Bian Bian was startled.

Her hand trembled and the bread fell to the floor. She quickly jumped off the chair to pick it up, then clutching the bread, both frightened and nervous and curious, she went to look at the big apple on the table.

Bian Bian had eaten apples before — those were traded by her grandfather for other supplies, so she knew what an apple looked like. But in Bian Bian’s memory, apples were very small, their skins spotted and a bit wrinkled, not pretty.

She had never seen an apple so large, nor one that looked so beautiful.

Hui Hui was still on the table.

Bian Bian glanced left and right, then stared at the big apple for several seconds. Only after making sure the apple wouldn’t suddenly “move” did she summon the courage to rescue the little bear from the table.

Then she held the little bear and stepped back two meters, continuing to stare at the big apple.

Although Xiaobian was young, she was very clever; the doors and windows were tightly shut, and only she and Huihui were at home. She had been obediently eating bread and doing nothing, so why did a big apple suddenly appear?

Her little head couldn’t figure it out no matter how she thought.

Then Xiaobian remembered the thing about moving on the stairs.

The little face was full of confusion.

“Huīhuī, I’m a little scared.” The little girl hugged her teddy tightly, her eyes trying to avoid the big apple but unable to help fixating on it, “but this apple is so pretty.”

Most importantly, Biānbiān smelled a sweet fragrance, and the scent was coming from the big apple.

She had originally “escaped” two meters away from the apple, but now she noticed the apple had been sitting on the table, unmoved, and nothing else strange had happened in the house, so her feet involuntarily moved forward.

The big apple still didn’t move until she got close to the table.

The table edge came up only half a head for Bian Bian. She rose on tiptoe and reached out her small hand to poke the big apple.

She poked it and quickly pulled her hand back.

“It won’t bite.” Bian Bian said, lowering her head to the little bear. “It seems like it’s true.”

The five-year-old didn’t understand how the big apple had appeared, but once she confirmed it was real, she was genuinely delighted.

When she used to go out with Grandpa, sometimes they’d pick things up on the road; Grandpa said that if you found something, it was yours to use.

So a big apple appeared on the table, appearing in their home—does that mean it was hers?

“Can I eat it?” the little girl asked Huihui.

A few seconds later, Bian Bian propped the little bear’s head with her finger and pressed it; the bear nodded. With Huihui’s approval, she set the bear on the table, climbed back onto the chair, and used both hands to lift the big apple.

The apple’s unique sweet fragrance tempted Bian Bian, making the little girl—who could only eat instant noodles for a month—salivate.

She didn’t eat it right away. Instead, she carried the apple to the bathroom, stood on a small stool, set the apple in the sink, and turned on the faucet.

—The reason Lu Yuzhi settled in this area was that the tap water here hadn’t stopped. For reasons unknown, tests showed the tap water contained no virus and was safe to use.

Since she could remember, Bian Bian had been taught by her grandfather to keep clean and avoid getting sick from what she ate.

So, of course, apples had to be washed before eating.

Washing such a large apple was a bit of a struggle for Bian Bian, but after her efforts she finally cleaned every spot. Proud of her achievement, she carried the washed apple back to the table and went to the kitchen for a fruit knife.

She imitated the way her grandfather cut things, carefully slicing off a piece.

The little girl tentatively took a bite; her grape-like eyes instantly brightened, and she exclaimed excitedly, “Huihui, this is so delicious, even better than any apple I’ve had before.”

Children remember things vividly; Biānbiān thought this was the best apple she’d ever eaten.

She ate three slices in a row, then restrained herself.

Grandpa had taught her that whether eating or doing anything else, one must learn to know when to stop.

She didn’t understand what “knowing when to stop” meant, but she listened to Grandpa and couldn’t be greedy.

She remembered that every time Grandpa found an apple, he would use a knife to peel off the skin; she ate the apple flesh, and Grandpa ate the peel.

Bianbian didn’t understand and asked Grandpa why. Grandpa said he liked to eat apple peels; the peels tasted better.

Such a big apple would yield a lot of peel for Grandpa to eat. And this apple tasted better than any she’d eaten before; since Grandpa liked apple peels, they must be better than the ones he’d had before.

Bian Bian’s eyes brightened.

Bian Bian picked up the paring knife again and began slowly peeling the apple. The knife was a bit too big for her hand, so she worked very slowly, leaving the peel uneven.

