Chapter 67.7 [Lin Ai] Part 3
This was a rare moment of relaxation amidst the days of living with bated breath, fighting for survival.
“Hmph, hmph~ hmph~”
Feeling cheerful, I hummed a tune, squeezed shampoo into my palm, rubbed it into foam, and then applied it to the hair in front of me, starting to knead it with care.
“How is it, Jun Cheng, is this strength okay?”
“Ah, ah, it’s fine—”
Jun Cheng’s hair was soft, like a wet cotton ball— it felt good to the touch. Heh heh.
That’s probably why his hair was always a mess when he woke up in the morning, because his hair was too soft.
It felt so comfortable that I wanted to keep stroking it like this— I was a little entranced.
At this moment, Jun Cheng’s voice woke me.
“I say, Sister Lin…”
Jun Cheng spoke hesitantly, his whole body shrinking back. It was rare to see him so hesitant.
“Hmm? What’s wrong? Jun Cheng?”
“It’s really such a waste… to use precious water resources like this. We’ve basically lost our reliable water sources now. This water could last us many days if we drank it.”
“Jun Cheng, you’re talking about this again. Haven’t we already agreed that I can use the water freely, as long as we leave enough to take with us?”
After finding this water, Jun Cheng and I discussed it. We decided to keep thirty bottles of drinking water. And the rest of the water, at my suggestion, was used for bathing.
“But still, using it like this…”
“Alright, we can’t take this much water with us anyway. If we don’t use it here, won’t it all go to waste?”
“Even so… I still don’t… um, I’ll go out first…”
Usually, he acted like a little adult, always staying calm and decisive. But after entering the bathroom, Jun Cheng seemed like a different person.
To retreat so easily at a time like this, it wasn’t—well, he hadn’t fully grown into a man yet.
My Jun Cheng was still a boy.
But it was only at times like this that I could see Jun Cheng’s childlike side.
Honestly, he was so cute I could get a nosebleed, ahhhhh!
Jun Cheng, who was easily embarrassed and timid, had a unique charm.
Cough, cough, calm down, Li Nai. You’re acting like a creepy aunt right now, you know?
“Alright, why are you going out now that you’re already in? The water will get cold soon. And didn’t you say bathing was a waste of water? Since you’ve already started, wouldn’t it be an even bigger waste not to enjoy it properly?”
“…Alri… I understand.”
Convinced by me, Jun Cheng sat obediently on the small stool, letting me play with his hair.
I casually massaged his ears, cheeks, and neck.
So satisfying!
I had already mastered the technique of talking to Jun Cheng.
As long as my reasoning was sound and logical, I could persuade him better.
In my hands, so as long as I was a little assertive when talking to Jun Cheng,
Ultimately, “reason” lay in the hands of the one holding the dominant speaking position.
By leading him along my train of thought, even Jun Cheng would be led by the nose.
“By the way, Sister Lin, where on earth did you get so much water—”
“Children shouldn’t ask so many questions!”
After rinsing Jun Cheng’s hair with a basin of water, I hugged him from behind and entered the bathtub.
“Sis… Sister Lin?! You’re… you’re sticking to me!”
Of course, I was doing it on purpose, but I pretended to be oblivious and wrapped my arms around Jun Cheng’s neck, as if I hadn’t noticed.
“Jun Cheng, you actually have a white hair! Let me pull it out for you?”
“…Wait, Sister Lin, you’re too close—”
“I’m pulling out your white hair, aren’t I? If I don’t get closer, I won’t be able to find it. Actually, there’s no white hair at all. It’s just an excuse to get closer to Jun Cheng.”
If I didn’t take this opportunity to get close to him, I wouldn’t have the spirit for a long time.
“I feel like, Sister Lin, you’ve become more and more…”
Jun Cheng said, sounding a little troubled.
“Become what?”
“Should I say more cheerful? When I first met you, Sister Lin, you were like a shy girl, but now you’re a bit…”
“Enthusiastic and open? Or shameless and vulgar?”
“No, not to that extent… um, I really don’t…”
“I know.”
“It’s not your fault, Jun Cheng. It’s just my wishful thinking.”
I cared too much about Jun Cheng. Especially after a major event like the zombie crisis, I came to rely on him as my anchor, a spiritual pillar to maintain myself.
So, could it be called codependency?
Compared to now, I was more like a walking dead person before. Ironically, in this doomsday scenario where everyone had become walking dead, I found someone who gave me a new lease on life.
I, who had no reason to live before, finally found the meaning of my existence.
So this is pure affection. The reason why I, who was originally introverted and gloomy, can face Jun Cheng so cheerfully is also because of this.
Or rather, I only act like this towards Jun Cheng.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like your sister like this?”
“No, it’s just… um, a little un—”
“Because Jun Cheng, you’ve always been like a brother taking care of your younger sisters. Now that you’re suddenly being taken care of like a younger sibling, it must be un—”
“Hmph… Do you want a sister, Jun Cheng?”
