PSW - Chapter 104

Chapter 104

The moment Yu Yinan pushed the door open, she was captivated by the aroma of hot food. Had Zheng Yi actually cooked? No- had Zheng Yi started cooking without waiting for her to come back, and was she almost finished?

"Come sit down. You can get your own rice in a bit," Zheng Yi said when she saw her return, not even asking about the study materials she had returned.

"Mm…" Yu Yinan obediently sat down next to Zheng Yi. She watched as Zheng Yi lifted the lid of the stew pot, and a rich, savory fragrance filled the entire room. Yu Yinan's mouth began to water instinctively, but she remained seated, watching as Zheng Yi gently stirred the soup with a ladle, added a tiny amount of salt, and then put the lid back on. "What kind of soup is this?"

"Winter melon and ham soup. I just threw it all together with some winter bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms."

Ham? Yu Yinan paused for a moment, watching as Zheng Yi added a cornstarch slurry to the mapo tofu to thicken the sauce. The spicy, numbing aroma instantly dispersed the savory scent, asserting itself more dominantly. Each small cube of tofu was coated in a thick, red sauce. Zheng Yi quickly took the wok off the heat, plated the tofu, and set it on the table. "Go get the rice."

"Ah, okay," Yu Yinan replied, quickly standing up to lift the lid of the rice steamer. She first filled a bowl for Zheng Yi and placed it in front of her with a pair of chopsticks before getting her own portion. After a moment's thought, she picked up two clean small bowls. "Should we use these for the soup? I can get it for you now?"

Just then, Zheng Yi lifted the pot lid again. She instantly froze the alcohol block and its flame underneath, then took the bowl from Yu Yinan and filled one for her. "Here."

The creamy white broth looked incredibly tempting; the smell alone was enough to entice anyone. The bowl was brimming with ingredients submerged in the soup. Yu Yinan accepted it with both hands. Just as she was about to offer to get Zheng Yi's, she saw that Zheng Yi had already served herself a bowl. "What are you spacing out for? Let's eat," Zheng Yi said with a light chuckle, perhaps because Yu Yinan's guilt, apprehension, and awkwardness were all too obvious.

"Mhm, okay," Yu Yinan hurriedly agreed. She sat back down, picked up her chopsticks, and gently stirred the surface of the soup before picking up a piece of ham.

The ham was tender and filled her mouth with a savory flavor. The winter melon, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms had all absorbed the rich broth, and with a slight bite, the juices flooded her entire mouth. The hot soup was delicious and had a lingering aftertaste. Just one small sip made her feel like she could swallow her own tongue along with it.

Yu Yinan didn't even have time to eat her rice before she had accidentally finished the entire bowl of soup. It was so delicious… She had never tasted soup this good, not even before the apocalypse. Yu Yinan thought of the nourishing soup Yun Lingjian had given Chu Yi and couldn't help but grin foolishly as she held the empty bowl. Although this wasn't made specifically for her, compared to the soup Chu Yi got, hers was just as good!

She got up and served herself another bowl of soup. This time, she didn't drink it all at once. Instead, she scooped three spoonfuls of mapo tofu into her rice bowl. The bright red chili oil stained the rice, and the tender tofu melted in her mouth, filling it with the spicy, numbing flavor of Sichuan cuisine. In her haste, she even choked and coughed repeatedly, her face flushing red from the spice.

"Jiejie, eat slowly. Don't rush," Zheng Yi said, patting her on the back. She condensed some water for her to drink, her tone tinged with helplessness. "Don't let your mind wander."

"I'm not!" Before she could even catch her breath, Yu Yinan hastily defended herself. "It's just so spicy and delicious! I-I choked because I was eating too fast!"

[She's definitely thinking about something weird!] Zero One immediately concluded upon seeing Yu Yinan's reaction.

"Eat slowly, Jiejie. This is all for you," Zheng Yi's voice grew even gentler.

For a fleeting moment, Yu Yinan suspected Zheng Yi was treating her like one of the young children at the school. Her face grew even redder, but she couldn't find any words to say, only managing a low hum of agreement as she continued to eat, carefully and earnestly.

For the first time, Yu Yinan cursed her small appetite. The food was so delicious. If she could, she would have eaten three whole bowls! But instead, she was completely stuffed after just one bowl of rice and two bowls of soup, left to enviously smell the aroma.

"I'll freeze the leftovers." Yu Yinan's gaze was so intense that Zheng Yi glanced at her and smiled. "We can just heat them up a little for the next meal." They could even pour the soup over rice.

"…Okay." Yu Yinan glanced at Zheng Yi, her eyes meeting that pair of clear, dark pupils, only to dart away a second later. She stood up. "I'll help you clean up!"

After Zheng Yi used her ability to clean the bowls, chopsticks, and cookware, Yu Yinan quickly put them away. Then she carried the completely frozen dishes and soup to the kitchen. Once she had finished, she finally asked, "Um, Zheng Yi… if you're not going to be a teacher anymore, there's still some time before the new year. What are we going to do until then?"

"Take on some field missions," Zheng Yi said. "We'll go to Sugui Mountain to visit our old friends." It was just a forest of mutated plants; Zheng Yi didn't think it would take too much time. She had experienced the life of a teacher, and staying in the base would likely lead to interruptions from children or other "colleagues." It was better to just go out for a while. In any case, they just had to be back before the new year.

