021 Bathing
Shen Shiwei blinked, wearing an innocent and guileless expression as she looked at Song Yingjun. "I want to take a shower."
Ahhh!
At that moment, Song Yingjun deeply wished he could howl to the heavens.
“So, where are you going again?”
Shen Shiwei’s eyes sparkled. “Upstairs, to the second floor!”
“If there are zombies upstairs, I can’t protect all of you by myself,” Song Yingjun said firmly, refusing. “For safety’s sake, we should stay on the first floor.”
That way, if zombies come, they can run straight outside.
Shen Shiwei pouted softly. Then she leaned over to Wei Qing’s side and gently poked the little white mouse’s head with her finger.
“Ahhh, help! Help!”
The little white mouse let out a squeal like a pig being slaughtered.
Shen Shiwei pulled a small package of bread from her bag, tore off a tiny piece, and whispered to the mouse, “Xiao Bai, do you want to eat some bread?”
She waved the small chunk of bread in front of the mouse’s nose.
The mouse’s nose twitched rapidly, sniffing the scent.
“So fragrant, just wait, I’ll snatch it away quickly!”
Shen Shiwei said, “No need to snatch it, I’ll feed it to you, but don’t bite me, okay?”
“???” The mouse froze on the spot, then after a few seconds, it looked at Shen Shiwei. “Does she understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, I can hear you.”
“!”
The little white mouse tentatively replied, “I won’t bite you.”
The next moment, the soft, fragrant bread was brought to its mouth.
Without hesitation, the mouse opened its mouth and ate the bread.
It was so delicious it almost made it cry—it was the best taste it had ever experienced.
What bitter days had it endured before!
“I want more!”
So Shen Shiwei fed it another piece.
“Xiao Bai, do you know if there’s any bad smell upstairs?”
“No,” the mouse chewed, “I’ve been downstairs all along.” Then it licked its lips, “But now I don’t smell anything bad.”
Shen Shiwei moved a bit closer.
The mouse sensed a particularly pleasant scent approaching.
—
Shen Shiwei spoke softly, “Can you go upstairs to check if there’s anyone stinky up there?” She patted her bag. “When you come back, I’ll give you some dried fish!”
The little white mouse agreed eagerly, “I’ll go! I’ll go! I’ll go!”
Shen Shiwei said to Wei Qing, “Put it down on the floor.”
“Okay.” Wei Qing looked at the mouse in his hand. It was the most noisy mouse he had ever seen, squeaking nonstop.
The moment the mouse was on the ground, it darted away like a flash.
Curious, Wei Qing asked Shen Shiwei, “Weiwei, were you just talking to a mouse?”
Shen Shiwei nodded, her eyes curved with a confident smile. “Yes, I made a deal with it.”
Wei Qing was silent for a moment. “Though smart, mice aren’t usually capable of making deals with humans.”
Shen Shiwei raised an eyebrow, looking self-assured. “Just wait and see.”
Shen Heng, feeling bored, walked over to Song Yingjun and followed his gaze toward the fire escape door. He asked, “Why did your captain rush down there knowing there would be zombies?”
Song Yingjun’s voice was low. “Some things have to be done. Mr. Shen, we are running out of supplies.”
Shen Heng wasn’t concerned. “We can just drive to my family’s estate later; food and supplies won’t be a problem.”
Song Yingjun shook his head helplessly. “You’re thinking too simply. Do you know how many soldiers are stationed at this base? Nearly a hundred, well-armed, yet they still turned into zombies.”
Shen Heng’s expression darkened slowly. “Then this is far more complicated than they thought.”
Within ten minutes, Shen Shiwei heard the mouse’s voice.
“Hey, I’m here!”
Following the sound, Shen Shiwei saw the mouse standing by the fire escape.
She walked over leisurely and crouched down. “Well?”
The mouse said, “No bad smell, and no human scent either.”
The mouse was quite useful, but it was filthy, and Shen Shiwei didn’t want to touch it. She stood up and called out, “Wei Qing, come here.”
Wei Qing jogged over.
Shen Shiwei pointed at the mouse on the floor. “Keep it with you.”
Wei Qing bent down, grabbed the scruff of the mouse’s neck, and lifted it up. He noticed its long upper and lower teeth grinding furiously.
Shen Shiwei heard it say:
“Let me go, you bastard!”
“I’ll bite you to death, bite you to death, bite you to death!”
“You damn two-legged beast, let me go!”
Wei Qing chuckled lightly. “You curse pretty fiercely.”
Shen Shiwei froze. “You can understand what the mouse is saying?”
“Huh?” Wei Qing hesitated for a second or two, then smiled. “You probably don’t know, since you’ve never kept a mouse. When they grind their teeth like that, it’s their way of cursing.”
“Oh,” Shen Shiwei said, “So that’s how it is. But this little mouse really does curse fiercely.”
Wei Qing stuffed the mouse into his pocket.
Seizing the opportunity, Shen Shiwei slipped a dried fish into the pocket.
The mouse stopped struggling and held the fish with both hands, eating wholeheartedly.
Shen Shiwei told Song Yingjun, “I’m going to the second floor.”
“Hey, wait—”
Before Song Yingjun could finish, Shen Shiwei had already turned and headed upstairs.
Shen Heng followed without hesitation.
Song Yingjun sighed helplessly. Dealing with a temperamental young lady is truly difficult...
He had no choice but to follow.
The second floor had many rooms; the corridor was clean and bright, not at all like a place overrun by zombies.
Shen Shiwei casually opened a door. The room was modest in size, furnished with a double bed, two desks, and a curtain door leading to a bathroom.
She went over, turned on the shower, and soon the water warmed.
Shen Shiwei was ecstatic. “Great! I can finally take a shower!”
Wei Qing stood outside the curtain. “Weiwei, I’ll guard out here.”
“Okay!”
Song Yingjun sat on the edge of the bed, lowering his voice deliberately so Shen Shiwei inside wouldn’t hear.
He said to Shen Heng, “Mr. Shen, you really need to control her sometimes. You can’t just let her do whatever she wants.”
Shen Heng waved his hand helplessly. “There’s no choice. My sister has mild cleanliness obsession; she feels uncomfortable if she doesn’t shower every day.”
“Usually, it’s fine. But now, with crazed zombies everywhere, one wrong move and she could be bitten.”
Shen Heng defended Shen Shiwei. “But there are no zombies upstairs, so don’t be so pessimistic.”
Wei Qing added, “It’s just a shower; it won’t take long.”
Song Yingjun: “…”
He thought to himself that he might as well have gone with the captain to the lower floor.