Chi Wan didn’t know why, but ever since she’d become aware of her own feelings, she couldn’t seem to face Li Xingye as openly as before.

The flirting and compliments that used to come so easily now seemed to carry a hidden agenda whenever she spoke, making them feel less pure.

After all, what girl didn’t hope for her feelings to be reciprocated? Yet, her rational side forced her to practice restraint.

Chi Wan mumbled softly, "It’s all your fault. Who told you to always be so gentle when you talk to me..."

’He’s clearly a big shot, yet he’s always so accommodating with me. He has a nice voice, he’s handsome... is it any wonder that an inexperienced little girl like me would be drawn to him?’

’Damn it! Li Xingye’s the one recklessly exuding his charm, failing to uphold basic male decency. Why am I the only one agonizing over it?!’

"What?" Li Xingye didn’t quite catch her quiet complaint.

Chi Wan didn’t answer, so he finally couldn’t resist looking into her pocket dimension.

He saw Chi Wan sitting cross-legged in a large lounge chair, her chin propped in her hands. Her face was etched with indignation as she furiously stuffed potato chips into her mouth. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

The moment Li Xingye looked over, Chi Wan shot him a resentful glare. He subconsciously touched his nose, wondering how she’d suddenly gotten angry when they’d been having a pleasant conversation.

’Wasn’t she just praising me...? Could it be that she found me arrogant?’

But while Chi Wan thought she looked ferocious, to Li Xingye, she was like a hamster with its cheeks stuffed full. Even her anger was adorable.

Li Xingye conscientiously reflected on his actions: ’I’m not good at interacting with girls. I must have accidentally done something to upset Wanwan. After all, she’s such a nice person.’

And Brother Qiang had told him that girls needed to be coaxed...

So, he said gently, "Wanwan, I heard you mention before that gas is getting more and more expensive. How about I get you a car that doesn’t need gas?"

By now, Duan Qianyu and Lin Wei had made a breakthrough. Using a Crystal Core power supply device, they had improved the quality of life at the base several times over.

Ever since the first Crystal Core Energy vehicle was modified, more and more cars had appeared at the base. Most were SUVs and pickup trucks; sports cars and the like were too flashy and impractical, and they didn’t fit the base’s atmosphere.

But along the way, he had seen plenty of luxury cars in abandoned, dust-covered dealerships. If Chi Wan liked them, he could easily bring one back and fix it up.

After all, before her family went bankrupt, her life should have been very comfortable.

Although Li Xingye felt he couldn’t give Chi Wan much more, he wanted her to live as well as possible, within his means.

Chi Wan had no idea how much Li Xingye had read into that single glance, but she knew in her heart that she had been unfairly taking her frustration out on him.

She never expected Li Xingye to immediately offer to get her a car, and the suggestion almost made her choke. She quickly said, "No, no, that’s okay! I... I was just thinking about my family, so I lost control of my emotions for a moment..."

"Brother Xingye, that lady just now said you’re going to the city center. Are there going to be stronger zombies in there? Your situation is already so dangerous, so don’t worry about me. Your own safety is what’s most important!"

"Um, I won’t bother you anymore, okay? Stop looking into the dimension and watch the road! What if someone ambushes you?"

Hearing Chi Wan’s constant concern for his safety warmed Li Xingye’s heart, but it also made him a little worried—what if Chi Wan entered the dimension one day and saw him fighting zombies? Would it scare her?

He thought for a moment, then said softly, "Wanwan, remember what I told you? The zombies can’t beat me. So, no matter what you see in the future, you don’t need to worry about me."

"I... I’m not like them."

Chi Wan was a bit puzzled by his words. ’Not like who? The other superpower users? Or...’

But she didn’t press the issue, because she noticed that even though Li Xingye had brought it up himself, the look on his face suggested he didn’t really want to talk about it.

So she just smiled. "Hehe, I know you’re super strong. I saw it just now. But even if you’re the strongest, I’m still going to worry."

Li Xingye hummed in acknowledgment. Seeing that Chi Wan didn’t ask any more questions, his tense expression relaxed a bit. "No one can get past the vines to ambush me, so you never have to worry about bothering me. You can talk to me anytime about anything."

’As for Zhang Yulan, or any senior or junior brothers for that matter, they can all take a backseat.’

Chi Wan smilingly agreed. The two of them chatted about anything and everything for a while longer before Chi Wan left the dimension to go eat.

Li Xingye, meanwhile, continued on toward his destination alone.

He had been walking alone for so many years and was used to it. But now, after having Chi Wan accompany him for just a short while, the silence around him suddenly felt deafening.

*

Chi Wan exited her dimension and sat on her bed. Feeling the lingering warmth on her cheeks, she let out a soft sigh.

’Is it just my imagination?’

Sometimes she felt that Li Xingye’s concern for her wasn’t just because of the supplies and the dimension she provided.

After all, there were some things he didn’t have to do.

’So, does that mean... Li Xingye might actually have feelings for me, too?’

The thought made Chi Wan involuntarily cover her face. ’Stop, stop! "He likes me" is one of life’s three great delusions.’

’Besides, didn’t I decide to bury all these feelings deep down? I don’t want some long-distance tragedy like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl! At least they get to meet once a year!’

"Wanwan, what are you doing over here, smiling one moment and grimacing the next?"

Her mother’s voice suddenly sounded from behind, startling Chi Wan out of her reverie. "Nothing, nothing! Is it time for dinner? Let’s go, let’s go, I’m starving~"

Song Yinghe watched with amusement as Chi Wan pushed her forward. "Not so fast. Dinner is dinner, but your dad and I have something we need to discuss with you."

Chi Wan curiously linked her arm through Song Yinghe’s. "Discuss what?"

Song Yinghe led her downstairs as she slowly explained, "Lately, quite a few people we used to work with have been contacting your dad, saying they want to discuss new partnerships."

"But your dad thinks it’s strange. When we went bankrupt, those same people kept as far away as possible, but now they’ve all suddenly appeared out of the woodwork."

"Besides... he still has a lot of unanswered questions about the company’s bankruptcy back then. He was too busy getting us settled to think about it before. But now that our lives have stabilized, he has the time to look into it."

The smile on Chi Wan’s face slowly vanished. She stopped in her tracks. "Dad thinks the person behind these people pushing for a partnership is the same one who caused our family to go bankrupt?!"

Song Yinghe nodded and said softly, "Let’s talk about it over dinner."