PSW - Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Zheng Yi… didn't like this?
Or was it just a hypothetical?
Yu Yinan was a little dazed and a little lost. She pulled her hand back, clenching and unclenching it helplessly and awkwardly, her fingers curling, unsure of where to put them. "I… I'm sorry… If you don't like it… I won't do it anymore."
"Kissing, being close, I-I'll keep my distance. I'll control my body temperature as much as I can, and once it gets a bit cooler, I won't be so hot. I, I… my emotions…" Yu Yinan's voice fell. "It's just my emotions. I can't control them."
Even though Zheng Yi had initiated all their intimacy from the very beginning, when Zheng Yi said something like that, Yu Yinan felt a genuine sense of panic. Zheng Yi always liked to say such things, but Yu Yinan couldn't treat them as hypotheticals.
Zheng Yi kneaded Yu Yinan's hot earlobe, her fingertip brushing lightly against it, rubbing it, feeling the slightly scorching, smooth, and soft texture beneath her finger. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind Yu Yinan's ear, the ends wrapping once around her fingertip before being settled in place. She moved closer to Yu Yinan, and in this intimate proximity, their breaths mingled. She looked at Yu Yinan's eyes, which had once again grown moist. Her fingertip brushed the corner of Yu Yinan's eye, rubbing the area until it was slightly red. A hint of a damp tear landed on her fingertip. Zheng Yi propped herself up slightly, looking down at her with a soft smile. "I was joking."
"Jiejie, you cry too much."
She hadn't even started crying yet. It was just a little sting, a situation deliberately created by Zheng Yi's teasing. But when Zheng Yi's soft sigh landed on her heart, Yu Yinan's nose stung so badly that her vision instantly blurred with a film of mist.
"Jiejie, do you want that mark?" Zheng Yi sat up in bed, her fingertip smudging the tear that had fallen from Yu Yinan's eye, watching the droplet spread across the pad of her finger.
"…" Yu Yinan didn't know if she should say yes. That mark cost three hundred faith points, and she hadn't even brought Zheng Yi that much value. Following Zheng Yi must have caused her a lot of trouble. Her food, clothing, and shelter in the apocalypse… she relied on Zheng Yi for almost everything. How could she dare to have any more extravagant hopes?
"Jiejie, do you want a dedicated shower room?" Zheng Yi caught the teardrop sliding from the corner of her eye with her fingertip. Her voice grew increasingly gentle and doting, but Yu Yinan's tears wouldn't stop. Just then, Yu Yinan raised her hand to cover her eyes with the back of it, trying to wipe the tears away. But as soon as she lifted her arm, Zheng Yi seized her wrist and pinned it to the bed.
"…I don't want it." Yu Yinan's voice was choked and aggrieved. Teardrops clung to her eyelashes as she looked at Zheng Yi with a slight tremble. In a moment, her eyes filled with tears again, which rolled down like morning dew. "I can… wait ten months. I… I'm not… that greedy, that ungrateful… I…" Yu Yinan wanted to explain something, but she felt that any explanation would be pale and powerless.
"You're so hot." Zheng Yi wiped away Yu Yinan's tears with one hand, still holding her right wrist down to keep her from moving. She only moved closer, lowering her head to bite Yu Yinan's lips, then her neck. The tips of her teeth pierced the skin, causing beads of blood to well up. "Jiejie."
A smile was in Zheng Yi's eyes as she called out softly. She released Yu Yinan's wrist, got up, and straddled her. A cold glint flashed in her hand, and a silvery-white scalpel appeared. Like a paintbrush, she lightly traced the tip of the blade across Yu Yinan's skin.
"Jiejie, your blood is hot, too." Zheng Yi touched the broken skin, feeling the drops of blood on her fingertip. She then gently caressed the artery in Yu Yinan's neck, feeling the fervent pulse beneath her finger.
The scalpel was extremely sharp; it was clearly not the same one she had used on Yu Yaozu. The tip merely brushed lightly across Yu Yinan's collarbone, and a fine line of blood appeared. "Jiejie, are you afraid?"
This was the second time Zheng Yi had asked if she was afraid.
It was clearly extremely dangerous, and she could feel the pain, but… why was her heart beating faster and faster? Why was her blood still boiling? Why was she so mesmerized by Zheng Yi's clear, dark eyes, as if she were drowning in the deep sea, falling into an abyss? Why?
Clearly… "I'm afraid."
But… she didn't want to run, didn't want to hide.
