17: Chapter 17 Shen Jiaojiao's Past

This sentence was like a needle, piercing deep into Shen Jiaojiao's heart.

Back then, when her mother was critically ill and her family was destitute, all their relatives avoided them, and only Sun Haoyu was willing to pay for her treatment.

Although that amount of money was merely a drop in the bucket for him back then.

However, she at least knew the importance of repaying kindness, so she later married him and thus endured all his bad habits.

Alcoholism, gambling, domestic violence, and idleness.

She knew she owed him.

Tears finally couldn't be held back and slid down her fair cheeks, dripping onto her form-fitting light-colored lounge skirt, blooming into a small damp patch.

Seeing her moved, Sun Haoyu immediately put on a sincere expression.

He leaned in and coaxed her softly: "Jiaojiao, I'm just anxious; we have no other options right now."

"Once The Authorities finish clearing out the mutated beasts and the crisis is resolved, I will definitely go out and find a job to earn money to support the family. I won't gamble anymore, and I won't yell at you anymore."

"Just go next door and ask for some supplies, even if it's just a few skewers of barbecue, to help us get through these next few days, okay? I'm begging you."

Shen Jiaojiao looked at his fake sincerity, her heart growing cold.

But that debt of gratitude was like a mountain, pressing down on her until she couldn't breathe.

She was silent for a long time, and finally, she slowly nodded, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum: "...I'll go."

Sun Haoyu was instantly overjoyed and hurriedly pushed her toward the door.

Soon, the door to Chen Ye's home was lightly knocked on again.

"Dong... dong dong..." The knocking was soft and timid, completely different from Sun Haoyu's roughness just now.

Chen Ye's hand, holding the barbecue skewer, paused, and a knowing smile curled the corners of his lips.

Chen Ye twirled the skewer stick between his fingertips, his gaze casually fixed on the peephole, the figure outside clear to him.

Shen Jiaojiao had specifically changed into clean clothes, and the disheveled look from being chased by the mutated beasts was gone.

A beige tight-fitting knit sweater tightly wrapped around her full curves, the collar slightly rounded, making the lines of her neck appear even fairer and more slender.

On her lower half was a light gray hip-hugging skirt that barely covered the middle of her thighs, revealing a pair of slender, straight legs, her skin faintly visible beneath the fabric.

She had loosely tied her long hair into a low bun, with a few stray strands hanging by her cheeks.

There was still a bit of uncleaned bloodstain on her face, and the bite wound on her neck was faintly red.

Yet, it couldn't hide her gentle and charming demeanor as a female teacher; she was delicate and dignified, captivating enough to keep one's eyes fixed on her.

Chen Ye curled his lips in a playful smile and reached out to pull the door open abruptly.

The hot, rich aroma of meat rushed toward her. Shen Jiaojiao instinctively looked up, bumping into his deep, dark eyes, and her whole body instantly stiffened.

His gaze swept over her body from top to bottom, slowly.

From her full chest to her slender waist, and then to her long legs wrapped in the short skirt.

He didn't speak, but it carried a sense of blunt scrutiny.

Shen Jiaojiao's cheeks instantly burned.

Her earlobes turned red instantly, and she hurriedly lowered her head, her long eyelashes trembling incessantly.

Her slender fingers instinctively brushed the stray hair by her ear, her fingertips curling slightly. She was so shy that she even softened her breathing, her heart filled with unease.

She parted her cherry lips, having gathered her courage for a long time, and just as she was about to ask for food, Chen Ye spoke first.

His low, magnetic voice said: "Come in first, then we'll talk."

Shen Jiaojiao was stunned, her eyes filled with immense surprise, which was immediately replaced by intense anxiety.

She calculated in her heart:

She had lived across from him for so long, and her attitude toward this taciturn, seemingly timid neighbor had always been cold, even bordering on distant.

Now that the apocalypse had suddenly struck, he had become powerful and mysterious overnight, and he was even letting her enter his home alone.

A man and a woman alone in a room, and his strength was terrifying enough to kill a mutated beast with one punch.

In case he had malicious intentions, she would be completely unable to resist.

Fear and unease surged wildly in her heart.

She stood at the doorway, her feet feeling as if they were filled with lead, and she dared not move.

Chen Ye didn't pay any attention to her inner thoughts; he turned and walked back to the grill, picking up the tongs to flip the sizzling meat skewers. Surrounded by smoke and fire, he looked comfortable and lazy.

Shen Jiaojiao stood on the spot, her internal struggle nearly suffocating her.

On one side was the fear of the unknown, on the other was her stomach that had been hungry all day, and the image of Sun Haoyu's violent, ferocious appearance when he hit people flashed before her eyes.

In the end, the instinct to survive overcame everything.

She bit her pale lower lip, lifted her slender leg slightly, and walked slowly into Chen Ye's home.

As soon as she entered, she was completely stunned.

She had assumed that a single man's room would definitely be messy and smelly.

But Chen Ye's home was cleaner than she could have imagined:

The floor was spotless, the furniture was neatly arranged, and even the coffee table was polished until it shone. The faint scent of laundry detergent mixed with the aroma of barbecue, making her feel inexplicably at ease.

At this moment, her impression of Chen Ye quietly began to change.

"Close the door." Chen Ye's voice rang out again, breaking Shen Jiaojiao's trance.

She stiffened, her action of closing the door pausing in mid-air, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

Closing the door meant locking herself completely into a confined space, alone with this mysterious and powerful man.

If he wanted to do anything, she wouldn't even have a chance to run.

She instinctively wanted to back away and flee, but Chen Ye's voice turned a few degrees colder, carrying an indisputable indifference: "If you don't want to get food, you can go back now. It's not like I forced you to come."

This sentence precisely struck Shen Jiaojiao's weak spot.

She seemed to already see the image of Sun Haoyu furiously throwing punches and hurling insults when she returned empty-handed.

The pain of his beatings was far more despairing to her than the fear in front of her.

She bit her cherry lips, a flash of determination in her eyes, and her slender fingers gripped the doorknob.

"Click," and she tightly closed the door.

In the confined space, the aroma of barbecue became even stronger.

The pork belly on the grill was roasted until slightly curled, golden grease dripping onto the charcoal, sparking small embers, the sizzling sound captivating and distracting.

Shen Jiaojiao stared fixedly at the meat skewers on the grill, her stomach rumbling uncontrollably.

Saliva secreted wildly in her mouth, her throat couldn't help but swallow, and her clear eyes were filled with unconcealable longing.

Just as she was about to speak, Chen Ye turned his head first.

His gaze landed on her, his tone flat and calm: "If you want to eat, you have to pay a price."

"This isn't a charity; there's no such thing as a free lunch here."

Shen Jiaojiao's heart instantly jumped into her throat, her face turning pale in an instant.

What had to come, finally came.

She had long since prepared for the worst; in the apocalypse, a bite of meat was comparable to gold, and it was impossible for him to give it away for free.

A man and a woman alone, and he held the power of life and death; it would be perfectly normal for him to make any unreasonable demands.

She tightly gripped the corner of her shirt, her knuckles turning white, and she secretly swore in her heart: "Even if I starve to death, I will never debase my body."

She trembled as she raised her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's, carrying uncontrollable tremors: "What... what price do you want?"