The First Snow of Winter

“Haa~ Miss Yanlan, you’re up so early?”

Another morning had dawned.

I looked up at the girl leaning over me, her head bowed, and sighed.

She must have opened the curtains at some point.

The street outside was gray and empty, not a single person in sight.

I wanted to push her away to check my watch, but I decided against it.

With strange people, it’s best not to resist until you know what you’re dealing with.

Strands of pink hair tickled my face, still carrying that familiar lavender scent.

“Miss Qin Yue, do you remember what you said yesterday?”

She moved off me and stood up, then magically produced a slice of bread, topped with some kind of cured meat.

“Of course, I remember. I’m going to help you catch specimens. Is this for me?”

I pointed at the bread and asked softly.

She didn’t speak, just nodded.

“Thank you.”

I took the bread and began eating it in small, delicate bites.

Honestly, I wanted to devour it, but if I was going to win her over, I had to act elegant.

A warmth spread through my chest.

Even with her bizarre hobbies, this pink-haired girl was easier to deal with than the leader or Qin Dai.

I’d gotten nothing from Qin Dai, and from the leader, only a maid outfit that offered no warmth in exchange for a night of torment.

I could have earned more supplies by selling my body to a few random people.

I was confident enough in my new looks.

But I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Not just because of the leader’s threat, but for my own reasons too.

I couldn’t stand the thought of being touched by a man, and there weren’t many wealthy women who were into other women.

“It’s getting colder.”

She stood up and put on a long, pale red coat that reached her knees.

Was she planning to go out just like that?

“Are you saying you’re going to find me a warmer coat, Miss Yanlan?”

I finished the bread, got out of bed, and started folding the quilts, a hopeful smile on my face.

I already knew the answer.

“No, you’ll go out in that maid outfit. If you get it dirty or damage it, I’ll peel off a piece of your skin.”

As expected.

Even with her strange curiosity about me, we were still enemies.

But did the punishment have to be so severe?

Trying to scare me?

Congratulations, you succeeded.

After she cut me last night, I didn’t doubt a single word she said.

She’s a strange person, so anything she does is somehow… reasonable.

“Let’s go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back.”

She pulled me up from where I was folding the quilts, her hand giving my stocking-clad thigh a mischievous squeeze.

Then she turned and walked toward the shop’s entrance.

“Yeah, I know.”

I nodded, rubbing the sore spot on my thigh, and hurried to follow her.

“Achoo… it’s a bit cold today…”

The moment we stepped outside, I sneezed.

A biting chill seeped into my bare arms.

The skirt and stockings did nothing to keep me warm.

I shivered, my breath turning into a small cloud of fog.

I tugged at the cloth choker around my neck, trying to cover as much skin as possible.

“I told you it was getting colder.”

With a click, Su Yanlan locked the shop door with a large padlock, then walked over to me.

Without another glance, she started walking down the street toward the camp gate.

“It happened so fast. It wasn’t this cold yesterday.”

I stomped my feet and complained, but I quickly caught up to her and linked my arm with hers.

Winter had arrived with unusual speed this year.

Usually, there was a gradual drop in temperature, but this year, it had plummeted overnight.

“Move around more, and you won’t be so cold.”

Perhaps hearing my complaint, she took my hand in hers and gently rubbed my palm.

Strange, but gentle.

“Mhm, mhm.”

I mumbled in agreement, a little annoyed.

In previous winters, I had stayed cooped up at home, letting my girlfriends handle everything.

This year, it was payback time.

No more cozy days for me.

How was I going to survive this winter?

By the time we reached the camp gate, the gray sky had brightened a little, but the streets were still deserted.

Looking at the muddy road ahead and the billboards on the camp’s iron walls, my face flushed from the cold, I felt a wave of nostalgia.

I missed the days before the apocalypse, when there were still four seasons.

“It’s snowing.”

I looked up.

A few snowflakes were drifting down from the sky, landing on the road, on us.

I held out my hand, and a few flakes landed on my palm, melting into icy water, stealing a bit of my body heat.

The grass and trees outside the camp showed no signs of withering.

In the snow, they looked even greener.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go out today. We can find another time. It’s too cold in the snow.”

I gently pulled my hand away and tried to back out.

It wasn’t that I was lazy.

From experience, I knew this snow would soon become a blizzard.

This pink maid outfit was all for show, offering no warmth.

If we went out now, I would probably freeze to death.

Su Yanlan didn’t speak.

She just watched me, a look of disappointment slowly creeping into her eyes.

The world grew colder.

The snowflakes, which had initially melted on contact, now began to stick.

A layer of white started to cover the ground.

My body heat was draining away.

My vision blurred as the pink-haired girl in front of me was gradually dusted with white.

“…I thought you would have realized by now that backing out is not a good idea, Miss Qin Yue.”

A long time passed—ten minutes? An hour?

I don’t know.

But finally, Su Yanlan spoke.

Her eyes were completely filled with disappointment.

Her ice-cold fingertips traced my cheek.

My skin, numb from the cold, ached at her touch.

She quickly dropped her hand, then grabbed the cloth choker around my neck and started pulling me out of the camp.

“Cough… cough, cough, can’t we talk about this, Miss Yanlan…”

I coughed, my stiff legs stumbling forward.

The gentle Su Yanlan had vanished, replaced by someone cold and detached.

Maybe this was her true self?

Who knows?

She ignored my pleas, single-mindedly dragging me onto the snow-covered dirt road.

Soon, I ran out of energy to beg.