Chapter 24: Woman, Where’s the Soft, Squishy Little Jelly I Had at Home?! Part 3

All right. Now, at least, she could breathe a little easier.

The presidential suite was safe in the blizzard and extreme cold. Tang Danqing had built every last part of it herself.

Her sense of good fortune ebbed like the tide. Tang Danqing let out a long breath, then leaned back against the soft sofa.

She plugged in her phone and turned it on. Her stomach suddenly growled.

Shang You was startled. She immediately asked with concern, “Are you hungry? Let’s get you something to eat.”

“Shan Qing, there’s plenty of food in your space. Or you can tell me what you want, and I’ll make it…”

Tang Danqing shook her head and looked at the date and time on her phone—

She’d been unconscious outside for a day and a night, twenty-six hours in all.

There were two unread group messages from the film crew.

Yesterday at noon.

Director: [@Everyone, we’re all safely back at the hotel. Please don’t go outside. Wait for further updates.]

[/OK]

[Got it.]

[Got it. /Fist bump]

…

Last night.

[@Everyone, notice from the hotel: Everyone currently staying here, please bring your key cards to the sixth floor to register the number of people in your room and their names. The hotel will provide three meals a day according to the registration list for the next few days. Heavy snow has blocked the roads, so we’ll all have to make do with communal meals for now. /Fist bump]

The replies were still mostly “Got it,” along with a few sobbing face emojis.

Tang Danqing didn’t know what to say. She read everything with a blank expression, then left the group chat.

She hadn’t been there when everyone returned, or when they registered.

But the world had kept turning without her.

“Shan Qing, are you upset?”

Shang You had noticed the faintest crease in her brow and asked in a gentle voice.

“Jelly, my real name is Tang Danqing. Danqing, as in ‘a masterful brush.’” Tang Danqing put down her phone and gave her a soft look.

“I’m not upset. I just wanted to ask… How long did the extreme cold apocalypse last in your world?”

“Four years.”

Tang Danqing froze. She’d imagined it must have been a long time, but hearing the answer still shocked her.

“Did it ever warm up?”

“Never. A lot of people died.”

Tang Danqing didn’t know why, but she was speaking almost without thinking. She quickly added, “Don’t open the curtains. And don’t go outside yet.”

If the world of Extreme Cold Apocalypse had suddenly descended on them, no one knew when the winter would end.

“I know, Danqing… When I came to get you, I did it secretly.”

Shang You knew that this world was inhabited. There were countless eyes watching.

This wasn’t the deserted, dilapidated hotel from before. There were countless eyes here, and they would soon turn vicious.

She had more experience than Tang Danqing.

Experience she’d gained by living through the changes herself.

“Danqing, I’m so glad I can still see you.”

Little Jelly’s gentle, tender voice filled the warm air.

Tang Danqing blinked, then saw her smiling, eyes curved.

A demure young woman, gentle and lovely…??

The mood felt wrong. The whole situation felt wrong.

She’d thought Little Jelly would be small, soft, and squishy. Instead, she was long-legged and slender-waisted, mature and strikingly beautiful, with all the curves of a grown woman. She was no little girl.

Tang Danqing needed to keep firm social boundaries with mature women who unconsciously gave off a sensual allure. She especially needed to be careful not to give anyone the wrong idea.

Because she was gay!

No one else knew, but she did. God was watching, and she couldn’t afford to be careless.

Friendship and romance, socializing and flirting—she had to keep all four of those things separate.

“Me too, Jelly.” Tang Danqing stood up, relieved and reflective. “I never thought you’d be the one to save me, too. Thank goodness you were there…”

She glanced toward the side bedroom and smoothly changed the subject.

“We’re so lucky to have this place… I still can’t believe any of this… Um, how about you take the master bedroom, and I’ll sleep in the other room?”

She couldn’t keep holding Jelly while they slept like before! Absolutely not!

Tang Danqing pulled a bedroll out of her space. Before Shang You could respond, she forced a casual smile. “I’ll go make the bed.”

Then she hurried into the second bedroom as if someone were chasing her.

First things first: when two people lived together, they had to keep clear boundaries!

Shang You watched Tang Danqing hurry away, deeply puzzled.

She seemed to be avoiding any contact with Shang You.

Tang Danqing was acting a little strange today.

It wasn’t hard to understand. She had lost her oasis and been dragged into the apocalypse. Of course she’d lose her urge to help others and share what she had, and gain a wary, self-protective streak instead.

Any of a person’s good qualities could die in a desperate situation, traded away for survival.

Things were different now. Just as Shang You would have to watch out for Tang Danqing killing her in their shared shelter and taking all the resources for herself, Tang Danqing would have the same thoughts about Shang You. Shang You could put herself in her shoes. She understood completely. She was used to it.

What a pity. A trace of mockery crossed Shang You’s eyes. People could share happiness easily enough, but hardship was another matter.

A flicker of warmth died in her heart.

Shang You thought she had to protect herself. Before Tang Danqing tried to kill her, she’d have to strike first.

Until then, she would keep pretending to be weak and harmless, so Tang Danqing would let her guard down.

The woman was easy to fool that way, wasn’t she?

…

Thank goodness, thank goodness there’s a second bedroom!

Tang Danqing flopped onto the bed and breathed in the clean, dry scent of the silk comforter. She felt like a mole that had dug herself a hole and hidden inside it.

