After Marking the Villain Professor (ABO, GL) - Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The hail soon stopped, and the gunshots ceased as well. Occasionally, a few zombies appeared in the courtyard, but Qi Rui and his team quickly dealt with them.

Everyone enjoyed two days of calm.

During those two days, Xu Man and the students didn’t slack on their training.

Xu Man’s progress was the most noticeable, earning even Qi Rui’s admiration, though he didn’t know Zhou Yutao had been giving her extra “training.”

“What’s Boss Xu thinking about?” Qi Rui asked during a break, striking up a conversation.

Xu Man pulled her gaze from the window and shook her head. “Nothing.”

For the past two days, she wasn’t sure what Zhou Yutao was busy with. She hadn’t seen her much, and even when she did, they hadn’t spoken.

Logically, she should’ve been relieved.

But perhaps because she’d grown used to being around Zhou Yutao, her mind wandered to her whenever she had a moment.

Whether good or bad memories, they always threw her heartbeat off balance.

She even started looking forward to catching Zhou Yutao’s peach fragrance. Passing the kitchen, she couldn’t help stealing extra glances.

Come to think of it, aside from cooking for Zhou Yutao once, she’d been caught up in training, eating only instant food. She wondered if Zhou Yutao was eating well.

Xu Man suspected she was sick. In the tense apocalyptic world, she still had the mind to think about this.

“The hail’s stopped, and Captain Zheng’s leg is almost healed. Has Yutao said anything about going to South City?” Xu Man couldn’t help asking.

Qi Rui gave her an odd look. “If Boss Xu wants to know, why not ask Professor Zhou yourself?”

Xu Man fell silent for a moment. “Could you ask for me, Deputy Captain Qi?”

She’d considered it, but every time she neared the kitchen, she recalled the fear of being forced to chop zombie limbs, and the thought fizzled out.

Xu Man was conflicted. She feared Zhou Yutao yet was endlessly drawn to her, and she didn’t know why.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” Qi Rui said, suddenly looking toward the gym door. “Professor Zhou.”

Xu Man followed his gaze and saw Zhou Yutao approaching, her heart skipping half a beat.

“Yutao,” she said, instinctively standing straighter.

Zhou Yutao glanced at her. “If Boss Xu has something to ask, why not come to me directly?”

Xu Man repeated her question, dazed.

Zhou Yutao said, “Come to my room tonight. I’ll tell you then.”

Xu Man’s eyes widened slightly, her face flushing red.

Was it that hard to answer? Why did a one-sentence question require going to her room at night?

On the surface, she was nervous, but deep down, a spark of excitement flickered.

As if reading her thoughts, Zhou Yutao added, “What, Boss Xu forgot what you owe me? Not planning to repay it?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Xu Man said, her whole body heating up.

Did Yutao mean she had to repay her tonight? How? What would she do to her?

Was this day finally here?

As Xu Man’s nerves frayed, Zhou Yutao shifted her gaze to Qi Rui. “So, has Liu Ming agreed to help me?”

“She said she can help, but…” Qi Rui hesitated, glancing at Xu Man. “Professor Zhou, let’s talk outside.”

The students were resting, leaving only Qi Rui and Xu Man in the gym.

Zhou Yutao said, “Boss Xu knows my secrets already. This is nothing. Speak here.”

Qi Rui: “Liu Ming said she can help, but she hopes you’ll give her a chance to pursue you. She says she fell for you at first sight.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration; compared to Liu Ming’s actual words, Qi Rui’s version was restrained.

Liu Ming had straight-up said she wanted to be Professor Zhou’s girlfriend.

Xu Man’s expression shifted, her hand unconsciously clenching.

Liu Ming?

The female alpha who came back with Zheng Rong?

The name sounded familiar.

Xu Man racked her brain, recalling the novel’s plot, and her face darkened further.

Liu Ming, the only female alpha immune to the zombie virus in the book, had fascinated Zhou Yutao. Her father was a leader of the South City Safe Base later on.

Liu Ming did fall for Zhou Yutao at first sight, aggressively pursuing her using her immunity.

To secure Liu Ming’s help, Zhou Yutao hadn’t outright rejected her.

When Xu Man read the book, she thought Liu Ming was the alpha most likely to end up with Zhou Yutao.

She hadn’t expected the quiet, unassuming female alpha with Zheng Rong to be Liu Ming.

Would Zhou Yutao agree to her now?

Xu Man felt an instinctive panic, tinged with a faint sting.

Sure enough, after a brief silence, Zhou Yutao nodded. “Tell Liu Ming to meet me in the study.”

As Zhou Yutao and Qi Rui left, Xu Man instinctively reached to stop her but retracted her hand, realizing she had no standing to do so.

Someone else vying for Zhou Yutao’s attention was a good thing.

She’d managed to stay by Zhou Yutao’s side and survive. She should be content.

But why did her heart feel so uneasy?

Xu Man pressed a hand to her chest.

“Boss, another alpha’s eyeing Madam Boss. Should I…?” Xu Si appeared like a ghost beside her, miming a throat-slitting gesture.

“No!” Xu Man jumped, startled.

Not to mention Liu Ming’s immunity was key to Zhou Yutao’s antidote research, even if she were ordinary, they couldn’t kill over this.

