PSW - Chapter 110
Chapter 110
The sound of firecrackers bid farewell to the old year and welcomed the new.
Beneath the flickering fireworks, Yu Yinan held Zheng Yi's hands, her feelings sincere and ardent. She hoped Zheng Yi could be happy. As another round of fireworks shot into the sky, Yu Yinan hurriedly opened her jacket and pulled out a rectangular hard box from inside. She opened it, and inside lay a single, trimmed rose, still glistening with a few drops of water. "I originally wanted to buy more, but… but Zhao Haiyue bought them all… I… I could only buy one from her." Although she had a fair number of contribution points left, there was still a gap compared to Chu Yi.
"And this!" Yu Yinan really didn't have many pockets to hide things in, but to surprise Zheng Yi, she had truly put her heart into hiding it. She then pulled out a square, transparent box filled to the brim with large strawberries. "These all just ripened at the plantation today, so I bought them all! A plant-type ability user probably used their ability to ripen them, but they're very sweet, all really big, and the quality is great. I've already washed them, so you can eat them right away."
"Actually, I originally planned to make a small cake for you, but…" Even though she was a fire ability user, and Chu Yi had even gotten her an oven, and Yu Yinan had spent a fortune on various baking ingredients, even managing to buy eggs, but! She failed.
Due to the lack of ingredients, after failing twice, she had nothing left. It was no use for Yu Yinan to feel frustrated. She wasn't willing to fool Zheng Yi with that disastrous-looking "strawberry cream cake," so she could only tearfully force down the either undercooked or burnt cake base along with the runny, poorly whipped cream that had gone wrong somewhere.
The moment Yu Yinan thought of the indescribable taste of what was supposed to be a "dessert," she fell silent for a few seconds and didn't continue.
Zheng Yi chuckled softly. She reached out and picked up the rose. Its blood-red petals trembled with dewdrops. Zheng Yi nodded slightly and gently kissed a petal. "Thank you, Jiejie~ I'm very happy."
The flickering fireworks finally stopped, and the New Year's Eve night seemed to grow quiet again. The only sound in Yu Yinan's ears was her own heartbeat, thumping rapidly for Zheng Yi. She stared blankly at Zheng Yi, holding the box full of strawberries. "I'm… very happy too."
Zheng Yi smiled. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a children's choir. Looking down from the platform, she saw Grandma Xu leading the school children in singing a New Year's song that was sung every Spring Festival in Ling Country before the apocalypse. A group of adults holding various instruments stood in the shadows behind them, providing accompaniment. The children's young voices were clear and pure. By the end of the song, many people had spontaneously joined in the chorus.
As the song concluded, another magnificent red firework bloomed in the night sky, scattering a sky full of hopeful light for the new year.
Pots of hot congee were wheeled out, and the crowd grew restless again. After the song, the children were picked up by their respective parents. Yu Yinan saw a little girl run toward her mother, her little pigtails bouncing behind her head. The mother opened her arms and lifted the girl high into the air the moment she leaped into them.
The New Year is wonderful.
As Yu Yinan was thinking this, Zheng Yi suddenly took her hand, leading her down from the platform and into the crowd.
They wandered around the various small stalls. Whenever they met a child, Zheng Yi would give them a few pieces of candy as a New Year's gift. Afterward, they got two small bowls of free hot congee, finished them by the roadside, and then shared some strawberries.
Hand in hand, Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi strolled along the lively street. Yu Yinan glanced at the large red lanterns decorating some areas and saw a group of female ability users walking past boisterously. She had just seen Zhu Lanyuan, Lian Langxi, and their squad members wandering around, but she hadn't seen any sign of Zhao Haiyue and Yun Lingjian.
Yu Yinan thought about the flowers that Zhao Haiyue had bought out with such a grand gesture and guessed she might have taken Yun Lingjian to a corner to confess her feelings. She wondered how it went.
It wasn't until late at night, when the air grew heavy with cold and people had gradually dispersed, that Yu Yinan and Zheng Yi returned to their room.
The new year had arrived.
[Actually, in terms of value, this is a bad deal. If you bought these things in the store, it wouldn't cost many Saint Points. But for Yu Yinan to buy them in the shelter… she probably spent almost all her contribution points.] Zheng Yi came out of the shower, and Yu Yinan went in. Zero One watched Zheng Yi sit on the edge of the bed, toying with the rose, and couldn't help but speak up. [Besides, this rose will wilt very soon.]
'Zero One, not everything should be measured by its value.' Zheng Yi said softly, using a bit of her ability to manipulate water droplets to moisten the rose.
'As for wilting… in this world, what is eternal?'
Zero One was a little surprised that Zheng Yi would say such a thing. It thought for a moment and realized it probably felt this way because most of Yu Yinan's contribution points came from their last mission, and Zheng Yi's efforts were a large part of that. So, it instinctively felt awkward that Yu Yinan was spending them on gifts for Zheng Yi. But on second thought, it seemed Yu Yinan didn't have much, but whatever she did have, she would give to Zheng Yi without hesitation.
Zero One looked at the firework photos it had saved, then scrolled down to a picture of Yu Yinan's eyes—sweaty and breathless, yet filled with starlight. It paused, then spoke again: [Perhaps what I mean to say is, if you want to give her a gift, you can choose from the store. The selection is vast, the prices are reasonable, and all items are of premium quality.]
