite some lungs on her,” Han Chao remarked. The villa used the highest-grade soundproofing materials, yet her cries still pierced right through them—showing just how much she was resisting.
“If you ask me, you should’ve just washed her yourself. You don’t have a girlfriend anyway, what are you afraid of?” Before Han Chao could finish speaking, he caught Pei Huaiye’s deadly glare and immediately shut his mouth. “Fine, fine, my bad!”
Half an hour later, the noise upstairs gradually died down. Thinking everything was done, Pei Huaiye headed back upstairs. Just as he opened the bedroom door, he ran right into Xu Wei coming out of the bathroom.
“Um, Brother Huaiye, she… she’s washed up. She just doesn’t have any clothes to wear. Should I go get some of mine for her?” Xu Wei was also soaked, though fortunately, the fabric of her clothes was high quality and not see-through, sparing her from too much embarrassment.
“Sorry to trouble you,” Pei Huaiye nodded.
Thinking he would refuse, Xu Wei was surprised he agreed so readily. She bit her lip and turned to leave.
Seeing her walk out, Pei Huaiye planned to step out too, but the bathroom door behind him suddenly opened on its own.
The little dummy Ning Ran ran out completely drenched, and the moment she saw Pei Huaiye, she leaped straight onto him: “Brother, hug!”
She was completely naked, wearing nothing at all, pressing directly against Pei Huaiye’s back.
In an instant, Pei Huaiye’s entire body went rigid. The warmth and wetness from behind seeped right through his thin shirt, making it nearly impossible for him to think.
“Let go!” he barked harshly, trying to pry her hands apart from around his waist.
Instead, Ning Ran hugged him even tighter, rubbing her wet hair against his back: “Cold… Brother is warm…”
Pei Huaiye took a deep breath and spun around abruptly, only to freeze when he saw Ning Ran in full view.
Washed clean of blood and dirt, Ning Ran revealed an astonishingly vibrant and breathtaking face. Her soaked dark hair clung to her fair cheeks, with water droplets trickling down into the hollow of her collarbone.
Those eyes of hers were gazing at him with pure innocence, as if she couldn’t understand why he was angry.
“Brother Ye, Xu Wei said she was coming back after changing her—holy shit, what is going on here?” Han Chao’s voice cut off abruptly at the doorway, followed immediately by an explosive gasp: “Boss, are you a beast? Even a little dummy, you couldn’t spare her?”
The moment Han Chao opened his mouth, Pei Huaiye swiftly grabbed the thin quilt off the bed and wrapped Jiang Ning Ran tightly from head to toe.
“Get the hell out!” he roared at Han Chao.
Han Chao raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, though he wore a sly, mocking grin: “I get it, I get it, I’ll roll far away right now and won’t ruin your fun. But Brother Ye, I didn’t take you for someone who’s into this type!”