Chen Youyu came running upstairs, panting heavily. Wearing glasses and looking refined and scholarly, he immediately asked, “Captain, what happened?”
Zhao Yan stepped aside, revealing Yu Lehuan.
“She’s hurt. She keeps saying she’s in pain.”
Chen Youyu had heard the captain’s stern voice over the walkie-talkie and thought something serious had happened.
“She’s injured? Can’t you bandage her up yourself?”
At that moment, Yu Lehuan spoke weakly.
“…There’s something wrong with my heart. I’ve had this problem since I was little. It’s an old condition, so you don’t need to worry about me…”
As she spoke, she covered her chest and coughed twice.
【…】
Little Six was speechless.
Now that Yu Lehuan had Goodwill Points, what heart pain was she even talking about? She was putting on an act again.
Little Six watched as Chen Youyu immediately became serious and took out his stethoscope to examine Yu Lehuan. Beside them, Zhao Yan frowned, looking at Yu Lehuan as though she were an enormous problem.
“Her heartbeat is very weak. She can’t be frightened, and she should avoid cold or raw food as much as possible. The details will have to wait until we return to the base, where we can use proper equipment for a more accurate examination…”
Chen Youyu reported his findings to Zhao Yan.
It was truly difficult for a researcher like Chen Youyu. In a team where injuries were common, he had to serve as half a doctor as well.
Zhao Yan looked at Yu Lehuan.
She was a young woman who might die if no one took care of her. He did not even know whether her body could survive the journey to the base.
The base was more than three hundred kilometers away in a straight line. With transportation completely paralyzed after the apocalypse, they would have to take winding detours, and the journey would take at least three days.
How had she managed to survive until now?
There was no point thinking too deeply about it anymore.
If he ignored her, she might not even live to see the next sunrise.
Zhao Yan considered himself cold-blooded and hard-hearted, but he could not simply watch her die. Besides, she was obedient and adorable, reminding him of the beautiful little kittens he had seen at the orphanage when he was young.
Yu Lehuan watched him silently contemplate something for a moment before he walked over, picked up the bowl of chicken soup, and turned to leave.
“Wait, where are you going?”
Yu Lehuan thought that perhaps he knew she would not live much longer and therefore no longer wanted to give her the chicken soup.
What kind of Goodwill Points were those? There was nothing kind about them at all.
As she thought this, she pouted and immediately began imagining the worst about Zhao Yan.
Zhao Yan paused when he heard her.
“The chicken soup is cold. I’m going to heat it up.”
Yu Lehuan’s mood immediately improved.
“Okay! Then hurry up. I’m so hungry that I don’t have any strength left.”
As Zhao Yan went downstairs, he immediately heard Wu You cry out in surprise.
“What?! She has a heart problem? That’s so pitiful! Can she even survive?”
“Probably not for long. The people who survived all these years are mostly strong and healthy. People with serious illnesses usually can’t survive for more than a month, let alone someone with a major heart problem.”
Wang Ni’s analysis was cruel, but it was also the truth.
The atmosphere became slightly tense when they saw Zhao Yan come downstairs. None of them wanted such a beautiful young woman to disappear from this world.
“Bring me my portion of the chicken soup.”
The chicken soup had been simmering over low heat in the pot. Zhao Yan had not eaten yet either. He raised his hand and checked the time.
It was almost eight o’clock.
Xiong Gang stood up, ladled out a bowl of chicken soup, and handed it to Zhao Yan. The others had already eaten.
Zhao Yan looked at the two steaming chicken legs in the bowl. They had left the best pieces of meat for him.
He did not say anything and simply turned around and went upstairs.
Yu Lehuan was leaning against the bed, idly playing with the candle.
She disliked the smell of the burning candle and pinched her nose while dripping melted wax onto the bedside table. She found it fascinating.
There had never been a power outage in her home, so she had never even seen a candle burning before.
After playing with it for a while, she quickly lost interest.
When she turned her head, she saw the man standing there with the bowl in his hands, watching her.
He had removed his protective mask, revealing a wheat-colored face. His short black stubble looked stiff and rough, while his sharp phoenix eyes were naturally intimidating. A scar ran from his brow bone to his left ear, making him look fierce and terrifying.
Combined with his constantly cold expression, he looked even more frightening.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? You scared me!”
Yu Lehuan glared at him in mock anger.
Zhao Yan pressed his lips together and walked over, moving the candle farther away before handing her the bowl.
“It’s hot.”
“My hand hurts. Can you feed me?”
Yu Lehuan leaned against the bed and held her hand out toward him. Her fingertips were red, making it look as though she had burned them on the candle.
Little Six was completely shocked by Yu Lehuan’s shamelessness.
Ordering it around was one thing, but this man looked capable of sending Yu Lehuan flying with a single punch. Yet she was actually asking him to feed her like she was disabled.
Surely he would refuse…
“Eat it yourself.”
Just as expected, he refused.
“But my heart hurts, and my hand hurts too. I haven’t eaten in a long time, so I don’t have any strength.”
Yu Lehuan frowned and looked pitifully at Zhao Yan.
“Someone always used to feed me…”
Her eyes immediately became misty, and it looked as though she was about to cry again.
A vein throbbed at Zhao Yan’s temple.
He did not understand why she cried so easily. The way she spoke made it sound as though he had been abusing her.
He could have ignored her, but when he looked into her eyes, the words of refusal would not come out.
“If you want to eat, then sit properly.”
Zhao Yan’s deep voice sounded through the room.
Yu Lehuan knew when to stop pushing her luck. She quickly shifted into a proper sitting position and looked at Zhao Yan with sparkling eyes.
Zhao Yan’s hand paused.
He did not say anything and simply picked up a spoon to feed her.
Little Six stared blankly at the scene with its mouth hanging open.
So there really was someone even better suited to serving others than it was.
Yu Lehuan took a sip of the chicken soup and smacked her lips.
It did not taste as good as the food made by her family’s chef, but getting to eat chicken in a place like this was difficult enough. She was so hungry that she no longer felt like being picky.
“Thank you. You’re really nice. What’s your name?”
“Zhao Yan.”
“Oh, Zhao Yan, you’re really nice.”
Whenever Yu Lehuan was in a good mood, she could shower people with endless compliments.
Zhao Yan watched her happy expression without saying anything.
“Zhao Yan, I want to eat that chicken leg. I don’t want to pick it up myself. It’s too greasy.”
Yu Lehuan pointed at the chicken leg in the bowl.
Zhao Yan then picked up the chicken leg and held it out to Yu Lehuan’s mouth.
“…Did you wash your hands?”
The dilapidated little villa had neither water nor electricity. The water they used came from buckets in their vehicle, so they had to conserve it and could not waste it washing their hands when they were afraid they might not have enough to drink.
Zhao Yan slammed the bowl down.
“Eat it yourself.”
Suppressing his anger, he immediately turned and went downstairs.
Although Zhao Yan had suffered many humiliations throughout his life, he had never once felt as embarrassed and angry as he did now.
He had fed someone, only to be indirectly told that his hands were dirty.