Chapter 036 Surviving The Apocalyptic Era

　　What? Weird. Ever since he woke up, he seemed… a little more mature... Back in the day, if he got a bad haircut, he’d skip class and hide at home. Now he was thinking this deeply...

　　Guess the only thing that improved was his brain. Did it just get enough sleep over those three years and turn smarter? Brains weren’t as useful as brute strength in the apocalypse, but even a tiny edge was better than being completely useless.

　　Chu Mufan snapped back to his senses.

　　Youyou had already changed into clean clothes and was walking out holding the folded blanket. Tucked in her arms was a soaked red notebook.

　　“Why are you carrying that notebook?” Chu Mufan asked curiously.

　　“It’s a new one. I was gonna practice drawing today, but it got wet before I even used it. The sun’s strong, so I thought I’d dry it with the blanket.” Youyou smiled.

　　“Such a tiny notebook? Wouldn’t it be better with a proper drawing board and paper?” Chu Mufan asked as he glanced at the palm-sized book.

　　“Those professional things are only in the cities down the mountain. But there are way too many zombies there, it’s too dangerous to go alone. The search teams sometimes go for supplies, but they mostly stick to their missions — food, daily necessities. Notebooks are rare unless someone specifically asks for them, let alone a big drawing board. I begged for ages before someone got me this small portable one.” Youyou explained patiently.

　　Chu Mufan hadn’t realized even a little notebook was hard to come by. He puffed out his chest. “Heh, easy. When I join the search team later, I’ll get you the best drawing board and paper, and teach you how to draw!”

　　“Really? Brother Chu, you’d really teach me?”

　　“Haha yeah! Once I’m on the First Search Team, I’ll scavenge all kinds of fun stuff for you. Might have to wait till I’m fully recovered though! But I can teach you now. Besides writing novels, I studied sketching for years!” Chu Mufan said proudly.

　　“Really?! Thank you, Brother Chu!” Youyou stared at him in disbelief, the brightest, most genuine smile Chu Mufan had seen on her face since they met. That kind of heartfelt joy was almost extinct in the apocalyptic era. It was a smile that he would never forget...

　　“Of course. We’ve got time now — I’ll teach you.” Said Chu Mufan.

　　“Okay! I’ll go get a new notebook!”

　　“No bother. Only the last few pages are wet. The front looks fine. I’ll draw a sketch on the first page. Got a pencil?”

　　“Here you go! Brother Chu” Youyou pulled out a stub of pencil from her pocket and handed it over.

　　Chu Mufan took it, looking at the lopsided sharpening, and said, “This 2B pencil is good for drawing, but the tip’s not sharp. Might be a little messy, but it’ll work.”

　　“I don’t have a sharpener. I use a knife, but I’m not good at it. This is how it always turns out.”

　　“It’s fine. I’ll draw your portrait first! Sit over here, I’ll teach you as I go.” Chu Mufan shifted on the stone, making space for her. Youyou sat obediently beside him.

　　“When you draw, you have to picture what you want to draw in your mind first, that way…”

　　Chu Mufan lifted the pencil, ready to capture that bright smile he’d just seen. But his hand started shaking uncontrollably. He froze mid-sentence, staring at his trembling right hand.

　　“Brother Chu… your hand…” Youyou noticed the shaking and asked worriedly.

　　Chu Mufan quickly grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, trying to steady the tremor. But as soon as he tried to draw a straight line on the notebook—something he’d once done effortlessly—the line twisted and wriggled like a snake...

　　A surge of helpless rage boiled up inside him.

　　He slammed the pencil and notebook onto the ground, stood up to leave, and stumbled, nearly falling over.

　　Seeing that, Youyou rushed to catch him, but Chu Mufan, lost in anger, shoved her away without thinking.

　　She fell to the ground with a soft yelp. That small cry jolted him back to his senses...

　　Regaining a peace mind, Chu Mufan saw Youyou sitting on the dirt and hurried to help her up, his voice filled with regret.

　　“I’m sorry, Youyou… are you hurt?”

　　“I’m fine, Brother Chu. What’s wrong?”

　　“Alas… I’m so useless. I said I’d teach you to draw, but I can’t even hold a pencil steady. I… I’m just a worthless wreck!!!” His voice rose, and he punched the ground hard in frustration.

　　“It’s okay, Brother Chu. You can teach me when you’re better. I can wait.” Youyou comforted him sensibly!

　　“Alas!!!” Chu Mufan sighed heavily and sat back down on the stone.

　　Youyou sat beside him, picking up the red notebook and the pencil with its broken tip.

　　They both looked at the sky, silent...

　　Chu Mufan rested his elbows on his knees, cupped his face in his palms, and looked into the distance. He spoke quietly, “Youyou… why do you want to learn to draw so badly?”

　　Youyou glanced at his thin, sunken profile and answered softly, “When I was in the orphanage, I always envied people who could draw. But I was never any good at it, and no one wanted to teach me…

　　Now the world is like this. I don’t even know if I’ll still be alive tomorrow. I want to draw all the beautiful things I see. If the apocalypse ever ends, people can look at my pictures and know there was still beauty, even in all this darkness…”

　　“It’s the apocalyptic era. What beauty is there left? Do you really think there’s still any hope on earth? Chu Mufan was too blue to hear Youyou’s naive words, and cut her off, his voice bitter and defeated.

　　Even as he spoke, he kept gazing into the distant sky, a faint glimmer of hope still flickering in his dim eyes!

　　“Beautiful things live in people’s hearts. I don’t know what the future holds for humanity… but if everyone loses hope, this world will truly fall into despair.”

　　Youyou stared blankly at the horizon and whispered.