WS - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Yu Nianbing lolled against the sofa, watching Song Shiyue at the other end contentedly stuff the last xiaolongbao into her mouth. She sighed softly, feeling a faint headache coming on.

How had things come to this? Yu Nianbing looked at the empty steamer on the table and couldn't help raising a hand to rub her brow.

A few minutes ago, what had gotten into her? How had she agreed to let this girl polish off her leftover xiaolongbao?

When Song Shiyue was brought in, the doctor said that if she woke, she should start with something light, like bland congee, to see how she did. So Yu Nianbing had only prepared a bowl of rice congee for her.

Watching the congee vanish at an astonishing speed while Song Shiyue's stomach still rumbled like beating drums, Yu Nianbing naturally asked Song Shiyue whether she should order some food from Ciming Hospital's cafeteria via StarNet.

The young girl shyly agreed to the suggestion, and then Yu Nianbing ordered some food.

Later...

What had happened later?

Yu Nianbing's brow-rubbing hand grew heavier.

Was it the longing gaze that kept drifting toward the steamer on the table?

Was it the stomach growling even louder when she pretended to look away after being caught?

Thus, Yu Nianbing had an inkling. Thinking of the terrible day Song Shiyue had endured, her heart softened, and she said, "Those have already gone cold, you can't eat them. The doctor said to keep it light, but if you want some, we can order another steamer."

What kind of eyes were those?

Hope and joy layered upon each other, like blossoming flowers, unfolding in that young girl's eyes.

Especially after confirming that she wouldn't be eating those cold xiaolongbao, she jumped off the hospital bed with nimble movements...

Before eating something that had an owner, of course one had to ask the owner's permission.

Yu Nianbing remembered her head shaking again and again...

But in the end, amid that radiant floral splendor, she nodded slightly.

Even for a moment, Yu Nianbing felt that her head-shaking was a cruelty. Her refusal wasn't about not letting her eat a steamer of leftovers; it was strangling a sincere expectation and hope...

As if bewitched, she nodded.

Afterwards, she could only find reasons for herself: the girl had just attempted suicide, wanting to eat was a good thing, it'd be better not to refuse or upset her.

But did Song Shiyue even look like someone who'd attempted suicide?

From the moment Song Shiyue awoke on the hospital bed, Yu Nianbing had repeatedly forgotten that she'd tried to kill herself just a few hours earlier.

Sigh. Growing up, Yu Nianbing had never eaten someone else's leftovers, and of course she'd never let anyone eat hers.

Although xiaolongbao were individual pieces, looking better than a plate of leftover food, they were still leftovers...

Just watching Song Shiyue eat the xiaolongbao she hadn't finished made Yu Nianbing's face feel a bit hot.

At least the congee came with chopsticks, otherwise it'd really be unbearable...

Yu Nianbing's inner turmoil was something Song Shiyue truly did not understand.

How precious food was in the apocalypse, people from the normal world could never comprehend. In the apocalypse, even a few handfuls of edible weeds and roots could stir up trouble. Half a bowl of bitter herb soup or a couple bites of rough vegetable mash could spark a fight to the death. Let alone cold, uneaten xiaolongbao — the contention it would spark in the apocalypse would be like walking through a bustling market in the normal world, carrying a sack of diamonds and tossing them around for fun.

In the seven years of the apocalypse, pork was something you only got a taste of in the first year or two, from the occasional found cans and sealed food with longer shelf lives. Later, those either became impossible to find or expired and inedible. As for the mutated animals later discovered and domesticated, like the Stone-Foot White-Skin Pig, if not cooked by the correct recipe, the taste was a disaster.

Delicacies like xiaolongbao — flour wrapping fresh meat, so labor-intensive and ingredient-heavy — Song Shiyue dared not even dream of them. She was afraid that if she did, she'd wake to find her pillow soaked with drool.

