Chapter 54: Culinary Temptation: The Fiery Campus Beauty's Breakdown

Lin Yuwei was extremely satisfied. She proudly raised her chin and cast a provocative glance at Tang Tang sitting opposite her.

"If I sit on your lap, will I crush you to death?" Lin Yuwei asked with a coquettish huff.

Qin Feng shook his head. "You won't crush me."

Lin Yuwei laughed like a simpleton. "Good enough! Come on, baby, let's feed each other like this, and let Tang Tang watch so it drives her crazy with jealousy!"

Seeing this, Tang Tang could only shake her head with a helpless and amused smile. She picked up her chopsticks and stuffed a large mouthful of food into her own mouth.

"Why would I be mad? While you two are busy showing off your affection, I might as well take the opportunity to eat more!"

Qin Feng enjoyed the warm, fragrant, and delicate body in his arms, watching two peerless campus belles vie for his favor.

One progress bar had reached initiative.
The second progress bar was that of a simp.

As expected, obedient and well-behaved women were always the cutest.

After playing around for a while, Qin Feng pinched Lin Yuwei's shoulder and said, "All right, cut it out. You two, take a few clear and appealing photos of these dishes and send them to Mu Qingyan. Ask her if she wants to come and eat. If she's willing to come, save some for her. If she doesn't come... well, you know what to do."

Qin Feng chuckled and nodded.

Lin Yuwei and Tang Tang exchanged glances, both wearing a "just as expected" smile.

"So you were waiting to trap her with this," Lin Yuwei teased coquettishly.

"That's right. I knew it—such a sexy cheerleader with a smoking-hot figure, there's no way you'd just let her go that easily," Tang Tang chimed in.

"So you're deliberately toying with Mu Qingyan's state of mind?"

"Exactly. First you let her go to experience the despair of the apocalypse, and then you tempt her back with delicious food?"

"You guys are really bad."

"You are such an expert at manipulating a girl's heart."

"When it comes to this, Qin Feng, you're at the king level."

Listening to their banter, Qin Feng didn't refute them; he just urged them flatly, "All right, send it already!"

"Fine!"

Daring not to say anything more, the two girls immediately pulled out their phones.

From every possible angle, they took a comprehensive photo shoot of the bright, alluring chopped pepper fish head, the bowl of glistening Mao's braised pork, and all the other various dishes.

Close-ups, wide shots, filters...

They made sure every photo maximized the temptation of the food to the absolute limit.

After finishing, they opened the WeChat chat with Mu Qingyan and dumped these "blockbusters" all at once.

Thinking that wasn't enough, they started sending various "surrender persuasion" texts.

Lin Yuwei: "Beauty Mu, come over and eat! It smells heavenly! [Drooling]"
Tang Tang: "We're saving some for you. It's all freshly cooked and piping hot."
Lin Yuwei: "Qin Feng said if you want to eat, you can come over anytime. He's waiting for you."
Tang Tang: "Right, Qin Feng also said you're a VIP guest and he's definitely keeping a seat for you."
Lin Yuwei: "If you don't come, we're going to eat it all up! It's such a waste to throw away food this good. It'd be a crime not to eat it!"
Tang Tang: "Qin Feng said he feels bad about hurting your wrist earlier, so consider this meal his apology to you."
Lin Yuwei: "Are you really not coming? You'll regret it for the rest of your life!"
Tang Tang: "Just smell the fragrant chopped pepper fish head! Taste a bite of the melt-in-your-mouth braised pork!"
...

Dormitory 324.

Buzz... buzz...

The phone vibrated continuously on the desk, shattering the silence of the quiet dormitory.

Mu Qingyan, somewhat dizzy and tormented by hunger, picked up her phone feebly.

She tapped open the chat window and saw those high-definition photos of the food... her eyes widened.

Gulp.

She heard the sound of her own swallow.

The glowing red chopped peppers, the tender white fish meat, the braised pork gleaming with an amber luster...

Every single photo crossed the screen, fiercely bombarding her fragile stomach lining and battering her paper-thin willpower.

Her psychological defense line was as brittle as paper, on the verge of being pierced.

Saliva secreted frantically in her mouth.
Acid churned violently in her stomach.

Then, "swipe, swipe, swipe," text messages popped up one after another.

Lin Yuwei and Tang Tang's words of persuasion drilled into her ears one by one.