Yu Yinan raised a hand, her fingers trembling slightly as she took hold of the hand in which Zheng Yi held the scalpel. She aimed the sharp tip at herself. Looking at Zheng Yi, she sat up and leaned toward her. The sharp point easily pierced her thin T-shirt and entered the skin of her left breast. As Yu Yinan drew closer, pain came with it.
She was trembling yet resolute, fearful yet yearning. Her other hand gently and tentatively draped over Zheng Yi's shoulder as she moved closer to Zheng Yi's lips. "Is the taste of blood… okay?"
As warm and soft as ever. Yu Yinan looked into Zheng Yi's open, dark eyes. "Will you like my blood?"
Zheng Yi suddenly let out a low laugh. In that instant, the tip of the scalpel pierced Yu Yinan's chest and was then withdrawn. Before the blood even had a chance to gush out, a healing light converged on the wound. "Does it hurt?"
"…" Yu Yinan swallowed a pained sob and only said in a low voice, "The third great rain… I'll stand through the whole thing, too…"
"What if you don't live to see the third great rain?" Zheng Yi looked at her, leaning down to kiss her. "What if I want to carve out your heart right now?"
"Jiejie, you could even be alive to watch the whole process, to see your own heart… I promise, it would still be beating then." She could control blood and had a healing ability. Maybe mid-tier wasn't quite enough? But that was fine; advancing to high-tier would only cost another six thousand Saint Points. An ability upgrade would be needed sooner or later.
Zheng Yi's voice was incredibly gentle, like a lover's whisper. She lightly kissed the hair at Yu Yinan's forehead. "Jiejie, are you afraid?"
"…I'm afraid." Yu Yinan looked at Zheng Yi, showing no intention of resisting. "But… I can."
"I'm… very clear-headed. I know what I'm doing, I know… what I'm about to face." Yu Yinan gazed at the pristine white ceiling. When they first entered this house, there were cobwebs on the ceiling, but under Zheng Yi's ability, the place had been cleaned and looked brand new. She stared at a black stain on the ceiling that was difficult to remove, unsure if it was an illusion or real. She just looked, stared, and spoke with difficulty, "I'm the only one… ten faith points… I trust you, believe in you, acknowledge you, and support you with all my heart. Zheng Yi, maybe… maybe I'm a zealot. I know I'm sane, but others might think I'm crazy. Perhaps I really am crazy, but I'm still clear-headed."
"Tier ten… one can ascend to the outer holy domain, receive the Saint's blessing, escape the sea of suffering of the flesh, and have their soul ascend." Yu Yinan suddenly smiled, a faint, silent smile. Her eyes were exceptionally bright, as if she could see the entire brilliant, starry sky on that white ceiling. "Zheng Yi, to be personally delivered by your hand… to escape this sea of suffering, for my soul to ascend… maybe I really could ascend to the outer holy domain."
"It's okay if you pierce all the way through, it's okay if you pierce my heart. Zheng Yi… just… hold me tight again."
"I'm too willful, and too greedy."
Zheng Yi raised a hand to brush away the stray hairs at Yu Yinan's temples, damp with tears. She was always aloof, always nonchalant. Her dark eyes were always clear, revealing everything at a glance, without ripples, without sorrow, without joy. The blood-stained scalpel had vanished. Zheng Yi pressed down on the back of Yu Yinan's hand and leaned down to kiss her.
Golden patterns intertwined on the back of Yu Yinan's hand. Yu Yinan trembled as she accepted the gentle kiss, her breathing ragged. A torrent of tears fell, seemingly more and more uncontrollable.
"I'm so scared…" Yu Yinan sobbed. "Zheng Yi… I'm so scared…" She wrapped her arms around Zheng Yi's waist, and while saying she was scared, she held the person even tighter.
The white T-shirt was stained with blood, and the bedsheet was also marked with crimson.
"Jiejie, do you want to maintain our current relationship?" Zheng Yi looked at her, as if asking out of curiosity. "Kissing, hugging, calling me Jiejie, and that's it?"
"…" Of course not. She was a greedy, base, and never-satisfied… human. She had a possessiveness she couldn't show, extravagant desires she didn't dare to speak of. She wanted to go completely mad, to say everything without a care, to pour out her ugly desires, yet she was afraid of being abandoned for it. If Zheng Yi looked at her with disgust and distance, even if it was just a temporary pretense, it would be enough to break her heart.
"…I don't." Yu Yinan closed her eyes, feeling a sense of exhaustion, of being drained of her soul. She swallowed her apprehension and fear and confessed honestly, "I want to be more… intimate with you. I want… I want to be the special one, the most special one… the only… special one…"
She was both bold and timid.