When xiaolongbao were cold, the skin turned a bit tough, encasing semi-congealed broth and still slightly warm meat filling. No need to first bite the skin and suck out the soup; you just rolled it in the vinegar dish and then stuffed the whole thing in your mouth.

Before even biting, the vinegar touched the tip of the tongue, a sharp sour jolt.

Song Shiyue was so hungry, so ravenous, that were it not for her conscious control, her body would have surrendered first, unable to wait for a proper chew; her tongue would have sent the whole thing straight into her empty stomach.

Her teeth hurriedly bit through that thin skin, releasing the semi-congealed broth locked inside — savory with a hint of sweetness — instantly overpowering the vinegar, at last preventing her from swallowing it whole out of sheer hunger.

After just two chews, Song Shiyue couldn't stop her eyes from reddening.

What kind of paradise was this, without that pervasive stench of corpses, and the food so delicious.

Even cold xiaolongbao were the finest delicacy Song Shiyue hadn't tasted in all these years.

To be able to live as a human once more was truly a stroke of immense luck. Had she possessed a flower or a plant instead, where would this happiness be?

She hadn't even had time to speak to Yu Nianbing beside her; Song Shiyue just popped them one by one, polishing off the remaining six xiaolongbao in the steamer.

Only when both steamer and mouth were empty did Song Shiyue reluctantly set down her chopsticks.

Yu Nianbing reflexively opened her StarNet to glance at it. "The food I ordered will be here soon. Mm... your agent seems to be arriving soon too. Do you want to contact him?"

Contact... StarNet...

Song Shiyue hesitated a moment, then shook her head.

Although she had received the original host's memories, aside from not resonating with her emotions, it seemed she hadn't gained her skills either.

Relying solely on the original host's memories of using StarNet, Song Shiyue could manage, but her operation would surely be clumsy. This was something best explored when she was alone.

Yu Nianbing did not know if Song Shiyue's head-shake meant that since her agent was almost there, there was no need to contact him, or if she didn't want her agent to know about the suicide attempt...

Earlier, Yu Nianbing had seen Song Shiyue's suicide note from the table that had poked through the wall, and she had some understanding of her situation. In the note, Song Shiyue had seemed rather grateful and apologetic toward her agent. Compared to that father of hers, Yu Nianbing had chosen to contact Song Shiyue's agent.

Still, she hadn't expected Song Shiyue to be in such good shape after waking up...

Yu Nianbing wanted to speak, hesitated, but in the end said nothing.

They were hardly connected to each other anyway. Having come across this and helped to this point was about enough. As for what would become of Song Shiyue later, whether she could give up thoughts of suicide, or how to handle her family mess—those weren't things she should meddle in. So Yu Nianbing admonished herself.

As Yu Nianbing fell silent, Song Shiyue realized that with her agent coming, Yu Nianbing would be leaving soon.

"I truly thank you for today." Song Shiyue's gratitude was sincere. When she spoke again, it was with some embarrassment. "That wall... could you have someone patch it up first? I'll pay for it later. Or if you're not in a hurry, I can find someone after I'm out. I've really caused you trouble..."

Yu Nianbing had kept in mind not to provoke someone who'd attempted suicide. Earlier, when Qiu Yishan was still there, words had been exchanged in the heat of the moment; she wasn't sure how long Song Shiyue had been awake or how much she'd heard. But afterward, even though Song Shiyue had behaved remarkably well from the moment she woke, showing no sign of psychological issues, Yu Nianbing hadn't let down her guard, not bringing up anything related to suicide again, and spoke only about food and drink.

Now, Song Shiyue had brought up that wall of her own accord.

Having already decided not to get more involved, just to quietly wait for Song Shiyue's agent to arrive and then leave, Yu Nianbing finally couldn't help but ask, "So, do you know what happened with that wall?"

"..." Song Shiyue turned her head to look at the somewhat messy hospital bed. "Um... probably... a quality issue?"

