The Fleet Commander saw that she didn't deny it and said darkly, "…"
The helpless Fleet Commander was turned around and placed on the bed, his head at the foot of it.
With supplies running short, Yun Shui naturally couldn't find a "special hair-washing basin."
She rummaged around everywhere, and by sheer luck—a blind cat catching a dead mouse—she managed to find an inflatable cushion.
The Fleet Commander's eyes showed disgust.
Yun Shui felt she had done her utmost and couldn't care less about his opinion. She brushed it off: "I've already washed it."
The Fleet Commander still didn't seem to accept it.
Yun Shui had earned her iron rice bowl job through proper interviews, written exams, and physical fitness tests. She had a permanent position and couldn't be easily fired.
Her patience had completely run out. She had racked her brains trying to figure out how to wash the Fleet Commander's hair, and despite normally disliking social interaction, she had awkwardly chatted and schmoozed with the people around her until her voice went hoarse. She'd even contributed two oranges to barely trade for this precious inflatable cushion.
She absolutely would not allow or accept any objections.
Without further ado, Yun Shui propped one end of the inflatable cushion under the Fleet Commander's head, then pressed the other end down so it hung suspended. She hadn't fully inflated it—the cushion was on the thin and long side, which allowed it to bend down perfectly. This way, the hair-washing water could flow along the cushion and into the basin on the floor.
She had prepared a bucket of tap water beforehand and used an empty mineral water bottle as a scooping container. This way, she could properly rinse the hair.
Yun Shui felt proud of her strong hands-on ability and unparalleled cleverness.
The Fleet Commander realized that whatever he said, Yun Shui wasn't listening anymore. After a moment of silence, he said, "I smell a disgusting odor."
Yun Shui, who was haphazardly applying shampoo to his hair, glanced at the black bottle beside her: "Oh, this seems to be ginger-scented shampoo. It prevents hair loss, you know."
Yun Shui couldn't see the Fleet Commander's expression clearly, but she felt that his tone had lost that triumphant glee and commanding superiority. At this moment, it was actually low, carrying an indescribable dejection: "How is that possible? I clearly smelled your shampoo yesterday—it was orange-scented."
Yun Shui: "…"
She said guiltily, "Because I don't like the ginger scent." After a pause, she composed herself and said, "No, that's not it either. I was eating oranges yesterday—you must have smelled wrong. This shampoo was given to me by Uncle Next Door."
She immediately began rubbing and scrubbing without any technique. She had no salon internship experience, so it was hard for her to control the pressure. The Fleet Commander's precious scalp was nearly scratched raw by her, and he closed his eyes, groping around to stop her. Yun Shui, worried about the wounds on his hands getting foam on them, dodged left and right with effort, and said angrily, "Jiang… General, don't grab around like that!"
The Fleet Commander felt he had brought this upon himself: "That's enough. I said that's enough, Yun Shui! Are you deaf?!"
Yun Shui was completely oblivious and thought matter-of-factly, "This time I need to wash it really clean. Wash it a few more times, apply shampoo three times, wash it thoroughly, until there's not a single drop of oil left on the scalp. Otherwise, this wicked thing will be calling out to wash again in a couple of days—does he know how much trouble it is to set this up once?"
She kept washing without regard for anything else, dumping out the basin water several times, and was satisfied to see that the final rinse water was perfectly clear. She just didn't know why there was a barely noticeable, extremely thin layer of red blood streaks in the crevice of her ring fingernail.
Yun Shui: "Uh."
The Fleet Commander, whose scalp was burning, said: "Heh."
He had discovered that every time he asked Yun Shui to do something, he would correspondingly have to suffer some kind of retribution.
Yun Shui silently washed her hands and used a towel to dry his hair. All she had on hand was a pack of facial wipes and one towel—the same towel she had used to dry her own hair yesterday, hung on a hanger to air-dry, though it seemed it hadn't been washed.
The towel came at him, and the Fleet Commander, who indeed caught the scent of orange blossom shampoo, fell silent.
