The weather was lovely today; the spring sun was warm but not scorching. After finishing our hotpot, we took out two large waterproof sheets and spread them on the lawn. We all lay down close together. Ji Lin'an reached out and let me rest my head on his arm, while he used his other hand to support his head, closing his eyes to enjoy the sunshine. I turned to look at his profile and couldn't help but reach out and stroke his cheek. Ji Lin'an didn't open his eyes, but a smile played on his lips. He tightened his grip on my arm, and I snuggled closer to him, resting my head against his chest, closing my eyes to savor the peace and beauty of the moment…
For the next few days, the four of them—Qianliyan Ji Lin'an, Xilang, and Wufeng—were busy renovating the shelter and building partitions. Xilang didn't suggest leaving and, having some knowledge of renovation, they added another room for him in the design. With Xilang around, everyone's work became much easier. On the very day the renovation began, the water source suddenly became somewhat murky. At first, we didn't pay much attention. I took out the water purifier I had used before from the storage space, and the purified water was clean and usable.
On the third day of the renovation, the water became even more murky and even emitted a fishy stench. Ji Lin'an suggested that we find out why the water source had changed, so Ji Lin'an and I drove to the nearby dam that supplied water. Before we even got out of the car, we could smell the fishy stench in the air. Ji Lin'an and I immediately got out of the car to check, and saw that the surface of the water was covered with countless fish and shrimp, all of them dead. I looked at Ji Lin'an and said, "How could so many fish and shrimp suddenly all die?"
Ji Lin'an raised his hand to cover his nose and shook his head, saying, "The deaths of these fish and shrimp are suspicious. It seems like there's something wrong with the water itself. Let's go for a walk around and see what's going on."
I nodded and followed Ji Lin'an. We drove around the dam area for a while but didn't find anything suspicious. The pungent, fishy smell in the air made me nauseous. Seeing that I was uncomfortable, Ji Lin'an drove away from the dam. There was a bug in the car, so we found a secluded spot to stop and talk.
Ji Lin'an found a rock where we could sit and we sat down. Ji Lin'an asked, "How much water do you have left in your space?"
I thought for two seconds: "There are still more than forty 10L bottles of water left, and only more than ten cases of small bottles. There have been a lot of people and the consumption has been high these past few days. After discovering the water source was contaminated, I started giving everyone bottled water. But now the purified water can't be used anymore. The water in my space won't last much longer."
Ji Lin'an frowned: "Don't tell them how much water you have left for now. Tell them the truth about the dam when we get back. When we get back, we'll divide the work: some of us will renovate the shelter, and some of us will go out to find water."
I nodded: "Okay, shall we go back now?"
Ji Lin'an suddenly burst into a strange laugh, and I asked him with a smile, "What's wrong?"
Ji Lin'an reached out and pulled me into his arms: "Nothing's wrong."
I think I understood what he meant. I gently pushed him away and looked around: "This isn't a good place."
I lowered my head shyly, and Ji Lin'an flicked my forehead: "What are you thinking about? I just wanted to hug you quietly. I feel a little awkward in front of others."
After saying that, Ji Lin'an hugged me tighter and asked slowly, "If one day we have to go to G City, what are your thoughts?"
I was a little confused by Ji Lin'an's sudden question. When I tried to look up, Ji Lin'an reached out and pressed my head into his arms. I snuggled against Ji Lin'an and said, "If we really have to go to G City, it's okay as long as I'm with you. You'll protect me anyway."
Ji Lin'an smiled faintly: "What if G City is a place where even I can't protect you?"
I broke free from Ji Lin'an and turned around to lean against his chest: "It's okay, I'm not weak myself, it's just that with you around, I'm too lazy to use my brain or exert myself."
Ji Lin'an laughed out loud: "So, it's still my fault for preventing you from becoming the main female lead?"
I smiled and said, "That's right. Don't you know that a woman's IQ is negative when she's in love? Especially during the honeymoon phase. Try cheating on me and see if my IQ is really that low."
Ji Lin'an reached out and ruffled my hair, making it instantly a mess. I nudged Ji Lin'an with my elbow: "Hey, even if you're going to maintain your innocent and sweet image, you've ruined your hairstyle."
Ji Lin'an turned me around and helped me fix my hair: "No matter what, I will do my best to protect you, but if there really is a time when I can't protect you, you must protect yourself."
I looked up at Ji Lin'an and said, "Don't worry, I will protect myself. You also need to protect yourself. You can't just protect me. You can only protect me if you protect yourself."
Ji Lin'an nodded and smiled. After snuggling together for a while, we drove back to the shelter. The shelter was already taking shape. The basic framework of the rooms had been built. All that was left was to install the soundproofing layer before it could be sealed and painted. I called everyone over and told them about the details of the dam and Ji Lin'an's ideas. Everyone nodded in agreement.
The next day, the water source became even more turbid, so we simply shut off the sluice gate. We decided that Ji Lin'an and I would drive to find a water source first. After leaving enough food for the rest of them, Ji Lin'an and I drove to nearby towns and searched them one by one. We were certain that the water sources in the surrounding area were unusable. Except for the town closest to us, we found water and food in the next few towns we searched. I put them all into my spatial storage. However, all we found were about twenty boxes of mineral water and about ten boxes of beverages. One box of water would only last us two or three days, so these twenty-odd boxes of water wouldn't last long either.
On the third day, Ji Lin'an and I did not go looking for a water source again, but instead helped everyone speed up the renovation of the shelter.
On the sixth day, with everyone's joint efforts, the shelter was renovated. I also took out the desk and wardrobe I had found earlier from my space and arranged them. Thanks to everyone's joint efforts, our perfect shelter was officially opened.
After the shelter incident was resolved, Wufeng found two more vehicles. We split into three groups: Qianliyan and Kaka were in one group, and Wufeng and Xilang were in another. We drove in three different directions to search for food and water. The first day's results were decent. Qianliyan and his team found 7 boxes of water and some supplies. Wufeng was familiar with the area, making the search easier, and they found 18 boxes of water and food. Ji Lin'an and I only found 4 boxes of water and some food, which we put into our spatial storage. Just as I was about to put the rest of the group into our storage, Xilang suddenly stopped me: "There's no need to put everything in the storage. It's too much trouble to have to ask you for water and food every time we need them."
I said, somewhat puzzled, "Wouldn't it save space to put them in the space? Look at all those boxes of water and supplies, they take up so much space no matter where you put them in the shelter."
Xilang frowned: "If there's no room inside, just put it outside. Anyway, there's a rain shelter, so we don't have to worry about wind and rain. It's right next to the kitchen, and it'll be convenient to take it with us every time we cook."
Seeing that Xilang's words made sense, I didn't refute them. The men moved the supplies to the kitchen outside and piled them up.
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