With limited food resources, there wasn’t much to say about this meal.
After eating, Qin Lan helped take the dishes to the kitchen, while Chen Xin cleaned the table as she washed the dishes.
After tidying the table, Chen Xin picked up the game controller again, but Qin Lan started exercising beside him after washing the dishes.
Watching Qin Lan stretch, Chen Xin couldn’t help but ask, "Ah Lan, since when did you develop the habit of exercising after meals?"
"This isn’t called post-meal exercise, just moderate activity to help digestion." Qin Lan continued to move her body while also advising Chen Xin, "Ah Xin, you should exercise too. Some moderate activity after eating can help with digestion."
"No, I want to play games!" Chen Xin refused directly and bluntly.
Seeing this, Qin Lan didn’t insist and continued to exercise on her own—something she had gotten used to after the apocalypse.
After all, the conditions in the official shelter couldn’t compare to Chen Xin’s place. Without games to play, the only way to kill time was exercise.
However, Qin Lan only did some stretching and shaping exercises, not deliberately trying to build muscle. She remembered Chen Xin once said he liked girls with muscle definition but didn’t want them to look like bodybuilders.
So Qin Lan exercised to maintain stamina and core strength, rarely focusing on building muscles to avoid becoming overly muscular.
After some activity, Qin Lan inevitably worked up a little sweat and, being dressed warmly to keep out the cold, decided she wanted a shower after the exercise.
If she were in the official shelter, she might have to hurry.
Because the shelter had periodic water supply, with no running water after nine at night, even the hot water only lasted until ten due to the tank. If she didn’t hurry, she wouldn’t finish her shower.
With the idea of taking a shower in mind, she began undressing.
To Qin Lan, it seemed like a perfectly normal action, but Chen Xin was a bit surprised and asked, "Ah Lan, why are you taking off your clothes?"
"Taking a shower, of course. I sweated, so I need to clean up!" Qin Lan took off her sweater, unbuttoning her shirt while asking, "Ah Xin, where’s your bathroom?"
Seeing Qin Lan’s matter-of-fact expression, Chen Xin could only look away and point to a nearby bathroom, saying, "There, the hot water’s on the left tap."
"Oh, I see. I didn’t bring a towel. Is it okay to use yours?" Qin Lan glanced at Chen Xin, having managed to take off her pants, revealing her stunningly well-toned legs.
Faced with such temptation from his ex-girlfriend, Chen Xin felt increasingly awkward, so he paused the game and headed to the bedroom, "I’ll get you a new one."
Qin Lan looked at what seemed like Chen Xin’s slightly embarrassed back and couldn’t help but chuckle. She felt like Chen Xin had become a lot shyer compared to before in some ways.
Soon, Chen Xin returned with a new towel and an unopened bar of soap.
Placing the towel and soap in Qin Lan’s hands and facing her now only in a vest, Chen Xin turned his face away, saying, "There’s shampoo in the bathroom."
"It’s not like you haven’t seen it before, why so shy?" Receiving the items from Chen Xin and seeing his reluctant glance, Qin Lan couldn’t resist teasing him and deliberately puffed out her chest.
"Alright, stop enticing me, go take your shower!" Seeing this, Chen Xin slapped Qin Lan on her shapely butt like he used to urge her to bathe while he pretended to act nonchalant, sitting back on the sofa to continue his game.
Touching where Chen Xin slapped her, Qin Lan laughed and then walked into the bathroom.
Seeing Qin Lan enter the bathroom, Chen Xin finally exhaled a sigh of relief, reaching up to touch his face, only to remember that this hand had just slapped Qin Lan’s butt.
"Feels even better than before." Chen Xin didn’t understand his mindset, but he instantly discerned the difference between the current and past feel.
However, he didn’t have any thoughts about Qin Lan, nor did he feel any particular allure about a beautiful woman showering less than ten meters away, behind just one door.
Even though Chen Xin knew that if he suggested showering together, Qin Lan wouldn’t refuse, he still had no such intention.
It’s not that Chen Xin was some kind of saint or didn’t like women. He and Qin Lan, when together, didn’t have any reservations in that regard. Both were energetic types, often spending weekends staying up all night.
But after breaking up, Chen Xin felt their relationship was no longer the same and that he shouldn’t have any entanglements with Qin Lan anymore. Breaking up meant breaking up.
Being broken up, there was no need to cling to someone.
This was also why Chen Xin hadn’t been in contact or interaction with Qin Lan since then, and Qin Lan understood Chen Xin’s thoughts.
Since both had broken up, they shouldn’t become a burden to each other. Starting anew would be better for both of them.
However, the apocalypse broke this mutual understanding, bringing them together again, and rekindled emotions that Qin Lan thought had been settled.
Listening to the sound of water in the bathroom and reminiscing about watching Qin Lan bath before, Chen Xin felt a certain agitation simmering inside him.
This caused his breathing to become somewhat heavy, so he put down the game controller, planning to go to the storage room to get a bottle of water to drink, hoping it might cool his emotional state.
Reaching the storage room, grabbing a bottle of stored purified water, Chen Xin unscrewed the cap and drank nearly half of it in one go, feeling his emotions settle down a bit.
He didn’t rush to go back, straining his ears to listen to the bathroom’s water sounds, planning to wait until Qin Lan finished showering to go back up, thus avoiding unnecessary embarrassment.
Perhaps it was due to her police habits, but Qin Lan didn’t take long in the shower, with the water sounds stopping after around ten minutes.
Estimating that Qin Lan should be dressed by now, Chen Xin took the water and returned to the living room.
However, what presented itself to him was a scene he rather wouldn’t have seen— Qin Lan was only wearing a sweater, leaning against the sofa, her long, porcelain legs stretching out, leading his gaze somewhere it shouldn’t.
Seeing Chen Xin enter, Qin Lan asked him, "What are you waiting for?"
"I think it’s better not to. We’re already broken up." Chen Xin swallowed his saliva, making the difficult choice to refuse.
But clearly, this wasn’t the answer Qin Lan wanted to hear.
So the tigress leapt up, grasped her prey, tossed him onto the sofa, and pounced on him...
(The next 39,078 words have been omitted.)