Chapter – 05
A Very Clumsy Little Prey
Tonight’s moonlight was bright, reflecting shimmering waves on the river as the sound of flowing water echoed softly.
By the time Wen Huai came back to his senses, Jiang Zhiye had already stepped into the water.
The river wasn’t deep—it only reached his calves. The hem of his rolled-up pants was already soaked. As he prepared to bend down to catch fish, Wen Huai, startled like a frightened bird, quickly said, “N-no, it’s fine.”
Jiang Zhiye didn’t stop. While continuing his movements, he smiled lightly and said, “I’ve caught fish before. I’m very accurate.”
Sure enough, before Wen Huai could refuse again, a splash of water sounded—and Jiang Zhiye really caught a fish.
Wen Huai looked at him in disbelief, then at the fish in his hand.
Wen Huai: “!”
He could actually catch fish with his bare hands—and so accurately!
Jiang Zhiye slowly approached Wen Huai. Seeing that his gaze was fixed on the fish in his hand, he slightly curled his lips and handed it over.
Wen Huai hurriedly took it and thanked him.
He had been craving this fish for so long. Jiang Zhiye really was a kind person!
But the fish in his hands was not obedient. It kept struggling, trying to break free and return to the river.
Just as it was about to slip away, Wen Huai quickly tightened his grip. His strength increased too much, almost crushing the fish in the process.
He had finally caught it—there was no way he would let it escape.
The fish seemed to sense that its life was in serious danger, so it simply pretended to be dead. Only then did things finally quiet down for a moment.
Wen Huai, who had been starving for a long time, now had his entire attention fixed on the fish. A faint aroma drifted from its body—though not strong, it was still a scent. More importantly, his instincts told him he could absolutely eat it. He was already starving to the point of desperation.
Standing motionless in the river, Wen Huai held the fish by its head with one hand and its tail with the other.
He stared straight at it, swallowing hard. Just as he opened his mouth, ready to devour it, Jiang Zhiye’s voice suddenly rang out, startling him back to his senses.
Only then did he remember there was someone nearby. He quickly closed his mouth, hoping the other hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
By then, Jiang Zhiye had already reached the riverbank. His voice carried a hint of concern.
“What’s wrong?”
Wen Huai swallowed and looked up at him. Jiang Zhiye was also watching him, so he slowly said, a little haltingly, “I’m too hungry.”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhiye let out a soft chuckle from the riverbank.
“Then come up first.”
“Okay,” Wen Huai replied, his voice carrying a faint sense of grievance without him even realizing it.
No one could know how badly he wanted to finish off this fish right there and then. If he bit into it like that, though, it would probably scare Jiang Zhiye.
He could only endure it a little longer.
Wen Huai slowly climbed onto the shore.
But the fish in his hands was far too tempting. After starving for so long, he still couldn’t resist. So he replayed what he wanted to say in his mind before looking up at Jiang Zhiye.
Only then did he realize Jiang Zhiye was nearly half a head taller than him; he had to tilt his head slightly upward.
Wen Huai forced himself to speak slowly so he wouldn’t sound so stiff.
“I haven’t eaten anything for several days.”
Jiang Zhiye looked at him, momentarily stunned by those pitiful, watery eyes, before understanding what he meant. He smiled.
“I’m not hungry. You eat.”
At that moment, Jiang Zhiye’s smile looked almost radiant in Wen Huai’s eyes.
Just as Jiang Zhiye was about to ask whether he should grill it, Wen Huai suddenly placed the fish on a large rock by the riverbank. Then, he casually picked up a stone and smashed it toward the fish’s head—his movements unexpectedly clean and decisive—knocking it unconscious.
He put down the stone, reached into the backpack beside him, and took out a fruit knife, beginning to carefully scrape off the fish scales.
His movements were clumsy but extremely serious.
Once the scales were removed, the fish’s aroma seemed to be fully released. It smelled even better than before. Wen Huai’s saliva was practically overflowing; he even suspected that if he held back another minute or two, he might start drooling uncontrollably.
He glanced at Jiang Zhiye, who had been watching him all along, and his movements became slightly awkward.
Jiang Zhiye noticed his sudden pause and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Do you want some?”
If Jiang Zhiye wanted some, he would cut the fish in half—half grilled for him, half eaten raw. After all, he couldn’t eat cooked meat.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhiye shook his head with a smile.
“You eat.”
Once again, Wen Huai silently praised him as a good person in his heart. As expected of a considerate main character.
After cleaning the fish, Wen Huai began slicing it. After thinking it over, he still felt that directly eating it with his hands might scare Jiang Zhiye, so he decided to make it look slightly more “civilized.”
Jiang Zhiye stared at his actions and asked curiously, “Not grilling it?”
“I like sashimi.”
“……”
Delicious!
With that bite, Wen Huai finally experienced the joy of eating.
He sliced the fish faster and faster. Before long, he had finished the entire fish.
He even glanced at the fish’s internal organs with a bit of regret, thinking it might be wasteful to throw them away and wondering if he should pack them up—but in the end, he didn’t.
Although he wasn’t full, the hunger had at least subsided significantly.
Just then, a long, slender hand handed him a piece of paper. Only then did Wen Huai realize Jiang Zhiye had been watching him eat the whole time. He felt a little annoyed at himself—hunger really made things go wrong.
When in an extreme state of starvation, not only could he lose control, but his thinking also slowed down, and all his attention became fixated on food.
That was indeed dangerous.
So, to avoid falling into such a state again, he really needed to stock up more food.
