The Journey of Resident Evil - Chapter 30 - Qimeng's Secret

Ye Xiang said, “This watermelon is the one I brought over the day before yesterday. With nothing to do tonight, I thought we might as well eat some.”

I picked up a watermelon, knocking on it, and said, “Then why did you bring so many?”

“We ate quite a few at first, but we didn’t have any last night.”

I should have thought of that. We went to bed early and didn’t have a romantic watermelon feast with Qimeng and Xueqi.

“Can’t be bothered talking to you! Get all the watermelons out and let’s all have some!”

There weren’t many watermelons in Ye Xiang’s room, just five or six, but with so many people, half a watermelon each was enough.

“Qimeng, Xueqi, come and eat watermelon, everyone!”

“Ye Ling, you’re having a watermelon feast at night and didn’t even tell us!” I was holding a watermelon and handed another to Liu Feng.

I sat on a stool, with Qimeng and Xueqi on either side of me, each with a spoon, taking bites one by one.

I’s truly a good man, caring for his wives, even if there are two of them.

“Tiankuang, are we really going tomorrow?” Qimeng asked as she took a bite of the watermelon I offered her.

“Yeah, we have to go tomorrow,” I nodded, confirming.

Qimeng was wearing camouflage clothing and a hat taken from the armory, her face slightly red from the midday sun, making her even more charming. Xueqi, with her big eyes and adorable little mouth, was even more irresistible, and I couldn’t help but give her a kiss!

“There are so many people, aren’t you afraid of being seen?” I gave a reassuring look to Qimeng and Xueqi.

“Really, there’s nothing to be afraid of! Now that we have cars, guns, bombs-everything we need, with plenty of ammunition, what’s there to worry about?” Liu Yonglin said.

Fei Fei walked over, patting Qimeng on the back, and said, “Don’t worry, Qimeng, Tian will be fine, and everyone will be okay, living well!”

Qimeng was worried I might get hurt; she wasn’t afraid of dying herself, just concerned about me. Fei Fei was right this time, and I nodded to her, “Thanks!” Even though I didn’t say it out loud, Fei Fei understood!

Apocalypse, who came up with that idea? Either make it quick or scrap the whole end-of-the-world scenario, it’s just like a world war.

Everyone just wants to live, what kind of world is this!

Sun Jing suddenly began to sing a love song, tender and slow.

Xueqi is a musical genius, but she just didn’t want to sing at that moment, for reasons unknown. When she was in school, she performed on stage every day and participated in all kinds of singing competitions. Now, she simply won’t sing.

With such a beautiful voice, who would want to miss out? Liu Yonglin came over like a fan, offering corn in exchange.

“Xueqi, it’s been so long since I’ve heard your voice,” Ye Xiang said, holding some corn, trying to tempt her.

“Cut it out, aren’t you hearing my voice now?” Xueqi pouted.

“I misspoke. I want to hear Sister Xueqi sing,” Liu Yonglin said with a smile.

“Forget it, I’m not singing for you guys! Hehe,” Xueqi giggled, “I only sing for Tian at night!”

“Your Tian would also love to hear you sing for us!” Liu Yonglin glanced at me, “Right, Tian?”

“Get lost.” I, of course, knew Liu Yonglin was joking about Xueqi calling me Tian.

“Xueqi, it’s rare to see you so happy, just sing one song!” Qimeng suggested. “How about we sing ‘We all want to be well’ together?”

“Okay.” Surprisingly, Qimeng’s suggestion worked better than anything; as soon as she spoke, Xueqi agreed. If we had known, we would have just asked Qimeng instead of pleading with her for so long without a response.

Liu Yonglin’s corn, however, was his most successful roasted corn, and Xueqi took it.

Fei Fei said, “Tiankuang, come here for a moment.”

After releasing Qimeng, I followed Fei Fei to the side and asked, “What’s up?”

“This time, when you go there, take extra care of Qimeng. I feel like she has something on her mind!” Fei Fei said. “And don’t mention any of this to her, okay?”

“Alright,” I nodded and didn’t continue the conversation with Fei Fei. What could be troubling Qimeng? I really didn’t know. Is it because of me, or Xueqi?

It couldn’t be. But it seems like Qimeng really doesn’t want me to go there. Yet, we’ve prepared so much, I have to go!

I made up my mind. Everyone really wanted to go because our family and friends are still there!

Liu Qi, Liu Yin, and Qian Jing, even Sun Jing-even though she’s a girl-she still wants to go!

“Xueqi, come over here, I have something to tell you,” I called out to Xueqi, who was next to Qimeng.

Xueqi heard me calling her, glanced at Qimeng, then stood up and walked over to me.

