Highway Survival: My Wuling Hongguang was crammed full of school beauties

Chapter 8 Cao Shuang: "It's time to pay the school beauty!"

Cao Shuang didn't respond to that. He turned around, no longer looking at the dim wilderness outside the window and the scattered car lights in the distance like will-o'-the-wisps. Instead, he stared directly and undisguisedly at Chu Yao.

His gaze was sharp and direct, with an appraising quality, scrutinizing her face from her slightly flushed cheeks to her slender neck, the curves beneath her white T-shirt, and her long legs encased in jeans.

Chu Yao felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and the blush that had just faded on her face suddenly burned up again, spreading all the way to her ears.

She instinctively shrank back, avoiding his burning gaze, her voice filled with embarrassment, annoyance, and panic:

"What...what are you looking at?"

The cramped space inside the car, the dim lighting, the lone man and woman, who had just experienced a life-or-death ordeal and were now well-fed and watered... the atmosphere instantly became subtle and tense.

Cao Shuang leaned forward slightly, shortening the distance between them. He could clearly smell the faint scent on Chu Yao's body, a mixture of sweat and a little dust from when she opened the box earlier. It wasn't unpleasant; on the contrary, it had a real, fresh feel to it.

He spoke, his voice not loud, but every word clear and resonant, striking Chu Yao's heart:

"I saved your life, gave you food, and kept you safe. Now, it's your turn to give back."

There was no preamble, no sweet talk, not even a trace of extra tenderness.

It's like stating the simplest of transactions—cold, direct, and naked.

Chu Yao suddenly raised her head and met Cao Shuang's deep yet calm eyes.

Shock, disbelief, anger at being humiliated, and a hint of understanding that had long been buried deep in her heart but she was unwilling to face, all exploded in her eyes in an instant, causing her beautiful pupils to contract slightly.

Of course she knew what Cao Shuang meant. From the way he let her into the car, from the way he looked at her... she wasn't stupid. In this precarious world, why would a man unconditionally protect a beautiful woman who only had two bottles of water?

She was mentally prepared. Even when she was feeling fortunate to have been saved, she had vaguely considered the possible price she might have to pay.

But... but this is too fast! Too direct! There was no buffer, no emotional hesitation, just as natural as the vendor saying "Pay up" after you've finished buying vegetables at the market!

Chu Yao, the school beauty, the object of countless boys' affections, is she just a "goods" that needs immediate payment in his eyes?

Moreover, now that the danger has temporarily passed and there is food in their stomachs, the urgency to survive has lessened, and that "school beauty's" reserved and proud demeanor, which had been suppressed for half a day, has inappropriately resurfaced.

She straightened her back, which had been slightly hunched over in embarrassment and anger, and raised her chin slightly, trying to regain some composure, even though her voice was still trembling:

"Cao Shuang, you...you shouldn't be like this. We...we can take it slow. I know you saved me, and I'm very grateful. We can try to get along and understand each other...Look, we have so many supplies now."

We can try to survive together. Feelings... feelings can be cultivated, right? There's no need to... rush it.

She even tried to force what she thought was a convincing smile, tinged with vulnerability and expectation, her watery eyes looking at Cao Shuang:

"At the very least... let's get to know each other a bit better, half a month... no, even a week will do. I believe you're not that kind of person."

She was gambling, gambling that Cao Shuang had feelings for her beyond lust, gambling on men's ridiculous desire to conquer and protect, gambling that she could use the illusory promise of "cultivating feelings" to exchange for a superior position and more initiative.

This was a familiar, subconscious way of dealing with her suitors—give them hope, prolong their expectations, and gain the maximum benefit.

However, she was wrong.

Big mistakes.

Upon hearing her words, Cao Shuang showed no signs of being persuaded or moved. Instead, she curled her lips into an extremely cold, even sarcastic, sneer.

"Getting to know each other? Understanding each other? Cultivating feelings?" He slowly repeated these words, his tone undisguisedly sarcastic.

"Chu Yao, are you still asleep? Look outside, look at all those dead people on the channel! This is the apocalypse! A hellish place where you could die at any moment! This isn't a university campus, not some social gathering where you play games and pick up rich guys!"

His voice suddenly turned stern, his eyes sharp as knives: "I'll say it again, I'll save your life, I'll give you resources, and now, immediately, you pay the price. There's no room for negotiation. Either do it, or..."

He paused for a moment, and as Chu Yao's face suddenly turned deathly pale, he abruptly pushed open the car door on his side, then leaned over and pressed the passenger door lock switch without hesitation, grabbing Chu Yao's wrist in one go!

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!"

Chu Yao struggled in terror, but her strength was no match for Cao Shuang.

Cao Shuang pulled hard, dragging Chu Yao out of the passenger seat, half-carrying and half-dragging her out of the car, and then ruthlessly shoving her away!

Chu Yao cried out in surprise and staggered back several steps. Her feet were on the hard, rough road surface, and the cold night air instantly enveloped her thin body.

She looked up in alarm, only to see Cao Shuang had already returned to the driver's seat with a blank expression, slammed the door shut, and started the engine.

The Wuling Hongguang roared, its headlights flashing, illuminating Chu Yao's pale, terrified, and incredulous face with a blinding light.

"No! Cao Shuang! You can't do this! I was wrong! I..."

Chu Yao panicked completely, rushed to the car, and pounded on the car window.

The car window rolled down a crack, revealing half of Cao Shuang's indifferent face.

"I gave you a choice, and now, you've made your own choice." With that, the car window rolled up, completely shutting out the view.

The Wuling Hongguang roared to life, its tires screeching against the ground as it sped forward without a backward glance. Its taillights shrank rapidly, quickly disappearing into the deep darkness ahead.

"No—! Come back! Cao Shuang! Come back! I promise you! I'll do anything you ask! Please! Don't leave me!!"

Chu Yao cried out in anguish, chasing after the car in the direction it had disappeared, but only her cold echoes and her own desperate gasps echoed in the darkness.

The car drove away.

really gone.

Darkness, like thick ink, surged in from all directions, completely engulfing her. The ceaseless howling of the wind filled her ears, carrying the chilling gray fog at the end of the road.

In the distance, one could occasionally hear the sound of vehicles speeding by, but none of them stopped for her.

Closer still, from the bottomless darkness on both sides of the road, came a series of rustling, eerie sounds, as if something was crawling and approaching.

Loneliness, fear, coldness, despair... and the immense humiliation and helplessness of being abandoned, like countless cold hands, gripped Chu Yao's throat and heart.