Ch64 - Xiao Ci, You're the Only One I Like
"Squeak~"
The alarm outside suddenly blared. Meng Ci and Yun Jingcen hurried out with their belongings.
Could those bandits have sneaked back?
Before Meng Ci could even open the stairwell door to investigate, a familiar voice echoed from outside.
"Damn it! Who set up this electric fence?!"
"F*ck! It electrocuted me!"
"Once I get my hands on Meng Ci, I'll toss all you useless pieces of trash out!"
Hearing this, Meng Ci rolled his eyes dramatically.
Such a fuss over this guy? How embarrassing.
Meng Ci explained to Yun Jingcen and the others, "Um, that guy has a grudge against me!"
Yun Jingcen nodded, calmly lowering the baseball bat in her hand before asking, "Need any help?"
"No!"
Since he declined assistance, Yun Jingcen and the others didn't linger and left.
Ruan Qing, however, hesitated to depart. "Gege, do you need me to help?"
Meng Ci shook his head. "No, you should go back."
With Ruan Qing's petite frame, staying here wouldn't help-he'd probably need looking after himself.
Showing Ruan Qing the long knife in his hand, Meng Ci declared, "See this? With this, no one dares mess with me."
"Gege, I can back you up here."
Saying this, Ruan Qing placed his hands on his hips and tried his hardest to look fierce.
But Ruan Qing was naturally adorable, and this attempt only made him seem cute rather than intimidating.
"Thank you for your kindness!"
"But having just me and Shen Que here is sufficient. Besides, blades and guns have no eyes!"
"What if I accidentally hurt you? How would the teachers blame me?"
"Fine."
Seeing Meng Ci genuinely didn't need his help, Ruan Qing reluctantly walked away.
He still grumbled inwardly: Why did Gege only ask Shen Que for help? They're both guys, after all.
Shen Que helped open the stairwell door, revealing Liu Jie standing there hesitantly, studying how to bypass the electric fence.
Hearing the door open, Liu Jie looked over expectantly and spotted Meng Ci.
"Meng Ci, Xiao Ci, you need to get rid of this thing."
Meng Ci rolled his eyes. "Get rid of what?"
"Liu Jie, you're either brainless or have something wrong with your brain."
"Didn't I tell you before? Don't let me see you, or I'll beat you every time I spot you."
Liu Jie wasn't the least bit afraid. Instead, he shamelessly. declared, "Xiao Ci, I know you like me."
"I liked Yaya before, but I was only fooled by her sweet talk."
"Now I've come to my senses. I know the person I like most is still you."
"Xiao Ci, can you give me a chance?"
"Ah!"
Before Liu Jie could finish, an arrow whizzed past his ear and landed on the ground.
The icy-cold shaft grazed his ear, sending him tumbling backward onto the floor.
"Xiao Ci, you-"
Meng Ci lowered her bow, her expression cold. "Get out."
"Stop being an eyesore here."
Yesterday, while preparing, they had arranged this space behind the door, setting up two tables laden with weapons.
Liu Jie swallowed hard. Recalling his earlier ordeal, he didn't want to leave so easily and resorted to emotional appeals.
"Xiao Ci, for the sake of our time as classmates, please take me in just this once!"
"I promise to behave myself from now on. I absolutely won't fall for anyone else."
"If you tell me to go east, I won't go west!"
Meng Ci was surprised that Liu Jie still refused to leave even after his threats. He grew curious about what had happened at the refugee camp that made Liu Jie and so many others flee back.
"And... and I brought back a rubber dinghy."
"Xiao Ci, in this downpour, a rubber raft is the most crucial thing. With it, we can go find food."
Liu Jie pulled out a mangled, unrecognizable object from behind him. If he hadn't said it was a rubber raft, no one would have guessed.
"Xiao Ci, look!"
Meng Ci leaned against the door, nodding. "Want me to let you stay? Fine!"
Liu Jie's eyes lit up as he looked at Meng Ci. "Xiao Ci, I knew you still liked me!"
"You couldn't bear to leave me alone and helpless."
With that, Liu Jie dropped everything in his hands and climbed two steps upward.
Seeing the electric fence before him, fear still crept into Liu Jie's heart.
"Xiao Ci, hurry up and get rid of this thing. Let me up."
Now that Meng Ci was finally with him, what use were these old junk items anyway!
Shen Que stood nearby, wanting to say something, but remembering Meng Ci wasn't
usually impulsive, he held back.
Meng Ci said, "Wait, I haven't finished speaking."
Liu Jie stood still, frowning. "Xiao Ci, what else is there to say?"
"Just let me in the house! Cook me a meal! You have no idea how starved I am!"
Meng Ci rolled his eyes. Even now, this guy hasn't shed his arrogant streak.
"Want to come in? First tell me what happened at the refugee settlement."
"If I'm satisfied with your explanation, I'll let you in!"
Mentioning the refugee settlement immediately unleashed a torrent of grievances from Liu Jie.
"That so-called refugee settlement? It was nothing but a free labor camp for us."
As he spoke, Liu jie thrust his hands toward Meng Ci.
"Xiao Ci, look at my hands-they're all blistered!"
It turned out that the soldiers had brought the displaced refugees to the villa district Meng Ci had purchased.
But when the torrential rain first hit, the military had divided it into two sections: one for the wealthy residents, and the other as a refugee settlement.
Initially, due to insufficient housing, taking in all the refugees would have been impractical, so only a portion of the residents were accepted.
These residents could only earn food by working daily under the pouring rain. Their tasks involved digging drainage ditches and building houses.
The houses they built were for the refugees to live in.
Each room was only a few square meters, barely enough space for a simple single bed. Forget about a bathroom-even washing your face meant walking a long way. And if anyone caused trouble, they'd be kicked out.
Of course, if someone there wanted to leave, the soldiers would give them a rubber dinghy. Beyond that, the only things they could take were their own personal belongings.
Many couldn't endure such hardship and chose to leave!
But outside, torrential rains raged and bandits ran rampant. Most residents who ventured out inevitably fled back.
During labor, soldiers patrolled at regular intervals. Slackers were noted, and their rations were reduced at mealtime.
Liu Jie, unaccustomed to such labor, naturally struggled. He often needed to rest after digging for just a short while, leaving him perpetually hungry at mealtimes.
Protests? Of course there were protests!
But after witnessing several ringleaders being ruthlessly shot, the rest dared not stir.
All they could do was pray silently for the storm to end quickly.
Meng Ci understood the situation upon hearing this.
The apocalypse was still days away, and a blizzard was imminent.
If they didn't finish building the houses now, once the blizzard hit, they wouldn't even have a place to shelter from the cold. More people would likely die.