Misfortune Never Comes Singly

"Mm."

Chen Xu acknowledged her, supporting Luo Xiyun as he led her into the room. There was a bathroom inside.

He knew that, given her personality, she would never have asked him for this if she had not been desperate. Though he was somewhat annoyed with her, he had no intention of making things difficult for her over something like this.

After seeing her into the bathroom, he casually placed his phone on the rack for shampoo to serve as a light source. Then he went out.

Once the bathroom door closed, Chen Xu was plunged into darkness without the only source of light. Unable to see, his other senses seemed heightened, especially his sense of smell. He could now feel himself surrounded by a faint, pleasant fragrance.

It was a sweet scent, like the fragrance of hair he had smelled when he first embraced his First Girlfriend in a dark alley back in high school.

The sound of wind and rain outside seemed to come from somewhere far away, bringing an unusual sense of peace.

Through the bathroom door, he could still clearly hear another kind of water sound, and stray thoughts spread through his mind like weeds.

Suddenly, Luo Xiyun's words echoed in his mind once more.

He rubbed his face hard, then carefully felt his way toward the door. Without any lights, everything was pitch-black. He could only rely on his memory of entering earlier and grope his way to the front door.

When he opened it, icy rain struck his face, making him shiver. He did not dare linger and hurried back next door.

More than ten minutes later, Chen Xu returned in a fresh set of clothes, wearing a raincoat and carrying a large bag of things.

The Main Camp had lost power. He did not know whether the problem lay with the generator or the wiring. With the wind this strong, it would be difficult to inspect either way.

Without electricity, there would be a lot of trouble.

Luo Xiyun was injured as well, making it inconvenient for her to move around. No matter what, in this dream world, only the two of them remained. Even if they were not supporting each other, he could not simply stand by when one of them was in trouble.

"Even for humanitarian reasons, I should help her out."

With that thought, he entered the Coffee Shop. After taking off his raincoat, he held a flashlight in one hand and the bag in the other as he walked inside.

Seeing light in the kitchen, he thought about how she had been trapped since morning and had sprained her foot. With such strong winds, she might not have eaten anything all day. She must have been starving.

When he reached the doorway, the flashlight beam shone inside and landed directly on Luo Xiyun.

Her back was to the door, and she seemed to be chopping something. Her injured left foot was raised off the ground, leaving her supported only by her right foot, and she stood rather unsteadily. She must have known he had arrived, yet she neither turned around nor spoke, silently continuing to chop.

Only the steady thud of the kitchen knife striking the cutting board could be heard.

Chen Xu took a desk lamp from the bag and switched it on. White light filled the entire kitchen.

"I'll do it."

He took a ziplock bag of ingredients from the bag, rolled up his sleeves, and walked over. Reaching out, he grabbed the kitchen knife in her hand, intending to take it from her. To his surprise, she did not let go.

From the strength with which she held the knife, Chen Xu sensed a feeling of resistance.

He had dated before; it was not as though he lacked experience getting along with women. He knew very well that a woman's silence was itself an expression of dissatisfaction.

As for what exactly they were dissatisfied with, he often could not figure it out. Even when he did understand, he would sometimes pretend not to.

More than once, his Ex-girlfriend had complained to his face that he was a hopelessly straight-laced man.

Now, Luo Xiyun had nothing to do with him, so he cared even less.

He said nothing and merely applied a little more force. Luo Xiyun held out for a second before finally letting go, allowing him to take the kitchen knife.

However, she did not leave. Instead, she walked over to the kitchen cabinet, took out the bowls and chopsticks, and began rinsing them.

This kitchen had originally been the back kitchen of the Coffee Shop, so it was spacious enough that two people working inside would not feel crowded. They each did their own thing without interfering with the other, so Chen Xu did not stop her.

More than ten minutes later, the steaming noodles were ready.

There was a table in the kitchen, and Luo Xiyun had already set out the bowls and chopsticks. Chen Xu carried the pot over, and they each picked up their bowls and chopsticks and began eating.

This was the third time they had sat down to eat together. Once again, they sat facing each other. Through the white steam rising from the noodle soup, Chen Xu could clearly see her face, and he was slightly stunned.

Because of the power outage, this was the first time he had looked at her directly since bringing her back.

She had clearly grown thinner. Her whole temperament had changed considerably, becoming somewhat quieter and more fragile.

The environment really could change a person.

He sighed inwardly.

In fact, was he any different? Though he knew this was only a dream and had come here with the mindset of taking a vacation, after spending several months here, he could feel that certain aspects of himself had changed too.

Of course, those changes were not bad. At the very least, he had become more patient.

And the Luo Xiyun before him looked much more agreeable now.

They were both hungry, so they ate intently and quickly. Before long, they finished an entire pot of noodles, leaving not even a drop of broth behind.

After eating, Chen Xu picked up the pot and bowls and took them away to wash.

He had been used to running water, but after coming to the dream world, the water plant had stopped operating, so naturally there was no running water either. Thus, he had built a reservoir himself as a water source.

The reservoir had only been filled yesterday, enough to last them several days.

After washing up, he put the bowls back into the sterilizing cabinet and suddenly noticed something. Many things here came in pairs: a pair of bowls, two sets of chopsticks, soup spoons, cups... even the chairs beside the dining table numbered two.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is terrifying. Good thing I never lived with her, he thought.

He did not consider himself a messy person. He cleaned his room once a week, washed any clothes he changed out of every day, and did his best to keep the room tidy.

But only to this extent.

If he had to clean every day until not a speck of dust remained and arrange every single thing in perfect order, he felt he definitely wouldn't be able to stand it.

And Luo Xiyun was undoubtedly a severe obsessive-compulsive type. You could tell just from the vegetable garden outside, which had been arranged like a flower garden.

After he put everything away, Luo Xiyun had already gone back into the house. He picked up the bag and the desk lamp, walked to the tightly shut door, knocked twice, and said, "Let me take a look at your foot."

There was no response from inside. Just as he thought Luo Xiyun hadn't heard him, her cold voice came from within. "There's no need."

Chen Xu couldn't help frowning. He pulled the handle and twisted it. It wasn't locked, to his surprise. He opened the door and walked in. "Let me see."

She was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees with both arms, her long hair hanging down. When she saw him come in, she turned her face away and said stiffly, "I don't want you meddling."