Another Freezing Cold Morning

“Haa…choo~”

I woke up when it was already morning.

My arms were empty, and only the scent of Su Yanlan’s lavender remained. I didn’t know where she had gone.

I sat up and threw off the quilt, and a blast of cold air immediately hit me, chasing away the last of my drowsiness.

I peered toward the front door and saw that the glass door was already open. Su Yanlan was sitting alone near the entrance. The street outside was shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to see if there were any people walking by.

“Miss Qin Yue, are you finally awake?”

She must have heard the rustling sound of me getting up and turned to look at me.

The lights weren’t on, so I couldn’t see her expression clearly, but I felt that she was in a good mood.

“Mhm.”

I responded and stood up, trying to smooth out the wrinkles in my clothes.

Su Yanlan walked over and gently helped me tidy my messy hair. This made me feel a sudden sense of déjà vu, as if I were a wife.

Of course, that was unrealistic. I could never have that role in this life.

I was once a man, so how could I become someone else’s wife? That was a taboo I couldn’t even think about.

Lowering my head, I felt the matchbox in my pocket. I wondered if I should try to loot more corpses in the camp later. I was sure to find something useful.

That is, if I could make it back alive from Tongda.

“Change your clothes, and then we’ll go to the camp gate.”

Only when she got closer did I realize that Su Yanlan had already changed.

A red sweater and black trousers. They looked a little thin. Was she really going to wear that?

She took a black down jacket and a pair of thickened cotton pants from the clothes rack and handed them to me.

She really is so gentle when she’s not having a moment.

I took the clothes and quickly changed in the morgue, then walked out and spun around in front of Su Yanlan, showing off the new outfit.

I draped the black coat I was wearing before over my arm. Su Yanlan took it, inspected it carefully, and only folded it and put it away when she confirmed there was no damage.

I guess I’ll only have time to wash my clothes after I return.

“Let’s go.”

She said, walking ahead of me.

She didn’t bother to tidy the quilts. She drew the curtains again and stood at the door, waiting for me.

“Okay, I’m coming, Miss Yanlan.”

I had transferred the anti-radiation pills the Leader gave me and the matches I had found on the corpse to the inner pocket of my new coat when I changed.

It was a bit uncomfortable pressed against my chest, but it wouldn’t fall out easily. My survival depended entirely on these two things.

I hurried to catch up with Su Yanlan.

As we walked out, she carefully locked the door and then picked up a blue plastic bag from the doorway and handed it to me.

“Here. Your potatoes.”

“Ah… thank you, Miss Yanlan. You truly are a very gentle person.”

I took the potatoes, and the casual praise clearly put Su Yanlan in a better mood.

There was no faster way to earn her favor, so I had to rely on these mundane words to increase her goodwill towards me.

How long would it take to make Su Yanlan like me just by using these insignificant words? It was a long road ahead.

I squeezed the bag. Thirteen hand-sized potatoes. Not many, but they would last a while. They were still warm.

It looked like Su Yanlan had cooked them for me early this morning.

Speaking of which, did she use her own food for the shredded potatoes last night? I thought she would use the ones I brought.

I took one out of the plastic bag and examined it closely. Su Yanlan had cleaned off most of the ashes. The skin looked a little burnt, but when I squeezed it, I could feel the softness inside.

Baked potatoes. That was a good idea. The skin would preserve them for a long time. As long as they weren’t contaminated by strange things, they would fill my stomach even if they went sour.

“Mmm, delicious.”

I peeled one and took a small bite. It tasted only of the potato itself, with no seasoning. It was mealy.

It wasn’t particularly tasty. I only made that sound to act innocent.

I hesitated for a moment and then took one out of the bag and offered it to Su Yanlan.

I had eleven left. Eating only two a day, they would last a long time.

The snow still hadn’t melted.

The thick fog made it impossible to see far, only the small area beneath our feet.

In the distance, a faint light shone through the thick mist.

“Miss Yanlan, are we close?”

I touched my frozen ear and put on the hood of my padded coat.

“Mhm.”

Su Yanlan nodded and reached out to take my hand, continuing forward.

Soon, the source of the light appeared.

Two huge trucks. The wheels, nearly as tall as a person, were partially buried in the snow, but I didn’t think that would stop them.

In the cargo beds, many people in orange hazmat suits were talking and laughing. They wore simple gas masks and carried guns.

Around the trucks, three to five people were also wearing hazmat suits and carrying automatic rifles.

“Qin Yue.”

Qin Dai walked out of the noisy crowd. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and light blue jeans, her silver metal arm as conspicuous as ever.

“Hmm? Miss Qin Dai?”

I gave her an awkward but polite smile. I hadn’t expected to see her here.

Wasn’t Qin Dai the Leader’s top enforcer? Why was she being deployed outside the camp? I didn’t know.

“What are you doing here?”

Her attitude toward me was as terrible as always. She reached out and grabbed me without a word.

Su Yanlan just watched, making no move to intervene.

I was instantly gripped by the wrist. She was using some force; my wrist hurt.

Around us, the hazmat-suited soldiers watched, hoping for some entertainment.

“Ha… the Leader ordered me to come, of course.”

I explained, trying to pull my wrist free.

“Hmph.”

She snorted and let go of me, walking back into the crowd.

I couldn’t understand her logic. She rushed out to grab me for no reason and then inexplicably went back.

She’s probably the one of the three spurned lovers who hates me the most, I thought.

Seeing that there was no more fun to be had, the soldiers looked disappointed but soon returned to their conversations.

Su Yanlan and I climbed into the cargo bed of the front truck and sat on a stack of green tarps in the corner.

The soldiers standing or sitting on the edge of the cargo bed didn’t seem to mind, maybe because of Su Yanlan’s unusual presence.

Soon after we got in, a man and a woman, both without hazmat suits, arrived and got into the back truck.

Then, the rumbling of the engine starting filled the air.

We were about to set off.