If she could, she’d burrow under the covers, shut the door, and never come out…

At least until she’d calmed down enough not to feel awkward around the grown-up version of Little Jelly…

Had she really been touching and cuddling a woman like this every time she played the game? Scooping her up without warning and carrying her around like a princess… How was that any different from being a pervert?!

Now that she’d accepted that the NPC was a real person, standing right in front of her and telling her that everything she’d done had been part of the woman’s real life, Tang Danqing wanted to curse herself.

She’d been so thoughtless!

How could she have done all those intimate things so casually?!

Jelly was a grown woman, just like anyone else.

This was mortifying… Jelly really hadn’t minded?

Seeing Jelly take everything in stride and treat her the same as ever only made Tang Danqing feel guiltier. Her face burned.

Tang Danqing had meant to stay in there and collect herself.

But her stomach was too empty. A few minutes later, she composed her face and went back out.

“Jelly, are you hungry? Let’s get something to eat.”

They sat down at the dining table. Tang Danqing took a Wellington steak meal out of her space, already cooked and ready to eat.

It was still hot when it came out of her space. The steak was medium-well, its cut surface a faint pink from the myoglobin. When the knife pressed down, juices ran between the fibers of the meat.

The spinach, onions, foie gras, and Parma ham on the plate were flavorful accompaniments, seared until fragrant and delicious.

Tang Danqing had always liked beef more than pork. It had more chew, was nutritious, and helped maintain muscle mass.

Shang You sat across from her, but didn’t take any food. Instead, she reached over and drew Tang Danqing’s plate toward herself.

Tang Danqing stared.

“I’ll cut it for you,” Shang You said. “Your arm’s still hurt. Wait a moment and have something else first.”

“You don’t have to go to all that trouble…”

Shang You looked up and gave her a warm smile, cutting off her objection. “It’ll only take a moment.”

Tang Danqing propped an elbow on the table and touched her ear, then rubbed her earlobe. She couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but she felt awkward all the same.

Jelly said nothing, focusing on cutting the steak. Tang Danqing glanced at her bandaged arm and let her attention wander.

“So people really do eat each other in the apocalypse…” Tang Danqing murmured to herself.

Remembering someone gnawing on her arm made her heart race. She quickly picked up her phone to distract herself.

She opened her social feed. There were lots of new posts, and she slowly scrolled through them.

The steak still wasn’t ready, so Tang Danqing took a tuna salad and some cucumber pickles with meat sauce from her space to serve as appetizers and tide her over.

The tuna was savory, with a hint of the sea, and melted in her mouth. The olive oil spread across her tongue.

One bite, and she was content.

Tang Danqing saw posts from other members of the film crew. Several actors and a few people from the directing team had posted more or less the same thing.

A waif-thin actress: [First meal while snowed in: a hotel box lunch with shredded beef. It even has fried potatoes, which I normally can’t eat! Forget it, I’m digging in. /Drooling

[Photo: an open box lunch]]

Director: [The shoot was barely underway when we got hit by a snow disaster /Sigh. Now I’m squatting in the hotel eating a box lunch /Facepalm. It’s snowing, the temperature’s dropping, and the budget’s burning… Please let the snow stop soon! I can’t let down the investors!!]

A newly famous young actor whose latest drama had been a hit: [Back to the days of box lunches by chance. How does it feel? Not like the days when I was young and free~

[Photo: a selfie from a forty-five-degree angle, holding a box lunch in one hand]]

A supporting actor from the crew: [Breakfast at the hotel today was one egg, one baked sweet potato, and a carton of milk. I heard the power’s already out in some places. Thank goodness I’m with the crew and staying at the Yanyun Hotel. A blessing in disguise! Yanyun Hotel rules!

[Photo: the three breakfast items]]

Another supporting actor: [Yanyun’s service is incredible. The snow blocking the roads scared me to death. I thought I’d be stuck in my room eating instant noodles, but then—Yanyun provided yesterday’s lunch and dinner, plus breakfast today.

Next time I take my parents on a trip, I’ll consider staying at Yanyun, too. /Peace sign

[Three photos]]

One of the screenwriters: [At first, everyone thought it was just an ordinary snowstorm… until the temperature kept dropping in increasingly bizarre ways…]

A mutual friend commented: [Sis, stop. You’re scaring me /Horrified]

The screenwriter replied: [I’m even more scared. I’m trapped in a hotel and I didn’t bring a thing with me.]

Another mutual friend: […Idiot. Trying to stir up panic?]

Tang Danqing frowned slightly at the screen, but the delicious meat sauce filled her mouth and smoothed the crease away.

“Danqing, it’s ready.”

Little Jelly called to her in a soft, delicate voice and smiled as she pushed the sliced steak over.

“Wait a moment.” Tang Danqing stood and walked over to the window.

She slipped behind the blackout curtain and opened the window a crack. The cold immediately crept in, chilling her fingertips.

She listened quietly.

She heard the wind outside and the snow drifting down. Whenever the world fell still, the distant hum of generators throbbed like crickets in the grass, soft and intermittent.

Tang Danqing shut the window tight and came back.

“Jelly, how long do you think the generators outside will keep running? When will the power fail completely?” She figured Jelly had experience with this sort of thing.