Legs Gone Weak

Xie Li looked up at her, lips pressed tight, eyes holding a trace of grievance.

Though she was afraid of being killed, she hadn't imagined that Jin Zhaoye would just roll over and deny everything after sleeping with her—this was her first time, after all.

Jin Zhaoye raised an eyebrow slightly. “Unwilling?”

Xie Li’s lips parted, but before she could answer, Jin spoke again.

“If a third person ever learns of this… you’ll die.”

Xie Li didn’t doubt for a second that Jin meant it.

Social order had already collapsed; if Jin Zhaoye wanted to, she could wring Xie Li’s neck right now.

She lowered her head, staring at her own hands clutching the blanket, and said, “Understood.”

As if afraid Jin wouldn’t believe her, she added, “No one else will know. I swear. Thank you for not killing me.”

Jin Zhaoye glanced at the still-swollen lump on the back of Xie Li’s head and offered no further explanation.

She turned and walked out of the room without looking back.

Xie Li listened until the sound of Jin’s footsteps faded beyond the doorway before slowly pushing the covers aside and getting out of bed.

The moment her feet touched the carpet, her legs buckled, and her knees hit the floor with a dull thud that wasn’t exactly quiet.

Her body felt drained of all strength, so Xie Li simply flopped onto the floor and lay there, motionless.

She didn’t want to move, and she couldn’t move anyway.

Fine, then. Just like this. No one could see her anyway.

Jin Zhaoye, who had just stepped out of the room, paused, glanced back toward the lounge—the door was open, and aside from that one thud, no further sound came from inside.

Her hesitation lasted less than a second before she turned and walked back.

Reaching the doorway, Jin saw clearly what had happened inside.

The Alpha was sprawled awkwardly on the floor, rear end sticking up, like a turtle flipped onto its shell—both silly and endearing.

The corner of Jin’s mouth curved upward as she strode over, bent down, helped Xie Li up from the floor, and asked, suppressing a smile, “What’s wrong?”

Leaning against Jin’s chest, Xie Li hung her head, trying her best to hide her face, and mumbled, “My legs went weak.”

Truthfully, when she’d heard the footsteps approaching, Xie Li had already regretted not getting up sooner.

But once Jin had entered the room, scrambling up was pointless anyway. Her dignity was already lost, so she might as well stop caring.

Jin Zhaoye lowered her gaze, taking in the purplish bruises on Xie Li’s knees and the worsening discoloration on her wrists, and frowned slightly.

She slid one arm under Xie Li’s knees and the other around her shoulders, easily lifting her and placing her back on the bed.

Being carried stark naked like this made Xie Li’s cheeks flush with heat again.

Even though they’d slept together last night, it had been dark then. Now it was broad daylight. She subtly shifted a hand to cover her most private area.

Jin Zhaoye glanced at the hand Xie Li had pressed against her lower abdomen but didn’t comment. Reaching out, she tapped Xie Li’s knee. “Does the bone hurt?”

Xie Li drew her leg back a little and shook her head. “Probably not bone pain.”

“It doesn’t look like a fracture either.” Jin withdrew her hand. “Can you walk?”

Xie Li said uncertainly, “Probably… but I’m not exactly decent right now.”

Jin Zhaoye released her, walked to the wardrobe, took out a set of light-gray athletic wear, and placed it beside Xie Li. “Get dressed. I’ll go look around; there should be a first-aid kit in the office.”

“Okay. Thank you, Jin Zhaoye.”

Jin nodded, turned, and walked out, casually closing the bedroom door behind her.

Once Jin was gone, Xie Li scooted to the edge of the bed and got off. This time she’d learned her lesson, bracing herself against the headboard as she descended, so she didn’t fall again.

Standing still for a moment, Xie Li felt that her knees weren’t particularly painful; walking shouldn’t be a big problem.

The reason her legs had been too weak to stand earlier was more likely because of last night—her body felt utterly hollowed out.

She shuffled slowly to the bathroom. The underwear she’d washed last night was still hanging on the rack; she touched it—almost dry.

It was early summer now, temperatures weren’t low, and even if it wasn’t completely dry, wearing it would soon finish the job.

She put on her underwear, returned to the bedroom, and pulled on the athletic suit.

Just as she finished dressing, there was a soft knock on the door.

“I’m ready,” Xie Li called toward the door.

Jin Zhaoye pushed the door open and walked in carrying two ice packs and a bottle of liniment oil.

“Put this on the lump on the back of your head.”

Xie Li took the ice pack Jin handed her and pressed it against the back of her head.

Jin sat down beside her, reached over, and rolled up Xie Li’s pant leg. Up close, the injury looked even worse—purple tinged with green, the kneecap swollen, the skin stretched taut and shiny.

“Be more careful from now on. In an environment like this, even a minor injury could kill you.” As she spoke, she placed an ice pack on Xie Li’s knee, applying cold compresses to reduce the swelling.

“Understood. I’ll be careful.” Xie Li agreed outwardly while inwardly grumbling—so fickle! Just moments ago she’d threatened to kill her, and now she was showing concern. Was this the carrot-and-stick approach?

And this carrot… smelled really good!

Jin Zhaoye said nothing more, alternating the ice packs between both knees. After about ten minutes of cold compresses, the swelling had visibly subsided a little.

She set the ice packs aside, unscrewed the cap of the liniment oil, poured some into her palm, and rubbed her hands together to warm it. “Normally we shouldn’t apply this so soon, but we don’t have much time for you to recuperate. Bear with it.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, her palm landed on Xie Li’s knee and began kneading vigorously.

“Hiss—!”

