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

It was ridiculous. She was a doctor. She had seen all kinds of situations. Yet now she was getting tangled up by one small sentence from Bai Li and a few teasing looks.

She wondered again if Bai Li had done it on purpose. Maybe Bai Li had already realized what she was thinking and was now deliberately letting her jump around in circles. That thought made her lips press together. If that was true, then Bai Li was too evil. Not evil in a bad way. More like the kind of evil that smiled softly while making other people lose all their balance. Yan Cijin secretly glanced over. Bai Li was still moving supplies, her sleeves rolled up a bit, her forearms slightly damp with sweat. The more Yan Cijin looked, the more her own thoughts became a mess. She had always thought herself to be a calm person. At least, she had believed that before Bai Li started appearing in her daily life more and more often. Now it seemed that her calmness had all been borrowed. If Bai Li took one step closer, her brain could forget how to function. If Bai Li smiled at her a little, her ears would go red. If Bai Li teased her, she would overthink it for half a day. Yan Cijin could not decide whether to be annoyed or pleased about that.

Bai Li had meanwhile started moving the heavier supplies out from the bedroom in batches. It was not a small amount. There were rolled blankets, sealed boxes of instant meals, several bags of rice, some packets of dried vegetables, jars of pickled food, and a few sacks of goods that she had dragged back earlier from other people. Some of these things were collected from the outside world in a legal kind of way and some were just carefully gathered, but at this stage of life nobody had the luxury of being picky. Bai Li had long learned that the only real rule in survival was to keep what could keep you alive. She did not waste time feeling bad about it either. Still, moving all this by hand would have taken forever. That was why her spatial ability mattered so much. Each time she used it, the supplies shifted out cleanly and landed in a new place as if the room itself were swallowing them. Yan Cijin watched her again and again, and every time she did, she felt a strange mix of admiration and fondness, with just enough confusion in the middle to make her want to hide her face in her hands.

"You keep staring," Bai Li said lightly after another few trips. Yan Cijin was caught red handed. "I am not staring." "Then what are you doing?" "Watching." Bai Li nodded as if she understood something very serious. "Watching me work?" Yan Cijin’s face went hot again. "Yes." Bai Li’s eyes softened a little. "Then keep watching. It helps me know you are not secretly slacking." Yan Cijin almost laughed despite herself. "Who is slacking here?" Bai Li put a box down and turned to her. "Not me, apparently. I have been moving things nonstop." Yan Cijin looked at the floor. "That is because you are strong." Bai Li’s hand paused for just a second. There was something in Yan Cijin’s tone that made those words feel less like a simple compliment and more like a careful confession. Bai Li did not answer right away. She only looked at Yan Cijin for a moment, and in that moment the teasing between them turned slightly quieter, slightly softer, as if both of them had accidentally stepped into a more delicate place without meaning to.

Yan Cijin felt the shift too. Her heart did a small, useless jump. She did not know what to do with that feeling, so she immediately bent down to move another stack of things. Unfortunately, the stack was bigger than she expected, and the moment she lifted it, a packet inside slipped and slid across the floor. She chased after it, failed to stop it, and ended up bumping lightly into Bai Li’s leg. Bai Li steadied her with one hand out of instinct. "Careful." Yan Cijin looked up at her. Bai Li’s palm was warm through the fabric. That simple touch made Yan Cijin’s brain go quiet for half a second. Bai Li did not seem to notice how strange her own hand felt on Yan Cijin’s shoulder. Or maybe she noticed and just pretended not to. That thought alone made Yan Cijin even more nervous. She hurriedly straightened. "I am fine." Bai Li withdrew her hand slowly, then picked up the escaped packet and looked at it. It was just some disposable cups. She handed it back. "Here." Yan Cijin took it with a stiff nod. The tips of her fingers were still a little numb.

At this point Bai Li could not tell whether Yan Cijin was too shy or simply too easy to tease. Maybe both. Probably both. The funny thing was that Yan Cijin normally looked very proper. She had that cool, beautiful, almost untouchable kind of appearance that made people assume she was hard to get close to. But once she got flustered, all that coolness vanished very fast, and what was left behind was an awkwardness so plain and honest that it almost felt unfair. Bai Li found herself wanting to keep looking at her. She wanted to see every small change in expression, every little mistake, every bit of red that rose to her ears. It was dangerous. She knew it was dangerous. But a person could still want things they should not have. So Bai Li leaned against the wall for a moment, pretending to rest, while actually using the chance to look at Yan Cijin’s side profile and quietly let her heart pound without telling anybody about it.

Yan Cijin was not blind either. She might not understand Bai Li’s feelings clearly, but she could feel the gaze.

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TO BE CONTINUED.

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