Chapter 4: Heart and Expectations
After finishing our meal, we went for some more cold drinks and then went for a stroll around the food street, eating a lot.
I, of course, gave up halfway. Even though we had become zombies, my stomach was only so big, and the amount I could hold was limited. Not all zombies had enhanced digestive systems like Li Nai.
Xuan’er also seemed to have shaken off her earlier gloom and happily held my hand as we went from place to place seeking food.
It seemed she had finally cheered up, which was great.
Finally deciding to take a walk to digest before heading back, we unconsciously ended up near the arch bridge by Beishan Park.
Unfortunately, there weren’t many stars tonight; the sky was overcast, and it looked like it was going to rain.
“Ah~ So full, so satisfied~”
“You… is your stomach really connected to a black hole? Why aren’t you bloated at all after eating so much?”
Even Xuan’er, who was a ghoul, didn’t eat as much as this girl. Today, most of the food was devoured by her alone. Xuan’er could only be said to have tasted everything, while I silently enjoyed the leisurely time of feeding the loli.
Li Nai patted her flat stomach with a mischievous smile, and slyly leaned in to say.
“Hmm? Juncheng, do you want to see a beautiful girl’s full stomach? Oh my, I didn’t expect you to have such a fetish. Although we awakened zombies still have reproductive functions, so I could get pregnant, I’m not psychologically ready to have little zombie babies with you yet! Shy~”
Shy your sister! Speaking of which, can zombies even have children?
Hmm? Does that mean I also…
“That’s right. And because we’re zombies, our ‘hardness’ will be maintained, so we’ll be very ‘sturdy’. And that also has ‘potency’, so it can impregnate ordinary girls too.”
“Can you just shut your mouth?”
“Ahaha ha~ Juncheng, you and Nai Nai really are a great match, like a comedy duo~”
At this moment, Xuan’er was sitting on my shoulders, a shoulder ride, as she called it. She said she wanted to try seeing the view from up there, so I indulged her.
“In the few months I’ve known her, I’ve fully understood how terrible this girl’s personality is.
It’s not so much that she can’t read the atmosphere as much as she maliciously destroys it. Furthermore, she’s full of dirty jokes and trash talk, and her thick skin is comparable to city walls, making her impossible to deal with. The most infuriating thing is that she acts like this with us, but she’s so reliable and responsible as a class monitor at school, and especially popular with the girls. Pooh!
She’s even more detestable than Keling’s other side, that black-bellied little demon. She’s completely a useless woman.
I clearly saw on her ID photo that she was supposed to be a quiet girl. Why did she turn out like this after dying?
“Hey~ Juncheng, you’re so harsh on beautiful girls, you won’t be popular, you know?”
“The only person I know who calls herself a beautiful girl and boasts about it is you. Besides,
I’m already quite popular.”
“Hmph, such self-praise. In the end, Juncheng, you’re still a virgin.”
Bringing this up now only reminds me of those repeated hellish experiences. My mood instantly dropped by ten percentage points. I rolled my eyes and retorted.
“As if you’re not a virgin. Neither of us lost our virginity before we died, so we’re in the same boat, aren’t we?”
Hearing me say this, Li Nai looked up in shock and exclaimed.
“Eh?! How do you know I was a virgin!”
“You said so yourself last time.”
You even said you accidentally revealed a secret you took to your grave.
“Ahhh, am I an idiot? I revealed all these secrets!”
What’s there to be upset about? You are an idiot, heh, heh, heh.
Before another round of cold sarcasm could begin, Xuan’er chimed in.
“Ahaha, I’m a virgin too! It’s not something to be embarrassed about, is it?”
” ”
Li Nai and I stopped our retorts, exchanged a look, and said in unison.
“I think there isn’t anyone in existence who ‘can’ make a move on Xuan’er.”
“Anyone ‘who would’ make a move on little Xuan’er can already be considered scum among men.”
“Indeed. Let’s not even mention ability, anyone ‘who dares’ to make a move on Xuan’er must be a significantly twisted pervert.”
“Yeah, that’s already a crime.”
We nodded repeatedly. At this moment, we were surprisingly in sync, conversing as smoothly as if we had rehearsed our lines.
Xuan’er immediately became unhappy and tugged at my hair.
Although I couldn’t see her expression because she was on my neck, I could imagine what she looked like.
She must have puffed out her cheeks, bared her fangs, and looked defiant.
“What do you mean! Am I not cute! Why are you so sure there’s no one who would make a move on me! Besides, I’ve lived for five hundred years, it’s not strange to have experience!”
“Ah, how should I put it? Think about it, Xuanxuan. Ordinary people wouldn’t have the ability to get close to you.”
“And would you randomly get excited over a stranger?”
“Mmm, now that you say it, it does seem so…”
Loli *beach* or something, that should only exist in adults-only manga.
“And most importantly, with Xuanxuan’s physique…”
“Ah, you idiot, you can’t say that.”
“Anyone interested in you would absolutely be a super pervert!”