Xie Li sucked in a sharp breath, her face instantly flushing crimson. Tears of pain welled in her eyes, making her lashes damp.

Jin Zhaoye glanced up at her, her gaze lingering a moment longer on those pain-reddened eyes. “You’ll have to endure the pain.”

If your leg is injured and you can’t run when you encounter Zombies, you’re as good as dead.

Xie Li knew she was right. She clenched her teeth and endured it, fine beads of sweat soon breaking out on her forehead.

After finishing with the knees, Jin applied the ointment to Xie Li’s wrists as well before finally stopping. She screwed the cap back on the bottle and said, “Try moving around.”

Xie Li braced her hands on her knees and stood up, bending her legs tentatively. There was still some soreness and swelling, but not that earlier feeling of being too swollen to bend.

She tried lifting her leg, walked a few laps around the room, and finally came to a stop in front of Jin Zhaoye, blinking her damp lashes as she looked at her. “Thank you, Jin Zhaoye. It doesn’t hinder movement anymore.”

Jin hummed in acknowledgment, picked up the liniment oil, and stood. “Take care of the cuts on your face yourself.”

With that, she took the liniment oil out of the room, casually placed it in her handbag, then pulled out a scent-suppressant patch from the bag. She tore open the packaging and, facing a makeup mirror, applied it to the gland on the back of her neck.

When her fingertip touched that swollen, tender skin, her hand stilled for a moment.

Uncontrollably, images from last night surfaced in her mind—the scorching body temperature of the Alpha holding her, as if it could melt her whole being.

The tingling, electric pleasure when Xie Li had bitten down had made her very soul tremble.

Her body seemed to retain the memory of last night; just that fleeting mental picture made the roots of her thighs go a little weak.

Jin Zhaoye closed her eyes, exhaled softly, pushed those images down deep, and continued her task, pressing the scent-suppressant patch firmly in place.

Once the patch was secure, she took a scent-blocking spray from her bag, pressed the nozzle, and a fine mist sprayed out, settling on her hair, shoulders, back, and chest.

Only when that faint chemical scent completely masked Xie Li’s pheromone did she stop.

The makeup mirror reflected her face—calm, composed, looking exactly as before. Only she herself knew that Xie Li’s pheromone wasn’t something a single suppressant patch and a few layers of blocking spray could cover.

That scent of lime and mint had already seeped into her body and blood, merging with her.

Jin Zhaoye lowered her eyes, gathered all the miscellaneous items back into her bag, and glanced over her shoulder toward the lounge.

Xie Li, now tidily dressed, emerged from the room. Band-Aids were stuck to her forehead and cheek. She walked up to Jin Zhaoye and asked, “Shall we go now?”

“Aren’t you hungry?” Jin Zhaoye’s gaze dropped to Xie Li’s stomach. “I think I heard your stomach growling.”

Xie Li nodded. “A little hungry.”

“If you’re hungry, eat something. Replenishing your energy is more important.” Jin Zhaoye walked behind the desk, pulled open a drawer, took out two cups of instant noodles, and tossed them over.

Xie Li hurriedly caught them, hugging them to her chest.

“Go boil some water. There’s fruit and ice cream in the fridge; you can have some later. Once the school’s power goes out, this stuff will spoil.” Jin Zhaoye said.

“Oh.” Xie Li carried the instant noodles to the water dispenser, boiled water, tore open the seasoning packets, and when the water was ready, poured it over the noodles. That familiar, assertive aroma immediately filled the air.

She prepared both cups, carried one over to Jin Zhaoye, and offered it. “Here.”

Jin Zhaoye reached out and took it, placing it on the desk, then handed Xie Li the scent-blocking spray. “Spray some of this. Cover the scent.”

Xie Li obediently took the spray and gave herself a thorough coating from head to toe.

After spraying, she returned the canister to Jin, took her noodles, and found a chair far away from Jin Zhaoye to sit down.

She still felt a little aggrieved and didn’t want to be too close to Jin Zhaoye for the moment—unless Jin coaxed her a bit.

After a while, the noodles were about ready. Xie Li lifted the lid and took a slurping bite.

She ate with single-minded focus, not noticing Jin Zhaoye glancing at her several times from across the way.

After finishing the noodles and some fruit, Xie Li finally dug out a tub of ice cream from the fridge, curled up on the sofa, and slowly spooned it into her mouth.

If there was one upside to this Apocalypse world, it was probably not having to worry about gaining weight. She used to fret about eating too much and getting fat; now she didn’t have to worry—there would be plenty of hungry days ahead.

Full and satisfied, drowsiness washed over her again. Xie Li lazily yawned, her eyelids beginning to droop.

Squinting, she suggested, “Jin Zhaoye, how about we rest here for another day before heading back?”

Jin Zhaoye rejected her proposal. “We need to get to the Main Administration Building as soon as possible. The campus isn’t safe; the longer we delay, the more likely something will go wrong.”

“Isn’t the current situation messed up enough already?” Xie Li asked.

Jin Zhaoye set down her phone and looked at her. “You can check the news online.”

Xie Li pulled out her phone, pressed the buttons a few times, but got no response. She realized it had probably died from lack of power and shut itself off.

She looked around the office, found a charger, plugged it in, waited a bit, and the screen lit up.

The moment it booted, news notifications began popping up one after another.

“Survivor Bases are being urgently established nationwide; rescue operations will commence in the coming days.”

“Large-scale mutated creatures have appeared in southern coastal regions; the Southern Military District has fallen.”

“This is a disaster for all humanity, but the nation will not abandon a single citizen. Everyone, please, hold on…”