Chapter 38: Tang Tang Plans to Aid the Villain

Finally, Tang Tang wiped the grease from the corners of her mouth with a paper napkin, a long-lost sense of fullness settling in her stomach. In this single meal, she had devoured eight rolls of roast duck, two portions of shredded pork in soybean paste, and an entire bowl of soybean paste noodles.

As she gazed at the leftovers on the table, a thought sprouted wildly in her mind: take it to go. If she could carry these away, she could last three days—no, maybe even five! Five days without having to face the devil that was Qin Feng!

Mustering her courage, Tang Tang whispered, her voice as thin as a mosquito’s, "Qin Feng... I, can I pack these up?"

Qin Feng leaned back on the sofa, watching her display of greed and cowardice with a cold smirk. "Of course you can. Pack as much as you want, senior." He added slowly, "My doors are always open to you. As long as you are willing to pay... you can always exchange for food."

As if granted a pardon, Tang Tang immediately stood up and began, with almost crude haste, to sweep the delicacies into containers. Lin Yuwei, standing nearby, watched with cold eyes; she felt as though she were looking at her own reflection from yesterday. She remembered that only a day ago, she too had been that same pathetic person, casting aside her dignity for a single bite of food.

Qin Feng’s gaze rested on Tang Tang’s trembling hands, then her curvaceous figure, and finally her breathtakingly beautiful face. He saw right through her intention to stockpile food, escape, and never return. He sneered internally: a cat playing with a mouse, and the mouse wants to run? Where do you think you can go?

Qin Feng spoke softly, his words piercing Tang Tang’s eardrums like an ice pick. "However, senior, the next time you come, it won't be as simple as just playing the 'innocent girl' act."

Tang Tang’s movements stiffened. Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible, massive hand, nearly stopping it cold. She looked up, her voice trembling. "Qin Feng... what... what do you mean?"

"It means," Qin Feng’s smile was frigid and cruel, "that next time, I want to see greater 'sincerity.' You will have to make a greater sacrifice."

"I don't understand! I don't know what kind of sacrifice you want..." Tang Tang instinctively shook her head, her eyes filled with terror, her arms shielding her chest.

"You understand." Qin Feng smiled slightly, stood up, and paced toward her, looking down at her from his height. "Senior, don't play dumb. We are both adults. What do adults like to do after a full meal? Don't you know?"

"Don't you like wearing those beautiful, flesh-colored stockings?"

"Next time you come, wear the dress you think is most beautiful, the one that pleases me most, and pair it with your favorite stockings." Qin Feng’s voice was filled with an unquestionable sense of command. "I will feed you until you are full with the finest food in this world, so you will never go hungry again."

Tang Tang’s mind buzzed with a deafening hum, leaving her blank. She knew this day would eventually come. The warning from her boyfriend, Wang Zi, still echoed in her ears: *Qin Feng has a gun; don't go to him, don't walk into his trap.* But today, she had ignored his warnings time and time again, throwing herself into the trap for a mere bite to eat... until now.

Qin Feng... he was a demon!

Tang Tang’s tears spilled over, uncontrollable, a mixture of humiliation and terror. She comforted herself: *It’s okay, it’s okay. Tang Tang, just take this food today, and then never come back! I’d rather die than come back!*

She wiped her tears away haphazardly, grabbed the two heavy containers, and fled in a disheveled panic. Qin Feng pressed the red button, allowing her to leave.

Lin Yuwei asked with surprise, "You’re just letting her go like that?"

Qin Feng smiled. "Don't worry, she’ll be back."

...

Tang Tang carried the two boxes of food into the hallway, walking with her head down, scurrying like a thief afraid of being caught. Just as she reached the door to her dorm, she saw Mu Qingyan anxiously knocking on Room 303. Strange, Mu Qingyan hadn't been seen in days; why was she looking for her now?

Tang Tang quickly composed herself, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying. "Yan'er, why are you here? Do you need something?" As she spoke, she fished for her keys from the small pocket of her flight attendant uniform. Right, she hadn't even had the chance to change out of this black-stockinged outfit.

Mu Qingyan turned, and the moment she saw Tang Tang, her beautiful eyes went wide. "My god! Tang Tang, what is this flight attendant outfit... are you doing some kind of fetish play?"

Tang Tang dodged the question vaguely. "It's nothing, baby Yan'er, what did you need?"

Mu Qingyan didn't have time to press the issue. She grabbed Tang Tang’s arm urgently. "Tang, it's a disaster! Your boyfriend and my boyfriend are about to duel!"

"Huh? What?" Tang Tang’s brain stalled.

"The guys are in total chaos! Gao Yi and Wang Zi got into a fight over who knows what. Both are too proud to back down! Now that there's no food in this apocalypse, the tension exploded!" Mu Qingyan spoke rapidly, her face etched with panic. "They've each rallied a group, and they're going to fight on the rooftop in half an hour! The whole male dorm is going crazy, looking for anything they can use as a weapon! Listen, you can hear them screaming over there—it's total bedlam!"

Tang Tang felt her heart tighten. "What? How could this happen? Weren't they best friends? They worked out at the gym together all the time!"

"Who knows! We have to find a way!" Mu Qingyan said anxiously. "I'm going to find Jiang Chuyi. Her boyfriend has money and runs a hotpot restaurant on Wenhua Road. Wang Zi and Gao Yi often brought their brothers there to support his business; he has the most prestige among them, maybe he can stop them! You, Tang Tang, call Wang Zi immediately and tell him not to be impulsive!"

"Okay, okay, I understand!" Tang Tang hurriedly opened her dorm door with her keys.

"Right, I'm going to work on the others!" With that, Mu Qingyan turned and ran off. She was wearing a spaghetti-strap miniskirt, her beautiful back like the moon, her hair dancing in the air. Her snow-white, straight legs moved with nimble steps as she headed toward the dorm of the campus belle, Jiang Chuyi.

Tang Tang watched her go, and suddenly, a wave of intense jealousy washed over her. Why? Why was it that everyone was a campus belle, yet Mu Qingyan acted like a savior, running around to resolve conflicts? Why did she get to live so brilliantly, staying calm in a crisis, as if the apocalypse had nothing to do with her? And why was she, Tang Tang, forced to beg like a dog before Qin Feng, humble as dust, just for a few mouthfuls of food?

Was Mu Qingyan not hungry? Was she not in this apocalypse too?

A surge of intense resentment and refusal to accept her fate shattered Tang Tang’s reason. She suddenly remembered a creature from mythology called a *chang*—the ghost of a person killed by a tiger, who then serves the tiger by luring more victims to their doom.

*Yes.* Tang Tang decided that just as Lin Yuwei had dragged her into the mud, she would drag Mu Qingyan down as well.

*Serving the tiger... fine. Let me be the chang for a while.*

Tang Tang watched Mu Qingyan’s lovely silhouette and began to sneer.