Surviving the apocalypse with a wife and a system! [GL]

Yan Cijin had the same thought, though she was less used to speaking it out loud. She glanced at Bai Li and then at the fridge, the table, the sofa, and the bags on the floor. The whole place still looked like home, but she could already picture what it would be like once some of these things were gone. It would probably feel a little emptier. That thought made her chest feel oddly soft and tight at the same time. She had not expected to care so much about a move. She had certainly not expected to care this much about moving to Bai Li’s place. But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed like the best choice for everyone.

Yan Laojin was the first to start packing in earnest. She found some of LiLi’s little shirts, a spare blanket, and the child’s favorite water cup, then neatly placed them into a bag. The little girl kept trying to help but mostly just added more chaos. She would hand over one sock and then immediately turn around to ask if her dinosaur would also need a coat. Bai Li laughed at that and told her the dinosaur was strong enough to travel without one, which made the child giggle so hard she nearly dropped it. Yan Cijin watched that scene from the side and found herself blinking a little too slowly. Bai Li really was good with children. Not in the kind of polished, practiced way some people were, but in a natural, almost clumsy way that made it feel honest.

While Bai Li and Yan Laojin were sorting out the things that needed to go first, Yan Cijin went to the side to pack her own clothes. Her movements were slower than usual. Every now and then, she would pause and press her lips together, as if trying to settle the strange heat in her body. She was still thinking about the earlier misunderstanding, and the more she tried to push it away, the more obvious it became. It was embarrassing enough that Bai Li had thought she was talking about moving house, and Yan Cijin had somehow turned it into something else entirely in her mind. Even worse, she had said all those things out loud without properly checking how they sounded. If Bai Li ever realized what she had been thinking, Yan Cijin felt like she would never be able to look at her straight again.

Bai Li, meanwhile, was completely focused on the practical side. She went to the kitchen and looked through the refrigerator again, then checked the freezer and the space under the counter. The fridge was decent in size, and if they arranged the inside properly, it could hold a lot of food for a while. She had brought frozen food from her own space earlier, and there were still more things waiting there. Since they were still at the stage where food could be collected and stored more or less normally, Bai Li wanted to take as much as possible. Fresh things would not last long once the power supply became less stable, so the frozen food was important. It gave them flexibility. It also gave the household a sense of security, which mattered just as much.

Bai Li opened one of the containers she had brought and checked the seal. Everything was still frozen solid. Good. She put it carefully into the bottom shelf and then stacked a few more bags beside it. Yan Cijin came over with a box of her own and paused when she saw the amount Bai Li had stored. Even with the fridge nearly full, Bai Li still managed to make it look organized. Yan Cijin could not help but admire that. She was not the type to say praise directly, so she only asked whether Bai Li had anything else that needed to go in. Bai Li shook her head and said she was mostly done for now. Then she remembered something and added that if Yan Cijin’s family had any leftovers or emergency food, they should bring those too. There was no point wasting usable things.

The little girl, who had been sitting on the sofa with her dinosaur, suddenly slid down and toddled over to the large backpack in the living room. Her eyes were still locked on it like she had discovered a treasure chest. She poked the zipper, then looked up at Bai Li with full curiosity and asked what was inside. Bai Li crouched down so she was level with the child and pinched her cheek lightly before opening the bag. When the toys appeared, LiLi’s eyes went wide in a way that made everyone in the room smile. She took out the dinosaur plush first, hugged it to her chest, and rubbed the soft green fabric with her fingers as if she could not quite believe it was hers.

Bai Li watched her closely and felt that familiar softness in her chest again. She had not brought these things back just for the sake of giving gifts. She wanted the little girl to have something cheerful, something stable, something that belonged to her alone. In a world where everything was shifting, children needed little anchors like that. LiLi had no idea how serious the outside was. She only knew that Auntie was nice, Auntie gave toys, Auntie had a big backpack, and Auntie was about to take them to another house. That was enough for now. Bai Li hoped it would stay enough for a while longer.

Yan Cijin stood behind them and looked on in silence. Seeing Bai Li patiently answer each of the child’s questions made her feel that same strange warmth again. She had once thought of Bai Li as someone reliable but somewhat distant, a person who helped when necessary and kept a certain coolness in place. Now she was seeing another side of her. Bai Li was not cold at all. She was just careful.

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To be continued.

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