She felt less like a female college student and more like a besieged female general trapped in an isolated city, completely out of supplies, refusing to surrender to the death.

Qin Feng was like Cao Cao, endlessly sending her former colleagues and old friends to lecture Guan Yu on heavenly timing, geographical advantages, and human harmony, urging her to open the city gates and surrender.

Mu Qingyan felt like Lü Bu atop White Gate Tower, or Guan Yu at Maicheng.

Reason told her she couldn't go.
To go meant bowing her head; it meant submission.

Yet her stomach, her taste buds, and her bodily instincts were screaming frantically: Go! Hurry up and go!

Ahhhhh!
This was too agonizing!
This feeling was worse than being killed outright!

Mu Qingyan closed her eyes in agony, her long eyelashes trembling violently due to the inner struggle.

She glanced at Jiang Chu-yi, who was sitting at the opposite desk.

Her roommate, the belle of the School of Economics,
That 176cm-tall beauty with heaven-defying long legs and a nine-heads-proportions body that could drive any man crazy.

At this moment, she was leaning against her chair in an extremely elegant posture, her smooth, long, straight black hair cascading down like a waterfall.

She was intently scrolling through short videos on her phone, looking at the extra likes and "Goddess" comments accumulating under her pre-apocalypse videos, a satisfied and vain smile hanging at the corners of her mouth.

She even opened her boyfriend's WeChat and listened to a voice message he sent—full of a man's confident bragging:

"Baby, don't worry. Once this zombie crisis blows over, my chain of hot pot restaurants is definitely going to make a fortune! Just think, everyone is craving it so badly by now, they'll be lining up every day to eat! Once I make the money, I'll buy you an even bigger Hermès!"

Jiang Chu-yi's face was radiant with blissful anticipation, as if she could already see herself continuing to live a luxurious life pursued and envied by others after the apocalypse.

She completely failed to notice that Mu Qingyan's complexion had turned as pale as paper.
Nor could she possibly understand the fierce and tragic internal battle Mu Qingyan was experiencing at this moment.

After hesitating for a long time, Mu Qingyan planned to climb up to her bed and sleep; once she was asleep, she wouldn't feel hungry.
At the same time, she turned off her phone so she wouldn't have to see messages from Lin Yuwei and Tang Tang.

However,

As if suddenly remembering something, Jiang Chu-yi asked, "Qingyan, your complexion looks so bad..."

As she spoke, Jiang Chu-yi even stood up, walked over to Mu Qingyan, and patted her on the shoulder.

"Yan'er, don't think about it too much. The dead cannot be brought back to life."

Jiang Chu-yi's voice was very gentle, tinged with a compassionate and all-encompassing sympathy.

"Gao Yi's spirit in heaven would certainly want you to live a good life."

Hearing this, Mu Qingyan's tears welled up instantly.

Jiang Chu-yi sighed, her tone full of unconscious superiority, even if she herself might not have realized it.

"Yan'er, you're so pretty. I'm sure you'll find a better man than Gao Yi in the future."
"To be honest, Gao Yi just liked making empty promises; he wasn't really good enough for you..."
"So, don't grieve over someone who's already in the past. It's not worth it."
"Move on. Find someone wealthy."
"You can live much better than you are now."

"Boom!"

Every word from Jiang Chu-yi was like a heavy hammer, fiercely striking Mu Qingyan's self-esteem.

What did "find someone better than Gao Yi" mean?
What did "Gao Yi only made empty promises" mean?
What did "find someone wealthy" mean?
Gao Yi's family background was in the cadre class; wasn't he better than your boyfriend who runs a hot pot restaurant?

An uncontrollable surge of rage suddenly burst from the bottom of Mu Qingyan's heart, scorching her eyes red.

She jerked her head up and stared fixedly at Jiang Chu-yi.

"Jiang Chu-yi, what do you mean? Spell it out."

Mu Qingyan's voice was hoarse and filled with hatred.

"My boyfriend is dead. Do you think you're living better than me now?
"Your boyfriend runs a hot pot restaurant, so that gives you a sense of superiority over me?
"Are you pitying me? What the hell are you showing off for?!"

Jiang Chu-yi was stunned by Mu Qingyan's roar, and her expression instantly turned somewhat ugly.

"Mu Qingyan, what kind of madness are you throwing! I'm trying to comfort you out of the goodness of my heart, what kind of attitude is that?"

