A Softness Held in the Palm

Xie Li felt a little shy. Wasn't this all moving a bit too fast? Although they'd already done... things, that night had been so chaotic that her memories weren't very clear — everything that happened had been driven entirely by instinct. If something happened again today, she didn't know if she could handle it. What if she couldn't? Would Jin Zhaoye look down on her?

"Um... would it be bad if we... washed together?" Xie Li glanced at Jin Zhaoye like a timid little wife, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.

Jin Zhaoye watched the person who, while asking whether washing together might not be appropriate, was already stepping into the room.

"Classmate Xie Li, I wasn't inviting you to shower together."

"Ah?" Xie Li froze in place, her toes curling up unconsciously.

Jin Zhaoye added another blow: "I was only asking if you wanted to come inside. This is your room — I wouldn't presume to take the host's place."

After saying this, she turned and went into the bathroom, casually pulling the door shut and locking it behind her.

Xie Li stared at the tightly shut bathroom door, listening to the sound of water from inside. Slowly, she crouched down and buried her face, pretending to be an ostrich.

As long as she didn't show her head, the person who'd just embarrassed herself wasn't her.

If her mind weren't endlessly replaying — I wasn't inviting you to shower together — Xie Li would have been able to comfort herself.

Wuwuwu, is this what an older-sister type is like?

In front of her, there was nothing but endless face to lose. She'd clearly fallen for the same trick last time when drinking water — how could she never learn?

No, she couldn't stay here. A person can't fall into the same trap twice!

Xie Li stood up and called out toward the shower: "Jin Zhaoye, I'm going downstairs for a bit."

......

The living room was still in that same messy state, the bloodstains on the floor having slightly congealed and turned black.

Xie Li stepped around the bloodstains and walked to the dining table. The table was piled with things — gold and silver jewelry taken from her home, along with cash and watches collected from around the complex, as well as various jade ornaments.

"Honestly, dumb as rocks — in troubled times, if you're going to loot, you loot gold!" Xie Li muttered sarcastically, picking up a jade Buddha of excellent quality and rich luster, and stored it into her Space.

A line of information immediately flashed through her mind: [Experience +15]

Xie Li's heart leapt with joy — she'd guessed right!

The jade pendant Space needed jade to level up.

She swept all the jade Buddhas, jade bracelets, and jade pendants on the table into her Space.

Regardless of quality, she accepted everything. Notifications of increasing experience kept flashing through her mind.

Suddenly, a warm current surged up from within her body. Xie Li clenched her fists, feeling as though her strength had grown somewhat. Her whole body felt light and buoyant, and her spirit was more refreshed.

"So..." she murmured, "the Space is bound to my strength? When the Space levels up, my strength levels up too. So if I level the Space up to one hundred, could I tank a nuclear blast with my body?"

Xie Li was amused by her own wild speculation and casually swept the remaining items on the table into her Space.

Unexpectedly, the Space didn't just eat jade — it ate gold too. The gold transformed into faint golden beams of light within the Space and, like the jade, merged into it.

Her Space shot from level one all the way to level three, and the storage capacity expanded from 20 cubic meters to 80.

This way, she could store much more. If she pushed a little harder and unlocked the planting Space directly, she'd be able to pack in even more.

When that time came, no matter what the outside world became, she could live very comfortably.

Thinking of this, Xie Li turned and hurried back upstairs. She remembered there was a safe in the study — one left behind by the original host's two mothers who had passed early. There should be good things inside.

Going up to the second floor, when she passed by the master bedroom, Xie Li's steps slowed.

The bathroom door was pulled open, and Jin Zhaoye, freshly showered, walked out. She was wrapped in a towel, her damp long hair spilling over her shoulders. Droplets rolled down the ends of her hair, pausing in the shallow dip of her collarbone, pooling there.

She dried her hair absently, and when she raised her eyes, they met Xie Li's gaze at the doorway.

