My Girlfriend's a Monster - Chapter 43

“What are you doing standing here?” Luo Ke turned around to face Zhong Qingxiao’s astonished gaze, her dark eyes gleaming with cunning. “Has someone finally realized that they misunderstood me before?”

Zhong Qingxiao felt as if he’d been caught spying; he hastily averted his gaze and mumbled without answering.

So, Xiao Ke had known all along that Huo Sisi was a monster, and that’s why she ended up being thrown into the monster’s mouth, right?

He pinched his fingertips hard, and the image of that little orange cat surfaced in his mind again. So, had Xiao Ke always been the Xiao Ke from before, and all the misunderstandings merely the result of his biased perception once he knew her true identity?

Had he misunderstood Xiao Ke?

Zhong Qingxiao felt that might indeed be the case. He really should have a proper talk with Xiao Ke… if she would still listen to him, that is.

As time went by, the day quickly drew to a close. The plans for the residents of Baoliyuan to go out and gather supplies fell through because new monsters had appeared in the building, necessitating overnight watches.

Firstly, the monsters were mutations brought about by people from Baoliyuan, and secondly, since the residents of Chunfeng Community had already provided food without asking for anything in return, it was decided that Ge Hailong, Chen Ming, and Su Sheng’an would take turns to keep watch.

Chen Ming grumbled impatiently, his disdainful demeanor displeasing to the others.

“Why don’t you live inside the houses like they do?” Ge Hailong pointed towards Bai Lan and Luo Ke as he asked.

“Because we’re afraid of dying in our sleep or turning into monsters and disappearing,” Yan Cheng retorted sharply. “After all, Chunfeng Community is our territory; if you don’t follow the arrangements, just leave, or don’t blame us for being inhospitable.”

Ge Hailong stopped talking after hearing this, and Chen Ming shut his mouth as well.

Su Sheng’an snuggled up to Bai Lan like a big dog.

“Baby, can I stay and have dinner with you before I go?”

Bai Lan pushed him away somewhat awkwardly but eventually relented, “Alright, let’s go inside first.”

Luo Ke watched them thoughtfully and mimicked Su Sheng’an’s words, “Baby… Zhong Qingxiao baby.”

A contemplative look filled her eyes. She didn’t understand why adding a seemingly insignificant nickname made her suddenly want to kiss Zhong Qingxiao.

“Let’s head back too,” said Zhong Qingxiao.

As Luo Ke turned around, even her casual movement seemed to frighten Zhong Qingxiao; he still couldn’t bring himself to look into her eyes. Whenever he saw the opaque blackness in them, he would recall the terrifying, suffocating events of that night, feeling as if he had been disassembled into countless parts, used at will.

Zhong Qingxiao still felt that perhaps Luo Ke only saw him as a tool to vent her frustrations. Could monsters love? Then how to explain her rescuing a starving kitten from a room and finding another room with cat food to settle it in?

Do monsters have feelings after all? Luo Ke claimed she was different from those monsters, but was she the same as Huo Sisi? Were they invasive monsters, or were they born that way?

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Qingxiao gathered his courage and asked, “Xiao Ke, why did you save that kitten that day?”

The kitten? Luo Ke seemed to remember only then. Pretending to recall, she replied, “Of course, as a food reserve. I only eat meat, don’t you know?”

Zhong Qingxiao turned pale and could only watch as Luo Ke entered the house first.

Zhong Qingxiao had been sleeping for two days straight; Luo Meihua had been cooking since there was no more meat left at home, and tonight’s dinner was just a simple vegetarian noodle soup.

“I won’t eat it,” Luo Ke immediately refused, adamant about not consuming such food.

Luo Meihua was somewhat angry. “You’ve barely eaten for several meals now! How can your body withstand this?”

She truly hadn’t expected her daughter to be so obsessed with meat, to the point of starving rather than eating anything else.

Zhong Qingxiao keenly caught the words from Aunt Luo, and asked, “Aunt Luo, has Xiao Ke skipped several meals already?”

He knew the beef was gone; he was very aware of how much had been used from the beef he had brought home.

“Yes,” Luo Meihua hoped the prospective son-in-law could persuade her troublesome daughter, as their relationship seemed quite strong, and his words might be more effective than those of her mother.

She added, “Besides a cup of Soy Milk and two buns yesterday morning, she hasn’t eaten anything these past two days.”

Zhong Qingxiao’s face grew even grimmer; he had drunk both cups of Soy Milk yesterday morning, and Luo Ke hadn’t eaten anything at all…

He recalled Luo Ke saying she was very hungry while treating him; so, do monsters really only eat meat? It’s not that they choose to, but only meat can satisfy their hunger…

Luo Ke had Huo Sisi devour the monster in the underground parking lot; it seemed monsters do eat each other. If even their own kind isn’t spared, let alone humans who are naturally considered food…

So whether or not monsters choose to eat humans really depends on their conscience.

