The woman's voice had barely fallen silent before Zhou Haimei's impatience became palpable. Her entire face darkened, and her demeanor shifted drastically. Even Xu An noticed the sudden chill in the air.
While confronting the group and stalling for time, Xu An kept signaling to her mother, urging her to slip away. Xu Yan, following her daughter's instructions, hugged Yueyue and, when no one was paying attention, quietly slipped out along the wall.
Inside the convenience store, all eyes were fixed on Xu An and Zhou Haimei. Consequently, not a single person noticed that Xu Yan had already taken Yueyue and departed. Xu An's gaze never wavered from her mother and the child in her arms. Only when she saw her mother safely out of the convenience store did Xu An's tightly held breath finally release. The escape route she had provided for Xu Yan had been cleared beforehand, and clothes suitable for Yueyue were prepared at their rendezvous point. Since Xu An didn't have any clothes that would fit Yueyue, she had to leave one of her own behind for them to make do.
With her mother's safety secured, Xu An and Zhou Haimei could finally let loose. Upon receiving Xu An's subtle nod, confirming that the aunt and child had escaped safely, Zhou Haimei dropped all pretense. When the woman reached out to grab her, Zhou Haimei immediately retaliated with a backhand slap across the woman's face.
"Calling you fat, and you're huffing and puffing? Don't you have a mirror at home? Well, you have urine, don't you? If you don't have a mirror, just use your own urine to look at your pathetic son's face. I couldn't be bothered to argue with you, but you're getting pushy. You and my son? Is your son even worthy?"
Xu An watched Zhou Haimei unleash her tirade, struggling to suppress her laughter. She didn't usually laugh, unless she absolutely couldn't help it. The tense atmosphere in the room vanished instantly, shattered by Zhou Haimei's string of curses.
"You... how dare you curse me?" Zhou Haimei, having shed her former meek and delicate persona, now resembled a beautiful yet venomous villainess from a drama.
"Not only do I curse you, I also hit you. How did you forget so quickly? Senility is no good. If you have time, have your useless son take you to get your brain checked."
"Actually, you probably don't have a brain." Zhou Haimei's words were sharp and relentless, launching a barrage of attacks.
Meanwhile, Xu An didn't stand idly by. Her eyes were fixed on the man with the dagger, wary of him suddenly lunging. She feared a surprise attack. Strangely, however, the man had remained rooted to the spot since the beginning, seemingly lost in thought, and had not uttered a word.
The confrontation between the woman and Zhou Haimei caused the others in the group to stifle their laughter amidst the tension.
"You woman, it's obvious you have no morals. You should feel honored that my son fancies you, yet you dare to look down on him. I don't care, you hit me and caused us to lose our hideout. You must hand over all the food you have to compensate us."
After speaking, the woman, perhaps feeling outnumbered, began to incite the surrounding crowd. "Don't you all agree? Let this woman leave all her things behind, and we can all share. The food you received earlier probably won't last two days. By the time we escape from here, we don't know what the outside world will be like. If the rescue team doesn't find us soon, won't we be able to last a couple more days if we take this woman's food?"
Among the crowd, someone couldn't stand the woman's behavior any longer. "Auntie, enough is enough. She's already given us half of the food. You're too cowardly to ask that person for more, so you've set your sights on this young girl again. Don't be so shameless."
However, those who spoke up for Xu An and Zhou Haimei were a minority. Most people, though silent, harbored the same thoughts as the woman. Their gazes towards Xu An and Zhou Haimei were now openly filled with greed.
Zhou Haimei was utterly amused by the situation. "You're looking down on me? Your brain is still trapped in the remnants of feudalism. This is the apocalypse, auntie, please get it straight. With your useless son, even pork prices have gone up, yet your son is still sleeping around?" This was an indirect jab at the woman's son, likening him to a pig.
Xu An had seen enough of this charade. She stepped forward and took Zhou Haimei's arm. "Mei-jie, let's go. We've already wasted too much time."
Zhou Haimei frowned and asked, "How much longer? I feel like I could curse for a while longer. This old hag is just too infuriating."
Xu An chuckled. In their usual encounters with ill-intentioned people, the situation would escalate to outright aggression. They rarely had the opportunity for Zhou Haimei to unleash her full verbal fury. Xu An listened to the approaching horde of zombies and shook her head with a smile. "Let's go. It's not worth it to deal with people like this."
Zhou Haimei grumbled, looking unsatisfied at not having cursed enough. "Hmph, I'll let you off this time. But I doubt we'll ever see each other again. So, I wish your son infertility. That's my best wish for you all."
Xu An's ears began to redden from her laughter. The woman Zhou Haimei had insulted turned beet red with anger. "You, you, you, you little slut, who are you cursing?"
"I'm cursing you, you old slut!" With that, she grabbed Xu An and prepared to leave.
The woman, however, was not deterred and reached out again, attempting to grab Xu An's clothes. "You two sluts are in this together! You're not allowed to leave! My son fancied you, you have to stay..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was startled by the dagger Zhou Haimei swiftly swung, causing her to stumble back. It had to be said, the old woman, despite her grey hair, was quite agile. She managed to dodge, and the dagger only managed to shave off a corner of the woman's clothes.
"You, you're going to kill me!" The woman, seemingly frightened, jumped up and started yelling hysterically.
Zhou Haimei also dropped her playful demeanor, her eyes returning to their stern, unsmiling expression. "I believe I warned you not to touch with your claws."
The woman immediately quieted down, no longer daring to reach for the two of them. However, her mouth was still annoyingly loud. Her voice pitched high, she continuously cursed Xu An and Zhou Haimei.
Zhou Haimei said coolly, "Keep cursing. Louder, preferably attracting all the zombies. Shout!"
Upon hearing this, the woman seemed to snap out of her frantic state, finally realizing where she was.