Bai Xiaoyan wanted to pull her to sit next to Shen Luohan, to assert her dominance, but she refused, sitting diagonally opposite him, far away.

While chatting with Bai Xiaoyan, she didn’t look at Shen Luohan and Zhang Keqing across from her again.  It was like the time when Shen Luohan first met Qiao Yanrou—that unapproachable distance…

This was the first time she had ignored him since they’d been together.

Shen Luohan lost his desire to talk to anyone, staring at her, afraid she was angry.

Zhang Keqing spoke to him but received no response. He just stared at Qiao Yanrou.  Whenever Qiao Yanrou appeared, Shen Luohan would become listless, his eyes only on Qiao Yanrou.

The attention she’d worked so hard for was nothing compared to Qiao Yanrou’s appearance.

The surrounding espers could sense it—a palpable tension filled the living room.

Ji Yuanchen silently observed Qiao Yanrou from the side. She was finally angry.

After chatting with Bai Xiaoyan for a while, Qiao Yanrou went to help Sister Lan.  Sister Lan had just left the kitchen when a man’s strong arm wrapped around her slender waist.

Without turning around, she knew it was Shen Luohan.

“Are you angry?” he asked, close to her ear.

Qiao Yanrou covered the cut vegetables, washing her hands with her esper abilities, without answering him.

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault. I’ll handle it.”

Even when pursuing her, Shen Luohan had never been ignored by her like this.

From that day on, Shen Luohan sent Zhang Keqing to another squad and kept his distance from her, rarely responding to her conversation starters.

During this time, whenever Qiao Yanrou went downstairs and encountered Zhang Keqing, the other woman always looked at her with a resentful gaze.

She simply pretended not to see it and continued doing what she was doing.

Qiao Yanrou found some free time and prepared the tonic Ji Yuanchen had given her, sending a bowl to Ji Yuanchen next door.

She carried a bowl of tonic to the door of the next suite. Although she didn’t know why Ji Yuanchen had given her the tonic, she remembered that he disliked those without ability.

“Knock knock…”

Because she was carrying the tonic with both hands, she knocked on the door with her elbow.

She had just seen Ji Yuanchen come up from downstairs; he shouldn’t have gone back down, right?

There was no sound from inside, and the door opened. Ji Yuanchen’s tall and handsome figure, backlit, entered her line of sight.

Unlike his usual demeanor with others, where he would show a captivating smile, the Ji Yuanchen she saw was cold and indifferent, lacking warmth.

Ji Yuanchen, seeing it was her, showed no surprise, barely glancing at her.

Qiao Yanrou was wearing new clothes today, given to her by Bai Xiaoyan, freshly washed two days ago—a simple white T-shirt and light blue wide-leg jeans.  The white T-shirt was rather form-fitting, accentuating her bust.

She thought it wasn’t a waste, except the top was a little too tight, the clothes were quite comfortable.

“What is it?” he asked.

Qiao Yanrou handed him the tonic: “The tonic you sent a while ago, I had time to make it today. This bowl is for you.”

Ji Yuanchen looked at her slender hand holding the tray, as tender as jade. His gaze lingered for only a few seconds, shifting away when she looked at him.

“Mm, thanks.”

Qiao Yanrou felt she couldn’t accept his thanks. After handing him the tonic, she smiled awkwardly: “I didn’t get a chance to thank you last time. The tonic… was very good, thank you for sending it.”

Having belatedly expressed her gratitude, she turned to go back to her room.

“Wait.”

Qiao Yanrou turned around, looking at him questioningly.

Ji Yuanchen gestured towards her back with his chin, his posture languid and casual: “You have a smudge on your back.”

Qiao Yanrou instinctively looked back, but of course, she couldn’t see her back.

She instantly felt embarrassed, her face turning red: “Thank you for telling me.”  Then, she quickly entered the next room.

Ji Yuanchen looked at her flushed face, sweet as a ripe peach, making him want to take a big bite…

The door remained open for a long time before it was finally closed.

Back in her room, Qiao Yanrou remembered that she hadn’t seen any dirt when she put on the T-shirt.

She took off the shirt and turned it over.  Indeed, there was a smudge, and it wasn’t small.

How could she not have seen such a noticeable smudge when she put it on?

Qiao Yanrou puzzledly took the shirt to wash it, but no matter how she scrubbed, the smudge, which she didn’t know when it appeared, wouldn’t come off.

It seemed she couldn’t wear this shirt anymore. Clothes were scarce in the apocalypse, so she didn’t throw it away but put it aside.

Recently, Shen Luohan had been particularly clingy, going straight upstairs to be with her as soon as he returned from outside the base.  Only, while being with her… things would become inappropriate.

Qiao Yanrou’s back was really sore lately.  This man had no restraint…

That day, because many espers were out, she was helping chop vegetables in the kitchen, listening to the wind and rain of the heavy downpour outside.

A chaotic noise from outside the base grew closer, accompanied by screams and pained cries.

Sister Lan’s face changed, and she dropped what she was holding and ran outside.

Qiao Yanrou looked out the window, but couldn’t see anything clearly through the rain. She followed Sister Lan out of the kitchen.

As soon as they reached the door, they saw a group of people drenched to the bone.  A tall, strong man was carrying a woman, who was lying limp, her eyes closed, her life uncertain.

Qiao Yanrou took a closer look—it was Zhang Keqing…

“Quick! Where’s the healer? Find the healer!”

There were suppressed cries in the crowd. Sister Lan was also moved with compassion and quickly had the espers lay Zhang Keqing on the sofa.

“The healer went out with Brother Shen and hasn’t come back yet,” someone said.