Xu An looked at the owner of the hands wrapped around hers, her expression unreadable, neither happy nor anything else.
She withdrew her hand, ignoring Zhou Haimei's stunned expression, and walked out, finding a set of large thermal clothes from her backpack.
She then re-entered and casually tossed the clothes to Qin Chuan, her expression devoid of any extra emotion.
"Can you dress yourself? Change your clothes. You still have that sticky fluid on you."
Qin Chuan used all his remaining strength to utter the first part of the sentence; he was already at his limit.
He scanned his surroundings. There were only Xu An and Zhou Haimei present. He couldn't possibly ask these two girls to help him change, so he forced himself to say, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Xu An didn't argue further. She nodded and said, "Then I'll go out first. Call me when you're done changing."
With that, she walked out.
Zhou Haimei called out from behind, "An An," but it was too late. She could only see Xu An's retreating back as she left, leaving her standing there awkwardly.
She didn't know whether to stay or go.
Qin Chuan also looked at Zhou Haimei with a puzzled expression, furrowing his brows slightly, as if asking with his eyes.
"Are you planning to stay here and watch me change my pants?"
Fearing Qin Chuan's discomfort, Zhou Haimei felt mortified. For a moment, she didn't understand why she was still there.
She immediately bolted out of the wooden house.
The biting cold wind outside blew against her, and the slight redness on Zhou Haimei's face gradually receded, along with the inexplicable heat.
Xu An saw her come out and handed her a spare dagger from the side.
Zhou Haimei looked at Xu An confused, took the dagger, but her face was blank, not knowing what the other person intended.
"An An, are we just going to leave him alone in there? Qin Chuan doesn't even have the strength to lift his hand. Can he manage on his own?"
Xu An said coolly, "What else can we do? He didn't let me undress him."
"Tsk~ Men are truly so dramatic."
Zhou Haimei's worldview shattered once again.
Wait, you were actually planning to undress Qin Chuan and help him change? She had always thought Xu An was just joking.
But seeing Xu An look at Zhou Haimei with a serious expression, she thought, He's almost dying, are you thinking too much, sister?
Zhou Haimei: "......" Is it me who's thinking too much, or is it you who's not thinking enough!!!
However, Xu An clearly couldn't hear Zhou Haimei's internal outcry.
Xu An handed Zhou Haimei a wooden skewer of equal length and instructed, "Remember to sharpen it cleanly, no splinters."
"What are these skewers for? We're not having a barbecue."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Haimei saw the sly glint in Xu An's eyes and immediately forgot about the sickly Qin Chuan.
"Can we have barbecue tonight!" Zhou Haimei's voice was filled with irrepressible excitement.
"Yes! And seafood too."
With that, as if performing a magic trick, she produced two plump, large fish from behind her.
"Holy crap! Fish! An An, you're truly my provider!"
She didn't even remember to ask when Xu An had caught the fish, almost wanting to pounce on her and pledge her devotion.
In the apocalypse, where could one find a girlfriend with such explosive combat power, who could keep you fed, and occasionally surprise you with improvements to the rations!
You couldn't find one even if you carried a lantern.
Xu An smiled and propped the fish up with a thicker wooden stick.
Of course, she hadn't gone fishing herself. It was freezing now, and she wasn't that foolish. She had naturally taken them from her space.
It was just that being near the sea, it would be easy to explain if she brought out real fish.
She just didn't expect Zhou Haimei's trust in her to have already surpassed her imagination.
If Xu An had caught a wild boar today and claimed it was from the sea, Zhou Haimei would likely believe her without hesitation.
Xu An picked out a few ingredients from her backpack and also took out salt and cumin.
Zhou Haimei's eyes were glued to the scene. She felt as if Xu An was radiating golden light, like a celestial being.
Then, avoiding the skewer and dagger in her hands, she threw her arms around Xu An's back.
"An An, what would I do without you!"
Xu An smiled helplessly and said to Zhou Haimei, "Hurry up and get to work."
The affectionate atmosphere between the two was so thick that they completely forgot about the almost-dying patient inside the house.
Xu An wasn't completely heartless, though. Seeing the water heating on the stove, she poured some for Qin Chuan and casually took out a pack of antibiotics from her pocket.
She could have chosen not to give Qin Chuan antibiotics, as this medicine was extremely rare now.
It was basically a case of taking one pill and having one less.
Although Qin Chuan's disguise was good, the moment Xu An touched his skin earlier,
Xu An knew Qin Chuan had a fever. While with his physical fitness, he might be able to endure it,
There was always a chance.
And Xu An disliked chances she couldn't control.
"I'm going in to give Qin Chuan some water. If you don't know how to prepare the fish, leave it, and I'll do it when I come out. You can start boiling the jerky first."
"You got it."
Zhou Haimei eagerly agreed, skewering some of the medium-rare jerky onto bamboo skewers and tossing the rest into the pot on the stove to make soup.
In another pot, some dehydrated vegetables and rice were being cooked.
This rice was something Xu An had exchanged for supplies at the Southern Base.
Clearly, this pot of vegetable porridge was for Qin Chuan, the patient.
Initially, Zhou Haimei had planned to give Qin Chuan the nutrient solution.
Although the stuff was unpalatable, in terms of nutritional elements, it was more suitable for a patient.
But Xu An stopped her, saying it could be kept for later.
Zhou Haimei wondered, weren't they returning to the Lighthouse in a few days? When would "later" be?
At Xu An's reminder, Zhou Haimei belatedly realized that if Qin Chuan was alive,
Then there must be other survivors in the assault team.
Xu An said, "My food definitely won't be enough for so many people then. You can bring out the nutrient solution then."
Zhou Haimei thought about it and realized it made sense.
After all, the nutrient solution was so awful that she was afraid she wouldn't be able to give it away even for free.
Xu An, however, gave a sly smile, "How can you give it away for free? It's something you bought with your hard-earned money. It's all life-saving food! You should charge them then!"
Zhou Haimei: "......" It's all your doing, Xu An!
She had never imagined that the nutrient solution she disliked could be used in such a way.
Meanwhile, Zhou Haimei hummed a little tune excitedly while boiling the fragrant beef soup.
Fortunately, the wooden cabin they found was secluded enough. Otherwise, the aroma could have attracted all those villagers.
On the other side, Xu An, holding a cup of hot water, opened the door and walked into the wooden house.