Chapter 8: What If I Like You a Little?

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Xiao Guang was doing Irene’s makeup while she played with the little rubber ball.

Xiao Guang had no idea how to apply makeup, but his mischievous streak had gotten the better of him. He placed a pile of cosmetics on the coffee table, made Irene sit on the floor, and settled cross-legged opposite her. One by one, he read the instructions on the products and gently spread them across her face.

With her hair tied into a high ponytail, Irene looked fresh and clean. Xiao Guang first wiped her face with a damp towel. She sat obediently, perhaps too busy biting the little ball in her mouth to care. Her red eyes glanced at Xiao Guang before she went back to playing by herself, her cheeks puffing out from time to time. Xiao Guang really wanted to kiss her.

Moisturizer, eye cream, mascara, lipstick, foundation—some of them looked simple enough, while others left him utterly baffled as to what order they were meant to be used in. Watching Irene’s fresh, clean face turn into that of a little painted cat, Xiao Guang finally set down the blush. He could not continue. The powder was already beginning to flake.

“It looks pretty good. At least you smell nice.”

Xiao Guang stopped what he was doing. Irene raised her head and looked at him. He could not help laughing.

“Sorry, Irene. I really didn’t mean to make you look like this. I did my best, but I really don’t know how.”

Those red eyes continued to stare at him. After thinking for a moment, Xiao Guang stood up and led Irene to the washroom, where there was a half-length mirror.

Irene became furious. She let the little ball fall to the floor without a thought, bit Xiao Guang’s arm, and shook her head from side to side. Xiao Guang laughed shamelessly. Yes, that had to be it—Irene still had some awareness left.

Could zombies make expressions? In the past, Xiao Guang had only seen zombies look confused or angry. The way Irene looked just now was definitely a first.

When Irene saw her reflection in the mirror, her red eyes first froze in surprise. Then they widened until they were perfectly round. She turned to look at Xiao Guang, then back at the mirror. The little ball fell from her mouth as she grabbed Xiao Guang with both hands and began biting him with muffled growls.

“All right, all right. I know it looks awful, like a clown. But you have to understand, this is my first time doing someone’s makeup. Stop biting me, will you? I’ll wash it all off for you, all right?”

Having something to do helped. If this had been before the apocalypse, Xiao Guang would certainly have thought there was something wrong with a person who behaved this way. But now, having something to occupy him made the passage of time far less unbearable.

Doing Irene’s makeup only to wash it off again was entirely Xiao Guang’s own fault, yet he was in an excellent mood. Supporting Irene by the neck, he washed her face with clean water. He was not worried that she would bite him, because the two of them had reached an agreement.

First, he stopped smiling so Irene would know he was not mocking her. Then he picked up the little ball, rinsed it clean, and put it back in her mouth. Finally, he held out the towel and gestured toward her face. Her red eyes had not changed in the slightest, but Xiao Guang somehow felt that Irene had agreed to his plan.

The little painted cat soon returned to her original fresh-faced appearance. Xiao Guang watched as Irene walked back to the coffee table and sat down.

What did that mean? Did she want him to do her makeup again?

“Do you want me to put makeup on you?”

There was no response. She simply remained seated, occasionally glancing at the cosmetics on the coffee table. One hand seemed to want to reach for them, but halfway up, it dropped again.

“Let me make this clear first: I don’t know how to do makeup. You saw that just now. So I’ll just put on some moisturizer.”

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That was easy enough. Xiao Guang scooped out some moisturizer, rubbed it between his palms, then cupped Irene’s little face in his hands and played with it as he spread the cream across her skin.

She still did not leave.

Did she not like facing the wall? Xiao Guang looked at Irene.

“Perhaps I should put on some lipstick.”

He applied it slightly crookedly, then wiped it away with his finger. Irene’s lips were very soft, and Xiao Guang felt something strange stir in his heart.

This was the first time he had ever touched a girl’s lips. They were made of the same physical structures as his own, so why did touching them with his fingertip awaken such longing?

Xiao Guang pursed his lips. Then he saw Irene purse hers as well.

What was going on? Did she want to kiss him?

How could that be allowed?

If Xiao Guang had known that every girl instinctively pursed her lips after applying lipstick, he would have felt ashamed of his lecherous thoughts. He pursed his lips because he wanted to kiss Irene; Irene did it only to spread the lipstick evenly.

