PSW - Chapter 71
Chapter 71
The sky was just beginning to lighten when Chi Heqing and her group left.
Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan repeatedly tried to get them to accept the mineral water and compressed biscuits from the back of the modified vehicle, but they refused. Chi Heqing had already said everything she needed to, and she didn't like to repeat herself. She just ruffled Zheng Yi's hair. "Alright, that's far enough. Go back and get some sleep. You both need to rest well."
"There's no need to thank me. If you want to repay me... just do your best to help those you can. The apocalypse isn't easy. Live well."
There were no heartfelt blessings, only the simple phrase, "Live well."
Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan stood at the door, watching the van drive away into the distance. The sky still wasn't fully bright. Zheng Yi stretched lazily and walked toward the modified vehicle. "Want to sleep a little longer?"
"...Mmm," Yu Yinan replied, staring at Zheng Yi's back, looking like she wanted to say something but hesitated. "You... you asked them to come save me?" But Zheng Yi had healing abilities herself, and... for this kind of mental exhaustion, it wouldn't matter who came to help. She could only recover on her own, right?
"When you were concentrating on gathering your flames, you passed by them," Zheng Yi said. "You even burned one of their clothes."
"...So they chased after us?" Yu Yinan tried hard to remember, but she could barely see anything at the time, so it was impossible for her to have noticed.
"Not exactly. After you fainted, I stopped the vehicle and went over to test them a little," Zheng Yi said with a smile. She acted weak and pointed out that it was just two women, and that her jiejie was even unconscious—what a perfect opportunity for a robbery. Not to mention, Zheng Yi even offered them compressed biscuits, yet they didn't have any malicious intentions even after seeing the modified vehicle. "They're truly... rare, good people in this apocalypse."
Yu Yinan had personally experienced Zheng Yi's acting skills, so how could she not understand? She sighed softly and didn't ask any more questions. Her head was still a bit groggy, and it would certainly be good if she could sleep some more.
She and Zheng Yi took the bedsheets and quilt out of the trunk. The inside of the house had already been cleaned and tidied once, clearing out a large, clean area. After entering the house, Zheng Yi cleaned the floor again and then simply made a pallet on the ground.
Yu Yinan wasn't in a hurry to go back to sleep, though. She still remembered what she had been doing before she passed out. It was just that everything had happened so suddenly after she woke up that she hadn't had a chance to see what had changed about her ability.
However, when she naturally conjured a flame, she found that aside from the speed of its formation being much faster than before, the flame was still just an ordinary flame, with no special changes. Yu Yinan stared at the flame in her hand, starting to doubt her life. She quietly sensed her power and found that her mental energy had also increased slightly.
Hmm... the efficiency of raising the flame's temperature also seemed to have improved a little? Yu Yinan carefully perceived the improvement in her ability. She felt that it had indeed improved, but it wasn't the qualitative change she had imagined. Clearly... she had persevered through so much pain, clearly she had even passed out, and she had clearly... grasped that cluster of flames.
Was this really the only change?
Yu Yinan looked at the flame in her palm, and when she lowered her head slightly, her eyes met Zheng Yi's, who was sitting on the quilt with her head tilted up. For some reason, she evasively averted her gaze from Zheng Yi's, her mood sinking even lower. Not only was she older than Zheng Yi, but her talent for her ability couldn't even compare to half of Zheng Yi's...
If Zero One knew what Yu Yinan was thinking, it would surely have a breakdown: Who could possibly compare to Zheng Yi? Even the male and female protagonists from the original novel, who had the best talent and even a protagonist's halo, couldn't compare to Zheng Yi! This person's issue wasn't about talent at all. She was just that type... that type...
A max-level master touring the newbie village, sadistically pretending to be a rookie!
"Jiejie, come sit." Yu Yinan's reaction made Zheng Yi's eyes curve into a smile. In a good mood, she beckoned for Yu Yinan to come over.
But Yu Yinan stood where she was. She glanced at Zheng Yi, then turned her head away, not moving.
"Jiejie, come here."
"..." Yu Yinan pressed her lips together but eventually walked a little closer. She squatted down in front of the pallet, wrapping her arms around her knees and hugging herself as she crouched before Zheng Yi.
"Sit."
"..." Yu Yinan sensed the cold shift in Zheng Yi's tone. The grievance in her heart grew stronger, but she stubbornly refused to move, remaining in her squat as she met Zheng Yi's gaze, her eyes slowly turning red again. Yu Yinan didn't want to cry. As a... twenty-five-year-old adult, she had clearly endured many hardships. But for some reason, there were times when just meeting Zheng Yi's eyes made her nose tingle.
She despised this uncontrollable part of herself.
"Is Jiejie angry with me?" Zheng Yi watched her, her dark eyes never leaving Yu Yinan's face. Although she asked this, there was still no emotional fluctuation in her eyes. She wasn't angered by Yu Yinan's behavior; she seemed... merely a little curious?
Yu Yinan still couldn't see through Zheng Yi. She gave up trying to guess. "No."
"Aren't you uninterested in the hearts of beasts?" Yu Yinan laughed self-deprecatingly, unable to stop herself from hugging her knees tighter.
"Oh?"
"...Anyway, you can always find all sorts of jiejies and meimeis." The sour feeling from before seemed to have fermented and intensified. It was better when Yu Yinan didn't think about it, but the moment she did, she grew even more upset. "We still have to pass through Zhongshan to get to Chuanyang. You can find two more good jiejies there." In Hangnu, you gained a Xia Meimei, and in Huikong, a Chi Jiejie.