“A sister…”
Jun Cheng closed his eyes and began to think.
He was always like this, seriously contemplating every question, even if it was just a casual remark.
This was also why Jun Cheng was more mature than his cute appearance suggested.
After a moment of thought, Jun Cheng looked up and smiled at me.
“If having a sister feels like this right now, I think having a sister would be a very happy thing.”
“…Ugh, my heart is going to explode!”
I really wanted to meet his parents and thank them face-to-face: “Thank you so much for raising such an excellent son!”
It felt like a waste even to receive him myself.
Speaking of which, the fact that Jun Cheng and I are bathing together now is quite extravagant.
This child will definitely be a heartthrob in the future, not attracting women with superficial things like looks, money, or family background.
With this unique personality, there will definitely be a large crowd of girls lining up behind him, waiting to be pampered.
His words weren’t just pretty lies to flatter a woman. They were the result of careful consideration, his ‘true feelings.’
There was no hypocrisy or pretense.
Because they were ‘real,’ they were precious.
SF Light Novel.
“…Shota are the best!”
“Then, Jun Cheng, do you ‘want’ a sister?”
I deliberately emphasized the word ‘want,’
and pecked Jun Cheng’s ear with my lips facing down, saying something misleading.
“Uh, um, isn’t that the same question—”
“It’s not the same, is it? Jun Cheng, you should already know. Although usually, you only learn about physiological knowledge in biology class when you enter middle school, Jun Cheng, you… you already know, right? Naughty boy~”
“Ugh—”
Jun Cheng shrunk himself even smaller, his ears turning red.
This reaction was enough to guess the truth.
“Hmph, you do know, don’t you? Look, ‘this’ has also grown up~”
“…Sister Lin, stop fooling around!”
Jun Cheng seemed a bit angry, but if I gave up now, there would be no progress.
“You know, I’ve been calling you Jun Cheng instead of Xiao An for a long time now. And you still call me Sister Lin. Sister is so—… *sniffle sniffle*~”
Honestly, I looked disgusting like this.
In the end, my personality was never associated with words like cheerful, outgoing, lively, or sunny. I knew very well what kind of person I was. For example, I was like the kind of person who sat alone in a corner at a class reunion drinking juice, and when people talked to me, they’d say, “What was your name again?”—a character with no presence.
Just as Jun Cheng said, I was just forcing myself to act this way.
I felt like I was wearing my underwear backwards when I made such uncharacteristic cute gestures and deliberately used such a drastically changing tone.
Unless I lost all my memories and my intelligence dropped to that of an idiot who only knew how to eat, this discomfort would never disappear.
However, if it meant getting closer to Jun Cheng,
It was all worth the effort.
“I get it, I get it! Okay, Ai Jiejie. Let go now!”
“One more time.”
“Ai Jiejie?”
“Ai Jie… Calling you that is a little embarrassing…”
“Can you add ‘I’ in front of it?”
“I love— huh? That’s not right. Sister? Sister, you have a nosebleed!”
Ahhh… My Xiao An, Xiao Cheng… He actually said ‘I love sister’, ahhhh!
Project: Raise a Beautiful Boy! Mission Accomplished!
Overcome with excitement, I fainted in the bathroom.
When I woke up, I found myself lying in bed. Jun Cheng was on the balcony, observing the streets with binoculars.
I was already wearing a long-sleeved shirt and shorts. Jun Cheng must have put them on me, right? He also dried me…
Just thinking about it made me excited.
Ah, I’m not wearing underwear right now, it’ll be troublesome if it gets wet. I don’t have many spare pants.
Control yourself.
“Jun Cheng.”
“Ah, …Sister Ai, you’re awake?”
“Yes! I’m awake!”
Completely awake!
The name ‘Ai Jiejie’ is wonderful! Was I a genius for coming up with the fake name Lin Ai in the first place?
“That’s great, I was a little unsure what to do just now… Um, I, I didn’t see anything—”
“Oh? Saw what?”
“N-nothing…”
Oh well, I’ll tease him up to this point. If I push it too far, Jun Cheng might get sulky.
“Jun Cheng, how many zombies are there outside?”
“More and more… There’s no sign of them decreasing.”
…..
How many days have passed?
It seems like Jun Cheng and I have been in this apartment for seven or eight days, but the zombies in the vicinity haven’t decreased; if anything, they’ve increased.
With the outbreak of the zombie crisis, the entire city plunged into chaos. Jun Cheng and I, who had planned to escape the city, could only huddle in one location, unable to move, surrounded by the ever-increasing horde of zombies.
I think if no one stops this, this world might just be over.
But what does that have to do with me?
As long as Jun Cheng and I can survive well, everything else is fine.
I’ve now become able to control my emotions and desires.
I don’t intend to change the status quo.
