Who in Their Right Mind Raises Kids in the Apocalypse?

The adults who raised Yu Le told her she had to be as obedient and useful as a puppy. So Yu Le, who had no family to rely on, became the most obedient and capable child in the camp. She helped with the laundry and tidying up, cooked over the fire, and sometimes crawled into ventilation ducts that only she could fit through to count the zombies inside for the adults. The adults who raised Yu Le told her that it was because this was the apocalypse. And in the apocalypse, no one cared if you cried, and if you didn't work, you didn't eat. No one would love a child who had nothing. -- The first year of the apocalypse. Chi Xiao sat by the campfire at a temporary campsite, sending away yet another group of people trying to ingratiate themselves with him, when he heard someone nearby sneer: Who would adopt a child with no relation to them at a time like this? They should worry about surviving the zombies first. Chi Xiao had no comment at the time, but he didn't think he'd ever have anything to do with a child, either. If someone wanted to do a good deed like that, let them. It had nothing to do with him. The fourth year of the apocalypse. Chi Xiao was curled up by the car with Yu Le in his arms when he heard someone say again: If they weren't related by blood, who would raise a kid in the apocalypse for no reason? They must have something wrong with their heads. Chi Xiao listened without showing a reaction. The little bean in his arms, who wasn't related to him by blood, woke up at the noise. She wriggled around in his arms and turned over, then asked with her eyes closed where she could find some brain matter. She wanted to eat some too. Chi Xiao: ... Never mind. A kid with a good appetite is a blessing. He'd better figure out how to get her some brain matter first. An alternate-universe apocalypse setting. The parent has no romantic pairing. The kid has her own romance, which comes later. The blurb has been screenshotted and archived. Theme: Let the living have that immortal love