Chapter 202: Zombies and Outing.
She had seen enough people in her life to know when someone was just being polite and when someone was truly paying attention.
If these two really could go on like this, then perhaps her daughter would not have to keep carrying everything alone anymore. That was the part Yan Laojin cared about most. She did not care whether Bai Li came from a rich background or whether she had strange abilities. She only cared whether Bai Li was reliable, whether she would protect Yan Cijin when the world became dangerous, and whether she would treat LiLi well. So far, the answer to all three seemed to be yes.
Meanwhile, Bai Li and Yan Cijin had already gone outside again, and the stairwell was still quiet enough for the moment. The zombies Bai Li had dealt with earlier had cleared away the most dangerous stretch, but the building still carried that cold, dead feeling that came after disaster. The walls were stained, the air was stale, and every sound had the potential to become trouble. Yan Cijin held her backpack strap tightly as she followed Bai Li, and although she was more composed now than she had been at the beginning of the apocalypse, she still kept her steps light. She had learned that in a situation like this, even a tiny mistake could make a huge difference.
Bai Li walked ahead with calm, steady movements. She was the kind of person who made other people feel safer just by being in front. Yan Cijin noticed that again and again. Sometimes she felt as though Bai Li had an invisible wall around her, not in a cold way, but in the sense that danger seemed to stop short when it reached her. Yan Cijin did not know exactly how to describe it, but she knew the feeling was real. That was probably why she was willing to trust Bai Li so quickly. There was something in the other woman’s presence that made lying down in fear feel less necessary.
They moved toward the stairwell entrance again, planning to make another trip down to the supermarket. The goal was simple. Take as much as they could carry, save what would be useful, and bring back the most important things before someone else discovered the same stores. The apocalypse had changed every ordinary errand into a race against time. A trip downstairs was no longer just a trip downstairs. It was a test of nerves, caution, and speed. Bai Li knew this, Yan Cijin knew it, and Yan Laojin knew it too. That was why no one wasted words.
Back in the apartment, the little girl suddenly laughed at something on the television, and the sound carried into the kitchen. Yan Laojin listened to it and smiled without realizing it. In some very distant corner of her mind, she thought that if the apocalypse had a little mercy left in it, it was probably this. A child still laughing. A mother still worrying. A daughter still coming home. Food still in the kitchen. A person worth trusting standing beside her family. That was enough to make a hard day feel slightly less hard.
She folded one of the grocery bags neatly and placed it aside for reuse. Then she wiped her hands on her apron and let out a slow breath. She had been afraid earlier that the two young women would come back injured or empty handed. Now she had proof that not only were they safe for the moment, they had also brought back enough supplies to keep the family going a little longer. That took a lot of the tension out of her chest. She did not let herself relax completely, but the edge of fear had been softened.
Yan Laojin’s thoughts drifted one more time to the two of them and the way they kept looking after each other in small ways that were easy to miss if you were not paying attention. She had lived long enough to know that this kind of care was often how a bond really started. Not through loud declarations, but through small things like handing over a bag, making sure someone had enough water, remembering what someone liked, or noticing when their face got too red. Those details mattered more than grand words. They were the pieces that told you whether a relationship could last beyond the first burst of excitement.
Yan Laojin thought about it while closing the cupboard door. After all, a woman should not just do whatever she wanted. Too much fun was not good for their health.
..........
On the other side, Bai Li and Yan Cijin did not head downstairs the moment they stepped out of the apartment. Bai Li first opened the door to her own room. There were still a lot of things left in her spatial storage, and she did not want to leave them sitting there forever. She walked into Lin Zhongsheng’s room and set all the remaining rice, flour, and seasonings down inside. The room was quiet, with only the faint sound of the building outside drifting in through the cracks. Bai Li looked at the bags of rice and flour for a moment and let out a small sigh. The weather was far too hot now. When the electricity was still working, she could at least use the air conditioner to keep food from spoiling too quickly, but if the circuit got damaged, then rice and flour would be the first things to suffer. In this kind of heat, things could get moldy or get infested with insects before long. Unless she shoved everything into her own vacuum space, there really was no perfect way to store it, and her space was too small to fit much more than the bare essentials.
She stood there for a second longer, thinking about how many things still needed to be handled in the future. Food, water, medicine, clothes, weapons, all of it had to be planned carefully.
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To wb continued
