Chapter 29: Overwhelmed by Fatigue, Yearning to Give Up

“Farmers are the most honorable!”

Xiao Guang was truly exhausted; the soreness in his waist and legs was minor compared to the crooked furrows he had made in the field. Something felt off. He shouted once, then lay down on the nearby grass, like a salted fish.

The heat intensified, and he could almost feel the warmth radiating from the grass beneath him. Turning over with his back to the sun, two small feet came into view—wearing a single yellow slipper between them.

Tilting his head, Xiao Guang looked at the two curious little ones and sighed helplessly.

“I’m not dead yet, don’t worry.”

Pei Zhuyun and Kim Minju were indeed unconcerned. They crouched down beside Xiao Guang, watching him like pets waiting for their meal. Their eyes—one pair red, the other deep blue—made Xiao Guang uneasy. Struggling to sit up, he said,

“If I really were dead, you could eat me if you want. Seriously, didn’t I put shoes on you this morning? Where did they disappear to?”

Noticing grass stuck to their little feet, Xiao Guang had no choice but to stand. Grabbing one of them by the hand, he started walking toward the living room. Along the way, he found two green slippers and put them on Minju’s feet; Pei Zhuyun’s other yellow slipper was in the living room.

“You’re supposed to be more sensible now, aren’t you? Your shoes were fine before. Did you get into a fight again? Behave yourselves. Farming is hard work—ow, my back!”

Wiping Pei Zhuyun’s tiny feet and slipping the other slipper on her, Xiao Guang felt as if his lower back had rusted. The muscles on either side of his spine were stiffening noticeably. He lay down again, turning to look at Pei Zhuyun and Minju.

“If only you could help me massage it.”

Saying this was as good as saying nothing. Pei Zhuyun returned to sitting on the couch, but Minju noticed Xiao Guang’s gaze fixed on her. Carefully, she moved closer and lay beside him, those deep blue eyes watching him as if seeking praise.

Xiao Guang kissed Minju’s cheek—a simple act that seemed to bring him some joy. He picked up a seed bag tossed on the ground and frowned at the instructions.

He suddenly remembered he still had to fertilize. He had brought a bag of fertilizer earlier, but the seed holes were already covered. Could he just throw the fertilizer nearby?

“See~ the iron hoof stomps, traversing thousands of miles of rivers and mountains. I stand at the forefront, gripping the rotation of sun and moon, wishing for peace and prosperity in this mortal world. I truly want to live another five hundred years.”

Xiao Guang startled Minju with his sudden shout. Smiling, he cupped her small face, feeling irritable and using singing to ease the loneliness.

Minju, held gently, had nowhere to escape. Hearing his voice, she cautiously watched his lips.

“Oh dear, if I had to farm every day, let whoever loves life live on. I admit it—I’m useless. I’m coming clean.”

He kissed Minju heavily once more, then lay back down, his mind racing over the tasks ahead. He felt like he’d forgotten something—was it fertilizer? No, he’d already thought about that.

What else could it be? More fertilizing? Suddenly, Xiao Guang opened his eyes wide and looked at Minju. This time, she didn’t shy away but patted him lightly, as if she knew he was trying to scare her on purpose.

Looking at Minju’s face and then over at Pei Zhuyun on the sofa, a pressing question came to mind: these two weren’t like mythical beasts that only ate without needing to go. After feeding them for so many days, when and how did they take care of their waste?

It didn’t seem appropriate to strip Minju down and check right away. Besides, the thought itself was a little off-putting. Glancing at Pei Zhuyun’s reddened eyes, Xiao Guang hesitated to voice it.

What if Pei Zhuyun got angry or embarrassed? He knew these two now had emotional responses: fighting over space in bed at night, cooperating while being fed, and occasionally arguing with single characters exchanged between glances.

While Minju stared blankly, Xiao Guang pulled her close again and hugged her tightly, inhaling her sweet scent. The gesture puzzled Minju, who kept her eyes locked on his, as if searching for an explanation.

“Nothing much. I’m just looking at how pretty you are. I like you, understand? I like you and I’m willing to take care of you. And you—Pei Zhuyun, sitting on the sofa daydreaming—don’t be so aloof. Who’s so aloof they play with little balls in their mouth?”

No one replied, but that didn’t stop Xiao Guang from talking to them. At least now he could hold Minju in his arms and kiss her occasionally, which was infinitely better than hiding alone in his apartment at the beginning.

Because of farming, Xiao Guang tried to shift to just two meals a day. He would snack casually at noon and drink some water to get by. In the scorching summer, resting in an air-conditioned villa was a luxury; this was, in his eyes, the apocalypse. Missing a meal was no big deal.

Xiao Guang snacked at noon, while Pei Zhuyun and Minju just drank water—that was his plan. Feeding them snacks was troublesome and often sparked protests. Although they feared water, they still liked drinking it, a pattern Xiao Guang had deduced despite not fully understanding it.

He went to the storage room to check expiration dates and picked out a bag of chips. Tearing it open, he crunched noisily as he pondered.

Food outside was probably still abundant, but many items were nearing their expiration dates. Staples like rice and flour were likely okay, but fruits and vegetables were definitely spoiled.

He still longed to visit that shopping mall in Cheongdam-dong—the basement levels one and two housed a massive supermarket. But thinking of that sumo-like zombie made Xiao Guang regret not running him over with his car back then.

Licking chip crumbs off his fingers and looking at the blister forming on his hand, he reminded himself that farming was his last resort. He was still immature, acting impulsively. What he should have done was gather supplies.

Canned meats, various vacuum-packed foods overloaded with preservatives—he still needed a proper set of tools. The villa had electricity; there was so much he could do.

He hadn’t even managed to arrange for backup trucks as he had initially planned. Sighing, he sat on the floor, squeezing the snack bag in his hand. Xiao Guang knew his emotions were fragile—a balance between strength and collapse, separated by a thin line.

Looking at the abundant reserves in the storage room, he whispered softly to himself,

“I really want to go home.”

He sat there enjoying the quiet until the storage room door suddenly swung open. Looking up, he saw the two zombie girls standing in the doorway. Xiao Guang chuckled self-deprecatingly.

“Are you concerned about me? Or just checking if I’m dead?”

He sat on the floor, watching them as they watched him. Unexpectedly, the two reached out their arms together, helping him up. They each took one of his arms and led him to the living room.

“You can’t go to the pool now; it’s the hottest part of the day. Later this afternoon, I’ll take you swimming, okay? See, it’s not that you care about me—it’s that you want to play in the water.”

Both Pei Zhuyun and Minju pointed their pretty fingers toward the backyard pool. Xiao Guang grumbled, then looked at them and could only walk over to the small bar next to the living room to pour two glasses of water.

“You’re not kids anymore; learn to drink by yourselves. Can’t swallow or spill it? Why don’t you help each other? Pei Zhuyun, come here. I’ll feed you first—just spit the little ball out so Minju can play with it for a while.”