Zheng Yi smiled but didn't reply. Just then, the sound of the shower stopped. Soon, Yu Yinan, dressed in pajamas, walked into the bedroom. Steam was still rising from her body. Seeing Zheng Yi sitting on the edge of the bed, she quickly walked over and sat down next to her. When she turned her head and saw the rose in Zheng Yi's hand, her ears, already flushed from the hot shower, turned an even deeper shade of pink.
"I… I'm sorry, I originally wanted to give you a large bouquet of flowers." Instead of Zheng Yi having only this one rose. Even though this was the one Yu Yinan had carefully selected after getting Zhao Haiyue's permission, the one she felt was the most perfect. But in the end, it was still just one.
"It's okay~ This one is beautiful enough." Zheng Yi said with a smile, "As long as it's from Jiejie, I love it~"
"Mm… The extreme cold period is coming soon. If… if we stay at the shelter, I can probably earn a lot of contribution points. That way, I can buy you more things."
"But buying these things at the shelter is expensive, right? Besides, I can buy them myself." Zheng Yi said considerately, "It's not easy for Jiejie to earn contribution points, so maybe…"
Before she could finish, Yu Yinan said urgently, "It's different."
"I want to buy things for you too, and I want to give you a better life. I… I…" Yu Yinan's voice trailed off, but her expression was stubborn and determined. She clenched her hands into fists on her knees and said with her head lowered, "I want to protect you, too." Even if the gap between them was too large, she wanted to do things for Zheng Yi as much as she could, to give to Zheng Yi with all her might.
"I see…" Zheng Yi looked at Yu Yinan's profile, her own dark eyes lowering slightly. The gentle, considerate, perfect-girlfriend smile on her face gradually faded. "Jiejie, you're always so pure."
"…I'm just too ordinary." Yu Yinan said in a low voice. She looked at Zheng Yi, her gaze falling into those calm, rippleless dark eyes. "I… perhaps all I have is this sincere heart." But in this apocalypse, a sincere heart is both priceless and worthless.
Yu Yinan knew clearly that without her, Zheng Yi could live just fine, perhaps even more freely and unrestrainedly. Her strength might be considered high among ability users, but Zheng Yi didn't lack strength. As for savings? It was the apocalypse; how important could material possessions be? Zheng Yi provided for almost all her daily needs, and there was even that shower room worth 10,888 points…
"You are special." Zheng Yi said softly, "Yu Yinan, you are a very special person." She raised her hand, her fingertips gently caressing Yu Yinan's cheek, tilting her lowered head up so that their eyes met.
"This world… is mostly uninteresting." Zheng Yi let out a soft sigh. She leaned in, her nose almost touching Yu Yinan's. She placed a hand on Yu Yinan's shoulder, straddled her lap, and pushed her backward. "You are a living, scorching, ever-burning flame."
"Don't go out."
Those clear, dark eyes, free of any impurities, stared fixedly at her, reflecting her moved, flustered, and slightly disheveled appearance, reflecting her heart along with it. Yu Yinan looked into those dark eyes and felt as if she were drowning in a cold, dark, deep sea. She kept falling, with nothing to hold onto, yet she had no desire to resist, just sinking and sinking into the depths of the ocean floor.
But Zheng Yi had said, don't go out.
So even at the bottom of the sea, she would still be scorching, still burning. Every inch of her skin, every drop of her blood, her bones, her organs, everything would become fuel, burning completely, even if it meant not leaving a whole corpse behind.
Yu Yinan leaned back, collapsing onto the mattress. Her black hair fanned out around her. She arched her neck, exposing her fair skin, and gasped for air like a fish dying on the shore. A few strands of hair hung down from above, falling against her neck and cheek. The momentary cool touch was quickly warmed by her body heat. Zheng Yi lowered her head and bit down on her exposed, slender neck.
"Jiejie, you're so hot." Zheng Yi's voice was extremely gentle. Compared to Yu Yinan's rising temperature, her fingertips and skin could be described as somewhat "icy." She gently gnawed on Yu Yinan's neck, leaving bite marks of varying depths, then moved to her collarbone, sucking distinct red marks onto the skin. "Then, let's get even hotter."
A fair fingertip rested on a button of her pajamas. Yu Yinan's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, a bright red, luscious strawberry was gently placed on her lips and pushed into her mouth.
"Jiejie, eat the strawberry." Zheng Yi was still smiling faintly. Her dark eyes seemed to hold no emotion, yet at the same time, they seemed to reflect only Yu Yinan. She seemed casual, yet unfathomable.
Yu Yinan took a bite, and the sweet and sour juice of the strawberry burst in her mouth. This expensive, extremely rare, large strawberry of the apocalypse was not entirely sweet.
"Jiejie~" Zheng Yi called out softly, leaning down to place a kiss. Her skin met the cool air, and Yu Yinan shivered. Her eyes misted over, and through the haze, she saw Zheng Yi gently place the rose over her heart.
She leaned down, her cool lips pressing against Yu Yinan's left breast, planting a kiss right over her fiercely beating heart.
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