Xie Li's gaze uncontrollably drifted toward the curves wrapped in the towel — from the trail of water droplets to the deep cleavage pressed out at the fabric's edge. Her mind went blank, with only one thought echoing on repeat.

It must be very soft.

She remembered that night, when Jin Zhaoye had pressed her head down to bury it there.

Now, looking back, she could only remember the fragrance and the softness — that velvety touch, that sweet scent — impossible to forget.

"Xie Li!" Jin Zhaoye called softly.

Xie Li responded instinctively: "Mm?"

"What are you thinking about?" Jin Zhaoye's gaze fell on her unreasonably red face. "Why is your face so red?"

"It's not me, I didn't, you're talking nonsense." Xie Li launched into a triple denial. "I'm going to the study to find something. Pick your own clothes from the walk-in closet. If you're hungry, there's food in the kitchen fridge."

She bolted into the study and slammed the door shut.

Leaning against the door, Xie Li raised her hands to cover her face. Her cheeks were burning — a few degrees hotter and she could probably fry an egg on them.

This is the charm of the female lead, isn't it? She hadn't done anything at all — just taken a shower, wrapped herself in a towel, stood there and looked at her — and Xie Li had already fallen apart completely.

So useless, Cannon Fodder Li.

Xie Li fiercely despised herself for a moment, then patted her cheeks, pulled herself together, and walked to the desk. Her gaze fell on a family photo of three.

In the photo, the original host and her two mothers were smiling happily together.

She looked at it for a few seconds, then murmured softly: "I hope you can reunite with your mothers in another world. This world has become pretty terrible now — living is actually pretty hard."

Xie Li picked up the photo frame and stored it in her Space, then went to the safe and opened it.

The safe contained some documents — property certificates, insurance contracts, and so on — as well as things left behind by the original host's parents: a few jade pendants of excellent quality, bracelets, and several loose emeralds, all valuable antique pieces.

Xie Li cleared everything out of it, and a flash of golden light immediately crossed her mind.

[Congratulations, Space has upgraded to LV.4]

Staring at the upgrade notification, Xie Li's heartbeat quickened. She was only one level away from unlocking the planting Space — the planting and livestock Space were beckoning to her.

But she had also noticed that the things needed to upgrade the Space were becoming more and more.

Going from level one to two only required a few jade plaques; level two to three had consumed an entire table of jewelry; now, going up to level four had even eaten into Xie Li's family heirlooms.

This was only level four — it would only get harder from here. She had to speed up. The city's power supply would last at most a few more days. The book had mentioned that not long after the catastrophe began, the water and electricity would be cut off.

But all of that would have to wait until tomorrow. For now, she'd better go take a shower and change her clothes.

Her clothes had long been a mess — various bloodstains smeared all over her body, sticking to her skin uncomfortably.

Xie Li pushed herself up from her knees, left the study, and headed toward the master bedroom.

The master bedroom door wasn't fully closed, and warm yellow light leaked through the crack. She walked to the door and knocked lightly on it.

Soft footsteps sounded from inside, then the door was pulled open from within.

Jin Zhaoye held the door handle with one hand and looked at Xie Li outside: "Do you need to knock even when entering your own room?"

"I'm afraid I might see something I shouldn't." As Xie Li spoke, her gaze fell on Jin Zhaoye.

Jin Zhaoye had already changed. She wore a creamy white V-neck T-shirt on top, the soft fabric clinging gently to her body, revealing a lovely stretch of collarbone. From the way the cloth draped, one could tell she wasn't wearing anything underneath.

Below, she wore very short sleep shorts that only reached mid-thigh, exposing legs that were fair and straight, long and well-proportioned, with smooth, graceful lines.

Xie Li's gaze stuck to her again, unable to look away. How did this woman look so good in everything? She looked good in a button-up, good in sleepwear, good without clothes too...

No, stop that train of thought!

Jin Zhaoye crossed her arms over her chest, blocking it. "Should I leave the door open and wait for you to watch me change? Don't just stand there at the door — go take your shower."

