Ch15 Yaya, He Said He Likes Your Mom
WARNING: MENTIONS AND ACTS OF RAPE! NEAR THE END OF THE STORY.
Liu Jie flung open the kitchen door, ready to storm downstairs and confront the culprit.
It had to be someone downstairs who spotted his stash of food. Otherwise, why would such a sturdy plastic bag have torn?
And it was torn only at the bottom!
"Brother Jie, what's wrong?" Li Xiaoya approached, concern evident in her voice.
Liu Jie shook his head. "Nothing!"
The food outside that window was his secret stash. He couldn't let Li Xiaoya know about it.
Besides, even if he went down now, they'd probably already eaten it.
If things blew up and Li Xiaoya and the others figured out what happened, they wouldn't let it go easily.
What if they kicked him out? He'd be homeless.
So for now, Liu jie had no choice but to swallow his pride.
He still needed to find a way to get food.
The torrential rain had been falling for five days, showing no sign of stopping.
Since the second day of the downpour, people without food at home had been calling the mayor's hotline, emergency assistance lines, or even the police for help.
But with such heavy rain, there was nothing they could do!
And starting yesterday, the phone lines had gone dead.
All people could hear on TV and radio were warnings to stay indoors to avoid being swept away by floodwaters.
"I just called Meng Ci. He said some of their roommates traded their bodies for food."
Li Xiaoya exploded upon hearing this.
"Liu Jie, what are you thinking? I won't do something like that."
"If you want to, go ahead." Liu Jie quickly reassured her, pulling her into his arms. "I never said you should."
"I can barely keep up with how much I like you-why would I let you do anything with another man?"
"Waaah, I knew Brother Jie was the best!"
Li Xiaoya wrapped her arms around Liu Jie's waist, looking at him expectantly.
"But Brother Jie, what are we going to do now?"
"I'm so hungry."
In modern society, buying things is convenient, and many families don't stockpile large amounts of food.
Nowadays, even if someone offered a thousand yuan, no one would be willing to sell a single bag of instant noodles
Li Xiaoya and the others had been starving for nearly twenty hours.
Liu Jie pondered for a moment. "When I traded money for food earlier, I saw a household to the north with a fat guy living there."
"Probably some deadbeat couch potato with plenty of food at home. Why don't I go ask him what he wants?"
"Then we'll figure out what to do next!"
"Alright."
Li Xiaoya nodded and urged, "Brother Jie, you must be careful."
"Got it."
Liu Jie opened the door and stepped out. Li Xiaoya, uneasy, followed behind and hid around a corner.
She watched as Liu Jie knocked on a door. Moments later, it opened.
Li Xiaoya saw a man in his thirties, his face shiny with oil and his beard unkempt.
Their voices were low, and Li Xiaoya couldn't make out what they said. Seeing their discussion end, she quickly ran back.
Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu lay on the bed, too hungry to move.
Li Xiaoya hadn't wanted them on her bed, but she couldn't refuse them.
"So, how'd it go, Brother Jie?" Li Xiaoya pulled Liu Jie into the kitchen, asking eagerly.
Liu Jie hesitated. "I asked. He said he likes married women, especially those in their forties."
"Well, you see..."
Li Xiaoya shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "This... it can't be. My mom..."
"Growl, growl." Their stomachs rumbled again.
Li Xiaoya rubbed her own belly, hesitating. "This... I need to think about it. I need to think about it."
Then she left the kitchen.
Liu Jie stared at the kitchen door, looking determined.
As the rain continued and the temperature dropped, Meng Ci put on a jacket. He then took out a single-serving electric hotpot and prepared a spicy broth base.
Lamb slices, beef slices, tripe, hotpot meatballs...
Lotus root, potato slices, gluten, dried tofu sticks...
Meng Ci grabbed two nine-section hotpot trays, selected ingredients from his spatial pocket, and mixed a bowl of secret-recipe dipping sauce.
He also fetched a large bottle of cola, scooped a bowl of steaming rice, and ate right at the coffee table.
Later, when he saw Liu Jie mention on the monitor that the fat guy across the street liked married women, Meng Ci couldn't help but laugh.
That fat guy clearly likes men, okay?
In the book, it was precisely for this reason that Liu Jie and Li Shanyang traded food to send Meng Ci straight to the fat guy.
Now Liu Jie was claiming the fat guy liked married women. Who knew what he'd said to change that person's orientation like that?
Meng Ci wasn't buying it.
After leisurely finishing his meal and digesting for a bit, Meng Ci lay on the sofa and started watching a movie.
He had no idea when he'd fallen asleep, but he was jolted awake by a sudden roar.
The room was pitch black. Meng Ci stretched lazily, fumbled for the light switch in the dark, and only then turned his attention to the surveillance feed.
Pulling a steaming cup of bubble tea from his spatial pocket, Meng Ci leaned back on the couch, crossing one leg over the other.
"Uncle LI, Aunt Zhang, Yaya."
"What are you doing? Why did you tie me up?"
"This kind of joke isn't funny at all."
On the monitor, Liu Jie was bound and gagged, his face panicked.
"Yaya, Yaya, please talk to Uncle and Auntie. Let me go."
Liu Jie shot a pleading look at Li Xiaoya. Seeing his own predicament, he knew exactly what awaited him.
That fat guy really did prefer men.
But when Liu Jie negotiated with the fat guy, offering to reduce the food supply, he reluctantly agreed to take Zhang Lu.
Little did he know he'd become the prey.
Li Xiaoya covered her mouth, standing behind Li Shanyang and Zhang Lu. Tears welled in her eyes as she shook her head.
"Brother Jie, I'm sorry-I had no choice!"
"They overheard it. I couldn't stop them."
Zhang Lu stepped forward and slapped Liu Jie across the face.
"You bitch! You dared to incite my daughter to send me to someone else's bed? Look at yourself!"
Li Shanyang, equally enraged, kicked him several times. "You dare scheme against us? You're asking for death!"
"Knock knock knock!"
Hearing the knock, Li Shanyang hurried over to welcome the visitor inside, his smile obsequious.
"We've got the person ready. Take a look. When should we send them over?"
The fat man from earlier walked in, leering at Liu Jie.
"Get lost!" Liu Jie spat at the fat man.
"Don't touch me!"
The fat man wiped the spit off his face and forcefully pinched Liu Jie's cheek.
"Feisty little thing-I like that!" He then stuck out his tongue and licked Liu Jie's cheek.
Seeing the venom in Liu Jie's eyes, the fat man didn't even bat an eyelid.
No matter how fiery his temper, he was still a lamb on the chopping block.
"Send them now." With that, the fat man strutted out.
Zhang Lu and Li Shanyang quickly helped Liu Jie out.
Liu Jie struggled, turning to plead with Li Xiaoya.
"Xiaoya, save me! Save me!"
"Brother Jie..."
Li Xiaoya's reluctant voice trailed off. Only after confirming Liu Jie was out of sight did she wipe away her tears and head to the kitchen to boil water.
The mere thought of having food soon made her happiness impossible to contain.
Meng Ci watched this scene unfold and chuckled softly.
It was only the fifth day of the apocalypse, and already they were turning on each other like dogs. How amusing.
Still, Meng Ci found it odd that Li Xiaoya had switched sides. He adjusted the surveillance feed, intending to review what had happened earlier.