"I understand," Zheng Yi replied softly. She wiped the tear stains from the corner of Yu Yinan's eye. "Go wash your face."
"…Okay." What kind of answer was 'I understand'? Yu Yinan bit her lip but still agreed. She looked at Zheng Yi, tears still welling in her eyes. Zheng Yi got out of bed and filled the bucket with water again. Yu Yinan sat up in bed, looked at the bloodstains on her body, and lowered her gaze slightly, letting a tear fall. Yu Yinan wanted to ask for clarification, but she was afraid it wouldn't be the answer she hoped for. Yet, deep down, she held onto a sliver of hope.
She composed herself, wiped her tears, and got out of bed. She took the towel, washed her face earnestly, and soaked the towel in the cool water, pressing it all over her cheeks. Yu Yinan closed her eyes, listening to the sound of water dripping back into the bucket.
She wrung the towel out forcefully, without using her ability, and dried her face. Then she put the towel back in the water, wrung it out again, and draped it over the back of a chair in the shop.
"Zheng Yi, what does… 'I understand' mean?" In the end, Yu Yinan still asked. She looked at Zheng Yi, and the person sitting on the edge of the bed looked back at her. Her gaze stumbled into those dark eyes.
"Taking it a step further," Zheng Yi answered, thinking for a moment. "Dating?"
Yu Yinan stared at her blankly, as if in a dream. "Da-dating… means… we… we…"
"Let's date." A more intimate connection, a more secure relationship. Dating, being in love. In this world, that should be the process. As for marriage…
In Ling Country, it would have been fine before the apocalypse. But now, in the apocalypse, it was probably impossible to complete the relevant procedures. But Yu Yinan just wanted to take things a step further; there was no need to think about the step after that.
[??? Host? Do you know what you're saying?] How did it suddenly become dating?! What on earth happened during the intermittent periods when it was locked in the little black room! Zero One truly couldn't imagine Zheng Yi in a relationship. Did she even know what dating or love was? Was this also part of the act? With her true nature, how could she possibly achieve the kind of romance Yu Yinan imagined!
The male and female leads were completely love-brained, to the point where there was only love and no brain. But Zheng Yi was clearly all brain and no love!
In contrast to Zero One's breakdown and disbelief, Yu Yinan was utterly ecstatic.
"Really? So, so I'm not dreaming?" Yu Yinan was so excited that for a fleeting moment, the thought crossed her mind: "If getting stabbed by Zheng Yi means we can be closer, I'd be willing to be…" She moved closer to Zheng Yi, looking like she was about to cry again, but she held back her tears. She bent down in front of Zheng Yi, leaning in to lightly touch Zheng Yi's cheek. "Are we… am I… am I your girlfriend now?"
"Yes."
"Then, can I kiss you whenever I want from now on?" Yu Yinan asked softly. "Can I hug you?"
Zheng Yi looked at her, opened her arms slightly, and gave Yu Yinan a direct hug.
Yu Yinan was so overwhelmed by the sudden wave of joy that she didn't know what to do. Even after Zheng Yi hugged her and, at her request, gave her several goodnight kisses, Yu Yinan still felt dazed and light-headed. It was as if she were drunk, walking on clouds, unsure when she might misstep and fall, shattering into a million pieces.
But, it was only shattering into a million pieces. To be able to revel in this moment of tenderness, even for just a moment longer, was worth it.
She gazed at the ceiling. The black spot she had seen before was no longer on the clean, white surface. She was too excited to sleep, but she forced herself to stay still, as the breathing of the person beside her had already become steady.
Girlfriend, a dating relationship…
It was just one more, simple status than before. Even before the apocalypse, this status had no legal standing; it was common for people to date and break up. But even so, when the person in question was Zheng Yi… Yu Yinan wanted to roll around on the bed. She silently pinched herself again. The pain made her feel more awake, and being awake made her more excited, more enthralled.
This is so wonderful.
Morning, six o'clock.
Yu Yinan had only been asleep for two hours when she was groggily woken up by Zheng Yi. Her mind was still buzzing with last night's excitement. She washed up in a bit of a daze, lit the stove, and was then directed by Zheng Yi to go outside and train her ability.
"Condense the flames into a human shape and control them freely."
"Okay." Even though she was still very sleepy and her head ached with drowsiness, Yu Yinan agreed immediately. She obediently went outside and condensed a flame, making it grow larger and larger, clumsily forming it into a rough human shape. Then she tried to do as Zheng Yi said, using her mind to control the "fire person's" movements, like a puppeteer.