"Oh, okay, I'll go shower then." Xie Li lowered her head, walked past her, and hurried into the bathroom.

Actually, all the bedrooms on the second floor had their own bathrooms, but she didn't mention it. She was just a little girl who liked to shower in her own room — that was all.

The bathroom still held traces of Jin Zhaoye's scent after her shower, mingled with the fragrance of body wash — warm and humid. Xie Li felt herself once again enveloped by the other's pheromones.

Her gaze inadvertently swept over the laundry basket in the corner — a shirt, dress pants, and... no, she couldn't be a perverted little girl.

Xie Li silently recited a calming mantra while stripping herself naked.

She stepped into the shower and turned the showerhead all the way to the right. Cold water poured down, raising goosebumps all over her body, and those messy thoughts in her heart faded away.

After rinsing with cold water for a while, Xie Li turned the water hot and took a proper shower.

The hot water pouring over her body greatly relieved the fatigue of the entire day.

Xie Li washed very thoroughly — she washed her hair twice and lathered herself with body wash several times, only turning off the faucet when she smelled deliciously fragrant.

She dried her body, blew dry her hair, wrapped herself in a robe, and pulled open the bathroom door to step out.

The main light in the bedroom was off, with only a bedside lamp on. The dim yellow light tinted everything warm, making one's nerves unconsciously relax.

Jin Zhaoye sat on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window, her legs curled up, her long hair loosely falling. The creamy white fabric clung to her fair skin, making her look much softer.

Xie Li quietly approached, but before she could get close, Jin Zhaoye raised her head and looked back at her.

"You go sleep on the bed." Xie Li pointed at the big bed. "I'll sleep in the guest room next door."

Jin Zhaoye shook her head: "We'll sleep together. We have important things to do tomorrow, and we need a full night's sleep tonight."

"We're at home now, with the door locked. We're safe."

Xie Li was on her guard. The earlier comment about showering together had been teasing her, so this invitation to sleep together was definitely teasing her too.

She was clever — she definitely wouldn't be tricked twice in one night by this scheming woman.

"Zombies can't open doors, but people can." Jin Zhaoye gave her a helpless glance. "The lesson from last time is right in front of you — have you forgotten?"

Xie Li fell silent.

This feeling of being caught off guard, completely outmatched in every way — it was truly captivating!!!

She silently turned and walked toward the bed, determined that once the livestock Space was unlocked, she'd raise a lot of fish. If she lacked the brains, she'd make up for it with fish meat.

Seeing Xie Li climb into bed, Jin Zhaoye stood up, went to the window, carefully drew the curtains, then returned to the bed and lifted the covers to get in.

Even though Jin Zhaoye's movements getting into bed were very gentle, Xie Li still felt, through the vibration of the mattress, the weight of another person's presence.

The bedding should have been freshly changed by Xu Yi a couple of days ago, still carrying the fresh scent of laundry fragrance, cool against the skin and comfortable. Jin Zhaoye probably wouldn't find her distasteful, right?

Although she was mentally prepared, this half-familiar state — suddenly sleeping together — was indeed a bit awkward.

Xie Li lay stiff as a corpse on the bed for a long time, the person beside her remaining very quiet. Just as she was beginning to think the other had fallen asleep, Jin Zhaoye suddenly turned over to face her.

"Did you take the gun from downstairs?" As she spoke, her warm breath sprayed against Xie Li's ear.

Xie Li hesitated over whether to turn over too. Facing each other — wouldn't that be too intimate?

"Are you asleep?" Jin Zhaoye asked again.

Xie Li lay stiffly, addressing the ceiling: "No, I'm not asleep, and I didn't take the gun."

"I thought you went downstairs to get the gun."

Xie Li vaguely detected a hint of disdain in her tone. Did she think Xie Li was stupid again?

"I'll go get it now." She decisively threw off the covers, got out of bed, and headed downstairs.

Leaving the gun downstairs was indeed unsafe. If someone broke into the house and found a gun sitting on the table, they'd die laughing — this family had even prepared weapons for the burglars.