Like hell I'd believe that... Why don't you just say you're the chosen one and heaven collapsed the wall to save you? Do you think that table that poked through was fake?

Yu Nianbing mentally grumbled, but didn't press further.

How on earth had it come to this? Clearly it was just a matter of making a phone call to the police, but step by step, she'd gotten more and more involved...

Yu Nianbing looked somewhat vexed at Song Shiyue, who was still pretending nothing had happened, blaming everything on building quality. The latter seemed to sense her gaze, turned her head, their eyes met briefly, and then she looked away.

Yes, it was those eyes.

Clear, surprised, joyful, hopeful, earnest, innocent, sly...

So full of life...

That made people unconsciously concede a little more.

Yu Nianbing reflected that so many of the things she'd done today were things she normally wouldn't do. She unconsciously furrowed her brow, stopped looking at Song Shiyue, and turned her gaze elsewhere.

Song Shiyue's agent arrived at the door just as the food from Ciming Hospital's cafeteria was delivered.

Ciming was a very high-end hospital on Beichen Planet. Even the cafeteria delivery guy was handsome and dashing, dressed in a three-quarter-sleeve white suit with black leather shoes, pushing a silver tray cart, exuding a clean, high-class feel.

In contrast, Wang Mancang, Song Shiyue's agent, who appeared outside the door alongside the delivery guy, looked rather shabby.

A black suit that couldn't contain his plump belly, mud splattered from the knees down, a large burlap sack in his left hand, and another in his right...

Not like an entertainment company's agent, but more like a country relative coming to visit a patient.

Yu Nianbing's prior knowledge of Song Shiyue had been limited to what Qiu Yishan had reported back after investigating following the confession incident. As for Wang Mancang, she really didn't know him at all.

It was only after Song Shiyue checked the surveillance, nodded, that Yu Nianbing believed the mud-covered fat man dragging two sacks was really her agent, and then she opened the door.

Wang Mancang entered, not even wiping his sweat, and gave Song Shiyue a thorough once-over. Seeing that she seemed largely unharmed, he finally pointed at her, a bit angry, and muttered a few words.

Yu Nianbing listened; Wang Mancang just kept muttering "You child," "You really...", "Aiya, this child..." unable to come up with anything new. But seeing how his full attention was on Song Shiyue the moment he entered, his exasperated, fed-up expression showing he was truly angry but also deeply concerned, it probably matched what was written in the suicide note—he indeed cared a great deal for Song Shiyue.

With Wang Mancang here, they would have their own conversation. Yu Nianbing wasn't planning to stick around, so she interrupted Wang Mancang's rambling and prepared to take her leave.

A basketful of words of gratitude, which Yu Nianbing had expected.

But... this burlap sack... what was this about?

Carrying a large burlap sack that was still moving, Yu Nianbing stood outside the hospital room, looked back at the closed door, and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

The delivery guy who had come out with Yu Nianbing extended a friendly hand and took the sack.

Yu Nianbing followed the guy a couple of steps out, but couldn't resist turning back to glance at the hospital room door again.

Would that bowl of congee, two steamed rolls, and two small side dishes be enough for her?

After that brief glance back, Yu Nianbing smiled wryly and shook her head. What was she even thinking? This matter was over. After such an awkward incident, they would only be strangers from now on.

What Yu Nianbing didn't know was that at almost the same moment, inside the hospital room, Song Shiyue also glanced at the door. What she was thinking was, What a pity. One confession, one suicide—the only two times they'd met, both had been terrible. Otherwise, maybe they could have been friends.

Too bad. Anyone who shared food was a good person.

Although a little regretful, Song Shiyue didn't linger on it for too long.

Really... this original host's agent was a bit hard to describe...

Looking at the things Wang Mancang pulled out of the sack, Song Shiyue lifted a hand to rub her forehead, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

As luck would have it, Yu Nianbing had left, and now it was Song Shiyue's turn to get a headache.

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