"You're awake? Is anything still bothering you? You've been asleep all day." Yi Yi noticed Jiang Wanning looking at her and asked.
Jiang Wanning was still a little dazed. She reached up to feel her own forehead — and the next moment, someone caught her wrist.
"You're still on the drip. What are you trying to do? Let me." Yi Yi took hold of her wrist carefully and repositioned it, then helped pull the disheveled blanket back into place.
Jiang Wanning felt like something was off. Who was this woman taking care of her? She used her free hand to pinch herself hard on the thigh — hard enough that her eyes watered.
"This isn't a dream? Ow — that really hurt." She'd pinched herself too forcefully and sucked in a sharp breath.
Yi Yi found this dazed, muddled little human girl quite entertaining. She smiled at her. "Of course it's not a dream. I'm your sister's friend. Your sister and Chen Wan came to find you."
"My sister is here? Where are they? And my parents?" Jiang Wanning fired the questions out one after another. She tried to sit up, but one hand had the IV line in it, so she could only push herself up a little with the other.
Seeing how awkward the position was, Yi Yi slipped one arm behind Jiang Wanning's back and the other under her knees, lifted her slightly, and propped some pillows behind her, saying pleasantly: "Lean back — that'll be more comfortable."
Jiang Wanning went completely rigid. The side of her face burned red from Yi Yi's sudden closeness. Even after she was settled comfortably against the pillows, the tips of her ears were still so red they looked ready to bleed. She snuck a glance at Yi Yi, telling herself that this woman was simply taking care of a patient, and forced herself to tamp down her flustered heart. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Yi Yi smiled, a little puzzled by the blush spreading across Jiang Wanning's face. She ran an analysis on her optical brain, trying to work out the cause, while answering the questions Jiang Wanning had asked a moment ago. "They've all gone to rest. I'm a night owl — I don't sleep much — so I volunteered to stay with you."
Jiang Wanning was mostly convinced, but still puzzled about why they were in this place. It was so luxurious compared to the tent they'd been in before — the difference was staggering.
While Jiang Wanning's mind wandered in circles, Yi Yi's optical brain finished its analysis. Human emotions were extraordinarily complicated — blushing could have any number of causes: heat, constipation, anger, shyness, and so on. Each scenario had different frequency patterns. Complex. But the current result pointed to: Jiang Wanning was embarrassed.
Yi Yi, ever direct, simply asked: "Are you embarrassed? Your face is so red."
Jiang Wanning had been lost in thought, and the question made her face go even redder. She looked at Yi Yi for a split second, then quickly changed the subject: "So, so — why are we here? Where is this place?"
"This is Zone A at the base. It's a bit complicated to explain, but if you're not sleepy, I can walk you through it."
Yi Yi had caught the very obvious subject change, understanding it as avoidance — when humans didn't want to answer something, they simply said something else. Still, her face lit up with a hint of excitement. Being cooped up in this wretched base had been utterly suffocating — she'd barely exchanged a word with anyone. Finally, someone to talk to.
Jiang Wanning genuinely wanted to know what had happened today anyway. And she definitely didn't want the woman across from her to ask again why her face was red. The reason was simple enough — she was embarrassed. The woman had put her arm around her waist earlier, and even though she knew it was just caregiving, it had made her, a perpetual singleton, completely flustered.
"Sure, I feel much better after sleeping all day. Tell me everything. Oh — I still don't know your name. I'm Jiang Wanning." Jiang Wanning looked at Yi Yi. She had the distinct impression that this person was very happy about something.
"I'm Yi Yi. I already know your name." Yi Yi smiled, then launched right in: "Let me start from when we drove to the base. We'd just handed over the vehicle and were waiting in line when we ran into trouble..." Yi Yi immediately started chattering away, completely unaware of how at odds her tendency to talk non-stop was with her striking, vivid looks.
Jiang Wanning had slept the whole afternoon, taken her medicine, and had the IV — the hives on her face and body had subsided, and she was feeling quite alert now. She listened carefully as Yi Yi talked, but the more she heard, the more unsettled she became. Chen Wan's group had taken care of one group of people just waiting in line, another group right upon entering the base, and then — most unbelievably of all — Xiang Jiawei himself, apparently dealt with as well.
Was Chen Wan really that formidable? And this Qin Ke, too? The way this woman in front of her was telling it, every detail sounded almost mythical.
Yi Yi could tell from the expression on Wan Ning's face that she didn't believe her. She just smiled and added, "It's all true. If you don't believe me, ask your sister tomorrow morning. Or your parents — they saw it all firsthand."
Jiang Wanning gave a noncommittal nod. She certainly hadn't believed all of it, and she'd definitely be asking around in the morning. The story was too outlandish — the apocalypse novels she'd read before all this had never dared go this far. Still, she had a more pressing problem at hand: the drip bag was still more than half full, and she really needed to use the bathroom. If it were one of her family members here, it would be no big deal, but she'd only just met this woman, and it was embarrassing to bring up.
Yi Yi noticed Jiang Wanning's face had gone red again. This time, she didn't bother analyzing — she defaulted to: embarrassed again. She was starting to think that young human girls just loved being embarrassed. It seemed to be their default state.
"Are you embarrassed again?" Yi Yi was genuinely baffled by how much humans liked to be embarrassed about everything — talking, getting undressed, even a simple kiss. What was there to be embarrassed about? Androids like her didn't have this problem at all.
Jiang Wanning had been holding it in for a while now. She'd been asleep all day, had porridge in the afternoon, and just finished a whole bag of IV drip — and now this second one was going too. There was no telling how much longer it would take. She really couldn't hold it anymore. She looked at Yi Yi with a helpless, pleading expression. "Can you call my sister? Or my mom would be fine too."
"At this hour, they're probably all asleep. Today was a lot — let them rest. Whatever you need, just tell me. I'll sort it out. We're all on the same side here, no need to be awkward." Yi Yi kept that warm, easy smile on her face.
Jiang Wanning nearly wanted to cry. This was not the kind of thing you could just not be awkward about. Still, she swallowed her embarrassment and finally got the words out, face bright red: "I need to use the bathroom."
Yi Yi immediately stood up and reached for the IV bag hanging above. "Why didn't you say so sooner? I'll carry the bag for you. Come on, be careful getting up — I'll help you."
Jiang Wanning looked at Yi Yi's outstretched hand and gave in, letting herself be pulled carefully upright.
Then she realized she had a problem: with one hand occupied by the IV line, putting on shoes was difficult. And her shoes were her lace-up sneakers, which were also rather dirty.
Yi Yi lifted the bag and followed Jiang Wanning's gaze. She understood immediately, set the bag back on its hook, found the slippers in the room, and brought them over. "Just wear these — this villa's got everything you could need."
Jiang Wanning hadn't expected Yi Yi to be so attentive, reading her thoughts before she even said anything. "Thank you," she said, ears red.
"Don't mention it. I already said we're on the same side. How many times have you thanked me this evening? Here — let me help you up."
Jiang Wanning had just started to reach out her hand when something wrapped around her waist from behind, and she found herself standing upright, guided by the arm at her back. She knew perfectly well it was Yi Yi's arm back there, which only made her face burn hotter. She'd expected a hand to pull her up; she hadn't expected Yi Yi to just go ahead and put an arm around her. And that arm still hadn't let go.
Yi Yi, being an android, had never been in a romantic relationship — she had absolutely no concept of taking advantage. She was simply worried that Jiang Wanning was still feverish and might not be steady on her feet, so she kept the arm in place to check whether she could walk on her own.
"Are you alright? Still dizzy standing up?" Yi Yi tilted her head to look at her, close enough that the height difference was only about three or four centimeters.
Jiang Wanning had been managing fine until Yi Yi spoke. The moment she did, Jiang Wanning felt her face get even hotter. From any angle, the way they were standing looked exactly like Yi Yi was holding her. They were so close she could feel the warmth of Yi Yi's breath.
Jiang Wanning answered in a flurry: "I'm fine, I can walk by myself."
Yi Yi heard the soft, flustered voice and smiled. Of the three women in the RV — Chen Wan, who was terrified of her wife, cool and reserved Qin Ke, and the quietly aloof Jiang Yanxin — this little sister was something else entirely. In looks, she was bright-eyed and clear-featured, with not an ounce of distance in her expression. Sweet and soft-natured, the kind of girl who was clearly very easy-going. Yi Yi liked that about her. It meant she could chatter away to her heart's content without worrying about the other person getting annoyed.
Yi Yi let go, then held the IV bag up high as she walked with Jiang Wanning into the bathroom. Jiang Wanning's neck had gone red all the way down. Yi Yi, unbothered, found the towel rack above the toilet and hung the bag from it, then turned around. "Can you manage on your own? Do you need help?"
Jiang Wanning realized what she was implying and shook her head quickly. "No, I'm fine."
Yi Yi saw the flush on her face again, smiled, and said, "Alright, call me when you're done so I can carry the bag back. I don't want the drip to run wrong."
"Okay," Jiang Wanning said, voice barely above a whisper.
Yi Yi gave a nod, stepped out of the bathroom, and pulled the door shut behind her.
Jiang Wanning had no idea what was wrong with her. Her heart was racing. The thought of Yi Yi helping her to the bathroom made her feel like her face might actually catch fire. She hadn't bathed in two weeks — her hair was probably a greasy mess. Yi Yi had seen her like this, and she couldn't help wondering what kind of impression she'd made. Not that it was her fault. She was naturally a clean person; she simply hadn't had the means.
The girl's thoughts spiraled aimlessly. When she finally finished and stood up, fresh embarrassment washed over her. She'd been such a nuisance. But she couldn't stay in there forever. In the end, she called out with red-tipped ears: "Yi Yi — I'm done."
"Okay. Coming in?" Yi Yi asked, pausing at the door. She understood that using the bathroom was a private matter for humans and didn't want to intrude without checking.
"Mm."
Only after hearing Wanning's reply did Yi Yi step inside, take hold of the IV bag again, and help the girl back into bed. "About half an hour left. If you get sleepy, go ahead and sleep — I'll take the needle out for you."
"I'm not sleepy." Jiang Wanning buried her face in the blanket and peeked at Yi Yi every so often from the corner of her eye.
Yi Yi noticed, of course. She smiled. "What is it? Curious about me? Ask me anything — I'll tell you."
"I'm not curious." Caught in the act, Jiang Wanning's ears went red, and she squeezed her eyes shut, pretending she was about to sleep. But perhaps because her body was still weak, what started as an act became real — within moments of closing her eyes, she was genuinely asleep. She didn't even stir when the needle was removed.
Yi Yi didn't need sleep, and she figured she'd keep watch over the girl for Chen Wan's sake so none of them had to worry. She dimmed the room to just the bedside lamp and settled into the chair, sitting there with nothing much to do.
So when Jiang Wanning opened her eyes the next morning, the first thing she saw was Yi Yi sitting in the chair beside the bed, gazing absently into space — looking very much like she hadn't slept at all.