When Xia Yan came out after her shower, An Tianhe had already made the noodles and set the table.
Today's noodles had a lot of extra ingredients: ham sausage, fried bean curd, tomatoes, and a small dish of chili sauce for flavor. Unfortunately, there were no fresh eggs left, otherwise, it would have been even more plentiful. Xia Yan was truly starving this time. She devoured seven or eight-tenths of a full bowl of noodles. Her usual appetite was less than half that. It would be a waste to throw away the rest, and food was already scarce. Today's meal was already quite extravagant.
An Tianhe didn't mind at all. He naturally took Xia Yan's bowl, scraped the remaining noodles into his own, and slurped them all down in a few gulps.
Xia Yan was about to wash the dishes and clean up, but An Tianhe insisted that she rest and not worry about such trivial matters. Unable to persuade him otherwise, Xia Yan felt quite touched by his sincere care. It was a stark contrast to the loneliness and helplessness she had felt yesterday.
She returned to the second-floor room to tidy up and only then saw a large, wet stain in the middle of the plush blanket laid on the bedsheet. A faint, fishy smell of bodily fluids still seemed to linger in the room. Her face flushed crimson with embarrassment. She quickly tore off the blanket and rushed into the bathroom.
Carrying the washed blanket and her change of clothes, she went to the rooftop to dry them, taking advantage of the sunny weather. An Tianhe also came up to the roof, walked around a few times, and then pretended to help her stretch out the blanket, looking as if he had something to say but couldn't get it out.
"If you have something to say, just say it," Xia Yan said, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
"Um... Xia Yan, last, last night... I... that thing, I just... went straight for it..." As soon as last night was mentioned, Xia Yan's sharp intuition as a woman immediately guessed what he was referring to.
"Oh.. dear, you're only just remembering now?" Xia Yan pressed her lips together and said teasingly on purpose, holding back a smile.
"No! It's not, it's really not..." An Tianhe quickly waved his hands in denial. "I wanted to ask during lunch, but... I couldn't find the right time..."
Giggle~ Xia Yan was amused by An Tianhe's nervous, red-faced expression and couldn't hold it in anymore. "It's fine, you don't have to overthink it. These past few days... it's okay..." As she finished speaking, two red clouds also appeared on her own face. She hid her body behind the drying clothes, not daring to meet An Tianhe's eyes.
An Tianhe felt a huge weight lift off his heart, but at the same time, he felt a strange sense of disappointment. He now wanted to express his sense of responsibility but couldn't find the right words. In a moment of mental heat, he blurted out.
"No matter what, even if, even if you really are pregnant, I will take responsibility until the end!"
Such a blunt statement made it impossible for Xia Yan to stay on the rooftop any longer. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. She spat, "Pah! In your dreams! Who said I want to have your baby..." With that, she hurriedly ran downstairs, leaving An Tianhe standing there, bewildered.
…
By the afternoon, the sun blazed mercilessly, causing the outdoor temperature to rise noticeably. Accompanied by gentle breezes, the outside world showed a rare sign of vitality.
The sky was clear, and the eerie, purplish-black clouds from before were nowhere to be seen. An Tianhe had originally been worried that after the rain cleared, a large amount of water vapor would evaporate, causing the residual virus in the moisture to re-concentrate in the air. Now, it seemed the heavy rain had greatly diluted the viral gases, and the strong winds had blown them away completely. Even if some remained, it probably wouldn't be too dangerous.
So, he packed his weapons, gear, and tools, preparing to go out for a bit to see if he could find other survivors and collect some supplies along the way.
Unexpectedly, this time Xia Yan wanted to go with him.
Her reason was that she had been cooped up indoors for so many days that if she didn't get some fresh air soon, she would fall into a state of lethargy. Before, it was because of the rain, but now that it was finally sunny, she really wanted to go out for a walk. Besides, she could also help him.
An Tianhe was initially against it. Although the surrounding area had been mostly searched, he couldn't guarantee it was one hundred percent safe. After some back and forth, they both compromised: they would just circle the nearby area and come back, and Xia Yan could not enter unfamiliar buildings alone.
With an extra person, they couldn't take the bicycles, as there would be no room for supplies. The electric scooter's battery had long been dead, so they had to take the fuel-powered tricycle out.
Arriving at a three-story farmhouse, Xia Yan was cautious and tense as she followed An Tianhe inside. The half-buried monster corpses near the entrance had almost made her scream. Even with a mask on, the faint but persistent smell of rotting corpses still made her nauseous from time to time.
The only thing that made her feel safe was that An Tianhe seemed to be long accustomed to this. He skillfully bypassed the front door, climbed in through a side window, and carried out two large barrels of purified water that he hadn't been able to take before. He then handed out two unopened bags of dried noodles and a small bag of children's biscuits.
Watching him skillfully load the items onto the vehicle, Xia Yan had almost no chance to help. When the tricycle started and headed to the next house, she unconsciously wrapped her arms around An Tianhe's waist from the back seat, holding him tighter and tighter.
The next four or five houses in a row yielded nothing useful. However, in the living room of one, there were the bleached bones of what looked like a teenager. Outside, in a dry moat in the backyard, lay the remains of many walking corpses, all skewered through the forehead or throat with sharp objects.
Xia Yan finally couldn't hold it in any longer and vomited all over the ground. Then, her whole body trembled and she could barely stand.
An Tianhe sighed. He had been afraid that Xia Yan would be traumatized, but on second thought, since they were still alive in this world, she would have to face this kind of scene sooner or later. He could protect her for a while, but he couldn't completely isolate her from the world. She would have to get through this hurdle eventually, just like he had when he was first assigned to a search team and had spent his first few days vomiting his way through it.
"Let's call it a day for today!" He had Xia Yan rinse her mouth with some lemon-flavored mouthwash, then gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "We should go back," he said softly.
Xia Yan spat out the mouthwash and carefully wiped her mouth with a tissue. Suddenly, she met An Tianhe's eyes. "Is this... what it's always like when you gather supplies?"
An Tianhe nodded calmly. "For us to survive, someone has to do these things." His tone was matter-of-fact, but it also held a hint of helplessness.
Thinking back to their escape from Longtan Town to here, all their food, clothing, shelter, and transportation had been handled almost single-handedly by An Tianhe. Xia Yan had never heard him complain of hardship or fatigue, and she had subconsciously assumed that these tasks weren't as difficult as they seemed. Only after experiencing it for herself today did she understand how arduous and dangerous it was for him outside, while she stayed safe and sound in the house, cooking, doing laundry, and even having hot water for baths.
Her past ignorance and indifference made her hang her head in shame. Tears started to well up in her eyes again. An Tianhe was surprised upon seeing her on the verge of tears. Hadn't he just comforted her? Why was she about to cry again?
His hand had just touched her shoulder, and before he could ask, Xia Yan buried her face in his chest, sobbing, "I'm sorry! I was too selfish. I never considered your perspective, how dangerous it was for you out there. I always thought that making meals and doing the laundry meant we were even, that it was fair. I never thought... I never thought it was so dangerous for you out there. I'm really sorry... Wu wu wu..." And with that, she started crying.
An Tianhe was truly moved this time. Besides his mother, this was the first time a woman had been so considerate towards his struggles. His own nose felt a bit sore. He stroked her long hair to comfort her, "Silly girl, it's just the two of us relying on each other now. If I don't do these things, should I let you do them? I couldn't bear that!" Hearing this, Xia Yan cried even harder.
The two of them held each other, cherishing the moment for a long time. The emotional distance between them had closed by a large margin, breaking down the final barrier.
As the sun set, the two packed up and rode the tricycle back to the villa.
*****
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