Just because her subordinates called Zhou Yutao “Madam Boss” didn’t mean they were actually in that kind of relationship.

Xu Man knew her place.

“Xu Si, why are you always sneaking around?” she asked.

She’d noticed since arriving at Zhou Yutao’s villa that Xu Si’s movements had become increasingly mysterious, often mingling with Zhou Yutao’s escort team.

You’d think he was her subordinate.

Xu Si looked serious. “I’m keeping an eye on Madam Boss for you, Boss.”

“Want to check out the study?” he whispered.

Xu Man: “…Xu Si, if you’re really that free, go catch a live zombie for Yutao.”

A live zombie might distract Zhou Yutao, and maybe she wouldn’t get involved with Liu Ming.

“Boss, I’m not free at all,” Xu Si said, his expression stiffening before he darted off.

Madam Boss had given him plenty to do. Where would he find time to catch zombies? Besides, live ones were tricky—one wrong move, and you’d turn into a mindless monster.

Having sent Xu Si away, Xu Man’s mood didn’t improve. She even felt ashamed of her petty thoughts.

About half an hour later, Qi Rui returned from his talk with Zhou Yutao.

He called to Xu Man and the eight students. “You’ve been training for days. Since there’s no hail today, we’ll go out this afternoon for practical experience. Prepare well. We’ll stay in the front courtyard, and your goal is to kill at least three zombies. Success is the only option—failure isn’t.”

“The consequences of failure are clear, so I won’t elaborate.”

With that, Qi Rui had his team distribute training uniforms and knives to the students.

Some students were eager, others still fearful.

Only Xu Man was lost in thought.

“Any issues, Boss Xu?” Qi Rui asked before they set out.

Xu Man couldn’t hold back. “Yutao, she…”

A glint of amusement flashed in Qi Rui’s eyes. “Professor Zhou’s still in the study. What, does Boss Xu need to see her?”

“If you have something to discuss, you can skip this practical session.”

“But Professor Zhou’s busy now, so you’d have to wait a bit.”

Looks like Professor Zhou was right—this Boss Xu was finally getting anxious.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll join the practice,” Xu Man said.

If she had the guts to confront Zhou Yutao, she wouldn’t have asked Qi Rui. In the end, she chose to go kill zombies with the others.

Until the antidote was developed, she’d have to face them eventually.

“Good,” Qi Rui said, not pressing further. “Get ready to head out. One more thing: when you’re in danger, don’t rely too much on us. We can’t always save everyone. Be extremely careful when facing zombies.”

Nine people killing three zombies wasn’t hard.

But eight of them were ordinary people who’d never even killed a chicken. Even Xu Man, who’d chopped zombie limbs recently, felt less psychological pressure than the others.

So, this practice carried some risk for them.

“Boss Xu, should we split into groups? Three to a zombie? Going out together might be too chaotic.”

“Boss Xu, Deputy Captain Qi said you’ve improved the most. Can I team with you? I’m really scared.”

As soon as they left the villa, the students crowded around Xu Man.

They knew if anyone was safe, it’d be her.

First, her subordinates were strong. Second…

They recalled how Professor Zhou had casually warned them not to talk nonsense, saying their survival and food depended on Xu Man. Their hearts trembled.

They finally understood Professor Zhou wasn’t entirely coerced by Xu Man.

And she was right—they were alive and fed because of Xu Man. Otherwise, back at the school, they’d have ended up like the classmates who refused to leave the supermarket.

According to Captain Zheng, those classmates, except Chen Wang and Chen Xing, were all dead—some eaten by zombies, others killed by looters.

Chen Wang and Chen Xing survived by betraying Zheng Rong and causing the deaths of two teammates who went to find Professor Zhou.

Compared to those two scumbags, Boss Xu was far better.

“Do as you see fit,” Xu Man said, not directly agreeing to their requests.

She knew she wasn’t a leader. Her survival so far was largely due to the original owner’s identity. Most of the credit went to Xu Yi and the others. Her only edge was having read the novel and knowing key plot points and characters. Otherwise, she was no different from the students.

The rest came from managing to stay by Zhou Yutao’s side.

How long that would last, she didn’t know. What if Zhou Yutao settled accounts tonight and kicked her out?

Her mood sank.

In the courtyard, no zombies were in sight. The students were both relieved and worried.

Unless necessary, they didn’t want to face zombies so soon, but avoiding them meant failing the day’s task.

Failure meant double training as punishment.

Qi Rui’s training was strict and intense for ordinary people.

As they spoke, a waft of orange fragrance drifted over, followed by Sun Xiahe’s soft voice. “Boss Xu, finally! Can you give me a bit more food?”

Having stayed inside the villa, Xu Man had almost forgotten her.

Before, when Xu Man had plenty of food, she might’ve given some. Now, she hesitated.

Seeing her reluctance, a student who’d just been cozying up to her said, “You do nothing. Why should Boss Xu give you food? We have to kill zombies for ours.”

Sun Xiahe immediately replied, “I can kill zombies too. Boss Xu, can I train with you?”

She looked at Xu Man pleadingly, her pitiful omega demeanor perfect for stirring an alpha’s heart.