Zheng Yi blinked, indicating that she was listening.
Those dark eyes were crystal clear, still revealing no emotion.
"..." Yu Yinan looked at her and, in the end, couldn't continue. What was the use of saying more? It would only make her seem like she was wallowing in self-pity. She had known for a long time that Zheng Yi didn't care about her that much, that she wasn't special. She had just been lucky enough to meet Zheng Yi at the very beginning and accompany her through an extremely cold period. What did she count for? She didn't even have the right to be jealous.
She still hadn't even seen the real Zheng Yi, yet she had still fallen for this version of her. Even Yu Yinan herself felt her feelings were a bit baffling. A normal person would run for the hills if they met someone with Zheng Yi's personality.
"So, do you want to go back to Pujie?" Zheng Yi mused. Yu Yinan's motorcycle was still around; if she wanted it, Zheng Yi would give it to her. As for the gasoline consumption... those small, specially packed iron cans should be able to fit in the motorcycle's storage compartment, right? They hadn't gone very far yet. If Yu Yinan wanted to go back, she could probably make it in a day or two of riding, barring any accidents.
Yu Yinan stared at her, hurt. The sorrow and humiliation on her face were almost impossible to hide. She put her hands down to push herself up, perhaps too quickly, as she staggered a little. "You've always wanted to get rid of me."
There was no way Zheng Yi, who could so skillfully act out all sorts of emotions and roles, didn't understand anything. Zheng Yi had deliberately asked such a question, deliberately wanting to see her reaction. For a moment, Yu Yinan felt a sense of powerlessness. This powerlessness stemmed not only from Zheng Yi's attitude toward her but also from the gap between them.
It was too big.
Yu Yinan didn't even know the limits of Zheng Yi's abilities. She could raid a base alone at night, and a dozen ability users were completely helpless against her. Even after everything last night, she could return before dawn as if nothing had happened. The next day, she only felt tired and pained, even holding on until much later before falling into a deep sleep. And what about Yu Yinan herself? The moment she focused a little on trying to break through her limits, she fell unconscious.
Zheng Yi tilted her head slightly, still watching her. Her imposing aura was restrained, making her look somewhat innocent and well-behaved.
"I haven't been trying to get rid of you," Zheng Yi said with utter frankness. If she had that thought, there was no way Yu Yinan would still be by her side.
"..." Given Zheng Yi's personality, that was probably true. But those words obviously weren't very pleasant to hear either. Yet, disappointingly, Yu Yinan felt comforted, even if it was just that one sentence.
"You fell unconscious from excessive mental exertion, and perhaps you had a slight epiphany about your fire ability before you passed out," Zheng Yi said in a flat tone. "Where would you find an ability user who undergoes a qualitative improvement every time they faint?" If it were really that easy, the Wasteland wouldn't be full of weaklings by now.
"But you're very strong."
Zheng Yi let out a soft laugh and stood up. "Jiejie, you really shouldn't compare yourself to me."
"Xia Cheng, Chi Heqing, Zhu Lanyuan... you could even compare yourself to Chu Yi."
"I'm not exactly a normal person, you know~"
Of course, Yu Yinan knew Zheng Yi wasn't a normal person, but... could going a little crazy sometimes, or even acting like other people for fun, actually enhance one's abilities?
Yu Yinan didn't consider another kind of "abnormality" at all. This was also normal. After all, very few people would suspect they were in the world of a book or that someone beside them wasn't a being of this world. Not to mention, Yu Yinan wasn't even a female supporting character in the original novel. She had almost no interaction with the male and female protagonists now and had never been affected by their halos.
Zheng Yi finally smiled, and it seemed to hold a hint of sincerity. She moved closer to Yu Yinan, relaxed her body slightly, and leaned forward just a little, resting her forehead against Yu Yinan's back. She raised a hand and gently took the tips of Yu Yinan's dangling fingers, lightly holding just two of her longer fingers without any force.
Yu Yinan's body stiffened, but she straightened her back, silently supporting Zheng Yi. Zheng Yi said nothing more. The hand holding her fingertips used barely any strength, as if it might slip away in the next second. She just pressed against her like this—it wasn't even a hug, just this closeness—and it made Yu Yinan's heart soften bit by bit.
She was six years older than Zheng Yi, and her ability was leagues behind. She and Zheng Yi were perhaps people from two different worlds. If not for the apocalypse, if not for that heavy rain, if she hadn't indecisively returned "home" to try and find her parents... she probably would never have crossed paths with Zheng Yi in this lifetime. Even if they had, it might have been like with Xia Cheng and Chi Heqing—a chance encounter where she would have thought Zheng Yi was just an incredibly cute and well-behaved little sister, and nothing more.
Yu Yinan knew with perfect clarity that leaving Zheng Yi was the best choice. But...
She was truly, truly unwilling to accept it.
She was unwilling to accept it, and she couldn't bear to part. She was greedy for this.
"Zheng Yi..." Yu Yinan sighed, closing her eyes. "Have you ever liked someone?"
"Jiejie, I like everyone equally."
What an answer... Yu Yinan laughed self-deprecatingly, then thought of the people Zheng Yi had personally sent on their way. "Including them? Including Yu Yaozu?" She turned around, and Zheng Yi straightened up as well. She looked at Zheng Yi. Those dark eyes were still clear, and she could see her own reflection in them.
"They believed in me piously and offered their souls to me. I helped them transcend the suffering of the flesh. How could that not be considered a form of liking?"
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