It's Hard to Be the Female Lead's Best Friend (Apocalypse) GL - Chapter 1

The cool breeze of early morning added a refreshing touch to the hot air. In a five-story small apartment building, many people were already rushing out for work.

A small, seventy-square-meter room was clean and tidy, so tidy that it only contained a table, a chair, and a small sofa. Inside, there was a desk and a bed, and the girl on the bed stirred, half-awake.

The small clock on the bedside cabinet ticked away.

The calendar showed December 21st. A nearby photo featured only a man and a toddler girl, one side of the picture already torn.

The moment the alarm rang, the girl quickly got up, washed, changed, and rushed out the door. Cheng Ziyu had accidentally overslept, and the bus was now packed, so she had no choice but to run to work.

Fortunately, the factory wasn’t far. Cheng Ziyu ran one street and stopped, gasping for breath. She gently wiped a trickle of sweat from her forehead: “It’s already December, and it’s still so hot.”

It should have been early winter weather, but this year’s weather was indeed unusually strange, with continuous high temperatures for several months, and a huge temperature difference between night and day.

Inside a large factory, people were bustling. Machines ran continuously in the workshop, generating even more heat that left them drenched in sweat, but for their families, they worked diligently.

As soon as Cheng Ziyu stepped through the factory gate, the workshop director called her into his office. The moment she entered, he slammed his hand on the table without a word, giving her a warning.

“Cheng Ziyu, the balance performance of this batch of goods from the factory isn’t up to standard. How did you inspect it? Do you know that because of your negligence, the company suffered heavy losses, and I was scolded by the boss all day? Your entire month’s wages are being deducted.”

“No, this batch of goods wasn’t my responsi…” Cheng Ziyu froze, intimidated by the workshop director’s piercing gaze.

He then pulled out a document, jabbing at it repeatedly with his finger: “What, still want to argue? This document was signed by you, and it was released by you. If I don’t find you, who do I find? Get lost! If the problem can’t be solved, you don’t need to come to work.”

“Yes…” Cheng Ziyu glanced at the order number, feeling a sudden chill. Even though the weather was still hot, her hands and feet were cold.

The document was indeed signed by her; but her good friend, Dai Xiaoya, had called and asked her to sign it on her behalf. Cheng Ziyu’s mind was a mess, unable to understand why this was happening.

When she first came to the factory, she was unfamiliar with the place, and Dai Xiaoya had enthusiastically helped her. Later, the two became inseparable.

Cheng Ziyu even told her that after her father’s accident, she received 800,000 in compensation, and a family of dreadful relatives suddenly appeared because she was under eighteen and needed a guardian.

She had always been grateful for Dai Xiaoya’s presence, so when Dai Xiaoya’s grandmother fell ill, she spared no effort in helping.

But she never expected…

“Ha!” Cheng Ziyu gave a self-mocking laugh.

Leaving the office, Cheng Ziyu went to the workshop to check the machines. The noise was quite loud here, with rows of machines running at full speed, and several workers inspecting the motors.

“How is it?” Cheng Ziyu suppressed her bad mood, trying to maintain composure.

“Hmm… it seems there’s a problem with this batch of shafts we received,” a worker handed her one of the shafts.

Cheng Ziyu felt it in her hand: “Looks like it wasn’t polished properly. Send it back for re-polishing.”

“Okay.”

After assigning the tasks, Cheng Ziyu worked diligently all afternoon. Once most people had left, she washed her hands and clocked out.

The sun gradually set in the west. As Cheng Ziyu walked along the road, the lingering glow of the sunset cast upon her made her appear solitary, out of place among the people rushing home from work.

Cheng Ziyu didn’t really want to go home.

Because she was the only one there.

Cold as frost and snow, without a trace of warmth.

A cool breeze blew past, brushing her ears and gently stirring her hair. Cheng Ziyu looked up at the sunset; its warm light shone on her face through a nearby sycamore tree.

The sunset was exquisitely beautiful, much like Cheng Ziyu’s beauty—neither harsh nor cold, but a gentle, comfortable beauty.

Cheng Ziyu gazed absently at the fleeting sunset, patting her chest: “It’s alright, it won’t break me.”

[You can do it!]

Cheng Ziyu froze. Who was talking just now?

