Chapter 179 Jealousy
The original staff members began to step forward to help carry supplies and hand over tools. Some even whispered "thank you" or "you've worked hard" to Josie as she walked by.
Although there was still some awkwardness when they made eye contact, their desire to get closer and become true "companions" was already clearly visible.
Josie sensed this change and felt a slight sense of relief.
"Lin Wei," Josie arrived at the logistics department, "how are the injured?"
Lin Wei raised her head, her face showing a tired but relieved expression: "Fortunately, they are all superficial injuries. Two of them were seriously injured, but their lives are not in danger. It's all thanks to Brother Chen and the others who took the lead."
"That's good." Josie's gaze swept over the sparsely planted area in the corner.
“The growing conditions here are still too limited. The yield and variety are probably not keeping up with our consumption, so we must expand the scale.”
She squatted down and picked up a bit of soil with her fingers. "When the wind and snow outside subside, I'll take some people out to dig up more soil."
The deep soil that is sheltered from the wind and faces the sun, and is not completely frozen yet and is rich in humus, should still be useful. Try to dig up as much of it as possible.
Lin Wei's eyes lit up. This was undoubtedly great news for her, a wood-type ability user who loved nature and life: "Sister Qiao Xi, that's wonderful! Can Zhao Yan and I go together? I also want to go out and look for other seeds."
"Okay! Once we've settled things up at the base and the snow outside has subsided a bit, we'll head out."
Josie stood up, patted her on the shoulder, and said, "You go ahead and do your work. I'll go take a look somewhere else."
After speaking with Lin Wei, she turned around to check on the injured, but nearly bumped into someone at the corner of the passage.
It was Chen Chen, the refined researcher who had previously glared at her and denounced them as "robbers."
He seemed a little flustered at the moment, with an unnatural blush on his fair face, and he was tightly clutching something in his hand.
“Jo...Josie.” His voice stammered, his eyes darted away for a moment, then he forced himself to look at her.
Josie stopped and raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was up to.
Chen Chen seemed to have made a great decision, and suddenly shoved the thing in his hand over.
Josie looked down and saw a flat, military-grade canned meat with a worn but still intact label.
This might have been ordinary before the apocalypse, but right now, it's an absolute luxury that people would fight tooth and nail for, a treasure he probably wouldn't even dare to eat himself.
"This...it's for you." He said in a low voice, his cheeks flushed even more, and he almost dared not look Josie in the eye.
Josie paused for a moment, looking at the cold metal can in her hand, then at the shy and nervous young man in front of her.
A faint smile curved her lips as she handed the can back: "This stuff is too precious; it's practically hard currency now. You keep it for yourself."
"No! You take it!" Chen Chen was unusually stubborn and pushed the can back into her hand again. He even accidentally touched her fingertips, and she pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted, her ears turning bright red.
"Thank you... thank you for protecting this place... and, I'm sorry, I was... rude before." He finished speaking very quickly, as if he had used up all his strength, and then, not daring to look at Josh's reaction, he turned around and ran away as fast as he could, his back view showing panic.
Josie held the can of food, still warm from the other man's body, and watched his retreating figure, which was almost a hasty retreat, and couldn't help but chuckle.
This unexpected, clumsy yet sincere "thank you gift" seemed to gently bump into her hardened heart.
She shook her head, preparing to put the can away, when she turned her head and saw Fu Jinxing standing quietly in the shadows at the laboratory door.
His white lab coat, still on, accentuated his tall and straight figure. His gaze, behind his gold-rimmed glasses, pierced through the dim light of the corridor, landing precisely on her, or rather, on the conspicuous can of meat in her hand.
He usually buried himself in the laboratory, and although they were in the same base, she couldn't see him every day.
Upon seeing him, Josie felt even more cheerful, and her steps involuntarily led her toward him, a bright smile curving her lips.
"Brother Jinxing, are you done with your work?" Her voice carried a softness she herself was unaware of.
Fu Jinxing did not answer her question, but stared intently at her face. "You smiled."
His voice was devoid of emotion, yet it felt like a feather gently brushing against the heart.
Josie's smile grew even brighter, tinged with a hint of slyness: "Yeah! Can't I smile?"
Fu Jinxing stretched out his long arm and pulled her into his arms.
Caught off guard, Josie's nose brushed against his slightly cool lab coat, catching a faint scent of disinfectant and his signature crisp cedar fragrance.
He lowered his head, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe, his voice low and filled with suppressed possessiveness: "That kid Chen Chen likes you. In the future... don't smile at him like that."
That bright smile was irresistible even to him, let alone a researcher who was inexperienced in the ways of the world and spent years conducting experiments in the laboratory.
Josie was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing.
She tilted her head back and deliberately poked his firm chest with her fingertip, her eyes sparkling: "Is our Professor Fu... jealous? Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. I'll only smile like this at you from now on, alright?"
Her tone was full of teasing and coquettishness.
Fu Jinming knew she was deliberately teasing him, but those smiling eyes that reflected his image still made his displeasure vanish, replaced by a burning impulse.
He said no more, lowered his head, and precisely captured her still upturned, rosy and alluring lips.
The kiss came suddenly and deeply, carrying a suppressed longing.
Josie gave a soft snort and subconsciously grabbed the collar of his white coat.
All my fatigue seemed to be dispelled by that passionate kiss.
The two had indeed been apart for a long time, and now they were like dry wood meeting a raging fire, ready to ignite at any moment.
Fu Jinxing, who originally only intended to try it briefly, completely lost control after tasting her sweetness.
He pressed her slender body closer to him, thrusting deeper and deeper until their breathing became rapid and hot.
He suddenly slammed her against the cold metal wall, one hand protecting the back of her head, kissing her even more fiercely, while the other hand had already wandered under her clothes, caressing her delicate and warm waist.
Josie was so weak from the kiss that her mind went blank until she felt the obvious changes in his body and his increasingly rapid breathing, which brought her back to her senses.
This is a passageway, after all, and people may pass by at any time.
"Brother Jinxing...go back..." Her voice was so soft that Fu Jinxing wanted to meld her into his body.
Fu Jinxing released her lips with a panting breath, his forehead pressed against hers, his deep eyes churning with an intense, unyielding desire.
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