Chapter 172: Care and food.
She stirred the noodles slightly with her fork and then ate them with relish. The broth from the noodles seeped into the luncheon meat, making it taste even better. Bai Li scooped up a forkful and ate it with gusto. The noodles were hot and salty while the luncheon meat became soft and flavorful after soaking in the soup. It was such a simple meal, yet Bai Li felt surprisingly satisfied eating it.
As she ate, her thoughts drifted again toward Yan Cijin and LiLi next door.
LiLi probably liked instant noodles too.
The little girl looked like the type who would happily hug a bowl while swinging her short legs around. Thinking about that scene made Bai Li smile slightly without noticing it herself.
After finishing the noodles, Bai Li cleaned up the kitchen and checked her bandages again. The wounds looked stable for now. She applied medicine carefully before changing into more comfortable clothes for sleeping.
That night passed relatively quietly.
The next morning, Bai Li woke up early and exercised lightly on the balcony. Since she could not use her injured hands too much, she only did simple stretching and lower body exercises to maintain her physical condition. Survival during the apocalypse depended heavily on stamina. If she became weak or careless, she could die very quickly outside.
The morning air felt colder than yesterday.
Bai Li wiped the sweat from her forehead and was about to head back inside when suddenly there was a knock at the door.
Her eyes immediately sharpened with caution.
In the apocalypse, random knocking was never a good sign.
Bai Li quickly went out of her room and then to the security door in the living room. She moved quietly and carefully, instinctively avoiding making unnecessary sound. Then she leaned slightly forward and peeked through the peephole.
Outside the door stood Yan Cijin.
Bai Li immediately relaxed slightly before opening the door.
"Come in quickly. Next time, let me know in advance on WeChat. There are more zombies in the hallway than before; it’s not safe if theres a more powerful zombie which breaks through the iron door and comes to this floor," Bai Li said, closing the security door behind her.
Even after the lock clicked shut, Bai Li still did not fully relax. The hallway outside had been too quiet in that weird way it always got right before something bad happened. Every sound seemed louder than it should have been, and the idea of a stronger zombie wandering up the stairs was enough to keep her alert. She stood close to the door for a second longer, listening for any dragging footsteps or strange bumps against the iron frame, but there was nothing except the faint hum of the apartment and the soft breathing of the people inside. Only then did she step further in and let her shoulders loosen a little.
Yan Cijin nodded. "Okay, I understand. How does your hand feel? Did you have a fever last night?"
Her voice was careful and a little tense, like she was trying hard not to sound too worried. She had been thinking about Bai Li all morning, even while doing ordinary things at home. On the surface, she looked calm, but if anyone looked closely, they could see the tiny bit of concern hidden in her eyes. Bai Li had been injured, and Yan Cijin knew that hand injuries were not something to brush off in the middle of this kind of situation. If the wound got worse, Bai Li would have a much harder time moving around, and that was the last thing any of them needed.
"No fever, seems a little better than the past two days, but I probably still can’t do strenuous exercise." Bai Li slightly bent her palm to test it. The movement was slow and cautious. Her fingers still felt stiff, and there was a dull ache that came and went when she tried to use her hand too much, but compared to the worst of it, the pain had definitely eased. Bai Li had already gotten used to keeping her expression steady no matter what she felt, so even when the pain flared a little, she only lowered her eyes and kept her tone light. Bai Li meant going out to kill zombies and doing some free shopping at the convenience store, but Yan Cijin’s ears turned red.
It was not hard for Yan Cijin to guess what Bai Li really meant by that line. Her imagination immediately jumped to Bai Li going out alone again, carrying supplies, facing zombies head on, and maybe even sneaking off to the supermarket downstairs to gather what she could. Just thinking about it made her heart tighten. The world outside was already dangerous enough, and with Bai Li’s hands still wrapped in fresh wounds, going out now would be way too risky. Yan Cijin did not want to imagine blood splashing anywhere near those wounds, especially not after all the trouble she had gone through to clean and bandage them properly.
However, she really couldn’t kill zombies in her current state, otherwise her wounds, which had just started to heal, would reopen. She should follow the doctor’s advice. "Okay, I’ll listen to you. I’ll focus on healing my wounds first."
Bai Li said it in a calm voice, but her eyes stayed on Yan Cijin for a little longer than usual. That short pause was enough to make the air between them feel just a little warmer. Not in a loud or obvious way, just in a small, private way that made Bai Li’s chest feel oddly light. Yan Cijin was so serious about her injury that it almost made Bai Li want to smile. There was something kind of nice about being treated with this much care. It was not something she had experienced often before the apocalypse, and even now, when everyone was struggling just to survive, Yan Cijin still made time to worry about her hand.
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To be continued.