However, the humanoid flame she had worked so hard to create had only taken one awkward step when the flame flickered and almost went out completely. Yu Yinan had to focus even harder, constantly draining her mental energy, just to solidify the humanoid flame again and control it to lift its foot and take a single step.
It was so difficult.
The finer the control, the harder it was. It reminded Yu Yinan of the time outside Sugui Mountain when she had manipulated sparks to ignite objects. But this time, she not only had to maintain the overall size, temperature, and even shape of the flame, but also divide her attention to control the flame's "movements" on top of that.
Yu Yinan gritted her teeth and focused her mind even more.
The gap between her and Zheng Yi… was not small. The fact that Zheng Yi now had expectations for her was a good thing. How could she not work desperately to show Zheng Yi her dedication?
As Zheng Yi's girlfriend, she couldn't be… too useless.
Her mental energy depleted faster than she had imagined. By the time Zheng Yi called her for breakfast, the already dull ache in her head was joined by a sharp, needle-like pain. However, this actually made Yu Yinan feel much more awake. She gathered her spirits, dispersed the "fire person," and watched as Zheng Yi turned the bed back into a small blue capsule, which she casually put in her pocket.
Yu Yinan blinked but didn't ask any questions. She obediently picked up an empty bowl, lifted the pot lid, and found that today's breakfast was a huge pot full of century egg and lean pork congee. She first ladled a large bowl for Zheng Yi, placed it on the table with a spoon, and then filled her own. The congee was extremely thick, the rice grains soft and glutinous, and the amount of century egg and pork was visibly generous. The moment the lid was lifted, the aroma probably traveled half a mile.
Yu Yinan scooped up a spoonful, blew on it a couple of times, and tasted the savory, thick congee that melted in her mouth. As a fire ability user, she wasn't too afraid of the heat and began to eat in large mouthfuls. In just two or three minutes, more than half of the full bowl was gone.
Zheng Yi slowly ate her congee on the side, her mind constantly buzzing with various notifications. The second round of prayers from the Zhongshan base had begun.
Compared to the amount she had checked yesterday, her Saint Points had increased by 5,474.
Coincidentally, her cumulative Saint Points reached a round number of 28,000.
But this coincidence was quickly broken when Zheng Yi received another 9 Saint Points from Feng Shuxian.
Host: Zheng Yi
Saint Points: 23,203
Inventory Slots: 11
Special Abilities: Water/Healing (Mid-tier)/Personal Space (Low-tier)
Thirty Saint Points were spent, and Zheng Yi popped a Stamina Recovery Pill into Yu Yinan's mouth. Yu Yinan obediently opened her mouth. The pill dissolved instantly. She thought Zheng Yi had given her some kind of candy until the stabbing pain in her head eased considerably and her mental energy rapidly recovered… "This, is it okay for me to eat this?" Her mental energy was so much weaker than Zheng Yi's; eating something like this for recovery was such a waste.
"How-how many faith points does it cost?" Clearly, Yu Yinan had already guessed that many of the things Zheng Yi took out were related to faith points. After all, Zheng Yi had never produced these items before they went to the Zhongshan base.
"Stamina Recovery Pill, thirty."
"…" Yu Yinan fell silent. She glanced at the golden patterns on the back of her hand and said softly, "I'll… pay you back slowly."
"One pill for one month of repayment," Zheng Yi looked at her. "If you eat one every day, won't you never be able to pay it off?"
"!" How could she eat one of these precious things every day! Yu Yinan suddenly remembered that Zheng Yi used to eat one after every rainfall. She had thought Zheng Yi was eating candy back then… So, the rainfall must have been a huge drain on Zheng Yi as well. Yu Yinan shook her head. "It's a waste for me to eat it. If you eat one, you can do more, more important things, while I can't do anything."
"You can practice your ability twice as much."
"…That's too extravagant."
Zheng Yi looked at her, silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Portable Shower Room, price 10,888 Saint Points. If you want to pay it back, you'll have to work for thirty years."
"But why would we buy a portable shower room?" Yu Yinan was shocked by the terrifying number. She even stood up. "I don't want it!"
"You're so weak. If you don't work twice as hard, how can you help me?" Zheng Yi's tone was perfectly calm as she looked at Yu Yinan. "No matter how devout you are, no matter how much you acknowledge me, you can only provide thirty points a month."
"But getting a whole base to acknowledge me, even a small camp of a hundred people, can generate thousands in returns each month."
"If your ability can't overwhelm others, can't command respect… Jiejie, then I'll have to step in, won't I?" Zheng Yi tilted her head, her tone suddenly becoming gentle. Her voice was soft, as if she were whining, "And you know what the consequences are when I make a move~ We won't be able to have sustainable development then~"
Sustainable development… Yu Yinan was silent for a moment. "I understand." She would eat the Stamina Recovery Pills. She absolutely could not waste Zheng Yi's… investment in her.
