Chapter 12: Train of Misfortunes
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Alright," Chen Xu responded. He helped Luo Xiyun into her bathroom. There was a toilet right inside.
He knew that with her personality if she wasn't desperate, she would never ask this of him. Although he was a little angry with her, he didn't want to make her feel worse about this moment.
He assisted her to the bathroom and nonchalantly placed his phone on the shampoo shelf as a light source for her. After that, he left.
After the door of the bathroom closed, he lost his only light source. Chen Xu plunged into sheer darkness, unable to see anything. His other senses, however, seemed to amplify, like his sense of smell. Now, he felt enveloped in a very subtle and pleasant fragrance.
It was a sweet scent, like the one he smelled back in high school while he was embracing his first love for the first time in a dark alley.
The sound of wind and rain outside seemed like it was coming from a distant place, creating an extraordinary feeling of tranquility.
Through the door of the bathroom, he could hear the sound of another stream of water. Wild thoughts spread throughout his mind like wild grass.
All of a sudden, Luo Xiyun's words once again echoed in his mind.
He rubbed his face hard and gently felt his way to the door. There was no light. He could only stumble to the entrance based on his memory of its location.
Pulling the door open, the chilling raindrops that fell on his face made him shudder. He didn't dare to stay and hurried next door.
Some ten minutes later, Chen Xu, who had changed his clothes, returned in a raincoat with a big bag of supplies.
Now, the base camp was out of power. He didn't know whether it was a generator problem or a circuit problem. Since the winds were still so powerful, it would be very difficult to inspect right now even if he wanted to.
A myriad of issues would arise if there was no electricity.
What's more, Luo Xiyun was injured and couldn't move around well. In any case, at least in this dream world, only the two of them were left. In terms of mutual support, when either one of them was experiencing some difficulties, the other person couldn't just turn a blind eye.
"Out of the spirit of humanitarianism, I should help her."
With that thought in his mind, he walked into the coffee shop and took off his raincoat. Then, with a flashlight in one hand and the bag in the other, he walked further inside.
He saw a light in the kitchen. He assumed that since she had been trapped since morning up until now and sprained her foot due to the strong winds, she might not have eaten at all and must be starving.
Moving to the door, he shined his flashlight into the kitchen, landing on Luo Xiyun.
Her back was facing the door, and she seemed to be chopping up something. Since her injured left foot was lifted off the ground, her right foot was her only support, causing her stance to be a little shaky. She had to have heard him come in, but she didn't look back or say anything, simply chopping her food in silence.
There was only the thudding sound of the kitchen knife as it hit the cutting board.
Chen Xu took out a desk lamp from the bag. When it turned on, the white light illuminated the entire kitchen.
"Let me do it."
He took out a food preservation bag containing different ingredients from the big bag, rolled up his sleeves, walked over, and reached out to the kitchen knife she was holding, attempting to take it. Unexpectedly, she didn't loosen her grip.
From the power of her grip on the knife, Chen Xu could sense confrontational emotions from her.
He used to have a girlfriend and wasn't entirely inexperienced with women. He understood that the silence of a woman was an expression of dissatisfaction by itself.
As for what she was discontented with, he didn't understand most of the time. Even if he sometimes knew the reason, he would feign ignorance.
His ex dissed him more than once, saying he was a straight man of iron and steel [1].
But since that there was nothing between him and Luo Xiyun, he couldn't care less.
He didn't say a word, only adding a little more strength to his grip. Luo Xiyun persisted for a second, but let go in the end, resigning to let him take the kitchen knife away.
However, she didn't leave, but instead went to the kitchen cabinet, took out the tableware, and started rinsing them.
This kitchen was originally the café kitchen. It was spacious and didn't seem crowded even with two people here. They did their respective tasks without disturbing each other. So, Chen Xu did not make her stop.
...
After ten minutes, steaming noodles were ready in the pot.
There was one table in the kitchen, and Luo Xiyun already had the tableware placed. Chen Xu took the pot over, and each of them got their own bowl and chopsticks to begin eating.
This was the third time they had eaten together, sitting face to face with each other. Through the white steam that rose from the soup, Chen Xu saw her face clearly and was slightly startled.
Because of the power outage, this was the first good look he got of her since he brought her back to her house.
She had lost some weight. Her disposition seemed to have changed substantially, becoming calmer and slightly more gentle.
The environment could really change a person.
He was struck by emotion.
In fact, he was also experiencing some changes. He understood that this was just a dream and was in vacation mode. But after spending a few months here, he too had felt that something about him had changed.
Of course, such a change was not a bad thing. At least, he had become more patient.
Besides, the Luo Xiyun now also seemed more pleasing to his eyes.
Since both were starving, they ate with fierce concentration and urgency. Soon, all the noodles in the pot were finished, even the soup.
After finishing, Chen Xu took the pot along with everything else to the sink to wash them.
He had been used to using tap water, but after arriving in this dream world, all the pipe systems must have stopped working. Naturally, the tap water supply had been run dry. So, he made a reservoir as a water source for himself.
The reservoir was only filled with water yesterday. It would suffice for a few days.
After washing the dishes, while he was placing the bowls back into the disinfection cabinet, he suddenly realized something. Many of the items were stacked in pairs. There were a pair of bowls, a pair of chopsticks, spoons, cups… even the chairs next to the table were in pairs.
He thought to himself, "OCD sure is terrifying, thank goodness I'm not living with her."
He didn't think of himself as a messy person. He cleaned his room once a week, washed his dirty clothes every day, and tried his best to keep his living space clean.
But that was it.
If he were to clean everything every day and arrange every single item neatly, he knew he wouldn't be able to stand it.
Luo Xiyun, on the other hand, was without question a patient with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. It could be seen in the vegetable farm that was organized like a flower garden outside the door.
Once he had packed everything up, Luo Xiyun had already returned to her room. He grabbed the bag and lamp, stood in front of the shut door, knocked twice and said, "Let me have a look at your feet."
She didn't respond. Just when he thought that Luo Xiyun didn't hear him, her icy voice came from inside, "That won't be needed."
Chen Xu couldn't help but frown. He grabbed the door handle and twisted it. To his surprise, it was unlocked. He opened the door and went in, saying, "Let me have a look."
She was sitting on the bed with her hands clasping her knees and her long hair let down. When she saw him coming in, she looked away and said stiffly, "I don't need your concern."
1. Straight man of iron and steel: An insensitive, headstrong, and very direct man who does not understand women.
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