Chen Wan got up early, did a little stretching, and went to wash up.
When she opened the door, she saw Qin Ke already having milk tea and dipping biscuits.
Chen Wan made herself a bowl too and joined Qin Ke for breakfast.
After breakfast, Qin Ke kept moving her arms around.
She hadn’t felt this sore when she got back yesterday, but after a night’s sleep, she could barely lift her arms. Seeing Chen Wan heading towards the driver’s seat, she asked, “Leaving so early today?”
“Yeah, we spent too much time moving supplies yesterday.
Let’s try to cover more distance today,” Chen Wan said as she retracted the steel plates around the RV, letting the dazzling sunlight in.
She squinted and turned on the RV’s ventilation system.
Chen Wan checked the system time and drove slowly towards the horizon, facing the morning sun.
Most of the highway was in good condition, except for some entrances and exits where there were more abandoned vehicles, requiring Chen Wan to carefully maneuver the RV through.
By nine in the morning, Chen Wan had driven to the southern part of Xuanzhong City.
If they continued on the highway for another two or three hours, they would reach Linqi City.
In the bedroom, Yang Yang rubbed her eyes and was the first to wake up.
She looked at the bed, seeing only Mom left, sat up, scratched her little head, and dazed for a while.
Then she slowly stretched her short legs to reach the ground, searched for her shoes, and after much effort, managed to put them on, panting heavily from the exertion.
The little one wandered around the room, finding herself unable to reach the doorknob and open the door.
Seeing Mom asleep again, she anxiously circled the bedroom twice, staring longingly at the doorknob.
Jiang Yanxin heard Yang Yang’s movements and woke up, turning on the bedside lamp to see the little one standing by the door, staring at it.
Supporting herself up, Jiang Yanxin almost fell back down as her arm gave way.
While sitting up and rubbing her arm, she said to Yang Yang, “Yang Yang, do you want to go out?
Why didn’t you call me?
I’ll open the door for you.”
Yang Yang turned to look at Jiang Yanxin and obediently replied, “I saw Mom sleeping soundly, so I didn’t call.”
Jiang Yanxin’s eyes softened as she got up to open the door for Yang Yang, then dragged her sore body to the bathroom to wash up.
The little one was let out and immediately rushed outside, calling out in her sweet little voice, “Mommy~ Auntie~”
“I’m driving, sweetheart.
Let Auntie and Mom play with you for now.
We need to cover more distance today,” Chen Wan replied to Yang Yang while keeping her eyes on the road.
Seeing Mommy busy, Yang Yang immediately wrapped her little hands around Qin Ke’s leg.
Qin Ke, amused, tried to pick up Yang Yang, but her arm gave way, and she almost couldn’t lift her.
After trying twice, she finally managed to hold Yang Yang in her arms.
Yang Yang didn’t notice anything unusual about Qin Ke and snuggled in her lap, acting cute.
“Have you washed up?
How about Auntie makes you some milk tea with biscuits?”
Qin Ke pinched the little one’s chubby hand and asked.
Yang Yang shook her little head, feeling like something was missing.
Mom forgot to help her wash up!
Qin Ke, amused by Yang Yang’s expression, tried again to lift Yang Yang, but her arms were too sore to manage.
She had to tell the little one in her lap, “Yang Yang, Auntie’s arms hurt from carrying too much yesterday, so I can’t hold you well.
How about I take you to wash up?”
“Okay,” Yang Yang nodded obediently.
She was a bit hungry, and once Auntie helped her wash up, she could eat.
Qin Ke, enduring the soreness in her arms, managed to place the little one on the ground and led Yang Yang to the RV’s original bathroom.
Inside, Yang Yang’s toiletries were already set up.
Qin Ke squeezed toothpaste onto Yang Yang’s toothbrush, helped her brush her teeth, washed her face, and applied some lotion before leading her out to sit on the sofa and wait.
Qin Ke, holding the little one, watched as Yang Yang struggled to climb onto the sofa.
After just a few attempts, her hands were trembling.
Yesterday’s activities were more exhausting than a whole day of holding a gun in special operations.
After setting up milk tea and biscuits for the little one, Yang Yang obediently used a spoon to eat bit by bit.
Jiang Yanxin, after a while, also dragged her tired body up.
Seeing Mom arrive, Yang Yang instinctively reached out her little hands for a hug.
Jiang Yanxin patted Yang Yang’s little face and said helplessly, “Sweetheart, Mom can’t hold you these days.
My arms hurt so much I can’t lift them at all.”
Yang Yang’s little head was full of questions.
How did Mom and Auntie become unable to hold her after just one trip out of the car?
“Mommy, Auntie can’t hold me either,” Yang Yang said, touching her little belly.
It wasn’t even round yet; she hadn’t eaten much, and they couldn’t hold her?
But Yang Yang didn’t insist.
Hearing Mom say she couldn’t hold her, she lowered her little head and continued eating obediently.
Jiang Yanxin looked at Qin Ke and said helplessly, “My arms feel like they’re broken.
I can’t believe we moved so much stuff yesterday.”
“Same here.