This idiot still said it.
Even I know some things shouldn’t be said casually, yet you just blurted it out. You’re not actually a stereotypical dense male with a gender crisis, are you?
Ouch ouch ouch, you’re pulling my hair out! Zombie hair grows very slowly, please go easy!
“It’s not like I don’t want to grow up myself—”
As expected, she’s angry. Ah, no matter how much she looks like a loli, she’s still a woman.
“However, I think Juncheng, you might become that pervert. Don’t you really like little lolis? Xue Qing has also been by your side all along. And, with you, isn’t it very possible that Xuanxuan might yield to you?”
Hey, hey, hey, what are you implying? I’m not a lolicon! I just like small, cute things!
Li Nai’s words made Xuan’er curious about me. She lowered her head, her waterfall-like black hair obscuring my vision, and looked at me as if in reverse and asked.
“Is that so? Juncheng? Do you have any interest in me in that way?”
“No, that…”
If I admit it now, wouldn’t that mean I’m admitting to being a lolicon!
Ugh, but looking at these innocent, expectant eyes, I…
And frankly, when Xue Qing and Xuan’er licked my wounds that time, I actually reacted. These two lolis are inexplicably alluring.
Ah, forget it. Today, Xuan’er is the protagonist, so I should try my best to make her happy.
“Mhm, a little… I think, maybe, I’m interested. Sometimes I do want to hug you.”
After saying this with extreme embarrassment, Xuan’er kissed my forehead and said happily in a cheerful tone.
“Hehe~ Love you~”
“Take that!”
“What right do you have to say that about me!”
“Isn’t it precisely because *you* threw the topic to me!”
Never mind, as long as Xuan’er is happy.
“Juncheng, let’s go to the summer comic con together, okay?”
Comic con, that sounds nice. Okay.”
“I want to go too!”
“Then let’s invite everyone to go together.”
During the summer, there are quite a few events like comic cons. Various comic cons are held at the international exhibition center and cultural center, covering almost the entire summer vacation. So, if we wanted to go out, there wouldn’t be a lack of places.
“Juncheng, you have to cosplay too~”
“Eh, I have to too?”
Cosplay seems like it’s just about putting on costumes and striking poses, but the level of embarrassment is quite high.
“Please spare me the cosplay. I don’t really like such attention-grabbing activities.”
“Please~ I’ve already bought the costume for you, Juncheng~”
Xuan’er agilely flipped from my head to my front, wrapping her arms around my neck and pleading with me with her big, watery eyes.
Alright, I lost. I can’t possibly resist these eyes in this lifetime. How could I refuse such a formidable gaze!
“Okay, okay, today you’re the princess, so of course, I’ll grant your every wish.”
I hooked her dimples and shoulders, supported her body in a princess carry, and agreed to her request with a smile.
“Hee hee, Juncheng, your skills at impressing girls are getting better and better? But I like the gentle Juncheng~”
“Juncheng, you’re playing favorites! You’re so nice to Xuanxuan, but you treat me coldly! You really are a lolicon!”
“Hehehehehe.”
A Lianbing-style mocking laugh is enough to return.
“What do you mean! I’m your savior, and I’m the one who turned you into a zombie. In terms of our relationship, I’m your ‘mother entity’! You should call me Mom!”
“Hahaha, ah hahahaha~”
“What nonsense…”
I looked at Li Nai with dark lines all over my face, feeling too exhausted to even retort.
My biological mother adopted you, and you call yourself my mother. I still have someone else at home… What is all this! The relationships are all mixed up!
Just then, a drop or two of rain fell on my face. I looked up at the sky and said.
“It looks like it’s going to rain. Let’s end our stroll here, or we’ll get soaked.”
“Yes, in that case, Juncheng, you should go straight home. I’ll take Xuanxuan back.”
“Should I go with you?”
“Hey, that’s very gentlemanly! But there’s no need. By the time I take you both back and return, the rain will probably have gotten heavier, and you’ll definitely get soaked. Isn’t your home very close? You go back first. We’ll go back through Black Street.”
“…”
Thinking about it, there’s probably nothing to worry about with these two. Fine then.
“I understand. I’ll see you at school tomorrow then.”
“Mhm, thank you for today~”
“That’s right, thanks for the treat!”
“Well, it’s nothing. If Xuan’er wants to eat, I can treat her anytime.”
After putting Xuan’er down, they both waved goodbye to me and walked into the park hand in hand.
I watched them until they disappeared before turning to go home.
When I reached my doorstep, it was already raining heavily. It looked like tomorrow would be quite cool.
Summer vacation is almost here.
This summer vacation might be different from usual. It won’t be a summer vacation spent cooped up at home every day, but one where we go out every day.
Thinking these thoughts, my mood couldn’t help but become cheerful. Perhaps I’ve grown a bit to feel this way.
Once upon a time, I was always alone, but now the word ‘lonely’ is becoming further and further away from me.
This is perhaps what youth is.
