PSW – Chapter 29

After seeing Chu Yi off, Zheng Yi briefly surveyed the apartment they had rented for the month. “Jiejie, let’s go get our things from the truck first, then we can clean the rooms.”

“Okay,” Yu Yinan agreed, following Zheng Yi down to the underground parking garage. She had an excellent memory for roads and routes, knowing which way to go at nearly every fork without hesitation.

Zheng Yi now had five inventory slots. The first contained the large truck filled with supplies. The second held Yu Yinan’s motorcycle. The third slot was occupied by a fire axe; Zheng Yi had a habit of carrying a weapon in her inventory just in case. The fourth slot was filled with a large bag of assorted candies, including a good amount of chocolate.

The fifth slot was empty.

Since they needed to move their things, Zheng Yi thought for a moment and stuffed a quilt into the fifth slot. She then shouldered her hiking backpack. The gasoline cans and mineral water in the truck’s cargo bed could stay. They would leave some of the clothes and bedding in the truck, taking only two quilts, a four-piece bedding set, and two or three down jackets.

Yu Yinan carried the quilts and the bedding set, while Zheng Yi, with her backpack on, picked up the bundled-up down jackets. Laden with bags, they headed back.

Just as they came out of the underground garage, they saw a family of three arguing by the roadside.

“Yaozu, give your mom some contribution points. Your dad and I haven’t had a full meal in two days. I’m not asking for much, just six points so we can eat at the cafeteria. We need to eat to have the strength to fight for those manual labor jobs and earn more points,” the middle-aged woman pleaded. The middle-aged man stood silently to the side with a stern face, but his eyes were also fixed on the young man.

“I just got back from a mission, and I already paid your rent. I don’t have many contribution points left,” the young man said, a little impatiently. Still, he waved his hand and pulled the woman over. “Alright, alright, let’s go. I’ll transfer them to you.”

“Mom, it’s not that I’m being stingy, but I have a really important use for these contribution points! You have no idea how amazing the captain of the ability user squad I just joined is! She’s twenty-seven, beautiful, and a wind-type ability user with a lot of talent. Just think, if I can win her over, won’t our lives be secure from now on?”

“Twenty-seven? She’s that much older than you, almost thirty… Will she even be able to have children?”

Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan walked past the family. They glanced over, but seeing that the two women were only carrying bedding, they paid them no mind and continued their conversation.

After they had passed, Yu Yinan stopped and looked back. The family of three was already walking away, still talking loudly.

“What’s wrong?” Zheng Yi noticed the change in Yu Yinan’s mood and asked softly, “Jiejie, should I help you carry that? Did their words upset you? It’s okay, we’re going to check out the field missions later, right? We can ask around. Maybe we’ll run into that squad captain and give her a heads-up.”

“…It’s nothing.” Yu Yinan gave a self-deprecating smile and quickened her pace up the stairs, carrying her things. She remained silent no matter what Zheng Yi asked.

Her parents? Her younger brother? Zheng Yi recalled the background information she had read about Yu Yinan. Yu Yaozu?

[Apparently so. But they didn’t recognize her.] Zero One said, unable to stop a small “tsk.” [Isn’t this a good thing? She should be happy.]

The more one is deprived of love, the more one craves it. The more one is denied approval, the more one yearns for it.

She’s too soft-hearted. Zheng Yi didn’t use any demeaning or malicious words to describe Yu Yinan’s behavior, stating it simply as a fact. If that couple knew she existed, knew she was an ability user, they would definitely come looking for her. They’d take her away, drain her of any remaining value, and suck her dry.

[It’s a good thing she changed her name, so that family didn’t recognize her.] Zero One sounded somewhat relieved.

Zheng Yi didn’t reply. After Yu Yinan opened the door, she followed her inside and temporarily set her things down by the entrance. Then she went into the bedroom and used her special ability to clean all the dust and stains, controlling the dirty water and sending it into the bathroom. “Jiejie, come help me make the bed. If you’re not feeling well, you can take a nap. I can handle the rest.”

“No, I’ll do it.” As if waking from a dream, Yu Yinan put down the things in her hands. Seeing the bedroom spotlessly cleaned by Zheng Yi’s ability, her eyes filled with anxiety. “Don’t use your ability anymore. You just condensed so much water earlier! You’re the one who needs to rest… You sit down for a bit, I’ll make the bed.”

“It’s okay, Jiejie. I know my own abilities.”

Yu Yinan placed one quilt on the bottom as a mattress pad, then spread the sheet over it. Finally, she put the duvet cover on the other quilt, folded it neatly, and placed it on the bed. By the time she was done, Zheng Yi had already cleaned the living room and other areas and had arranged the pots and pans they brought in the kitchen.

The place looked brand new.

Zheng Yi didn’t press the issue or continue to comfort the emotional Yu Yinan. She had Zero One take out a block of solid alcohol, lit it with a lighter, and then quickly rinsed a large pot with a stream of water before placing it on the flame to heat up.

She took out a small bottle of vegetable oil from her inventory and arranged the other seasonings in the kitchen. Once the pot was thoroughly heated, she poured in the oil. Then, she had Zero One take out four eggs, beat them, and pour the mixture into the pot to fry.

A calorie bomb before the apocalypse, but a rare delicacy now.

Zheng Yi poured out the excess oil and stored it away. She then cut the puffy fried egg in half before adding fresh water to the pot.