“Tian,” she said politely, which everyone knew was typical of her, even towards me.

I patted Xueqi’s head and wiped away some watermelon seeds from the corner of her mouth. “Xueqi, did Qimeng say anything to you?”

I thought Qimeng might have mentioned something to Xueqi, but it turned out Xueqi wasn’t telling me anything!

“I don’t know! Qimeng-Jie didn’t say anything to me! What’s going on with Qimeng-Jie?” I wasn’t sure if Xueqi truly didn’t know anything or just didn’t want to say, and she even asked me back about Qimeng.

I looked at Xueqi and asked again, “Xueqi, do you really not know anything? This is quite serious, you know?”

“I really don’t know!” Xueqi pouted. This girl has learned to act cute, which probably means she knows something but doesn’t want to tell me!

I pretended to drop the subject, “Never mind, I guess it’s nothing really!”

After I said that, I became more convinced that Xueqi knew about the situation. Seeing her smile so happily, it must be Qimeng who asked Xueqi not to say anything.

Oh well, I’ll find a good time to ask Qimeng directly. What else can I do!

“Xueqi,” I had just finished speaking with her when Shen Wei came over and called for Xueqi. Did Shen Wei want to ask about this too?

I wasn’t sure, but I could bet Shen Wei wouldn’t get much out of her either, so I just let it be!

Shen Wei gave me a look, signaling for me to step aside so she could talk to Xueqi.

I saw Qimeng still crying over there; I thought I should go comfort her. But she just didn’t want me going to help, if I said I wasn’t going, she’d surely stop crying; unless I say that, she’d keep on crying!

The more Qimeng acted this way, the more curious I became about why she was so against my going out.

“Hey, Qimeng, don’t cry.” If being tough didn’t work, I had to be gentle. If neither worked, I was genuinely out of options.

Qimeng turned away, not responding to me, perhaps feeling a bit embarrassed since Ye Xiang and the others were around. Taking advantage of her distraction, I picked her up and carried her to the room. Even though Qimeng flailed her hands around, trying to hit me, one of her little hands landed near my mouth, and I gently bit it.

Qimeng’s hands were really small, only half the size of mine. Her figure was fine, just her hands were too tiny.

Even though I gently bit her hand, she still cried hard, like a little child. Worried I might have hurt her, I carried her into the room and laid her down on the bed.

Shutting the door, I asked, “Qimeng, what’s the matter? Do you have something you want to talk about? If you tell me why, I might consider not going, okay?”

“No way!” Though Qimeng had stopped crying, she still wasn’t willing to agree.

“I don’t like children who act spoiled!” I threatened, but it was useless against Qimeng!

Qimeng said, “I don’t care, I just don’t want you to go. It’s dangerous if you do!”

“Why is it dangerous? How do you know? Have you been there?” I asked.

“Honestly, if you won’t listen, then don’t, but I forbid you to go. If you do, I’ll… I’ll just die or something, ugh!”

I wasn’t sure why her voice was so loud, but how could Qimeng be so sure there was danger? It seemed like only Xueqi knew anything about it. Qimeng wasn’t willing to talk, and Xueqi might be easier to coax information from. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know what to do. Hopefully, Fei Fei might know something!

Shen Wei? Thinking of Shen Wei… it’s possible she might know too. If so, I should have Ye Xiang ask her, as I might not get anything out of her.

I gave Qimeng a light swat on the backside, “Are you going to tell me or not? If you don’t, I’ll go ask Shen Wei!”

Qimeng didn’t react at all when I mentioned asking Shen Wei, so maybe Shen Wei didn’t know. What about Ye Ling? Does she know?

Ruling out everyone else, Xueqi seemed most likely to know, but neither of them would talk! What stubborn girls.

What secret could these two possibly be keeping from us? It’s not like it’s a laughing matter, it’s serious!

I shook my head and walked outside. The sun was about to set; who knew if any zombies would show up today? Liu Yonglin, Liu Feng, Qian Jing, Liu Qi, Liu Yin, and Sun Jing were on the rooftop keeping watch, as this was the most likely time for zombies to appear.

Ye Xiang was up there with a bomb ready.

Suddenly, I caught the scent of corn in the air-smelled delicious. Xueqi and Shen Wei were cooking corn.

I walked into the kitchen, grabbed a cooked corn cob, and took a few bites. It tasted pretty good. Just as I was about to go back for another one, I heard Liu Yonglin call out to me.

What’s going on now? Holding the corn, I dashed up to the rooftop to ask, “What’s happening?” I saw three zombies, just like the ones from yesterday, heading our way in a line.

How were there so many of them?

“Don’t attack yet; let’s wait until they get here to throw the bomb,” Liu Qi suggested.