I tried a few times earlier and couldn’t lift Yang Yang.
Looks like we need a good rest for a few days,” Qin Ke said, her condition slightly better than Jiang Yanxin’s.
Chen Wan, driving, heard their conversation.
She pulled the car over to the side.
The apocalypse had its perks; you could stop wherever you wanted without anyone caring.
Chen Wan unbuckled her seatbelt and walked over to the small dining area, taking out thirty crystal cores.
“Eat the crystal cores; they might help relieve the soreness.”
With that, Chen Wan took out ten crystal cores for herself and started eating them.
Jiang Yanxin and Qin Ke’s arms were hurting badly, so they quickly ate the crystal cores.
Of course, the crystal cores weren’t miracle drugs and couldn’t instantly heal them, but the warm currents flowing through their arms did provide some relief to their sore muscles.
Meanwhile, the little one gathered all ten of her crystal cores in front of her with her chubby hands, pursed her little lips, and planned to eat them like candy later.
Chen Wan, seeing Yang Yang’s adorable expression, softened her gaze even more.
She then took out the tablet and learning machine she had brought back yesterday for Yang Yang.
“See if these still work.
If not, Yang Yang can play with them.
I just grabbed them on the way.”
“Sure, usually tablets have some pre-installed games or movies, right?”
Jiang Yanxin’s eyes lit up at the thought.
Their life in the RV was mostly spent reading to pass the time, so watching a movie would be a nice change.
Yang Yang ate breakfast while watching Jiang Yanxin and Qin Ke fiddle with the tablet.
The tablet in Jiang Yanxin’s hand had half a battery charge when turned on, but unfortunately, it only had the default tablet interface with no movies or games.
And with no internet available, it was pretty much useless.
Qin Ke’s tablet was the same.
The two of them, slightly disappointed, set the tablets aside.
Jiang Yanxin made herself a bowl of the same breakfast as Yang Yang and sat down to eat with her.
Qin Ke started tinkering with the learning machine and was surprised to find it had quite a few pre-downloaded items, such as videos explaining the Three Hundred Tang Poems and Song Lyrics, video lessons and test explanations for elementary education grades 1-6, a thousand and one philosophical stories, and a hundred must-watch children’s cartoons, among other things.
Qin Ke randomly clicked on a cartoon, which showed little animals playing in the forest.
She turned up the volume and adjusted the learning machine so Yang Yang could watch.
Yang Yang’s eyes widened, and she pointed with her little finger, “Mom, little animals!”
“Yes, I got it for you, but this thing is bad for your eyes.
You can only play for an hour a day, or it’ll hurt your eyes,” Jiang Yanxin reminded her.
“Okay, I want to watch now,” Yang Yang said in a cute, pleading voice.
Qin Ke propped the tablet up on the dining table for Yang Yang, who watched while eating, and even Jiang Yanxin joined in for a bit.
There was no other reason; it had been so long since they had touched any electronic devices, and even a cartoon was better than nothing.
Yang Yang was so engrossed in the cartoon rabbit that her eyes were glued to the screen.
After breakfast, they let the little one watch for a while longer before Jiang Yanxin put the learning machine away and charged it, as the RV had charging ports and ample solar power.
With no more cartoons to watch, Yang Yang started eating the crystal cores one by one.
The little one was full of energy.
After finishing the crystal cores, she pestered Jiang Yanxin to tell her stories.
When Jiang Yanxin got tired, Yang Yang slid off the sofa and clung to Qin Ke’s leg, pleading, “Auntie, I want to hear more.”
“Alright, I’ll keep telling you,” Qin Ke said, unable to resist the little one.
After eating the crystal cores, her arm didn’t hurt as much, so she managed to hold the little one in her arms and continued telling stories to Yang Yang.
Jiang Yanxin washed the dishes and, seeing that Yang Yang was with Qin Ke, sat in the passenger seat next to Chen Wan to keep her company while driving.
“How much longer until we reach Linqi City?”
Jiang Yanxin asked, looking at the endless highway outside the window.
“Not long, we should be there in less than two hours.
Once we pass through Linqi City, Funan City won’t be far.
But we might need to find a place to replenish water and gasoline along the way,” Chen Wan replied after thinking for a moment.
“Okay.”
Jiang Yanxin looked at the sunlit road ahead, feeling hopeful that maybe her family was still alive.
Half an hour later, they started seeing sporadic vehicles on the highway.
This was one of the few times Chen Wan and the others had seen living people, and as they got closer to Linqi City, more vehicles were heading out, meaning they were going in the opposite direction of Chen Wan and her group.
Chen Wan furrowed her brow, sensing something was off.
Jiang Yanxin was also surprised, watching the cars rush by.
“These vehicles seem to be coming from Linqi City.
Is something happening there?”
Jiang Yanxin voiced her doubts.
Chen Wan nodded, “It seems so.”
Chen Wan hesitated for a moment and then pulled the RV over.
She wanted to open the window and ask the passing vehicles what was happening, but in the post-apocalyptic world, people were cautious, and not a single car stopped despite Chen Wan’s waving.