“No, no. I’m not afraid of you biting me anymore, but I can’t kiss you. If I kiss you today, I might end up running into the streets tomorrow and kissing everyone I meet. That won’t do. I have to maintain my human decency. If I keep going like this, who knows what I’ll degenerate into? It’s impossible to imagine.”

Holding Irene’s chin and staring into her red eyes, Xiao Guang felt that he was truly magnificent. Truly. Resisting desire with reason was not something everyone could do.

Xiao Guang was no longer afraid of death, but he did not want to die in a daze, either. With the world reduced to this state, it was only a matter of time before he became one of its dead. Xiao Guang had never imagined himself a superhero, nor had he ever thought of saving the world. But he was certain of one thing: if he really was going to die, he would die alongside Irene.

She suited his tastes far too perfectly. Her petite body, her flawless face—even when she was staring blankly into space or pausing at a certain angle, her profile was exactly the kind of beauty Xiao Guang liked.

“That’s enough for today. I really don’t know how to use anything else.”

Xiao Guang rose and left. Irene remained where she was, playing with her little ball and occasionally glancing at the cosmetics on the coffee table.

Xiao Guang began studying advanced driving techniques. Much of the knowledge had become useless, such as traffic lights and road signs, but once the car ran out of fuel, he at least needed to know how to refuel it. That day, he had also brought back a book on automobile repairs. Looking at its thickness, Xiao Guang felt helpless—but his determination remained strong.

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“It’s time to sleep. You need to know that you have to take off your outer clothes and lie on the bed, not just stick your head under the blankets. Are you afraid of the dark? I’ve seen plenty of zombies wandering around at night.”

Undressing Irene was something Xiao Guang enjoyed, even though it filled him with moral shame.

He had already bathed her and seen her naked body. He had even tied her to a chair in that state and left her there for a long time. But those were separate matters. Taking off a girl’s clothes was something a virgin would always enjoy.

“Sleeping with this digging into you must be uncomfortable. Why don’t you take off your stockings too? Your panties, though—yes, I’ll leave those on.”

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Xiao Guang left Irene wearing her panties in order to preserve the last of his moral boundaries. He did not want to become a pervert at a time like this or do anything strange.

Irene tried to sit up several times, but Xiao Guang pressed her back down each time. After taking another look at her petite figure, he pulled the blanket over her and drew it up beneath her neck, holding down both sides near her shoulders.

“Sleep here tonight. Don’t get up and wander around. Don’t go into the kitchen, and don’t go into the washroom. I just gave you some water, so stay here and sleep quietly.”

Irene struggled a few more times. At last, those red eyes looked at Xiao Guang, and she quieted down.

“Sleeping means sleeping. As for the little ball in your mouth… forget it. You can keep it. Just leave it there.”

Xiao Guang tentatively stepped away from the bed. He looked back, took two steps, and looked back again. Irene did not move at all. She had not closed her eyes, either. She continued staring at him.

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Irene was not on the bed or in the living room. The kitchen was perfectly orderly, and everything in the washroom was normal as well. Xiao Guang regretted choosing this apartment. There were simply too many rooms. Seeing Irene in the morning was like playing hide-and-seek.

Irene was hiding inside a wardrobe in the dressing room, behind a pile of clothes. If Xiao Guang had not noticed her round toes, he might have searched another entire circuit. He crouched down and lightly touched one of them with his finger. The foot instantly withdrew.

“It’s me. It’s time to get up and get dressed.”

Xiao Guang studied the unresponsive pile of clothes but did not immediately pull Irene out. He stood and looked around. He decided to dress her in something easy to put on and take off; otherwise, dressing her would become a chore in itself.

His laziness took over. After circling the dressing room, Xiao Guang found a cartoonish full-body animal costume.

“This one will do. Just put you inside and zip it up.”

As for whether Irene would feel hot, her body was cool to the touch and needed to be kept warm.

Irene looked even cuter. Seeing the two ears on the hood of her costume, Xiao Guang still could not resist kissing her cheek.

The little ball in Irene’s mouth stopped moving. Her red eyes turned toward Xiao Guang, making him feel somewhat guilty.

“It’s just a kind of etiquette—a way of saying hello. From now on, this is how we’ll greet each other. All right, time to make breakfast. Remember to behave, or I’ll hold you down and force-feed you again.”