But! There was one thing Yu Yinan truly could not accept: "But, the shower room is really unnecessary."
Yu Yinan was very agitated and, for a rare moment, refuted Zheng Yi's words. She looked at Zheng Yi with extreme seriousness and persistence, even with a hint of pleading. "A shower room… even if it's a shower room made of solid gold, it's still just a shower room… How-how can it be worth ten thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight?" Yu Yinan couldn't even bring herself to simplify the price to ten thousand and eight hundred, because in her mind, those eighty-eight faith points were an amount that absolutely could not be omitted!
In a way, Yu Yinan's thoughts at that moment were in perfect alignment with Zheng Yi's.
[Hurry up and tell her, that's no ordinary shower room, it's an unlimited-use shower room! If you use it for a hundred years, it's practically free! Host, hurry up and say it, tell her!] In the system space, Zero One was frantic. Zheng Yi couldn't comprehend Zero One's emotions. She even suspected that the capsule series was designed by Zero One; otherwise, she couldn't understand why Zero One was pushing this product line so hard.
"Besides, even if we bought it, there's nowhere to put it. We can't just tie a shower room to the armored vehicle…"
"It's a Capsule-brand Portable Shower Room." Zheng Yi paused, finally unable to stand Zero One's nagging, and added, "An unlimited-use shower room."
"But you're a water ability user, so it's already… unlimited use, isn't it?" Yu Yinan deflated. She looked at Zheng Yi, thinking she was probably just teasing her maliciously again. She picked up her bowl and drank the last of the congee, then went to get another serving. "Do you want more?"
"No." Zheng Yi watched Yu Yinan sit down again. Her eyes lowered, and she suddenly let out a soft laugh. She placed a capsule on the table and flicked it with her finger, sending it rolling toward Yu Yinan.
"…What's this?" Yu Yinan looked at the all-white capsule and suddenly remembered how the bed had turned into a blue capsule that morning. In that instant, her heart stopped, and her eyes widened. "Zheng Yi?!"
"This is…" Zheng Yi mused for a moment, her eyes curving into crescents as she gave Yu Yinan a sweet smile. She stared at Yu Yinan, not missing the slightest change in her expression or emotion, and said softly, "a gift for Jiejie, for my girlfriend."
"…" Yu Yinan pressed her lips together. She seemed to be trying her best to hold it in, but in the end, she couldn't. She stood up and hugged Zheng Yi, wrapping her arms tightly around her from behind, burying her head in Zheng Yi's back and holding her tight.
[See! I told you Yu Yinan would like it. She's so moved she's crying!]
'No, she's crying out of heartache.'
But whether it was from being moved or from heartache, what was done was done, and Yu Yinan was indeed crying.
It took her a long time to suppress her emotions, but the moment she saw the small white capsule on the table, the tears started flowing again. Ten thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight! That was ten thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight, enough to buy 362 Stamina Recovery Pills!
On one hand, Yu Yinan felt moved, especially since Zheng Yi hadn't even been willing to give her the three-hundred-point mark before. But she really, really… had never wanted something so expensive. Even if this shower room were made of solid gold, it shouldn't cost this much. Yu Yinan's heart was bleeding.
Zheng Yi had worked so hard, bringing rain to the Zhongshan base for nearly the entire high-temperature period. She could only rely on Stamina Recovery Pills to ease her discomfort. She had worked so hard and stayed there for so long, and after three rounds, she had probably only earned around sixteen thousand faith points, right?
How could she, how could she…
"You're not going to accept it?" Zheng Yi watched Yu Yinan's expression, a genuine hint of amusement in her eyes. She asked softly, watching as Yu Yinan clutched her chest again, unable to hold back. After a long moment, she carefully cradled the capsule in her palm.
"But… it's too valuable…" And too much of a waste.
"Jiejie, don't look down on yourself," Zheng Yi said softly, curling Yu Yinan's outstretched fingers to make her grip it tightly. "It's not that valuable."
They were just Saint Points. Abilities? External objects? They just made her life more convenient, but they weren't necessities.
"You should hold onto it." Yu Yinan felt the shape of the capsule in her palm, not daring to grip it too tightly for fear of accidentally crushing it. She held the capsule out to Zheng Yi. "Isn't my motorcycle with you too? Just keep them together… please."
This portable capsule was just too small. If it fell out of her pocket, it would be fine if it was in the car, but if it fell outside…
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment