Chapter 199: Zombies and Outing.
She could not help wondering whether Bai Li had just grabbed them at random or whether she had deliberately picked them out with some hidden meaning. Was Bai Li trying to hint that her hand had healed? Or was Bai Li teasing her on purpose? The more Yan Cijin thought about it, the hotter her face became. She fanned herself harder, but that only made her seem even more flustered.
Bai Li, noticing that her expression had changed, asked with some concern, "What’s wrong?"
Yan Cijin stiffened for a second and then gave a quick answer. "Ah? Nothing, just a little hot from climbing upstairs." She paused, then added quickly, "Oh right, I have instant noodles in my bag."
She reached for her backpack and tried to take out the instant noodles as if that would make the whole scene normal again. But Bai Li shook her head and stopped her.
"No need, you can keep them. There are more in the supermarket downstairs. Do you want to come down with me?"
Yan Cijin nodded right away. "Yes, let’s take as much as possible, otherwise it’ll be a waste if it expires."
Bai Li smiled a little. "Okay, let’s grab our bags and go."
Yan Cijin felt that smile land on her like a tiny spark, and she quickly looked away before her face got any warmer. She coughed lightly, grabbed her backpack, and followed Bai Li out of the room. When they walked back to the living room, she did not forget to tell her mother what they were doing.
"Mom, we brought back quite a lot of things. Could you help us unpack? We’ll go downstairs again and try to bring back more."
Yan Laojin had already been relieved just from seeing that the two had returned without any injuries. The moment she heard there was more food and supplies, her relief deepened into something closer to gratitude. Still, she did not let herself relax completely. She looked at them seriously and reminded them in a low voice, "You two must be careful. Nothing is more important than your lives."
Yan Cijin nodded. "Don’t worry, Mom. Bai Li has cleared out most of the zombies in the stairwell. You can stay home and rest."
Yan Laojin’s eyes widened a little, because hearing that Bai Li had cleared out the stairwell made it sound like the lower floors were not as dangerous as she had feared. At the same time, she did not dare relax too much. Outside was still outside. The apocalypse would not suddenly become safe just because a few zombies were gone from one stairwell. But she also knew her daughter was not the kind of person who spoke carelessly. If Yan Cijin said this, then Bai Li had probably done more than just a little.
She turned to the little girl and told her to sit on the sofa and watch cartoons while she went into her daughter’s room to see what had been brought back. The little girl obediently climbed onto the sofa, hugged a cushion, and went back to watching the bright moving pictures on the screen. Yan Laojin then walked into the bedroom, and the moment she saw everything laid out inside, she stopped short.
Her mouth dropped open.
She had expected maybe a few bags of food, maybe some instant noodles, maybe some canned items if they were lucky. But what she saw was much more than that. There were two big bags of rice, two bags of flour, two cans of oil, and a whole row of seasonings she had not seen in days. Salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, and other small things were all stacked neatly in place. For a family living in the middle of an apocalypse, these things were not just groceries. They were security. They were comfort. They were proof that tomorrow would not be completely empty.
Yan Laojin’s face brightened with joy before she even realized it. Her shoulders loosened, and her mouth curved into a smile she could not hold back. The world outside might be collapsing, but having these supplies at home still made her feel grounded. She quickly started carrying everything into the kitchen, making five trips back and forth before she finally put every item away in the right place. Even while she was doing that, she kept glancing at the stock in the cabinets as if she was afraid it might disappear the moment she turned her back.
When she returned to the bedroom and looked at her daughter’s bed, she saw not only underwear but also some birth control pills and a few other similar items. Yan Laojin was stunned for a second, then she let out a low chuckle and shook her head. She did not make a big fuss. She simply decided it would be better to leave those things for her daughter to handle herself. After all, young people had their own matters, and she was not the sort of mother who would pry into every private detail. She only needed to know that they were safe and that life at home was becoming a little more stable.
Still, as she stood there for a moment, her thoughts drifted.
These past few days, with Bai Li around, she had become more and more satisfied with her. Bai Li had a good personality. She was calm, reliable, and did not talk too much. Most importantly, she was good to LiLi. The little girl liked her, and children were usually sensitive when it came to people’s true nature. A child would not trust someone so easily unless that person was genuinely kind. Yan Laojin could see that Bai Li did not just say nice things. She really took action. When the child needed food, Bai Li looked for it. When the child needed protection, Bai Li stood in front. When the child needed comfort, Bai Li’s expression softened first. That kind of care was not something people could fake for long.
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TO BE CONTINUED.
