Chapter 401: Daily life 11.

The fourth day after their return was the kind of day Bai Li secretly

liked most. Nothing went wrong.

No zombies reached the lobby.

No one needed rescuing.

No equipment failed.

The water pressure stayed steady.

The electricity held.

The weather was good.

Even the river was calm.

Bai Li spent most of the morning on the balcony with Lili. She was

repairing one of the planter boxes because the wooden side had started

separating from the frame. Lili sat beside her with a small collection

of screws.

"Big one?" Lili asked.

"Small one."

"This one?"

"Yes."

Lili handed it over.

"This one?"

"No. That one is too long."

Lili sorted the screws carefully.

Yan Cijin stood at the balcony door watching them.

"You two look like you’re running a workshop."

Bai Li did not look up. "We are."

"For a vegetable box?"

"A vegetable box is important."

"Of course."

Bai Li held out her hand without looking. "Another screw."

Yan Cijin looked at Lili.

Lili immediately handed her one.

"Not that one," Bai Li said.

Lili giggled.

Yan Cijin smiled. "You are both making this harder than it needs to be."

"You’re not helping," Bai Li said.

"I wasn’t asked to help."

"Then why are you standing there?"

"Because I like watching."

Bai Li finally looked up. "Watching me work?"

Yan Cijin nodded. "Yes."

"Why?"

Yan Cijin smiled. "It’s entertaining."

Bai Li shook her head and went back to the planter. But she was smiling.

The little garden was small, but it mattered. It gave them fresh herbs,

some tomatoes, chilies, green onions, and a few hardy vegetables. They

could not grow enough food to live entirely from the balcony, but it

reduced how quickly their stored food disappeared. It also gave Lili

something to look after. She watered the plants, counted new leaves, and

celebrated every tiny fruit as if it were a treasure.

Mother Yan liked to say the garden was proof that people still had

reasons to wake up.

Bai Li had never laughed at the statement.

She understood it better than she wanted to admit.

The apartment also had a small emergency cooking area set up away from

the main kitchen. Bai Li had arranged it so that if the main power ever

failed for a long time, they could still boil water and prepare food

without emptying all their stored fuel. A small manual setup near the

balcony handled some basic work without electricity. The arrangement was

ugly, practical, and reliable.

Yan Cijin admired it.

"You built all this in less than two weeks."

Bai Li shrugged. "There was time."

"There was not."

"I made time."

"How?"

"By not sleeping enough."

Yan Cijin stared at her. "That’s not a good thing."

Bai Li smiled. "You sound like Mother Yan again."

"Maybe my mother is right."

"That’s dangerous."

"Why?"

"Because if you agree with her, I’ll have two people telling me what to

do."

Yan Cijin smiled. "Three, if you count Lili."

Lili looked up. "I do."

Bai Li sighed. "I’m outnumbered."

"Good," all three said almost together.

Bai Li stared at them.

Then she laughed.

There were afternoons when they did not speak much. Sometimes Bai Li sat

near the window cleaning Whisperfang while Yan Cijin read through old

notebooks. Sometimes Mother Yan sorted supplies while Lili drew.

Sometimes they simply listened to the river.

The silence had become its own kind of conversation.

One afternoon, Yan Cijin fell asleep on the sofa without meaning to.

She had been sitting with a notebook in her lap, saying she would rest

"for five minutes." Ten minutes later her head had tilted to one side.

Bai Li noticed first.

She quietly closed the window beside the sofa so the wind would not wake

her. Then she took a blanket and placed it over Yan Cijin.

Lili came into the room.

"Is Cijin sleeping?"

Bai Li nodded.

Lili whispered, "She says she isn’t tired."

"She lies."

Lili covered her mouth to hide a giggle.

Mother Yan appeared behind them.

She looked at her daughter sleeping on the sofa.

Then at Bai Li.

"Thank you."

Bai Li nodded. "She needed it."

Mother Yan smiled. "You watch her closely."

Bai Li paused.

"She’s my teammate."

Mother Yan raised one eyebrow.

Bai Li knew that expression.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You are doing that look."

"What look?"

"The one Yan Cijin does."

Mother Yan laughed quietly. "Maybe you spend too much time with my

daughter."

Bai Li looked at Yan Cijin again.

"Maybe."

Mother Yan left them alone.

Lili whispered, "She likes you."

Bai Li looked at the little girl. "Who?"

"Cijin."

Bai Li paused.

Lili continued, "She smiles more when you’re here."

Bai Li looked toward the sleeping woman.

Her expression softened.

"Maybe."

Lili nodded. "You like her too."

Bai Li raised an eyebrow. "You’re very clever."

"I know."

Bai Li smiled. "Keep it secret."

Lili placed one finger against her lips. "Secret."

Yan Cijin shifted on the sofa.

Bai Li immediately looked away.

She had no idea whether Lili actually understood what she had just said,

and she decided it was safer not to think about it.

That evening, Yan Cijin woke and immediately looked embarrassed.

"Did I fall asleep?"

Bai Li was sitting across from her. "No."

Yan Cijin looked relieved. "Good."

"You just stopped moving for an hour."

Yan Cijin stared at her.

Bai Li smiled.

"You fell asleep."

"How long?"

"About an hour."

"Why didn’t you wake me?"

"Because you looked comfortable."

Yan Cijin looked at her for a second. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome."

She looked away.

Bai Li noticed the color in her cheeks.

She decided not to tease her this time.

Mostly because she was beginning to feel shy too.

The next day was more active.

Bai Li decided to inspect the whole building once more. The first

cleanup had removed the zombies that had gotten inside, but she wanted

to make sure there were no hidden bodies that might turn later. The

residents were surprised when she announced she was doing it again.

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TO BE CONTINUED.