Luo Meihua didn’t understand why her prospective son-in-law seemed stunned after hearing her words. Just as she was about to ask Luo Ke to eat properly, she saw Luo Ke had already gone into her room.

“I’m taking a shower,” Luo Ke said, locking the door with a click.

“This child, how…” Luo Meihua sighed heavily and then turned to Zhong Qingxiao helplessly, “Qingxiao, please, talk to her. It’s not good to keep skipping meals like this. You don’t know how big her appetite used to be; she could finish several dishes by herself. She’s just too picky, I didn’t realize it was this bad until now…”

Luo Meihua’s rambling was calm, yet it pricked at Zhong Qingxiao’s sanity. Of course, he knew Luo Ke had a large appetite… Of course, he knew, but there wasn’t much left at home to feed her.

There was nothing left at home to feed Xiao Ke, and if she got too hungry, she might turn bad…

Zhong Qingxiao suddenly put down his chopsticks.

Luo Meihua, startled by his dazed look, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I, I…” Zhong Qingxiao stood up, “I need to step out for a bit.”

He moved somewhat clumsily as he put on his shoes, appearing very rushed.

Luo Meihua, puzzled, looked at Zhong Shuping, “I think Qingxiao has been too tired these days.”

Zhong Shuping sighed but couldn’t say much; his son was the only man in the family, and with the situation outside, the pressure was definitely there.

“I’ll talk to him later,” Zhong Shuping said.

The door to Room 1801 was opened, and Zhong Qingxiao stood at the threshold for a long time before remembering what he had come for.

He walked slowly towards Yan Cheng and asked, “Do you have plans to go out for supplies soon?”

Yan Cheng was startled by the question. Was Room 1801 running out of supplies? That couldn’t be right; Room 1801 was the least in need of supplies, and didn’t Zhong Qingxiao just generously provide food for a few people from Baoliyuan for a couple of days?

“We have enough food for another two weeks, so we’re not planning to go out yet,” Yan Cheng said. Surviving another day is a gain; ever since their last trip from the building, Hu Qiang has been having nightmares, and Yan Cheng felt everyone indeed needed a good rest.

“I see… Well, alright then,” Zhong Qingxiao said dejectedly and turned to leave.

“…Zhong Qingxiao?” Yan Cheng couldn’t help calling out to him, and Zhong Qingxiao turned back, looking confused.

“I feel you’ve been off these past few days. Is something wrong at home? Is someone sick?” Yan Cheng tried to inquire; ever since the day Zhong Qingxiao asked him to help with a corpse, Yan Cheng felt something was off about him.

“Ah.” Zhong Qingxiao seemed slow to respond, “No, no one is sick.”

“That’s good then,” Yan Cheng nodded, unsure of what else to say, and added dryly, “You should rest more.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zhong Qingxiao nodded, “Thank you.”

He walked back slowly… Yan Cheng thought Zhong Qingxiao was going home, but instead, he saw him heading over to ask people from Baoliyuan; what was he so eager to find outside?

“Really?” Zhong Qingxiao sounded somewhat happy, “You’re planning to go out for supplies tomorrow morning?”

“Yeah, we’re running out of food, aren’t we?” Ge Hailong smiled at him, “But we need to pry a car from the underground parking lot first, and your girlfriend said there are still monsters there, so we’re scared to go.”

Zhong Qingxiao shook his head, “No worries, I have a Flamethrower at home; I’ll go with you.”

“Ah, that’s great!” Ge Hailong exclaimed joyfully, “Then it’s settled; we’ll come to find you tomorrow, make sure you come with us.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Zhong Qingxiao nodded and turned around, feeling as if a weight had been lifted. He could go out now, and he could find meat for Xiao Ke so she wouldn’t have to starve.

She wouldn’t have to starve…

Chen Ming watched Zhong Qingxiao’s dazed appearance and snorted, “This guy looks like a delicate pillow.”

Ge Hailong frowned; he was already impatient with Chen Ming’s fussiness and needed to get the keys to his private stash from Chen Ming soon; he really didn’t want to deal with this garbage anymore!

Still, he smiled and responded, “What’s there to fear? When he’s alone, his Flamethrower will be ours, right?”

The matter of the meat was finally settled, and Zhong Qingxiao returned home. As soon as he entered, Curly rushed over, barking ferociously and bristling.

“Arf, arf, arf!” Curly’s barks were fierce, drawing the attention of the household.

“What’s wrong?” Zhong Qingxiao was surprised as he crouched down, stretching out his arms towards Curly, “Curly, don’t you recognize Dad?”

But instead of running to him, Curly whimpered and hid under the sofa.

Zhong Qingxiao was stunned.

“Maybe it’s because you have someone else’s scent on you,” Luo Meihua suggested, “Who did you see?”

Zhong Qingxiao nodded, “Oh, I just talked to some people from Baoliyuan.”

I’m so tired, so sleepy, I want to go to bed.

Zhong Qingxiao walked straight into his room.