After Zhao Yan left, Le Huan picked up the bowl and finished both the chicken leg and the soup. After eating her fill, she lazily lay on the bed, doing nothing.
【Le Huan, why did you make him angry?】
She had done it on purpose. Who told him to always keep such a cold face? The young miss had never been treated with such indifference before. Everyone she met used to greet her with smiles. This Zhao Yan was interesting—he had high goodwill toward her, yet still treated her coldly. One day, she would make it so that he smiled whenever he saw her.
By the time Zhao Yan went downstairs, his anger had already dissipated. There was no point arguing with a little girl. From the way she acted, she clearly didn’t understand how precious water had become outside the base.
Most of the supplies in City B had already been scavenged by people from other bases. Their team had been lucky to find unsearched resources in the outskirts. Le Huan had been lucky too, encountering their team.
The base itself was chaotic. Women who were somewhat attractive but weak often ended up in the red-light district. Spending a night there required trading sufficient supplies. They didn’t lack food, unlike the other women who were sallow and thin, but they were clearly worn down.
Zhao Yan had never been liked by girls since he was young, nor had he needed to be. He had grown up in an orphanage—a place where the weak were devoured—struggling and surviving through fights. With his ruthless fists, he made sure no one dared to bully him. With the help of a kind stranger’s sponsorship and his own part-time work, he managed to attend university. He had been grateful and hoped to repay that kindness one day—but not long after entering university, the zombie outbreak had begun.
He didn’t want to recall those days anymore. Calling it a living hell would not be an exaggeration. If Le Huan had seen it, she probably wouldn’t have been able to endure it at all.
Thinking of that, his remaining anger disappeared completely. He silently finished the now-cold bowl of chicken soup.
The others had already gone to sleep. Only he remained in the hall. When he heard movement from the staircase, he turned his head.
Le Huan wanted to bathe.
At home, she bathed every day. After arriving in this broken house and not touching water from morning to night, she felt extremely uncomfortable. She walked downstairs and approached Zhao Yan, speaking softly, “I feel so uncomfortable… I want to take a bath.”
The moment she spoke, she was already making things difficult.
All the water in the barrels was for drinking—where would there be extra for bathing?
“No water,” Zhao Yan replied, sitting on the sofa with his eyes half-closed, resting lightly.
“But Zhao Yan, I really feel uncomfortable. My face itches, it feels like I’m getting red spots,” Le Huan said unhappily. She felt like she couldn’t go on living—she couldn’t tolerate even a bit of hardship.
66 kept persuading her in her mind to endure it.
But she felt she had already endured enough. From morning to night, she had been hungry, hid under the bed, felt her heart ache, and even cried several times. Even if the crying had been fake, the tears had been real.
Zhao Yan listened to her complaining beside his ear and finally realized that she was truly a troublesome little troublemaker.
“Miss Yu, there is no water around here. Our water is for drinking. This is the apocalypse—no one will use drinking water to let you bathe. Please face reality,” Zhao Yan said coldly before closing his eyes again.
After a long while without hearing her speak, he opened his eyes.
He saw Le Huan leaning very close to him, her watery eyes staring at him without blinking.
It was the first time Zhao Yan had said so many words at once. Normally, he was as silent as a sealed gourd.
He shifted his body backward. Le Huan rolled her eyes, straightened up, and muttered, “Then at least find me a cloth to wipe my face. My face really feels uncomfortable.”
Zhao Yan looked at her clean, fair face. There were no red spots like she claimed—just a bit of dust. Even so, her skin still looked cleaner and more delicate than the children’s faces in the base.
He stood up and walked toward the vehicle parked in the yard. When he returned, he held a damp cloth in his hand.
Le Huan raised her face toward him and closed her eyes, clearly expecting him to wipe it for her.
Zhao Yan paused for a moment with his raised hand, then gently wiped her face clean.
He had already fed her earlier—arguing over this would only waste time and effort. He just hoped she would stop causing trouble and go upstairs to sleep.
After she was done, she watched him lie down on the sofa and close his eyes, as if he didn’t want to say another word.
“Thank you,” she said before turning and heading upstairs.
Zhao Yan opened his eyes and watched her retreating figure as she went upstairs, light and lively like a little bird. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Early the next morning, after finishing breakfast, Zhao Yan went upstairs to wake Le Huan.
Wu You had been about to go up himself, but Zhao Yan stopped him and went instead.
Downstairs, Wu You exchanged glances with Wang Ni and the others. “Team Leader is really nice to that girl. How many times has he gone upstairs since yesterday?”
The others remained expressionless, continuing what they were doing.
Finding them boring, Wu You turned to Xiong Gang. “Do you think Team Leader likes her? She’s really beautiful—what man wouldn’t like that? Though she looks a bit young…”
“I’ve never seen anyone as pretty as Miss Yu,” Xiong Gang said honestly. “She’s like a fairy from the opera. But… would she even like our Team Leader…”
“Of course she would!” Wu You said—then hesitated, thinking of Zhao Yan’s cold face and the scar on his brow.
……
Zhao Yan didn’t have any particular intentions. He knew Yu Lehuan wasn’t as innocent and harmless as she appeared. She was very good at ordering people around—she had probably been a spoiled young lady before, and her temper hadn’t changed yet. He didn’t want his team members to be bossed around by her, so he came upstairs to wake her himself.
Zhao Yan walked to the door and knocked. As expected, there was no response. After waiting for a while, he pushed the door open.
The curtains hadn’t been drawn, leaving the room dim. On the bed, the blanket formed a small mound.
Le Huan had already woken up when he knocked—1066 had woken her. Her face showed clear displeasure. As a spoiled young lady, she had a temper when waking up. When disturbed from sleep, she would sit on the bed, sulking silently.
Zhao Yan saw her sitting there motionless, saying nothing. After a brief pause, he walked to the window and pulled the curtains open.
When he turned back, he finally saw her clearly.