Could it be that the corn is attracting them? It’s possible since we were cooking corn yesterday, and now again today.

“Liu Yonglin, I think it might be the corn that’s attracting them here,” I said, pondering the possibility.

But I wasn’t sure. It seemed like we were cooking corn around this time yesterday too!

“Qimeng, Xueqi, Shen Wei, all of you get up here, bring the guns, quickly!” I urgently called out.

I feared the zombies might break through the iron gate, and then we’d be doomed. I couldn’t let anyone here get hurt.

If the zombies were really attracted by the corn, we could always give it to them, but they couldn’t be allowed to harm us.

Xueqi heard me and quickly called Qimeng and Fei Fei up from the room. Fei Fei was holding a few bombs.

Soon, the zombies reached us and began moving towards the yard, all three together, not spreading out.

When they were about thirty meters from the yard, Liu Yonglin opened fire.

Even though Liu Yonglin hit them with the machine gun, it didn’t seem to affect them at all. Even shots to the head had no effect; the zombies kept advancing towards us.

“They’re not fazed at all! What the heck is going on?” The zombies were now about ten meters away from us. Ye Xiang glanced at me and said.

I knew what Ye Xiang was planning.

“Everyone, get down!” I wasn’t sure how powerful the bomb was, but for safety, Ye Xiang had everyone take cover.

Just as we got down, Ye Xiang tossed a bomb in front of the zombies, but it didn’t explode, likely because it was a mortar shell.

Liu Qi and I grabbed machine guns and aimed at the bomb. With a bang, the explosion was significant, and we saw one zombie trying to get up but failing.

“Throw a hand grenade now.”

“Got it!”

Boom! Sure enough, while one zombie struggled to rise, the other two were blown to pieces.

Oh my, it’s still moving?

“Toss another one,” Ye Xiang said.

“Better make it two more! We’ve got plenty of bombs, no worries!”

“Alright! Cover your ears now!”

Bang! Bang! Two hand grenades went off in front of that zombie; it seemed that was the end of it. This time, everyone covered their noses because earlier today, we pulled a lot of garlic from the fields.

We did that to prepare for any more zombie attacks, and it came in handy today. Though the smell was still noticeable, it was much better than before, albeit indescribably unsettling-worse than the smell of a morgue.

Xueqi couldn’t stand the smell and felt like throwing up, but she didn’t want anyone to see, so she went aside to vomit. Seeing her reaction almost made me nauseous too, recalling the stench from the previous zombie.

I gently patted Xueqi’s back, and after a while, she stopped feeling sick.

“Are you okay now?” I asked with concern.

Xueqi was afraid to speak, worried she might throw up again, so she just shook her head and went downstairs.

The zombies were gone, but the stench lingered, just a few meters away. If there had been any wind, it would have blown the smell over to us, but luckily, today was windless. Liu Yonglin had already lit some dry grass in the yard to help drive away the zombie smell.

Tonight might be one of those nights with some activity planned. It wasn’t too tiring today, and with the stench of zombies, no one was keen to leave. Even inside the rooms, you could catch a whiff of that zombie odor.

The corn was cooked, but the smell of the zombies hadn’t dissipated, so no one felt like eating. Instead, we grabbed some watermelons for dinner.

“Qimeng, come over here,” I called out as I sat on a long bench by the fire. I saw Qimeng emerge from the room, likely on her way to find Shen Wei.

“What is it?” Qimeng paused, thinking for a moment before replying.

Does she really have some secret she’s keeping? Maybe I was just overthinking things. Perhaps Qimeng simply thought her secret was bigger than it actually was.

I don’t mind if girls have secrets, but as her boyfriend, potentially her future husband, it’s not too much to ask to know a little, right? The more Qimeng didn’t want to share, the more curious I became.

“Come sit down, were you going to see Shen Wei?” I asked.

“Yes.” Qimeng nodded with a smile.

“Shen Wei and Ye Xiang went to wash their faces. We can go after them, and let’s bring Xueqi too. She might be with Fei Fei. Sun Jing is also there!”

“Does that sound good, Qimeng?” I asked, pulling Qimeng into an embrace, trying to coax her into opening up about her matters.

At that moment, Xueqi and Shen Wei came over, seeing Qimeng-Jie and me hugging, and Xueqi ran over playfully, saying, “Tian, while I wasn’t around, you and Qimeng-Jie were here… I want in too!”

“Come here, Xueqi! We’re not hiding from you! Look, Liu Feng and Sun Jing are here too! Are you jealous again?”

But Liu Feng wouldn’t admit he was there.

“I’m not here! I didn’t see anything, I’m just air. They don’t even notice I’m here!” Liu Feng chuckled mischievously, then added, “Xueqi, don’t you know what Tian and Qimeng have been doing here? They’ve been kissing for ages! You should ask your Tian to make it up to you!”