Reaching the first-floor living room, Xie Li stored the handgun on the table into her Space, along with the two boxes of bullets on the coffee table. Confirming nothing was left behind, she returned to the second floor with peace of mind.

Lying together again, Xie Li relaxed a little.

After lying for a while, she turned over to look at Jin Zhaoye beside her.

Jin Zhaoye was still lying on her side, facing her.

"You can't sleep either?" Xie Li asked.

"Mm, I'm a bit worried about Ning Meng and the others."

Xie Li wanted to slap herself — why did she have to ask such a stupid question? Where would Jin Zhaoye be worried about Ning Meng? She was worried about her fiancée, wasn't she?

"Oh." She responded dryly, turned over with her back to Jin Zhaoye, pulled the covers up a bit, and said, "I'll sleep first then. You keep worrying. Good night."

"Good night." A faint reply came from behind.

Xie Li closed her eyes, pricked up her ears, and waited for a while. She thought that if Jin Zhaoye spoke again, she would still respond.

Unfortunately, the person behind her seemed to have fallen asleep, her breathing gradually becoming steady. Xie Li waited a long time, and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep too.

......

When she woke again, the bedside lamp was still on, the room filled only with warm yellow light. The curtains were drawn tight, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

Xie Li moved her arm and found her palm wrapped around something warm, soft, and smooth — as if she were holding a piece of top-quality mutton-fat jade.

She looked down at the woman sleeping curled in her arms.

Their posture was incredibly intimate, their necks crossed as they slept. Her chin rested against the top of Jin Zhaoye's head, and her nostrils were filled with that scent of white tea and cedar, mingled with the fresh fragrance of shampoo.

Their bodies were pressed tightly together. Xie Li tried to move, only then realizing that her hand had somehow slipped beneath the other's clothing, her palm cupping a soft mound.

The sensation was full, warm, and so smooth it felt like it might spill out from between her fingers.

Her fingertips were sinking into the soft flesh, and at some point a small, hard pebble had ended up in her palm, sliding gently against it with each of Jin Zhaoye's breaths.

Xie Li nervously swallowed and tried to pull her hand out.

The moment she moved, that little pebble slid across her palm — pressed down, then bouncing back up — the sensation so exquisite it made her head spin.

Jin Zhaoye frowned slightly and let out a soft hum, seemingly displeased at being disturbed from her sweet dreams.

Xie Li didn't dare move. She carefully watched Jin Zhaoye's expression, confirmed there were no signs of waking, and tried to move again.

Before her hand could fully leave that private area, someone pressed down on it.

Jin Zhaoye opened her eyes and met Xie Li's panicked gaze.

"I-I-I... I don't know, it was like this when I woke up." Xie Li hurriedly explained.

"Mm..." Jin Zhaoye responded, glanced down at the hand that had slipped into her clothes, and released her grip on Xie Li's hand.

Freed, Xie Li hurriedly pulled her hand back. She withdrew too quickly, brushing past that small, hard pebble again — from the base of her palm all the way to her fingertips — making it hard not to suspect she'd lingered on purpose.

A very soft sigh escaped from Jin Zhaoye's throat.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Jin." Xie Li apologized repeatedly.

Jin Zhaoye said nothing, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and walked toward the washroom. Her back was straight, her steps steady — giving away nothing unusual.

Xie Li didn't know, but Jin Zhaoye was very clear: once an Alpha and Omega had been marked, they were naturally drawn to each other.

Their pheromones would seek each other out, their bodies would move closer without conscious will. Sleeping in the same bed as they had last night and waking up in each other's arms was perfectly normal.

Once Jin Zhaoye closed the washroom door, she could no longer maintain her composure.

She braced herself against the sink and looked at the woman in the mirror.

Last night had been the best sleep she'd had in days. Though a hint of weariness still lingered between her brows, she looked much more refreshed overall. Her complexion was rosy, and the corners of her eyes were tinged with red.