His cleanliness obsession felt like it was being pushed to the brink of death.
Seeing that the Fleet Commander wasn't saying anything, Yun Shui felt she had done a decent enough job and casually rubbed his head dry the way one would pet a purring puppy.
The Fleet Commander's hair wasn't particularly fine or soft—rather, it was coarse and stiff. When wet, his sharp, striking features appeared even more pronounced. Yun Shui was surprised to spot a bit of ginger-scented shampoo foam on the Fleet Commander's ear and, as a remedy after the fact, wiped it off with a tissue.
The Fleet Commander still didn't say a word. His gaze was even somewhat unfocused.
That's good. Yun Shui hummed a tune to herself, thoroughly content. Sure enough, when he wasn't talking, the Fleet Commander's handsome profile was far more agreeable to look at. His damp hair hung down, contrasting sharply with his fair complexion, like a painting with bold, striking strokes.
Suddenly, the child next door said in a low voice, "Sister, someone's here for you."
A faintly cold breeze slipped through the shoddy gaps in the window. The weather today was neither good nor bad—the clouds were thick, and there was a bit of wind.
This scene abruptly reminded Yun Shui of her busy high school days, when during breaks many people would bury their heads in their own tasks—catching up on sleep, grinding through practice problems, memorizing vocabulary. A classmate by the back door would eagerly pass along the message, calling out with a perfectly measured volume and a smile: "Yun Shui, someone's here for you!"
Bai Mingyi had one hand behind his back. The indoor light wasn't very bright, but it was enough to clearly see his sparkling eyes. He greeted her with a smile: "Yun Shui! There's something fun. Hey, what are you doing?"
Yun Shui left the towel on the Fleet Commander's head and walked over briskly.
Bai Mingyi immediately produced a mineral water bottle from behind his back. The bottle was punctured with many small holes, and inside it was curled up… a bug with eyes and a nose.
Yun Shui's breath caught, and she treated it like a grave threat, immediately retreating three steps.
Bai Mingyi laughed heartily: "For you."
Then he shoved the bottle insistently toward Yun Shui.
Earlier, when Yun Shui had helped them move supplies, she had been utterly terrified by a huge spider clinging to the edge of a box—she had scrambled away in a panic, her screams echoing through the sky.
Now she still couldn't accept it. She immediately backed off, nearly hopping in distress, her voice distorted with fear: "No! Take it away! Aah, you're insane!"
She kept retreating and suddenly bumped into something. The object let out a low, muffled grunt.
Turning around, the Fleet Commander stood behind her. His soaked hair had stopped dripping, and the towel was draped carelessly over him. His tall frame blocked the light, and she couldn't make out his expression.
Startled out of her wits, Yun Shui blurted out: "So you can stand up on your own after all!"
The Fleet Commander's expression didn't change: "Mm."
Bai Mingyi also ran over, handing the thing to her while saying, "Commander, how's your recovery going?"
Yun Shui kept dodging his bottle, using the Fleet Commander as a shield. Bai Mingyi, thoroughly enjoying himself, chased her around the "pillar," saying cheerfully, "Hey, Yun Shui, don't be scared—it's a firefly."
"A firefly?" Yun Shui poked her head out from behind the Fleet Commander and gave an honest assessment: "A firefly is still a bug, and it's still ugly."
She was so startled that her blood rushed to her head, a flush spreading across her face like rosy clouds sweeping over her cheeks.
The Fleet Commander's demeanor was dark and brooding. The wounded man, who had just been recovering, somehow found the strength to yank Yun Shui away with undisguised disdain.
Bai Mingyi thought for a moment, then said, "There's a firefly breeding facility in the Core Zone. Apparently it even won some Techno-biological award—someone with money to burn set up artificial firefly cultivation. Unfortunately, part of it collapsed in the earthquake, and a bunch of fireflies got loose. I heard from others that the east side has the most. Yun Shui, want to go check it out tonight?"
Yun Shui wanted to see them, but she was afraid of bugs. She found herself torn.