She looked around. People were rushing by, and no one was speaking. Cheng Ziyu looked up at the sycamore tree, and a leaf floated down. She picked it up: “Am I too tired? Am I hallucinating?”

She tossed the fallen leaf into a trash can, turned crisply, and walked away, picking up her phone to send a message to Dai Xiaoya.

“Cough, cough…” An elderly grandmother, holding a bag, leaned against the railing and coughed.

Cheng Ziyu looked up. In her bad mood, she initially didn’t want to meddle, but as she passed the old woman, she was suddenly called out to.

“Young lady, can you help me sit over there?” The old woman, with her hunched back, pointed to a public bench not far away.

Cheng Ziyu pursed her lips, but finally helped her sit down. The old woman smiled kindly and offered her a piece of bread from her bag.

“No, thank you, Grandma. You keep it for yourself.”

The old woman smiled bitterly: “Will you keep me company?”

The old woman’s lonely eyes softened Cheng Ziyu’s heart, and she sat beside her in silent companionship. She glanced down at her phone, but no explanation arrived. After a moment of hesitation, she finally deleted the contact.

“Little girl, you seem unhappy?”

Cheng Ziyu shook her head, smiling: “No, I’m very happy. I’ll be happy from now on.”

“That’s right, be happy! There’s no obstacle you can’t overcome. No matter how hard or scared you are, you must strive to live.” The old woman insisted on giving her a compass. There was a hint of sadness in her kind eyes as she smiled gently, “I hope you learn to be brave in the future and don’t lose your way.”

Cheng Ziyu was somewhat stunned by her words. She looked down at the compass in her hand. It seemed broken, always pointing north.

“Grandma, this…” Cheng Ziyu turned her head, and to her astonishment, the person had vanished, as if she had never been there.

Scared, she stood up, looking left and right. The sky was gradually darkening, the cool breeze was gone, replaced by a cold wind that gave her goosebumps: “What’s going on… Did I just see a ghost?”

She swallowed hard, ran home, hid in her room, and covered her head with the blanket in fear. After a long time, she slowly calmed down, drenched in sweat.

She peeked out cautiously. There seemed to be nothing unusual, so she looked at the compass again: “I must be seeing things.”

Cheng Ziyu got out of bed, went to the kitchen to drink a glass of milk, constantly fiddling with the compass in her hand. Back in her room, she placed the compass on her bedside table, then picked up the photo, gently touching the frame: “Dad, I’m alone again.”

Her fingertip moved to the torn side.

Dad said that Mom divorced him a long time ago. She vaguely remembered that cold silhouette, and she often asked when Mom would return.

But she only received silence in reply.

Cheng Ziyu shook her head, put the photo back, and readjusted her mood: “No, I need to change jobs. They dare to deduct my money, do they really think I won’t leave?”

Cheng Ziyu lay in bed, scrolling on her phone for jobs. There were other factories nearby, but most of them only hired around the New Year. If they were too far, the salary wouldn’t be enough for daily expenses and rent.

Cheng Ziyu looked for a long time but couldn’t find a suitable job: “Sigh! Never mind, I’ll keep looking. I’ll find something eventually.”

Her fingertip moved, opening a novel. Only at times like these could she temporarily forget her troubles.

“The Tycoon President’s Sweetheart (Apocalypse)”

This was an apocalyptic novel featuring an overbearing President; not many people read it, only a few dozens, but Cheng Ziyu particularly loved it.

Because in this novel, there was a cannon fodder female supporting character who not only shared her name but also had almost the same background. Sometimes, she even suspected the author had clairvoyance and was secretly peeking at her.

But the only difference between this female supporting character and herself was that she was too obsessed with men. She caused all sorts of trouble to steal the male lead, a true white lotus, not only crying in front of the male lead but also pretending to be innocent and crying in front of the female lead!

In the end, she was pushed into the mouth of a zombie by the male lead.

And at that time, the author described the female lead as having a slight hint of mockery and pity in her eyes. Cheng Ziyu strongly suspected that the female lead wished she could have done it herself.

Although she was cannon fodder—*Pah, pah*. Cheng Ziyu couldn’t help but leave a comment:

—The female supporting character finally died!

This apocalyptic zombie novel, set in the real world, featured a female lead who was an orphan, working part-time to pay for college. However, in others’ eyes, the female lead was just a pretty face and a perfect figure, a complete “flower vase”.

A flower vase is good!