Hearing this, Qimeng picked up a garlic clove, ready to throw it, but reconsidered because of the zombie smell and held onto it tightly.

If I hadn’t intervened, Qimeng might have started a real fight with Liu Feng. Qimeng’s temperament has changed; she’s quick to anger and sometimes hot-headed! I was speechless about it. But seeing them all having fun, I didn’t want to ruin the mood. They were the same way in the fields today, with Qimeng and Fei Fei playful.

Fortunately, I had her in my arms now, and she didn’t pull away. Qimeng used to be very obedient, but lately, not so much.

Xueqi appeared well-behaved, but that’s not quite true; when needed, she’d argue with Qimeng, though they’d make up within minutes. I’ve seen it happen three times just in a few days, and they’re still close!

I shook my head, “Liu Feng, add some straw, will you? Aren’t you watching the fire?”

Liu Feng was sitting on the straw, and since I was holding Qimeng, I asked him to add some.

“Grab some corn to roast; it’ll be delicious!” Liu Yonglin suggested as he walked over.

“Really?” Liu Qi said, trying to tease Liu Yonglin a bit, but Liu Yonglin wouldn’t back down from eating the corn. “Absolutely!”

Ye Xiang brought over some corn and a few metal skewers. Everyone took a cob of corn and a skewer.

Liu Qi, Liu Feng, Liu Yin, Qian Jing, and Sun Jing were all locals and obviously more familiar with roasting corn. They quickly threaded the corn onto the skewers and began roasting it.

The rest of us were city folks. Although we’d seen corn roasted before, we didn’t have much practical experience. We’d eaten plenty, but weren’t skilled at roasting it, so we had to ask Liu Qi for help.

Fresh corn takes longer to roast, but you can’t roast dried corn the same way, or it might turn into popcorn.

Ye Xiang, being a foodie, only knew how to eat, not roast. He dropped several cobs into the fire, yet remained undeterred. Luckily, he had the attentive Ye Ling by his side-what a fortunate guy!

Before long, Liu Qi’s corn was ready. Everyone scrambled to get a taste, and Liu Qi’s corn was gone in a flash.

I remember there was roasted corn in BBQ restaurants, and it tasted great. Ye Xiang and I went a few times. I really wish I could go back in time for a feast before returning here.

“Liu Feng’s corn is ready too, go grab some,” I shouted, noticing Liu Feng munching away.

Ye Xiang had tried roasting more than a few cobs, but still hadn’t managed to eat one he roasted himself. I looked over and teased, “Ye Xiang, you’re like a pig, only knowing how to eat without knowing how to make it!”

“Haha, it’s okay! Everyone learns slowly! Nobody is born knowing everything!” Liu Feng responded.

Liu Feng roasted another cob and handed it to me. I passed it to Qimeng and Xueqi to enjoy. Though some of my corn got a little burnt, parts of it were still edible.

Ye Xiang wasn’t sure if he was roasting corn or ruining it! Seeing five or six cobs fall into the fire made me wince. Even if you don’t know how to roast, you shouldn’t waste it.

“Haha! I’m just experiencing life!” Ye Xiang defended himself.

In the past, that might have been true, but nowadays, it’s not about experiencing life-it’s about survival!

“Haha! I won’t argue with you. Just eat the corn, and if you can’t roast it, let Liu Feng do it. Don’t waste it. If you tried to sell corn now, you’d realize its value. Wasting it is like wasting money!” I replied.

“Look at yours-burnt to a crisp-and you’re lecturing me,” Ye Xiang retorted, not too pleased.

“Haha! I’ve only roasted two, but how many have you roasted?” Bantering with Ye Xiang was a regular thing for me.

“Hehe!” Ye Xiang chuckled awkwardly and fell silent.

The smell of zombies was gradually fading, but I had no idea what time it was. The yard was filled with the aroma of corn, and I worried about more zombies showing up tonight. Luckily, the mortars we used would make quick work of any zombies, so we weren’t too afraid-just wary of sneak attacks.

Those guys flying the helicopter said they’d come to pick us up. Damn it, they’re still not here. Looks like there’s no hope of that happening.

We’d had our fill of corn, and Qimeng and Shen Wei started singing.

Ye Xiang and I joined in for a few songs. Even though I’m not much of a singer, I gave it a try. Liu Qi’s singing was genuinely delightful, typical for someone raised in the mountains-his folk songs were beautiful. If it were the old days, Liu Qi would have been a hit singer. But now, it’s too late-sigh.

At this point, simply being alive feels like a blessing. I have no desire for fame or fortune-just living well is enough.