He had already known what those pair of mother and daughter were like, which was why he had planned to kick Ye Jia out of the Ye family right from the start. Besides, ignoring her illegitimate status, she was actually...
"Did the two of you fight again?"
Gu Yuan's voice interrupted Ye Minzhe's train of thoughts. He had been watching him pace back and forth across the room.
"Siblings should take care of each other more..."
"Not listening."
Ye Minzhe went back to the bed and grabbed a pair of headphones from the bedside table, sticking it on his head. He grabbed a pillow and hugged it as he stared at the closed bathroom door.
Gu Yuan sighed. He should have known better than to lecture this little tyrant.
Song Jia didn't take long in the shower. Soon after, she came out of the bathroom barefooted, a towel wrapped around her hair. She saw Ye Minzhe's lazy figure on the bed, with a magazine on his lap. Gu Yuan was rummaging around, trying to search for weapons they could use.
"You're done?" Because he was paying close attention, Ye Minzhe immediately heard the noise of the door being opened and looked up. "Did you get your bandage wet?"
Since she had a mix of Oriental and Western blood, Ye Jia wasn't as tall as Western women. She was petite, and when standing side by side with the exceptionally tall Ye Minzhe, her head could barely reach his shoulders. The yellow sweater she wore easily swallowed her whole, with the tips of her fingers barely peeking out from the cuffs.
Song Jia nodded her head. "I'm done."
Ye Minzhe removed his headphones and slowly walked over to her. "Ye Jia."
"Hm?" Song Jia was busy unwrapping the towel on her head and drying her hair with it.
Ye Minzhe easily picked her up by the armpits and raised her high in the air. Song Jia let out a small yelp and kicked her legs.
"Ye Minzhe, let me down!"
He laughed. "Aiya, why do you look like a little shrimp? Ye Jia, your name should be changed to BeiBei." [1]
Song Jia stretched out a hand and yanked on his hair. "Ye Minzhe, let me down or I'll make you go bald!"
"Ow, alright, alright..."
It was only when her feet had safely returned to the ground did Song Jia retract her claws.
Ye Minzhe picked some clothes for himself and went into the bathroom, rubbing his aching scalp. Song Jia glared at him as he passed. He stuck his tongue out at her.
"Teacher Gu, have you found anything we can use?" Song Jia crouched beside Gu Yuan and watched as he opened up a luggage.
Gu Yuan shook his head. "I found a Swiss army knife, but it won't be of any use to us unless we get too close to them. If we do that, there's a strong possibility we'll get bitten before then."
"Hmm." Song Jia pursed her lips. She went towards the closet and saw that it indeed used a wooden rod to hang the clothes. She easily removed it and swung it in her hands like a baton.
"Teacher Gu, how about this? We can use the middle section for blocking and both of the ends can be used for striking. I think this is a good enough quarterstaff."
Moreover, it was a melee weapon. It didn't need any training to use.
Gu Yuan gave her an admiring look.
"Make-shift weapons. Why didn't I think of that?"
"It's because you aren't a Ye."
Ye Minzhe leaned on the bathroom doorway, wearing a yellow shirt and a pair of denim jeans. Because his hair was wet, his curls disappeared and became straight. He tossed a bunch of things on the floor.
"Hairspray, you can try finding a lighter to make it more effective. If not, just spray it on their eyes. They're zombies, but they're still human. Remove the rubber from the toilet plunger, and it could be used as a baton. Toilet lid, you can use it like you would use a brick. A razor can also be stabbed into the jugular."
Song Jia speechlessly looked at the scattered objects on the floor.
"I don't hear any sounds coming from outside anymore, so maybe they're gone. Since all the elevator seem to be busted, we can only go back to the stairs again. If there's too many of them, I can attack them first, while the two of you could make a run for it and call for help. This is our plan for now."
Gu Yuan spoke up, "Student Ye, I'm the oldest here, I should be the one..."
"No offense, but, unless you bore them to death with your lectures, you won't be able to last for five minutes. That won't give us enough time to escape."
Gu Yuan fell silent.
"I also think this is the best way we can get out of here," Song Jia said.
Ye Minzhe looked at her. He didn't know if she agreed because she trusted his skills or because she didn't want their teacher to sacrifice himself for them. His heart was a little sour. He walked towards her and flicked her forehead.
"I definitely won't die," he promised. He wasn't only saying this for her, but also for himself.
Why would he go to the afterlife while she was busy having fun and flirting with Gu Yuan? He would definitely float over even if he was dead. Wouldn't Ye Jia easily inherit the Ye family once he was gone?
Ye Minzhe patted his chest and promised himself that he would definitely protect the company from Ye Jia's clutches. But in his mind, he was picturing her laughing with Gu Yuan.
Hmph, Ye Jia, this young master won't definitely let you have fun on your own!
"Let's go."
The three of them picked various weapons for themselves and helped each other to drag away the cabinet that was blocking the door. They could see the dents that were formed by the zombies' ruckus earlier.
"They must be powered up by adrenaline," Gu Yuan said, tracing it with his fingers. "This allows their body to disable the limit of their strength, giving them inhuman abilities. Even the pain center in the brain had probably been turned off."
Ye Minzhe was down on his knees, peeking at the gap between the door and the floor.
"I don't think there's any of them outside."
Before he unlocked the door, he turned to look at Song Jia. "If I told you to run, you should run without looking back. Don't try to help me, understand?"
Song Jia imitated Ye Jia's scornful look.
"You're overestimating my affection for you."
Ye Minzhe's lips twitched, but he took a deep breath and only said, "That's good then."
He opened the door and peeked out, waving at them when he saw that the hallway was clear. They made their way towards the stairwell, holding their breath. Ye Minzhe was about to step past the doorway when he suddenly turned back and grabbed Song Jia, pressing her against the wall.
"Two zombies going up," he whispered, jerking his head at Gu Yuan to hide as well. "We'll try to ambush them as quietly as possible once they're near."
After warning Gu Yuan, Ye Minzhe caught a faint flowery smell lingering at the tip of his nose. He could feel his blood slowing down, calming. He had never smelled this particular scent before.
Ye Minzhe looked down and met Song Jia's upturned face. He noticed the delicacy of her nose, the soft curve of her cheeks. The hair that had been puffed up by his rough movement. But her eyes that were staring back at him, clear like spring water, swallowed the rest of her features and made him feel as if he was drowning into them.
His body was folded against her, until they were pressed together everywhere—chests, hips, legs—like missing puzzle pieces. Because of the noticeable contrast between her petite stature and his tall height, it made it seem as if Ye Minzhe was a predator that was about to swallow her whole.
Song Jia noticed Ye Minzhe's dazed expression and was suddenly struck by inspiration. She lifted the corners of her lips and leaned forward, whispering like a fox spirit into his ear.
"Remember, don't fall in love with me."
Feeling as if the damage she had done wasn't enough, Song Jia added softly, "Gege."
Ye Minzhe's whole body shuddered.
[1] BeiBei or BaoBao, Ch. words both of which translates to 'baby.'