"She's not going," the Fleet Commander said with icy malice. "The moment she opens her mouth to talk, bugs will fly right in. Standing there, they'll crawl into her ears. She'll be scared to death."
Yun Shui: "…"
Bai Mingyi: "…"
He furtively made a "good luck" gesture at Yun Shui, set the jar down against the wall, and went back to work.
Yun Shui changed the subject: "General, you seem to be recovering well. In a bit, if we get you a walking cane from the doctor, you could probably get around on your own and take a stroll. You haven't explored the shelter yet, have you?"
The Fleet Commander walked stiffly back to his bed and lay down. "Trying to get rid of me so you can go see fireflies with your friend?"
Yun Shui thought, What on earth is he talking about? Puzzled, she said, "I don't need to get rid of you—I can just go if I want to, right?"
The Fleet Commander's face turned that same crab-shell green again. He was moody and unpredictable, and now he was unilaterally angry at Yun Shui once more. She ventured, "Oh, do you want to go too? How about we wait until you're a bit better, and we go together?"
She waited, but the Fleet Commander said nothing.
Yun Shui had a sudden realization. She was so eager to help, so generous of spirit: "Let's go tonight, then! I'll borrow a wheelchair from the doctor and push you there!"
The Fleet Commander: "And if I don't go?"
Yun Shui: "…" You're being a bit annoying.
The Fleet Commander: "If I don't go, the two of you will just fly off together like a pair of lovebirds to see the fireflies?"
Yun Shui: How did such a normal thing get twisted into something so sordid by you?
Seeing that she didn't deny it, he said darkly, "You wish."
By evening, the fireflies in the jar hadn't glowed at all. Yun Shui didn't want it to die in there, so she told Bai Mingyi to take it away. Bai Mingyi looked at it this way and that, then said awkwardly, "Did I catch the wrong kind? Or maybe not all species glow."
The Fleet Commander said out of nowhere, "Yun Shui, do you have scissors?"
Of course she didn't, so she borrowed a pair from a helpful bystander. The Fleet Commander asked, "Aren't you leaving yet?"
Bai Mingyi: "Huh? Commander, you're coming too?"
The Fleet Commander: "What, am I not welcome?"
So in the end, they went with him in the wheelchair after all.
Never had anyone seen such a stubbornly determined wounded man!
Just past the shelter lay an open stretch of high ground—lush green grass and thick, verdant trees, originally a field meant for camping and picnics. Now it was all the more convenient for everyone to evacuate quickly from the shelter in case of aftershocks.
It was only a few steps from the field. The gloom of the disaster hadn't yet crept over this place.
When they reached the lawn, it was pitch black.
They weren't alone, actually—many others had gathered, some arriving early, some late, scattered sparsely across the grass, some carrying snacks and the boiled corn cobs handed out at the shelter today.
Since losing the network, everyone had been bored to death, and news spread like wildfire. Coming here to watch fireflies had become a popular activity—the lawn had transformed into a 5A scenic spot. Crowds gathered, chatting idly, while children ran across the grass.
In that instant, the dim smoke and crumbling ruins felt far away; the blood and dust reaching out from the wreckage seemed washed clean.
The lump that had never been cried out from their throats had, through swallowed blood, blossomed into wild mountain flowers.
It was as if the grass were departed loved ones, and the sky and earth a sheltering dome—no partings between life and death, no displacement or homelessness.
Perhaps because the crowd was too lively, the fireflies never appeared.
The Fleet Commander scoffed disdainfully.
Bai Mingyi scratched his head awkwardly.
Yun Shui opened the communicator—it was only 7 o'clock, and the night was pitch black. Maybe they'd have to wait a bit longer?
But before long, someone in a volunteer vest came over with a megaphone, shouting: "Announcement! Announcement! Attention to all personnel at the shelter: we will be screening an outdoor movie on the lawn at 7:30 tonight. Those interested in watching are welcome to come to the lawn with family and friends!"
Yun Shui: !!