Chapter 16: Encountering the Neighbor

The first time always feels unfamiliar, but by the second, Lin Buwan was already getting used to the swaying of the kayak. Once she steadied herself, she paddled with determination toward home.

She’d run into a few minor problems on her way out, but the return journey was much smoother. What she hadn’t expected was to run into her neighbor halfway back.

Both of them paused, slightly startled by the encounter.

Lin Buwan’s gaze drifted to the kayak beneath him, identical to her own, and she felt a momentary flicker of surprise.

“Are you out gathering supplies too?” Qu Wei asked stiffly, regaining his composure.

Lin Buwan nodded coolly, then hesitated.

She remembered he had helped take care of her dog—being so cold now seemed a bit too much. So she glanced into Qu Wei’s kayak, which was so packed with supplies that it sat lower in the water than her own, empty one.

“That’s right. But I wasn’t as lucky as you—I didn’t find much,” she said, shrugging with a hint of regret, her face betraying nothing of the fact that she’d just managed to loot an entire building for free.

Qu Wei hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face.

“Woof! Woof!” Suddenly, Heidou barked twice, breaking his train of thought.

He looked in the direction of the dog’s barking and spotted two black dots in the distance.

His demeanor shifted at once, turning serious as he said to Lin Buwan, “Let’s head back together. Looks like others are out searching for supplies too. You’re a woman alone—it’s too easy to become someone’s target.”

Lin Buwan followed his gaze and saw that the black dots had begun to take shape—several people were approaching, though it was unclear what sort of craft they were using.

Knowing what people could become at the end of the world, she didn’t refuse. She nodded immediately.

Qu Wei rummaged through his pile of supplies and took out a length of hemp rope, tying their kayaks together so they wouldn’t drift apart.

Afraid of being caught up by others, the two of them rowed with all their might, soon catching sight of the apartment building.

Qu Wei led the way, heading toward the spot from which he had set out, which, as Lin Buwan noted, seemed to be a window in the building’s common area.

She glanced at the supplies in his kayak and, after a brief silence, called out to him.

“With that much stuff, it’s best not to make too big a show of it. Go that way,” she said, pointing toward the window she herself had left from earlier. Entering there would at least attract less attention.

If nothing else, just the kayaks alone were eye-catching enough.

“Alright,” Qu Wei replied, a bit surprised, but he nodded and changed course to the window she indicated.

He had no idea that her advice would help him avoid several troubles that day.

When they reached the window, they found the rising water had already poured inside.

They climbed in one after another, dragging their kayaks in after them.

Qu Wei busied himself sorting through his supplies, getting ready to carry them home.

Meanwhile, Lin Buwan deflated her kayak. There was no way she could haul it upstairs, and she certainly couldn’t reveal her spatial ability in front of Qu Wei. This was the best solution she’d come up with along the way—she could always reinflate it at home; it was no big deal.

Once Qu Wei finished sorting his supplies, he noticed what she was doing. An uncertain expression flickered across his face. He wanted to say something, but after a moment’s thought, he kept quiet.

Lin Buwan, watching him out of the corner of her eye, was pleased he wasn’t being too inquisitive.

“This is for you,” Qu Wei said, just as she finished packing up her kayak, holding out a bulging backpack.

She froze, looking up to meet Qu Wei’s earnest, almost foolishly sincere eyes.

“Are you out of your mind?” Lin Buwan frowned.

Anyone with sense could guess what was inside the bag. They were nothing more than neighbors, barely acquaintances, yet Qu Wei was offering her the supplies he’d worked so hard to gather? Was he one of those self-sacrificing do-gooders?

The thought made Lin Buwan instantly wary, wanting to keep her distance. In the apocalypse, bleeding hearts were disasters waiting to happen.

Qu Wei, for his part, had no idea what was running through her mind. He’d simply felt sorry for her in a moment of impulse. In truth, the moment he handed over the backpack, he already regretted it—not because he didn’t want to give her the supplies, but because he feared his gesture would be misunderstood.

Seeing the change in her expression and the wariness in her eyes, he realized he’d made things worse.

He gave a wry, self-deprecating smile and hurried to explain himself.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I just thought, since you didn’t find anything out there, I could lend you some. After all, we can go hungry, but Daodao can’t. If he starts barking from hunger, the whole building will hear—and that’ll be trouble.”

At that, Lin Buwan realized he was right.

Her puppy did bark a lot. For now, people hadn’t gotten desperate enough to turn their attention to the dog, but as supplies dwindled, a barking dog would become a tempting prize—and once it made noise, it would be hard not to attract the wrong kind of attention. Heidou, too, would be at risk.

She glanced at Heidou, sitting obediently by Qu Wei’s leg, and her heart softened. She took the bag.

“I’ll return it tomorrow.”

It was just a bit of supplies—she could repay that.

Qu Wei opened his mouth to protest, but seeing the coolness on her face, he swallowed the words. He doubted she’d listen to him anyway, and she clearly wasn’t the type to want favors owed, so he decided to let it go.

The two of them set off for the twentieth floor, only to immediately run into Ji Dong and Qin Wei as soon as they stepped out.

“The water’s already up to here. What are we supposed to do? Who knows when rescue will come,” Qin Wei’s distinctive voice was instantly recognizable to Lin Buwan.

She paused in her tracks. Out of the corner of her eye, Qin Wei spotted her and turned, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw Lin Buwan.

She hadn’t expected a random trip downstairs to bring her face-to-face with Lin Buwan.

She tugged on Ji Dong’s sleeve, signaling for him to look.

“Xiaowan, what are you doing here?”

Ji Dong was about to tell Qin Wei to stop making a fuss when he heard her call Lin Buwan’s name. He whipped his head around, and his expression changed the instant he saw Qu Wei standing beside her.

“Lin Buwan! Who is he?” Ji Dong pointed at Qu Wei, his voice sharp and accusatory.

Only now did Qin Wei notice Qu Wei’s presence. Her gaze flicked between the two of them, then to the bulging bags in their hands, and she instantly guessed what they contained.

Suppressing her excitement, she tugged at Ji Dong.

“Why are you being so harsh? Xiaowan must have gone out to find supplies. Looks like she did pretty well, too.”

Ji Dong’s anger ebbed a little at her words. He eyed the backpack in Lin Buwan’s hand, a flash of longing in his eyes.

“Lin Buwan, hand over your supplies and I’ll consider being with you.”