"Did I ask you to comfort me?! Did I ask you to pity me?!" Mu Qingyan screamed at the top of her lungs. "Do I need your sympathy? Get lost!"

Jiang Chu-yi's face turned white with anger, and she stomped her foot. "You must be crazy! You're sick!"

With that, Jiang Chu-yi turned around, climbed back up to her top-bunk bed, pulled down the curtain, put on her earphones, and ignored Mu Qingyan altogether.

Trembling all over with her chest heaving violently, Mu Qingyan cried out, "Jiang Chu-yi, you're the one who's sick! Don't talk to me! I can't be bothered to talk to you!"

Anger, humiliation, and sorrow intertwined, almost tearing Mu Qingyan apart.

Crying and biting her lip, thinking of her boyfriend's death, she aggrievedly climbed up to her own bed and violently pulled down the curtain.

She lay prone on her pillow and wept... The zombie crisis had erupted, and her boyfriend had been shot to death... She truly couldn't accept this reality.
The world was simply too surreal.

Just then, her phone vibrated multiple times in succession.

Through her tear-blurred vision, Mu Qingyan grabbed her phone and took a look, only to find she had been added to an unfamiliar group chat.

[Gao Yi's Best Brothers Group]

Inside were Gao Yi's three roommates, Wang Bowen, Li Haoran, and Zhao Wenyu—a guy who used to pursue her...

[Sister-in-law.]
[Qingyan, are you okay? Lin Yuwei told us that Qin Feng kept you locked up for two days?]
[Yeah, sister-in-law, don't be afraid! Even though Gao Yi is gone, we are all his good brothers! We will never let that brute Qin Feng bully you!]
[Hang in there, we're coming to save you.]
[Don't back down, don't give up, don't surrender under any circumstances.]

Looking at these words, Mu Qingyan's tears broke through the dam.

Looking at these words, Mu Qingyan's tears finally burst forth.
Her heart, which had just been pierced by Jiang Chu-yi, seemed to find a harbor at this moment.

Gao Yi's brothers were still the best.
They still remembered her; they still cared about her.

With trembling hands, she typed a reply: [I'm fine, he let me back.]

The moment the message went through, Zhao Wenyu's reply popped up immediately, appearing more eager than anyone else.

Zhao Wenyu: [Let you back? That bastard didn't do anything to you, did he? Qingyan, listen to me, you must not surrender to him! Scum like that just wants to use a little food to buy people's hearts!]
Wang Bowen: [Wenyu is right! Qin Feng has a terrible track record; he's just taking advantage of a crisis! Don't let him fool you!]
Li Haoran: [Right! Sister-in-law, hold on! We're figuring out a way! There are still many survivors in the school; we're joining forces and will soon organize a team. When the time comes, we'll definitely rescue you and trample that Qin Feng underfoot! Big deal that he has a gun.]
Zhao Wenyu: [Qingyan, Gao Yi is gone, let me protect you from now on! I will never let anyone hurt you! Trust me!]

Zhao Wenyu—that name made Mu Qingyan's heart skip a beat.
She knew Zhao Wenyu had actually been chasing her since their freshman year, but she had chosen Gao Yi instead.
Now, Gao Yi was dead...

In his words, that undisguised protective desire and hostility toward Qin Feng gave Mu Qingyan a trace of inexplicable security amidst her grief.

Turns out there were still people who cared about her.
Turns out she wasn't isolated and helpless.
She didn't need to depend on the enemy who killed her boyfriend!
She still had Gao Yi's brothers! They would avenge Gao Yi and come to rescue her!

Mu Qingyan's tears poured down, blurring her vision.

Wiping away her tears, the scale in her heart tilted completely at this moment.

To hell with the chopped pepper fish head!
To hell with the braised pork!
To hell with Qin Feng!

Even if she starved to death or jumped from here, she, Mu Qingyan, would never eat a single bite of his food nor ever bow her head to him!

Weeping, she deleted the alluring food pictures from her phone, her gaze turning utterly resolute and determined.

Then, she tapped out a reply, word by word, in [Gao Yi's Best Brothers] group chat.

[Mm, I believe you.]
[I'll wait for you to come and save me.]
[I, Mu Qingyan, will die before I submit to Qin Feng!]
[Zhao Wenyu, don't let me down.]