She hadn't done anything at all — just been touched a few times — and she'd ended up looking like this.

Jin Zhaoye lowered her eyes, turned on the faucet, and let cold water pour over her hands, splashing up tiny droplets.

She cupped some clear water and splashed it on her face, trying to douse the heat rising from deep within her body.

After washing her face, she turned off the water and walked to the toilet. The moment she pulled down her sleep shorts, her movements paused again.

The stringy fabric glistened under the light. She stared at that dark stain for two seconds, her brow furrowing slightly.

A fully mature Omega body that had already tasted such pleasures was indeed easily aroused. Just this kind of unconscious contact was enough to make her... overflow catastrophically.

Jin Zhaoye let out a soft breath, stripped off all her clothes, wrapped the wound on her arm, and stepped into the shower, turning it on.

She stood expressionlessly under the cold water, watching the transparent droplets slide from her shoulders, over her collarbones, and across the skin that a certain little Alpha had been touching all night.

The droplets traced the curves downward. She bit her lower lip, took down the showerhead, parted herself, and carefully rinsed.

This shower lasted a long time. Only when Jin Zhaoye's fingers had become wrinkled from the water did the burning sensation inside her finally subside.

She turned off the water, opened the bathroom cabinet, and took out a fresh towel to wrap around herself.

After tidying herself up in front of the mirror, Jin Zhaoye opened the washroom door and walked out.

Xie Li was still sitting on the bed, the covers piled at her waist, her chin resting on her knees, gazing pitifully at the woman walking out of the washroom like a puppy that had done wrong and was waiting to be punished.

Those eyes were bright and sparkling, and when they looked at her, there was still a hint of guilt.

Jin Zhaoye glanced at her and asked calmly: "Why aren't you up yet?"

Being spoken to, Xie Li instantly regained her energy. She threw off the covers, got out of bed, and quickly went to stand in front of Jin Zhaoye.

"I'll get up right now. Do you want to change clothes? I'll take you." She took Jin Zhaoye's hand and led her toward the walk-in closet.

She even emphasized: "I have a lot of underwear here that I bought just half a month ago. You can wear them — I haven't worn them."

She felt that one of the reasons for what happened that morning was that Jin Zhaoye hadn't been wearing underwear. If she wore underwear, there definitely wouldn't be any accidental discharge.

She pushed open the walk-in closet door, and the lights came on automatically.

Xie Li stood at the doorway, pointing to a row of clothes on the left: "These are all new. We're about the same height, so they should all fit you. Underwear is in the drawer below — pick whatever you like."

She added: "If... the underwear size doesn't fit, you can wear a sports bra — those aren't very particular about size."

Jin Zhaoye walked in, pulled open the drawer, casually took out a black vest-style undergarment, and looked back toward the door.

Xie Li stood there, controlling her gaze so it wouldn't drift toward what was in Jin Zhaoye's hand.

"Are you going to watch from here?"

"Not watching!!!" Xie Li shook her head vigorously, quickly retreated from the closet, helped close the door, and fled toward the washroom.

When she came out after washing up, Jin Zhaoye had already changed.

Most of the clothes in Xie Li's wardrobe were casual and comfortable, without too many flashy styles.

Jin Zhaoye had pulled all her long hair up, a black baseball cap perched on her head covering most of her face. On top, she wore a dark gray fitted tank top, the fabric hugging her figure, with the lines from her shoulders to her arms fully exposed.

Her shoulders weren't too wide — she didn't have a large-framed build — but her frame was extremely well-proportioned, with the outlines of her deltoids and biceps faintly visible. It wasn't exaggerated muscularity, but the most alluring lean-muscled physique.

Below, she wore cargo pants of a similar color, the high-waisted design cinching her waistline neatly, with a black techwear-style belt around her waist.

She carried a black casual shirt in her hand, her posture casual. The whole person looked as if she'd stepped out of a magazine cover — even the bandage on her arm looked like some kind of fashion accessory.

Xie Li swallowed hard, her gaze fixed on Jin Zhaoye, once again stunned by her beauty.

