I am the Zombie King of the Apocalyptic World
Chapter 987 - 984: Waiting for You to Accept All This

Chapter 987: Chapter 984: Waiting for You to Accept All This

For a moment, the two were enveloped in silence, no superfluous words exchanged, only the "tinkling clinks" of their chopsticks colliding with the bowls and plates.

This was the most ordinary meal before the Apocalypse, a scene every family experienced each day. Yet, for Tang Ye, such moments were exceedingly rare. In his youth, he lacked a direct understanding of the concept of "home."

Time passed, and as the inexperienced youth saw and experienced more, he came to understand many things. That was when he realized how different he was from ordinary people, how much he lacked what others took for granted. It was after this realization that he began to crave those ordinary things, yet he also knew such things would not be part of his life moving forward.

He fantasized about getting married, having children, and building the family he never had.

Unfortunately, the pre-Apocalypse society was indeed a beautiful era but also the most tragic one—with exorbitant housing prices and dowries, young people of the time could barely lift their heads unless they were born with exceptional circumstances. People from typical families couldn’t bear it.

In an economy where the average salary was four or five thousand a month, one could neither starve nor eat well. How could one take on these burdens? Thus, an era of low desire emerged. It was enough for one person, but for a family, four or five thousand a month was barely sufficient to survive.

Back then, Tang Ye’s only fantasy was shattered by the harsh reality. Without love for life, he prepared to be alone forever, never to experience what he always lacked.

However, in this post-apocalyptic world, he ironically received it—it didn’t belong to him, but the person enjoying it was indeed himself.

This most ordinary meal wrapped him in endless warmth.

Soon, the dishes on the table were nearly gone, with only scattered side dishes and condiments left.

Seeing the meal was almost finished, Li Qingtian stood up. She skillfully transferred the remaining dishes to a plate and stacked the empty plates together.

"By the way, what were you about to say earlier? Now that we’ve finished eating, we can talk."

She suddenly said to Tang Ye. He paused, his mouth opening as if to reveal his true identity and tell her he was not Li Henian. But as the words reached his lips, he found he didn’t want to say them. Why not pretend to be Henian if she believed he was him?

After all, his name was now Li Henian.

"No... it’s nothing." Stammering uneasily, Tang Ye couldn’t bring himself to meet Li Qingtian’s eyes. However, her laughter soon broke out, a sound like silver bells that drew his gaze back to her. He smiled too, but his smile was more awkward compared to Li Qingtian’s.

After the laughter, Tang Ye watched as Li Qingtian carried the plates into the kitchen, where the sound of running water began. This familiar scene resonated deeply with many days before the Apocalypse.

Perhaps because she often did housework, Li Qingtian was quick at washing the dishes. In just five or six minutes, Tang Ye heard the sound of plates being put back in the cupboard, and only after that did he see her coming out of the kitchen.

"Henian."

"Huh?"

Since she had gone into the kitchen, Tang Ye had been sitting on the couch facing it, seemingly waiting for Li Qingtian to come out, and her sudden call caught him off guard.

"What’s up?" Tang Ye asked back.

But Li Qingtian seemed at a loss for words. After calling out to Tang Ye, she simply stared at him, frowning as if unsure what to say next. A hint of bitterness flashed in her eyes as she shook her head at him.

"Henian... I... I have to go," she said to Tang Ye. He watched her walk toward the door, feeling a sudden irritation mixed with a hint of reluctance.

"Wait!"

Li Qingtian had just stepped out the door; in the garden, Tang Ye shouted at her retreating figure, but it was as if she didn’t hear him at all. Step by step, she continued forward, continued to leave.

"Wait a moment." Tang Ye chased out the door and shouted to Li Qingtian again, and she finally stopped at Tang Ye’s call, turned around, and the familiar, gentle smile was what Tang Ye saw before him.

"What is it?"

The tone and voice that came from her were so familiar, yet eerily foreign.

"Are you leaving?"

"Hm?"

"Where will you be staying?"

Tang Ye’s question did not receive a direct answer from Li Qingtian. She just smiled, gave Tang Ye a deep look, and then said, "Henian, let’s talk about this once you accept everything. As for my location, I won’t go too far. Once you’ve accepted it, I will come back."

"It’s dangerous out there."

Tang Ye said uncertainly, but Li Qingtian turned away again and continued walking toward the elevator.

Tang Ye’s heart was filled with turmoil. Li Qingtian’s recent words made him realize a problem; perhaps Li Qingtian knew he was not Li Henian, and he was not her relative, but in some way, he was her family.

He didn’t think of her as his sister, but she considered him as herself. She knew the truth, yet pretended otherwise. She also hadn’t fully released the love she held for another Li Henian.

And her intention was for Tang Ye to acknowledge her identity.

But this way...

The painful struggle within him was evident in Tang Ye’s eyes. Memories of Li Qingtian that existed in Li Henian’s mind kept flashing by; sequences of beautiful and warm scenes, lasting like images carved on a rock forever. In these memories, every word he heard from people was varying in intensity, seemingly hinting something to Tang Ye.

In the end, whether it was an illusion or not, Tang Ye seemed to hear a series of words, formed by countless voices.

"Stop struggling, she is your sister, she is your sister, she is... my sister, she! is... our sister, she... she... she is called... she is called... Li Qingtian!"

In a trance, Tang Ye seemed to hear his own voice, filled with longing, much like a starving baby yearning for mother’s milk.

His gaze followed the figure of Li Qingtian, who pressed the elevator button. The numbers on the display began to change and soon enough, with a "ding," the elevator doors opened.

PS: I apologize, but the author’s note can only be within five hundred characters, sorryಥ_ಥ

Dear readers, just a heads-up, I am not sure what’s happening these days, but I’m feeling quite listless. Even though I know how the story should proceed, my descriptions are feeling rather inadequate, and I find myself needing to pause after writing just a few words.

Some readers commented that I should plan my outline better, and perhaps that’s true. Writing this book, I simply transitioned from being a reader to being an author. To this day, I also write while reading others’ books.

Even though I can write over four thousand words a day and I’m still young, I feel like I’m experiencing a midlife sense of inevitability, possessing plots but a vocabulary so poor it’s terrible. During my student days, I could daydream an entire book during class in just one or two days, but actually writing it down, that feeling of obstruction is truly unpleasant.