Miss Yanlan, You’re So Gentle

“Miss Yanlan?”

As she helped me up, I asked tentatively.

What was she going to do now?

I didn’t know.

Her expression was so soft, I thought, surely she wouldn’t suddenly pin me down and talk about skinning me again, right?

I felt like these people were driving me crazy.

Tomorrow, the leader was coming to my house, and I still didn’t know what kind of strange things she had in store for me.

It probably wouldn’t be anything good.

After being tormented by the leader tomorrow, I would have to pack my things as soon as possible and move my clothes and quilts to Su Yanlan’s shop.

No one would help me.

I would have to handle the whole move by myself.

Just thinking about how tired I would be made my already weak legs feel even weaker.

“Miss Qin Yue, let’s go.”

She led me into the morgue I had seen before, but she didn’t stop there.

She pushed open another door.

A stove, a wooden table, chairs.

And a cupboard.

This must be where she usually ate.

Let’s call it a kitchen.

She helped me to a chair, then went to the stove to start a fire.

The dim white light, combined with the warmth of the fire, made me sleepy.

In my vision, the pink-haired figure was using tongs to place pieces of firewood into the stove.

The flames quickly grew, licking the top of the stove.

Su Yanlan then washed some rice and put it in a strange-looking pot.

I think it was called a ding pot.

She placed the pot on the stove, and the flames dimmed a little.

I got up from the chair and went to the stove, sitting down on a small stool next to her.

She glanced at me, then went back to her work.

“Hah…”

I held out my hands to the warmth of the stove and sighed.

It was so comfortable.

The fatigue in my body seemed to be easing.

Fire really was the most useful thing for humans.

As I thought this, my head began to nod.

I was so tired, and in such a comfortable environment, it was inevitable that I would doze off.

Suddenly, moving in with Su Yanlan didn’t seem so bad.

This place was much more comfortable than my own little shack.

My eyelids slowly closed, and the world went dark.

My body swayed.

In a daze, I felt something hug me.

The scent of lavender filled my nose.

Oh, I understood.

It was Su Yanlan.

I wanted to open my eyes, but my eyelids wouldn’t obey, as heavy as lead.

So… so comfortable.

I wanted to sleep, not wake up.

Gradually, I felt the person let go of me.

There was a creak from the nearby pile of firewood, and someone sat down next to me.

She supported my head and let me lie down, my head in her lap.

My exhausted brain couldn’t process much.

I obediently rested my head on her thigh, unconsciously snuggling closer, and then drifted off to sleep.

The sound of the fire crackling against the bottom of the pot was so… hypnotic.

I hadn’t felt this tired outside.

“You said you could smell like me, so it’s okay.”

That was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.

Whose voice was it?

Still Su Yanlan’s.

Right, it was okay.

Just a hug.

“Miss Qin Yue, it’s time to wake up.”

The familiar voice of Su Yanlan was in my ear.

Ah, my brain must be broken.

I had only known her for a short time, so how could her voice be familiar?

“Haa~ Miss Yanlan, I’m sorry for the trouble.”

As my consciousness returned, I remembered what I had done.

In my sleepy state, I had enjoyed a lap pillow from Su Yanlan and slept soundly.

How could something so strange happen?

I sat up abruptly and bowed sincerely, as an apology.

Apologizing was always useful.

“It’s fine.”

She said, and then went back to her own business.

I touched my nose, a little indifferent, and moved from the stool in front of the stove to a chair at the dining table.

I rested my head on the table and closed my eyes again.

How long had I been asleep?

I didn’t know.

After a while, the sound of vegetables hitting a hot pan and the clatter of a spatula came from the stove.

Miss Yanlan, I didn’t know you could cook.

I couldn’t cook myself.

Why?

Probably because I couldn’t get things like oil and salt.

In the past, I usually ate canned food and various steamed buns that I got from my girlfriends.

Sometimes bread.

Whatever filled my stomach.

Dishes?

Unnecessary.

Soon, Su Yanlan seemed to have finished.

She brought a plate of shredded potatoes to the table and placed it in front of me.

Potatoes.

Both a staple and a vegetable.

Indeed, it was one of the few vegetables that were widely grown in the apocalypse.

She also brought two pairs of chopsticks and two bowls of white rice.

Rice.

I hadn’t seen it in a long time.

I missed the days before the apocalypse when rice was a daily staple.

Now it was a luxury.

I had thought that when she said she would cook for me, it would just be some kind of gruel or something simple.

Miss Yanlan, you’re so gentle.

“Thank you.”

I said it softly, and this time, it was not a pretense or a perfunctory remark, but a sincere one.

I was a scumbag, yes, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be genuinely grateful to others.

“…”

She didn’t speak, just picked up her own bowl and started eating, occasionally taking a bite of the shredded potatoes.

“Miss Yanlan, you’re so gentle.”

I picked up my chopsticks and carefully took some of the shredded potatoes, trying not to make any chewing sounds.

It only tasted of salt, no other seasonings, but it was still delicious.

After a few bites of the hot rice, my stomach felt unusually comfortable.

If I didn’t have to act reserved, I would have devoured it.

All in all, the meal was very satisfying.

I didn’t know when I would have such a good meal again.

After eating, I gently patted my stomach.

I was full, but not uncomfortably so.

Su Yanlan was indeed the gentlest of the three spurned lovers.

After the meal, I took the initiative to wash the dishes, while Su Yanlan stood behind me, sometimes stroking my hair, sometimes putting her arm around my waist.

I didn’t know what she was trying to do.

Dusk.

“Miss Yanlan, I should be going.”

I stood at the entrance of the shop, saying goodbye to Su Yanlan.

She didn’t say anything, just waved her hand.

Outside, I gently rubbed the black coat she had given me.

It was very warm.

She said I could keep it, but I still couldn’t damage it.

“The snow has stopped…”

I looked up at the sky.

No more snowflakes were falling.

Everything was back to normal.