Chapter 28: Natural Beauty

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Natural Beauty

Huai Yu half-lifted the bicycle, her basket still dangling from the crossbar, and stumbled off the bus in a thoroughly disheveled state. By that point, there were no other passengers left on board, otherwise she genuinely didn’t know if she could have squeezed her way out. Those aunts and grannies were simply too terrifying. Even with her knack for spewing nonsense, she had nearly been interrogated for her entire life story.

"PHEW."

Huai Yu let out a long breath and touched her face. "This must be what natural beauty is like, right? I guess this is just how popular I am," she thought. As for all their probing questions about her family, job, salary, housing, and whether her older brothers were married—those were just icing on the cake. None of it was truly important.

She raised her wrist to check her watch. The scuff marks on it were far too obvious. She hadn’t been careful enough today; she definitely couldn’t wear it in front of Boss Tang next time.

It wasn’t even five o’clock yet.

The sky was still bright, though somewhat gloomy, and the air felt increasingly damp. In the distance, the towering Rose Corridor was utterly silent, its body trembling slightly in the spring breeze. Layers of tender green leaves overlapped, and pink flowers spread out to form a breathtakingly beautiful expanse of clouds. Huai Yu pushed the bicycle a few steps up the hillside. From this vantage point, she could gaze out at the Alien Plant Defense Army camp in Zone 69 up ahead. She smiled faintly, then exerted a bit of effort to mount the overly tall bicycle.

"YEEHAW! Down we go!"

Having a vehicle really made a difference.

The bus stop, which usually took her ages to reach on foot, was now just a ten-minute ride away. The only pity was that the previously paved ground had long been shattered by countless generations of wildly overgrown weeds. Now, it was mostly just moist dirt, lacking the smooth, flat sensation of riding on a main road. Even so, Huai Yu was already quite satisfied.

Returning home, she wheeled her precious asset into the treehouse, which looked rather spacious again after she had cleared out the dried grass. Huai Yu organized her new purchases one by one. She grouped the plastic bags with her old ones and tossed the scissors and trowel straight into the woven basket. The two new towels joined her previous one on the hanging vines, and the entire pack of toilet paper was tucked away with the waterproof storage bag holding her clothes.

Actually, she decided to take out one roll first to keep by the head of her bed. It was so precious that she didn’t dare leave it directly in the bathroom, fearing some critter might gnaw it to pieces.

The kettle was placed near the fire pit. Although she had bought a kitchen knife, she lacked a cutting board. Afraid of dulling its edge, she had no choice but to set it aside for now. Finally, the sandals were left by the bedside. Looking around, it genuinely felt like a cozy, welcoming home.

In the next moment, a spring thunderstorm erupted.

BOOM!

A bolt of lightning struck without warning, illuminating the dim world. A rolling rumble echoed from the clouds in the distance, followed by the sound of pouring rain sweeping closer and closer.

"It’s here!" she panicked. "It’s too fast! Wasn’t it supposed to rain tomorrow?!"

Huai Yu rushed to the door, only to see bean-sized raindrops violently battering the grass and leaves outside. The wisteria flowers hanging by the entrance swayed wildly in the wind and rain, looking as if they could be torn away at any moment. Through the heavy curtain of the downpour, the Rose Corridor blurred into an impressionistic oil painting of swirling pink and green.

The rain poured in torrents.

She quietly stepped back inside and carefully draped her raincoat—which felt exceptionally precious after the recent price hike—over a thick vine. She then headed back out, walking along the connecting rain canopy. Pacing back and forth beneath the spacious shelter, she strained her ears, terrified of any leaks or the possibility that the strong winds might tear away the grass curtains she had secured with vines.

Fortunately, everything held steady.

However, the space she had originally set aside for a makeshift kitchen had to be temporarily abandoned due to the sudden drop in temperature.

Huai Yu pulled a handful of dried grass from near the bathroom to use as kindling. After tossing the few branches she had piled indoors into the fire pit, she sighed, pulled on her rain boots, threw on her raincoat, and stepped back out into the open clearing.

The branches she had chopped down and the dry leaves she had dragged back earlier were still scattered about. Since the heavy rain had only just started, they weren’t completely soaked through yet. She had to hurry and haul them under the canopy. Otherwise, if the rain continued for a few days, she wouldn’t even have any dry firewood left to burn.

Raindrops slid down the brim of her raincoat’s hood, striking her face with heavy splatters. Huai Yu blinked awkwardly, sighing a thousand times over in her heart. She blamed herself for being too exhausted yesterday and completely forgetting to stack the firewood.

Thankfully, she hadn’t snapped the smaller twigs and offshoots yet, making it fairly efficient to just drag the main trunks straight into the shelter. By the time she snapped off a few more branches and returned to the treehouse, her raincoat was dripping steadily. Her face, collar, and hair were all completely soaked.

Huai Yu wiped her face and was just about to pull back her hood when she remembered something. She quickly grabbed her large red bucket and carried it to the doorway. After a moment of thought, she brought out her newly bought kettle and her old pot as well.

RAT-TAT-TAT!

The rain drummed against the bucket, kettle, and pot, quickly gathering a decent amount of water.

She stood silently watching for a while before turning back inside. With a swift motion, she took off the raincoat and hung it back on the vine. Then, she picked up a towel to dry her face and stoked the fire until it blazed vigorously once more. Amidst the dancing flames and the sound of the pouring rain, the entire room felt profoundly tranquil and secure.

If there was a single flaw to be found...

Slipping into her sandals, Huai Yu sat on the green brick stool by the fire. She looked down at her bare toes and sighed. "Rainy days would be so much happier if I had a delicious meal right in front of me!" she thought. "Whether it’s instant noodles, hot pot, crayfish, or barbecue... SLURP! But look at me now! This is just great. The only seasonings I have are salt and sugar, and the only edible things in the house besides yams are peanuts and a handful of soybeans—which are excellent at causing bloating."

As for the nutrient solutions...

Forget it. That stuff was only meant for basic survival and had absolutely nothing to do with culinary enjoyment.

Since the grass curtains weren’t needed for the time being, Huai Yu suddenly found herself with nothing to do. After mulling it over, she decided to dig out all her seeds and figure out how to plan her future planting.

Farming first required finding a suitable plot of land and tilling the soil, right? And then what? Just bury the seeds? She knew she had a bit of a special ability. If she exerted some effort after burying the seeds, they would probably sprout. However, with two pounds of peanuts, a pound of soybeans, and a large handful of yams... wouldn’t she exhaust herself trying to plant all of them?

Huai Yu sympathetically rubbed her own fragile little shoulders, feeling that she probably wasn’t very suited for this kind of work.

Also... she really should have saved some wild vegetables today. She was craving real food so badly right now! Hunger made her brain sluggish, and the awful taste of the nutrient pouch she was holding in her mouth assaulted her very soul. Her grumbling stomach felt wronged to the extreme...

By the time Huai Yu snapped out of her daze, she realized she had already torn open her bag of soybeans. If her only pot wasn’t outside collecting rainwater right now, she probably would have already tossed them in, sprinkled on some salt, and started stir-frying.

She let out a heavy sigh.

"If I could just slow-roast them in the pot over a low fire until they’re mouthwateringly fragrant and every single bean bursts open..." she thought. "Then I could just sprinkle a little salt on top... Damn it! I’m so hungry!"