She said it like a simple fact and kept going upstairs. Yan Cijin hurried after her, afraid Bai Li might misunderstand what she meant.

"I’m not blaming you, it’s just that seeing her turn into a zombie makes me a little uncomfortable. I’ll feel better after a while, don’t mind it," Yan Cijin quickly explained.

Bai Li nodded.

Seeing that Bai Li did not say anything more, Yan Cijin also stayed silent and followed behind her. After another minute, they finally saw the white door on the 19th floor. Bai Li quickened her pace, pushed open the door connecting the fire escape and the corridor, and looked inside carefully. Everything was safe. No zombies were inside.

Then she took the normal stairs up to the 20th floor and opened the iron door connecting the 19th and 20th floors with a key that only residents living from the 20th floor onward could use. It was a good safety measure. At least it meant the zombies would not be able to get into the corridors of the 20th floor, which would help keep the area around the apartments cleaner and safer. In a world like this, even one extra locked door could matter a lot.

She then whispered to Yan Cijin behind her, "Come in, there are no zombies."

"Okay." Yan Cijin could already see the large white iron gates of her own home and Bai Li’s house, and that alone made her feel like she could finally breathe. A smile appeared on her face at last. The whole journey had been exhausting, but this moment was different. This was the point where danger started fading behind them and home started feeling real again.

Yan Cijin did not rush inside right away. Instead, she looked at Bai Li and said, "Thank you so much this time. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it back from the hospital alive."

Bai Li looked at her too and answered, "It’s nothing, you helped me too, we’re even."

After that, Bai Li entered the building, opened the large iron gates of her own home and Yan Cijin’s home, and looked at Yan Cijin. "Go home quickly."

Yan Cijin also looked at Bai Li, and her gaze slowly moved from Bai Li’s face down to Bai Li’s hands. The more she looked, the more worried she felt. Those hands had clearly been hurt, and even though Bai Li was trying to act like it was nothing, Yan Cijin could still tell there was pain there. She looked at Bai Li with some concern and asked softly, "Your hands?"

"It’s nothing serious, I’ll just go back and change the dressing. You don’t need to give me that knife, keep it for self defense." As she spoke, Bai Li turned to open her own security door. Her tone was still the same as before, calm and a little cold, like she was used to handling her own injuries without making a big deal out of them. She did not look like someone who wanted pity or extra attention. Even now, after all that fighting and rushing back through danger, she was still acting like the injury was just a small thing she could deal with later.

Yan Cijin stood there for a second and watched Bai Li’s back. She felt like something was sitting a little heavy in her chest, not enough to say out loud, but enough to make her uneasy. Bai Li had just helped her get home, and now she was trying to brush off her own pain so casually. That kind of thing made Yan Cijin feel even more concerned. She did not like seeing Bai Li act like her own body did not matter. That was why, before Bai Li could fully turn away, Yan Cijin called from behind her, "Bai Li."

Bai Li paused and looked back. "Hmm? Is there something else?" she asked. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Yan Cijin hesitated for a moment, then said what was on her mind. "Your hands are uncomfortable, let me go back and clean them so I can change your dressing. It’ll take at most half an hour."

At that, Bai Li clenched her hands slightly. They were still a little sore, and she could feel it when she tightened her fingers. But she did not argue right away. She looked at Yan Cijin for a moment, then answered in the same plain way as before, "Thank you for your help. Just knock on the door when you come back."

Yan Cijin’s eyes brightened almost at once. "Okay."

She had thought Bai Li would refuse again, the way she often did when people tried to help her. So when Bai Li agreed so easily, Yan Cijin felt a little wave of relief wash through her. It was small, but it was real. She even let out a quiet breath without noticing it at first. Then, in a softer voice, she asked, "See you later?"

"See you later." Bai Li said politely. There was no extra emotion in her words, but there was no impatience either. Just a simple answer, neat and clean. After that, she turned around, scanned her eye contour with the infrared sensor, entered a password, then took out her key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it once. The heavy security door slowly opened. The whole process looked familiar, almost automatic, like she had done it so many times that her body already knew what to do before her mind even needed to think about it.

Yan Cijin stayed where she was for a moment longer and watched Bai Li’s back. For some reason, Bai Li looked farther away than before, even though they were standing so close. Yan Cijin frowned slightly, feeling a bit off about it. She could not quite explain why it bothered her so much, but it did. Maybe it was because Bai Li was always like this, keeping a little distance no matter what had just happened between them. Maybe it was because Yan Cijin had started paying more attention to Bai Li than she wanted to admit. Either way, the feeling stayed with her for a second longer than she expected.

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To be continued.