Seeing Wen Huai staring blankly, Jiang Zhiye gently shook the paper and pointed to the corner of his lips, signaling him to wipe it.
Wen Huai snapped back to reality, took the paper, and wiped his mouth. The clean tissue immediately revealed streaks of blood.
So his way of eating really did look scary after all.
Wen Huai glanced at Jiang Zhiye nervously, but seeing no reaction, he quietly relaxed.
After eating, his mind began to function again.
Wen Huai didn’t understand why Jiang Zhiye was here so late at night in such a remote place. Thankfully, there weren’t many zombies around—otherwise Jiang Zhiye might not have been able to handle it.
So he casually asked, “Are you out looking for food too?”
Jiang Zhiye shook his head and pointed toward a distant area with faint lights.
“No. I’m temporarily staying at a friend’s place while escaping danger. I came out for a walk because the night breeze felt nice.”
But Wen Huai only focused on one word in that long sentence.
“Friend?”
“Mm, the one I was with that day—you’ve seen him too.”
Jiang Zhiye looked at Wen Huai, who was sitting slightly diagonally in front of him. His always-smiling eyes seemed to hold light.
But during the conversation, Wen Huai’s forced smile froze completely on his face.
He even felt like the fish he had just eaten no longer tasted good.
Jiang Zhiye not only recognized him—but he had just come out of Jiang Yu’s house!
Had he already forgotten what kind of novel this actually was because of his recent miserable experiences?
At this moment, Wen Huai only felt that the stone he was sitting on was unbearably uncomfortable. He needed to leave quickly.
After all, in the original story, Jiang Yu was a real “jealous demon incarnate.” Many rivals in love had suffered greatly at his hands, and he was probably already on his way to find Jiang Zhiye.
If he found out that Jiang Zhiye had spoken to him, that Jiang Zhiye had caught fish for him, and that Jiang Zhiye had almost done “that” with him… Wen Huai didn’t even dare to think further. His life mattered more. He had to leave now.
So Wen Huai quickly made up an excuse and prepared to slip away.
“Thank you for the fish. I’m going back.”
Saying this, he slung his packed belongings onto his back.
Jiang Zhiye also stood up and smiled as he asked, “You don’t seem full yet. Should I catch a few more fish for you?”
Hearing this, Wen Huai almost burst into tears from gratitude. Jiang Zhiye was truly a good person—so considerate!
But his life was more important.
So Wen Huai painfully refused.
Watching Wen Huai’s hurried and clumsy steps, Jiang Zhiye let out a soft laugh. Only after the figure disappeared into the night did the gentleness in his eyes fade.
A playful expression appeared as he idly touched the gun at his waist. Suddenly, he raised his hand and fired toward the side.
Bang—!
A decayed half-head was hit directly. A zombie that had wandered into the area collapsed instantly.
Just then, Jiang Yu, who had just arrived, happened to see this scene and couldn’t help but tease, “What, can’t sleep at night so you’re out hunting zombies?”
His arrival seemed to confirm Wen Huai’s words—he had just left, and Jiang Yu had already arrived.
As Jiang Yu walked closer and saw that the smile on Jiang Zhiye’s face had not yet faded, he looked as if he had seen a ghost.
“Did something good happen tonight? Why are you smiling so happily?”
“I met a very clumsy little prey,” Jiang Zhiye said slowly and unhurriedly, putting away his gun.
“Where is it?” Jiang Yu looked around but saw no prey, only a fish with its flesh stripped away near his feet. The exposed organs made him frown in disgust.
“How did you dissect this fish so horribly? Or did you use it as bait?”
Jiang Zhiye glanced at the place Jiang Yu was pointing at but didn’t answer. Instead, he said lazily, “It ran away.”
“Ran away? And you’re still this happy?”
Jiang Zhiye ignored him and turned to walk back.
“Did you prepare everything?”
“Yes, it’s all ready.”
“At dawn, we’ll head to the school.”
Meanwhile
After returning from the outskirts, Wen Huai did not go straight home. Instead, he went shopping at a supermarket.
The problem of hunger had temporarily found a solution. Now he only needed to stock up on food. Although he knew that in the current situation most grocery stores had already been looted, he still wanted to try his luck.
As expected, the fresh food section was completely empty. Wen Huai placed the two frozen chicken legs he had finally found into his spatial storage. According to the system, time inside was relatively static, so they wouldn’t spoil.
He walked around the mall and found nothing else worth stocking up on, so he headed back.
But as he passed the cashier counter, his sharp eyes noticed a bag on the ground near a zombie cashier. Inside were quite a few snacks, and a packet of biscuits was hanging out of the bag.
It seemed that survivors collecting supplies had been too afraid to take it.
Thinking of where he planned to go tomorrow, Wen Huai took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and bent down to pick it up. Just as his fingers finally hooked the corner of the biscuit bag, he quickly stuffed everything back into the plastic bag.
At that moment, the cashier zombie, who had been facing the wall in repentance, heard the noise and turned around, curiously moving toward him. Saliva dripped all over Wen Huai’s arm. Even though he couldn’t smell it, he could clearly imagine the stench.
Wen Huai: “……”
Looks like he would need to change clothes again.
He held his breath, not daring to breathe loudly. Just as his head was about to brush against the zombie’s half-empty abdomen, his fingertips finally caught the plastic bag handle. He grabbed it tightly, stepped back, and fell hard onto the ground.
He lay there, looking up at the zombie trapped behind the cashier counter, and finally let out a long breath.
Even though zombies wouldn’t attack him, he was still scared. It was just too terrifying!
He only hoped this bag of snacks would come in handy at school tomorrow.
