Chapter 58: Hello, Can I Call You Brother?

Chapter 58: Hello, Can I Call You Brother?

Shen Que's arm injury was originally minor, and after a few days of rest, it had completely healed.

Previously, the military evacuated most of the residents, and Meng Ci and Shen Que killed seven of Deng Yang's men.

Now, there were only eight people left in the building, including Meng Ci.

Five of them were teachers from the same high school. During the five days of heavy rain, they sensed something was wrong and banded together.

They were all around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, having just graduated from their master's programs and taught high school for only about a year.

All five of them graduated from the same school and taught overlapping classes, so their relationship was quite strong.

One of them was a physics teacher who, using his knowledge, made a paper boat out of cardboard on the sixth day of the rain to go out and buy food for everyone.

He even bought an inflatable boat back, showing great foresight.

The rain didn't stop, and the government's food supplies were meager, causing dissatisfaction among the residents.

The teachers knew that if they openly announced they had food, it would only invite attacks, so they ventured out under cover of night when they needed more.

They also collected the government-issued food when it was distributed.

Since two of the girls could apply makeup, they always made themselves look weak and malnourished whenever they had to meet others, as if they hadn't eaten for days.

Every time they got food, they left quietly without causing any trouble.

If not for Meng Ci and Shen Que bumping into them while looking for firewood yesterday and chatting briefly, Meng Ci wouldn't have known about these capable individuals in the building.

Moreover, the five teachers had saved a sophomore student whose parents were swept away by the flood while searching for food due to extreme hunger.

The boy was being bullied by some thugs when the teachers rescued him.

He looked delicate, making him an easy target for bullying.

Fortunately, they intervened in time, preventing him from being truly harmed.

Meng Ci found it surprising that the teachers didn't go to the refugee camp.

Even Si Chen and his group chose to go there, yet these teachers stayed behind.

Upon learning of Meng Ci's confusion, the teachers explained that they felt they didn't need help and should leave the spots for those who needed it more.

They were capable and could take care of themselves.

One of the male teachers taught biology and started growing vegetables on the balcony, achieving vegetable self-sufficiency.

These teachers had just come out of school with passionate hearts, unaware of the dangers of human nature.

Meng Ci admired their nobility and hoped they wouldn't be defeated by the harshness of society.

Seeing that Meng Ci was around the same age as their students, the teachers decided to protect him too, despite hearing about his prowess and the injuries he had inflicted.

"Would you like to join us?"

A female teacher named Yun Jingcen, who taught Chinese to sophomores, had big eyes, double eyelids, and fair skin.

Considering Meng Ci was still a child, the teachers decided to include him in their protection.

Meng Ci shook his head: "No, thank you, Teacher Yun."

"But my place has a reinforced wall, which is probably safer than a regular room."

Yun Jingcen nodded, understanding.

She thought that at this age, it was best to let him make his own decisions and share good finds with him occasionally.

Day 57 of the apocalypse.

The temperature had dropped to a couple of degrees, and it would soon be below zero, so they needed to gather more firewood urgently.

Meng Ci and Shen Que decided to go out and salvage wood.

The trees around the residential building that had been knocked down by the flood had already been salvaged, so they had to venture further in their inflatable boat.

They headed towards the area where they previously found coal.

The floodwaters had risen to the third floor, and some buildings were entirely submerged.

After finding a suitable piece of wood, Meng Ci and Shen Que tied a rope to it and pulled it up onto a rooftop that wasn't yet underwater.

Though the roof was wet, it was better than working in the floodwater.

Due to the heavy rain, they couldn't use an electric saw, so Shen Que used a manual saw to cut the wood into manageable pieces for transport.

When Zhang Mingtian left, he returned the rubber dinghy to Meng Ci, which they could now use to carry the firewood.

They neatly stacked the wood on the rubber dinghy and connected it to the inflatable boat with a rope. They also loaded some wood onto the inflatable boat before heading home.

There wasn't much in the building, and Meng Ci trusted Yun Jingcen and her group wouldn't take their wood.

After moving the wood inside, Meng Ci and Shen Que went upstairs for a meal before starting to move the wood.

"Brothers, do you need any help?"

Meng Ci and Shen Que carried a load of wood upstairs. When they came down, they suddenly saw a boy wearing a white down jacket and light blue jeans.

He had jet-black hair, bright clear eyes, and dimples on both cheeks, with fair skin.

He was estimated to be about 176 centimeters tall, with a round, chubby face, making him look like an adorable boy.

This must be the second-year student Yun Jingcen and the others had saved — Ruan Qing.

Yun Jingcen and the others doted on this child immensely, even thinking that as teachers, they should do more. They never let Ruan Qing do any work, and when they found good food, they would give it to him first.

Since he was so precious to them, Meng Ci and the others naturally didn't dare to order him around.

"Thank you for your kindness, but we can manage ourselves!" Meng Ci declined his offer and even reminded him that it was cold outside and to go home quickly.

Ruan Qing didn't listen to him but followed the two of them downstairs.

"Big Brother Meng, ah, can I call you that?"

When Meng Ci heard this, alarms went off in his head.

It wasn't just that; why did this way of speaking sound so familiar?

"Big Brother Meng?" Ruan Qing called again.

Meng Ci snapped back to reality and cleared his throat. "You can call me Big Brother."

What's a brother? It sounds too unimpressive.

Ruan Qing refused. "But calling you Big Brother Meng sounds nice."

"Big Brother Meng, what do you think?"

Meng Ci felt goosebumps all over.

But seeing those wet, pleading eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Fine, whatever you want!" Meng Ci sighed.

Ruan Qing became happy at once. "Big Brother Meng, you can call me Ruan Ruan or Qing Qing!"

Ruan Ruan? Qing Qing?

Meng Ci felt he could call him, but these were girls' names, right?

And using pet names was too embarrassing.

However!

Then Meng Ci thought, could this guy have taken a fancy to him?

Otherwise, why would he come looking for him?