“It’s okay, Grandpa will like it,” Bian Bian said seriously as she peeled. It was her first time peeling anything; both the apple and the knife were larger than her hand. One careless moment and the blade nicked her hand. She flinched from the pain, and with a clatter the knife fell to the floor.

Blood welled from the wound, and from the pain tears quickly rose to Bian Bian’s eyes.

It hurts so much, the same kind of pain as when I fell off the chair last time.

The sudden injury left Biānbiān a bit helpless; after a few seconds she remembered how she used to treat her grandfather’s wounds.

She first wrapped the wound with a tissue, and in the process a drop of blood fell onto the peeled apple skin.

Then she thought of a bandage.

Grandpa had used it on her before and said that with a bandage the wound wouldn’t hurt.

Remembering, Bian Bian ran to the bedroom, opened the bottom drawer, and took out a small first-aid kit—one of her toys that Lu Yu had prepared for her.

Bian Bian found a bandage, lifted a paper towel already stained with blood, and crookedly stuck the bandage on.

Long lashes hung with glistening tears. The little girl blew on her finger, as if that would really make the pain go away.

“Huīhuī, I’m fine.” Back in the dining room, Biānbiān triumphantly wagged a finger at the little bear, her voice nasal from crying, babyish. “See, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

Hurt, she didn’t dare peel the apple anymore, so she found a bag and put the peeled apple skins into it.

She didn’t notice that one of the peels was stained with her blood.

“Huīhuī, let’s take the apple peels to Grandpa.” Biānbiān picked up the little bear, opened the door, and headed back up to the fourth floor.

The impact noises had stopped.

Bian Bian knew that Grandpa had turned into that terrifying monster, but it was okay—he was Grandpa, and she wasn’t afraid.

Only three flights left and we’d be there. Bian Bian jumped for joy—she had eaten bread and an apple today and drunk clean water; Grandpa had also had bread and clean water, and now there were even the apple peels Grandpa liked.

Before, it was Grandpa who found things for her to eat as Bianbian grew up; now she could also find things for Grandpa.

Bianbian was especially happy.

But very soon she became bewildered.

Because just then, her body was suddenly moved to the doorway on the third floor, just like earlier when she fell downstairs — she had instantly ended up at the third-floor doorway.

……

Xiu Jin carefully rubbed body lotion all over himself, making sure every inch of skin absorbed it, then changed into pajamas and left the bathroom. Rarely having time to rest at home, he lazily sprawled on the sofa and instructed the smart housekeeper to prepare dinner.

“No meat, I seem to have gained some weight recently, I want to lose weight,” he said. “Make a few diet meals, keep it light.”

The smart housekeeper acknowledged the order.

Xiu Jin called after him, “Even though it’s vegetarian, try to make it feel like meat.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Faced with such an odd request, the intelligent butler still obligingly accepted.

After finishing everything, the Seventh Prince suddenly remembered the daughter he’d just taken in and hurriedly activated the holo-brain.

At the sight of her, his heart broke.

The young girl actually cut her hand while peeling an apple!

He watched as if his own hand had been injured.

Seeing the little girl endure the pain yet cry as she couldn’t help tending to her wound, Xiu Jin felt a pang of heartache and searched for any remedy. But the entire screen only showed the shop option, all grayed out; he couldn’t take any effective action and could only watch helplessly.

At that moment a narration popped up: Bian Bian thought Lu Yu liked to eat apple peels, so she peeled an apple and brought the peel to Lu Yu.

Xiu Jin: “…”

Then they watched the little girl put the blood-stained apple peel into a bag, preparing to give it to Grandpa.

Zombies feed on blood — anyone could imagine what would happen if that bag of apple peels was handed over.

Xiu Jin tried to stop her, but tapping all over the screen did nothing. Watching the little girl already go upstairs—this was his daughter he had just raised; he couldn’t let her disappear so easily.

Left with no choice, he resorted to his previous method and wedged the kiddo at the doorway.

The little one’s head looked around in bewilderment, staring for a long time toward the stairwell connecting the third floor to the second, still seeing nothing. After hesitating for a moment, she tightened her grip on the teddy, lifted the apple peel, and climbed the stairs again.

And then—

She was moved again to the third-floor doorway.

After the third time, Bian Bian could no longer hold back and, terrified, began to cry.