The supply chain had broken down suddenly—but it was also within expectations.
Jiang Sui roughly estimated the food at home and rationed carefully. The two of them could probably last about a month. However, she still hadn’t managed to fatten Xie Yanhán up. With their current supplies, they could only afford a few more decent meals at best.
Jiang Sui didn’t plan to save the meat, because once the power went out, it wouldn’t keep—it would spoil.
The weather today was also gloomy, with strong winds, as if rain was about to fall.
Sitting on the sofa, Jiang Sui scrolled on her phone. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe a signal tower somewhere had been damaged—network reception was lagging, videos wouldn’t load smoothly, and messages were delayed.
Still, she managed to see a video about the Grand Century Mall. Someone had been flying a drone there every day to film it.
Over the past few days, the entire mall had been engulfed in a mist formed by spores. Now, when strong winds blew, the spores were pulled apart like clouds and surged rapidly toward the city.
The atmosphere of panic and unease grew worse. Some people were already ignoring lockdown rules and driving out directly, trying to escape South City.
At first there were only one or two of these cases. Soon, they became a flood.
With more cars and people on the roads, there were more infected incidents. Gunfire sounded almost like New Year firecrackers—continuous, coming from near and far.
By evening, heavy rain suddenly poured down, the sky turning completely dark as if night had fallen early.
Jiang Sui was taking a shower. The sound of the water couldn’t even drown out the roaring rain and wind outside. Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance, making her heartbeat quicken.
Showering under this atmosphere felt like something out of a horror movie.
She was also afraid of thunder. On summer nights during storms, she couldn’t even sleep.
The thunder suddenly intensified, startling her into washing faster. It looked like the night wouldn’t be peaceful—better sleep early.
After finishing her shower, she got dressed with her hair still wet.
Because of the drop in temperature, it was too cold at night, so she decided to wear a camisole for warmth. Just as she put it on, a bolt of lightning flashed—and the bathroom light exploded with a crack due to a surge of electricity.
In the sudden darkness, a deafening thunderclap struck.
Jiang Sui screamed and instinctively rushed out of the bathroom.
Outside was also pitch black—power outage. Another flash of lightning lit up the living room for an instant, revealing a dark figure sitting in a wheelchair.
It was Xie Yanhán.
Jiang Sui immediately relaxed, feeling a sense of relief at finding someone with her.
“Xie Yanhán!” she ran toward him.
A thunderclap hit again, and she panicked, slipping on her wet bare feet. She fell forward, crashing directly into his chest—practically straddling him.
The impact was heavy enough that Xie Yanhán let out a muffled grunt, the wheelchair nearly tipping over.
He raised a hand to steady her shoulder, but what he felt was wet, soft, and smooth skin. A sweet scent drifted into his nose—bath milk, shampoo, and another faint, fresh sweetness.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
Another flash of lightning illuminated everything.
In that instant, Xie Yanhán saw her clearly—slender body, only a white camisole on, delicate pale skin, thin shoulders, and soft arms pressed against his chest. Her startled face lifted, eyes wide like almonds.
The lightning only lasted a second before darkness returned.
“S-sorry,” Jiang Sui apologized.
The next second, another thunderclap exploded.
She scrambled to get up, but her footing slipped again and the wheelchair wobbled dangerously.
Xie Yanhán tried to grab her arm—but for some reason, his hand landed on something soft, warm, and unexpectedly yielding.
Like a piece of fluffy cotton candy.
He didn’t understand what it was, so he instinctively squeezed it.
The next moment, Jiang Sui shoved him away forcefully. The unstable wheelchair finally tipped over with a crash.
Xie Yanhán fell to the ground. As he curled his empty hand, he suddenly realized what that soft thing had been.
In the darkness, his face turned completely red. A scorching heat ignited from his palm and spread through his entire body.
The rain was heavy, wind howling outside.
Jiang Sui sat on the sofa, using her phone’s faint light to dry her wet hair in silence.
Xie Yanhán sat by the dining table, head slightly lowered, staring at his hand in a daze.
The room was completely quiet except for the storm. Occasionally thunder would sound again, and Jiang Sui would instinctively tense up, waiting for it to pass.
When it did, silence would fall again.
Jiang Sui felt this couldn’t continue—it was too awkward. She needed to act like nothing had happened so they could still live together peacefully.
“Sorry about earlier, I bumped into you,” she said first. “Is your injury okay?”
She had pushed him to the floor—he might have been hurt.
“No,” he replied shortly.
She glanced at him. He sat in the dim light, half his face hidden by his hair, pale and sharp-jawed, lips pressed tight.
He looked… unhappy.
She frowned slightly. It wasn’t like she had done anything that serious—just knocked him over and didn’t help him up. Did he really have to be this angry?
She hadn’t even said anything about what he had done to her.
But the atmosphere couldn’t stay like this.
“Power’s out,” Jiang Sui said, trying again. “I don’t know if it’ll come back… Xie Yanhán.”
She called his name.
His eyelashes moved slightly. He slowly lifted his gaze toward her, eyes dark as thick ink.
She was wearing sleepwear, with her phone casting light beside her. The fabric was slightly thin, faintly revealing her slender figure—the curve of her waist, her arms, and something vaguely outlined beneath the light.
Xie Yanhán quickly looked away.
But the image had already burned itself into his mind, impossible to erase.
After a second, her voice finally registered in his ears.
He had always had an excellent memory, able to process multiple things at once. Anything said near him, no matter what he was doing, he could recall perfectly.
But this time—he couldn’t remember what she had just said at all.
His flawless memory had failed him for the first time.
All he could recall was that soft, warm, cotton-candy-like sensation.
He finally looked back at her, his throat dry, voice hoarse.
“…What?” he asked.
“What did you just say?”