Chapter 10: The Graceful Pei Zhuyuan

“I want to go to the countryside to take a look. We can’t keep living here forever. Will you come with me?”

With a small ball in her mouth, Pei Zhuxuan heard Xiao Guang speak. She lifted her head to glance at him, then looked back down, playing with her fingers.

Xiao Guang slipped a pair of leather gloves onto her hands. She seemed to like them, her fingers tracing circles together. Coupled with her occasional puffing of her cheeks, she looked strikingly like a mentally challenged girl.

“You should come with me. I didn’t take you out yesterday, and you managed to flip the sofa—I don’t even know how you did it. Born with super strength?”

After some thought, Xiao Guang still tugged Pei Zhuxuan to her feet, changed her out of her cartoon pajamas, and dressed her in a windbreaker and long pants. Pei Zhuxuan didn’t move much, only occasionally casting her reddened eyes toward Xiao Guang.

Xiao Guang felt a twinge of guilt. Sorry, when I changed your clothes earlier, I couldn’t help but sneak a pinch of your soft little cheeks. But you have to understand, I was really curious.

Looking at Pei Zhuxuan all dressed and ready, he searched for a length of iron chain. Just in case they needed to scout the terrain and to prevent her from running off, he would have to tether her.

“I really don’t know why I brought you back. I must be stupid.”

“Thinking about those other kids, you’re still the most beautiful.”

“If only I had met Nai Xiao first. Actually, I like her type better.”

Muttering to himself as he walked, he reached the truck, opened the door, pushed Pei Zhuxuan in, closed the door, and then returned to the driver’s seat.

Xiao Guang’s driving skills had improved dramatically. He slammed the accelerator and crashed right through the security at the gate, smashing into the guard post.

“Sorry, damn it, sorry, I forgot to straighten the steering wheel. Uncle, are you okay?”

He rolled down the window and shouted a few words outside. The security guard, who had been knocked aside, slowly got up, looked at Xiao Guang in confusion, then suddenly raised his hand in a salute.

“Not bad. Looks like you’re fine. Pei Zhu...”

Pei Zhuxuan had slipped into the gap in front of the seat, sitting small and quiet. Xiao Guang reached out to pull her, but she bit his arm instead.

“Alright, alright, stop biting. How about I buckle your seatbelt? Is that okay? I was wrong, I was wrong, isn’t that enough?”

He pulled the little figure out of the gap and placed her back in the seat, fastening her seatbelt. Xiao Guang couldn’t help but smile. She kept playing with the ball in her mouth; he wondered if Pei Zhuxuan had really regressed to a child’s age.

Trying to drive as steadily as possible, Xiao Guang frequently checked the map. The place he wanted to explore was at the foot of a mountain. Korea is largely hilly anyway, so his request wasn’t unreasonable.

He wanted a spot near a dense forest, preferably with a freshwater lake. He set two simple conditions.

He was sure the JB district had many suitable locations since it was a nature reserve, home to Bukhansan National Park and Daebong Mountain. There were many stunning villas there, so he planned to treat it like house hunting.

“When the time comes, we’ll pick a large villa built against the mountain. Don’t be shy—choose the most beautiful design that looks the safest. I’ll set up a hall filled with all the little balls you like. You want one, you can have one; want two, have two.”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? What kind of furniture do you like? In a few days, I’ll learn to operate a bulldozer and dig a canal. Then we’ll just wait there for rescue.”

“It’s a pity you’re not normal.”

He was happy just imagining picking the villa, but that last sentence snapped him back to reality. It was just moving to a different place of imprisonment. For himself, there was little difference.

The biggest difference was probably who was beside him. Xiao Guang glanced at her. She was truly beautiful—though how long that would last, he didn’t know. Her eyes were so red, he wondered if the next stage would turn them gray.

~~~~

Xiao Guang hated the Korean chaebols. So his baseball bat swung wildly, smashing the heads of those round-faced men in suits who looked like executives from some high-level company. One of their leather shoes was gone, yet they still yelled at him.

“Pfft~~”

When the bat made that sound, it basically meant the zombies before him had lost all mobility. It was bloody, yes, but the only way. Facing these gray-faced zombies, Xiao Guang harbored no mercy.

He had heard before that some houses were so big it took five minutes to get from the front gate to the door, which he’d always thought was just a dramatic exaggeration in dramas. Now he knew it wasn’t—it was just his lack of experience.

“You stay in the car. I’ll clean up a bit. They’ve all turned into zombies but still worked for those chaebols. I really pity you all. Better to put you to rest.”

Muttering to himself, Xiao Guang got out again without any psychological burden. Along the way, he knocked down four or five zombies. At the gate, he spotted two more sweeping.

Such a huge villa—how many servants did it need? He grew angry again. He still felt useless, only thinking that living in such a big villa would be joyful. But now, seeing it this way, there was none of the happiness those chaebols had.

People living in such mansions had servants to cook, to fetch water, to drive them around. Even if he took over this place, he’d still be alone. And he would have to take care of his birthday present. What he thought was enjoyment was just a joke.

Anger made one blind and gave one extraordinary strength. Under Xiao Guang’s baseball bat, all were equal—whether former masters of the house or servants. He didn’t want to spare a single one. He felt like a gangster from the TV shows, fighting from one end of the street to the other.

His helmet was smeared with red. Wiping it off, he still couldn’t see clearly, so he took it off and bent over, hands on knees, catching his breath. He heard fluttering sounds and looked up. Damn—zombie dogs.

The dog crouched low, creeping toward him. Seeing Xiao Guang look up, it suddenly accelerated and leapt from a distance.

Xiao Guang instinctively raised his arm to block. He had some experience hitting people, but dealing with zombie dogs made him nervous. On one hand, their speed was so fast he couldn’t predict their moves.

On the other hand, he was scared—an instinctive human fear. Raising his arm was reflexive. He should have gripped the bat tightly but didn’t.

“Smack!”

The dog fell halfway through its leap, landing on the ground. Xiao Guang looked at the wailing zombie dog, then at Pei Zhuxuan holding an iron chain nearby. Something was off.

“Hey, Pei Zhuxuan, you...”

“Smack!”

The chain struck the dog’s head again. Xiao Guang watched the dog’s skull cave in. He glanced at the chain and then at Pei Zhuxuan’s reddened eyes. It was so discordant—such an elegant face, such brutal methods.

He realized now why she could stay so long in the bakery—not because she hid behind the bread bags, but because of her terrifying strength.

No wonder so many zombies outside the bakery dared not enter. Xiao Guang even recalled many zombie heads outside the bakery had dents.

Pei Zhuxuan, it was you, wasn’t it?

Right, and my sofa too.