Jin Zhaoye put on the shirt, casually rolling up her sleeves, and looked up to meet Xie Li's somewhat dazed gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She glanced down at her own outfit. "Is something wrong with these clothes?"

"It's fine, very fine, especially fine."

Jin Zhaoye turned around and curved her lips slightly, not letting Xie Li see the smile. "Then hurry up and change. We need to make the most of our time."

"Okay." Xie Li responded and quickly went into the walk-in closet.

She closed the door and quickly changed into outdoor clothes: a simple white T-shirt as a base layer, a soft-shell jacket over it, cargo pants on the bottom, Martin boots on her feet, and a professional outdoor sports watch on her wrist.

Neat, convenient, ready to run or fight at any moment, and unafraid of rain.

Dressing like this was actually a bit hot for the season, but just wearing a T-shirt and shorts couldn't give Xie Li a sense of security. So, a little hot was fine — as long as she wouldn't get bitten by Zombies.

After changing, she turned her gaze to the seasonal clothing in the walk-in closet — hats, scarves, gloves, some brand-new sneakers, blankets, pillows, and so on...

With a thought, she stored all these wearable and usable items into her Space. Wearing her own clothes was always better than picking up other people's things outside.

After emptying the closet, Xie Li pulled open the door and walked out.

"Let's go, we'll head downstairs." She called out to Jin Zhaoye.

Hearing the sound, Jin Zhaoye turned her head, her gaze lingering on Xie Li for a moment. Though the little Alpha was foolish, her beauty was enough.

Going downstairs, Xie Li helped Jin Zhaoye change her bandages and actively went to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Jin Zhaoye finished eating first, took the car keys and went to the garage to start the car. Taking advantage of her absence, Xie Li searched the house again for anything useful — including the toolbox, the regular medicines, Inhibitor patches, Inhibitors, nail clippers, and so on. She didn't miss anything.

It wasn't until the sound of the engine came from outside that Xie Li quickly ran out of the house.

Driving out of Guanlan Garden, Xie Li unlocked her phone, opened the offline map, zoomed in, and pointed at a main road leading from the school's west gate: "Lan Ran and the others probably came out from the school's west gate and likely took this road. The school bus is big and the roads aren't easy to drive on, so they might not have gone far."

Jin Zhaoye glanced at the map, turned the steering wheel, and drove in the direction she pointed.

The road conditions leaving Guanlan Garden were still fairly decent. The villa district had few people to begin with, and after the catastrophe it was even more desolate. Occasionally, a few Zombies wandering by the roadside could be seen, but they were quickly left behind as the SUV accelerated.

Approaching the commercial district, road conditions gradually worsened, and Zombies became more numerous.

Most of the shops on both sides of the road had their doors locked. Some shop windows had been smashed, and the things inside had been ransacked.

Xie Li's gaze swept over the shop signs, and when she saw one with its door open, her breathing quickened.

It was a jade shop. The door was half open, the glass smashed, but most of the items in the counter were intact — presumably the looters hadn't been able to break in.

"Jin Zhaoye, can you stop the car here?" Xie Li turned to look at Jin Zhaoye and asked.

Jin Zhaoye glanced at the rearview mirror. On the road behind them, a large Zombie Horde was chasing the SUV. She didn't ask why, just estimated the distance and decisively hit the brakes.

"We can stay for at most one minute."

After saying this, she grabbed her iron hammer and got out of the car. She sidestepped a Zombie approaching her, swung the hammer from below, and smashed its skull.

That Zombie didn't even grunt before collapsing softly to the ground.

Jin Zhaoye shook the blood off the hammer head and stood by the car like a god of death.

When Xie Li pushed open the car door and got out, her peripheral vision caught this scene — Jin Zhaoye's hammer-retracting motion, and the way she stood by the car, casually surveying her surroundings.

She was completely captivated by how cool Jin Zhaoye looked.

Oh no, today is yet another day where she wants to marry her.