When the water boiled again, she added two portions of dried noodles, a little salt, a pinch of chicken bouillon, and a dash of soy sauce.

Once the noodles were cooked, she divided them into two bowls, placing a piece of the fried egg on top of each. Finally, she drizzled a little sesame oil over them.

Only after finishing all this did Zheng Yi look up and out of the kitchen. Yu Yinan had been standing at the doorway for who knows how long, and their eyes met.

“Jiejie, come on. Eat while it’s hot.”

The steaming food instantly pulled her back to reality. Yu Yinan thought with a hint of dejection: it seemed she had never been of much help to Zheng Yi.

Just now, standing at the doorway, she had no idea what she could do to help, unable to get involved. She wanted to help Zheng Yi clean, but she had no rags or other tools, nor did she have any water.

After encountering her former family, who failed to recognize her, Yu Yinan seemed to have become even more sensitive.

Or perhaps it was because she was with Zheng Yi that she allowed herself to be so exposed.

Zheng Yi gently brought the two bowls of noodles out, took out a pair of chopsticks, rinsed them with her ability, and placed them by the bowls. Then she pulled Yu Yinan to sit down. “Jiejie, eat something warm. Everything will be okay.”

“Mm…” Yu Yinan looked at the fried egg in her bowl. She didn’t question for a second where the egg came from; she was simply moved, and hesitant. She picked up her chopsticks as certain negative emotions that had plagued her on countless late nights came rushing back. In the long years she had walked alone, grown alone, and stood on her own, she had also doubted and denied herself. Now, looking at this bowl of noodles, recalling all the food Zheng Yi had shared with her and all the kindness she had shown, the thought, “Do I really deserve to be treated like this?” inexplicably surfaced.

She was clearly a very strong and resilient person, yet at times, she was incredibly fragile.

How pathetic. To be trapped by these emotions.

How pathetic. They were the ones who had completely abandoned her first.

How pathetic. Why couldn’t she do better? Why was she…

Zero One heard Zheng Yi’s thoughts and let out a very, very impatient “tsk.”

But Zheng Yi remained seated across from Yu Yinan, watching her gently.

Zero One felt a sense of disconnect. Just then, it heard Zheng Yi’s thoughts, indifferent and cold: What a pain.

[…] Zero One didn’t know how to respond. It watched Yu Yinan through Zheng Yi’s eyes and could only let out a sigh.

Zheng Yi said nothing more. She just watched Yu Yinan gently, watching as she picked up her chopsticks, lowered her head, and began to eat the noodles. In that instant, Zheng Yi’s expression was blank, her dark eyes flickered slightly, and she too picked up her chopsticks, lowered her head, and quietly ate the noodles in her bowl.

[What are you thinking?] For some reason, Zero One had a bad feeling.

My dear, I’m thinking about how to help her, of course. She’s in so much pain. As a Saint, I will save her.

In that moment, Zero One considered many possibilities, and finally, it could only brace itself and advise: [This is an emotional scar. Childhood trauma? A psychological issue? In any case, this is something she has to face and overcome herself. It’s not something you can just solve by killing her parents and that brother!]

Zero One, your thoughts are a bit too bloody. Zheng Yi let out a soft sigh, then smiled. I will help her.

Zero One was a little bewildered.

When she first met Yu Yinan, Zheng Yi had been unwilling to get involved. Even after seeing through all this, she had only intended to let Yu Yinan heal on her own. Had she… changed her mind now? But why did Zero One feel so uneasy?

After finishing the noodles, Yu Yinan seemed to have recovered. She stood up to help clear the bowls but was stopped by Zheng Yi. “Jiejie, go take a nap in the room for a while.”

“It’s still early. This afternoon, we’ll go check out the place where ability users go for field missions. The… mission center.” Zheng Yi took the bowls into the kitchen, her voice exceedingly gentle. “Go get some sleep.”

“Aren’t you going to rest?” Yu Yinan was a little worried about Zheng Yi’s condition. She had to find a way to earn some contribution points with her own ability, she thought. Zheng Yi called her Jiejie; she couldn’t let Zheng Yi bear so much.

“Jiejie, I’m very worried about you.” Zheng Yi took Yu Yinan’s hand. Her voice was soft, and her dark eyes stared unblinkingly at Yu Yinan, filled with her reflection. “I don’t know why you’re sad, and I don’t know what I can do for you, but… I want you to be happy.”

“Whatever choice you make, I will support you.” A single, crystalline tear slid from the corner of her eye. Zheng Yi lowered her head and pressed a light kiss to the back of Yu Yinan’s hand, as brief as a dragonfly touching water. “Jiejie, go rest. Don’t force yourself.”

Yu Yinan felt the spot on the back of her hand where those soft lips had touched burn intensely. She stared at Zheng Yi in a daze. Zheng Yi didn’t know anything, yet just by sensing her low spirits, she… she would say such things.

Whatever choice she made, she would support her?

They were just insignificant, old wounds that she had picked at until they were raw. Every time she was trapped by these ridiculous emotions, she wished she could just cut away that cowardly part of herself. She was contradictory and fragile, insecure and sensitive. This past of hers couldn’t even be called a heavy burden; if there were a ranking of suffering in the world, she probably wouldn’t even make the list. Zheng Yi didn’t know anything. From Zheng Yi’s perspective, she must seem strange, irrational, annoying, melodramatic, and troublesome.

So melodramatic.

But… could someone really shed a tear for her?

---

Get instant access to all the chapters now.