Cheng Ziyu also wanted to comfortably be a flower vase.

But this very flower vase, after the apocalypse broke out, displayed astonishing abilities, relying on her spatial power to rampage through everything. Her personality was gentle and kind, simply perfect.

Cheng Ziyu was still very envious of the female lead, occasionally even imagining herself as the female lead, lovingly devoted to the male lead.

Just thinking about it felt so shameful.

As for the male lead, because he had always sponsored the female lead’s university education, and after the apocalypse, he consistently protected her, gradually winning her heart; it’s just that the male lead’s personality was somewhat indecisive—a central air conditioner!

Cheng Ziyu almost thought the author wanted to create a harem, thankfully the male lead had remained chaste for the female lead so far, otherwise she would definitely leave a bad review.

She hated it when stallion characters were paired with virgins.

Cheng Ziyu’s plump fingertips slid across the screen, then paused, finding she had reached the last chapter: “Why does it end here with the male and female leads arguing? So frustrating.”

She glanced at the time on the screen, almost nine o’clock.

This was the author’s update time every night.

Cheng Ziyu waited for the time, constantly refreshing at nine o’clock; she was pleasantly surprised to find that the author had published ten extra chapters today. Her somewhat gloomy mood instantly turned beautiful.

Excitedly, she was the first to click open…

“Are you kidding me?! What the hell, it actually ended tragically (BE)! The synopsis promised a happy ending (HE)! Garbage author… trash… I’m sending you a negative review gift package…”

Cheng Ziyu was so angry she swore, and even left several negative reviews. This damn author just ended the story tragically (BE) and had the female lead destroy the world simply because she broke up with someone.

Unbearable, absolutely unbearable!

Why should your personal breakup make the work end tragically!

After venting, Cheng Ziyu still felt a knot of anger inside; but she was helpless, the pen was in the author’s hand.

“Sigh!”

“Forget it, forget it, don’t be angry, just block them. If I ever read anything by this author again, I hope I get hit by a car when I go out!” Cheng Ziyu’s eyes were fierce, not even softening her self-curse.

“Time to wash up and go to sleep. Tomorrow, I still need to figure out how to re-debug this batch of substandard products.”

After showering, Cheng Ziyu lay in bed. She turned off the light and tossed and turned, feeling a tightness in her chest, an inexplicable sense of unease.

Cheng Ziyu looked at the pitch-black room, pulled the blanket over her head, and forced herself to sleep: “Goodnight, Dad!”

Cheng Ziyu counted sheep and gradually fell asleep; but her head felt a little heavy, and strange noises kept ringing in her ears, yet she couldn’t make them out clearly.

“Ah—” a sharp, piercing scream.

Cheng Ziyu sat up groggily, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and with difficulty, opened her eyes to look at the pitch-black night sky outside.

“What’s going on?” Cheng Ziyu lay back down to sleep, but another piercing scream woke her again.

She had just fallen asleep and was now being disturbed.

An inexplicable feeling of anxiety and anger welled up inside her.

Disturbed, she angrily threw off her blanket: “Damn it, are you going to let people sleep or not?! I’ll report you, you know!”

She listened carefully, and finally, it was quiet.

So she lay back down and pulled the blanket over herself.

“Ah—”

Cheng Ziyu furiously threw off the covers. She squinted, turned on the light, and walked towards the window. Looking at the completely dark open space, she vaguely saw figures struggling.

The figure on the ground reached out to her, but soon, like a withered leaf in the wind, it fell weakly.

Recalling the scream, it sounded like a girl, and it was the middle of the night. Perhaps the girl encountered a pervert. Cheng Ziyu then calmed down, turned around, picked up her phone, and called the police.

“Beep—beep—” The line was busy.

Cheng Ziyu saw the motionless figure on the ground, and her anxiety grew. Although she really wanted to help the girl, she couldn’t fight an adult male.

At this moment, seeking help from others was the right thing to do.

She dialed again, but it kept ringing “beep-beep”: “Strange, it shouldn’t be impossible to get through.”

The girl mumbled, gradually ceasing to resist.

No, the girl stopped making noise.

Cheng Ziyu looked carefully. The figure of the assailant wasn’t moving; but their head was bobbing up and down, a strange action that sent shivers down her spine.

For some reason, the cool breeze blowing in should have been comfortable; but she felt an extreme chill.