Resignation

Luo Xiyun thought of those three months—how Chen Xu had deliberately left her hanging, ignored her, treated her as though she did not exist—and her teeth itched with hatred.

More than once during that time, she had thought about simply leaving.

But she quickly lost heart again. Where could she go?

In the end, all the anger in her heart had turned toward Chen Xu. She had wanted nothing more than to tear that petty, ungentlemanly man to pieces.

She knew perfectly well that he was doing it for revenge. Her initial remarks had hurt his pride, and he had wanted to force her to lower her head first.

How shameless.

What kind of man are you? More than once, she had wanted to rush up to Chen Xu and berate him like that.

But she had not. Wasn't this attitude of his meant to make her go to him first? If she did, it would mean she had lost.

For her to lower her head to Chen Xu? In his dreams.

You act like I don't exist, and I'll ignore you too. Let's see who gives in first.

She had been holding her breath over it. As time passed, her hatred for Chen Xu had not faded; instead, it had continued to build.

At first, she knew the best way was to completely ignore him in her heart.

But she soon discovered that it was impossible.

There was no internet in this world, no one else to talk to. In such an environment, loneliness and isolation gnawed at the soul every moment, enough to drive someone mad in minutes.

She had experienced that firsthand during the first month.

No matter how much she told herself to treat Chen Xu as air, in this deathly silent world, the two of them lived together in such a small space. Chen Xu had left countless traces in her life, and she simply could not turn a blind eye to them.

Until one day, Chen Xu went out. She heard no movement from his side all day, and for some reason, she grew restless, unable to settle down no matter what she did.

From then on, no matter how unwilling she was to admit it, deep down, she had realized that she had developed a certain dependence on Chen Xu.

If something happened to that man, she knew she would not have the courage to live alone in this empty, deserted world.

Even so, she was unwilling to admit defeat.

She still had a fire in her heart and intended to fight that bastard to the bitter end.

The days passed one by one, and their relationship remained in a delicate balance. On the surface, neither paid the other any attention, but in reality, they completed their respective tasks with perfect unspoken coordination.

For a full three months, Luo Xiyun watched Chen Xu live his life as though nothing had happened, calm and carefree, and it made her teeth itch with hatred.

Then came the typhoon a month ago. She had ridden out on her bicycle and been caught in the heavy rain. In her haste, she fell together with the bike, injured her foot, and was stranded halfway, unable to move forward or back.

At the time, she had huddled inside a shop by the roadside, watching the torrential rain pour down. Her only thought was: would that bastard come save her?

At that moment, she did not care about the pain of her injury or the danger brought by that terrible typhoon. She only wanted to know whether that man would come save her.

She waited for eight hours.

In such desperate circumstances, waiting was incomparably agonizing. Yet her heart had been calm, so calm that even she had been surprised.

Then, two beams of light pierced the thick curtain of rain and shone toward her. Tears immediately spilled from her eyes, and as though the fear had only just caught up with her, terror, anxiety, and grievance surged through her heart. All the strength seemed to drain from her body, and she collapsed to the ground.

Because of that delay, the car had already driven some distance away. When she noticed, she immediately turned on her phone's flashlight. Ignoring the fierce wind, she limped and stumbled to the roadside, waving the light desperately toward the car.

When Chen Xu got out, she had badly wanted to ask why he had come so late. But she said nothing. She knew that if she opened her mouth, she would not be able to stop herself from crying.

She did not want to show weakness in front of him, so she remained silent the entire way.

At the same time, she had been extremely dissatisfied with Chen Xu's behavior. He had not offered a single word of comfort, nor had he even bothered to ask after her. He had not said a word.

Would it kill you to say something?

Her heart was filled with grievance. She had never seen such a cold-hearted man. Even at a time like this, he had remained unmoved.

But she still held herself together.

Until that bastard said he wanted to look at her injury, she finally could not take it any longer. All the emotions that had built up inside her erupted at once, and she had a fight with Chen Xu.

Although she had cursed him as a bastard in her heart every day for the past few months, she had never expected him to be such an utter bastard.

After calming down for a few days, she had come to terms with it—or perhaps resigned herself to it. Faced with a man like this, there was nothing she could do.

She knew Chen Xu meant what he said and did what he promised. Once her injury healed, he really would stop paying attention to her, just as he had said. She had only two choices before her: leave, or accept her fate.

Since she could not leave, she could only accept her fate.

Once she had thought it through, she finally took the initiative to ask him something during a meal. Just that simple question melted the thick wall of ice between them.

She had originally thought Chen Xu would put on airs for a while, but he had not at all. He answered and asked questions naturally, and his attitude was not unpleasant in the slightest. It was as though the three-month cold war between them had never happened.

She felt that she understood this man even less.

Still, the two of them could finally talk, eat, communicate, and work together like normal people. In this apocalypse, she was no longer alone. That was enough for her.

After a month of getting along, she found that Chen Xu was not difficult to deal with. He was not as unreasonable as he had previously appeared. He spoke gently and was very mindful of boundaries in their interactions, never making her feel offended in the least.

She had also come to understand that this guy was like a donkey—you could only stroke him with the grain, never go against him.

As she thought back on the past, the dishes were already finished. She picked up the wireless intercom in the living room and said, "Dinner's ready."

Chen Xu's voice soon came through. "I'll be right back."

Before long, the door was pushed open from outside, and Chen Xu walked in. Standing by the entrance, he took off his thick snowproof jacket.

Luo Xiyun stepped forward to take the clothes he had removed, then suddenly said, "Your forehead is bleeding."

"Is it?" Chen Xu took off his gloves and reached up to touch his forehead.