"Okay." Although the special rain hadn't stopped, it was now just a light drizzle, lacking its previous torrential force. It didn't have much of an effect on most ability users, and for Yu Yinan… it had almost no effect at all. The rain had been falling for so long; it was a good thing Pujie's drainage system was well-designed, or the city would have flooded long ago. If ability users were submerged in this special rain… those who hadn't adapted to the pain would probably die in the water, even if they could swim and had abilities. "The rain will probably stop in the next day or two." She wondered if other places would have large areas of standing water.

Once this rain finally ended, the temperature would probably plummet, right? Just like in the early days of the apocalypse. As Yu Yinan's thoughts drifted, a few images from the study materials flashed through her mind, only in these images, it was Zheng Yi's face she saw. Her entire body stiffened. The moment she realized it, she desperately tried to empty her mind to suppress these chaotic thoughts.

No, no… perhaps… perhaps something like that was still a bit too soon for her and Zheng Yi. Most importantly, she only had theoretical knowledge. When it came to practice… Yu Yinan had no confidence at all.

If she was too inexperienced and clumsy in that department, not only would she fail to satisfy Zheng Yi, she might even hurt her or… Yu Yinan didn't let herself think any further. She pursed her lips and tried to comfort herself: given Zheng Yi's personality, she was probably just as inexperienced in that area.

They were probably about the same, right? They could worry about these things later… when their feelings for each other had deepened.

"Jiejie, it seems you've learned quite a lot this week~" Zheng Yi said with a knowing chuckle. Yu Yinan's reaction was just too abnormally obvious.

"I, I…"

Just that one sentence was enough to make Yu Yinan flustered and at a loss for words. But Zheng Yi was only teasing and had no intention of pressing the matter. She reached out and pinched Yu Yinan's burning cheek, her cool fingertips rubbing the warm, soft earlobe. "Alright~ Don't be nervous. It's normal for Jiejie to have her own little secrets~ I'm going to take a nap. Do you want to join me?"

"M-Mhm, let's nap together," Yu Yinan mumbled in response. Zheng Yi's hand was cool, but the places she touched didn't cool down; instead, they grew even hotter. Yu Yinan took a deep breath, feeling that she had truly been influenced by those study materials. Her self-control was far too weak.

Calm down, calm down, cool down. It wasn't the extreme cold period yet. If she kept running this hot, Zheng Yi would definitely not like it.

Yu Yinan followed Zheng Yi into the bedroom, obediently lay down on her side, placed her hands flat on her stomach, and closed her eyes with a peaceful expression.

---

Early the next morning, Zheng Yi went to the mission center to look at the field missions. Since the high-temperature period, the shelter hadn't posted many area-clearing or exploration missions. The areas around Pujie had been thoroughly explored and cleared. However, because of the last zombie horde, many special guard and patrol missions had been added. The rewards for these were low, and after a quick glance, Zheng Yi had no desire to accept any of them.

As for Sugui Mountain, Humanity's Light had clearly learned about the forest and mutated plants in that area, designating it a "Danger Zone" and warning ordinary squads not to approach rashly. And for this danger zone, there were special bounties.

Bring back a living mutated plant, or the fruit or seeds of a special mutated plant? As long as it was part of a mutated plant, bringing it back could be exchanged for contribution points. The specific amount would fluctuate based on the rarity of the "material" brought back. There was no need to register for this type of mission; one could simply bring the materials directly to the front desk for registration, and after an appraisal, the contribution points would be directly deposited into the ability user's account. If a large number of materials were submitted, the ability user could go to the mission center's front desk at any time to check the detailed breakdown of their contribution points.

There aren't any missions worth taking, Zheng Yi thought to herself. She turned around and saw Grandma Xu, who had also come to look at the missions.

"Here to pick up a mission? There aren't many available lately. I come here for a look every day, but in the end, I can only go back to teaching the children." Xu Lanjun sounded a bit helpless as she spoke. She originally earned contribution points through field missions, but after the areas around Pujie were cleared and the shelter had no immediate plans for further expansion, the missions she could take became few and far between. Fortunately, the school had been built; otherwise, Xu Lanjun wouldn't know how else to earn points.

"Yeah." Zheng Yi sighed with a hint of lament. She looked at Grandma Xu, thought for a moment, and pulled a bag of fruit gummies from her pocket, handing it over. "Grandma, here. This high-temperature period… it must have been tough getting through it, right? It's a shame I wasn't at the shelter, or I could have helped out." As she spoke, she revealed a clear look of guilt.

"Ah, you all were outside then, you probably didn't have it easy either. You should give these candies to the children. They all like you very much. I'm too old for these things," Xu Lanjun said, waving her hand. "I won't disturb you any longer. I'll be on my way."

"Grandma! You're perfectly healthy, and your teeth are still good. In this apocalypse, you should eat more sweets. They're just soft gummies, you can eat them." Zheng Yi pressed the bag of gummies into Xu Lanjun's hand. She waved and quickly left the mission center. "Jiejie and I will be leaving the base soon~ We can always find all sorts of supplies outside."

Zheng Yi appeared gentle, kind, and approachable, just like Chu Yi's first impression of her.

In a corner, two ability user squad captains who were about to check for new missions watched this scene, speechless for a long time.

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